917.73 D79o
This Volume is for
REFERENCE USE ONLY
^^
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
The Illinois State
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OFFICERS, 1947-1948
IRVING DILLIARD, President GEORGE C. DIXON, Vice-Pres.
SCERIAL THOMPSON, Sr. Vice-Pres. OSCAR C. HAYWARD, Vice-Pres.
0. F. ANDER, Vice-Pres. VERNON L. NICKELL, Vice-Pres.
DWIGHT F. CLARK, Vice-Pres. C. C. TISLER, Vice-Pres.
]. MONAGHAN, Secy.-Treas.
DIRECTORS
0. F. ANDER, Rock Island MRS. HARRY L. MEYER, Alton
DWIGHT F. CLARK, Evanston THEODORE C. PEASE*, Urbana
IRVING DILLIARD, Collinsmlle JAMES G. RANDALL, Urbana
GEORGE C. DIXON, Dixon HERMON DUN-LAP SMITH, Lake Forest
ERNEST E. EAST, Peoria JEWELL F. STEVENS, Chicago
JOHN H. HAUBERG, Rock Island SCERIAL THOMPSON, Harrisburg
FRANK J. HEINL, Jacksonville WAYNE C. TOWNLEY, Bloomington
JAMES A. JAMES, Evanston * Deceased, August n, IMS.
OLD ILLINOIS HOUSES
by
JO HN DRU R Y
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
of the
ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
General Editor
JAY MONAGHAN
PRINTED BY AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
D WIGHT H. GREEN, Governor
Springfield
1948
Copyright, 1941
by the
CHICAGO DAILY NEWS
All rights reserved. Published October, 1948. No part of this
book may be reproduced in any form without the written per-
mission of The Chicago Daily News. Permission is hereby
granted to reviewers to quote brief passages in a review to be
Erinted in a magazine or newspaper. The contents of this
ook appeared originally as a series of weekly articles in The
Chicago Daily News, starting in 1941. Permission to reprint
the articles in this form was granted to the Illinois State His-
torical Society by the management of that newspaper.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I, Southern Illinois
OLDEST ILLINOIS HOUSE: Jean Baptiste Saucier Home, Cahokia . . 2
FRENCH COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE: The Creole House, Prairie du
Rocher 4
TERRITORIAL LANDMARK: Pierre Menard House, Kaskaskia 7
ILLINOIS' OLDEST BRICK HOUSE: Nicholas Jarrot Mansion, Cahokia 10
ON THE OHIO: John Marshall House, Shawneetown 13
SURVIVOR OF ENGLISH PRAIRIE: Gibson Harris House, Albion. ... 15
IN THE GEORGIAN MANNER: George French House, Albion 18
"OLD RANGER" LIVED HERE : Governor Reynolds House, Belleville . . 20
IT WAS UNIONVILLE THEN: William B. Collins House, Collinsville. 22
"LIVING MUSEUM" : John M. Robinson House, Carmi 24
THE CAPTAIN'S MANSION: Benjamin Godfrey Residence, Godfrey. 26
THE OLD SLAVE HOUSE: John Crenshaw Residence, Equality 29
HOME OF THE QUADROON GIRL: Basil Silkwood House, Mulkeytown 32
BIRTHPLACE OF THE GREAT COMMONER: William Jennings Bryan
House, Salem 34
UNDER THE MAGNOLIAS: Charles A. Galigher House, Cairo 36
Part II, Central Illinois
ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE : James Hobson House, near Carrollton ... 40
A PIONEER EDITOR'S HOME: John Russell House, near Eldred. ... 42
"WALNUT HALL": Henry T. Rainey House, Carrollton. . . . 44
ONLY A FEW LEFT: James Rennels Cabin, Charleston. 46
A FAMOUS STEPMOTHER LIVED HERE: Sarah Lincoln House, near
Charleston . . . . ... 48
BIRTHPLACE OF A JOURNALIST: Melville E. Stone House, Hudson. . SO
His FATHER WAS FAMOUS, Too: Elbert Hubbard House, Hudson. 52
HOME OF A CITY FOUNDER: Jesse Fell House, Normal. 54
A LITERARY SHRINE: Richard Hovey House, Normal Sf
VICTORIAN MANSION : Joseph W. Fifer House, Bloomington ...... 51
A VICE-PRESIDENT LIVED HERE: Adlai E. Stevenson House, Bloom-
ington 6\ Si
HOME OF A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: David Davis House, Bloom-
ington. 6\
MANSION IN A CORNFIELD: William R. Duncan House, near
Towanda. . 65
.-,;. -; OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
QUINCY MUSEUM: John Wood House, Quincy 67
A CABINET MEMBER LIVED HERE: Orville Hickman Browning
House, Quincy 69
CANDLELIGHT AND CRINOLINE : Joseph Duncan House, Jacksonville . 71
CRADLE OF MODERN DENTISTRY: Dr. Greene Vardiman Black
House, Jacksonville 74
HOUSE OF ART: Julius E. Strawn Home, Jacksonville 76
A FAMOUS BALCONY: Dr. William Fithian House, Danville 78
LINCOLN SIPPED HERE: Reason Hooten House, Danville 80
HERE LIVED "UNCLE JOE": Joseph G. Cannon House, Danville. . . 82
THE MANSION HOUSE": Joseph Smith Home, Nauvoo 85
"A LANDMARK OF MORMONISM: Brigham Young House, Nauvoo. . . 87
IN A FRENCH COMMUNIST UTOPIA: Icarian Apartment House,
Nauvoo 89
ON LAKE PEORIA: John Reynolds House, Peoria 91
THE NEW ORLEANS INFLUENCE: Christopher C. Sturtevant House,
Beardstown . . . . 94
ADOBE CONSTRUCTION: Andrew Cunningham House, near Virginia 96
HUDSON RIVER GOTHIC: Albert B. Austin House, Paris. . . . 98
A WORLD SHRINE: Abraham Lincoln House, Springfield 100
OFFICIAL HOME OF ILLINOIS GOVERNORS: The Executive Mansion,
Springfield 103
ART MUSEUM AND SOCIAL CENTER: Benjamin S. Edwards House,
Springfield 105
HOME OF A POET: Vachel Lindsay House, Springfield 107
FANCY CREEK FARMHOUSE: George Power Home, Cantrall 109
IN THE SPOON RIVER COUNTRY: Newton Walker House, Lewistown .112
A POET'S BOYHOOD HOME: Edgar Lee Masters House, Petersburg. .115
WHERE LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS AGREED: Francis E. Bryant House,
Bement 117
ON THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CAMPUS: Herbert W. Mumford
House, Urbana 119
DECATUR ART INSTITUTE: James Millikin House, Decatur 121
Part III, Northern Illinois
ON AN ISLAND IN THE MISSISSIPPI: George Davenport House, Rock
Island 126
CABIN ON THE ROCK RIVER: Alexander Charters House, Dixon . . . 128
OLD ILLINOIS HOUSES
LITERARY SETTLEMENT: Jonathan KLennicott House, Kennicott's
Grove 130
EARLY COMMUNISTIC COMMUNITY: Bishop Hill Colony House,
Bishop Hill 133
BIRTHPLACE OF A SCULPTOR: Lorado Taft House, Elmwood 135
CLASSICAL MASTERPIECE: John H. Swartout House, Waukegan. . .137
WHEN LINCOLN VISITED EVANSTON : Julius White House, Evanston. 139
"REST COTTAGE" : Frances E. Willard House, Evanston 142
NORTHWEST TERRITORY MUSEUM: Charles G. Dawes House,
Evanston 145
"CRAIGIE LEA" : Andrew MacLeish House, Glencoe 147
UNDERGROUND STATION: Owen Lovejoy House, Princeton 150
HOME OF A POET'S BROTHER: John H. Bryant House, Princeton. .153
"KEEPSAKE COTTAGE": Herma Clark House, Princeton 155
HOME OF AN ABOLITIONIST LEADER: John Hossack House, Ottawa . 158
ON THE NORTH BLUFF: W. H. L. Wallace House, Ottawa. . 160
LIBRARY IN A MANSION: William. Reddick House, Ottawa 163
QUEEN ANNE STYLE MANSION: John D. Caton House, Ottawa. . . .165
ABOVE THE RIVER: Edward C. Hegeler House, La Salle 168
HISTORICAL MUSEUM: William A. Tanner House, Aurora. 171
IN THE LAKES COUNTRY: Horace Capron House, Hebron 173
WORKMAN'S COTTAGE: Carl Sandburg House, Galesburg 175
ECCENTRIC INVENTOR'S HOME: Fred Francis House, KLewanee. . . .178
THE OCTAGON MODE: Warren Clark House, Mendota . . 180
IN A PICTURESQUE COMMUNITY: John Deere House, Grand Detour. 182
AMID UNUSUAL RURAL BEAUTY: Jane Addams House, Cedarville . 184
ABODE OF A STATESMAN: Elihu B. Washburne House, Galena. . . . .186
A GIFT FROM THE PEOPLE: Ulysses S. Grant House, Galena 188
"THE LARCHES": Allan Pinkerton House, near Onarga 191
Swiss COTTAGE: Robert H. Tinker House, Rockford 194
"INDIAN TERRACE": Goodyear Asa Sanford House, Rockford. .... .196
Fox RIVER FRENCH CHATEAU: Mark Dunham House, Wayne. . . .198
BIRTHPLACE OF A NOVELIST: Ernest Hemingway House, Oak Park. 201
"GANYMEDE": Wallace Heckman House, near Oregon 203
IN LILACIA PARK: William R. Plum House, Lombard. .206
ARCHITECTURAL LANDMARK: Frank Lloyd Wright House, Oak Park. 209
INDEX . .213
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Arclight Dusks (poetry) 1925
Chicago in Seven Days 1928
Dining in Chicago 1931
Guide to Chicago. ..1933
Old Chicago Houses 1941
Historic Midwest Houses 1947
Midwest Heritage 1948
Dedicated
to my wife
MARION NEVILLE
and to our Irish terrier,
Fedelma the Ruddy,
both of whom toured Illinois with me
in the preparation of this book.
FOREWORD
FOR THE fifty-first volume of this series published by the Illinois
State Historical Society we have fortunately obtained the skill of the
Chicago author, John Drury, who has spent years studying and visiting
old Chicago and Illinois houses not because they are old, for John
Drury is no antiquarian, but because they are, or once were, the homes
of people who have helped to make Illinois history. The present volume,
Old Illinois Houses, represents an expansion of the author's interest in
the world about him from his native city to his native state. Mr.
Drury's first book, Arclight Dusks, a volume of Chicago-inspired poetry,
was published in 1925. Three years later his Chicago in Seven Days ap-
peared. In 1931 he wrote Dining in Chicago, and in 1933 he prepared
the official Chicago guidebook for the Century of Progress Exposition of
that year. While writing these volumes he served also on the staff of
The Chicago Daily News.
As almost all of us know, half of the population of Illinois lives in
Chicago. To this half belongs John Drury. It took considerable foreign
and domestic travel in his earlier years, however, to make him realize
that his native heath is just as good a place to write about as any other
spot on earth. As a romantic-minded young man, he lived in New
York's Greenwich Village, worked as a cub reporter in Los Angeles,
served on merchant ships to South America and London, traveled in
Canada, and cruised the Spanish Main aboard a luxury liner. In time,
though, John Drury felt the call of his native Midwest and here, after
returning to it, he began his writing career. In addition to his Chicago
residence, he now maintains a summer home at Chesterton, Indiana.
It was just after the University of Chicago Press published his Old
Chicago Houses in 1941 that John Drury began work on the articles
which form the contents of this book. One day in the early spring of
1941, when snow floated down between gloomy Loop buildings and
hissed on the cold surface of the Chicago River, he loaded into his car
his wife, his dog, and his typewriter, and began the first of three circular
motor tours through southern, central, and northern Illinois, totaling
some 5,000 miles. His quest was historic Illinois houses. The results of
his journeys appear in this book where they are reproduced from a series
of weekly articles published in the Daily News. Having "covered" the
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
historic-house field in his native city and native state, Mr. Drury, quite
naturally, expanded his horizon again, and thus there appeared, in 1947,
his Historic Midwest Houses. This volume involved a 10,000-mile tour
of the Midwest which was made possible by a Regional Writing Fellow-
ship awarded him by the University of Minnesota.
Readers of Old Illinois Houses will find this book a rather complete,
though informal, history of our state. Here are described houses that
represent the French period. Other chapters deal with dwellings used
during the English occupation, and here, too, are residences of the
American aristocrats appointed in Washington to administer the frontier
government. How can anyone understand the enterprising bankers who
came early to Illinois, without seeing the house of John Marshall at
Shawneetown? On Rock Island stands the mansion of George Daven-
port, fur trader, and this expresses his affluence better than can be done
in a thousand words.
Illinois as the cradle of Utopian ideas in the first half of the nine-
teenth century appears in the homes of British idealists near English
Prairie (environs of Albion) and in the residences of Joseph Smith and
Brigham Young at Nauvoo. The beginning of industrial ingenuity and
wealth is disclosed in the pioneer residence of John Deere, and agrarian
culture at its best in the luxurious mansion of Julius Strawn. The rise
of the antislavery movement is presented here vividly in the dwellings
of John Hossack and Owen Lovejoy. The homes of Lincoln and Grant
speak for themselves beyond "our poor power to add or detract."
For the post-Civil War period, John Drury shows us the homes of
William Jennings Bryan, Dr. Greene V. Black, Jane Addams, Frances
Willard, and Elbert Hubbard all national figures claimed by Illinois a
generation ago. Equally interesting are the birthplaces or homes of such
renowned literary and artistic figures as Vachel Lindsay, Lorado Taft,
Edgar Lee Masters, Carl Sandburg, Ernest Hemingway, and Frank
Lloyd Wright. All of these were either born or reared in the Prairie
State, and the houses associated with them are in this book.
In preserving the pictures and chapters in this volume, the Illinois
State Historical Society wishes to express its appreciation to the manage-
ment of The Chicago Daily News for permitting reproduction in this
form. We are also indebted to Mr. Howard F. Rissler and Mr. S. A.
Wetherbee, both of the Illinois State Historical Library, for ably con-
ducting the manuscript of this work through the press.
JAY MONAGHAN.
PREFACE
IN THIS consideration of old Illinois houses, I have treated each dwell-
ing historically as well as architecturally, but the main emphasis has
been placed on the personage or event that gave it distinction. After
all, more people are attracted by the home of some great man or woman,
no matter how plain or lowly that home may be, than are interested in
the architecturally perfect mansion of a comparatively unknown person.
It was on this basis, then, that a selection (with the exception of Chi-
cago, which I treated in a separate volume) of nearly one hundred of
the Prairie State's most distinctive old houses was made, and is here-
with presented.
An early and important crossroads state in the center of America's
vast inland region, Illinois, I discovered at the outset of my researches,
contains perhaps as many unusual historic houses as any state in New
England or the Old South.
With this in mind, I began work on the material in this book. The
chapters with two exceptions appeared originally as a series of weekly
illustrated articles in The Chicago Daily News, starting March 7, 1941.
I was then a staff member of that newspaper, having written historical
articles and sketches for it since 1926. Before starting work on "Old
Illinois Houses," however, I had written another series called "Old
Chicago Houses." So well received were these Chicago articles that
they were gathered together and published in a book of the same title
by the University of Chicago Press. Having thus covered the historic
houses of my native city, I felt the next logical step was to make a
similar study of the domiciliar landmarks of my native state.
When I sought approval of this project by the management of The
Chicago Daily News, it was promptly and generously given. The city
editor, Mr. Lewis Hunt, and his assistant, Mr. Clem Lane, both of
whom had previously fostered my "Old Chicago Houses" series, and
that newspaper's then editor-in-chief, Mr. Paul Scott Mowrer, a de-
voted native of central Illinois, were convinced of the value of such a
series as I proposed. Thus, early in the spring of 1941, in the midst of
a blizzard, I began the first of my three motor tours through southern,
central, and northern Illinois, journeys which in the end totaled some
five thousand miles.
xiii
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
On visiting each historic dwelling, I took notes on both the house
and its story. Then I returned to Chicago and engaged in further re-
search on the subject, finding especially helpful the extensive historical
collections in the Newberry Library. Here I was ably assisted not only
by the head librarian, Dr. Stanley Pargellis, but by the two individuals
in direct charge of the historical and genealogical books important to
my study, Miss Elizabeth Coleman and Mr. Joseph Wolf. I also made
much use of The Chicago Daily News library with its large collection of
indexed newspaper clippings, and here, too, I was given wholehearted
co-operation by its head, Mr. Thomas Sayers, whose untiring assistance
I have always greatly appreciated. Others who gave me unstinted aid
on historical aspects of the work were Mr. Paul M. Angle, then secretary
of the Illinois State Historical Society (now director of the Chicago His-
torical Society), and Mr. Herbert H. Hewitt, head reference librarian
of the Chicago Public Library, and his two assistants, Mrs. Roberta
Sutton and Mrs. Mildred King.
In obtaining architectural information I found the most pertinent
material in the Burnham Library of Architecture of the Art Institute of
Chicago. Here the librarian in charge at the time, Miss Marion Rawls,
was of great help, as was her then assistant, the late Mrs. Nancy Saun-
ders. But much information on architecture, too, was offered by Mr.
Earl H. Reed, of Chicago, director of the northern Illinois unit of the
former Historic American Buildings Survey, and Mr. Edgar E. Lundeen
of Bloomington, director of the southern Illinois unit of the same Survey.
I was also assisted on both historical and architectural matters by Mr.
John T. Frederick, director at the time of the Federal Writers' Project
for Illinois.
The two chapters mentioned above as not being among the original
articles in The Chicago Daily News are those on "Keepsake Cottage" at
Princeton and "Indian Terrace" at Rockford. Both of these unusual
landmarks came to my attention after the newspaper series was com-
pleted. As to the question of including here the houses of living persons,
such as Carl Sandburg, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Ernest Hemingway, I
am sure most people will agree with me that those in this book have
acquired more than passing distinction in the cultural history of Illinois.
In point of chronological order, this work should have preceded my
Historic Midwest Houses, which was published by the University of
Minnesota Press in 1947. Perhaps I should explain, also, that Old
Illinois Houses might have remained buried in the files of The Chicago
xiv
OLD ILLINOIS HOUSES
Daily News had it not been for the favorable remembrance of Mr. Jay
Monaghan, State Historian and secretary of the Illinois State Historical
Society, and Mr, Ernest E. East of Peoria, a director of the Society. It
was Mr. Monaghan who, in view of the forthcoming fiftieth anniversary
of the Society (to be celebrated in 1949), suggested that my newspaper
series would make a most fitting p re-anniversary volume, one that would
be appreciated by both members and their friends. For this I am deeply
grateful to Mr. Monaghan and the directors of the Society.
JOHN DRURY.
PART I, SOUTHERN ILLIJXTOIS
They came down the Ohio from the East, or crossed it from
the South families who wanted land, in better and larger
tracts than they had ever known before. A majority of these
home seekers who settled southern Illinois came from Kentucky,
Tennessee, and the Carolinas. And so today, among the rural
villages and energetic cities of this section, may be found traces
of those pioneer Southerners here and there an old, planta-
tion-style house with white columns supporting comfortable
galleries, here and there a gracious garden bordered by ancient,
hospitable magnolias, here and there a lace-like wrought-iron
balcony that might have looked down on the Vieux Carre of
New Orleans. Rarely, though, are found the rough-hewn logs
and "shakes** that sheltered those who made the first clearings.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Cahokia
Prairie du Rocher
Kaskaskia
Shawneetown
Albion
Belleville
Collins ville
Carmi
Godfrey
Equality
Mulkeytown
Salem
Cairo
Oldest Illinois House
DURING the many years it has been revered as Illinois' most historic
building, the ancient log abode now generally known as the Cahokia
Courthouse was rarely, if ever, thought of as the oldest house that is,
private dwelling in Illinois; or, in fact, as perhaps the oldest in the
entire Midwest. But such it is, having been originally a dwelling house
that had been built solely for this purpose. It was so used for almost
half a century before being converted into a courthouse. And then, after
being abandoned as a courthouse, it once more became a private home.
A family was living in this historic landmark when it was acquired
in 1904 for exhibition at the St. Louis World's Fair. It was known then
that various families had been occupying it since 1860. Before that it
had served as a saloon and meeting hall. After the close of the St. Louis
fair it was taken to Chicago and set up on the Wooded Island in Jackson
Park where it remained until 1939. Now it stands on its original founda-
tion stones at Cahokia, oldest town in Illinois. It has been completely
restored, even to interior furnishings, by the state.
Of greater interest than its recent history, however, is the story of
its earliest years; of the period before it became a courthouse and jail in
the old Northwest Territory. The house is believed to have been built
about 1737, or soon after the first white men settled in the wilderness of
Mid-America. These men were French missionaries and traders from
Canada who had established, a few years earlier, the Mississippi River
settlements of Cahokia and Kaskaskia outposts of the French empire
in the New World.
When this log house was built, the Illinois country was part of the
French province of Louisiana. The identity of the man who erected it
has never been ascertained. Records show, however, that the house was
later acquired by Captain Jean Baptiste Saucier, formerly an engineer
in the French Colonial Army.
The house was still owned by the Saucier family when George
Rogers Clark, in 1778, captured the Illinois country from the British
and when, a few years later, the Northwest Territory was formed.
The first county to be organized in what later became Illinois was
St. Clair County. It embraced most of northern Illinois, including the
future site of Chicago. The county seat was established at Cahokia. It
was in 1793 that Frangois Saucier, son of Captain Saucier, sold the log
house to the county for a courthouse and jail. Here were held the first
American court sessions and the first election in the Illinois country.
2
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 3
As an indication of the great antiquity of the Saucier house, archi-
tects point to its method of construction. t It is designed in the French
style of pioneer log-house building that is, with the logs set perpen-
dicularly, as in a palisade. The later American style is characterized
by horizontal logs.
Writing of this historic Illinois shrine in the June-July, 1941,
Bulletin of the Illinois Society of Architects, a state architect, Joseph
Jean Baptiste Saucier Home, Cahokia, Built about 1737.
F, Bootoii, says the "structure originally had its interior walls plastered
on split lath. Other refinements included casements with glass panes,
shutters, beautiful wrought-iron hardware, beaded beams and ingenious
roof trusses. .'. . The interior had four rooms and an attic. A chimney
was placed at each end and a gallery surrounded the whole.'*
In this very old dwelling, then, we have an example of the earliest
type of shelter built by white men in the Illinois country and the Mid-
west. The state of Illinois, too, produced what might be termed the
latest mode of shelter the Frank Lloyd Wright home built in 1891 in
Oak Park, just outside Chicago. Thus, in Illinois one may observe the
whole range of American domestic architecture, from primitive log
cabin to sophisticated modern home.
French Colonial Architecture
SOUTH of East St. Louis, on that fertile Mississippi River plain known
as the American Bottom, lies the quiet, ancient little town of Prairie du
Rocher, or "Rock Prairie." Nestling at the base of a great limestone
cliff, this town is one of the oldest in Illinois, having been founded about
1722 by French colonists. These colonists had been left stranded in the
Mississippi Valley when John Law's great development project, the
"Mississippi Bubble," burst with a roar heard on two continents.
Among the venerable houses and cottages of Prairie du Rocher, one
of the most unusual, both architecturally and historically, is a long, low,
French colonial style dwelling known as the Creole House. Along with
numerous other historic Illinois landmarks, this house was drawn and
photographed by draftsmen of the WPA architects' project assigned to
the Historic American Buildings Survey. These drawings have been
placed in the Library of Congress, the Burnham Library of the Chicago
Art Institute and the architectural library of the University of Illinois.
Although the draftsmen were mainly concerned with the architec-
ture of Creole House, since it represents a type that prevailed in southern
Illinois during early days, historians have found its story of wider in-
terest than its architecture. For it is associated with several men who
once attracted national attention, and in recent years it was the home
of a lineal descendant of the French colonist who founded Prairie du
Rocher more than two hundred years ago.
This house, however, does not date from the French colonial days
of Prairie du Rocher, even though its architecture is of that period.
Instead, investigation discloses that the dwelling was built about 1800,
when the Illinois country was part of the newly-organized Indiana
Territory and Kentuckians and others of Anglo-Saxon stock began to
settle among the French in Prairie du Rocher.
Originally, Creole House was a one-family dwelling built of logs,
set vertically, or in what is known as the "French-Canadian" style. In
1858, the house was enlarged by the addition of a north wing of frame
construction and the whole was covered with siding. This made it, in
reality, a double house. Today, it presents the appearance of a long,
squat, frame abode, its low-pitched roof extending outward to form a
porch the entire length of the house.
