Stratton House
303 E. Washington St., Centerville, IAThe Stratton House derives its significance due to its Gothic Revival Style and the contributions of its owner/builder to the community of Centerville. Few Gothic Revival residences in brick remain in Iowa. Although this structure lacks the Gothic Revival lancet arches, its plan, steeply pitched gables, and bargeboard trim set it apart not only from other residences in the immediate area but in the state as well.
Jonathan F. Stratton was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania in 1801. Moving to Michigan in the 1820s, he was an early community leader, working as a surveyor, commissioner of highways, and Justice of the Peace. In 1841 he was the first to stake a claim in Appanoose County, Iowa, west of the Chariton River and about two miles east of Cincinnati. After moving to Udell Township in 1843, his home was the site of the first religious meeting and the first election held in the county.
He is, in addition, credited with starting the first school in the northern part of the county at his home where six or seven pupils were taught by his wife. In 1845 he erected the first grist mill and in 1846 surveyed, platted, and settled in the new county seat, Centerville. It was in Centerville that he built the present house in 1858; where he died in 1884.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.