Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society hosting third annual Tour of Homes Sunday

by Brianne Grimstad

The Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society (HFAHS) will be holding its third annual Tour of Homes this Sunday, July 26 from 1-4 p.m. There will be four stops on the tour this year, split between two locations in Harpers Ferry and two more located on Elon Road just east of Waukon, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting the Harpers Ferry Museum building project. Advanced ticket purchase is encouraged, but tickets will also be available at each of this year’s tour stops.

The four locations featured in the self-guided 2026 Tour of Homes include the River Bluff Getaway (Ron and Julie Peiffer, 521 Brazell Point Drive, Harpers Ferry), the Steve and Diana Jennerman home (519 Sandy Point Drive, Harpers Ferry), West Paint Creek Synod Cemetery Association (1351 Elon Drive, east of Waukon), and the Roe-Hansmeier House (Daryl Hansmeier, 1320 Elon Drive, east of Waukon).

River Bluff Getaway (Ron and Julie Peiffer)
The most recently built home on this year’s tour is the house known as the River Bluff Getaway, owned by Ron and Julie Peiffer. It was built in 2024 in the new Brazell addition in the south part of Harpers Ferry. The multi-level home offers an amazing view of the bluffs overlooking Harpers Ferry and the Great River Road.

The entire home rents as two separate units, with the option to rent the entire home. This beautiful home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two kitchens, two living and dining room areas and two laundry rooms. The entire home rental provides those staying there with full access to both the upper and lower units with privacy, comfortably accommodating 10-12 guests.

There is plenty of onsite parking, and a deck or patio with a barbecue grill. There is also a very large garage area attached which is for personal use. The landscaping compliments the various views, and this property is located in Harpers Ferry with access to the Great River Road and the Mississippi River.

Steve and Diana Jennerman
This home offers a beautiful view of the Mississippi River (Harpers Slough) with a newly landscaped riverbank, offering a water feature. The present home with a walk-out lower level was built in 2005 and has geothermal heat. The earlier cabin was built in 1953 and was removed to make room for the new house.

It is built on a steep bluff with a terraced retaining wall that is the foundation for a fantastically landscaped back yard. Each level has a screened-in covered porch offering a relaxing place to view the scenery and boat docks. The location offers access to the Mississippi River’s main channel via the south entrance of Harpers Slough.

West Paint Creek Synod Cemetery Association
West Paint Creek Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church and Cemetery built in 1892 is a historic building and site located east of Waukon on Elon Drive. The church building and its adjacent cemetery were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

Norwegian immigrants came to Allamakee County starting in the early 1850s.  Their numbers increased after the American Civil War, beginning in the late 1860s and continuing into the 1880s. Peter and Sophia Paulson deeded a little more than one acre of land to the West Paint Creek Synod congregation in 1890.  They built a frame Carpenter Gothic church building, completed in 1892.

The church features three lancet “stained glass” windows on the side elevations, a gable-front roof and a central bell tower capped with a newly restored spire. The building exhibits Norwegian immigrant carpentry skills found in the Dutch lap siding, frame construction, paneled doors, pews and flooring. The interior includes a wood-carved altar, altar rail and pulpit in the chancel. The pews of native pine have an ornate cross carved on each side.

The altar’s reredos features a painting by itinerant Norwegian immigrant artist Herbjorn Gausta called “Resurrection”. The cemetery is located on the west side of the church, and there is a shed on the property that was built in 1938. The church building was the site of the local community’s religious and social life.  The restored basement area is used for fellowship and lunches.

Roe-Hansmeier House (Daryl L. Hansmeier)
The Roe-Hansmeier House was built in 1923 by Alert and Gusta Roe and is situated in section 31 of Center Township along Elon Road. Once a component of a long-time dairy farm, the Foursquare home features four bedrooms and three baths, with 2,116 square feet of finished living space. The home enjoyed a near-complete remodel in 2020-2021 with new roof, wiring, plumbing, windows, hardwood floors, trim work, fireplace, custom kitchen and wrap-around porch. Current layout of the house has remained close to the original floor plan with a primary suite added in the basement.

The current owner of the property, Daryl Hansmeier, is the great grandson of the Roes and is the fourth-generation owner of this stand-out country home. Highlights include: stained glass windows, a completely restored 1923 reliable cook stove, period flooring, period lighting and beautiful views from all directions.  Included on the tour will be a period-appropriate summer kitchen fitted out as visitors would have seen it in the early 1940s.

Tickets for the Tour of Homes can be purchased in advanced from any Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society (HFAHS) member or are also available at any of this year’s tour stops. HFAHS continues to fundraise for the Harpers Ferry Museum project, construction of which began in 2025. The organization is hoping to be able to have the museum doors open later this fall to coincide with Harpers Ferry’s 125th birthday.

The Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society’s mission is to preserve, educate, and share Harpers Ferry area history for its residents, visitors and future generations.  The vision is for Harpers Ferry to be recognized as a place where history is alive - valued by residents, shared with visitors, and preserved for generations to come. “We have History, let’s keep it Alive!” is the motto of the HFAHS, and the members and homeowners on this year’s Tour of Homes look forward to sharing that history with visitors during this event.