Home buyers who want to get in on the ground floor of a steadily emerging neighborhood can purchase a historic home in Union Park with an intriguing ownership backstory to enliven any dinner conversation lulls.

Covering the corner of Washington and Pennsylvania avenues, the four-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2,142-square-foot home is partially shielded by mature trees and recently updated to modern standards.

“There's something to be said for the romance of an older house with maybe a little bit of creak in the floors and the character that you get,” Realtor Jason Russell said.

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Built in 1902, the original owner was a British sea captain who left his imprint on the home design. “His wife was from the Midwest,” Russell explained. “The doorknobs, they're like what you would find over in England, where they're a little higher than they would be in America.”

Located less than 10 minutes north of the Iowa State Capitol, the property later became the personal home of scandal-plagued Iowa Gov. William L. Harding. “Big Bill” resided in the home following a highly controversial tenure lasting from 1917-’21, when he escaped impeachment but was ultimately censured by the Iowa House of Representatives, swaying his decision not to run for a second term.

Live in a former governor's private home in the Union Park neighborhood in Des Moines for $324,900. The home includes a fireplace.

Historical remnants are still found throughout the home, from a wood-burning fireplace, original decorative and practical finishes, to a natural light-filled attic. “It’s got great headspace up there. It’s kind of a blank canvas,” Russell said.

Live in a former governor's private home in the Union Park neighborhood in Des Moines for $324,900. The home includes a sunroom.

The ground floor is divided by a large, formal dining space and a family living area, and adds a completely remodeled kitchen area plus a large sunroom on the eastern side of the house.

One of the three upper-level bedrooms connects to a private outdoor balcony, resting on top of the sunroom below and also accessible from the garden via an unusual, metal spiral staircase.

Live in a former governor's private home in the Union Park neighborhood in Des Moines for $324,900. Here, the balcony view.

The finished section of the basement features plenty of storage opportunities, another family room, and a second laundry space to pair with one upstairs.

A detached three-car garage is accessible from either Washington or Pennsylvania avenues. The garden features a storage shed and a landscaped section with a water feature. In addition to blueberry bushes, pine trees, and evergreens, one of the largest trees is said to have been nurtured from a clipping taken from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello farm in Virginia.

Russell described Union Park as “a very up and coming neighborhood. You have amazing huge historic homes over there,” and noted a current rise in revitalization throughout the district, by new, young homeowners, and longtime residents pursuing home revitalization grants.

Reflecting on the positive changes, Russell shared he viewed the rise in interest following a similar pattern to the growing popularity of “Sherman Hill, 25 years ago.”

The home is listed at $324,900 by Jason Russell and Trisha Eslick Davis of Central Iowa Homes at Realty ONE Group Impact. Contact Russell at 515-201-1490 for more information and a private showing.

More on this house

Where: 738 E. Washington Ave., Des Moines

Asking price: $324,900

Year built: 1902

Square footage: 2,142 square feet

Lot size: 0.33 acres

Richard Lane is a freelance writer for the Des Moines Register. If you have a home we should feature, reach out to Susan Stapleton at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A historic, former Iowa governor’s home is listed for sale at $324,900 in Union Park