We then cut down one block to Avenue F on 8th Street, where there are still a plethora of beautiful Nineteenth Century houses.

In particular, there are many Second Empire and Italianate houses.

Then there’s this massive church.

Union Presbyterian Church was founded in 1838, and is one of the oldest of its kind in the state of Iowa.

The current sanctuary looks to be from the 1880s or so.

The church is massive and is probably more of an auditorium in plan.

Next door is the northern Lee County Courthouse. As I mentioned before, the county is the only one in the state of Iowa with two courthouses, the other being in Keokuk.

A stunning example of the Greek Revival, it was built in 1841.

The jail was completed the same year; both buildings together cost $12,000.

This house nearby probably dates from around the same period.

The side streets in Fort Madison are pretty amazing, too.

This extremely old house is missing its front porch, obviously.

It’s interesting to see how the brick has a particular red hue to it in the area.

Heading down to Avenue G again, we spot a summer kitchen. Remember, during the winter, cooking was done in the main house to utilize the warmth to heat the home.

I don’t know if the pizza oven was original, though.