Dr. Anna E. and Andrew A. Johnstone House

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

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]

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

  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. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  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