"We have never been able to determine who first built the house,"
said Thomas J. Conner, leading merchant of Prairie du Rocher, local
historian, and descendant of an early settler. "According to one version
4'
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Historic American Buildings Survey
The Creole House, Prairie du Rocher, Built about 1800.
it was built by a Dr. Hill and another says that it was first erected by a
Dr. MacDonald."
About 1830 the house was acquired by William. Henry, who a few
years later set up a flour mill at Prairie du Rocher. Then, in 1846,
Henry's daughter, Marie Josephine, was married to Abraham H, Lee-
who was subsequently to attain national prominence in an unusual way.
At the time of his marriage, Lee conducted a commission house in St.
Louis. Two years later, Mr. and Mrs. Lee acquired the log house in
Prairie du Rocher.
"We must now drop the Lees for a moment and turn our attention
to a family which rented the log house at this time," explained Mr. Con-
ner. "This family was headed by Elias C. Hansbrough, a storekeeper of
the village. In the log house a son was born to the Hansbroughs in 1848.
This son was Henry Clay Hansbrough, who in his mature life became
one of the political leaders of North Dakota, its first congressman, and
afterward a senator from that state for eighteen years. He was some-
times called the 'father' of irrigation in. the United States. For many
years he was a national figure in liberal Republican politics and con-
tinued active until his death in 1933."
We are told that about 1855 or 1856 the log house came into the
possession of Franklin Brickey, who was an associate of Abraham Lee
in the operation of a large flour mill on the site of the original Henry
6 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
mill. It was Brickey who built the north half to the log house and
added siding to the entire structure. He was afterward to become presi-
dent of the town board of trustees. "The most important factor in the
prosperity of the village [of Prairie du Rocher] is the mill of Franklin
Brickey/' says a Randolph County history published in the 1880's.
It was in the year 1867 that the former owner of the log house, Abra-
ham Lee, found himself in the national spotlight. In January of that
year he was announced as the winner of a sensational lottery, nation-
wide in scope, which offered the imposing Crosby Opera House in Chi-
cago as its premium. The opera house cost 2600,000 to build. The
lottery project was resorted to when its owner got into financial difficul-
ties. Tickets were sold at 35.00 each. After being notified in his Prairie
du Rocher home that he was the winner, Abraham Lee promptly sold
the opera house back to its original owner and received 3200,000 for it.
His worldly position thus enhanced, Lee built a stately mansion on
a tract of land just north of Creole House and this has been a show place
of Prairie du Rocher for years.
Since its enlargement, Creole House has been a double-family dwell-
ing. After Franklin Brickey moved elsewhere, it was occupied by his
son, John. The house Is still owned by the Brickey estate. Surrounded
by an old-fashioned cast-Iron fence and shaded by several ancient maples,
Creole House, with its gable roof and long, low, Southern style porch,
stands as a picturesque reminder of the town's early days. Its interior
walls are of plaster and the rooms are simple in design. Fireplaces, with
wooden mantels, adorn the living rooms.
In the recent past, part of this house was occupied by Matthew
Langlois and his family. He is a lineal descendant of Jean St. Therese
Langlois, founder of Prairie du Rocher. Jean St. Therese was a nephew
of Pierre Duque Boisbriant, commandant and builder of Fort Chartres.
This French stronghold has been partially restored and is now a state
park and one of Illinois' most revered historic shrines.
An interesting sidelight on the United States senator who was born
in Creole House is that, upon being elected to his first office, that of con-
gressman for North Dakota, he fostered an anti-lottery bill which be-
came a law. Although this bill was aimed specifically at the Louisiana
lottery, some students wonder if it had its origin in the sensational lottery
of the Crosby Opera House in Chicago. At the time of the opera house
lottery, Senator Hansbrough was a shrewd, observing, idealistic young
man of nineteen.
Territorial Landmark
WHAT might be considered the "Mount Vernon of Illinois," is the fine
old French colonial residence in Fort Kaskaskia State Park now widely
known as the Menard house. It occupies a commanding site on a grassy
bluff above the Mississippi River, some fifty miles south of East St. Louis.
Surviving from early territorial days, this residence is one of the most
famous in Illinois and is visited by several thousand sight-seers each year.
As with Washington's home on the Potomac, the Menard house is
now a historical museum. It is furnished with fine brown mahogany and
walnut tables, chairs, chests, and other household articles which belonged
to the man who made it famous.
A bronze marker and an American flag identify the house as a state-
owned historic shrine. The marker explains, in part, that the house oc-
cupies a portion of Fort Kaskaskia State Park, a fifty-seven-acre tract
embracing what was once Fort Kaskaskia.
This fort, which stood on a bluff above the house, was built by the
French when they controlled the Mississippi Valley in the eighteenth
century. The settlement of Kaskaskia was afterward to become the
first capital of the state of Illinois.
In 1791, when Illinois was part of the Northwest Territory estab-
lished by the newly formed American republic, there came to Kaskaskia
a young Quebec-born fur trader named Pierre Menard. He opened a
store in the village, prospered, and the next year married Therese Godin.
Soon afterward he was appointed a major, then a lieutenant colonel
of militia. When this region became part of Indiana Territory, Governor
William Henry Harrison appointed Menard a judge of the County Court
at Kaskaskia. He held this position for ten years, or until Illinois be-
came a separate territory.
After this, Menard served as presiding officer of the Illinois terri-
torial legislature. When the territory was admitted to statehood in
1818, with the capital established at Kaskaskia, he was elected the state's
first lieutenant governor under Governor Shadrach Bond, another Kas-
kaskian.
In 1818 when Pierre Menard was the general choice for the state's
first lieutenant governor it was learned that he had never been formally
naturalized. So the constitutional convention, in order to permit his
election, altered the requisite period of citizenship, which it had placed
at thirty years, making eligible for office a citizen who had resided in the
state two years preceding the election.
8 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
At the end of his term as lieutenant governor, Menard returned to
his home at Kaskaskia, intending to spend the rest of his days in retire-
ment with his family. But in 1828 he was again called to public duty,
this time by President John Quincy Adams, who appointed him to an
Indian commission headed by Lewis Cass. He was reappointed to this
commission by President Andrew Jackson. These were Menard's last
public services. He died in his Kaskaskia home on June 13, 1844.
It was in 1802, just after the Illinois country became part of Indiana
Territory and when Menard was one of the best-known and most re-
spected citizens of Kaskaskia, that he erected the house which stands
today on the bluff above the Mississippi.
It was t( become, according to one authoritative volume, "a place
famous thrx ughout the West for its hospitality." Several years after it
was built, his wife, who had borne him four children, died. He later
married Angelique Saucier, sister-in-law of Jean Pierre Chouteau, famous
fur trader and Indian agent of the American Bottom.
In the years following, six more children were added to the Menard
household. But the house on the Mississippi, although broad and low
in appearance, was roomy enough for them all. These children grew to
maturity and lived in the house after their father's death, but one by
one they moved to other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the old French settlement of Kaskaskia below the
Menard house fell into decay as East St. Louis grew, its houses crumbled
into ruin, and finally most of what was left of the original settlement was
swallowed up by the Mississippi River when it formed a new channel
following the flood of 1881.
After the last of the Menard descendants left the house, it was
owned and occupied for some twenty-five years by Louis Younger and
his family. In 1927 the state acquired the house and the land around it.
The Menard abode was converted into a museum and gradually some
of its original pieces of furniture were located and restored to it. Today,
it stands as one of the oldest and most noteworthy landmarks of the
American Bottom.
Pointing out that "building types brought up from New Orleans"
are found in the early French settlements along the Mississippi, the
WPA guidebook, Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide, says:
"Typical of these is the Pierre Menard house near Kaskaskia. It is low
and broad, of one story with the attic lighted by dormers and the roof
sweeping out over a columned porch the entire length of the house."
The book adds that "the design of the house recalls the minor plantation
houses of Lousiana."
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 9
After leaving the walnut-trimmed reception hall, where numerous
belongings of Menard's, including his compass, Bible, spectacles, watch,
flute, and flageolet are on display, the visitor is shown the drawing room,
with its imported French mantel, where General Lafayette was enter-
tained when he visited Kaskaskia in 1825. Over the mantel hangs an
oil portrait of Menard. Here, too, are Menard's cowhide trunk and his
mahogany chest, walnut bed, and numerous other personal belongings.
Similar pieces of furniture and heirlooms, including Menard's bar-
Pierre Menard House., Kaskaskia, Built 1802.
ber chair, books (some in French), embroidered velvet vest, two-hun-
dred-year-old clock, wardrobe, walnut swivel-chair, cherry-wood desk,
bear trap, soup ladle, and sausage grinder, are displayed in the parlor,
dining room, and bedrooms. At the rear of the dwelling is the stone
kitchen, with its Dutch oven, huge fireplace, and enormous water basin
carved out of solid stone. Beyond the kitchen stands the stone-built
slave house.
Most of the windows in the Menard dwelling still hold their original
hand-pressed panes, imported from France. On the outside of one of
these panes is an inscription, done with a diamond and presumably by
one of the Menard children, which contains two names, "L. C. Menard"
and "Augustin Louis Cyprian," as well as the place-name "Ste. Gene-
vieve, Mo.," and the date "August 24, 1842."
Illinois' Oldest Brick House
ONE of the first historic landmarks to be considered when WPA archi-
tects began work on the Historic American Buildings Survey in Illinois
was the venerable Jarrot Mansion at Cahokia. There were numerous
reasons for this, not the least of which is that the Jarrot Mansion is per-
haps the oldest brick house in the upper Mississippi Valley.
After measuring, sketching, and photographing the mansion, the
architects drew detailed plans of it under the supervision of their di-
rector, Edgar E. Lundeen, for permanent preservation in the Library of
Congress and in the architectural libraries of the Chicago Art Institute
and the University of Illinois. This mansion was one of several hundred
historic landmarks in all parts of the state thus recorded.
When the building of this residence was begun in 1799, with work-
men making all of its bricks on the spot, there was no state of Illinois.
Cahokia, a thriving French town of log and frame houses, was then in
the Northwest Territory, a territory established by the newly formed
American republic. By the time the mansion was completed in 1806,
the Illinois country was part of Indiana Territory. Later, when it be-
came a state one of the numerous receptions to the first chief executive.
Governor Shadrach Bond, was held in the Jarrot Mansion. A frequent
visitor here before that time, and often afterward, was Ninian Edwards,
governor of Illinois Territory, and the state's first United States senator.
What brought these public officials, as well as many other leading
citizens of Illinois' territorial days, to the Jarrot Mansion was the per-
sonality, influence and status of its master, Nicholas Jarrot. In the
years after the mansion was completed, Jarrot reigned in it as a kind of
feudal lord of Cahokia. He is said to have owned twenty-five thousand
acres of land, including the present site of East St. Louis.
A native of Vesoul, France, where he was born in 1764, Nicholas
Jarrot came to America in 1790, landing at Baltimore. After visiting
New Orleans, he journeyed up the Mississippi River to the French settle-
ments in Illinois. He purchased land at Cahokia in 1793, and four years
later married Julia Beauvais (his second wife), daughter of a wealthy
resident of Ste. Genevieve, across the Mississippi in Missouri.
When the Jarrot Mansion was completed, it became the most ad-
mired dwelling of that region. Here, six Jarrot children were born and
reared. One of them, Vital Jarrot, served in the Black Hawk War, was
elected to the General Assembly, became part owner of the first railroad
in Illinois, and established the first newspaper in East St. Louis,
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SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
11
In the ballroom on the second floor of the Jarrot Mansion was held
the first school in Cahokia. This was in 1809 when Jarrot persuaded a
lawyer from Kentucky, Samuel Davidson, to give up his practice and
become a schoolmaster, at a salary of 3400 a year.
Living almost next door to the Church of the Holy Family, Nicholas
and Mme. Jarrot were a devout couple and always led the family pro-
cession to mass on Sundays and holy days. They were also a generous
and hospitable couple, and balls, receptions, and dinners were frequent
in their stately brick mansion. Here Nicholas Jarrot continued to live
until his death in 1820.
During the great Mississippi River flood of 1844, Mme. Jarrot and
her family went to and from their home in skiffs, tying the boats to the
railing of the stairway in the central reception hall.
Although Cahokia declined rapidly with the rise of St. Louis and
East St. Louis, the widowed Mme. Jarrot remained in her mansion for
many years. But she left it finally and died in East St. Louis in 1875 at
the age of ninety-five.
Her daughter, Mrs. James L. Brackett, occupied the historic dwell-
ing until her own death in 1886. Afterward, the house was occupied by
nuns of the near-by Church of the Holy Family, a church which grew
out of the first mission founded at Cahokia in 1699.
The mansion is one of the few landmarks left in old Cahokia
which now is but a filling-station hamlet just south of East St. Louis.
Nicholas Jarrot Mansion, Cahokia, Completed 1806.
12 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Despite its great age and the disturbances of earthquakes and floods,
the house is in sound condition. On its rear wall can be seen a crack
memento of the 1811 earthquake.
It is a two-story abode of red brick, designed in the Georgian Colo-
nial style which is evident in the white columns of the portico and in the
fan-light over the paneled walnut door.
In many of the windows one can see the original hand-pressed panes,
imported from France. The gabled roof is covered with modern tiles.
The foundation walls, composed of rough stone blocks, are two feet
thick. One portion of the dark, stone-paved basement was used as a
wine cellar and storage room, and another, containing a large crude fire-
place, was evidently the kitchen where Negroes did the family cooking.
In recent years a handful of children, among them dark-eyed de-
scendants of early French settlers of Cahokia, were taught here by black-
cowled nuns from the Holy Family Church just as children were taught
in the ballroom of this mansion more than a hundred years ago.
The Jarrot Mansion was showing signs of considerable wear and
tear when, recently, it was purchased by Oliver Lafayette Parks of East
St. Louis who, after restoring it, converted it into a residence and guest
house. Parks Air College occupies a large airfield near by. Appreciating
the historic value of his newly-acquired house, Mr. Parks commissioned
the St. Louis architectural firm of Study, Farrar & Majers (working in
collaboration with another architectural firm, Hoener & Hubbard) to
restore it as nearly as possible to its original state. The result of their
work is considered a fine example of early American architecture.
On the Ohio
BESIDE the levee on the Illinois side of the Ohio River, in historic old
Shawneetown, there stands a small brick dwelling that has become a
landmark of the state. Originally built as a private home, this ancient
abode is of general interest as the place which housed Illinois' first bank.
Locally it is known as the first brick house in Shawneetown and as the
third brick house in the upper Mississippi Valley.
When the occupant of this house set up the state's first bank here in
1816, the town in which he lived had become an important commercial
center and gateway to the Illinois territory and the West. Down the
Ohio River, in flatboats, came immigrants to Illinois from Virginia and
other eastern states and most of them entered the new country through
Shawneetown. Here the government established a land office and here
business houses flourished.
A legend is current in Shawneetown that once, in the early days, a
group of Chicago businessmen rode three hundred miles on horseback
to negotiate a loan from the bank in the brick house overlooking the
Ohio. They described Chicago, then a village, in glowing terms. But
the loan was not granted. The local bank refused it on the ground that
the village of Chicago was so far from Shawneetown that it could never
amount to anything.
The man who established the bank in the little, two-story brick
house was John Marshall, merchant, leading citizen of pioneer Shawnee-
town, and scion of an old English family. About 1800 his father, Samuel,
who was then living in Ireland, bought property in America specifically
in Shawneetown. But he never came to America to claim it. His three
sons, however, came to this country in 1804 and settled in Shawneetown.
One of these was Samuel K. Marshall, who became a lawyer, soldier,
statesman, and friend of Lincoln.
It was in 1808 that John Marshall built the brick house that was to
become the state's first bank. "It was a remarkable structure for its
time and contrasted sharply with the log cabins and crude frame build-
ings of the Shawneetown of that day/' writes Otis Winn for the Historic
American Buildings Survey.
The house, continues Winn, "was a proper setting for the prosperous
merchant and banker and his devout and gracious wife, who prevailed
upon her husband to promote the building of a badly needed church for
Shawneetown. Their home soon became the center of social, business
and political activities. It was in this building that Marshall had his
13
14
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Historic American Buildings Survey
John Marshall House., Shawneetown, Built 1808.
store, and in which, in 1816, he opened the first bank in Illinois. This
bank was authorized by the Illinois territorial legislature at Kaskaskia,
but because the territory did not back it, the bank issued its own cer-
tificates."
Winn says that after the panic of 1837 the bank could not meet the
demands of its creditors and a few years later was forced to close. Since
that time, the house has been occupied successively by numerous families
and has been, at intervals, partly under water during Ohio River floods.
Its interior is plain but roomy and has been little altered since the days
of John Marshall. A second-floor porch, leading out to the high levee,
was added since the great flood of 1937.
Survivor of English Prairie
IN SOUTHEASTERN Illinois, on the rich, rolling prairie between the
Wabash and Little Wabash rivers, stands the small, thriving city of
Albion, seat of Edwards County. More than a hundred years ago Albion
was well known in America and England as the center of a semi-utopian
colony of British immigrant-farmers called English Prairie. The name
of English Prairie has since disappeared but one of the original buildings
of the colony remains in Albion, the Gibson Harris house. It is now held
in veneration as that city's oldest residence.
Although this dwelling, made of brick and located half a block west
of the Courthouse Square, was constructed at the time English Prairie
was in its prime, it was not built for one of the English colonists, but for
an American who had come west from his birthplace on the Atlantic
seaboard. This man, Francis Dickson, was one of several hundred
Americans who had joined the Englishmen in setting up the colony on
the Illinois prairie. After this community was established, Robert
Owen and his son came from Scotland and founded a similar and more
famous colony across the Wabash River at New Harmony, Indiana.
The old brick house in Albion is believed to be that city's first brick
dwelling. It has the further distinction of being owned and occupied by
members of the same family, that of Gibson Harris, for more than one
hundred and twenty years an unusual record for Illinois.
The man for whom the brick house was built, Francis Dickson, had
conducted a general store in his home. Here he sold supplies to the
English colonists, many of whom had been sailors. Among his customers
were the two men who had founded the colony, Morris Birkbeck and
George Flower. Both of them liberals and idealists, as well as practical
farmers, these two Englishmen wrote books and pamphlets about their
settlement that made it widely known in the early nineteenth century.
One of the best-known of these books was Birkbeck's Letters from
Illinois ) published the same year the colony was founded, 1818 (which
was the same year Illinois was admitted to statehood). He also wrote
Notes on a Journey in America, which described his trip from the Atlantic
seaboard to Illinois. At the same time, George Flower penned many let-
ters to English newspapers describing the colony. In later years he was
to write an authoritative History of the English Settlement in Edwards
County Illinois. William Cobbett visited English Prairie in the early
years of its founding and described it in his Journal of a Year's Residence
in America*
15
16 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
While Francis Dickson was tending his store at Albion, and English
Prairie was flourishing, there lived at near-by Vincennes, Indiana, a
young surveyor named Gibson Harris. A native of Litchfield County,
Connecticut, where he was born in 1791, Harris had come West and
secured employment making maps and plats of the country around Vin-
cennes. While engaged in this work he helped plat Terre Haute. Soon
after English Prairie was founded he crossed the Wabash and joined the
other Americans who had associated themselves with the Englishmen.
Unable to secure work as a surveyor, young Harris found employ-
ment in Albion as a clerk in Francis Dickson's store. Several years later
he married Elizabeth Woods, daughter of John Woods, cultured English-
born hotelkeeper of Albion, whose book, Two Years* Residence in the
Settlement on the English Prairie, the Illinois Country , was another of the
published works which attracted attention to English Prairie and the
great fertile lands of the newborn state of Illinois,
A few years after Gibson Harris bought the house and grocery store
(1826) he erected a separate building for his store, this being located on
his property just to the east of the brick house. Later, this store build-
ing was moved across the street and still stands. As with his predecessor
in the store, Gibson Harris enjoyed the business and esteem of many of
the colonists of English Prairie.
But there was one product Gibson Harris always refused to sell in
his store, and that was liquor. An old history of Edwards County says
of him: "In an early day he took strong grounds in favor of temperance,
nor was it in words alone, but in action as well. It was the custom of
the times to have liquor on sale in such establishments (general stores).
This he would not do. Years afterward this was imputed to him as a
virtue, though at the time his customers thought it a hardship."
After selling his house and store, Francis Dickson entered other
fields. In his later life he lived at Louisville, Kentucky, where he was
occupied as a bookkeeper. A brother of his, Dr. Henry L. Dickson, was
a well-known physician In southern Illinois during the 1850' s and 1860's.
Gibson Harris died in 1847 and the operation of the store was con-
tinued by his widow with the aid of three of her sons. Another son,
Gibson, Jr., studied law at Springfield under Abraham Lincoln but after-
ward gave up law and went to Cincinnati where he became wealthy as
a mattress manufacturer. It is said that he turned down an offer of a
government post from President Lincoln, feeling that he was doing well
enough in the mattress business.
The Harris house is a two-story, gable-roofed dwelling, its old brick
walls painted a dull yellow. It is one of the few houses in Albion built
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
17
Gibson Harris House , Albion, Built about 1818.
flush against the sidewalk. Originally, the house contained only four
rooms but it was enlarged and now contains nine. Most of the rooms
were warmed by big fireplaces but these, with the exception of one, have
have been walled up.
Among numerous Harris family heirlooms and relics of early days
that were handed down from generation to generation with the house
were a set of blue china dishes brought over from England by the parents
of Gibson Harris' wife/a corner whatnot, an old-fashioned walnut parlor
organ, a four-poster bed, and a drop-leaf table.
In the Georgian NLanner
WHEN the semi-utopian colony of English Prairie was in its prime, one
of its best-known residents was George French. As a tailor and clothing
merchant, he had become prosperous and highly esteemed. And the
house he built then, a two-story brick dwelling in the Georgian manner,
still stands. It is one of the historic landmarks of the city of Albion,
which was the commercial center of the pioneer settlement of English
Prairie.
Although there is no proof of it, local historians are certain that
George French was among the many who were induced to come to Eng-
lish Prairie by reading the books and writings of the colony's two found-
ers, Morris Birkbeck and George Flower.
Originally, the early settlers of English Prairie lived in log cabins.
They were mostly English tenant farmers who had acquired sufficient
capital to purchase land of their own in America and who had come to
English Prairie, in Illinois, because of its fertile soil and its ideal location
Historic American Buildings Survey
George French House, Albion, Built 1841.
18
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 19
between the North and South. As they thrived and prospered, they
supplanted their log cabins with frame and brick dwellings.
Just when George French arrived at English Prairie has not been
determined, but it is known that he built his brick house in 1841. This
was at a time when brick houses were first beginning to appear in Illinois.
A year after the French dwelling was built, another prominent resident
of the colony, Dr. Frank B. Thompson, erected a brick house next door
to the George French abode.
It is said that George French designed his own house. If so, he re-
produced, in a minor way, an architectural style that was prevalent in
England earlier. Here is found the elliptical arched doorway with fan-
light and sidelights, as well as cornices and stone band courses, of a
typical dwelling of the Georgian era.
Situated across from the Courthouse Square at the junction of two
important highways in Albion, the French house and the Thompson
house (now occupied by Albion's public library) have long been noted
as landmarks by passing motorists. The interior of the George French
home is commodious, simple, and dignified and is enhanced by several
attractive fireplaces.
For many decades this house was occupied by Elizabeth French,
daughter of the original owner. She lived a quiet existence here and
then, after her death some years ago at an advanced age, an interesting
discovery was made in the house. It was found that Miss French had
been painting pictures for many years and her oils and water colors were
in practically every room of the ancient residence.
"Old Ranger" Lived Here
AMONG prominent citizens of early Belleville, old Illinois city on the
bluffs east of the American Bottom, the two best known were Ninian
Edwards and John Reynolds both served as governors of Illinois. Al-
though the home in which Ninian Edwards lived has long since disap-
peared, Governor Reynolds' residence survives and is one of the principal
historic shrines of the southern Illinois city.
In addition to being fourth governor of the state, John Reynolds
was one of the most colorful figures of pioneer Illinois, and his fame was
known throughout the country and even in Europe. After his career
as governor he served in Congress for many terms, headed a state junket-
ing trip to Europe and wrote numerous books about pioneer Illinois life
which are now highly prized as collectors' items. In his younger days
he served in the War of 1812 and became known as "Old Ranger" be-
cause of his activities in running down Indian bands on the prairies.
