The historic name for this house is the Dr. Enoch T. and Amy Zewicki House, and today, it houses the Osage County Historical Society Museum. It was constructed around 1895 at 402 East Main Street in Linn, Missouri (Osage County). The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 27, 2002.
The house is a vernacular Queen Anne frame residence. The front porch is American Craftsman style which was added in the 1930s. The foundation is limestone and the walls are weatherboard. The house is significant due to its architecture. The contractor was Theodore Oidtmann, and the carpenter was Samuel Laughlin. The house is owned by the Osage County Historical Society.
Inside the home
The front door leads to a small foyer, which opens to three front rooms. The parlor is to the left and the dining room is straight ahead. The parlor has a front window bay and original photographs of the Zewicki family were hanging on the wall at the time the house was nominated for the National Register.
The bedrooms are to the right of the foyer. The dining room is in the center of the house and contains doors leading to the kitchen and master bedroom. The woodwork in the dining room had been painted white. The back door of the dining room leads to a new library and small bathroom. The kitchen is east of the dining room.
The attic contains two small finished rooms that are above the dining room and kitchen. Prior to 1927, without plumbing and electricity, an outhouse was across the backyard.
The Zewickis
This historic home was built for Dr. Enoch T. Zewicki, and his wife, Amy. Dr. Zewicki was a dentist and ran his practice from 1892 to 1929. They and their family were in the home for decades and decades. Some of their personal furnishings are still in the house. The house occupies a large corner lot and the yard is bounded on three sides by an ornamental iron fence.
Dr. Zewicki practiced dentistry in Osage County for 38 years and he and his family lived in the house most of those years. Zewicki was the son of Polish immigrants. He was born in Loose Creek in 1869 and had been in Osage County most of his life.
In 1890, Zewicki attended Louisville College of Dentistry in Kentucky and received his degree in 1892. He returned to Missouri and set up his practice in Linn. In 1894, he married Amy Busch and built their house on Main Street shortly after.
The Zewickis moved into their house around 1895 or 1896. It's believed the fence that surrounds the lots on Main Street is about the same age as the house. The Zewickis raised their three children in the house. Dr. Zewicki started his career as a dentist fairly early in the history of the profession which grew slowly in the Midwest.
Dr. Zewicki treated patients in surrounding communities as well. Unfortunately, after he retired in 1929, he died the following year on May 16, 1930. By that time, his children, Laura, Lola, and Woody, were grown. His daughters had married and moved out. Woody never married. Zewicki family members occupied the house for about 50 years after Dr. Zewicki's death.
Amy Zewicki remained in the house until she died in 1953. Of her skills, one was a gardener, and some of her gardens were restored by the Osage County Historical Society. The front of the house was remodeled around 1937 which included a Craftsman style front porch. In the early 1900s, the Victorian era was declining and the Craftsman and Prairie architectural styles were rising.
Visit here for more information about the Zewicki House Museum.
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