The Samuel H. and Isabel Elkins House
The Elkins House is one of the last in a row of stately 19th century houses that once graced North 10th Street between Columbia College and Columbia’s central business district. The house was built around 1882 for Samuel H. and Isabel Smith Elkins, and it remained in their family for close to half a century.
Elkins House; Photo by HornColumbia, Wikimedia Commons (2009)
Mr. Elkins (1847-1909) was a grocer and venture capitalist who later served as Columbia's postmaster. In 1925 Isabel Elkins sold the house to C. F. and Madge Edmonston, who operated a boarding house there, no doubt catering to students of nearby Christian College, now known as Columbia College. In the 1960s, it changed hands again and was subdivided into several apartments.
The Elkins' chose a fashionable genre for their large new house, the Italianate style, which was nationally popular for houses from the 1840s to the mid-1880s. While the Elkins' may have chosen a well-established style when they built the house in the 1880s, they were decidedly more adventurous when they added a new porch years later. The distinctive front porch is known to have been in place by 1908. It is shown on a 1908 Sanborn map of the house. The curvy lines of the front porch are typical of the Art Nouveau style that was trendy around the turn of the 20th century.
After years of serving as apartments, the house was purchased by the Koonse and Fiegel families in the 1990s. The new owners sponsored its listing in the National Register of Historic places and undertook a comprehensive historic rehabilitation. That project included the repair of important exterior features, as well as the reversal of historically inappropriate interior changes. The house was added to the Columbia Historic Preservation Commission's Most Notable Properties list in 2001. The following article about the house appeared in the 19 November 1989 Tribune:
Article from 19 November 1989 Columbia Tribune
Sources:
Inventory Form prepared by Deb Sheals for the Columbia Historic Preservation Commission
The Sunday, November 19, 1989, Columbia Daily Tribune
Google Earth
CoMo Preservation is devoted to helping homeowners, landlords, and institutions prevent the destruction of historic architecture. Original period styles might be replicated but will forever lack the social history of authentic structures. Preserving historic places and spaces gives people a sense of place and boosts Columbia’s economy. You can get involved by volunteering, signing up for our mailing list, attending an event, becoming a member, or donating.
