Daniel Hedges Mansion

Date: c. 1888

 

Description: This house, which once stood at 2803 Jackson Street, was the residence of Daniel T. Hedges, one of the major land developers for the Northside. Like John Peirce and other developers, Hedges platted his own addition on what would become the Northside, subdivided it into lots and then sold off the land for profit. He was involved in many other business ventures in Sioux City as well, including meatpacking, railroads, and transit, and was one of the major benefactors in bringing the cable car to the Northside. The financial backing of these enterprises was Hedges’s own company, the Union Loan and Trust Company, which went belly up in the Panic of 1893. Hedges never recovered from the financial blow and was forced to retreat west to seek new business ventures. This home that he built on Peirce’s Addition (Hedges Addition was just to the south) on Jackson Street was a fine example of Queen Anne Victorian Revival style architecture. The distinguishing features of the style on the Hedges Mansion are the steep and irregular roof, asymmetrical floorplan, smooth outer walls, a nearly full porch with spindlework columns, and a rounded tower. The Museum also has many fine photographs of the interior of the Hedges Mansion and the elaborate Victorian furniture and wallpaper. Many other homes in the Northside and all around Sioux City were built in this style, as it was an immensely popular revival style in the late 19th century. After Hedges left the city and his mansion, the house belonged to John and Rose Kelly, President and Vice President of the Sioux City Tribune. The house was torn down in 1938 as it was falling apart and no one could afford to buy the large house during the Great Depression. Today St. John Lutheran Church, built from 1949 to 1951, sits on the site.

 

Print made from glass-plate negative owned by Scott Key

 

On display