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The historic Stockman House is the only known Prairie School-style residence in Iowa designed by world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built in 1908 for Dr. George C. Stockman and his wife, Eleanor. Like Wright's other Prairie School homes, the Stockman House features an open floor plan, an emphasis on horizontal lines in the exterior and interior, and low-pitched hip roofs with wide overhangs. The house is now a museum operated by an organization called the River City Society for Historic Preservation (RCSHP). Those interested in taking a tour of the house must first go next door to the Robert E. McCoy Architectural Interpretive Center, which features an exhibition space, meeting room, and a gift shop. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.


Built in 1908, the Stockman House is the only known Prairie School-style house architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed in Iowa. It is now a museum operated by the River City Society for Historic Preservation.

Sky, Window, Building, Plant

Plant, Sky, Property, Window

In 1907 and 1908, Wright visited Mason City on a number of occasions to discuss the designing of the Historic Park Inn Hotel, which was built in 1910 (it is a separate Clio entry). On one of these visits, Stockman met Wright through his neighbor, J.E.E. Markley, who was good friends with Wright and hired him to design the hotel. Impressed with Wright, Stockman commissioned him to design the house, which was Wright's ninth project in 1908.

The house is a modified version of Wright's "Fireproof House" design, which was published in the April 1907 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal. Instead of being built with concrete following the Fireproof House design, the Stockman House was built with a frame structure that was covered in stucco. In 1989, the house was moved here. It had been located next to a church that wanted to expand its parking lot. The city agreed to transfer ownership of the house to the RCSHP on the condition that the organization open the house as a museum. The RCSHP bought the property next to the house in the mid-2000s and built the interpretive center.

Brandt, Jo. "Stockman, Dr. G. C., House." National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. September 17, 1992. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/f7967c9f-e8b4-4402-a5b6-8a0232edc8d2.

Mission & History." River City Society for Historic Preservation. Accessed September 28, 2021. https://www.stockmanhouse.org/page3.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Both images by Pamela V. White, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dr._G.C._Stockman_House