Conger House Museum
Introduction
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Owned and operated by the Washington County Historical Society, the Conger House Museum is a local history museum featuring period rooms of three families who lived in the house and rooms with permanent displays of Native American artifacts, war memorabilia, county and medical history, and locally manufactured items. The house was originally built in 1848 and is named after one of its owners, Jonathan Clark Conger. The museum grounds include a few original trees as well as restored herb gardens and a geode cairn. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Images
Conger House Museum was originally built in 1848 and expanded in 1867 and 1906. It features period rooms of three families who lived here and rooms featuring Native American artifacts, Civil War memorabilia, and items related to local history.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Teacher and author of the first account of Washington county's history, Nathan Littler, built the original portion of the house in 1848. Conger acquired the house in 1867 and had additions built by local contractor, John Patterson Huskins. Huskins built several other buildings in Washington including houses, the Old South School, the Washington National Bank, and the City Library. He also worked as the foreman on the old state capitol building that was destroyed by a fire in 1892.
One of Conger's daughters married a man named Colonel C.J. Wilson in the early 1890s. Wilson bought the house in 1884 and in the coming years the house became a hub of social activity. Wilson served as a governor's aid and in the state legislature. He also built an in addition in 1906 and made some changes to the interior of the house. He collected Civil War and Native American items as well. It appears these items are now on display in the house.
The Washington County Historical Society was established in 1959. It acquired the house in 1973 and restored it as a house museum. The Society also manages the Walnut School, Red Brick School, and the Washington County Archives.
Sources
"Washington County Historical Society Washington, Iowa." IAGenWeb. Accessed March 15, 2022. https://iagenweb.org/washington/wchs.htm.
Viggers, Stephen. "Jonathan Clark Conger House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 28, 1974. https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/74000815.PDF.
Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_Clark_Conger_House.jpg