Catalpa (Greenfield, Iowa)
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Catalpa | |
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| Location | Southeast of Greenfield, Iowa |
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| Coordinates | 41°13′55″N 94°21′37″W / 41.23194°N 94.36028°W |
| Area | 200 acres (81 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000776[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1974 |
Catalpa, generally known as Wallace Farm, is a historic farm located near the small city of Orient, Iowa, United States. It is associated with Henry Cantwell Wallace, who owned and operated the influential agricultural publication Wallaces' Farmer, and served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1921-1924). It is also associated with his son, Henry Agard Wallace, who followed his father at the newspaper and served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1933-1940), Vice President of the United States (1941-1945) and U.S. Secretary of Commerce (1945-1946). He was the Progressive Party candidate for president in 1948.[2] This was one of several farms owned by the Rev. Henry Wallace, Henry Cantwell's father. It was acquired by the family in 1877, and it was operated by a tenant farmer until Henry "Harry" Cantwell took it over. His son, Henry Agard, was born here in 1888. After five years, Harry returned to his studies at Iowa State University in Ames and the family left the farm at that time.
Catalpa was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 (as "southeast of Greenfield).[1] The designation includes the farmhouse and outbuildings, which are modest frame structures with gable roofs, and a 200-acre (81 ha) plot of farmland. The house and barn were built before the Wallaces moved here in 1887.[2]
The house consists of a two-story rectangular structure with a smaller, one-and-a-half-story rectangular wing. Notable features include the paired windows on the second floor of the main section and a shed-roof porch supported by posts extending from the smaller wing. The original clapboard exterior has been replaced with asbestos shingles, while the roof retains what appear to be original wooden shingles. The extent of interior modifications remains uncertain, but they are believed to be minimal and characteristic of typical updates made to modest farmhouses. The house received a new foundation in 1961.
Located further from the farmhouse, within the original 200-acre Wallace Farm, are the original barn and various outbuildings. The barn’s wooden vertical siding is significantly deteriorated.[2]
