-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Built in 1916, this one-and-a-half-story bungalow has a low-pitched, side-gabled roof extending over the front porch. The original owner, Billy Leet, instructed the architect to design "the finest home in western Iowa."

MANNING — While an authentic 1660 German Hausbarn attracts visitors across the country to the Manning Hausbarn Heritage Park, guests find another noteworthy surprise nearby when they tour the Leet/Hassler farmstead and home.

Even the locals were surprised by the farmhouse when they started transforming the property into a tourist destination in the early 1990s.

“The place was so overgrown that you could hardly see the house,” recalled Freda Dammann, who volunteers at the Manning Hausbarn Heritage Park. “We were amazed at what good condition the house was in. It’s like it was just patiently waiting for someone to give it new life.”

Various families had lived there through the years, but no one had a more colorful history than the young man who built the home — Billy Leet.

Born in Audubon, Leet was the son of Frank and Lida Leet, who established the German Savings Bank in Manning. After Leet’s father died, the teenager inherited his shares of his father’s estate, including land, in 1915 when Leet was only 19 years old.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Built-in bookcases flank the living room fireplace, which is surrounded by imported ceramic tiles.

Leet had eloped in early 1915 with a young woman named Anne Robertson and started making plans to build a spacious, elegant, Craftsman-style home that reflected Leet’s wealth.

“He instructed the architect to design the finest home in western Iowa,” said Nancy Stammer, who volunteers at the Manning Hausbarn Heritage Park.

Built in 1916, the one-and-a-half-story bungalow has a low-pitched, side-gabled roof extending over the front porch. The home features bay windows on the west and east sides. The front door, made of solid wood, includes an Arts-and-Crafts-style door handle mechanism, along with beveled glass in a quatrefoil design.

Unlike most other farm homes from this period, Leet’s home had three bathrooms, plus it was electrified from the start. When the electric utility wanted to build a line from Manning to Audubon along the railroad that went through Leet’s property, he demanded that they connect his farmstead to the electrical system in return for crossing his land.

Electric lights highlighted many of the amenities in the home, including window seats, French doors in the dining room and sunroom, and built-in bookcases flanking the living room fireplace, which is surrounded by imported ceramic tiles.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
This sitting area near the piano is well-lit, with window seats built in.

The home was built by local craftsmen and masons, including Hans Detlefsen and Fritz Thoms. Detlefsen also built two rock planters, one birdbath and a fish pond northeast of the front of the home.

Workmen also built tile gateposts at the northwest and northeast entrances to the farmstead.

This house was meant to impress, as was the three-bay automobile garage and servants’ quarters. Leet, who competed in auto races in Chicago, loved fast, flashy cars and owned a Mercer 22-70, a Stutz Bearcat, a Pierce-Arrow and a Hispano-Suiza Spanish racer, among others.

Leet also loved to party in Omaha and beyond. When “Manning’s millionaire playboy” drove his Mercer to Omaha, he always went fast, leaving a dust storm in his wake. “Authorities set up a road block and stopped him,” noted the booklet, “Story of the Leet/Hassler Farmstead.”

“When he asked how much the fine would be, he was told $20. Billy said, ‘Here’s $40, since I’ll be coming back this way.'”

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
The Leet/Hassler farmhouse features a spacious dining area.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
The porch swing invites visitors to stop and visit for a spell.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
This photo shows the home as it appeared in its early years.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
This is one of two original windows with beveled glass that direct light into the living room.