Welcome to Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House. These homes, which once belonged to John Deere family descendants and are now operated by the William Butterworth Memorial Trust, are located in the historic Overlook District of Moline, Illinois. They provide sites for quality educational and cultural events, home and garden tours, and meeting space for not-for-profit organizations.
In 1892, Charles Deere built Butterworth Center a block from his own home, Overlook (now Deere-Wiman House), as a wedding gift for his youngest daughter Katherine and her husband William Butterworth. Over the years, the Butterworths tripled the size of their home, which they named Hillcrest. Included in the additions were two unique features. As part of the 1909 addition to the living room, a pipe organ built by the Bennett Organ Company was installed. Later in 1938, Mrs. Butterworth hired the Stannke Organ Company of Rock Island, Illinois, to perform extensive rebuilding and additions. At that time, the organ was probably one of the largest residential organs in the Midwest. A major restoration of the Bennett-Stannke organ was completed in the spring of 2008.
In 1872, John Deere's son, Charles, built the Deere-Wiman House for his wife, Mary Little Dickinson Deere, and their daughters, Anna and Katherine, born in 1864 and 1866, respectively. The family named their Swiss Villa style residence Overlook because of its desirable hilltop location above the growing city of Moline, Illinois, and the family business, the John Deere Plow Works. The home's seven acres of formal gardens and walkways, as well as a child-size playhouse and three-story carriage house, beckon guests to explore the same lovely setting enjoyed by residents more than a century ago.