From a biographical study of John Reynolds, written by Miss
Maude Underwood, assistant librarian of the Belleville Public Library,
we learn that he acquired his Belleville residence in 1843. The house,
however, is said to have been built in 1820. Since there were clay de-
posits near Belleville, many of its earliest houses, including the Reynolds
abode, were made of brick.
It was after the close of his congressional career in Washington that
Governor Reynolds returned to Belleville and moved into the then im-
posing two-story brick residence. He brought with him into this house
his second wife, a former Maryland girl, whom he married in Washing-
ton. She was twenty years his junior. His first wife was Catherine
Dubuque, whose father was honored in the naming of Dubuque, Iowa.
"In the corner of his residential lot," writes Miss Underwood,
"Reynolds erected a small one-story brick house of two or three rooms,
ostensibly for a law office. But his practice of law was a secondary mat-
ter to him. His hobby was meeting and talking to people. He was
content with having attained his goal and as the sunset of life ap-
proached, he began to live among his memories, which, happily for us,
he recorded in printed form. Although his writings lack literary style,
although there is no order or sequence of events or dates, his rambling
narratives of people, places, and events fill a certain vitally important
niche in Illinois history."
We are told that he purchased an old hand press and a lot of type,
set them up in his law office and hired unemployed printers to produce
20
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
21
Governor John Reynolds House, Belleville, Built 1820.
his books, as well as pamphlets, two weekly papers, and handbills. His
best-known book is The Pioneer History of Illinois, published in 1852.
Others are Adventures of John Kelly ', Sketches of the Country on the
Northern Route from Belleville ', ///., to New York, and The Balm of Gilead.
Governor Reynolds died on May 8, 1865, at the age of seventy-
seven. His house was subsequently occupied by a man named Nether-
ling and afterward it was the home of Professor William Feigenbutz,
leading resident of the German community of Belleville and onetime
director of the locally famed Liederkranz, or singing society.
The house is still in sound condition. It contains eight rooms, in
most of which the woodwork is of black walnut, plain and undistin-
guished. The original fireplaces remain in the main rooms. Aware of
the historical significance of his dwelling, the owner, Walter D. Schmitt,
correspondent of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Belleville, has placed a
historical marker at the front entrance, which designates the house as
the onetime home of Governor Reynolds.
It Was Unionville Then
A FEW YEARS after the four Collins brothers acquired land at a little
southern Illinois settlement called Unionville which now is a bustling
city of ten thousand population known as Collinsville they built a
comfortable, two-story frame dwelling in preparation for the arrival of
their parents, sisters, and a' younger brother, Frederick, from Litchfield,
Connecticut. This was in 1821 and that house still stands on its original
site. It is now revered as a landmark not only in Collinsville but
throughout the southwestern part of the state.
The Collins brothers Anson, William, Augustus, and Michael
first came to Madison County in 1817, buying the land holdings of
UnionviUVs first settler, John Cook. The brothers were active and
energetic businessmen and soon established industries at Unionville a
sawmill, a distillery, a flour mill, and a store. They also built a small
frame meetinghouse for the infant community and are said to have
taken turns reading the services. The name "Collinsville" was given to
the settlement when it was learned there was another village in Illinois
called Unionville.
In telling of the Collins brothers, Illinois: A Descriptive and His-
torical Guide says: "The oldest brother, William, suffering a dearth of
ideas for suitable sermons, wrote to the Rev. Lyman Beecher, his former
pastor in Litchfield, asking for suggestions. The Rev. Mr. Beecher
quickly forwarded six temperance tracts, the substance of which William
passed on to his congregation.
"After one of these sermons on abstemiousness, so it is said, his
wife asked: 'Doesn't it look peculiar to be preaching against strong
drink on Sunday and then be making and selling whisky on Monday?'
William wrestled with his conscience and the following day wrecked the
distillery."
It is recorded that William's brothers agreed with him in quitting
the whisky business. They afterward separated, William alone remain-
ing in Collinsville. The other four settled in other parts of the state, and
in St. Louis, established business enterprises, founded families, and did
their share in helping to build up the country.
However, it may even be said of William B. Collins that he was the
"father" of Collinsville. It was he who donated to Collinsville the
ground for a city hall, as well as sites for a public school and for the
Presbyterian Church, and for a parsonage and cemetery. He died at
Collinsville in 1835. His widow and three children survived him.
22
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
23
The old Collins home is described at some length in a printed
volume, The Collins Family, written by William H. Collins and pub-
lished at Quincy, in 1897. At the time this book was printed, the house
was occupied by Elizabeth A. Collins Reed and her children. Five
generations of the Collins family had lived in the house, the book dis-
closes.
"The joists were made of oak trees hewn to a straight edge on one
side to receive the floor," says the book. "The weatherboards were of
William B. Collins House, Collinsville, Built 1821.
black walnut. In the kitchen was a huge brick oven about four by six
feet. . . . Grape vines festooned the two-story porch in the front of the
house. . . . Under the entire house was a huge cellar, and often here were
stored from ten to twenty barrels of cider, and from ten to forty barrels
of apples . . . Locust and hard maple trees stood in the front yard, while
walnut, chestnut, apple, and cherry formed a windbreak to the west and
north/ 5
A small porch has now replaced the two-story veranda which origi-
nally spanned the front of the house.
"Living M.useum"
WHAT has been termed a "living museum' 7 is the old General John M.
Robinson house in Carmi. Surrounded by ancient shade trees, this low,
white, trim dwelling remains serene and secure in a city that has become
an exciting oil boom town, a long-settled city around which are derricks,
trailers, pipelines, and other evidences of an oil bonanza. Not many of
the oil men who crowd the streets of Carmi these days know that the
low, white house opposite the courthouse park is one of the oldest historic
shrines of White Couaty and the lower Wabash River country.
Now identified as the General Robinson house, so-called because of
his prominence in the early history of Illinois and because his descend-
ants have occupied the house since, it was originally built by John Craw,
one of the earliest settlers of White County. Believed to have been
erected in the second decade of the nineteenth century, the house was
constructed of logs, but these have since been covered with clapboards.
It is recorded that from 1817 to 1820 the Craw house served as a tem-
porary courthouse a role which it again played from 1824 to 1828.
During this latter period White County's first murder trial that of
Frederick Cotner was held in the Craw house.
After General Robinson purchased it in 1835, he added several
wings to the dwelling. The new occupant was subsequently to be ap-
pointed, and later elected, to the U. S. Senate, where he represented
Illinois for eleven years. Later he was appointed a justice of the Illinois
Supreme Court. With his passing, the house was occupied by his widow
and when she died was taken over by a daughter, Mrs. Margaret Robin-
son Stewart. When the writer visited the dwelling in the fall of 1942 it
was occupied by Mrs. Stewart's daughter, Mary Jane Stewart, and Mrs.
Fannie Hay Maffitt, descendant of a pioneer Carmi family.
What made the General Robinson house a "living museum" was its
great array of furniture and other household appurtenances associated
with the general and other historical characters of the state and nation.
Much of this furniture was purchased in the East by General Robinson
and his wife when they were living in Washington. In the house, too,
were a wall clock and other relics from an early Carmi tavern operated by
the general's father-in-law, James Ratcliff. These articles were in use
in the tavern when Abraham Lincoln was a guest there in 1840 while
campaigning for Harrison.
Another Lincoln item in the Robinson home was a small silver mug
which he is said to have used when it was offered to him by Patty Webb,
24
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
25
John M. Robinson House, Carmi, Built before 1817.
the eight-year-old daughter of Edwin B. Webb, who was General Robin-
son's brother-in-law and also a friend of Lincoln's. It is said that Webb
at one time was a rival of Lincoln's for the hand of Mary XodcL
Other articles in the Robinson house associated with Webb (who
also was a Wliig candidate for governor of Illinois as well as a cousin of
Harriet Lane, adopted daughter of President Buchanan) were an old
candle lantern, a two-hundred-year-old mirror, a cherry table, and an
oil portrait of Webb himself. Among Robinson family heirlooms were
a four-poster bed, samplers, old silver, an 184:9 piano, a spinning wheel,
oil portraits, early books and newspapers, and old-fashioned silhouettes.
In the south room stood a venerable rosewood secretary containing
a copy of John Quincy Adams' eulogy of Lafayette, delivered in 1834,
It is autographed thus: "John M. Robinson from John Quincy Adams."
Here, too, were letters written by Lincoln, William Henry Harrison, and
Henry Clay, as well as one of the visiting cards of the wife of President
Polk.
An old-fashioned English flower garden at the rear of the house
adjoins a small frame building used as an office by General Robinson
when he was at home in CarmL
The Captain's Mansion
ONE of the most colorful figures of early Illinois history, a man whose
life was punctuated with numerous adventures both before and after he
settled in the Prairie State, was master of the old gray limestone mansion
overlooking the highway just north of Godfrey. As a pioneer financier
of near-by Alton this man played an important role in the development
of southern Illinois. He is best remembered, however, as the founder of
Monticello College and Preparatory School for Girls, one of the state's
oldest institutions of higher learning.
This man was Captain Benjamin Godfrey, whose name was be-
stowed on the village outside Alton where he established his young ladies'
college and where he lived during the latter part of his life. In view of
Captain Godfrey's earlier career, it is somewhat surprising that such a
man should found a college for "females." For he had been an unedu-
cated Cape Cod shipmaster who had sailed the seven seas and had never
seen the inside of a college building before coming to Alton.
After becoming settled in his many-roomed mansion, a two-story
dwelling marked by spacious Southern-style galleries, Captain Godfrey
set about establishing his college and in so doing directly benefited the
cause of education throughout the Midwest. For he selected as Monti-
cello's first principal a young Yale graduate named Theron Baldwin,
who was afterward to exercise wide influence as an educator.
From a memorandum on the Godfrey mansion written by the late
Herbert E. Hewitt of Peoria for the Historic American Buildings Survey,
we learn that the Godfrey abode was built by one Calvin Riley between
the years 1831 and 1833. Captain Godfrey took possession of it in 1834
and here he lived until his death in 1862. During this time he was twice
married.
"The house is built with eighteen-inch walls of local limestone, and
the structural lumber is of oak and other native trees," reads Mr.
Hewitt's memorandum. "The exterior millwork is apparently the work
of unskilled craftsmen, both in design and execution. Although there is
an occasional profile which suggests the Greek Revival, it is as though it
was designed from a hazy memory. The interiors indicate a higher
quality of craftsmanship, the millwork presumably being imported from
New Orleans or Massachusetts. The atmosphere of the whole indicates
a Southern influence."
Before moving into this house Captain Godfrey had acquired a
considerable fortune through extensive financial operations at Alton in
26
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 27
connection with Mississippi River steamboat traffic. He and an asso-
ciate were then heads of the newly chartered Alton State Bank. He had
come to Alton in 1832 and a year later entered the storage and commis-
sion business in partnership with his close friend, Winthrop S. Oilman.
The firm prospered and became well known up and down the river.
It was in the Godfrey, Gilrnan & Co, warehouse, on the Alton river-
front, that Elijah Lovejoy, fighting antislavery editor, had his printing
Benjamin Godfrey Residence, Godfrey, Completed 1833.
press hidden when he was killed by a down-river proslavery mob in
1837. After leaving the banking field Captain Godfrey became a rail-
road promoter and built a line between Alton and Springfield. During
its construction he lived m a railway coach and followed the work as it
progressed. This line is now part of the Alton system.
When his railroad was completed Captain Godfrey returned to his
stone mansion on the outskirts of Alton and once more devoted himself
to his favorite project, Monticello Female Seminary (as it was then
called). He strongly felt that girls should have equal educational oppor-
tunities with boys. In carrying out this belief he contributed 2110,000
to the founding of his college. He remained a trustee of the school until
his death.
28 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Before coming to Alton Captain Godfrey had led a career filled with
adventure in many parts of the world. A native of Chatham, Massa-
chusetts, where he was born December 4, 1794, he ran away to sea
when he was nine, lived in Ireland for some years, served in the United
States Navy during the War of 1812, became captain of a merchantman
in the Mediterranean and Caribbean trade, and finally lost his ship
during a storm in the Gulf of Mexico.
One account of him says that he then "set up as a merchant at
Matamoros, Mexico, near the mouth of the Rio Grande, accumulated
a fortune of 2200,000 and was transporting it on pack-mules to the States
when he was waylaid by brigands and robbed of the whole amount. He
began again in New Orleans, prospered and moved in 1832 to Alton, 111."
Not only did Captain Godfrey engage in the banking and railroad
businesses, but he was also active in the land-speculation field. At one
time he is said to have owned more than ten thousand acres. When he
died in 1862 he held four thousand acres in the county in which he lived
Madison. He is described as a man who was "shrewd, daring, tena-
cious, and life on the seas and in remote trading ports had made him
somewhat high-handed."
His house is a landmark of the Alton region and is often visited by
historically minded persons from all parts of the state and by students
of the college he founded. It is evidently little changed, except for in-
terior furnishings, since the days it was occupied by the enterprising
Cape Cod sea captain. The wood mantels on the first floor, as well as
some of the interior woodwork, show the Greek Revival style of design
in vogue during the 1830's and 1840's.
For the past four decades the old Godfrey mansion has been oc-
cupied by Mr. and Mrs. William L. Waters. They appreciate the his-
torical significance of their dwelling and have kept it, as well as the land-
scaped grounds around it, in first-class condition. On view in the living
room of the house is a large collection of Indian relics, including axes,
peace pipes, farming implements, and religious and ceremonial objects.
These were collected by Mr. Waters over a period of many years.
Within walking distance of the house, in a wooded tract of three
hundred acres, stand the limestone buildings of Monticello College, now
gray with age and covered with ivy, and across from the campus rises
the spire of the venerable Godfrey Congregational Church, a striking
example of Greek Revival architecture.
The Old Slave House
SOME NATIVES of the surrounding countryside say the house is
haunted. They will tell you that at certain times you can hear strange
meanings and wailings from the dark attic. At other times, they say,
you can make out what sounds like sad Negro spirituals.
But whether or not all this is true, the big, rangy old mansion on
the grassy hilltop overlooking the Saline River Valley near Shawnee-
town, is of distinct historic interest, not only because of its great age
and the prominence of the man who lived in it, but also because of its
architecture and the events that occurred in its vicinity.
It is probably one of the best-known landmarks in the southeastern
part of the state. Standing in lonely isolation, its columned verandas
outlined against the sky, this dwelling is now generally known down in
the Ohio River country as the "Old Slave House."
In the more than one hundred years of its existence, legends and
superstitions have grown up about it like climbing vines and these tales
have attracted and continue to attracthundreds of visitors each year.
It is easily accessible to motorists, being located near the intersection of
State Highways 1 and 13.
From the official guidebook of the state, we learn that the sinister
legends arose from the house's association with the Ohio River slave
traffic. "Under the eaves on the third floor," says the guidebook, "are
tiny cells, each less than the height of a man, equipped with two narrow
wooden bunks. Chain anchors are embedded in the floors of these cells,
and the door frames appear to have been cross-hatched with bars. A
strange contraption of timbers on this floor, according to the present
residents, was a torture instrument."
It was in 1834 that work was begun on this big hilltop mansion. The
man who had it built, and who afterward made it well known, was John
Hart Crenshaw, whose family had settled in Gallatin County in 1811.
Upon reaching maturity, John Crenshaw entered the salt-making
industry the principal industry of Gallatin County and one that made
the county famous throughout the Midwest in pioneer days. Here were
located natural salt wells and here, on both banks of the Saline River,
were built salt furnaces for reducing the briny water of the wells into
crystals.
John Crenshaw had prospered in this business and by 1834 he was
ready to build a large home for himself; one that would be suitable to
his station as a leading citizen. In addition to his wife, he had five chil-
29
30
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
dren. As a site for his new home, he chose the top of a high hill near the
little pioneer town of Equality, once the seat of Galiatin County. He
named his place Hickory Hill. The builder of the Crenshaw mansion
was William Cavin, widely known contractor and architect in early days.
The house, it is said, required some ten years to build. Architec-
turally, it is, as one authority puts it, an "ungainly adaptation of the
Greek Parthenon." This places it in the Greek Revival era of American
architecture. Twelve great columns, hewn from pine trees, support first
Chicago Daily News
John Crenshaw Residence, Equality, Built 1834.
and second story verandas stretching clear across the fagade of the dwell-
ing. The third floor, containing the sinister and much-storied cells>
forms a pediment. of imposing, though hardly Grecian, proportion and
design. Without trees or landscaping around it, the house looks bare
and stark as it stands there on the summit of Hickory Hill.
In a detailed article on the Old Slave House, written by Barbara
Burr Hubbs for the Illinois Journal of Commerce, the dark little cubicles
in the attic are described as having been used "to house the slaves who
worked the salt wells and kettles. Yes, even in the free State of Illinois."
She goes on to explain: "Employers unable to secure laborers were al-
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 31
lowed to lease slaves from their owners m slave territory. This arrange-
ment obtained especially at the salines."
We learn further that John Crenshaw "leased numbers of Negroes
in Kentucky and brought them to Equality to work at his salt wells and
furnaces." After working hours, these Negroes had to be closely guarded,
it was said, because if any of them escaped the lessee would be required
to pay the owner the full price of the slave. The "torture instrument"
referred to in the state guidebook was a whipping post in which ma-
lingerers among the slaves were given bodily punishment. It is still on
exhibit in the attic, as are the stuffy, dark cubicles.
There were two whipping posts. Mrs. Hubbs tells us that they
were "built of heavy timber pegged together. A man of average height
could be strung up by his wrists, and his toes would barely touch the
lower cross-piece. What wonder that the superstitious say that mys-
terious voices can be heard in that attic, sometimes moaning, sometimes
singing the spirituals that comfort heavy hearts."
After explaining how free Negroes in Illinois were often kidnapped,
their certificates of freedom stolen from them, and how they were then
sold back into slavery across the Ohio River in Kentucky, and after re-
ferring to "dark tales" told of the Crenshaw attic, Mrs. Hubbs goes on:
"Whatever their truth, we have the record of one occasion when sus-
picion was strong. Leading citizen John Crenshaw was indicted for
kidnapping by a Gallatin County grand jury. . . . The case was tried at
the spring term of court, 1842. Mr. Crenshaw was acquitted."
At that time feeling was beginning to run high between pro- and
antislavery factions. Soon after Crenshaw was acquitted his salt works
on the Saline River were burned to the ground. There were rumors that
Negroes set the works on fire in revenge for their abducted friends. But
many people insisted that the fire was accidental. The salt works were
rebuilt and John Crenshaw continued as Salt King of Gallatin County.
Another story told of the Crenshaw house is that its rear wall orig-
inally contained huge double doors that provided an opening large
enough to admit a carriage or small wagon. A driveway led up to this
entrance. The legend is that frequently, during the night, a wagon
would drive into the rear part of the house, and, after the doors were
carefully closed, the occupants of the wagon slaves were hurried up
a small stairway to the third-floor attic. These doors have long since
disappeared and this part of the house has been remodeled into a large,
comfortable dining room.
John Crenshaw died in 1871 and his widow died ten years later. A
faded monument in Hickory Hill Cemetery marks their graves.
Home of the Quadroon Girl
AMONG the many colorful stories of that hilly region of southern Illi-
nois known as "Egypt," one of the most familiar is that of the Quad-
roon Girl. The house in which this girl spent most of her life still stands
near Mulkeytown. The original log house was built more than a cen-
tury ago, but about sixty years ago it was covered with clapboards and
other improvements were made. Each midsummer, when hollyhocks
bloom around this house, one hears of the Quadroon Girl once again.
This touching story was finally put into print by J. G. Mulcaster, his-
torical writer of Makanda, who gave all the details in an article in the
October, 1935, issue of the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society.
It was on a Carolina plantation in the early years of the nineteenth
century that the story of the Quadroon Girl begins. She was then a
Simpson Studio
Basil Silkwood House, Near Mulkeytown, Built 1830's.
child. Her name was Priscilla, She and the other Negro children on the
plantation enjoyed a happy existence, playing games among the cabins
and around the big house. And when she grew tired of playing Priscilla
found pleasure in admiring the hollyhocks which bloomed in profusion
on her master's estate.
Then, when Priscilla was about nine years old, the master of the
32
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 33
plantation became ill and died. All of the Negro children, as well as their
parents, were saddened by his death. In due time the master's estate
was sold at public auction. And this sale included the Negro slaves,
among them Priscilla. She was in a group of older slaves who became
the property of a wealthy Cherokee Indian. As the Indian returned
home with his slaves, Priscilla carefully guarded something in the pocket
of her apron. What she had in that pocket was a handful of hollyhock
seeds from her late master's garden. The Indian finally arrived at his
home in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina.
Here Priscilla lived for the next few years, and, although in a strange
mountain country and among strange people, she derived pleasure from
the hollyhocks which the Indian had allowed her to grow. But in 1838
the government issued an order that the Cherokee tribe of Indians must
move westward to Indian Territory.
Once more the Quadroon Girl had to give up her beloved holly-
hocks. Along with hundreds of other Cherokees, the Indian who owned
Priscilla journeyed westward over the mountains. He was not allowed
to take any other property but his slaves. Finally they arrived at Jones-
boro, near the southern tip of Illinois. As it was then early winter, make-
shift quarters were provided until spring.
It was here that Priscilla was bought by a new master, a white man.
But this purchase was a stroke of good luck for her. For her new
master, who paid one thousand dollars for her, merely bought Priscilla to
free her. This man was Basil Silkwood, who had come to Illinois from
Pennsylvania, acquired land in Franklin County, near Mulkeytown,
built himself a log house and set up a tavern in his dwelling, which in
the early days was known as the Silkwood Tavern, or Half Way House,
being situated halfway between Shawneetown and East St. Louis.
Basil Silkwood hated slavery. He did all he could to prevent its
spread in Illinois in those early days. He was also a childless man. So
he became the foster father of sixteen orphans. When these orphans
grew to maturity and were married, he gave each forty acres of land.
Among his charges was the Quadroon Girl. Although he gave Priscilla
her freedom, she preferred to remain in the Silkwood household where
she lived to be seventy years old.
During the summer months the visitor to this old home can see the
hollyhocks originally planted by the Quadroon Girl hollyhocks which
reminded the woman of her carefree childhood days in the South. These
hollyhocks are not of the usual variety seen in the North. They are a
dwarf type and have small, red blooms. Not far from the house is the
grave of the Quadroon Girl in the Silkwood lot of Reed Cemetery.
Birthplace of the Great Commoner
THREE BLOCKS south of the business district of Salem, Illinois,
stands a little, old, white-painted house that is to the town what the
Abraham Lincoln home is to Springfield. The reason for this is that here
was born a man who, if not so great as Lincoln, was a national figure for
more than a quarter of a century, playing an important role in modern
American history.
This man was William Jennings Bryan. He was born in this house
March 19, 1860. Now owned by the city of Salem, the dwelling is a
Bryan museum containing relics and souvenirs of the "Great Com-
moner."
In addition to this dwelling, Salem has other memorials to the man
who was thrice candidate for President and was Secretary of State in
the cabinet of President Wilson before World War I. Adjoining the
little house is the Bryan-Bennett Library, dedicated by William Jen-
nings Bryan himself in 1908. It is now housed in a new building of
simple but dignified architecture.
Also at Salem, seat of Marion County, is a seventy-four acre tract
of land that the city has set aside as Bryan Memorial Park. Just north-
west of the town is the old Bryan place, home of the elder Bryan, where
William played as a boy. This country residence still stands in its grove
of ancient trees and is as much visited today as the Bryan birthplace.
The little house where Bryan came into the world was built in 1852
by William's father, Silas Lillard Bryan. This was shortly after Silas
Bryan had married Maria Elizabeth Jennings, who had been a pupil of
his when he was a teacher at Walnut Hill, near Salem. At the time of his
marriage, Silas Bryan had but recently been admitted to practice as a
lawyer. Prior to this he had served as superintendent of county schools.
A striking parallel exists between the Lincoln and Bryan families.
Like the Lincolns, the Bryans originated in Virginia, came west to Ken-
tucky, then moved north to arrive finally in Illinois in 1842.
Settled in the small, unpretentious home in Salem, a home that
was outfitted with furniture made at near-by Walnut Hill, Silas Bryan
became one of the best-known citizens of Marion County. He was
elected to the state Senate, became a judge of the Circuit Court in 1861,
and was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention of 1870.
Judge Bryan served a total of twelve years on the Circuit Court.
The Bryans lived in the Salem dwelling until William was six, then
they moved to their country home outside the city. After they left the
34
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
35
William Jennings Bryan House, Salem, Built 1852.
house in Salem it was successively owned by a number of families until
finally taken over by the city and established as a Bryan memorial.
