-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
George Hedges has lived in this farmhouse since 1977. It was previously owned by his grandparents, Clara and Delmer Hoyt.

GREENE COUNTY — More than a century ago, Iowans were living in a time of transition following the end of World War I. Farmers had profited during the golden era of American agriculture, and some, like Delmer Hoyt, decided to build a new house in 1919.

“Granddad was frugal, but he designed this house to be a showplace,” said George Hedges, 82, Hoyt’s grandson who has lived in the house since 1977. “The house cost $6,000 [approximately $103,000 in today’s money]. My wife and I spent more than that when we replaced the roof a number of years ago.”

Constructed with full-dimension lumber, the new house replaced an older farmhouse that had been built in the late 1880s or early 1890s. This was part of some property that Hedges’ ancestors owned in Scranton Township in Greene County. His great-grandparents George and Alice Allen bought an 80-acre farm here in 1904 for $35 an acre. They passed the land onto their daughter, Clara, and her husband, Delmer Hoyt.

The Hoyts added plenty of extra touches when they built their new home in 1919, including built-in wooden bookcases between the parlor and dining room, chandeliers in both rooms, elegant porch doors with beveled glass panels, and oak woodwork in the areas guests could see, like the staircase and dining room.

“They used pine in other areas, like the hallway by a downstairs bedroom,” Hedges said.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
This built-in bookcase is one of many special features included in the home.

The dining room (which is now Hedges’ living room) included a built-in window seat on the east side and a rectangular passthrough area on the south wall, opposite the kitchen. The original kitchen cabinets above the passthrough are still intact, although the former kitchen is now a dining area.

“We’d come here for Sunday dinner when I was growing up,” said Hedges, who recalled how eight or nine family members would gather in the original dining room for the noon meal. The family produced a lot of their own food, added Hedges, whose grandparents grew apple trees, cherry trees and more.

The house had running water and electricity from the start, thanks to a Delco battery plant in the basement. The house was connected to the local rural electric cooperative’s power supply in 1947.

“Granddad could have gotten the farm connected sooner, but he figured they were getting by OK with the Delco plant,” said Hedges, who recalls the day that men from the Glidden REC came to set the electrical pole. “I wanted to watch, and I was so mad when the adults said I had to take a nap.”

Hedges’ grandparents raised their three children (including Hedges’ mother, Gladys) in this spacious house, which had two bathrooms and six bedrooms (two downstairs and four upstairs, including one where the hired man slept). Despite all the home’s amenities, one component that never materialized was a circle driveway in front of the house, even though the original plans included it.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
The home still includes the vintage push-button light switches.

Clara continued living in the farmhouse after Delmer died in 1963. After she moved to a nursing home in the mid-1970s, the house sat empty for a short time before Hedges and his wife purchased the farm in 1976. During the winter of 1976-77, they refinished the woodwork and rewired the entire house. While the vintage push-button light switches remain, the old knob-and-tube wiring was removed.

Hedges and his family (including their four children) moved into the house on Friday, May 13, 1977. The house incorporates pieces of the past (including some of the original windows) with adaptations for modern living, from new siding in 2004 to a new heat pump that Hedges installed about seven years ago.

“I like that I have elbow room here. It’s a good house, and it’s home to me.”