John Christian and Bertha Landrock Reichert House

German immigrant and cabinetmaker John Christian Reichert built this elegant and architecturally unique home in 1883. A fine example of the Stick architectural style, it is one of the most visually striking homes in Tipton. It features various kinds of exterior cladding, a steeply pitched roof, a tower, a porch that extends out to a sheltered structure with a pyramidal roof, and numerous decorative elements including scrolled and knee-brace style brackets and a pair of spoked wooden wheels in the gable of the front facade. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and appears to be a private residence today.

John Christian Reichert was born in the southern German state of Bavaria on March 27, 1835. Two years later, he and his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Ohio. During his childhood and teen years he learned cabinetmaking and carpentry from his father. In 1855 he moved to Tipton with seven years of work experience under his belt. Reichert's brother, John Henry, arrived the next year and the two established a carpentry contracting business. They built several homes and other buildings in and around Tipton. They also opened a lumber yard.

In 1869, they changed their business to a hardware and farm implement store called Reichert Bros. It was very successful, enabling Reichert to accumulate enough wealth over the coming years to eventually build the house. At some point in the 1860s, he became the director of Cedar County State Bank. He also joined a number of fraternal organizations.

Reichert and his wife, Bertha Landrock (they married in 1861), lived in house until 1897 and moved to Cedar Rapids. They both died in 1928 (it is unclear whether they had children). The new owner of the house was a banker, farmer, and landowner named Frank Wingert. His daughter, Ruby, inherited the house in 1923 and she lived here until she passed away in 1969. From 1984 to at least through the early 1990s, the owners of the house operated it as a bed and breakfast called the "Victorian House."

Stout, Donald F. "John Christian and Bertha Landrock Reichert House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. December 19, 1991. https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/91001861.PDF.