Many of Decorah’s earliest homes stood near the river where the business district later developed and along the roads into town, but as the town grew, residents who could afford it moved to higher ground along Broadway to escape frequent flooding and its associated maladies, and newcomers from New York, Ohio, and other eastern states built houses whose styles reflected their origins. Among Broadway’s notable homes was the Hughes house, originally on the northeast corner lot across the street, tied to David Henry Hughes and his wife Adaliza, who came to Decorah from Watertown, New York, soon after their marriage in March 1855. Hughes practiced law on W. Water Street, rose quickly in public life as county judge, and was in line for a district judgeship before setting aside his ambitions during the Civil War, when Iowa Gov. Samuel B. Kirkwood commissioned him colonel of the 38th Regiment. Hughes and many of his men later died of malaria at Port Hudson, Louisiana, on August 7, 1863, leaving Adaliza with four young children. In 1867, the widowed Adaliza built a large Italianate brick house, reportedly with 29 rooms and 32 closets, directing its construction forcefully, dismissing unwanted advice, and taking in boarders to support her family; the 1870 census counted 16 boarders along with her children and three relatives. The house featured contrasting brick hood molds, a two-story entry portico with Tuscan columns and decorative balusters, additional porches, and decorative brickwork in the cornices. Veterans who had served under Col. Hughes later visited Mrs. Hughes during regimental reunions to honor their former commander, and a photograph of one such occasion was taken sometime between 1903 and 1910. A Hughes son, Frank, and his wife later lived there, but the house eventually deteriorated, was torn down, and was replaced by a ranch-style home in the 1960s. Other Broadway houses reflected changing architectural tastes as well, including the S.W. Field house, built about 1858 in a Gothic Revival form later simplified in the 1920s; an 1878 house built by N.H. Adams with Eastern Stick style and Queen Anne Revival features; and the 1878 brick house built by R.R. Howell, whose stone hood molds, oculus window, low-pitched roof, and bracketed details typified the Italianate style.