Through the center of the house runs a small entry hall; on one side
is a sitting room and on the other a parlor. The two rooms constitute
the museum part of the house. A kitchen and dining room are at the
rear. Two bedrooms are on the second floor. A small porch stretches
across the front of the dwelling.
Among outstanding exhibits in the museum are a rifle presented to
Bryan when he was commander of a regiment during the Spanish-
American War, the uniform he then wore, first editions of his books, the
glasses he wore while Secretary of State, a watch chain made out of Mrs.
Bryan's hair, pebbles gathered by Mr. Bryan on the shore of the Sea of
Galilee, a temperance loving cup, an ancient typewriter, a solid silver
toothpick case he used, the flag that draped his coffin, and numerous
badges and other souvenirs of the Democratic convention at Chicago in
1896 where his famous "Cross of Gold" speech made him a candidate
for President.
Under the Magnolias
IN THE DAYS when great white packets steamed up and down the
Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and the city of Cairo at their confluence
was a leading river port, there were built many imposing mansions along
the magnolia-shaded streets of the steamboat metropolis. One of the
best known of these, particularly in the years after the Civil War, was
the Galigher house, a spacious Victorian residence at the southeast
corner of Washington Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street. Construction
of this noteworthy dwelling was begun in 1869 and completed in 1872.
Because of its ornate style of architecture and for the reason that it
was the scene of a gala reception for General and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant
upon their return from a world tour in 1880, this house was included in
the Illinois section of the Historic American Buildings Survey. However,
a note in the Survey says, "This subject is not represented by drawings,
the photographic record being made to show what was considered a fine
home of the period. The heavy, ornate, and uneasy style of architecture
of the house is expressive of the taste of the time and its prototype is
found in all parts of the country."
The man who erected this imposing brick residence was Charles A.
Galigher, a leading citizen of Cairo during the Civil War era. After the
house was completed, it was widely admired for its architecture and its
setting. The walls, it is said, are of double brick, with a ten-inch air
space between to keep out the dampness of the river region in which
Cairo is located. A high, white fence enclosed the original grounds and
many magnolia trees were planted.
An outstanding social center during the 1870's, the Galigher man-
sion reached the peak of its fame on April 16, 1880, when ex-President
and Mrs. Grant were guests there for two days. This was not Grant's
first visit to Cairo, for during the early part of the Civil War he estab-
lished headquarters there and directed the successful campaigns against
Forts Henry and Donelson. He set up his headquarters in the Halliday
Hotel.
As a guest of the Galighers, General Grant occupied the southeast
bedroom on the second floor. The southwest bedroom was occupied by
Mrs. Grant and here she displayed to the ladies of the house many
trunksful of gifts and souvenirs gathered on the world tour she and her
husband had just completed.
During this visit several receptions were held in the first-floor draw-
ing room of the house, and General Grant, between puffs on his familiar
36
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
37
black cigar, Is said to have remarked on the resemblance of the Galigher
drawing room to the drawing room of the White House. At the end of
their visit, the Grants journeyed northward to the house which had been
presented to them by the citizens of Galena. (See page 188.)
In the years following this visit, Mr. and Mrs. Galigher continued
Historic American Buildings Survey
Charles A. Galigher House., Cairo y Completed 1872*
to welcome guests in the big mansion among the magnolias. Then, in
1914, the house was acquired by Peter T. Langan, a well-known lumber
dealer of Cairo. Both he and Mrs. Langan continued the tradition of
hospitality established by the Galighers. They also kept the house in
good repair, appreciating the fact that it was a landmark of the city.
After the death of Mr. Langan his widow sold the property to the present
(1948) occupants, Colonel and Mrs. Fain W. King, who have taken up
the Galigher tradition where their predecessors left off.
PART IT, CENTRAL ILLINOIS
As more and more homeseekers^ with their pots and pans,
their children and cattle, came into the vast upper Mississippi
V alley ^ they spread out over the grassy prairies of central Illi-
nois. They took root and^ as their worldly fortunes increased^
they built comfortable houses of wood^ of stone, of brick. These
houses were designed like the homes their owners had known
earlier in the East and South. Many were in the Greek Revival
and Roman Revival styles. Also> there were houses patterned
after the Georgian and French modes. On farms and in the
cities appeared mansions with spacious verandas^ scrollwork
trim, mansard roofs, and ornamental cupolas. These were the
homes of successful farmers^ merchants^ lawyers, and public
officials of central Illinois men who had come to the state
when they were young, come with empty pockets but heads full
of dreams. One of the visitors in many of these homes was Abe
Lincoln, a circuit-riding Springfield lawyer and storyteller
who had less in his pockets and more in his head than any of
them.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Carrollton
Eldred
Charleston
Hudson
Normal
Bloomington
Towanda
Quincy
Jacksonville
Danville
Nauvoo
12. Peoria
13. Beardstown
14. Virginia
15. Paris
16. Springfield
17. Cantrall
18. Lewlston
19. Petersburg
20. Bement
21. Urbana
22. Decatur
English Architecture
A FEW MILES west of Carrollton, seat of Greene County and center
of a long-settled argicultural region near the lower reaches of the Illinois
River, stand several interesting old houses which survive from the ffene
when, more than a century ago, a group of English colonists settled in
this region and called their community Mount Pleasant. This name has
since become obscure and most of the settlement's original houses have
disappeared, but what few remain give evidence of English architectural
origins.
One of the best of these, not only for its architecture and setting, but
also because four generations of the same family have lived in it con-
tinuously, is the old Hobson house, located just west of Carrollton on
the original Hobson farm. Living in it at the time material was gathered
for this book was Mrs. Lansing A. Dickson, great-granddaughter of the
builder and kin to the founder of Mount Pleasant. Because of her anti-
quarian tastes, Mrs. Dickson had preserved such a collection of family
heirlooms as is rarely seen in old houses of the state. The house was a
veritable museum of pioneer furniture and other household belongings.
The story of the origin of this house goes back to 1822 when Mrs.
Dickson's great-grandfather, James Hobson, and his family, together
with several other families, all of Cumberland County, England, decided
to set sail for America. They embarked at Liverpool in the brig Yama-
crow and made the voyage to New York in forty-seven days. Then, by
wagon and flatboat, they came to Illinois and acquired tracts of land
just west of Carrollton, which had been founded only a few years earlier.
From all available evidence, it appears that James Hobson erected
his brick house some time in the 1820's which places it among the
oldest brick dwellings in Illinois.
"Except for a few minor changes in the interior caused by the add-
ing of electrical equipment, a water pressure system, plumbing, and a
furnace, this house is just as my great-grandfather built it/' said Mrs.
Dickson. "All of the brick used in its construction was made by hand
on the farm, the work being done by masons, carpenters, and glaziers
after they had completed work on the Robert Black home down the
road. This house still stands and is the oldest in the county. Robert
Black was one of the men who came over from England with my great-
grandfather."
In the various walnut-trimmed rooms of this comfortable two-story
dwelling were many Hobson family heirlooms a trundle bed, four gen-
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41
Lyle D. Stone
James Hob son House, Near Carrollton, Built 1820*s.
erations of wedding dresses, five generations of peacock fans, marble-
topped walnut tables, a cupboard made by Mrs. Dickson's grandfather
in which no nails were used, four-poster beds, numerous old-fashioned
chests, oval-framed family portraits, crockery, ancient trunks, and pio-
neer traveling bags.
Throughout the house were beautiful hooked and braided rugs de-
signed and made by Mrs. Dickson herself. Especially interesting, both
historically and artistically, was the wallpaper of the parlor. Here, Mrs.
Dickson designed and executed by hand a paper which contained Direc-
toire wreaths and inside each wreath were engravings of early scenes in
Greene County taken from an old county atlas, dated 1873. Over the
fireplace was an engraving of her own house, taken from the same atlas.
The exterior of the abode is of mellow red brick with white stone
lintels, and over portions of it climbs English ivy. The style of architec-
ture is markedly English. An attractive doorway, with fanlight and
sidelights, gives entrance to a large hallway, flanked by the drawing
room and a pleasant living room. And in the flower garden under a
great old tree grow narcissus bulbs which were brought from England
by Mrs. Dickson's great-grandmother more than a century ago.
A Pioneer Editor's Home
A FEW years ago there appeared in the Carrollton Patriot, published
at Carrollton, Illinois, an article which started a literary argument and
which once more brought attention to a small, ancient stone house sit-
uated on the lower reaches of the Illinois River.
The controversy was over the question of whether or not Charles
Dickens, on his first tour of America in 1842, visited that little stone
house at the time he was stopping in St. Louis. Although the dispute
has not yet been settled, the small house is still worthy of attention, for
it was the home of a pioneer Illinois editor, author, and scholar whose
writings were widely read in his time.
That editor was John Russell. He came to Greene County in 1828
and immediately began building his house with stone from the near-by
limestone bluffs. When it was completed, he called it "Bluffdale." It
was John Russell who was supposed to have been host to Charles Dickens
here. The story of this visit was often told by Russell's son, Spencer G.
Russell, a well-known Greene County lawyer. No mention of such a
visit, however, is made by Dickens in his American Notes, although he
did describe a side jaunt of about thirty miles from St. Louis through the
Illinois prairie country.
The controversy began when the Jersey County Democrat, published
at Jerseyville, just below Carrollton, printed an interview with the Rev.
J. W. R. Smith, who announced for the first time that the famous Eng-
lish novelist had been a guest in the Russell home. He quoted the late
Spencer Russell as his authority and said that Spencer Russell had
possessed a number of letters written by Dickens to John Russell but
that these had been accidentally destroyed in a fire.
"Tradition records and the story is well substantiated," read the
Jersey County Democrat article, "that John Russell met Dickens at the
landing. After mutual greetings, members of the group climbed into the
family coach and were driven to the Russell homestead, three miles
north of the present village of Eldred.
"Following the ride from the landing, Dickens was ushered into the
Russell home and seated before the great stone fireplace in the living
room. There he and Russell engaged in conversation relative to topics
of mutual interest. The story of that evening was frequently related by
a son of the writer, Spencer Russell* At the time of Dickens' visit, the
latter was fourteen years of age."
In doubting that Dickens had visited the Russell home, the Carroll-
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43
ton Patriot says: "Ninety-two years after it is supposed to have occurred
it is publicly disclosed for the first time that the eminent English novelist,
Charles Dickens, visited Greene County in 1842 in order to meet Pro-
fessor John Russell at his home at Bluffdale. ... In all the articles re-
lating to John Russell that have been printed in the Patriot it seems a
bit odd that no one ever thought to tell about the visit of Charles
Dickens."
The Carrollton Patriot continues: "The same article [in the Jersey
County Democrat] says he [Russell] was editor of the Louisville [Ken-
tucky] Advertiser in 1842, which was the year Charles Dickens visited
the United States." Although discounting the Dickens visit, the Car-
rollton Patriot goes on to pay high tribute to John Russell as an editor,
scholar, educator, linguist, and author.
The house in which Russell lived is a plain, story-and-a-half abode
with a gabled roof and a small porch at its front. Plainly visible are the
stone blocks used in its construction. Here John Russell was living when
he was given the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1862 by the Old Uni-
versity of Chicago. And here he died on January 21, 1865.
Lyle D. Stone
John Russell House, Near Eldred, Built 1828.
"Walnut Rail"
ANY SURVEY of outstanding old Illinois houses would be incomplete
if it did not include the home of the late Henry T. Rainey , who for al-
most a quarter of a century was in the national spotlight as a congress-
man from Illinois and who, in his later years, served as speaker of the
national House of Representatives.
The old Rainey mansion, known as "Walnut Hall/' is one of the
two principal sights of Carrollton. The other is a heroic-size statue of
Speaker Rainey himself, which stands in a landscaped park at the north-
ern approach to Carrollton.
"The spreading, three-story brick house with imposing columns and
solid black walnut woodwork throughout," says Illinois: A Descriptive
and Historical Guide, "marks the entrance to a 485-acre model farm.
Mr. Rainey was an enthusiastic farmer; during the years he practiced
law in Carrollton and later as time would permit, he took an active part
in the management of the farm."
We are told that "many pieces of historic or artistic value adorn the
estate. Cannon and statuary of early days are about the lawn; the
house is a museum of ancient firearms, swords, engravings, rare editions
of books, and early American furniture. A Seth Thomas clock, once the
property of Thomas Jefferson, is one item in the collection. North of
the house a campground borders an artificial lake."
An event which will be long remembered in Greene County occurred
in this house in 1934. This was when President Franklin D. Roosevelt
came from Washington to attend the funeral services of his late friend.
The nation's Chief Executive sat in the parlor of Walnut Hall, near the
coffin that bore the mortal remains of Speaker Rainey, and around him,
as well as on the grounds of the estate outside, was the largest collection
of nationally known personages ever seen in the county. Besides, thou-
sands of farmers and townspeople were present that day.
It was fitting that "Henry T.," as he was affectionately known,
should occupy one of the old residential landmarks of Greene County.
For he was a true "native son" of the region. His grandfather, William
C. Rainey, a native of South Carolina who had moved westward to
Kentucky, came to Greene County in 1832. He settled on a farm near
Carrollton and for forty years served as justice of the peace in the
pioneer prairie community.
One of his sons, John, was reared on the farm and in his mature
years became a prominent real-estate man of Carrollton. John married
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Lyle D. Stone
Henry T. Rainey House, Carrollton., Built 1850' 's.
a daughter of Samuel Thomas, one of the first settlers of Greene County.
They had three children and one of these was Henry T. Rainey, who was
to bring honor and fame to the family. He was born at Carrollton on
August 20, 1860.
After receiving a high school education in Carrollton, young Henry
attended Knox College at Galesburg, and finished his studies at Amherst
College. He then took up law in Chicago and, upon being admitted to
practice in 1885, returned to Carrollton to begin his public career. After
holding several local offices he was elected to Congress in 1902 and served
in that body, except for one term, until his death in 1934. With his im-
pressive physique and thick crop of white hair, Speaker Rainey was one
of the familiar figures of Washington life during the early days of the
New Deal, a regime which he fervently championed.
Although he was in Washington a major portion of his time, Con-
gressman Rainey managed to spend a few months each year in his
country home at Carrollton. Here he and Mrs. Rainey maintained
their farm and looked after their herds of Holstein-Friesian cattle and
their Hampshire hogs. And in the many rooms of their residence the
Rainey s lived among souvenirs, relics, and antiques collected abroad
during their Washington years.
Only a Few Left
ALTHOUGH numerous replicas of log cabins, such as the ones at New
Salem State Park and Lincoln Log Cabin State Park, are in existence,
not many originals of this kind of abode survive. It is for this reason
and the fact that they once played an important role in the housing
development of Illinois, that they deserve study.
Perhaps the best way to discuss the log cabin would be to select an
outstanding example from among the few which are still standing. One
of the best preserved, and one of the oldest of its type, is in a park in
Charleston, seat of Coles County and of the Eastern Illinois State College
and scene of one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. This city is also on
the Lincoln National Memorial Highway, which follows the path of the
Lincoln family in moving from Indiana to Illinois in 1830.
Not only is this cabin a good example of what these primitive dwell-
ings were like, but it has historical associations with Abraham Lincoln
and other leaders of early Illinois. It is said that Lincoln often visited
the cabin when he was traveling the judicial circuit as a lawyer, for in
that day it was not far from his stepmother's house in Coles County.
Although this cabin is one of the principal sights of Charleston, be-
ing located on landscaped grounds in Morton Park, it does not stand
on its original site. It was moved to this spot in 1926 from the place
where it was built more than a century ago. Now the Sally Lincoln
Chapter house of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the cabin
is attractively furnished with authentic pioneer household articles
spinning wheels, candle molds, walnut chests of the log-cabin era in
American history.
This dwelling was built in 1832 by James Rennels, a young Ken-
tuckian who, like Lincoln's father, had come up to Indiana and after-
ward moved into Illinois. He was one of the first settlers of Coles
County, taking up his residence here only a few years after John Parker
and his sons established themselves in the region which bordered the
Embarrass River. This area later became Hutton Township, named
after John Hutton, another early settler.
The Lincoln family, including Abe, moved into this part of the
county at about the time James Rennels built his cabin. Here Rennels
and his wife, who was the daughter of Joel Connolly, another early Coles
County settler, reared a family of five boys and four girls. In the vicinity
lived Rennels' father, John Rennels, who had followed his son from Ken-
tucky. In time the vicinity became known as Rennels Settlement.
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47
When he built his cabin James Rennels followed the construction
methods of his time; the same methods used by Thomas Lincoln and his
son Abe in building their log house. As almost every schoolboy of today
knows, these cabins were made by placing logs horizontally on top of
each other to form the walls. Not so noticeable to school children, how-
ever, is the fact that these logs were roughly squared with an adz and
dovetailed into each other at the corners. Spaces between the logs were
"chinked" with clay or mortar.
As to the origin of the log cabin, which was a form of construction
unknown to the Pilgrims of Massachusetts in the seventeenth century,
Ed Paul
James Rennels Cabin, Charleston, Built 1832.
historians have learned little. One authority, the late Thomas E. Tall-
rnadge, in his Architecture in Old Chicago, writes : "The log house, as we
know it, was probably introduced into Delaware by the Swedes not be-
fore 1720." Other authorities point out that it was an outgrowth of the
French style of vertical-log house introduced into the Mississippi Valley
by the first white men to visit this region, the French explorers from
Canada.
And so, under the elms of the attractive little park in Charleston,
the Rennels cabin survives as an interesting link in the chain of housing
development in Illinois.
A Famous Stepmother Lived Here
A FEW DAYS before leaving his home in Springfield for the inaugural
ceremonies in the nation's capital, President-elect Lincoln paid a fare-
well visit to his stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, who was then living in
a plain little clapboarded house in Coles County. That house still stands
Sarah Lincoln House, Near Charleston, Built 1830* s.
on its original site only a few miles south of Charleston and is now a
much-visited Lincoln shrine, owned and maintained by the state.
Few episodes in the life of Lincoln, according to biographers, reveal
his humanness, kindness, and devotion to family more touchingly than
the last meeting in this house between the tall, ungainly man and the
little, white-haired woman who was his foster mother; who reared him
from a boy of ten until he reached the age of twenty-one. She under-
stood her stepson better than his own father, we are told, and this under-
standing was appreciated by Abe Lincoln, who remained devoted to her
throughout his life. As soon as he had the means, he purchased his
father's farm so that Thomas and Sarah Lincoln would have a permanent
home for the rest of their days.
It was a raw day in winter when President-elect Lincoln arrived in
Charleston for the meeting with his stepmother. He came in the crude
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,. , CENTRAL ILLINOIS 49
caboose of a freight train, the passenger train he intended to take having
missed connections at Mattoon. The story is told that when the loco-
motive of the freight train stopped in front of the little station at
Charleston for orders, Abraham Lincoln, the President-elect of the
United States, got out of the caboose and walked in mud, ice, and slush,
with a shawl over his shoulders, alongside the freight cars to the station.
Here, friends were waiting for him with a horse and carriage.
After stopping overnight at the home of Colonel A. H. Chapman,
who had married a daughter of Dennis Hanks, a cousin of Lincoln's, the
President-elect and Colonel Chapman drove a buggy to the home of
Sarah Lincoln at the near-by crossroads village of Farmington, now
known as Campbell. Here Sarah Lincoln or "Sally," as she was
called greeted her famous stepson and was undoubtedly the proudest
mother in America at that moment.
In his monumental six- volume biography of the Civil War President,
Carl Sandburg poetically describes the meeting: "Sally Bush and he put
their arms around each other and listened to each other's heartbeats.
They held hands and talked, they talked without holding hands. Each
looked into eyes thrust back in deep sockets. She was all of a mother
to him."
Sandburg continues: "He was her boy more than any born to her.
He gave her a photograph of her boy, a hungry picture of him standing
and wanting, wanting. He stroked her face a last time, kissed good-by,
and went away."
In Ida M. Tarbell's biography of Lincoln we are told that at that
meeting Sarah Lincoln expressed fear for her stepson, saying she was
afraid she would never see him again. To this humble house on the
prairies of Coles County had come rumors that Lincoln's life might be
taken and these Sarah Lincoln had heard with motherly apprehension.
As subsequent events proved, her fears were well founded. She was
living in this unpretentious house when the tragic news of the assassina-
tion of her stepson was brought to her in 1865. Here she continued to
live until her own death in 1869. Not far away, in Shiloh Cemetery, lie
her mortal remains alongside those of her husband, Thomas Lincoln.
A short distance from the Sarah Bush Lincoln dwelling is the
full-sized reproduction of the Thomas Lincoln log cabin, outstanding
exhibit of the eighty-six acre Lincoln Log Cabin State Park, established
as a memorial to Lincoln's father. The park comprises the major por-
tion of Thomas Lincoln's farm. Thomas and Sarah Lincoln lived in the
log cabin until the former's death in 1851. Afterward, Sarah Lincoln
moved to the clapboarded dwelling.
Birthplace of a Journalist
IN THE QUIET, elm-shaded village of Hudson, just north of Bloom-
ington, stand two attractive old frame houses associated with two nation-
ally known men. In one was born Melville E. Stone, co-founder, with
Victor F. Lawson, of The Chicago Daily News and "father" of the Asso-
ciated Press, and in the other lived, as a boy, Elbert Hubbard, author,
editor, and master craftsman. Both houses are appropriately identified
by historical markers and both, despite their great age, are in good re-
pair and still used as dwellings.
Of the two, the abode connected with Stone has the richer historical
associations. For not only was it the birthplace of the noted journalist
but here lived one of the founders of Hudson and here, in later years,
often came Adlai E. Stevenson, once Vice-President of the United States.
This dwelling is of note, too, as the first home to be built in the Hudson
Colony, which was the nucleus of the present community.
At the time the Stone family was living in "Five Oaks," the owner
of the house was James T. Gildersleeve, early Illinois settler, one of the
founders of Hudson and a man whose descendants played important
roles in the development of McLean County. As was Melville Stone's
father, he, too, was a New Yorker, a native of Hampstead, Queens Coun-
ty. He was born there April 10, 1803, and came to Illinois in 1836.
Seeing the future possibilities of the Illinois countryside, Gilder-
sleeve and a small group of men joined hands to set up what was to be
known as the Hudson Colony. He and his brother, Joseph D., sub-
scribed, says an old historical work, "for four colony interests, which
gave them the right to nearly seven hundred acres of land, consisting of
prairie and timber land, and town lots in Hudson."
It was on one of these town lots that James Gildersleeve built his
house in 1837. This was the first dwelling to be erected in the colony.
Other houses followed and soon Hudson was a thriving village. Here,
in "Five Oaks," James Gildersleeve spent the remainder of his days, be-
coming the patriarch of the village. Some ten years after the completion
of his house, he rented a portion of it to the Rev. Elijah Stone and thus
"Five Oaks" became the birthplace, on August 22, 1848, of a great
American journalist.
But the Stone family remained here only a few years, subsequently
moving to Nauvoo, Illinois. Upon the death of James Gildersleeve, the
house in Hudson was occupied by his son, Charles. One of the latter' s
daughters married Thomas W. Stevenson of Bloomington, brother of
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS
51
Melville E. Stone House, Hudson, Built 1837.
Adlai E. Stevenson, congressman from Illinois during the 1870*8, Vice-
President of the United States in the administration of President Cleve-
land, and member of the American monetary commission to Europe in
1897. In the heyday of his public career, Adlai Stevenson was often
a visitor to his brother's house in Hudson. Here, too, came other promi-
nent persons of the time.
The house and its setting are unusually attractive. Now almost
hidden in the shade of the five old oaks which surround it, this dwelling
is a two-story, gable-roofed, frame abode, painted white, with green
shutters. Here and there are ornamental details showing the Greek
Revival style of architecture of the 1830's and 1840's. Inside are nu-
merous comfortable rooms, trimmed in walnut and enhanced by invit-
ing stone fireplaces.
Although this house survives as a reminder of the life and works of
Melville E. Stone, another memorial to him stands a few miles away at
the north end of Lake Bloomington. This is the Stone-Hubbard Me-
morial, a stone bench near a parkway entrance which is a dual memorial
to both Stone and Elbert Hubbard.
His Father Was Famous, Too
WALK a block north of the granite marker in Hudson which identifies
the house where Melville E. Stone was born, and you will come to
another small boulder bearing a bronze plaque with these words: "On
this site for 43 years lived, labored, and loved Silas Hubbard, M. D., born
May 9, 1821, died May 18, 1917, and Juliana Frances Read, his wife,
born November 16, 1829, died December 28, 1924. The children of this
home were: Frances Hubbard Larkin, Elbert Hubbard, Daisy Hubbard-
Carlock Pollitt, Mary Hubbard Heath, Honor Hubbard Easton."
