One Of The CV’s Most Haunted Locations Demolished [Photo Gallery]

Built in 1899, the "Hess House" has had many owners in its 120 year history. Some previous tenants swear it's definitely haunted, some say they never experienced anything unusual, other than a "creaky" old house. This past Halloween, we revisited the subject in our original article called, the Cedar Valley's Most Haunted Locations.

As we previously reported in an article back in July, this historic house located at 5049 Hess Road in Waterloo would be demolished. On Monday, November 23, 2020, it met its fate. The siding on the house (that did look relatively new) gave the house the appearance that it was still in "good shape", but don't let that fool you. Over the years, the house has fallen into much disrepair. Earlier this year, the owners of nearby Lost Island Water Park purchased the house and property.

"Originally, we thought it would be wonderful to save such a historic building, but, (unfortunately), it was beyond saving" said General Manager, Eric Bertch. They had planned to renovate the house into a "Bed & Breakfast" or maybe a coffee shop, however, the house was just too far gone to restore. Last summer, Bertch did say that the hand-carved banister and solid wood doors were salvaged. However, the foundation was cracked and sagging, the second story was totally unstable, and the roof was molding.

Lost Island currently has no plans for the property. However, the engineering department for the city of Waterloo does confirm that a roundabout is in future plans for the corner of East Shaulis and Hess Roads, but the street plan would not have included tearing down the house.

Once again, local photographer David Marvitz has outdone himself with another excellent photo gallery of the demolition. *SCROLL DOWN to check it out*

All photos are used by permission from David Marvitz Photography.