Five Burlington homes dating from Iowa’s territorial days to the Roaring Twenties will open their doors to visitors Sept. 26 and 27 as part of the annual Heritage Trust Tour of Homes.
Organizer Lin Parks said the tour showcases how generations of homeowners have preserved, updated, and adapted these historic properties — blending classic 19th- and 20th-century craftsmanship with modern living.
“It shows people how you can take an old home and make it livable for today—add bathrooms, showers, garages—and do it in a very historical kind of way,” Parks said.
Parks noted that while maintaining an older home comes with its own quirks, from sparse outlets to squeaky floors, the craftsmanship holds up over time.
“When you live in an old house, you expect all that stuff,” Parks said. “And the people who live in the old houses really try to keep them up.”
This year’s lineup features the following homes, with details about their histories and renovations provided by Parks:
- 713 N. Main St. (The Abiathar and Nancy Corey White House): Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, the house began as a pre-statehood claim cabin built to satisfy a U.S. Land Office requirement for proof of improvement. The Whites used it to obtain pre-emption certificate No. 203 at an 1841 land sale—five years before Iowa became a state. Abiathar, a carpenter who helped found Aspen Grove Cemetery in 1843, ran a sash and door factory on the lot just north. David and Kay Weiss purchased the property in 2007 when it was facing potential demolition and restored it to a single-family home. Inside, one room still retains its original lath interior.
- 1448 West Ave. (“God’s Pocket”): Sitting on nearly an acre across from Perkins Park, this Victorian went up around 1873. Beginning in 1917, three generations of the family of Burlington dentist Dr. Lorenz Naumann lived in the house. His grandson, John Lorenz Collins, gave the property its enduring nickname. Current owners Brent and Terri Worthington have continued extensive renovations, illuminating the home at night and adding an expanded garage integrated into the historic architecture.
- 1031 N. Seventh St.: Built around 1893, this Victorian farmhouse reads like a directory of local commerce. Over the decades, it housed traveling salesmen for John Blaul & Sons and Drake Hardware, a Mississippi Pearl Button Company superintendent, a YMCA general secretary, an automatic phonograph entrepreneur, and Richard K. Howard, a press foreman for The Hawk Eye whose family lived there for 53 years. Renovated inside by Gregory Jochims, current owners Matt and Jordan Brown added a screened porch and an extensive collection of Lego sculptures throughout the interior.
- 800 N. Fifth St.: Built around 1905 by James Moir—whose family owned the Mississippi Pearl Button Company—this three-story brick home blends Spanish influences with deep local ties. When current owners Sarah and Marty Mogk tore up the driveway, they unearthed spent button blanks and drilled mussel shells left behind by the company. The couple stripped the woodwork back to its natural finish, converted a bedroom into a primary dressing room, built a kitchen echoing the original butler’s pantry, designed two bathrooms inspired by Sarah's travels in Africa, turned a men's drawing room into a Bourbon Room, and transformed the old ballroom into a speakeasy-style lounge.
- 2401 Bittersweet Place: Built in 1924 for Robert R. Burrus, president of Burrus Granite Co. (whose brother built a matching home next door), this Colonial Revival was later owned for nearly four decades by local attorney John C. Riley. Current owners Derek and Savanna Evans have preserved signature details like arched dormers, glass pocket doors, a third-floor walkup suite, a porte-cochere, and a second-floor built-in ironing board, while adding a newer kitchen, replacement windows, and a larger garage and workshop.
Beyond the architectural preservation and the history of who lived there and what they did for a living, Parks said the tour offers a unique view of how Burlington residents style and live inside historic spaces.
“It’s a tour of these historic homes, but it’s also seeing how people live and how they decorate their homes,” Parks said. “So it's just fun for people to go through and look at other people's stuff. It's also fun to see how they kept the balustrades and the cove molding and all the wainscotting and all that wonderful stuff that comes with the old houses that you just don't find today.”
The tour is run entirely by volunteers, with all proceeds supporting the Heritage Trust’s preservation grant program. The organization awards matching grants of up to $5,000 for historic restoration projects. Grants have funded work on the Capitol Theater, local churches, and private residences undergoing historically accurate exterior repairs.
The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door of any of the homes on tour days.
Advance tickets are available through Friday at Hy-Vee on Agency, Kempker’s True Value at 608 S. Ninth St., Weird Harold’s at 411 Jefferson St., Preservation Station at 213 Valley St., and the Welcome Store at the Port of Burlington, 400 N. Front St.
Tickets are transferable between attendees until all listed home stops are checked off, and route maps are provided at every location.
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