On the heels of the Moline 150 downtown birthday bash, the Deere-Wiman House – once home to four generations of John Deere’s family – will host its own sesquicentennial party atop the hill with a Porch Party from noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18. The party will feature food, music, history and fun. And after it, […]
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On the heels of the Moline 150 downtown birthday bash, the Deere-Wiman House – once home to four generations of John Deere’s family – will host its own sesquicentennial party atop the hill with a Porch Party from noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18.
The party will feature food, music, history and fun. And after it, the historic celebration will continue as the Deere-Wiman House hosts other free community events that will run through June 2023. The events were designed by The William Butterworth Foundation to celebrate the historic house built by Charles Deere in 1872 and the families who called it home.
Back then, Charles, John Deere’s son, planned the Deere-Wiman House for his wife, Mary Little Dickinson Deere, and their daughters, Anna and Katherine. The family’s Swiss Villa-style home was designed by a well-known, innovative and historically significant architect. The Deeres called it “Overlook” because from it they could view Deere’s factory and the growing city of Moline. The home is located at 1105 Eighth St., Moline, across from the Butterworth Center, located in the home Charles Deere built for his daughter Katherine. Both historic buildings are located in the appropriately named Overlook District.
Sunday’s events are part of a busy September schedule that also includes a 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, a presentation at the Butterworth Center by Neil Dahlstrom. He is Deere & Co.’s branded properties and heritage manager and author of the new book “Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern Agriculture.”
The week’s festivities will close on Tuesday, Sept. 20, with music at Butterworth Center at 3 p.m.
Sunday’s party is a far more casual affair. Quad Citians are urged to bring their lawn chairs so they can relax and enjoy a lineup of live music on the west porch of the Deere-Wiman House and in the gazebo in the gardens of Butterworth Center across the street.
Music begins at noon with the Teggler Jazz Trio followed by the Big Top Circus Band on the porch of Deere-Wiman House. Also at noon, Iowa City’s Flash in a Pan will be playing in the Butterworth garden gazebo.
Attendees also can scavenge digitally for fun facts about the Butterworth Center historic site and get swag in exchange or visit with members of arts and cultural organizations who will be on hand to share their crafts and engage you in an activity. Visitors also can examine antique and classic cars at the site courtesy of local car clubs. Or they can go underground with the Butterworth Center tunnel tour leading you from Butterworth Center to the separate Education Center where you will also be able to tour Mr. Butterworth's personal den and chauffeur's apartment.
Food trucks will serve up a variety of fun, festive and spicy food, organizers promise and visitors can eat in the Butterworth Center or use stand-up bistro tables on the terrace or in the garden to eat their piece of the free anniversary cake being baked for the occasion.
They also can drop by to Ask The Expert through the center’s historic preservation series in the Deere-Wiman House. Additional talks will be in the carriage house by local preservationists.
Gretchen Small will share the 150 year history of the Deere-Wiman House. The historic Deere site’s longtime director of programs and collections is a virtual encyclopedia of information about the house and the people who lived there.
With all that knowledge, she told the QCBJ, she’s always learning something new about the historic homes and Moline and the Quad Cities most historically prominent family.
After the death of John Deere descendant Pattie Southall Wiman in 1976, the Deere-Wiman House was donated for public use. And today it – and the nearby Butterworth Center – offers an authentic glimpse into Victorian family life and architectural innovations
Sunday’s Porch Party event is rain or shine; activities and music will move indoors in case of inclement weather.
The Porch Party schedule includes:
- Noon-2 p.m. - Ron Teggler Jazz Trio, DW West Porch Music.
- Noon-2 p.m. - Flash in a Pan, BWC Gazebo Music.
- 1 p.m. - 150th Anniversary in Butterworth Center Library.
- 2 p.m. - Free Anniversary Cake in Carriage House.
- 2 p.m. - Jed Poust, Butterworth Center Organ Concert.
- 2:30-4:30 p.m. - Big Top Circus Band Deere-Wiman West Porch Music.
- 3 p.m. - 150th Anniversary in Butterworth Center Library.
- 3-4:30 p.m. - Flash in a Pan, BWC Gazebo Music.
