One of the few remaining landmarks in Fort Dodge is the historic Vincent home at 824 3rd Ave. S. The house is now more than a century old, having been built in 1871 by James Swain, a pioneer Fort Dodge resident who was in the wholesale and retail drug business.

The house was purchased in 1879 by Webb Vincent, an early-day Fort Dodge industrialist and one of the founders of the gypsum industry here in 1872. Associated with him at that time in the establishment of the Fort Dodge Plaster Mills were George S. Ringland and Stillman T. Meservey.

The Webb Vincent family moved into the spacious home Oct. 17, 1879. It had been occupied continuously by members of the family until the death in 1969 of Mrs. Anne Vincent, widow of Donald Vincent.

The home has an exterior of red brick—a “soft brick” made from red clay that was found extensively in this area. Foundation walls are of limestone set in mortar. These stones of different sizes and roughly hewn form a foundation wall about seven feet high. Exterior house walls are 30 inches thick and interior walls are 24 inches thick.

Rooms of the house are large. Ceilings on the first floor are 14 feet high, on the second floor 12 feet high and on the third floor nine feet high. The third floor included a ballroom, 20 × 50 feet in size, where many early-day parties were held.

The Vincent House was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and in 1974 was allocated $1,200 in federal funds for preservation purposes. The money will be used for restoration of the third floor ballroom in the house.

The beautiful home at the northwest corner of Third Avenue South and Ninth Street has been preserved through the years in excellent condition. It survived a battle in 1957 and 1958 with the Federal Government when it was proposed to raze the structure to make room for the nearby Federal Building and Post Office.

Mrs. Anne Vincent bequeathed the historic home to the Fort Dodge YWCA. Income from a $150,000 trust fund may be used by the YWCA to keep the home in good repair and to redecorate it. The home is now being used by the organization for many gatherings.