In 1867, Leander and Charlotte Olmsted moved from Auburn, New York, to Polk County, Iowa, where they acquired 80 acres of land. They built a farm on the property and raised their sons, Millard and Clarence. In 1904, around the time Millard married Olive, Leander had a two-story, frame, American foursquare house built at 70th Street 4010.
Millard and Olive helped Leander farm and they raised their six children here. Both Millard and his brother Clarence were influential in the formation of Urbandale in 1917 - Clarence served on the first town council and Millard served on the school board. In 1937, 10 acres of the farm were platted for building lots.
Karl and Matie Urban acquired the house in 1947. The Urbandale Historical Society bought the house from their estate in 1987 and converted it into their headquarters to house their collection of Urbandale memorabilia. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
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