(Punctuation added.)
Although the plaque pays most tribute to Dr. Hubbard, who was
a beloved country doctor of the region, the name on it of greatest in-
terest to the sight-seer is that of his son, Elbert. For this plain, gable-
roofed dwelling, now painted a pale yellow, was the boyhood home of
Elbert Hubbard, writer, editor, master craftsman, philosopher, and
famous at the turn of the century as the Sage of East Aurora.
It was in this house that Hubbard grew up and absorbed the
Elbert Hubbard House, Hudson, Built 1850' s.
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS 53
homely, salty thoughts of the Midwest frontier that were to form the
foundation of his philosophy, a philosophy that found full expression
in his widely read A Message to Garcia. Here, too, he first learned to
write a pursuit which became his chosen profession, which found an
outlet in his magazine, The Philistine, and in his numerous Little Journeys
books, and which made him one of the most widely read and widely
quoted authors of the early 1900's.
In this house, also, Hubbard learned how to use his own hands in
the making of things, a pursuit that led to his founding of the Roycroft
Shops at East Aurora, New York. The products of these shops
finely printed books, art objects, articles of hammered brass and copper,
embossed and hand-tooled leather novelties, ornamental wrought-iron
work, heavy furniture were familiar objects in homes throughout the
country a generation ago.
Elbert Hubbard was born on June 19, 1856, in Bloomington. When
"Bert," as the boys called him, was a year old his parents moved to the
near-by village of Hudson. Here they occupied the frame house which
remains as a memorial to the Sage of East Aurora.
In his biography, Elbert Hubbard: Genius of Roycroft, David Arnold
Balch writes: "The little gray house in Hudson, to which the Hubbards
moved from Bloomington when Elbert was a year old, was so small
Mother Hubbard despaired of lodging her growing brood in its cramped
quarters. Coral-red honeysuckle and rambler roses overran the clap-
boards in summer, with lilacs and syringa and flowering almond bloom-
ing in profusion just outside the door. The house was situated on the
outskirts of the town, and back of it in summer lay the flower-covered
prairies and yellow cornfields of Illinois."
When Elbert was sixteen a visitor came to the house in Hudson.
That visitor gave Elbert his first start in life. He was Justus Weller,
cousin of Elbert, and was head of a soap company in Chicago. Weller
gave his young kinsman a job selling soap in Hudson and Bloomington.
Elbert was so successful at this that he enlarged his field. He sold Weller
soap all over the Midwest. Then he went to Chicago and operated from
the headquarters of the Weller firm.
This was followed by his removal to Buffalo, New York, where he
became a partner in a soap firm. In a few years, however, he retired
from the firm with a small fortune, went to England and met William
Morris, returned to America and set up the Roycroft Shops at East
Aurora, outside Buffalo, in 1895. There he began the work which
brought him national and even international fame.
Home of a City Founder
AT THE ENTRANCE to the campus of Illinois State Normal Uni-
versityoldest teachers' college in the state, ninth oldest in the
country there stands an attractive memorial gate bearing the inscrip-
tion: "To the founder of Normal, Jesse W. Fell, friend of education,
lover and planter of trees, philanthropist of mighty vision, this gate is
dedicated by The Women's Improvement League and his many friends."
(Punctuation added.) This legend gives some information as to Jesse
Fell's status in Illinois history, but it by no means tells the whole story.
Not only was he the founder of the town of Normal, but he is of
much greater interest as one of the three men who made Abraham Lin-
coln a candidate for President of the United States. He was also a leader
in the development of central Illinois, having founded, in addition to
Normal, such cities of today as Pontiac, Clinton, and Lexington, and he
was also a railroad promoter, an outstanding lawyer and abolitionist,
and at one time was the owner of a large part of the land on which Chi-
cago was built.
Given a man of such character and accomplishments, it is but nat-
ural that interest in the house in which he lived should be high. For-
tunately, the Fell abode still stands and is now one of the most revered
historic shrines of the Bloomington-Normal section. It is located at 502
South Fell Avenue, on a bluff overlooking the tree-shaded streets of
Normal and the lawns of the university campus. But this is not its
original location for it was moved some years ago from the site where it
was built in 1856 in the center of an eighteen-acre, wooded and land-
scaped estate called Fell Park.
In the years following, this house became a gathering place of many
noted men of the state and nation. Best known of the, visitors was Lin-
coln, whom Jesse Fell met when he was practicing law in the early 1830's
at Vandalia, then the state capital. The two lawyers became close
friends and this friendship lasted until Lincoln's death. It was Jesse
Fell, together with two other Bloomington leaders, Judge David Davis
and Leonard Swett, who were largely responsible for bringing about the
nomination of Lincoln for President on the Republican ticket at the
convention held in Chicago in 1860.
Both Judge Davis and Leonard Swett were frequent visitors to the
Fell house, and here, too, often came Owen Lovejoy, abolitionist and
brother of Elijah Lovejoy who was slain in the abolitionist cause.
Others who shared the Fell hospitality were John and Cyrus Bryant,
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS
55
Jesse Fell House., Normal, Built 1856.
brothers of the poet, William Cullen Bryant. John Bryant was a poet
himself, as well as a close friend of Lincoln's and one of the founders of
the Republican Party. The Bryant brothers were early settlers of Prince-
ton, Illinois.
A native of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he was born to
a Quaker family in 1808, Jesse Fell developed North Bloomington and
helped to establish Illinois State Normal University there, after which
this section of the city was called Normal. Because of the many trees
he planted there, Normal is now a town of shady avenues and park-like
vistas. Mr. Fell also started a newspaper, the Observer and McLean
County Advocate, in 1837, and this was the forerunner of the present
Bloomington Pantagraph.
In addition to having been moved from its original site, the Fell
house has undergone several other changes. When originally built it
contained an ornate cupola and verandas on three sides. The cupola
has since disappeared, as have the porches. Evidence of the Greek Re-
vival style used in the design of the house is seen in the classic pilasters
at the corners. Still intact is a fine walnut staircase in the central hall
of the residence.
A Literary Shrine
I am fevered with the sunset,
I am fretful with the lay,
For the wander-thirst is on me
And my soul is in Cathay.
There's a schooner in the offing.
With her to f sails shot with fire,
And my heart has gone aboard her
For the Islands of Desire.
I must forth again tomorrow!
With the sunset I must be
Hull down on the trail of rapture
In the wonder of the Sea.
IT WAS in an unpretentious, two-story frame house in the university
town of Normal that the man who wrote the above well-known poem
and many others equally well known was born in 1864. That house
still stands and is now a memorial to Richard Hovey, whose lively lyrics,
expressing the spirit of vagabondia, charmed Americans of a generation
ago. On the well-kept lawn in front of the house rests a boulder with a
historical marker on it explaining that Hovey was born here on May 4,
1864, and that he died in New York on February 24, 1900.
The fact that Richard Hovey was born in this dwelling is enough to
distinguish it, but it holds additional interest, especially to Illinoisans,
as the abode of Richard's father, Charles Edward Hovey, a pioneer Illi-
nois teacher, first principal of the famed Illinois State Normal University
at Normal and a major general in the Civil Wan Richard's mother,
Harriette Farnham Spofford Hovey, was also an outstanding educator
of her time.
When the future poet was born in this house his father was con-
valescing from wounds received in the battle of Arkansas Post. General
Hovey's command at this encounter, the 33d Regiment of Illinois Volun-
teers, consisted largely of students and teachers of the Illinois State
Normal University, and because of this it became known as the "Nor-
mal Regiment," and sometimes as the "Brains Regiment."
Only three years before the outbreak of the war between the states
Charles Hovey had helped to establish the teachers' college. He was
then a leading educator of Illinois, and in this capacity had an important
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS
57
Richard Hovey House^ Normal, Built 1850* s.
part in prevailing upon the state legislature to establish a college for the
proper training of common-school teachers. With one assistant and
forty-three students Hovey opened the college at Normal, two miles
north of Bloomington, in October, 1857, and remained head of the insti-
tution until the outbreak of the Civil War.
Although Charles Hovey played an important role in the edu-
cational history of Illinois, he was not a native of the state. He was
born in Thetford, Orange County, Vermont, on April 26, 1827. After
58 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
his graduation from Dartmouth College he came west to Illinois and set-
tled at Peoria in 1854, where he received an appointment that year as
principal of a boys' high school. Two years later he was named super-
intendent of Peoria's public schools.
"An able administrator and an energetic, progressive educator,
says the Dictionary of American Biography, "he soon made his influence
felt throughout the state. He placed the Peoria schools upon a firm
foundation and acquired an enviable reputation as a popular lecturer on
educational topics. In 1856 he was elected president of the Illinois State
Teachers' Association and in 18S7 became a member of the first Illinois
board of education."
It was some time soon after he became principal of the college at
Normal that Hovey built his home, within walking distance of the col-
lege campus. Here were born his three sons, including Richard, and here
he and his wife welcomed and entertained some of the best-known Illi-
nois educators of their time. Still standing on its original site, the house's
address today is 202 West Mulberry Avenue.
Soon after the close of the Civil War the Hoveys sold their Normal
house, moved to Washington, D. C., with their children, and there spent
the remainder of their days. In the capital city Charles Hovey took up
the practice of law, which he had earlier studied, and his wife engaged in
educational activities. Death came to Hovey there in 1897. His son.
Richard, meanwhile, was rapidly gaming fame as a poet after completing
his studies at Dartmouth.
At Dartmouth he was the college poet and students there still sing
his "Men of Dartmouth." One literary critic, Professor Percy H. Boyn-
ton, said of Hovey' s college verse: "He wrote for Dartmouth a body of
tributary verse which is as distinguished as are Holmes' Harvard poems.
And he wrote for his college fraternity songs and odes which are so dis-
tinguished as wholly to transcend the occasions for which they were pre-
pared."
A few years after leaving college Richard Hovey met another poet,
Bliss Carman, and as a result of that meeting the two afterward col-
laborated in the series of "Vagabondia" books of verse which, as one
critic put it, "took the country by storm." Hovey also turned out many
volumes of his own poetry, and his total work in this field made him one
of the leading poets of his time.
In view of Hovey's widespread fame it was but natural for ad-
mirers of his writings properly to identify the house in which he was
born. It is now one of the sights of Normal and is often visited by per-
sons interested in the literary shrines of Illinois.
Victorian Mansion
ALTHOUGH not so old as most of the dwellings in this book, the large
brick residence at 909 North McLean Street, in Bloomington, is worthy
of attention as the home of one of the best-known Illinoisans of his time.
This man was Joseph Wilson Fifer, nineteenth governor of Illinois and
famed throughout the nation as "Private Joe" Fifer. As the "grand old
man of Illinois" for more than a quarter of a century, "Private Joe" held
court in his Bloomington residence and here his public birthday parties
were outstanding annual events. Many people came from other parts
of the state and nation to pay tribute to Joe Fifer on these occasions.
This McLean Street house, set back on a shaded, landscaped lawn
across from Franklin Park, was built in 1896. It is a typical residence of
the 1890 ? s massive, spacious, .comfortable, and marked by that dis-
tinguishing characteristic of a late Victorian mansion, a hospitable
veranda extending across the entire front. The house is two and one-
half stories high, is of plain architecture, and has such other appurte-
nances of late Victorian dwellings as semi-circular bays and dormers.
At the time Fifer built his home he and four other former governors
Joseph W* Fifer House y Bloomington, Built 1896.
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of the state were active in what was considered one of the most^spec-
tacular gubernatorial campaigns in the history of the state. This was
the battle of John R. Tanner, Republican, to replace Governor John P.
Altgeld as the state's chief executive. Governor Altgeld, who was seek-
ing re-election, had been criticized throughout the state for freeing from
prison two of the men sentenced for complicity in the Haymarket Riot
of 1886. Altgeld had felt that the men were unjustly convicted. Most
historians now agree that he was correct in this view.
During the turmoil of the campaign, however, "Private Joe" was
not among those who denounced Governor Altgeld for pardoning the
men. He and Altgeld were friends. It is said he even felt that Altgeld
"had just grounds" for freeing the Haymarket men. What impelled
Fifer to campaign against Altgeld, the Democrat, was simply his devo-
tion to the Republican Party.
It was in the gubernatorial campaign of 1888, when he himself was
a candidate for governor, that Fifer earned the sobriquet which remained
with him for the rest of his life. The other Republican candidates for
the nomination for governor that year were General John C Smith, Gen-
eral John C. McNulta, General John L Reinecker, Colonel Clarke E.
Carr, Major J. A. Connelly, and Captain Frank Wright. Fifer was the
only one .who had served as a private in the Civil War. Thus he be-
came "Private Joe" during the campaign. And, as "Private Joe," he
was afterwards victorious over his Democratic rival, who was General
John M. Palmer.
Many improvements and reforms were introduced into the state by
Governor Fifer during his term of office. He corrected evil voting prac-
tices, introduced the pardon law, improved school laws and obtained a
compulsory education enactment, and achieved economies for the state
through close supervision of contracts and commissions. He ran for re-
election in 1892 but was defeated in the Cleveland landslide of that year,
his victorious opponent being John P. Altgeld. "Private Joe" returned
to Bloomington and once more took up the practice of law.
If Fifer had planned to live quietly in his big McLean Street house,
this wish was not to be realized, for President McKinley appointed him
to the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1899. He was reappointed
in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Three years later he resigned,
once more to practice law in Bloomington. Then in 1920 he was elected
a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention when he was eighty
years old. But his age was no hindrance; he was one of the most active
men at the convention. "Private Joe" lived eighteen years after that
and died in his home on August 6, 1938.
A Vice-President Lived Here
POINTED OUT as one of the principal sights of Bloomington is the
old Adlai Stevenson residence at 901 North McLean Street. It holds
this distinction because here lived one of Bloomington' s most noted citi-
zens, Adlai Ewing Stevenson, who, besides having been Vice-President of
the United States under President Cleveland, served his city, state, and
nation in other capacities which made him a leading figure of his time.
It was in the spring of 1887, when Adlai Stevenson was already in
the national spotlight, that he acquired the McLean Street mansion,
Adlai E. Stevenson House,, Bloomington, Built 1860*s.
which stands across the street from the landscaped grounds of Franklin
Park. At that time it was one of the noteworthy residences of the city,
having been built some twenty years earlier by a Mr. Dobson, success-
ful businessman of the Civil War era. On all sides of it were similar im-
posing mansions, for this was then the principal residential area of
Bloomington.
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After two terms in Congress Stevenson became President Cleve-
land's first assistant postmaster general, and then he was elected Vice-
President on the Democratic ticket in 1892. He served until 1897 and,
upon retirement from that office, was appointed- to the bimetallic com-
mission by President McKinley, an assignment which took him to Eng-
land, France, Italy, and Belgium.
Once again Stevenson was to be a candidate for Vice-President,
This was in 1900 when he was the running mate of William Jennings
Bryan on the Democratic ticket. During this political battle the Steven-
son residence in Bloomington was a center of attention. It was again in
the limelight eight years later when, despite his advanced age, Stevenson
was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Illinois against Charles S.
Deneen. Now well along in years, the Bloomington lawyer retired from
active life. In his McLean Street residence, he spent his declining years
writing a book of reminiscences, Something of Men I Have Known.
He died in Chicago on June 14, 1914, at the age of seventy-nine.
His wife, Letitia Green Stevenson, had died six months earlier. In
many ways she was as outstanding as her husband. Daughter of the
Rev. Lewis W. Green, a well-known Kentucky educator, Mrs. Stevenson,
as chatelaine of the Bloomington residence, made it a social and cultural
center of the city. She was for four years president general of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, was closely associated with the
Colonial Dames, was active in the Federation of Illinois Women's Clubs,
and was interested in foreign missions.
After the deaths of Adlai Stevenson and his wife, the McLean Street
house had a number of occupants, finally becoming a rooming house
for students of the Illinois State Normal University and Illinois Wes-
leyan University.
Since its construction eighty years ago, this residence has undergone
numerous changes and improvements. The present veranda is a later
addition. The house is a spacious, three-story abode of brick. It has
twelve rooms. The dining room, library, parlor, and reception hall are
of interest for their fine walnut trim. Looking upward in the reception
hall, one observes a dome of stained glass which canopies the winding
walnut stairway.
Home of a Supreme Court Justice
JUDGE DAVID DAVIS is said to have been the one man who, more
than any other, helped to bring about the election of Abraham Lincoln
to the presidency. This pioneer Illinois lawyer and justice of the United
States Supreme Court erected a palatial residence in Bloomington in his
later years, and this dwelling survives as one of the outstanding his-
torical sights of the central Illinois city.
Located at 1000 East Jefferson Street, the Davis house is a typical
mansion of the 1870's. Set back on a landscaped lawn and surrounded
by big old shade trees, its fagade is dominated by a mansard tower with
dormers. Still on the tower is the original cast-iron cresting a dis-
tinguishing mark of late Victorian mansions of the more costly variety.
All rooms of the house are spacious, comfortable, and decorative and
reflect an era when life was more leisurely than at present.
At the time Judge Davis built this mansion he was a nationally
' known figure in politics. Not only had he served for fifteen years as an
associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, but he had after-
ward been elected to the United States Senate from Illinois. At one time
United Photo
David Davis House, Bloomington, Built 1870's.
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during this term he was president pro tempore of the Senate. At an
earlier date he was the National Labor Reform Party's candidate for
President of the United States, but was unsuccessful in the ensuing cam-
paign.
Anyone who reads a biography of Lincoln will frequently encounter
the name of Judge David Davis. For Davis was one of Lincoln's closest
friends and had been such for many years before the Springfield lawyer
was thought of as presidential timber. In Illinois history Judge Davis
is known as one of the "three musketeers" the three men who groomed
Lincoln for the presidency. The other two, who also were Bloomington
men, were Jesse Fell and Leonard Swett. Fell afterward wrote: "To
Judge Davis, more than to any other man ... is the American people in-
debted for ... the nomination ... of Abraham Lincoln."
A man of wealth, due largely to fortunate and careful investments
in land throughout Illinois and the Midwest, Judge Davis had not al-
ways been of such affluence. He was born in Cecil County, Maryland,
on March 9, 1815. His father was of Welsh ancestry. Because of the
loss of an inheritance young Davis was forced to work his way through
college. He then studied law and came to Bloomington in 1836. In
1848 he was elected judge of the famous Eighth Judicial Circuit in
Illinois, over which he presided for fourteen years (1848-1862), being
twice re-elected. "Many lawyers of distinction, including Lincoln,
Orville H. Browning, Douglas, Leonard Swett, S. T. Logan, and Lyman
Trumbull, practiced before him," says the Dictionary of American
Biography, "An intimate friendship with Lincoln was formed during
this period. . . . Lincoln at times presided over Davis's court when the
Judge was pressed with private business."
In personal appearance Judge Davis was a big, impressive man,
standing some six feet tall and weighing more than three hundred
pounds. When seen on the streets he and the tall, lanky Lincoln were a
striking pair.
"Upon the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln," wrote
Burrow Diskin Good in the McLean County issue of Illinois Quest
magazine, "David Davis, at the request of the Lincoln family, became
the administrator of the martyred president's estate. His masterful
handling of the affairs of this trust made a record for efficient administra-
tion of an estate."
Judge Davis died at Bloomington on June 26, 1886.
Mansion in a Cornfield
AN OBJECT of curiosity to more than two generations of travelers on
the Alton (the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio) railway between Chicago and
Springfield is the unusually tall old brick mansion, vaguely Italian
Renaissance in design, which towers above a cornfield near Towanda,
just north of Bloomington. Now used as a farmhouse, as indicated by
the outbuildings around it, this dwelling is of such striking appearance
that passers-by cannot help but wonder about the man who built it.
That man was William R. Duncan, pioneer farmer and stock-raiser.
Research by Annabel C. Gary, a Bloomington writer, discloses that
William R. Duncan House, Near Towanda, Built 1870* s.
Duncan was a native of Kentucky who had been attracted by the rich
farming and pasture lands of central Illinois. When the time came for
him to erect an abode suitable to his station, he purposely set out to
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make it impressive. Tradition says he wanted it to be noticed by travel-
ers to and from Chicago and Springfield; he wanted it to be a show place.
Duncan evidently attained his objective. But he was destined to
enjoy this pleasure but a short while. For ill luck and tragedy came with
the completion of his great house. Costing thousands of dollars to build,
the house greatly reduced his personal fortune. And then he was sad-
dened by the death of his wife. He buried her in a small family "grave-
yard adjoining his mansion. A few years later his fifteen-year-old son,
Henry, was drowned in a slough east of the mansion and he, too, was
buried in the family graveyard.
"Later," writes Miss Gary, "Mr. Duncan himself, while attending a
fair at Decatur, was stricken with illness, and hurrying home, became
so much worse he was forced to stop at Normal, where he died [in 1876]
almost within sight of his home."
Known locally as Duncan Manor, this three-story mansion is de-
signed like an "H," with the four corners marked by towers similar to
those found on Renaissance buildings. It is built entirely of brick, with
stone trimmings. Between the towers at the rear of the house are
comfortable "galleries" which testify to the Southern origin of the
builder of the house.
As this house has twenty spacious rooms, with more in the base-
ment, it is presumed that the care of such a large establishment was to
be performed by servants. Whether or not Duncan had servants has
not been determined. But it is evident that the rooms in the basement,
crude and of unfinished brick, were intended as living quarters for them.
It is very likely that Duncan, having come from the South, planned
to staff his abode with Negro servants. And if he did, he evidently took
measures to keep them within bounds, for the basement windows are
protected by stout iron bars. Another feature of the house which might
be connected with the maintenance of Negro servants is a mysterious
trap door in one of the second-floor bedrooms which lets down into a
bare, dark room. Although numerous old Illinois houses, especially in
the southern part of the state, have these trap doors, leading to secret
rooms, the use of this somewhat bizarre arrangement has never been
satisfactorily explained.
As with all expensive mansions of the Civil War era, Duncan
Manor has lofty, spacious rooms and hallways. The central hallway is
especially noteworthy for its curving staircase with a fine walnut balus-
trade. In the walls at the landings are niches for flowers or statuary.
Other features of the interior are marble fireplaces, inside paneled shut-
ters, copper bathtubs, and ornamental chandeliers.
Quincy Museum
IT WAS a fortunate choice when, in 1907, the Quincy Historical Society
selected the old Southern-style mansion at 425 South Twelfth Street, in
Quincy, for its headquarters and museum. For this is the city's most his-
toric dwelling. It is also a landmark of the state. The man who built
this house more than a hundred years ago was not only the founder of
Quincy, as well as of Adams County, but he was a state senator, friend
and supporter of Abraham Lincoln, one of the organizers of the Repub-
lican Party, and governor of Illinois just before the Civil War opened.
That man was John Wood. As an outstanding public figure of
central Illinois during ante-bellum days, he was host in his Quincy man-
sion to many well-known personages of the time. And it was from this
mansion that, following his term as governor, he led the "one hundred
day regiment," the 137th Illinois Infantry, into action in the Civil War.
At that time (1864) he was sixty-six years old.
John Wood House, Quincy., Built 1835.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THIS HOUSE DECORATES THE COVERS OF THIS BOOK,
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Although his mansion was designed in the Southern Colonial style,
which was a style that copied the Greek temple mode, Governor Wood
was not a native of the South. He was born in Moravia, Cayuga Coun-
ty, New York, on December 20, 1798. His father, Dr. Daniel Wood, was
a surgeon and captain in the Revolutionary War. He was also noted as
a scholar and linguist.
When John Wood was twenty years old, he left his home in New
York state, came west to Illinois, met one Willard Keyes, and the two
located on farms in Pike County some thirty miles southeast of the
present Quincy. A year or two later Wood visited the place where
Quincy now stands, was impressed with its location, and set about
establishing his home there. It is recorded that Wood built a log cabin
there in 1822 which was the first house to be erected on the site of
Quincy. A little later Keyes built a cabin at the same place.
Soon other settlers came. As Quincy grew, John Wood's fame and
fortune increased. He served as a trustee of the village and was elected
mayor for several terms. In 1850 he served his first term in the state
Senate. But by this time he was living in his two-story Greek Revival
mansion. It was built in 1835 when Quincy was a village of log and
frame houses on the east bank of the Mississippi.
