Samuel Nobel built this building in 1890. Born on November 30, 1819, in Hunting Co., Pennsylvania, he moved to Fairfield, Iowa, in 1845 and four years later to Albia. There he started a dry goods store and operated it until 1865. In the fall of 1859, he was elected County Judge and held that position for twelve years. He had three children, Alvis E, Ira, and Ella May. Nobel was one of the fourteen organizers of the Presbyterian Church about 1853 and also served for a number of years as vice-president of the Monroe County Bank. Despite alterations, including a stucco job done in the early 1900s and the loss of part of the identification pediment that had Nobel’s name on it, the building retains much of its original character and closely resembles the building to the east, with the same style cornice and hoodmolds. The stucco remodeling was probably done by Samuel’s son Ira, who, along with his brother Alvis, popularized the use of cement and concrete products in Albia. Ira was a building contractor, and Alvis owned a concrete block plant in Albia. Ira remodeled several other Albia buildings by applying stucco over brick exterior walls and scoring them to look like stone. The scoring on this building is gone because of sandblasting and painting around 1970.