Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House

The Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House (also known as the Royal House) is a historic house in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Built in 1887, the Queen Anne-style house was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[1] It was included as a contributing property in the Polk County Homestead and Trust Company Addition Historic District in 2016.[2]

Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House
Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House is located in Iowa
Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House
Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House is located in the United States
Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House
Location1830 8th St.
Des Moines, Iowa
Coordinates41°36′40″N 93°37′42.6″W / 41.61111°N 93.628500°W / 41.61111; -93.628500
Built1887
Architectural styleQueen Anne
Part ofPolk County Homestead and Trust Company Addition Historic District (ID16000687)
MPSTowards a Greater Des Moines MPS
NRHP reference No.96001152[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 25, 1996

It was a 10-room house,[3] on a triple lot.[4]

Anna E. Johnstone was a teacher before marrying. Andrew A. Johnstone owned a china and glassware store in downtown Des Moines.[4]: 211  They had two daughters. Andrew died of a stroke in 1892. Anna sold Andrew's business, moved with the children to a rented apartment, and rented out the house. She sold insurance and real estate and returned to school, receiving a medical degree in 1900 and becoming a doctor of osteopathy, and one of the first women to accomplish that. She moved back into the house and used part of it to operate her osteopathy practice.[3]

Anna was a student of Dr. Summerfield S. Still, who ran an osteopathic hospital and school in downtown Des Moines, and lived in North Des Moines.[4]: 134 

The house was still in the family in 2013: it was owned and occupied by Jon Royal, a great-grandson of Anna E. and Andrew A Johnstone.[3]

Anna Johnstone died in 1848.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ William C. Page. "Polk County Homestead and Trust Company Addition Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  3. ^ a b c Dave Elbert (April 26, 2013). "The Elbert files: One house, one family, 125 years". Des Moines Business Record. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "National Register of Historic Places: Towards a Greater Des Moines" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Anna Johnstone obituary notice 1948, Des Moines Register
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