Historic homes The Deere-Wiman house stands high on a hilltop overlooking the original John Deere plow factory.
This is now the site of The Mark and the John Deere Commons on the banks of the Mississippi River in Moline. Nicknamed "Overlook" for obvious reasons, the home was designed by Chicago architect William LeBaron Jenny for John Deere’s youngest son, Charles. Built in 1872, Overlook at 817 Eleventh Avenue was one of the first homes on the hill, offering a gentle breeze, panoramic view of the riverfront, as well as country calm and charm. The three-story Victorian-style home with basement and attic was approximately 5,000 square feet, although renovations over the years resulted in the 15,000 sq. ft. home of today. It sits on the same 7 acres of property Charles Deere purchased in 1870, a decade after making Mary Little his wife. Together, they would raise two daughters, Anna and Katherine, in the home. At the southeast corner of the property sits a building that was likely a combination carriage house and servant’s quarters. A beautiful garden area separates the two. The original entrance to the home was a winding driveway that wraps around the hill, delivering guests to a porte-cochere (covered carriage entrance) on the west side of the home.
Considered very modern for its time, the home had indoor plumbing from the start, electricity by 1890, as well as an elevator and a central vacuum system installed by 1900. Originally, the home’s roof style was what the architect called "Swiss Villa" with towering turrets and spires. However, a devastating third floor fire in 1899 led to renovation into a more modern style as seen today. The wood-sided home was covered in stucco sometime in the mid-1910s, as was the carriage house. The main floor The main living room was originally two rooms —Ýa morning room and a front parlor that were separated by a wall with a fireplace on each side. Around 1910, the family remodeled to open up the two rooms. One of the former fireplaces was moved to an upstairs bedroom. Today, the family’s 19th century Flemish tapestry and 18th century Japanese embroidery grace the beautiful walnut wood paneling of the room.Adjacent to the main living room, the Library and Music Room served as a formal entertainment area for guests. Sunlight filters in through a domed stained glass window in the ceiling, reflecting colors into the large glass chandelier, while musical notes resonate through the room from the pipe organ with player attachment. A dining room east of the living room features original 1872 woodwork and furniture.
Around 1900, the room was redecorated in an early Art Nouveau style, including hand-painted canvas wall coverings in a fruit and vegetable theme. This "bountiful harvest" pattern is carried out in the light fixture, sconces, table legs, and other dÈcor. In addition to a marble faced fireplace, an oak-paneled ceiling only adds to the rich bounty of the room’s atmosphere. Originally, a row of glass beads separated the dining room from the solarium where tropical plants flourished when the home was first built. Sometime in the 1890s, the family even added a glass dome ceiling to make the room a conservatory, but it was renovated in 1908 into a breakfast room with wood paneling to match the next door dining room. Even today, the room affords a gorgeous view of the gardens through the many windows that soak up the morning sunlight. A butler’s pantry next to the dining room relied on a dumb-waiter to deliver food from the kitchen down below. Designed with a large walk-in cooler, the lower-level kitchen helped keep smells and heat from the rest of the home.
The second floor Upstairs on the second level, bedrooms and bathrooms are decorated in distinctly different styles. In what is called the Green Room, a large glass light fixture of teardrops and grape clusters illuminates the fireplace from what was originally the front parlor. The Doll Room is flanked by bright red velvet curtains and a delicate French Aubusson tapestry-type rug from 1900. Painted a pale green with a lovely view overlooking the gardens, a study called the Audubon Room features several prints from the first published set of the Audubon Society. The massive master bathroom originally had a tub with handheld shower attachment until the early 1900s when a separate shower stall was added. Decked in gray and white marble, this stately room seems fit for a king. The large master bedroom is flanked by a bath for "her," which was added in 1927 and is femininely decorated in pale shades of pink.
The other original bathroom on the second floor was renovated in the early 1900s with the addition of a "needles shower." Installed back when hot springs were all the rage, the cage-type shower’s multi-directional sprays aimed at specific body parts were touted for their therapeutic effects. A thermostat and filter system made this shower "state-of-the-art," yet it was probably difficult to maintain sufficient water pressure to achieve the desired effect. A guest bedroom now called the Blue Room displays some of the family’s clothing from the period, including a white linen boy’s sailor-type suit, which belonged to William Wiman, husband of Charles’ daughter Anna. An 1896 photograph shows the suit as worn by their son, Charles Deere Wiman, who would later live in the home himself for many years. On the third floor were children’s bedrooms, a nanny room, sewing room and staff quarters. Equipped with an elevator Another advanced feature of the home was the elevator running from the lower level kitchen to the third floor.
While the exact date of installation is not known, the elevator was in place prior to the 1899 fire on the third floor. Although no one was home at the time, William Wiman returned to discover the fire and ran upstairs in an attempt to help fight it. Apparently, he became confused in all the chaos and fell through the glass door down the elevator shaft three stories. According to the local newspaper report, he was critically injured but eventually recovered. The 1899 fire resulted in extensive remodeling, which also altered the roofline of the home. A pool for the palace Charles Wiman is also the reason for another unique feature of the property. Tucked into the hillside just 250 feet north of the home was an indoor pool built in 1917. Only its garden-terraced roof could be seen from the home above as a tunnel connected the two. The large pool featured imported Italian tile in a creamy white with blue accent pattern. In fact, it’s this tile that proves the pool was built by Katherine Butterworth because the back of the tile was imprinted with the letter "B" to designate the purchaser, a common practice for Italian tile of that time.
According to the story, Charles’ aunt built it to help him rehabilitate from a leg injury caused by a plane crash while he was training to be a WWI pilot. He later served the country as colonel of ordnance in Washington, DC during World War II. Many Moline-area guests enjoyed entertainment in the palatial pool. One big party thrown by Charles Wiman used a showboat theme and featured a giant prow of a paddle wheel steamer at one end of the enclosure. After the home was vacated in 1976, the pool fell into disrepair and had to be demolished in 1989. Thankfully, numerous photographs exist to tell the story yet today. A family tree with many branches Now called the Deere-Wiman home, "Overlook" was originally built for Charles and Mary Deere, who raised daughters Anna and Katherine within its hallowed halls.
Ironically, Charles Deere built this lavish mansion just as discontent was rising among his company’s customers. A farmer movement led by an organization called the "Grange" lashed out at the low price of farm products and the high price of farm implements. The Panic of 1873 and grasshopper plagues of 1874 only added to the troubles facing farmers. Yet, Charles seemed unfazed by the uprising and continued to run the company with confidence, adding five main branch houses to the organization before the turn of the century. With his health failing and the sudden death of his daughter Anna at age 42, Charles himself passed away in October of 1907. Mary remained in the home and welcomed back son-in-law William Wiman and his two sons, Charles and Dwight. The younger Wimans returned to Overlook on breaks from school. After they lost their grandmother in 1913 and their father in 1914, the boys came under the care of their aunt and uncle Katherine and William Butterworth who lived in the home across the street.
Yale graduate Charles Deere Wiman married a southern belle named Pattie Southall and came back to Moline, making Overlook his home while he ran Deere & Co. after his uncle William Butterworth retired in 1928. The couple had two daughters, Mary Jane and Patricia. The latter who married William Hewitt, the fourth generation descendent of John Deere to run the company from 1955 to 1982. After Charles Wiman died in 1955, wife Pattie lived in the home until her death in 1976. Eventually, the home became the property of the William Butterworth Memorial Trust and is open to the public for tours yet today.
Text and photosÝ © 2001 Brenda Kruse. |
