Within the state of Iowa there are only a handful of what can really be called country houses, i.e., country estates. One of these, still standing, is Helfred Farms. Writing in Country Life, Martha B. Darbyshire noted that “in 1928 Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Hubbell closed their Des Moines town house, and with their two children took up their permanent residence in their English manor house at Helfred Farms.” 24 On their 1,200-acre farm they had erected an impressive English Tudor dwelling, in brick, stone, and half-timber. A two-story brick-and-stone entrance hall with a crenellated parapet faces onto the motor court. On each side of the entrance there are oneand two-story slate-roofed sections of the house that seem to wander informally over the site. Surrounding the house are various outbuildings and informal gardens, and nearby is a large swimming pool. Further still from the house are numerous barns and other utilitarian farm buildings.