From this house John Wood saw Quincy rise as a river shipping
center, gazed at the great white packets going up and down the Missis-
sippi, and witnessed the coming of the first railroads. He was elected
lieutenant governor of the state in 1856 and was serving in that office
when Governor William H. Bissell died on March 18, 1860. He filled
out the unexpired term of Governor Bissell and then was appointed
quartermaster general of the state, a position he held throughout the
Civil War.
As a historical museum, the Wood home contains not only relics
and mementos of Quincy's early days but also household articles, pieces
of furniture, and personal belongings of Governor Wood and his family.
Here is the Governor's cabinet, made by a pioneer Quincy cabinetmaker,
as well as his compass, record books, mahogany desk, decanters, and a
brace of Civil War pistols. Here, too, are the sword and medicine book
carried by John Wood's father in the Revolutionary War.
The interior of the house, which contains seventeen rooms, is at-
tractively outfitted with historic pieces of furniture. From the ceiling
of the drawing room hangs a chandelier of French drop crystals which
once graced the salon of a palatial Mississippi River steamer. The mu-
seum is open to the public. Few houses in Illinois offer a more authentic
atmosphere of ante-bellum days than this old Quincy mansion.
A Cabinet Member 'Lived Here
LONG FAMILIAR to residents of Quincy as the St. Joseph Home for
Girls, the big red-brick mansion at Eighth and Spruce streets is of his-
torical interest as the onetime home of Orvilie Hickman Browning, dean
of the bar in western Illinois for almost half a century, friend and sup-
porter of Abraham Lincoln, United States Senator from Illinois, and
Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of President Andrew Johnson.
The exterior of the house is little changed since Browning's time. It
stands on a block-square plot of ground bounded by Seventh and Eighth
and Spruce and Sycamore streets. No longer a girls' home, it is now St.
Joseph's Hospital, an institution for the chronically ill.
Like so many successful men of his time, Orvilie Hickman Brown-
ing, during his life, lived in three types of dwellings. First he lived in a
log cabin. Then, as his fortunes rose, he built a second and more pre-
tentious abode. Finally, when he was at the height of his career and
the possessor of wealth, he built a third house; an impressive mansion
that was something of a show place in its time. This is the house which
is now occupied by St. Joseph's Hospital.
It was in the second home, which stood near Seventh and Hamp-
shire streets, and which was destroyed by fire in 1904 when it was oc-
cupied by the Conservatory of Music, that Browning entertained his
friend, Lincoln. Here, too, many other notable Illinois men of the period
came as guests. Some time in the 1870's, however, Browning gave up
this dwelling and built for himself a more imposing house, one in which
he lived until his death in 1881 at the age of seventy-five. It is said that
the grounds and house cost approximately 350,000.
When Browning occupied his third home, he was one of the leading
citizens of Quincy. But when he first came to the city in 1831, he was
an unknown young lawyer.
Browning was born in Harrison County, Kentucky, on February 10,
1806. There he studied law and, after being admitted to the bar, came
up to Illinois and settled in Quincy. At that time the city was a pioneer
settlement of log houses that was destined to become a steamboat capital
of the upper Mississippi.
If Orvilie Hickman Browning was unknown when he first came to
Quincy, he did not long remain so. In 1836 he was elected state senator
on the Whig ticket. That same year he was married to Eliza Caldwell.
His career was now started and from then he was constantly in the pub-
lic eye.
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"Mr. Browning," says a biography of him in the centennial edition
of the Quincy Herald-Whi,, published in 1935, was "a member of the
Illinois Assembly for two years, state senator for four years, ran for Con-
gress against Stephen A. Douglas in 1843 and against WOliam A. Rach-
ardsonln 1852. He was appointed United States Senator m 1861, on the
Oroille Hickman Browning House, Quincy, Built 1870 s
death of Douglas, and was succeeded by Wdliam A. Richardson. In
1866 Mr. Browning was appointed Secretary of the Interior by President
Andrew Johnson, which position he filled until the inauguration of Presi-
death, the big red-brick mansipn he occupied was
bought by Henry F. J. Ricker. It was the heirs of Ricker who gave the
old Browning mansion to charity. Subsequently, a large wing of modern
construction was added to the house on its south side. Here the bt.
Joseph Home for Girls was established.
Candlelight and Crinoline
IN THE WESTERN residential section of Jacksonville, grove-like city
of colleges in central Illinois, stands the Governor Duncan mansion. Built
more than one hundred years ago, the interior of this three-story house
is noteworthy for its Colonial Georgian design and furnishings. The ex-
terior was originally Georgian, with a simple, dignified fagade, but this
effect was marred, according to architectural students, by the addition,
in the 1890's, of a narrow, three-story porch at the front entrance.
After this dwelling was completed in 1835 and its master was serv-
ing as governor of the state, it became the scene of many brilliant dinners
and receptions attended by leading figures of pioneer Illinois and of the
nation. Here, at various times, were entertained Daniel Webster, Abra-
ham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, and such early Illinois political leaders
as O. H. Browning, John A. McClernand, and Colonel John J. Hardin.
In later years William Jennings Bryan was a guest in this house, as was
Anne Rogers Minor, then president-general of the Daughters of the
American Revolution.
In the light of Governor and Mrs. Duncan's earlier careers, it is easy
for one to understand why famous persons of the 1830's and '40's visited
their Jacksonville home. For the couple had previously lived in Wash-
ington, where they were popular and widely known. Joseph Duncan
was then a congressman from Illinois. After serving in the War of 1812,
General Duncan was elected to Congress in 1826 where he served until
1834.
But General Joseph Duncan had engaged in public service, other
than military, before going to Washington. In 1824 he was elected to the
state senate from Jackson County. While he was there, says the
Dictionary of American Biography, "his notable service . . . was his active
support of a bill for the establishment of a free public school system,
which became a law in 1825." The Dictionary also says of him: "He had
little formal schooling and this lack may have been responsible for the
keen interest he later displayed in the cause of popular education."
A native of Paris, Kentucky, where he was born February 22, 1794,
Joseph Duncan came to Illinois in 1818, or the same year in which the
state was born. He later acquired tracts of land and eventually took up
farming. Then he entered politics and remained in this field during
most of his life. In 1834, following his long service in Congress, he was
elected the sixth governor of Illinois. Work on the construction of his
Jacksonville mansion was begun the year he became governor.
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Joseph Duncan House, Jacksonville <> Built 1835 .
While in Washington General Duncan attended a dinner party in
the home of Matthew St. Ciair Clark, who was for many years clerk ^of
the House of Representatives. Located directly across from the White
House, the Clark home, an impressive Georgian-style dwelling, was
something of a popular social center.
At the dinner party General Duncan met Mrs. Clark's sister,
Elizabeth Caldwell Smith, of New York City, and several years later
the two were married in the Clark home. She was a granddaughter of
the Rev. James Caldwell, "soldier parson" of the Revolutionary War
who was killed in that conflict.
In an article on the Duncan home written by Edith Kirby Wilson of
Jacksonville, we read that "Mrs. Duncan speaks of the interior plan of
the Duncan house as drawn from Mrs. Matthew St. Clair Clark's home,
only made smaller, and the exterior drawn from the first plan and early
home of Governor Duncan at Paris, Kentucky."
An entry in Mrs. Duncan's diary reads: "In June, 1837, we enter-
tained Daniel Webster, his wife and niece. Mr. Duncan gave him a
barbecue down in the grove northwest of the house; roasted a steer
whole. Webster made a most eloquent speech, as was his wont. He
CENTRAL ILLINOIS 73
took people by storm. Cheer after cheer echoed and re-echoed through
the grove."
After the death of Governor Duncan in 1844, the house was pre-
sided over by Mrs. Duncan. Arrayed in her crinolines and moving
against a soft background of candlelight on walnut and silver, she
reigned here as a popular hostess in the Jacksonville of ante-bellum
days. It was about this time that she gave the grounds in front of her
Georgian mansion to the city of Jacksonville for a park. This is now
Duncan Park a restful spot of great sycamores that form an attractive
approach to the old Duncan home at the north end.
Mrs. Duncan died in 1862. Then, from 1865 to 1875, the historic
house was occupied by the Illinois State Institution for the Feeble-
Minded, the first such institution in Illinois. Afterward the house came
into the possession of a Duncan daughter, Mrs. Julia Duncan Kirby,
and here she and her husband, Judge Edward P. Kirby, lived during the
1880's and Ws. While residing here Mrs. Kirby founded the Rev.
James Caldwell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution,
named in honor of her great-grandfather.
Following the death of Mrs. Kirby the house was occupied for many
years by Judge Kirby and then, with his passing, it came into the posses-
sion of Mrs. Lucinda Gallaher Kirby. In 1920 the old mansion was sold
to the Rev. James Caldwell Chapter of the D. A. R., and thus it became
the first D. A. R. chapter house in Illinois.
Since being taken over by the D. A. R. chapter, the seventeen-room
house has undergone minor alterations on the first floor. On the walls
of the vestibule, main hall, and one of the parlors hang marble memorial
tablets containing the names, in gilt lettering, of pioneer Jacksonville
settlers and deceased D. A. R. members. An attractive Georgian stair-
way, with fine walnut balusters and a landing hung with ancient dra-
peries, leads to the second floor, where the rooms have been left intact
and outfitted with some of the original Duncan furniture and family
heirlooms.
Here may be seen marble busts of Governor Duncan and his daugh-
ter, Mrs. Kirby; the Governor's big, four-poster walnut bed, his carpet-
bag, rocker, writing desk, and large mahogany clock. Here, also, are Mrs.
Duncan's inaugural slippers, her piano, music boz, ancient hide trunk
studded with brass nails, and a fancy French clock enclosed in a glass
bell. On the walls hang several elaborate hair wreaths in shadow-box
frames, one of which is said to have been made from the varicolored
locks of eighty different persons. Other articles, such as candle molds,
brass andirons, and bedroom china 3 are in this part of the mansion.
Cradle of Modern Dentistry
ON THE SIDEWALK in front of an old-fashioned white frame house
at 349 East State Street, in Jacksonville, there is embedded a brass his-
torical marker which explains that this dwelling was the home, from
1865 to 1897, of Dr. Greene Vardiman Black, now generally known as
the "father of modern dentistry." This house, however, is not the only
memorial to the great American dentist. A life-size statue of him stands
Dr. Greene Vardiman Black House, Jacksonville, Built 1860 J s.
in Lincoln Park, Chicago. At the dental school of Northwestern Uni-
versity his early dental office in Jacksonville has been set up as a mu-
seum exhibit. There is also a bust of him in the University of London.
In an article on Dr. Black in the Transactions of the Illinois State
Historical Society for 1931, we are told by the author, Bessie M. Black,
that "the life history of Greene Vardiman Black is the story of a self-
reliant, self-educated man of rare talents and unusual ability, who con-
tributed much to the dignity of the dental profession and to the develop-
ment of science in general." The Dictionary of American Biography
says that u he was accorded numerous honors, including the presidency
of the National Dental Association in 1901, the first International Miller
Prize in 1910, and honorary degrees from five institutions."
It was after serving in the Civil War, during which he was injured
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS
75
in the knee, that Dr. Black came to Jacksonville and set up a dentist's
office overlooking the public square the same office which has been
reconstructed by Northwestern University. A year later his first wife
died. She was the mother of Dr. Carl E. Black of Jacksonville, who has
written of his renowned father in From Pioneer to Scientist. After his
second marriage, in 1865, Dr. Black acquired the two-story frame house
in East State Street from a furniture dealer named Branson and here the
dentist lived until he moved to Chicago.
At the time Dr. Black purchased this house, according to informa-
tion uncovered by Miss Janette C. Powell, a Jacksonville historian and
writer, he decided to combine his office and home. Accordingly, he
built a two-story east wing with two rooms on each floor. The front
room on the first floor was the reception room and in the other Dr. Black
set up his operating room, the dental chair being placed in a bay window
on the east wall. His laboratory was on the second floor.
It was in this laboratory that Dr. Black created one of the first cord
dental engines. Here, too, he carried on dental experiments which soon
brought him national attention. During these years, also, he wrote the
first of his articles on dentistry; articles which were to grow in number
as his activities widened.
"Before Dr. Black became so deeply involved in research that he
had little time for recreation," writes Miss Powell, "the Black home was
something of a social center and here 'open house' was always main-
tained to men of distinction who came to Jacksonville. For many years
a 'family hour' was observed after dinner an hour devoted to pleasant
conversation and music. Dr. Black played the cello and violin well and
enjoyed singing. There were several scientific groups in the town who
frequently met in his home."
When Dr. Black was appointed professor of dental pathology and
bacteriology at Northwestern University dental school in 1891 he spent
more of his time in Chicago than in Jacksonville. Finally, when he was
named dean of the Northwestern dental school in 1897, he gave up his
residence in Jacksonville and established a permanent home in Chicago.
There he lived and achieved renown in science; there he died in 1915.
After the departure of Dr. Black from Jacksonville the house in
East State Street was occupied by his son, Dr. Carl E. Black, who be-
came a leading physician of Jacksonville. The younger Dr. Black lived
here and maintained his office here for some twenty years. The house is
now owned by MacMurray College, pioneer institution founded in 1846
and located near the old Dr. Black home.
House of Art
AN OUTSTANDING example of a venerable residence that long has
functioned as an art museum is the old Strawn abode in Jacksonville.
During World War II, however, this imposing late Victorian mansion
was converted into a Red Cross knitting and sewing center and thus
it played a part in the war effort.
The man who built this house was Julius E. Strawn, one of the
wealthiest and best-known men of Morgan County, benefactor of educa-
tional and religious institutions, and son of an early settler of the county.
The mansion was built in 1880 and in the years immediately after its
completion was regarded as an outstanding sight of Jacksonville. It
became a social gathering place of the first magnitude and here the
Strawns entertained many distinguished people.
The story of the Strawn family in Morgan County goes back to
1831. In that year Julius' father, Jacob Strawn, a sturdy, energetic
native of Pennsylvania, arrived in the county, acquired a tract of land,
and became a cattle breeder. Morgan County had been established only
six years earlier. In the course of time, Jacob Strawn bought additional
tracts and soon was a leading landowner and cattle raiser of the region.
At that time Jacob Strawn and his family lived in a log house at
Grass Plains, a small settlement about five miles southwest of Jackson-
ville. In this primitive abode Julius Strawn was born on December 2,
1835. The elder Strawn continued to buy more land as he "derived in-
creased profits from his herds of cattle, which were sold in the St. Louis
market. It is said that in the years before his death in 1865 he owned as
much as 18,000 acres in Morgan and Sangamon counties.
His son, Julius, when ten years old, was sent to a private school
conducted by the Rev. William Eddy, who afterward became a well-
known missionary. Julius Strawn later attended Illinois College and,
upon his graduation in 1857, went to New York and Philadelphia as an
agent for his father's cattle business. He returned to Morgan County,
cultivated his father's lands, and when the Civil War broke out was ap-
pointed to the staff of Governor Richard Yates.
After the Civil War, Julius Strawn toured Europe. Being a person
who had early acquired a taste for painting, music, literature, and in-
tellectual pursuits, he visited all of the leading galleries, museums, and
historic memorials of the British Isles and central Europe.
In the years after the completion of his brick mansion in Jackson-
ville, years in which his house was the show place of the city, Julius
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS 77
Strawn reigned as one of the leading citizens of Jacksonville and Morgan
County. All during this time he was a trustee of both Illinois College
and the Presbyterian Academy. He contributed liberally to both of
these institutions and was one of the most influential persons in that
part of the state.
After his death, the Strawn mansion was occupied by his widow.
Julius E. Strawn Home, Jacksonville, Built 1880.
She had long dreamed that her home should some day become a center
of art in Jacksonville. This dream was realized in 1916 when her son,
Dr. David Strawn, presented the house to the Jacksonville Art Associa-
tion. Without much alteration of its nineteen spacious rooms, the man-
sion was converted into an art museum that soon attracted wide atten-
tion.
At the time he presented the house to the Art Association, Dr.
Strawn began an art library which grew with the years. Many note-
worthy art exhibitions were held in this house after it was converted
into a museum.
A Famous Balcony
IN THE YEARS immediately before he was elected President, Abra-
ham Lincoln was a guest in many homes throughout the central part of
Illinois. When he became a candidate for United States Senator op-
posing Stephen A. Douglas, it was natural that, while visiting these
homes, he should be prevailed upon to speak a few words to the towns-
people who usually gathered before the house where he was stopping as
a guest. Generally these talks were made from a front porch or from a
second-floor balcony. As a result of these brief, informal speeches, the
houses where they were made that is, those which survive have be-
come objects of veneration to Lincoln devotees and historic landmarks
in their communities.
An outstanding house of this type in eastern Illinois, and one that
is noteworthy in itself as the dwelling of a well-known pioneer of the
region, is the Fithian residence at 116 Gilbert Street in Danville. A
large boulder on the lawn in front of the house contains a historical
marker bearing the words: "Abraham Lincoln delivered an impromptu
address from the balcony of this house while a guest here in 1858. Placed
by the Governor Bradford -Chapter, D. A. R., 1926."
In this two-story brick house lived Dr. William Fithian, one of the
first settlers, of Danville and a pioneer physician in that part of Illinois.
He was a close friend of Lincoln's. In fact, the "Rail Splitter" served as
Dr. Fithian's attorney for a number of years, representing him in several
legal cases and advising him as a counselor and mentor. The two main-
tained their close friendship even after Lincoln became President.
When the Civil War broke out, President Lincoln, busy as he was,
did not forget his friend in Danville. He appointed Dr. Fithian provost
marshal of what was then the Seventh Congressional District, a district
embracing most of the east-central part of the state. Dr. Fithian served
honorably and competently in this capacity. After the war, he retired
to his Gilbert Street home, being then in his sixties, and there held forth
as one of the leading citizens of Danville.
From available data, Dr. Fithian built his house some time in the
1830's. It is of record that he came to Danville in 1830 when the city
was nothing more than a settlement of frame and log houses, with a few
grist mills and general stores.
In addition to his association with Lincoln and the early history of
Illinois, Dr. Fithian enjoys another distinction. He is recorded as being
the first white child born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His natal day was April
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79
Tep Wright
Dr. William Fithian House, Danville, Built 1830"*s.
7, 1799. When William Fithian was thirteen, he served in the "home
guard" during the W 7 ar of 1812. Upon reaching maturity, he set out for
himself, came west to Indiana, and finally settled at Danville.
As Danville grew, Dr. Fithian's practice expanded and in time he
began acquiring tracts of land in the county. He entered other fields
the mercantile business, banking, politics. He served one term as state
senator and two terms as state representative. When railroads ap-
peared, he was instrumental in getting several of the leading roads to
pass through Danville and Vermilion County. The town of Fithian,
west of Danville, is named after him.
Dr. Fithian died April 5, 1890. Since then his house has been
changed only slightly. A new roof has been added, as well as a new and
larger front porch. But the ornamental, cast-iron balcony at the south
end remains as it was when Lincoln stood on it almost a hundred years
ago and addressed the crowd in the yard.
For more than fifty years after Dr. Fithian's death the house was
occupied by Charles Feldkamp, a leading Danville confectioner, and his
family. The present occupants are Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Barnhart
and their son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. George E. Hoffman.
Lincoln Sip fed Here
AN OLD Illinois house associated with a little-known but revealing
incident In the life of Abraham Lincoln is the Hooten home in Danville.
Standing at 207 Buchanan Street, just east of the business district, this
dwelling is one of several historic landmarks in the eastern Illinois city
connected with the career of the Civil War President. As a lawyer on
the then Eighth Judicial Circuit, riding from county seat to county seat
on a horse or in a wagon, Lincoln was often in Danville and here he
formed a law partnership with Ward Hill Lamon, whom he is said to
have trusted "more than any other man." This partnership lasted for
five years and brought Lincoln to Danville at almost regular intervals.
On one of these visits, it is recorded, the Springfield lawyer was
taken to the Hooten home by several friends and there occurred the in-
cident which, according to historians, threw much light on one phase of
the martyred President's character. This incident had to do with liquor,
for it marked the only recorded instance in his life that Abraham Lin-
coln ever drank anything stronger than tea or coffee. But, according to
the story, there was no overindulgence on his part. Indeed, the whole
episode is regarded by historians as a light, amusing incident in the life
of the Emancipator; as an incident that revealed the essential human-
ness of America's great national hero. Lincoln himself treated it as
something of a joke.
The story of what occurred in the Hooten house on this occasion is
told by one of the men who was present; one of Lincoln's closest friends.
This man was Henry C, Whitney, a lawyer who also traveled the Eighth
Judicial Circuit and who was much with Lincoln. His book, Life on the
Circuit with Lincoln, published in 1892, is regarded by authorities as the
most voluminous and sometimes imaginative source of information on
Lincoln's years as a circuit-riding lawyer.
After pointing out that some drinking was indulged in by the
lawyers of the circuit, Whitney says that Lincoln "did not drink at all."
He goes on to say, however, that "once I remember several of us drove
out to the residence of Reason Hooten, near Danville, where we were
treated to several varieties of home-made wine. A mere sip of each
affected Lincoln, and he said comically: Tellers, Fm getting drunk/
That was the nearest approach to inebriety I ever saw in him."
At that time the Hooten house was out in the country east of Dan-
ville. During the many years since, Danville grew and expanded until
it engulfed the Hooten abode and now the dwelling stands in the midst
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81
of a completely built-up residential neighborhood. Situated on a grassy
knoll, with only a single old oak tree shading it, the house is conspicuous
for its obvious great age, although it is maintained in good condition.
When Lincoln and his friends visited the Hooten abode, the master
Tep Wright
Reason Hooten House, Danville y Built 1850 y s.
of the house was one of the leading farmers of Vermilion County. Near
his house he cultivated a large vineyard and wine making occupied part
of his time.
One of the earliest settlers of Vermilion County, coming to the
region in the early 1840's, Reason Hooten had acquired a large tract of
land and established a family whose descendants helped to build the
present city of Danville. The house in which he entertained Lincoln
was built in the early 1850's. It is a two-story home of rusty brown
brick with a low-pitched, gabled roof. An addition was built on to the
south portion of the house in 1890 by Reason Hooten's son, Sylvester.
The fireplaces in the original portion have been removed.
Here Lived "Uncle Joe"
AMONG numerous old houses in Danville the best known was a ram-
bling brick residence, marked by a cupola, mansard roof, and other orna-
mental features of Victorian architecture, which stood at 418 North
Vermilion Street. This was the home, during his entire career as a pic-
turesque national figure, of Joseph Gurney Cannon better known as
"Uncle Joe."
It was in 1876, three years after being first elected to Congress, that
Joseph Cannon built the spacious house on Vermilion Street. Here he
resided, between sessions of Congress, for the remainder of his life and
here he died in 1926 at the age of ninety.
Before settling down in his Danville residence, Joseph Cannon had
served as state's attorney. He began the practice of law at Shelbyville
Illinois, in 1858, then practiced at Tuscola, and afterward came to Dan-
ville. He was born on May 7, 1836, in New Garden, Guilford County,
North Carolina, where his father, Dr. Horace Franklin Cannon, was one
of the founders of Guilford College. His grandfather was a native of
Ireland.
As a young lawyer in Danville, Joseph Cannon won many friends by
his likable personality and undoubted abilities. In 1862 he married
Mary P. Reed, a native of Canfield, Ohio. After the two-story residence
on Vermilion Street was built, Mrs. Cannon became its mistress and here
she proved herself a worthy partner of the man who was to become
known to the American people as "Uncle Joe" Cannon.
At the time the Cannon house was completed, its owner was serving
in Congress. He first ran for Congress in 1870 but was defeated. Again
a candidate in 1872, he was elected and served continuously in the House
until 1891, when a Democratic landslide swept the country and caused
"Uncle Joe" to lose his seat.
Referring to his first term in Congress, a standard biographical
reference work says of him: "His uncouth manners and racy speech
earned for him at once the popular appellation of 'the Hayseed Mem-
ber from Illinois,' a title subsequently replaced by that of 'Uncle Joe.' "
After his defeat in 1890, Cannon came back to his Danville resi-
dence and immediately made plans to seek the office at the next election.
He was elected in 1892 and served continuously in the lower house until
his retirement in 1923, with the single exception of the 1913-1915 term.
Seated in his den in the roomy Vermilion Street house, "Uncle Joe"
often told stories of his early days as a lawyer in Danville. And among
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83
Joseph G. Cannon House,* Danville, Built 1876.
the most interesting of these stories were those concerning Abraham
Lincoln, who earlier had practiced law on the same judicial circuit where
Cannon began his career. "Uncle Joe" said that he first saw Lincoln at
the Republican state convention in Decatur in 1860. Cannon was then
practicing at Tuscola.
