American Gothic House
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Dibble House
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| Location | 300 American Gothic St. Eldon, Iowa |
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| Area | 504 sq ft (46.8 m2) (house) .92 acres (0.37 ha) (lot) |
| Built | 1881–1882 |
| Architect | Busey and Herald (local carpenters) |
| Architectural style | Carpenter Gothic |
| NRHP Reference # | 74002291 |
| Added to NRHP | October 1, 1974 |
The American Gothic House, also known as the Dibble House, is a house in Eldon, Iowa, designed in the Carpenter Gothic style with a distinctive upper window. It was the backdrop of the 1930 painting American Gothic by Grant Wood. Generally considered Wood's most famous work and among the most recognized paintings in twentieth century American art, the painting is the model for hundreds of parodies across every creative medium. Grant Wood, who observed the house only twice in his lifetime, made only an initial sketch of the house—he completed American Gothic at his studio in Cedar Rapids.
First owned by Eldon resident Charles Dibble after its construction in 1881 and 1882, the home was (with one 1897 exception) a private residence until the late twentieth century. After a thirty-year preservation effort culminated with the donation of the house in 1991 to the State Historical Society of Iowa, the site now includes the original house in its 1930 form and a visitors center. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Since 1991, various caretaker-occupants have continued to rent the home privately.
Charles A. Dibble (born 1836 in Saratoga County, New York), by various accounts a railroad man, livery stable owner, and Civil War veteran, lived in Eldon in the late nineteenth century. He and his wife, Catharine, began building the house in 1881 for themselves and their eight children. Its relatively simple board-and-batten siding, white color, and moderate size—just 504 square feet (46.8 m2)—were quite common in nineteenth century Iowa architecture. A similar style can be observed in the birthplace of President Herbert Hoover in West Branch, built a decade before the American Gothic House, which features board-and-batten siding, a simple shingled roof, a central chimney, white color, and a moderate size as well. Unique and unusual exterior features of the house include its two Gothic windows in the gable and its steep-pitched roof. Both features would later be exaggerated by Grant Wood in American Gothic. The lower floor of the house contains three rooms and a bathroom, while the upper floor has two bedrooms. The house has been called the best-known example of a Carpenter Gothic cottage in the United States.
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