Alonzo J. and Flora Barkley House

The Alonzo J. and Flora Barkley House is considered one of the finest historic homes in Boone County. Erected in 1893 by its namesake, Alonzo J. Barkley, it is an excellent example of Queen Anne architecture and includes elements of the Shingle style. Use of either style is uncommon in central Iowa. The house is further significant for its association with Barkley, who was a prominent local banker, real estate investor, and politician. Additionally, located behind the house is a long rectangular building constructed in 1952 and a small building next to it that operated as a motel. The owner of the house at the time established the motel to provide lodging for people traveling on the former Lincoln Highway, what is now Mamie Eisenhower Avenue. The house remains a private residence today.

Alonzo J. Barkley arrived in Boone County in 1856 and remained for the rest of his life except between 1862-1864 when he served in the Civil War, and between 1865-1866 when he attended Cornell College. Barkley served in several prominent positions over the years including County Recorder, Deputy Sheriff, vice president of Boone County Bank, and as a member of the city council. He also organized the Boone County Telephone Company in 1891, which he sold the next year. He married his first wife, Henrietta, in 1866. After she died in 1889, he married his second wife, Flora, in 1891.

Barkley built the house for himself and Flora two years later. Interesting features include an asymmetrical design, decorative moulding and trimwork, clapboard shingles, an ornate palladian window on the north side of the house, and a Romanesque arched window on the front side.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the Lincoln Highway was a major transportation corridor, which brought thousands of people into Boone every day. It appears that the Barkley House started to offer lodging to visitors passing through town. As a result, the house became known as a "tourist house." The motel (it was called the Capri Motel) was built to accommodate more visitors. The house's owner, Arnold Watering, also built an attached office to the house and moved the small single unit motel building here at this time. The house and former motel represent the best example in Boone County of the combination of a residence with roadside commerce, which was common throughout the country during the early to mid-20th century. In 1995, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Beecher, Mary Anne. "Alonzo J. and Flora Barkley House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 21, 1995. https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/95000857.PDF.