THE PICTURESQUE SWETTING HOUSE

One of the most unique homes in “Picturesque Algona” – in fact in all of Algona even today – is the Swetting home located at 331 North Thorington Street.  Looking much like an old Italian villa, it was owned in 1900 by Ernest Volney Swetting and his wife, Bernice.  The superior craftsmanship of the mason is shown in the brick crowns over the windows and other features which give this house so much character.

E.V. SWETTING

E. V. Swetting first came to Algona in 1878 as a school teacher.  He also taught for a short time at Estherville.  His dream of becoming an attorney was realized when he began to study the law in the offices of Coolbaugh & Call, well-known Algona attorneys.  He passed the bar in 1886 and was admitted to practice. 

That same year he was married to Mrs. Bernice P. Johnson, a widow with a young daughter.  They lived briefly in Emmet County, but moved permanently to Algona in 1891.  By the time “Picturesque Algona” was published in 1900, the Swettings were living in this lovely brick abode.

In talking to its current owners, Harley and Anne Kohlhaas, I was told that their research indicated that the structure was likely built in the late 1860s or sometime in the 1870s.  That period falls within the time frame when the Italianate style of home was most popular in the United States, but was certainly earlier than 1891 which is when the Swettings permanently settled in town.  I found it hard to reconcile the difference in dates because I assumed the Swettings had built the house (a rookie mistake).  Once I realized my error, I attacked the search with a broader mind.  I was hopeful that as I researched the house, I would be able to discover the truth.

My first stop was at the Kossuth County courthouse.  Records there revealed that Lelia E. Benham deeded the real estate on which the house sits to E. V. Swetting on March 30, 1894.  An article from the Algona Republican published on April 4, 1894 states that “E. V. Swetting has bought the Mrs. Benham place on Thorington street and will make it his future home.  There is a pretty and commodious brick house and four desirable lots.  He got the property cheap at $1600.”  A piece of the puzzle fell into place as I now knew the house was in existence in 1894.

THE BENHAMS

So who was Lelia Benham and how did she become owner of the house?  By 1894 Mrs. Benham was a widow.  Her husband, Napoleon Bonaparte “Poley” Benham had died in May of 1890 at the age of 47 years.  I knew a little about Mr. Benham from a Civil War project that I had contributed to for the Kossuth County Genealogical Society several years ago. 

Benham had enlisted in the 106^th New York volunteers in 1862 at the age of 19.  While serving under General Sheridan at the battle of Winchester on September 19, 1864, he was shot in the right lung while his regiment was charging a rebel battery.  His obituary published in the Upper Des Moines on May 14, 1890, states:  “The bullet went in just below the collar bone, and was not found for two weeks.  But with the indomitable grit that characterized him, he picked up his musket and walked to the hospital three miles distant.  Parts of his coat and shirt were taken from the wound, and probably some were never found but remained to poison his blood.  In December he had recovered sufficiently to go back to the front, where he was made a second lieutenant, and where he served till the war closed.”  He would never truly recover from his wound.

Following the war, Mr. Benham settled in Clayton County, Iowa, where he met and married his wife, Lelia Benham.  A short time later he drove across the prairies with fellow veteran Adam Sawvel to Kossuth County.  Liking what he saw, he took a homestead in Lotts Creek township and also took one for A. A. Brunson, a childhood friend and army comrade.  In 1870 he moved his family to a sod house he had built on the property.  They remained on the farm for several years where they added a barn, but always lived in the sod house.  The grasshopper plague brought their farming venture to an end.  The family then moved to Algona where Benham became manager of Lockwood’s Store. 

