Drake Neighborhood ASSOCIATION

A History of the House and Its Owners

Few Des Moines homes can claim an origin story as colorful as the Drake Neighborhood home at 21st and University. Its builder was Nicholas W. Johnson, who as born in Buenos Aires in 1829 and grew up in Connecticut. By the 1850s Johnson was captaining ships across the Atlantic — carrying cargo as far as Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, and on one voyage narrowly escaping capture Confederate raiders.

After the Civil War disrupted his shipping business, Johnson sold his ship and headed west. He settled in Madison County, Iowa in 1863, eventually amassing 960 acres and becoming one of the most extensive farmers in the region. In 1891 he and his wife Emma moved to Des Moines, and in 1895 they purchased the corner lot at 21st and University. Construction on their new home began in early 1896 and was complete by the year's end.

Johnson died in 1900 and his wife sold the house in 1902 to Albert H. Mabis, a prominent local businessman. The Mabis family owned the property until the mid-1930s, when Esther and Roy Caldwell purchased it and converted the home into a funeral home. Later the home was used as a religious retreat and guest house, and today is owned by the Schlarmann family.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Architectural Significance

The Johnson House is an unusual example in Des Moines of the Chateauesque style. This style derives from the grand Loire Valley châteaux of France and is rare in American domestic architecture. The most famous American example is the Biltmore estate, completed in 1895 — just one year before the Johnson House.

The 2½-story brick structure features large massing, a steeply pitched hipped roof, and a prominent front-facing gable. The building's signature decorative motif, the fleur-de-lis, appears in stone, ceramic tile, and leaded glass across both the exterior and interior. Inside, ornate plasterwork, carved woodwork, leaded glass, and two decorative fireplaces give the home its sense of opulence. Round "port hole" roundels alternating with carved fleur-de-lis on the entrance balustrade are thought to be a nod to Captain Johnson's seafaring past.

The design is attributed to prominent Des Moines architect Oliver O. Smith, responsible for landmarks including the old Iowa State Historical Building and the original Des Moines Public Library. No other home along 21st Street is as elaborate or in as original condition — making the Johnson House a genuine treasure of Des Moines's architectural heritage.