Spiker-Duffey House

570 North Wabash Street

Built: c. 1903

Style: Queen Anne

Warren Spiker and his wife Rose built this house but lived there only a few years. However, Ike and Grace Duffey resided in the home for over twenty-five years, beginning in 1932. Mr. Duffey owned I. Duffey and Son Co. Stock Yards in Largo, Indiana, and the Anderson Packers professional basketball team in Anderson, Indiana from 1946 to 1950. He also became the president of the Central Indiana Railroad in 1951. Mrs. Duffey was a founding member of the Wabash Art Appreciation Class in 1959 and was a charter member of the Wabash Unit of the Indiana State Symphony Society.

This prominent home is a late example of the Queen Anne style. The wooden shingles in the gables, large veranda with Free Classic supporting columns, and asymmetrical plan are all characteristic of the style. Special features of note include the large window resembling an over-sized lunette or a thermal window above the entry and the eyebrow window on the south side of the roof.