This is the John Latenser, Sr. country home located in the Ponca Hills.
#PreserveThisPlace, 20th century, 21st century, Historic houses, Italianate, Mansions and estates, Ponca Hills, Wealth

A History of Bellwether Mansion

By the 1920s, the Ponca Hills were far enough away from Omaha and rugged enough to feel like a real escape from the city without having to go outside of Douglas County. Among the illustrious figures who built country retreats there was Omaha’s most prolific designers, John Latenser, Sr. (1858-1936), an architect responsible for at least 150 buildings across the city. This is a history of his country estate called Bellwether Mansion.

This is John Latenser Sr and his grandchildren circa 1935.
This is John Latenser Sr and his grandchildren circa 1935. Pic courtesy of the Durham Museum.

Some of the most remarkable homes in the Florence area were built by the Latensers for themselves. After buying the farm in the Ponca Hills, the hilltop original referred to as the Ponca Hill became the site of the Latenser family’s homes for several generations. Located on the old Tibke farm, it had twenty acres and included orchards and “a comfortable cottage.” 

In 1911, the local newspaper was excited to announce that, “Architect Latenser will next summer live in his summer house on Ponca Hill, a mile and a half north of Florence. It lies between the river and the hill roads…”

In 1918, John Latenser built a large mansion on the farm called Bellwether. It was designed as a 5,500 square foot Italianate style home with two and a half stories, large dormers and fantastic details across the whole house. It originally had six bedrooms and sat isolated in a forest.

This is a 1934 Latenser family dinner at the Round House. Included are patriarch John, matriach Anna, and children John Jr (1888–1978), Frank, Josephine C. Latenser Kirkland (1899–1972) and George W Latenser (1903–1940). Pic courtesy of the Durham Museum.
This pic shows a 1934 Latenser family gathering. I presume the people included (in no order) are patriarch John, matriarch Anna, and children John Jr (1888–1978), Frank, Josephine C. Latenser Kirkland (1899–1972), and George W Latenser (1903–1940), along with their wives and children. Pic courtesy of the Durham Museum.

John’s wife was Anna (1869-1951), and the couple had six children. After the mansion was built, the family lived there and at a house in central Omaha. John tutoring two of his sons in architecture during this time, and two of his young daughters died tragically from the Spanish flu while visiting Philadelphia in 1918.

In 1924, an “old unoccupied bungalow” on the estate was converted into a “lovely country home” for Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Kirkland, who was Latenser’s daughter Josephine. It was “surrounded by quaint English gardens…” “with stepping stones leading to the large home of Mrs. Kirkland’s parents.”

Anna hosted social gatherings and charity events at the mansion throughout the years, including in 1930. That year she hosted a lawn social to benefit a minister in Omaha. According to a newspaper article, “a special platform will be built out-of-doors for dancing, and other entertainments will be arranged in a carnival fashion around the spacious grounds.”

John himself died at the Bellwether mansion in 1936. Anna inherited his entire estate and continued to live at Bellwether.

Bellwether Mansion in 2026

In 2026, the Douglas County Assessor’s Office notes that the 5,520 foot Bellwether Mansion at 4110 North Post Road was built in 1918, has six bedrooms and bathrooms on 2.5 floors, and ten total rooms. Its exterior is still stucco, and the historic clay tile roof is still intact. It is noted as being in excellent condition. (Note: When it was built the address was 9508 North 31st Street.)

The building stands in 2026 and is owned by a religious organization. The organization is largely isolated from the surrounding neighborhood and offers no access to this historic house or the rest of the property, including the highly unique Latenser Round House, which seems to have been modified greatly. In 2016, John Latenser’s great grandson Daniel Latenser sued the City of Omaha and the Intercessors of the Lamb, the religious group that owns Bellwether. His lawsuit contented that the religious organization’s usage of the mansion and the nearby Latenser Round House as multi-person religious venues violated single-family zoning laws. He lost the suit. The organization that owns the site continues to use the house for its purposes.

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My Articles About the History of Ponca Hills
Ponca Road | Ponca School | Latenser Round House | Blue Windows House | Pries Lake | Hummel Park | Cabannè’s Trading Post | Wyman Heights | Fort Lisa | Forgot Store | River Drive | J.J. Pershing Drive

MY ARTICLES ON THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE IN NORTH OMAHA

GENERAL: Architectural Gems | The Oldest House | The Oldest Places
PLACES: Mansions and Estates | Apartments | Churches | Public Housing | Houses | Commercial Buildings | Hotels | Victorian Houses
PEOPLE: ‘Cap’ Clarence Wigington | Everett S. Dodds | Jacob Maag | George F. Shepard | John F. Bloom
HISTORIC HOUSES: Mergen House | Hoyer House | North Omaha’s Sod House | James C. Mitchell House | Charles Storz House | George F. Shepard House | 2902 N. 25th St. | 6327 Florence Blvd. | 1618 Emmet St. | John E. Reagan House
PUBLIC HOUSING: Logan Fontenelle | Spencer Street | Hilltop | Pleasantview | Myott Park aka Wintergreen
NORMAL HOUSES: 3155 Meredith Ave. | 5815 Florence Blvd. | 2936 N. 24th St. | 6711 N. 31st Ave. | 3210 N. 21st St. | 4517 Browne St. | 5833 Florence Blvd. | 1922 Wirt St. | 3467 N. 42nd St. | 5504 Kansas Ave. | Lost Blue Windows House | House of Tomorrow | 2003 Pinkney Street
HISTORIC APARTMENTS: Historic Apartments | Ernie Chambers Court, aka Strehlow Terrace | The Sherman Apartments | Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects | Spencer Street Projects | Hilltop Projects | Pleasantview Projects | Memmen Apartments | The Sherman | The Climmie | University Apartments | Campion House | Ivy / Fairfax Apartments
MANSIONS & ESTATES: Hillcrest Mansion | Burkenroad House aka Broadview Hotel aka Trimble Castle | McCreary Mansion | Parker Estate | J. J. Brown Mansion | Poppleton Estate | Rome Miller Mansion | Redick Mansion | Thomas Mansion | John E. Reagan House | Brandeis Country Home | Bailey Residence | Lantry – Thompson Mansion | McLain Mansion | Stroud Mansion | Anna Wilson’s Mansion | Zabriskie Mansion | The Governor’s Estate | Count Creighton House | John P. Bay House | Mercer Mansion | Hunt Mansion | Latenser Round House and the Bellweather Mansion
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS: 4426 Florence Blvd. | 2410 Lake St. | 26th and Lake Streetcar Shop | 1324 N. 24th St. | 2936 N. 24th St. | 5901 N. 30th St. | 4402 Florence Blvd. | 4225 Florence Blvd. | 3702 N. 16th St. | House of Hope | Drive-In Restaurants
PEOPLE: Clarence Wigington | John Latenser, Sr. | Joseph Guth | Jacob Maag | Everett S. Dodds |
RELATED: Redlining | Neighborhoods | Streets | Streetcars | Churches | Schools

BONUS

This is the Bellwether Mansion in the Ponca Hills circa 1935.
This is the Bellwether Mansion in the Ponca Hills circa 1935. Pic courtesy of the Durham Museum.
A Thanksgiving diner is laid out in front of the Latenser family at Bellwether Mansion in the Ponca Hills circa 1935. Pic courtesy of the Durham Museum.
A Thanksgiving diner is laid out in front of the Latenser family at Bellwether Mansion in the Ponca Hills circa 1935. Pic courtesy of the Durham Museum.

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