One of the few remaining landmarks in Fort Dodge is the historic Vincent
home at 824 3rd Ave. S. The house is now more than a century old, having
been built in 1871 by James Swain, a pioneer Fort Dodge resident who was
in the wholesale and retail drug business.
The house was purchased in 1879 by Webb Vincent, an early-day Fort Dodge
industrialist and one of the founders of the gypsum industry here in
1872. Associated with him at that time in the establishment of the Fort
Dodge Plaster Mills were George S. Ringland and Stillman T. Meservey.
The Webb Vincent family moved into the spacious home Oct. 17, 1879. It
had been occupied continuously by members of the family until the death
in 1969 of Mrs. Anne Vincent, widow of Donald Vincent.
The home has an exterior of red brick—a “soft brick” made from red clay
that was found extensively in this area. Foundation walls are of
limestone set in mortar. These stones of different sizes and roughly
hewn form a foundation wall about seven feet high. Exterior house walls
are 30 inches thick and interior walls are 24 inches thick.
Rooms of the house are large. Ceilings on the first floor are 14 feet
high, on the second floor 12 feet high and on the third floor nine feet
high. The third floor included a ballroom, 20 × 50 feet in size, where
many early-day parties were held.
[Illustration: The Vincent House
824 3rd Avenue South]
The Vincent House was entered on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1973 and in 1974 was allocated $1,200 in federal funds for
preservation purposes. The money will be used for restoration of the
third floor ballroom in the house.
The beautiful home at the northwest corner of Third Avenue South and
Ninth Street has been preserved through the years in excellent
condition. It survived a battle in 1957 and 1958 with the Federal
Government when it was proposed to raze the structure to make room for
the nearby Federal Building and Post Office.
Mrs. Anne Vincent bequeathed the historic home to the Fort Dodge YWCA.
Income from a $150,000 trust fund may be used by the YWCA to keep the
home in good repair and to redecorate it. The home is now being used by
the organization for many gatherings.