Leigh Elsey House in early 1900s

Leigh Elsey House in 2003

This house was built in 1911 and was home to some of Des Moines's oldest settlers. The Elsey Family first came to the area in 1884 and settled in the Sunnydale area. In 1906 William Boyd Elsey moved to Des Moines to work with his brothers in one of the local sawmills. He was a member of the Harmony Quartet, a singing group, along with Richard C. Finnell and Elsey's brothers Earl and James. The House is one and one half stories with gabled roof and recessed porch extending along the width of the north side. The porch is contained under the main roof slope which is supported by four pairs of small square posts on wooden piers. Above the porch is a shed roofed dormer with three hinged windows.