Carrie's Girlhood Home

Visit Carrie Chapman Catt's girlhood home to learn about her life and involvement in the women's suffrage movement. Hear stories of world events, personal journeys, and activism that led up to the first American woman voting!

1866
Lucius Lane completes the initial construction of the home. It is a classic example of nineteenth-century architecture and utilitarian design.

1875
The final additions were completed nearly ten years later. The house featured enclosed, hollow exterior walls to provide efficient insulation.

1991
The house had fallen into serious disrepair by the early '90s. The Nineteenth Amendment Society purchased the house the very same year.

1995
During the restoration project in 1995, the house was awarded an honorable listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Constructed in 1896, the Carrie Chapman Catt Girlhood Home is a classic example of Victorian-era architecture and utilitarian design. Visitors can tour this home today; it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been restored to its former glory at the direction of the National 19th Amendment Society, a volunteer, non-profit organization based in Charles City. 

In 1865 and 1866, Carrie's father, Lucius Lane, constructed the first section of the home Seven-year-old Carrie, her nine-year-old brother Charles, and their mother Maria Clinton Lane lived in another house in Charles City during construction and moved into the home in 1866. Later additions, finished around 1875, give the home its appearance today. 

Restoration

By 1991, the eight-room Victorian-era farm house had fallen into serious disrepair. A century after the Lane family sold the Spring Brook Farm, the home was sold to the non-profit National 19th Amendment Society. Preservation architect Bill Wagner and building contractor Dick Young supervised the restoration. Wagner earlier supervised such projects as the National Park Service's Herbert Hoover birthplace in West Branch, Iowa; the Mamie Doud Eisenhower birthplace in Boone, Iowa; and Terrace Hill, the Iowa governor's mansion in Des Moines. Young has restored numerous historic properties in Charles City and northern Iowa.

The home is open to the public from Memorial Day to Labor Day (late May to early September), 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday. It is also open by appointment.

Support the Carrie Chapman Catt Girlhood Home

The Nineteenth Amendment Society is a volunteer organization that needs your help and donations to keep things running. Help ensure the Carrie Chapman Catt Girlhood Home and Museum continue educating visitors from all over about Carrie's life story, as well as inform them of her contributions with the Women Suffrage Movement!