Exterior of the house features gray cement walls with tobacco brown wood trim and roof of heavy split cedar wood shakes. The front porch and patio area has a red brick wall—bricks being from the old Chicago Great Western depot which was razed some years ago. Adjoining the house at the rear is a family room and double garage.
The Johnsons occupied the home until the summer of 1974 when it was sold to Dr. and Mrs. Gary LeValley. The Johnsons then moved into their new home at 1640 N. 22nd St.
Armstrong, who built the house at 1302 10th Ave. N., was married to the former Mary Crawford, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Crawford, well-known early Fort Dodge residents. Mrs. Armstrong was prominent in Iowa circles and was a member of the State Conservation Commission when Dolliver State Park was dedicated in 1925. The Armstrongs were parents of a daughter, Elizabeth.
For many years Armstrong was associated with the Oleson Drug Company as a pharmacist and vice president of the firm. Later he was in the Crawford-Armstrong real estate firm and manager of the Fort Dodge Chemical Company.
THE WELCH HOME
A Fort Dodge shoe dealer, E. A. Welch and his wife, Helen, built this attractive English type home nearly 50 years ago at 1105 Crawford Avenue. Designed by Mrs. Welch and architect Frank Griffith, the house is patterned after the Ann Hathaway Cottage at Stratford-on-Avon where author William Shakespeare resided.
The Welch home
1105 Crawford Avenue
The two-story home has gray cedar shingle shake siding with white wood trim and a thatched shingle roof. The first floor includes hallway inside the front entrance, living room with arched entryway, a den converted from a former porch, kitchen with glassed-in dining room, bedroom and bath.
The formal dining room on the first floor has a round walnut table with six leaves—a gift from Miss Maude Lauderdale, first curator of the Webster County Historical Society. There are also 12 walnut chairs, a gift of O. M. Oleson, pioneer Fort Dodge pharmacist and uncle of Mrs. Welch. The upstairs had two bedrooms and full bath and a large attic playroom. The house is now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Richard O. Welch and family.