Ainsworth was a Des Moines businessman who was engaged in various professional occupations.

His wife Elizabeth took title to this property in 1886, and they built this 21⁄2-story, frame, Queen Anne house in what was then the suburban community of North Des Moines.

Built as a single-family dwelling, it is now a half-way house for social services operated by the Catholic Worker Movement.

The house calls attention to the increased importance of North Des Moines as a residential neighborhood for business and professional people in the late 19th-century Des Moines area.

This article about a property in Polk County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.