The History of Jewell's "Plowman" House

 

Jessie Eilert

Jada Eilert, daughter of Jason and Jessie Eilert, stands in the open staircase of their Jewell home. The 119-year old home was originally built by Edgar and Emma Haskins Young but is known to many as the "Plowman" house. Photo courtesy of Jessie Eilert.

The home at 518 Broadway in Jewell, the "Plowman" house was built in 1901 by Edgar and Emma Haskins Young. The 119-year old home is currently owned by Jason and Jessie Eilert.

The builder and first owner, Edgar Young, came to Jewell County from Livingston, Ill. Clippings from local newspapers indicate he was teaching in county schools by 1887. A younger brother joined him in Jewell County in the late 1890s but the majority of his family remained in the Livingston, Ill. area.

The Haskins family arrived in Jewell County in 1874. Emma's parents, Joel and Susan Mitchell Haskins, homesteaded near Randall. Joel was called Doctor Haskins. He was an osteopath known and liked for his power as a "magnetic healer."

Edgar Young and Emma Haskins were married on Aug. 5, 1891, at Randall. He was described as "one of the foremost teachers of Jewell county." Young was also at various times a Vicksburg Township trustee, a clerk of the court and the Jewell County appraiser.

The Youngs lived in their Jewell home until the early 1920s. In 1925, they moved to Randall but retained ownership of the home until as late as 1929. Records indicate it was sold to grocery store owner, Lewis Gavin, though at some time the Young's regained ownership. Susan Young, daughter of Edgar and Emma Young, sold the home to Dr. Carl and Violet Boogaart Plowman. This was probably after Edgar Young's death in 1943.

Charles Plowman, Carl's grandfather, was an early settler in Jewell County. He brought the Plowman family to a homestead near Jewell in 1870. Carl's parents, William and Katherine Evans Plowman, continued to live and farm in the Jewell area. Carl and two of his brothers became medical doctors with Carl returning to Jewell to establish his practice.

Violet's parents, Hendrix and Jenny Hollander Boogaart did not live in Jewell County until the late 1920s. Hendrix came to the United States in 1888 from Holland with his parents and eight other siblings. The Boogaarts lived in Norton and Phillips counties before Hendrix brought his own family to Jewell County. Hendrix, or Henry as he was known in Jewell, was part of the Boogaart family that developed the Boogaarts grocery chain. At one time, Henry owned half of Jewell's Boogaarts Store.

Carl and Violet Plowman are remembered to be living in the home in the 1950s. When the Plowmans lived in the home, it had a huge oak tree in the front yard, the greenest grass in town and a perfectly trimmed hedge in the backyard.

Dr. Plowman retired in 1979 after 50 some years of delivering babies and treating his heart patients. Heart disease was Plowman's specialty and patients came to him from the surrounding area. Plowman was concerned about his health and was perhaps Jewell's first "walker" back before it was "cool."

However, his passion was water skiing and he skied into his 80s. He took children from Jewell to Lovewell Lake and taught them how to ski. Many of those children he had known since they were babies in the delivery room.

Carl Plowman died in 1989 and Violet in 2000. After their deaths, his sons sold the house to Inez Tillery. Tillery was the owner of the old Tastee Freez at the north edge of town. Eventually she sold the home to Jesse and Kris Williams. Jason and Jessie Eilert bought the house in 2017.

The Eilert family, Jason and Jessie along with their son, Jensen, and daughter, Jada, enjoy the house. The open stairway is a beautiful one and one of the things the Eilerts appreciate about the home. Up the open stairway the second story of the home has three bedrooms and a bathroom.

The family is also grateful the woodwork in the home had never been painted. The walls, however, had several layers of wall paper to remove. The house has hardwood floors and high ceilings. The high ceilings and the "space" are both aspects of the home the newest owners enjoy.

 

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