Haines House, with a previous color scheme, pictured in 2012. Photo: Polk County Assessor
(Altoona, IA) -- A group in Altoona is trying to preserve the future of one of the city's oldest homes.
Alex Payne with the Altoona Area Historical Society, tells WHO TV 13 the goal is saving the house.
"So we really want to make sure this home is preserved for future generations, without anyone going in, and chopping up, and destroying the historic integrity of this home," Payne said.
The Haines House in the 200-block of 2nd Street SE dates to 1878, with an addition to the current structure built in 1919, according to the group's Facebook page.
The city is voting next Monday, October 7th, on whether to rezone the area for commercial property.
"We are asking the City Council [to really] understand the history and importance of this home, and make sure this stays residential," Payne said.
The AAHS has posted plans to purchase the home, and is lobbying the city to keep the area residential. They've also started an online petition for saving the structure.
As a note of history, the home was first constructed by early Altoona settler Thomas Haines, and was later the home and office of Dr. William Carpenter, who served as Polk County Coroner from 1917-1918, and from 1926 to 1936, according to AAHS.