Share Our World: Rensselaer Russell House Museum

Let me tell you about a very special house. This house has been with our family for 165 years.

On my research trip to Iowa in April I visited the Rensselaer Russell House Museum. I was excited to see the house again. I remember going to it years ago when we had a family reunion in Iowa in the early 1990s.

Here are pictures in front of the house during reunions- in the 1970s and 1990s.

I was quite amazed when my mom would tell us that she grew up in a house that is now a museum.

Here are couple of pictures of her in front of the house as a young girl and on the stairs inside of the house as a teenager.

Italianate architecture is inspired from Italian Renaissance (16th Century) architecture and has:

low-pitched or flat roofs projecting eaves corbels cornices
pedimented on the windows and doors Cupola Loggia Venetian or tripartite windows

Below you can see the projecting roof with the detailed cornice or molding at the top. Under the roof you see the decorative corbels or brackets.

You can also see the white pediment on the top of the windows.

In the view below, you can see a cupola on the top of the house, it is a miniature tower that helps the heat escape in the summers.

Here you can see the loggia or wrap around porch a bit better.

Now that you have seen the outside let's go inside.

They have brought it back to it's Victorian era.

Let's start with the stairway. I think it is great to see my mom on the stairs in the 1950s and what it looks like in 2026.

I visited with my uncle, my mom's brother, a couple of days before going to Waterloo. He encouraged me to make sure I looked for the grandfather clock in by the stairs.

I also found this picture of my ancestors in the entry way: Caroline Richards Russell 1830-1887 Rensselaer Russell 1828-1896 William Richards 1798-1891 Lillian Richards Russell 1869-1946 my great grandma

Caroline and Rensselaer moved to Waterloo from New York and built the house. Lillian was born and lived her whole life in the house. My grandfather, Russell and his sister Maxine were born and raised in the house also . My grandparents (Russell and Pauline) who I am writing the book about moved into the house with their children, my mom and her brothers after Lillian died in 1946. My mom was 6 years old at the time.

This is a picture of Lillian as a woman with her husband Clyde.

They built the Hotel Russell Lamson.

Lillian was quite an accomplished young woman and a great pianist.

Her father, Rensselaer bought her a Steinway. I remember hearing it was the first Steinway west of the Mississippi. That might be family lore. It was impressive to have that grand a piano in your home in the late 1800s.

She was the valedictorian of her high school class of 1887. She went to Hellmuth College in Canada and later to Chicago to study music. She was the organist and choir director for St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

Let's move on to some other rooms in the house.

The front entry room.

The dining room.

They had beautiful details like China and silver

Here is the kitchen

Let's head upstairs

The parents room. I was surprised at how colorful it is.

The bathroom

Another room, which much later was my mom's room. My uncle told me she had the room that was the top right when looking at the house.

It was a very special treat to visit the Rensselaer Russell house. To see what it might have looked like when my ancestors built it in the 1800s and to hear stories from that time.

I am grateful to the volunteer organization and the nice woman that gave me the tour.

Sources: Rensselaer Russell House Museum Rensselaer Russell House