Annie Laurie’s House on 2009 House Tour
1328 – 9th Street
Annie Laurie’s House was built in 1890 as a wedding gift for Anna B. Call and her husband William. The Call family lived in the home from 1890 until 1902 when the house was purchased by Thomas and Laura Farquharson. Thomas was an engineer for the City of Des Moines specializing in streetcars and probably found it quite convenient to be on the 9th Street Line.
During the bitterly cold winter of 1909-1910 it is presumed that Thomas and Laura went south to his native Kentucky. There is evidence that during this time the house had extensive exterior and interior remodeling. The original architectural style was Queen Anne with several exterior porches on all floors; these were removed or reconfigured during this remodeling. The resulting exterior appearance more closely resembeled a Shingle style house, which was more in vogue at that time.
Thomas passed away in 1936 at the age of 75. Laura, or Annie Laurie as her friends called her, continued to live in her home until shortly before her death in 1968 at the age of 95. Their son Robert preceded her in death, but she was well looked after by her nephew and her many friends at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where she had been a charter member when the church was originally located on 8th Street.
This home will be open for touring during the 2009 River Bend Home Tour, Saturday September 12th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday September 13th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s theme is “West 9th streetcar line Historic District.”
Categorized as: Home Tours