Knowing that the Benhams moved to Algona in the mid-1870s gave me a further clue.  I have to admit that tracking the chain of ownership to the property in question was not easy.  Legal descriptions had changed through the years as areas of the town were platted.  The legal description used at the time the property was sold to E. V. Swetting was not the same description used when it was purchased by the Benhams.  After several hours of searching through courthouse records and receiving the helpful and knowledgeable assistance of the personnel at the Assessor’s and Recorder’s offices, I was able to determine that N.B. Benham purchased the property July 16, 1878 from Asa C. Call.  I do believe that the property would have been unimproved at the time Benhams purchased it since Asa Call owned mostly unimproved lots which he would sell for development.

In 1878 Benham was elected Clerk of court where he continued to serve for ten years.  At that time the office of Clerk was an elected position.  In the campaign of 1882, the Upper Des Moines newspaper ran an editorial which came out in favor of Benham’s competitor.  The article states, “Mr. Benham has also had the office for four years.  He is a good man, but he is not the only good man in the county, and having held the office two terms he has no further claim upon it.  Before taking the office he held a lucrative position in the “Dollar Variety Store,” and is in independent circumstances, having one of the costliest residences in Algona, so that he will hardly make the claim of being entitled to sympathy.  Experience shows that it is better to change officers once in four years at least, and this rule has usually been recognized in this county, but, of course, Mr. Benham wants to hold onto a good thing just as long as he can.”  (Emphasis mine).

After gathering all of this circumstantial evidence, it is my theory that this distinctive, one-of-a-kind home was built by Napoleon and Lelia Benham in the late 1870s following his election as Clerk of Court.  This time frame corresponds with the estimated age suggested to Harley and Anne Kohlhaas. It is unknown where the Benhams lived when they first moved to Algona, but it had to be quite a transition going from a sod house to a more traditional home.  Moving to this brand new magnificent structure just a few years later must have been a dream come true for its residents.

N.B. Benham

Despite anything in the editorial to the contrary, Benham was well liked and an efficient public servant.  His health continued to decline, however, when the poison in his lung spread to his neck.  Leaving office in 1888, his last two years of life until he passed away were spent as an invalid.  It is mentioned in several sources that no matter his circumstances, Poley always maintained a genial spirit and greeted everyone with a smile and kind word.  He died May 8, 1890.  His funeral was held at the residence with a large attendance.  Following the service, a large group of Masons wearing white crepe led the long procession which wended its way to Riverview cemetery where his body was laid to rest.  He left behind a wife, a daughter and two sons to mourn his passing.

THE SWETTINGS

The house became a fine home for the Swettings as well.  Both were involved in the community and the Congregational Church.  Bernice was a member of the Woman’s Library Aid Society and enjoyed homemaking and entertaining her friends, hosting various meetings in her home.  Besides being a member of the local bar, Mr. Swetting was an active Mason.  He, too, enjoyed entertaining at his home and would often invite lawyers visiting from other areas to his home for a pleasant evening and sometimes a game of skat.  E. V. loved the outdoors and was an avid fisherman.  He never quite lost the love of teaching as he continued to have a great deal of interest in young people and never missed a high school debate or declamatory contest.

E. V. also deeply loved Bernice’s daughter, May, who grew up to marry T.P. Harrington, another local attorney.  He was a doting grandfather to her children.  Bernice passed away from an illness with cancer in 1921 leaving a large void in E. V.’s life.  The untimely death of May’s son, Howard Harrington, in October of 1926 was a significant blow to him as well.  A few months later on a Thursday evening while playing cards with his friends Judge Quarton and Dr. Alf Rist and others, he suddenly fainted.  He was taken to the Harrington home.  He remained on bed rest even though initially feeling better on Friday, but was seized with a fatal heart attack early Saturday morning, February 20, 1927, and died around eleven o’clock that morning.

The house in 2015

The house has seen many owners and many changes through the years—even serving as an apartment house for a period of time.  The structure has undergone numerous alterations to both its interior and exterior during its lifetime, but still retains its very unique character.  Thorington Street would not be quite the same without this irreplaceable residence.  It truly does make Algona more “picturesque.”

Until next time,

KC History Buff

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