Welcome
to Farmington, Iowa
Home of Indian Lake Park and the
Strawberry Festival
Download Farmington Brochure ~ Here
Download Welcome Information and City Map ~ Here
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Home of Indian Lake Park and the Strawberry Festival
Download Farmington Brochure ~ Here Download Welcome Information and City Map ~ Here |
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The Goodin Building, located at 106 North Front Street, in Farmington, Iowa, was built in 1875 for William Goodin, a prominent, local businessman. The building fronts North Front Street, and is across the street from the Des Moines River. It is of brick construction, a soft type of brick made in Van Buren County. It is a full two-story building, constructed in the late Victorian/Romanesque style, as is the Satterly building next door which shares a common wall. There are only a a few buildings built in the 19th century that still remain in the downtown commercial area. There was a town fire in 1874 that destroyed most of the buildings on Front Street. The Goodin Building is associated with the community's core of old surviving businesses. William Good had the building built for his grocery business. The upper floor was for his family's living quarters and a large room was put aside for the Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge. William Goodin was one of the founding members of the Masonic Hall and was an officer. The site that the Goodin Building is built on was originally purchased by Abel Galland, from the United States Government, on February 12, 1839. Henry Bateman subsequently bought the property from Galland, and then sold the property to the town of Farmington on February 21, 1840. On March 18, 1867 the current lot 3, in block 2, on Front Street was purchased by Sophia Leonard, who built the first building on the site. The Leonard building, however, burned in the town fire of 1874. William Good bought the building in 1875, and built the present commercial building that same year. After William Goodin's death the building was left to his daughter, Inez Goodin Kelley, on October 17, 1924. Inez Goodin Kelley then sold the property to J. W. Miller, trustee of Mount Moriah Lodge Number 27, Farmington, Iowa, for $2200.00 on November 15, 1924. The Mount Moriah Lodge sold the property to Raymond E. and Helen L. Holland on July 10, 1981. The Hollands used the property for commercial use as a chain saw and lawnmower repair shop until they sold the property to Gerald and Amber Cochenour in 1998. The Cochenours used the building as a heating and cooling business, located on the ground floor. The Cochenours were successful in their application to have the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, and then sold the building to Kent Muntz in 2005. The Goodin Building has a full basement and a cut limestone foundation. It measures approximately 26' x 91' and has one outside and one inside chimney that rise above a flat roof. The arched windows, both on the upper and lower facade, are original and still intact. These windows rest on limestone sills. The lower level has two store front entries with a separate entry to the upstairs. The entrance to the rear of the building is through a double door into what was originally a warehouse, used for stocking a large grocery and general store. This door has been reconfigured and a part of the original opening has been bricked over. Some of the windows in the rear of the building on each side of the back entrance have also been covered. The interior remains primarily in its original state, electrical equipment and two bathrooms have been added, one on each floor. A dropped ceiling was added to the two front rooms on the ground level within the last twenty years. The upper meeting hall had some tiles applied to the ceiling and sub-flooring, but most of this has been removed and original wood ceilings and floors remain. No additions have been added to the original structure and very little modernization has been incorporated into the building. The entire two-story structure is made of brick.
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The Goodin Building
