MUSCATINE, Iowa — Muscatine’s historic Henry James home has seen its share of drama.

The home was built near the turn of the 20th century by one of Muscatine’s movers and shakers. This fall it was saved from the wrecking ball at the 11th hour.

Documents uncovered by the Muscatine Historic Preservation Commission show prominent Muscatine attorney Henry Jayne and his wife, Ella, purchased a homestead and the property at 1402 Mulberry Ave. on March 20, 1896, for $3,300.

It is unclear exactly when Jayne built the four-bedroom, 2,600-square-foot Queen Anne Revival home. However, the 1899 Musca-tine City Directory shows the couple living in the home. Prior directories do not have a listing.

Henry and Ella married in 1873 and had seven children, two of whom died as infants. In addition to being a prominent attorney, Henry was vice president in the corporation of the Musca-tine High Bridge, president of the Muscatine Mortgage and Trust Co., vice president of Hershey State Bank and a Mason. Ella helped found Musser Public Library in 1901 and was vice president of the first library board of directors.

After Henry’s death in 1917 following a fall in the house, Ella sold the home to William and Vera Johnston. He was a physician who specialized in ears, noses and throats, Commission documents show.

The house had at least two other owners before Dr. Temple Miller and his wife, Ruth, bought it in 1951.

They lived there until 1986 and their daughter, Jill Miller Zahn, has fond memories of growing up in the house.

“The Jaynes may be the original owners, but they were not the only family who lived there and loved the place,” she wrote to Daniel Clark, chairman of the Commission. “When I told my cousins about the potential destruction, we all remembered the family dinners in the dining room.”

The house had two more owners before the Muscatine Art Center Board of Trustees purchased it in October 2008 for $129,450 with funds from the E. Bradford Burns Trust.

The Board planned to demolish the home to make room for future expansion, but offered the Commission six months to find a way to save the house.

When the Commission was unable to do so, the Board challenged the public to make a deal on the home.

Muscatine resident Brian Costas stepped forward with a $1,001 bid and a plan to move the home, offering it a new lease on life.

Once it is moved, the house should have plenty of life left in it.

In December 2008, Architectural Conservator David Arbogast estimated the Jayne House has 50 more years of life if it is properly restored.

“The overall condition of the house is very good,” he wrote in a report for the  Commission. “It is in better condition that most houses of its age.”