It was on that occasion that "Uncle Joe 5 ' heard Lincoln utter a re-
mark that showed the dry humor of the Civil War President. Joe Can-
non and a group of his friends met the Springfield lawyer at the post
office in Decatur and when one of them, addressing Lincoln, expressed
surprise at seeing him at the convention, Lincoln observed: "I'm most
too much of a candidate to be here, and not enough of one to stay away."
Joe Cannon was in the crowd that heard Lincoln speak at the De-
catur convention. He recalls how Lincoln appeared in the audience dur-
* Razed since this was written.
84 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
ing the convention proceedings and was immediately identified by the
hundreds of delegates. Shouts of "Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Lincoln" went
up from the crowd. They wanted him to speak.
"When Abe Lincoln found it almost impossible to get to the plat-
form because of the thick crowd," said Joe Cannon, "I saw a group of
huskies pick him up on their shoulders and carry him in a recumbent
position to the platform. This brought cheers from the crowd."
Joe Cannon had not yet attained his highest position, that of
speaker of the House of Representatives, when he was saddened by the
loss of his wife. She died in the Danville residence in 1899. From that
date until his own death "Uncle Joe" remained a widower, occupying
the large residence with his two daughters.
In 1901 he was named speaker and served in that position until
1911. This was the period of his greatest fame as a national figure, a
period when his familiar cigar appeared in cartoons all over the country.
He was offered the nomination of Vice-President of the United
States in 1908 but declined, feeling he could be more useful to his country
in the House. In 1916 the House commemorated his eightieth birthday
with a public testimonial.
When the time came for him to retire, "Uncle Joe," between puffs on
his ever-present cigar, told friends that he was going back to Danville to
spend the remainder of his days in the old residence on Vermilion Street.
His daughters wanted him to build a new home out in the country, but
the "Sage of Vermilion County," as the newspapers sometimes called
him, preferred to remain in the dwelling associated with his fondest
memories.
"His principal pleasure, after leaving Congress," says a newspaper
account, "was in sitting among the souvenirs of his public service. The
walls of his den, and of many another room in the large house, were
crowded with cartoons that appeared during his heyday, and with pic-
tures of famous friends. He listened much to the radio, too, and read
his Bible each day until his eyes grew dim. Within a few months of his
death in 1926, he personally took care of all his correspondence, sitting
for several hours each day at his desk dictating to a secretary."
"The Mansion House"
"AND AGAIN, verily I say unto you, if my servant Robert D. Foster
will obey my voice, let him build a house for my servant Joseph, accor-
ding to the contract which he has made with him." This was a divine
revelation, as written down in Doctrine and Covenants , received by Joseph
Smith, founder of the Mormon Church. It came to him, along with
other revelations, on January 19, 1841. This was just two years after
Joseph Smith had established headquarters for his sect at Nauvoo, a
rolling, attractive region on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.
The quoted passage was in reference to the construction of a suit-
able residence for the Prophet. Soon after the revelation, the house was
completed by its builder, Robert Foster. It survives in Nauvoo as one
Joseph Smith Home, Nauvoo, Built 1842.
85
86 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
of the shrines of the Mormon Church, as well as a historic landmark
of Illinois. In this house lived a man who played a dramatic role in
American history; who founded a religion that still flourishes and who
did much to develop the Western frontier.
Almost everyone knows of Joseph Smith as the founder of the Mor-
mon Church, but few outside the Church are aware of the fact that,
while occupying his Nauvoo residence, he was a candidate for the presi-
dency of the United States.
And he was living in this house, too, when his spectacular career was
brought to a tragic end. In it he was arrested following a schism within
his own church and an uprising of non-Mormon people of the surround-
ing countryside. Arrested with him was his brother, Hyrum, the Patri-
arch. The two were lodged in the near-by jail at Carthage and there
they were murdered by a mob on June 27, 1844.
Describing the graves of Joseph Smith and his brother, which are
located near an earlier Smith dwelling in Nauvoo, the Illinois state
guidebook says: "The bodies of the Prophet and his brother were moved
several times after the murder at Carthage, and were finally secretly
buried in a springhouse near the homestead [Smith's first Nauvoo
home]. Knowledge of their location was for years a family secret; the
springhouse fell into ruin; and in 1928 the bodies were found only after
considerable search."
After the murder of the Prophet, the Smith home, known as "The
Mansion House," was occupied by his widow, Emma Hale Smith, She
was the mother of his five children, one of whom, Joseph, became, in
1860, head of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. Later known as the "nonpolygamous Mormons," this branch
of the Mormon Church set up headquarters at Independence, Missouri.
Research by architects of the Historic American Buildings Survey
reveals that the house and property were deeded to the Reorganized
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1918 by Fred A. Smith,
grandson of the Prophet. "Intensive repairs," says the Survey report,
"were undertaken immediately and the house stands today in excellent
condition, with most of the original details still intact."
Of white pine construction, two stories high, The Mansion House
bears evidence of the Greek Revival style of design in vogue during the
1840's. This is shown by the pilasters and cornices of the facade. Now
maintained as a museum by the Reorganized Church, the house con-
tains numerous exhibits, such as Joseph Smith's desk, foreign editions
of The Book of Mormon, early copies of Doctrine and Covenants, and
bound volumes of the Times and Seasons.
A Landmark of M.ormonism
A SHORT DISTANCE from the Nauvoo house in which lived Joseph
Smith, Prophet and founder of the Mormon religion, there stands
another landmark held in high esteem by Mormons, and particularly by
the Utah branch of the Mormon Church. This is the century-old dwell-
ing of Brigham Young, who, after the murder of the Prophet, led the
Chicago Daily News
Brigham Young House, Nauvoo, Built 1840*$.
trek of the Mormons from Illinois to Utah where he established what
has been called "a unique experimental society, one of the most success-
ful colonizing endeavors in the history of the United States."
Obviously, the Brigham Young house is not so imposing as the
Joseph Smith residence. For when Young built it in the 1840' s he was
not yet head of the church. He was then a member of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, ruling body of the Mormons. Soon after his dwelling
was erected, however, he became leading fiscal officer of the church and
his influence was second only to that of the Prophet.
A native of Windham County, Vermont, where his birthplace was
87
88 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
but seventy-five miles southwest of the birthplace of Joseph Smith,
Brigham Young grew up in New York State, became a journeyman
house painter, glazier, farmer, and handyman, and then embraced the
Mormon faith in 1832.
Having been a handy man in his earlier years, Brigham Young un-
doubtedly supervised in close manner the building of his Nauvoo house.
From studies made by architects we learn that the house was constructed
of somewhat crude handmade brick and that originally it was sym-
metrical in design that is, with a central two-story main portion and
one-story wings on the east and west sides. The west wing has since
been enlarged.
. Brigham Young maintained his office in the east wing which had a
direct outside entrance as well as a connection with the main part of the
house. The living room in the main part still retains the original fire-
place, with its wood mantel. All rooms are simple in design and finished
in plain woodwork. The west wing contained a kitchen, as is evidenced
by the outline of a huge fireplace and bake oven, bricked up some time in
the last century. There is also a brick fireplace in the basement, still
usable though rarely used. At the rear of the house, and still in use, are
the original well and cistern.
In the years after 1846, when Brigham Young departed from his
Nauvoo house to lead the Mormons to Utah, the dwelling remained in
private hands. It has not been determined whether any of the Icarians,
a group of French Communists who took over Nauvoo some years after
the Mormons left, ever occupied the Young abode.
In a French Communist Utopia
WHEN the Mormons left Illinois in 1847 for their great exodus to Utah
they completely abandoned their once-populous city of Nauvoo on the
Mississippi River. Cobwebs appeared over doorways and weeds sprang
up in streets. Once the largest city in the state, with a population of
more than twelve thousand, Nauvoo became a true "ghost town." But
this desolate condition did not last for long. In a few years it was taken
over by a large band of French Communists called the Icarians, and here
they attempted to set up a Utopian community.
All that survive today of the Icarian colony are two frame apart-
ment houses and a stone school. The apartment houses stand in
weather-beaten contrast to the older and sounder-built brick houses and
buildings of the Mormons. Here and there through the town, however,
are other evidences of the Icarian occupation sturdy old limestone wine
cellars built into the sides of gullies and depressions. Although the
French Icarians remained at Nauvoo for only a decade or so, they estab-
lished a wine-making industry which survived them and is today one of
the two principal activities of Nauvoo, the other being cheese making.
Built sometime in the early 1850's, the Icarian communal houses are
of interest both for their historical associations and as primitive fore-
runners of the modern apartment house. They are plain frame struc-
Frederic J. Dornseif
Icarian Apartment House, Nauvoo, Built 1850's.
89
90 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
tures, two stories high and gable-roofed. In the many rooms of these
houses lived the Icarian families married couples were allotted one
room and single men were housed two in a room. Children over seven
years of age were reared in the colony's school and allowed to visit their
parents only on Sundays.
"The Icarians," says the Nauvoo Guide, written by the Illinois
Writers Project, "bought twelve acres of land and built several tene-
ments and a large assembly hall which contained a communal kitchen,
refectory, women's workshop and sleeping quarters." The two surviv-
ing apartment houses stand at the northwest corner of Mulholland and
Twelfth streets on the "Hill" in Nauvoo. This is the newer section of
the town, the older section, where most of the Mormons built their
houses, being called the "Flat." The Icarian communal houses, how-
ever, stand on part of the site of the great temple erected by the Mor-
mons in the early 1840's, which had been destroyed by fire and storm.
Near the apartment houses stands the old Icarian school, which was
made of stone from the ruined Mormon temple. It is now conducted as
a school by the Catholic church in Nauvoo.
This Icarian colony, one of the earliest of several attempts to set up
Utopias in Illinois by various European groups, was founded by Etienne
Cabet, a leading French jurist who had been influenced by the teachings
of Robert Owen, who also was to found a Utopia in America at New
Harmony, Indiana.
"Cabet, a cooper's son, had early identified himself with the prole-
tariat," says the Nauvoo Guide. "Convinced that an economic system
based on the tenet Trom each according to his ability and to each ac-
cording to his need' would operate to the advantage of all, he had ex-
pressed his beliefs in True Christianity and Foyage to Icaria, volumes that
won a considerable little band to his form of Communism. Cabet felt
that Communism should be patterned on the moral teachings of Christ,
rather than on a rigid mechanistic framework."
Cabet continued to be re-elected president of the colony each year
until 1856, when dissension broke out among his followers. He was de-
feated for re-election that year and, after making an unsuccessful attempt
to regain his lost position of leadership, retired with some two hundred
followers to St. Louis. He died a short time after his arrival there and
was buried in the presence of only a few of his adherents. With the out-
break of dissension among the Icarians and the withdrawal of Cabet, the
colony did not last much longer.
On Lake Peoria
IN THE BUSY downtown district of Peoria, not far from the big Mu-
nicipal River and Rail Terminal, stands an attractive old red brick
dwelling with white trim that has become one of the city's principal
residential landmarks. Located on a wide thoroughfare, its quaint ar-
chitecture in striking contrast to the modern buildings around it,
this house dates from the years when Peoria was a prosperous river port,
when the Prairie Belle, the Garden City, and other great white packets
of the Five Day Line churned the waters of Lake Peoria as they got
under way for St. Louis.
It was that same river traffic which helped establish the fortune of
the man who built the red brick house. This man was John Reynolds,
who had settled at Peoria when it was incorporated as a town in 1835.
After engaging in the river shipping trade, Reynolds set up one of the
first pork-packing plants in that city and later founded a beef-packing
house. His products were sent down the Illinois River to the Mississippi
and eventually found their way to leading Eastern and Southern
markets.
John Reynolds was one of three men, all from Pennsylvania, who,
lured by the call of the frontier, rode horseback to the West in the early
1830's. He and his companions Abram S. McKinney and Hugh
Williamson arrived at the little log village of Chicago, were not im-
pressed by its swampy location, and went down the Illinois River to
Peoria. Because of its position on the river Peoria would become a
great center of trade, the three men felt. They went back to Pennsyl-
vania to get their families.
The first to return was John Reynolds. He and his wife and chil-
dren came west in a crude prairie schooner. The family furniture and
other household goods were shipped by boat on the Ohio River to the
Mississippi and then up the Illinois River. At first the Reynolds family
lived in a house which stood in the middle of the 100 block on South
Adams Street. At that time Adams was a residential street. Later, as
the city grew, John Reynolds decided to seek a new location for a
spacious home he planned to build.
He found what he wanted on Jefferson Street. Here, in 1847, he
erected the two-story brick house which still stands. Its present ad-
dress is 305 North Jefferson Street. Designed by an early Peoria archi-
tect named Ulrichson, the house, architecturally, was a composite of
the handsome red brick residences that John Reynolds had admired in
91
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OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
John Reynolds House, Peoria, Built 1847.
Carlisle, Chambersburg, Shippensburg, and other towns of his native
Pennsylvania.
A description of the setting in which this house originally stood is
contained in a family memoir written by Mrs. William Arnett of Phil-
adelphia, granddaughter of John Reynolds. "The garden which Mr. and
Mrs. Reynolds planted," writes Mrs. Arnett, "extended all the way
from the house to the corner of Jackson Street. About half of this was
bounded in front by an ornamental cast-iron fence, inside of which was
a thick privet hedge. A path ra.n along this, bordered on each side by
flower beds, with clove pinks growing on both sides of the path."
We are told that "the barn housed a cow and a horse. . . . Near the
barn was the smokehouse, where hams and tongues were cured. In the
old kitchen, with its big range, apple butter was made in the fall in a
huge iron kettle, and mincemeat was made and stored in jars. Two
CENTRAL ILLINOIS
93
maids were always employed and kept busy cooking, serving, and clean-
ing. . . . The children ^doubled up* in those days and occasionally trundle
beds were used."
Here, in the days before the Civil War, lived John Reynolds and his
wife and four children, with numerous relatives from the East paying
them long visits. The master of the house was a "ruling elder" of the
First Presbyterian Church and was strongly opposed to slavery. One of
the sons William founded Calvary Church in Peoria. After the death
of John Reynolds the house was occupied by his son-in-law and daughter,
Dr. and Mrs. John Herschel Morron. Dr. Morron was a minister of the
First Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Morron was succeeded as owner and occupant of the house by
his daughter Miss Jean Morron. As chatelaine of the old Reynolds
house, Miss Morron kept it and the adjoining garden in excellent con-
dition, managing to retain much of the atmosphere of charm that pre-
vailed here a century ago.
She was able to do this because ownership of the house has always
been retained in the Reynolds family. As a result the dwelling is a
veritable "period" museum. Here, tastefully arranged, the visitor may
see elegant mahogany and rosewood tables, chairs and chests, as well as
fine old glassware and bric-a-brac, which were brought to Illinois on an
Ohio River flatboat more than a hundred years ago. In the great
kitchen, a big iron range, set in red brick, Is flanked by gleaming copper
and brass utensils from the old days.
The New Orleans Influence
AN OBJECT that always arouses the interest and curiosity of visitors
attending the annual fish fry at Beardstown, on the Illinois River, is a
decorous, white-painted old house at the southeast corner of the court-
house square; a house noticeable for the fanciful iron grillwork decorating
its porches. So ornamental is this white-painted fretwork that onlookers
often compare it to the laciness of a valentine.
To those who have visited New Orleans, however, this sight is a
familiar one. For it is a good example of the type of decoration to be
found on the balconies of houses in the old French Quarter of the delta
metropolis. Since architects regard it as a noteworthy demonstration of
the New Orleans influence in Illinois architecture, it was included in the
Historic American Buildings Survey along with somewhat similar dwell-
ings at Galena and other Illinois towns near the Mississippi River.
A grape design was used on the porches of the Beardstown house
grape clusters and leaves interwoven with curling branches. It is of
Historic American Buildings Survey
Christopher C Sturtevant House, Beardstown, Built 1852.
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS 95
cast iron, instead of wrought metal, and the story is told that the molds
used for the casting were afterward destroyed so that there would be no
repetition of this design.
In obtaining the history of this landmark, Earl H. Reed, district
officer of the Historic American Buildings Survey, found that the grill-
work porches were not part of the original dwelling. He learned that
the ornamental trim was added to the house soon after its purchase in
1865 by a Mississippi skipper, Captain Charles S. Kbaugh. In adding
the fretwork trim to his porches, Captain Ebaugh desired to produce
work similar to what he had seen in the Vieux Carre of New Orleans.
Although it was Captain Ebaugh who gave this house its distinctive
appearance, the dwelling is named on the drawings of the Survey after
the man who had it built. This man was Christopher C. Sturtevant, an
early settler of Beardstown. He erected the house in 1852, designing
it in the Greek Revival mode of the time. This style is noticeable in the
cornices and pilasters of the two-story frame dwelling, as well as in the
interior trim of the ten rooms.
After living in this house for about ten years, Captain Ebaugh sold
it to John H. Harris, pioneer land agent of the Illinois River country,
early Beardstown businessman, and one of the organizers and president
of the First National Bank of Beardstown. Here Harris and his family
lived and entertained, and here the master of the house died at an ad-
vanced age in 1911. His widow survived him by six years. The house
then came into the possession of one of the Harris daughters, Mrs.
Robert Burr Glenn.
During the disastrous flood of 1922, when the Illinois River rose and
practically submerged the entire town, the Sturtevant house was pro-
tected by walls of sandbags. White, trim, quaintly old-fashioned and
set among shade trees, it survives as a relic of the era when palatial
steamboats plied the Illinois River and Lawyer Abe Lincoln defended
"DufP* Armstrong in the Beardstown courthouse.
Adobe Construction
WHEN sawmills and brickyards began to appear in Illinois the crude
log cabins of the first inhabitants were supplanted by frame and brick
houses designed after the architecture prevalent on the Eastern Sea-
board and on Southern plantations. Since the architectural styles then
current were either Georgian or Greek Revival, a good many of the first
dwellings copied these styles. But whatever their design, these early
homes were built of wood, stone, or brick,
An exception to this rule, however, is a two-story house built on a
farm some three miles northeast of Virginia, seat of Cass County and
Historic American Buildings Survey
Andrew Cunningham House, Near Virginia, Built 1852.
one of the first settlements on the old Springfield-Beardstown road, now
State Highway 125. Still in a fairly good state of preservation after
almost a century of existence, this house is one of the most unusual
dwellings in the state. What gives it distinction is that it is built entirely
of adobe brick. It is believed to be the only adobe house in Illinois, and
there are some who claim it is the only house of this type in the Midwest.
As is well known, the adobe form of construction is peculiar to the
dry, sunny Southwest, where it was used extensively by the early Span-
ish conquerors. Curiously enough, the adobe house at Virginia was not
built by anyone from New Mexico or Texas, but by a practical and re-
sourceful Scot who had never, so far as is known, visited the Southwest.
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS 97
That Scotsman was Andrew Cunningham. Soon after arriving in
New York in 1834 he heard of the opportunities to be found on the west-
ern frontier and started for Illinois. He came westward on an Erie
Canal boat, by stage, and on foot. Upon arriving at his destination he
decided to set up a tannery. This required a plentiful supply of water
and oak timber and these he found to his satisfaction in Cass County
at a place on Job's Creek called Sugar Grove. Here Cunningham ac-
quired a large tract of land for a farm and built himself a small house.
The tannery was soon a thriving project. Andrew Cunningham's
fortunes rose and it was then he decided to erect a more substantial
house. That brought up the problem of suitable building material.
The story of how Cunningham built his adobe house in central
Illinois is interestingly told in Volume 28 of the Journal of the Illinois
State Historical Society. It was written by Lorene Martin of Vir-
ginia. After pointing out how Cunningham was "a man of great in-
dustry and resourcefulness, with a mind well stored with practical in-
formation," the author of the article gives a detailed picture of the
construction of this unique house.
"Taking common mud," she writes, "and mixing it with ground
tanbark, using hair scraped from hides before tanning as a binder, he
molded large blocks (6 by 12 by 18 inches) and baked them in the sun.
The result was satisfactory, and from these adobe bricks a substantial
and well proportioned two-story house, having nine large rooms, be-
sides two broad halls, was built. Upon completion the exterior was
given a coating of cement plaster for protection against a possibly un-
favorable effect of the Illinois climate. Overhanging eaves supported
by braces of ironwork beautifully designed by Mr. Cunningham himself,
who had a strong artistic sense were added for further protection
against the weather and gave as well a pleasing balance to the architec-
tural lines."
This house, we are told, was completed in 1852. In the years fol-
lowing, it attracted widespread attention because of its unusual construc-
tion. Despite this, however, the adobe style of house did not win
popular approval in Illinois.
When he died in 1895 Andrew Cunningham left his heirs the diary
of his trip to Illinois in 1835, his library, household articles, art objects,
and one other reminder of him. That was a circular plot of ground in
front of the adobe house which he ordered should never be touched as it
contained original prairie grass- the six- to eight-foot high grass which
covered the great, wide prairies of Illinois before the coming of the white
Hudson T&ver Gothic
IN SELECTING ancient courthouses, covered bridges, sawmills, early
taverns, and old homes of Illinois as subjects for scale drawings, drafts-
men of the Historic American Buildings Survey considered the architec-
ture of these structures as well as their historic value. This was es-
pecially true of the state's venerable dwellings. Since Illinois contains
almost all of the various architectural styles that prevailed in the
earlier days of the republic, the federal draftsmen included in their sur-
vey representative examples of each of these styles, chosen from among
the many in all parts of the state.
A house picked for this purpose by the Survey architects standstill
Paris. This central Illinois city, seat of Edgar County and a community
of some nine thousand population, contains numerous fine old houses
but the best known, both for its architecture and the man who built it,
is this dwelling which was chosen for special study.
The Paris house thus honored is called the old Austin place. It was
built in 1854, or shortly after the village of Paris was platted by Judge
Albert B. Austin, long a prominent citizen of Edgar County and well-
known jurist of central Illinois before and after the Civil War. In addi-
tion to his service on the bench, Judge Austin helped to organize and
build the schools of Edgar County and took an active interest in the
county's religious affairs. He was, furthermore, the father of ten chil-
dren, eight of whom grew to maturity.
Judge Austin was born in New York State in 1808. In that state
he grew up, was married, became a man of some consequence, and then,
in 1852, traveled westward with his family and settled at Paris. Here
his outstanding abilities were soon recognized and not long afterward
he was elected clerk of the county court and, later, judge of the probate
court. After his house was completed, it was widely admired for its
architecture.
It was this style of architecture which attracted the attention of
the government draftsmen more than three quarters of a century after
the house was built. For they found it to be a good example of what is
known to architectural historians as Hudson River Gothic. This style,
which was popular in Judge Austin's native state during the 1840' s and
1850's, is marked by pointed arches and other medieval forms.
But the Austin house, as well as those in the Hudson River Valley
from which it was copied, was not built of stone or brick, which were the
materials usually associated with Gothic buildings. It is a frame dwell-
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99
Historic American Buildings Survey
Albert B. Austin House, Paris, Built 1854.
ing covered with board-and-batten siding, and its general design is like
that of any other typical frame house of the Gothic Revival in America.
What makes it distinctive, what sets it apart as a Gothic dwelling, is
found in the scrollwork trim and ornamental detail of its exterior.
On the gables, on the east portico, and on a tall, narrow, second-
story window over the portico, are evidences of the "pointed" design
familiar to Americans in church architecture of the last century, The
gable ends are ornamented with the tapering wooden spires that char-
acterize the style. Traces of the earlier classic influences are found in
the doorways and lintels. The house is two stories high, gable-roofed,
and contains twelve rooms. There is no suggestion of the Gothic in the
interior, this part being plain and conventional and having the usual
fireplaces of dwellings of that era. The parlor and dining room of the
house are furnished with Austin family heirlooms, such as a walnut
parlor set, chests, whatnots, and an impressive Seth Thomas clock. Here,
too, in old-fashioned oval frames, are faded pictures of Judge and Mrs.
Austin two persons who look intelligent, sturdy, persevering, and in
general like the men and women who helped to build the Midwest.
A World Shrine
AT THE NORTHEAST corner of Eighth and Jackson streets, in the
capital city of Springfield, there stands a green-shuttered, white frame
house that has become a world shrine. To this central Illinois house
annually come more people from all parts of the nation and the world
than to any other historic shrine west of the Alleghenies. This dwelling,
of course, was the home of Abraham Lincoln.
When Lincoln, who, at the time, was a tall, thirty-three-year-old
Springfield lawyer, sought the services of a minister for his marriage to
Mary Todd, he went to his friend, the Rev. Charles Dresser. The call
was made at the minister's recently built home in Springfield. The story
goes that Lincoln was so attracted by the minister's house, so pleased
with its comfort, roominess, and architectural design, that a desire was
born in him to own just such a home. Sixteen months later Abraham
Lincoln became owner and occupant of the minister's house.
