Carson - Tracy House 601 N. 6th (1888)

William Carson 1859 – 1938 entered the lumber business with Rand Lumber Company, he was later selected for the 1st National Bank of Burlington.), Mr. Tracy (1860- 1932) graduated from Notre Dame and completed his law degree at Iowa City, he was appointed county attorney and was twice reelected on the democratic ticket. In 1874 Mr. Carson moved to Eau Claire, to take over the management of the Valley Lumber Company, in which he and Mr. Rand had bought a large interest, and of which he had been elected treasurer and president. That was perhaps his leading position in the business world for a number of years, though at the same time his official connection and investment in other enterprises were of an important nature. He was interested in the Rand Lumber Company, and the Burlington Lumber Company, both at Burlington, Iowa, and in the Carson-Rand Company, of Keokuk, Iowa. Mr. Carson was connected with several large lumber companies in Wisconsin and was looked upon as one of the representative lumbermen of the state.
The house was built in 1888. It is a 2 ½ story, frame and stone Queen Anne structure. The roofline has multiple gables and projections with dental work under the eaves. The gable ends and the entire second floor is covered with fish scale shingles. The 1st floor is a coursed ashlar with curved top windows. On the left front side of the building is a 3 story octagonal tower with decorative wood panels in the top floor and a domical roof. The house was remodeled at the turn of the century with the addition of a large intersecting gable second floor supported by
stone columns. A canopied porch was added along with palladian type windows were put in the gable ends. There was also some infill between the second-floor addition and the tower on both the second attic stories. A 4” limestone retaining wall borders the property. Two sets of ornamental stone steps come through the wall with a pair of stone greyhounds flanking the main entry steps.