Learning from the Past in Vinton

The Ray House is open for free tours from 1:00 to 4:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays during June, July, and August, and for special events.

Frank and Emma Ray

Frank G. Ray was born in Whiteside County, Illinois, on December 31, 1851. He came to Vinton at age 22 and became connected with the implement and coal business of F.T. Verharen. In 1875 the two men became partners in Verharen and Ray. After Mr. Verharen moved to Spencer, Iowa, to manage a branch there, the partnership was dissolved, and Frank Ray operated the Vinton business. His "implement house" was located in the building at 511 First Avenue (where RJ Ender Computer is now), built in 1896. Mr. Ray sold farm implements, seed, coal, coke, and carriages. The business, which he sold in 1909, was described as "large and progressive."

Frank Ray was married in 1876 to Miss Emma Whiteside of Pomeroy, Ohio. She met Mr. Ray in Vinton, where she taught school for three years. They had a son, Earle K., and a daughter, Belle. The Rays built the home on the northwest corner of the block (902 First Avenue) for Earle when he married.

Mrs. Ray was known as a down-to-earth person. Contrary to popular belief, the Rays did not employ maids or butlers. Sometimes high school-age girls from rural Vinton would stay with the Rays in order to attend school in town, since country schools only went to eighth grade. They would do housework in exchange for room and board, and this is probably where stories of maids at the Ray House originated.

In June 1882, Mr. Ray purchased the land for his home. Eleven years later, in 1893, the basement and foundation were built. They were allowed to "cure" for a year before the house was constructed. Bricks for the house were formed on location. Construction was completed in 1894.

In 1892 Mr. Ray was involved with establishing the Kelley Canning Company. He was vice president of this company when it reorganized and changed its name to the Iowa Canning Company in 1895; later he served as secretary. The company was the largest corn-canning business in the world in 1909, producing an average of 8 million cans of corn annually. Four plants in Vinton, LaPorte City, Garrison, and Shellsburg packed corn exclusively. The two largest plants employed around 250 people during the packing season.

In 1899 Mr. Ray was president of the Vinton Telephone Company. He was a founder of what is now US Bank of Vinton and served as the second president of the bank from 1910 until his death in 1935.

Frank Ray is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Vinton, as are Emma Ray, Earle and Belle. Frank Ray�s only grandchild, Emma Janet Ray Rosemond, was born in 1902. She had two children, a daughter who lives in New York state and a son in California.

The Ray House

The Frank G. Ray House is a three-story Queen Anne mansion which the Ray family occupied until the mid-1930s. Murphy and Wallace architectural firm designed the home. The foundations are of Anamosa stone. The building, attic and all, was lit by electricity and "well supplied with electric call buttons." A water motor pumped water from the cistern to a tank in the attic, from which all parts of the house were supplied hot and cold water except the "water closets."

From outside the house, one can appreciate the three-story turret with curved windows, various kinds of wood siding, three small fresh-air porches, and the interesting roof line. Throughout the house are leaded glass and stained glass windows and picket doors. The six coal-burning fireplaces are all different in design and wood. The house has a full basement with high ceilings, and a carriage port on the north. In the late 1930s (after Frank�s death) the house was converted by Hamilton Tobin into six apartments; a seventh apartment was in the upstairs of the carriage house. The house and carriage house were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The house remained apartments until 1985, when it was given to the Benton County Historical Society by Casper Guyer. The Ray House Committee of the historical society is in the process of restoring the home to its early splendor.

The Horridge House is located at 612 First Avenue, Vinton, IA. Architecturally, this house is one of the most beautiful homes in Vinton and is believed to have been built in 1863. The house is named after the builders, George and Elizabeth Rock Horridge.

George Horridge was born in Pennsylvania in 1833. He was one of ten children, only two lived to maturity. His parents were natives of England. George moved to Linn County, Iowa in 1851 and to Vinton in 1858. Mr. Horridge started as a tinsmith with the firm of Rock & Brothers in 1860. Later, he continued in a partnership with the widow of Mr. Rock, Elizabeth. The name of the firm at that time was Rock and Horridge Hardware.

In 1863, Mr. Horridge married Elizabeth Rock. Elizabeth was also born in Pennsylvania. She and her first husband, A.H. Rock, had four children. Only two lived, G.T. Rock and Susan Rock. Susan married a wealthy lumberman and lived in Lake Charles, LA. In 1898, at the age of 65, George turned the hardware business over to G.T. and concentrated on the banking business. G.T. continued the business for some time, but later also moved to Lake Charles, LA.

Shortly after George and Elizabeth were married, the Horridge House was built. It is believed that the original structure consisted of the center hall, two large rooms at the front, the kitchen (now the dining room) and bedrooms upstairs. Later, a living room (now the library) and a kitchen were added. The kitchen then became the present dining room.

Elizabeth was twenty years older than Mr. Horridge and she died in 1900. In 1903, when Mr. Horridge was 70 year old, he married Carrie Smyth from Washington County, Iowa. The second Mrs. Horridge was thirty years younger than her husband. George died in 1931 at the age of 98.

Mr. Horridge had been a member of the City Council, school board and one of the principle contributors to the public library. An ardent Republican, he never missed voting in an election. He was also President of the Farmers Band and had been ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church for over 50 years. He gave the beautiful pipe organ that is still in use today. The church is next door to the Horridge House.

The second Mrs. Horridge added the downstairs sunroom, a large bedroom, bathroom and remodeled the kitchen. She also added an attached garage off the sunroom for her electric car. Upstairs, she added a full-windowed screen-in sleeping room, bathroom, one bedroom, a hallway and back stairs. The living room fireplace was constructed after one of her many trips to Europe where she purchased a large bas relief in Italy. This is still over the fireplace.

The French pier mirror is also one of her purchases. It is said she loved to travel and is remembered driving the Vinton streets in her electric car with her big hats waving in the wind. Carrie Horridge died in January 1949 at the age of 76. Both she and George are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery located in East Vinton.

The Vinton Historical Society took possession of the Horridge House in August 1972 at a cost of $18,500. Final payment on the house was made four years later in December 1976. It is one of three properties presently owned by the Historical Society. The other properties include the Ray House at 912 First Avenue and the Railroad Depot.

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