This is another of the attractive Snell Place homes erected in the
1920s. Located at 704 Crest Avenue, it was owned and occupied by the B.
B. Burnquist family for many years.
Built in 1924 by Emmett Mulholland, a Fort Dodge attorney, the house has
successively been occupied by attorneys, doctors and a packing plant
executive. Mulholland sold the house to the Burnquists in 1927 when he
and Mrs. Mulholland moved to Long Beach, Calif. Presently it is owned by
John J. Murray, Fort Dodge attorney, and his wife, Joan. The Murrays
acquired the house in 1961 and now reside there with their three sons
and daughter—John, Mike, Steve and Sheila.
The first floor of the house has an entrance hall, living room with
fireplace, dining room, kitchen, den with half bath and sunporch. The
second floor has four bedrooms, two baths and sunporch. The basement was
remodeled into a recreation room by the Murrays. They also remodeled the
kitchen, installing a Franklin stove and making it into a “country
kitchen.”
Mr. and Mrs. Murray added a double garage and a large cement patio with
historic wrought iron railing. The railing came from balconies of the
Oleson Building at Central Avenue and Eighth Street when it was razed to
make way for the City Green parking lot.
B. B. Burnquist, who practiced law in Fort Dodge for 60 years, was a
native of Dayton. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Burnquist, he was born in
1884, attended schools in Dayton and graduated from Fort Dodge High
School. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1907 with a law
degree and began practice in Fort Dodge. Burnquist was associated with
various law firms here starting with the Healy brothers. Later he was in
the firms of Healy, Burnquist & Thomas, Price & Burnquist, Helsell,
Burnquist, Bradshaw & Dolliver and Helsell & Burnquist.
Burnquist was prominent in Republican politics and was Webster County
Republican chairman, state Republican chairman and served as Webster
County attorney. He died in 1967 at age 83; Mrs. Burnquist preceded him
in death in 1964. They were parents of two sons and two
daughters—William S. Burnquist; Boyd Burnquist; Mrs. N. H. (Betty)
Batchelder and Mrs. Howard (Caroline) Borgerding.