Escapees July-August 2024

One of the loveliest homes on this street is the Victorian-style mansion built in 1869 by General Grenville Mellen Dodge, a man recalled as a statesman, fi nancier, coun selor of Presidents and chief construction engineer of the Union Paci fi c Railroad. He surveyed central Iowa to locate a terminus for the Rock Island Railroad on the Missouri River. Dodge has been called the “greatest railroad builder of all time.” After participating as a Major General in the Civil War, he engaged in the mercantile business, organized a bank, surveyed the Missouri River Valley to the West for the Transcontinental Railroad and even served a term in U. S. Congress. Dodge chose Council Bluffs as a place to raise his children and, in 1855, settled his family there, in a 14-room Victorian-style home, built on a high terrace and costing $35,000, a lavish sum in those days. This home was remarkable for the time it was built. For example, it had central heating and hot and cold running water! Today, his home is open to the public, and a tour will bring proof of the creative skills of the craftsmen of years ago. This brick mansion was built mainly of materials available in the region. It has two-foot thick brick walls, seven beautiful marble fi replaces, showy, narrow-board parquet fl oors put together with square nails, demonstrating the craftsmen’s skill of this time in history. Native hardwoods such as butternut, walnut, cherry and maple, were used throughout this home. The rooms in this brick mansion are brought to life with expensive and well-pre served furnishings from long ago. The twin parlors contain colorfully rich sofas, delicately fashioned tables and chairs, fl oral rugs, coordinating wallpaper and draperies. Most of these furnishings were originally owned by the Dodge family. The dining room in which fi veU.S. Presidents enjoyed the Dodge family’s hospitality seems ready for royalty with a stylish table set with gold-ridged place settings. On this table are several imple ments that are unusual for today’s table

Historic General Dodge House exterior and interior. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TRAVEL IOWA

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July/August 2024 ESCAPEES Magazine