George M. Curtis House

Lumber baron George M. Curtis built this beautiful historic home in 1882 and it remains one of Clinton's most striking landmarks. Since 1925, it has been occupied by the Clinton Women's Club, which was established in 1912. The house is 2.5 stories tall and is a good example of Late Victorian architecture. It features a brick exterior covering a wood-frame structure, five porches including a wrap-around veranda, a covered drive-through shelter, segmental arched windows, projecting bays, and gable ends with scalloped shingles and diagonal and checkerboard stickwork. Visitors can take tours of the house by appointment.

George M. Curtis was born in 1844 in New York (not New York City) and his family moved to Illinois in 1856. They ran a farm there until they moved to Clinton in the 1860s. Here, Curtis, his brother Charles, and one of their uncles founded a small wood planing mill. The company grew steadily in the coming years and by the 1880s it had branches in Wausua, Wisconsin, Chicago, Minneapolis, Lincoln, and Oklahoma City. Curtis made strides in the industry as well. He pioneered the installation of glazed glass into window frames at the factory instead of hiring a glazier to do so. The company operated in Clinton until 1966, which was well after the large lumber mills closed around the 1900s. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Clinton Women's Club meets on the first Thursday of every month.

Bowers, M.H. "George M. Curtis House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. October 1, 1979. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1977daf9-b3bd-4ae2-95dc-5af0b5b4194f.