The Board of Directors of Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House hosted a press conference Tuesday, June 13 to launch their first-ever capital campaign, “Honoring Our Heritage,” to benefit historic Deere-Wiman House, former residence of four generations of the Deere family.
Donors, volunteers, staff and local elected officials gathered to meet special guest Alexander Hewitt, great-great-great grandson of John Deere. The program also included an informational campaign video and a tour of the 1872 home at 817 11th Ave., Moline.
Deere-Wiman House, a popular community landmark, has been in the care of the William Butterworth Foundation since 1976, per the instructions of Pattie Wiman (Mrs. Charles Deere Wiman), who donated her home as a sister house to Butterworth Center. Since that time, both Deere-Wiman House and Butterworth Center have been funded by the foundation established in 1951 by Katherine Deere Butterworth.
Even with careful stewarding of resources by the board, however, those original funds are no longer sufficient to ensure the longevity of Deere-Wiman House, according to a Tuesday release. The campaign will give the community an opportunity to invest in preserving this important link to local history.
The Jeffris Family Foundation of Janesville, Wis., has supported the campaign through a challenge grant of $330,000 and challenged the organization to raise $660,000 to match. As of May 22, that challenge was met thanks to many local donors.
Foundation president Thomas Jeffris shared, “It was a pleasure dealing with the people at Deere-Wiman House. In the 20 years I’ve run the [Jeffris] foundation, no one has raised the money from our challenge grant as quickly as they have. I look forward to seeing the completed restoration.”
The Jeffris mission is to motivate community leaders and families to support historic preservation in their own town, also a goal of Butterworth-Center & Deere-Wiman House.
To date, $2.1 million of the $3.2-million goal has been raised. In addition to the Jeffris Family Foundation, donors include the Moline Foundation, Deere & Company, current and former John Deere executives, Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House staff, and board members, as well as many members of the local community.
“We constantly hear from community members about their special memories of Deere-Wiman House—such as performing in a piano recital or attending a Christmas open house with their family,” Butterworth and Deere-Wiman executive director Heather Calvert said.
“We’re excited that our campaign gives all our friends an opportunity to make donations of any size toward keeping Deere-Wiman House open for future generations of Quad Citians.”
Donations to preserve Deere-Wiman House can be made online at or by making a check payable to the William Butterworth Foundation (with a notation of “campaign”) and mailing it to Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House, 1105 8th Street, Moline, IL 61265.
The William Butterworth Foundation manages and funds both Butterworth Center, 1105 8th St., Moline and the Deere-Wiman House. These historic homes, once residences of Deere family members, now function as community centers that provide educational and cultural programming, free family events, historic tours, scholarships, and complimentary meeting space for other not-for-profit organizations.
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