OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Ottumwans got a rare chance to see one of the famous Fifth Street Ottumwa mansions Sept. 17.

The American Home Finding Association opened up its office headquarters to host an ice cream social fundraiser and give the community a rare opportunity to see their workplace, which used to be owned by George Morrell.

Morrell was the owner of the John Morrell and Co. Meat Packing Plant back in the late ninteenth and early twentieth centuries. According to the Library of Congress, the plant was responsible for much of the development of the city of Ottumwa.

Morrell built the mansion before the Great Depression and later donated it to the association in 1955.

"It's very special," said Tom Lazio, the Executive Director of American Home Finding Association.

"The room we're in now has wood-pegged floors. The living room has a large rope around the top. The house roof is made of a slate. Mr. Morrell brought some carpenters here from England to build the house and work on the house."

Still hanging on the walls are the original oil paintings of the images used for the Morrell plant calendar.

The American Home Finding Association is a nonprofit organization that runs many programs and services for children and families in Southeast Iowa including the child care center at the Ottumwa High School and the emergency shelter for teens in Agency.