Of the thousands of visitors who come to this dwelling annually, few
know the full story of the house itself. A. L. Bcwen, former state di-
rector of public welfare, historian, and Lincoln scholar, gave its complete
history in an address before the Lincoln Centennial Association. En-
titled "A. Lincoln: His House," Mr. Bowen's address is printed in the
Lincoln Centennial Association Papers for 1925.
In speaking of Lincoln's feeling for this dwelling, Mr. Bowen says:
"Love and affection for this house were inseparable from his conscious-
ness that, in all he had done in life, it expressed his greatest and chiefest
achievement. It stood concretely for his triumph over poverty, want
and ignorance. ... I think it made him feel himself a man among men.
He may not have been aware of any such influence at work upon him;
yet the possession of this house must have afforded him a new outlook
upon life."
The story of this world-famous house begins with the year 1839.
That was when it was built by the Rev. Mr. Dresser. It was then only
a story-and-a-half dwelling and stood on the outskirts of the city where
the homes of the most influential Springfield citizens were located.
For almost two years after their marriage the Lincolns lived in a
hotel, the Globe, and here their first child, Robert, was born. Then, in
1844, they moved into the Eighth Street house. This house was the only
one Lincoln ever owned. The price he paid for it and the lot was #1,500
in cash. Although not mentioned in the deed, there was a #900 mort-
gage on the house which was cleared a few months later. In referring
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS
101
to this mortgage afterward, Lincoln is supposed to have said that he
"reckoned he could trust the preacher that married him." Some time in
the middle 1850' s the house, at the suggestion of Mrs. Lincoln, was
raised to a full two-story residence.
When Lincoln and his family moved to Washington in 1847 he
had been elected to Congress the year before the Eighth Street house
was rented to one Cornelius Ludlum. The Lincolns returned to their
dwelling a year later and remained there until the master of the house
was elected President of the United States. During the years he lived
in this abode years in which three more sons came to him Lincoln
spent his time quietly and unostentatiously and there is no record of
Abraham Lincoln House, Springfield, Built 1839,
102 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
any notable social events here until he became President-elect of the
United States. ,
When he was elected, Lincoln was formally notified of the event by
a committee from Chicago and this occurred in the south parlor of the
house. After the Lincolns moved to Washington in 1861 the house was
rented to L. Tilton, president of the Great Western Railroad. A few
years later it was rented to George H. Harlow, who later became Secre-
tary of State for Illinois. Then, after several years' occupancy by a Dr.
Gustav Wendlandt, it was rented in 1884 to O. H. Oldroyd, well-known
collector of Lincolniana. . .
It was Oldroyd who urged the then owner of this shrme, Robert
Todd Lincoln, to deed it to the state. This was done in 1887 and Old-
royd became its first official custodian. Succeeding custodians have
been Herman Hofferkamp, neighbor of the Lincolns' ; Albert S. Edwards,
Mrs. Lincoln's nephew; Mrs. Albert S. Edwards, and Mrs. Mary Ed-
wards Brown, the preceding custodians' daughter. The present cus-
todian, Miss Virginia Stuart Brown, graciously carries on the tradition
of hospitality set by her mother and grandmother.
As all who have visited it know, the house is well-preserved, btu-
dents of architecture note that its exterior, although plain, has touches
of the Greek Revival style, which was the vogue in this country during
the late 1830's. The framework of the house is of oak while the siding,
trim and flooring are of black walnut. What few nails were used in its
construction wooden pegs were mostly used are all hand-wrought.
Standing on a slight elevation, the white-painted dwelling is partly sur-
rounded by a low brick retaining wall and a white picket fence which
were ordered built by Lincoln.
No changes have been made in the interior of this twelve-room
house since the Lincolns left it. Lincoln's bedroom was on the second
floor north. Since most of the original Lincoln family furniture was
destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871, when the widowed Mrs. Lincoln
was living in Chicago, the house is appropriately outfitted with furniture
of the Lincoln era. Some original pieces, however, are on display, in-
cluding Lincoln's favorite rocking chair, a cupboard used as a bookcase,
Mrs. Lincoln's sewing chair, and an original photograph of Lincoln.
Official Home of Illinois Governors
RARELA regarded as an old Illinois house, one dating from pioneer
days, is the Governor's Mansion in the state capital. This is due partly
to its being kept always in first-class condition and partly to the numer-
ous additions imposed on it from time to time which have somewhat
changed its original appearance. Gazing today at its white fagade stand-
The Executive Mansion, Springfield, Built 1856.
ing out impressively against a beautifully landscaped background, one
can hardly believe that this residence is nearly a century old.
But such it is. It was built in 1856. Among those who at intervals
watched the brickmasons erecting it was Abraham Lincoln, then a
lawyer and ex-congressman who was beginning to attract national atten-
tion for his political gifts. A year after the house was built, Mr. and
Mrs. Lincoln were guests at a brilliant social function held here by the
second executive to occupy it. Governor William H. BisselL
The first chief executive of the state to live here was Governor Joel
A. Matteson. It has been the home of every Illinois governor since 1856.
Before that time, and beginning with the year 1839 when the state cap-
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104 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
ital was moved from Vandalia to Springfield, the governors lived in a
house at the northwest corner of Eighth Street and Capitol Avenue (then
Market Street). It was a plain, two-story building and, when abandoned
by the state, sold for $2,680.
"The first official act of the Illinois General Assembly looking to-
ward the erection of a governor's mansion was approved on February
12, 1853," writes Paul M. Angle, former State Historian in charge of the
Illinois State Historical Library and now director and secretary of the
Chicago Historical Society. "An appropriation of 315,000 was voted
for this purpose. Two years later, an additional $16,000 was voted for
completion of the house. Thus, the total original cost of the Governor's
Mansion was $31,000."
Topped by an imposing cupola, the Mansion was remodeled during
the term of Governor Joseph W. Fifer in 1889. The cupola was re-
moved, the roof raised to a higher pitch, and a balustraded platform built
at the peak. A flagpole stands in the center of this platform. Another
change made that year was the addition of the present portico. Ever
since that time, the state legislature has appropriated funds at intervals
for the upkeep and repair of the Governor's Mansion.
The first child born in the Governor's Mansion was Robert Oglesby,
son of Governor Richard J. Oglesby, who began his first term in 1873.
Another born in this house was Kiihne Beveridge, who became a well-
known sculptor and writer. She was a granddaughter of Governor John
L. Beveridge.
The first wedding in the Mansion occurred in 1856, when Lydia
Olivia, daughter of Governor Matteson, married John McGinnis, Jr.
The only governor to die in the Mansion and the first to die in office
was Governor Bissell, whose death occurred in 1860.
The Mansion is a three-story brick dwelling, white-painted and
standing on a landscaped knoll not far from the Capitol. It contains
twenty-eight rooms. The offices of the governor are on the ground floor.
The state dining room and reception rooms are on the first floor, and the
suites of bedrooms, sun parlor, and library are on the second floor. An
oil portrait of Edward D, Baker, friend of Lincoln's, hangs in the state
dining room. Painted by an unknown artist, it was bought by Lincoln
himself and afterward presented to the state by Mrs. Lincoln.
Art Museum and Social Center
OF THE NUMEROUS historic old dwellings in Springfield, one of the
oldest and most revered is the stately mansion at 801 North Fifth Street
in which lived Judge Benjamin S. Edwards, member of the famous Ed-
wards family of early Illinois. Standing in its original grove of elms
and maples, its wide overhanging cornice, spacious piazza, Corinthian
columns, and fanciful cupola showing signs of great age, the Edwards
mansion is now the home of the Springfield Art Association.
As an art museum and center of cultural and social activities, this
ancient brick residence is carrying on a role that was first given to it
when Judge Edwards and his wife moved into it in 1843. They were an
educated couple, fond of painting, music, literature, and all the other
refinements of civilization. Among frequent guests at social events in
their mansion were Abraham Lincoln and his wife, and here, too, came
General U. S. Grant, Stephen A. Douglas, Senator Lyman Trumbull,
Benjamin S. Edwards House, Springfield, Built 1833.
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106 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Judge John Dean Caton, John Hay, Judge Sidney Breese, and other
well-known figures of early Illinois.
This house, however, was not built by Judge Edwards. From a
pamphlet written late in her life by Mrs. Edwards, we learn that it was
erected in 1833 on a fourteen-acre tract of wooded land, then outside the
town limits of Springfield. Its builder was Dr. Thomas Houghan, pio-
neer physician of Springfield. He must have been a man of considerable
means, as the house is of imposing design and proportions, and, for its
time, was probably the handsomest in that part of Illinois. The interior
was, and still is, gracious and homelike, with open fireplaces in many of
the rooms and the added warm glow of fine old walnut woodwork.
Ten years after building it, Dr. Houghan sold it to Judge Edwards.
The judge was the youngest son of Ninian Edwards, the only governor
of the Territory of Illinois, later the state's first United States senator
and, subsequently, its third governor under statehood. Another son of
the governor, Ninian Wirt Edwards, state representative, member of
the "Long Nine" in the state assembly and Illinois' first Superintendent
of Public Instruction, married a sister of Abraham Lincoln's wife.
During pre-Civil War days, when the Edwards mansion was in its
prime, it was the scene of many brilliant gatherings. We are told that
"legislative parties" were held on the lawn, attended by all members of
the state legislature. The grove north of the house was used for numer-
ous political meetings. One of these was addressed by Stephen A.
Douglas.
Writing of President Lincoln's funeral, Mrs. Edwards said: "Our
house, being on the road to the cemetery, was thrown open, our rooms
were all occupied, cots being put in the library and back room even, to
accommodate friends who came from Kentucky and elsewhere.'*
After Judge Edwards died in 1886 his widow continued to live in
the mansion until her death in 1909. Here were born and reared her two
daughters, Alice and Mary Stuart. After the death of Mrs. Edwards,
the house was unoccupied for a number of years and then, in 1913, was
presented to the Springfield Art Association by one of the Edwards
daughters, Mrs. Alice Edwards Ferguson. She wanted it to stand as a
memorial to her parents and, in addition, to be of service to the com-
munity.
In the hands of the Art Association members, the old Springfield
landmark, now known as "Edwards Place," has been considerably re-
stored to its former grandeur and serves not only as an art museum, but
as a "period house." The rooms are enhanced with authentic furniture
of the ante-bellum period.
Home of a Poet
CONSIDERABLY overshadowed by the widespread fame of the Lin-
coln house a few blocks away, the Vachei Lindsay home in Springfield,
nonetheless, holds its own as a historic shrine, particularly as an object
of veneration to literary pilgrims. It was in this attractive old dwelling,
shaded in summer by great elms and maples, that Vachei Lindsay,
Vachei Lindsay House, Springfield, Built 1850*s.
known in American literary history as "the tramp poet," was born, and
it was here that he died fifty-two years later.
But this is not its only claim to recognition. For it has close asso-
ciations with Abraham Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln. Here both of them
came often as visitors in the days before they left Springfield for Wash-
ington and here Lincoln's sister-in-law presided as chatelaine for many
years. And at a later date the brooding spirit of Lincoln seemed to cling
to this house, impressing the mind of the youthful Vachei Lindsay and
inspiring him, when he grew to maturity, to write numerous poems on
the Lincoln theme, the best known of which is "Abraham Lincoln Walks
at Midnight."
Research by Paul M. Angle reveals that this house, which stands
at 603 South Fifth Street (just back of the Governor's Mansion), was
owned and occupied in the middle 1850*8 by Clark M. Smith, a leading
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108 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Springfield merchant. Smith is believed to have moved into this dwell-
ing soon after his marriage to Anna Maria Todd, younger sister of Mary
Todd, wife of Abraham Lincoln.
Here the Smiths lived and played important roles in the social life
of ante-bellum Springfield. It was in a back room on the third floor of
Smith's dry goods store, which fronted on Springfield's courthouse
square, that President-elect Lincoln began writing the address he was
to deliver at his inauguration in Washington. He chose this place in
order to avoid the crowds who came to see him at his law office. The
Smith desk on which he wrote the address is now on display in the
Illinois State Historical Library in the Centennial Building in Spring-
field.
While the Smiths were still living in the Fifth Street house there
came to Illinois from Kentucky a young doctor named Vachel Thomas
Lindsay. He practiced medicine in Springfield, married an Indiana
school teacher and artist named Esther Catherine Frazee in 1876, and
a few years later became owner and occupant of the Smith abode on
Fifth Street. Here Vachel Lindsay was born on November 10, 1879.
From Edgar Lee Masters' biography, Vachel Lindsay A Poet in
America, we learn that when Vachel was eight or nine years old he played
with his cousin, Ruby Lindsay, who lived next door to the Abraham Lin-
coln home on Eighth Street. The then custodian of the Lincoln home,
who was fond of youngsters, often invited little Vachel and his cousin
into the Lincoln house and here the future poet first became imbued
with the Lincoln spirit.
When he grew to maturity, Vachel Lindsay wandered out into the
world, walked up and down and across America, became famous as "the
tramp poet/' read, or rather chanted, his poems to farmers and college
students, and then, after his marriage to Elizabeth Conner at Spokane in
1925, returned to Springfield and settled down in the house in which he
was born. Here his two children were born and here he wrote many
poems. And here, in 1931, he became a victim of melancholia and took
his own life.
The house is still in sound condition- It is of frame construction,
two stories high, and has suggestions, especially on the porch and
cornices, of the Greek Revival, though the Grecian style is much modi-
fied by later influences. The interior is typical of its period, with living
rooms containing windows that reach from floor to ceiling. Vachel Lind-
say wrote many of his poems in the room on the second floor in the north-
west corner. His final resting place is in Oak Ridge Cemetery, not far
from Lincoln's tomb.
Fancy Creek Farmhouse
A FEW MILES north of Springfield there stands, in a grove of maples,
a spacious old white house that has been a landmark of the region
for almost a hundred years. In it lived a pioneer who played no
small part in the development of Sangamon County and who was also
associated with numerous historical figures of the state and nation,
notably Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Kept in good con-
dition throughout its long life, this house is now occupied by the fourth
generation of the same family.
Here lived, throughout the Civil War period and for many years
afterward, George Power, or "Squire' 1 Power, as he was affectionately
known to his farmer neighbors and to the early citizens of Springfield.
For almost twenty years he was a justice of the peace in the little settle-
ment of Cantrall, just north of Springfield, and before him, according
to tradition, Abraham Lincoln tried his first law case. The little white
frame courthouse in which this case was heard now stands on the grounds
of the Power home and is frequently visited by Lincoln students and
devotees.
The story of Lincoln's appearance before Squire Power was told
several years ago by V. Y. Dallman in his column in the Illinois State
Register. "According to Clayton Barber [Sangamon County attorney]
there is no definite record as to this first law suit," writes Dallman, "but
Mr. Barber believes it was the suit involving the killing of a dog in which
Lincoln defended the man with the shotgun who killed the dog! The
owner of the dog insisted that the man who shot the dog should have
used c the other end of the gun,' to which Mr. Lincoln replied, 'that
would have been all right if the dog had come at him with the other
end.' "
It was in 1836 that Squire Power heard this suit. The courthouse in
which it was heard had been built in 1829 and was the first frame dwell-
ing in the county erected north of the Sangamon River. We are told
that Lincoln, then a gangling young law student, often visited Judge
Power here on his travels between New Salem and Springfield. The
little courthouse, built of clapboards, contains two rooms, both of which
are finished with smooth black walnut. In one of the rooms, however,
the walls are papered with newspapers, now old and frayed, and among
these one can read Mexican War news in the columns of the Illinois State
Register.
In an article on Squire Power, recently written by his great-grand-
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OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
daughter, Virginia Reilly Glore (actress and dramatic reader), we read
that "Illinois had been a state just three years when young George
Power came to Sangamon County. His people had been Virginians who
stopped in Kentucky for a generation. George Power was born in
Fayette County, Kentucky, on February 18, 1798. In the fall of 1821
he and his young wife and baby first saw the beautiful broad sweep of
the Illinois prairie. They picked a hill beside a rushing creek, with a
George Power Home^ Cantrall, Built 1850^ s.
windbreak of timber to the north . . - black walnut trees and white oaks.
Here George Power built a log cabin and thus Illinois became the home
of the Power family."
An energetic young man, blond and six feet tall, George Power at
this period tilled his land and dreamed of a time when he would build
himself a spacious dwelling similar to those he had seen in Kentucky.
He dreamed, too, of broad, cultivated acres, thoroughbred horses,
blooded stock, and all the comforts of a Southern plantation. But as
he dreamed, he worked. In time he prospered. Then came the Black
Hawk War. He was commissioned second lieutenant of a company of
mounted volunteers by Governor John Reynolds. After the war he
returned to his farm on Fancy Creek and once more tilled the soil, raised
cattle,, and served as justice of the peace.
It was not long now until he realized his dream. Some time in the
1850's he built for himself and family a roomy, two-story house of red
CENTRAL ILLINOIS 111
brick, with spacious white porches. The bricks were made by hand.
His two sons, William D. and James E., were now growing up. Always
hospitable, Squire Power and his wife, Nancy, entertained many promi-
nent people here in those years and among them was Stephen A. Doug-
las, who had stopped overnight in 1860 after making a speech in Spring-
field.
The story is told that during the lean years of the Civil War, Squire
Power instructed the local flour mill to give the families of soldiers what-
ever flour they needed, and he would pay for it. The bill came to a total
of 55600 and he paid it. Another story about him is that at the age of
seventy-nine he "was awarded a gold-headed cane at the annual fair for
the most skillful feat of horseback riding by any person over sixty."
Squire Power died in 1886 at the age of eighty-eight. He was buried in a
mausoleum of native limestone he had built for himself and family on
the grounds of his estate.
But before he died, Squire Power was to see his own son, William,
rise to prominence as a county judge in Springfield. An interesting co-
incidence is that Abraham Lincoln filed his last case in Sangamon
County, before becoming President of the United States, in the court
of County Judge William Power just as he filed his first case before
William's father, Squire Power. After the death of Squire Power, the
big house in the grove of maples above Fancy Creek was occupied by
the second son, James, who became a successful stock raiser.
When James Power died in 1898, the house was taken over by his
son, Charles. Under his supervision, Power Farms became one of the
best-known tracts in central Illinois. He then gave up active farming,
moved to Springfield, and entered the office of Secretary of State Ed-
ward J. Hughes. The next occupant of the old Power homestead was
and still is Charles > sister, June Power Reilly. She and her daughter,
Virginia (now a resident of Missoula, Montana), cherish the great num-
ber of family heirlooms which adorn the house. Among these are a three-
cornered walnut cupboard, a cherry wood four-poster bed, and gold-
plated chandeliers.
Visitors to the Power homestead will see acres and acres of culti-
vated farm land and grazing cattle, a well-preserved old residence of
white-painted brick, wide bluegrass lawns shaded by ancient maples,
and, not far from the homestead, the little frame courthouse and the
family cemetery a cemetery where lie the remains of Squire Power's
slaves whom he freed in the 1830's but who chose to remain with the
family the rest of their days.
In the Spoon River Country
Major Walker who had talked
With venerable men of the revolution . . .
THESE LINES, from the opening poem in Edgar Lee Masters' book of
poetic epitaphs, Spoon River Anthology, refer to Major Newton Walker,
pioneer settler of Lewistown, early state representative, intimate friend
of Abraham Lincoln's, and a commanding figure of the Spoon River
country in the 1830's and Ws.
Standing today as a memorial to this man is the house in which he
lived a low, story-and-a-half brick dwelling, distinguished by corbie
gables and located on the outskirts of Lewistown. It is one of Lewis-
town's three outstanding old houses, the other two being the ancient,
grandiose mansion of Colonel Lewis W. Ross (for whom the central
Illinois city was named) and the boyhood home of the poet, Edgar Lee
Masters.
When Masters described Major Walker as a person who had con-
versed with "venerable men of the revolution," he was referring to the
major's career before settling in Lewistown in 1835. A native of Vir-
ginia, where he was born in 1803, Walker was appointed a major in the
Virginia militia at the age of twenty-one, and, as a military man, came
into contact with Thomas Jefferson, John Randolph, James Madison,
and other leaders of the American Revolution.
"Major Walker was ... a man who already had arrived at con-
siderable distinction when he came to Illinois," writes Mrs. Carl B.
Chandler in her article, "The Spoon River Country," in the Journal of
the Illinois State Historical Society (Vol. 14). "While yet but twenty-one,
as Major in the state militia, he had been appointed to the command of
the escort of Lafayette when that great man paid his memorable visit
to this country in 1824, accompanying him during almost all of that
triumphal trip through Virginia."
In 1834 Major Walker married Miss Eliza Simms, daughter of a
respected Virginia family. Her sister, Frances, was afterward to become
the wife of Colonel Ross, son of the founder of Lewistown. A year after
their marriage, the Walkers came west and settled in Lewistown, the
journey taking sixty days. The town in which they settled, situated just
north of the Spoon River and not far from the Illinois River, had been
laid out in 1822 by Ossian M. Ross, who had been granted land here by
the government for his services in the War of 1812.
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CENTRAL ILLINOIS
113
Historic American Buildings Survey
Newton Walker House, Lewistown, Built 1851 .
By the time the Walkers arrived, Lewistown was the seat of Fulton
County. This county, organized by Ossian Ross, was at first very large
and embraced the entire northern portion of Illinois, including the future
site of Chicago. The story is told that settlers of the little village of
Chicago, whose log houses clustered about Fort Dearborn, had to travel
to Lewistown for licensees to wed, to open taverns, or to pay their taxes.
At first, the Walkers occupied a log cabin built by Ossian Ross on
the approximate site of the present Walker house. Major Walker had
acquired the log house when he purchased one hundred acres of land
from Ross in 1839. The date of construction of the present brick dwell-
ing Is given as 1851. This was determined by architects of the Historic
American Buildings Survey.
Before his brick house was finished, however, Major Walker had
achieved some renown in Fulton County and throughout central Illinois
as the designer and builder of the county's third courthouse an im-
pressive Greek Revival edifice, completed in 1838, that became the pride
of Lewistown.
In it Abraham Lincoln, Robert I ngersoll, and Edward Dickinson
Baker appeared as lawyers and here sat Stephen A. Douglas as a judge.
114 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
This fine courthouse, with its columns and portico, was mysteriously
burned to the ground on a December night in 1894. In that year Major
Walker was ninety-one years old and was still living in his brick abode
on the outskirts of town. Legend says the fire was started by an in-
cendiary in a bitter county seat "war" between Lewistown and near-by
Canton. But this was never legally proved.
There is a humorous legend in Lewistown to the effect that Major
Walker, while supervising the building of the courthouse, constructed a
large bobsled inside the building. When the sled was completed, it was
discovered there was no way to get it outside the courthouse, which had
been finished about the same time. The townspeople laughed at Major
Walker's dilemma. But the major was not disturbed. He simply took
the sled apart and set it up again outside the courthouse.
Of particular interest to historians and Lincoln devotees is the fact
that Major Walker was Lincoln's closest friend in Lewistown. The
Major first met the future President when he and Lincoln were members
of the General Assembly in the old State Capitol at Vandalia. On his
visits to Lewistown, Lincoln stopped in Major Walker's brick house,
and the story is told that Major Walker often played his fiddle for Abe
Lincoln in exchange for stories from the lanky Springfield lawyer.
It was in this house that Lincoln ate his last dinner, and made his
last appearance, in Lewistown. This was when he delivered a speech
from the portico of the old courthouse on August 17, 18S8, in answer to
an address delivered the day before by Stephen A. Douglas at near-by
Proctor's Grove. That evening Lincoln was a dinner guest in Major
Walker's house, and the following morning the Major drove Lincoln to
a railroad station thirty-two miles away.
Major Walker lived in the brick house until his death in 1897. The
dwelling afterward was acquired by a number of successive owners.
There have been few changes made in the house since it was originally
built almost a hundred years ago. Standing there under the great old
trees of Lewistown, its white brick walls and frame porch showing signs
of age, the Walker house is often visited by historically minded sight-
seers, Lincoln scholars, and devoted readers of the works of Edgar Lee
Masters.
A distinctive feature of this house is found in the buttressed
gable ends of brick masonry. The interior is finished in plaster and wall-
paper, with hard maple flooring and cherry wood trim. The rooms are
comfortable, with little ornamentation. Surrounding the house is a
small park dedicated to the memory of the man who entertained Lincoln
here with his fiddle and his hospitality.
A Poefs Boyhood Home
ILLINOIS has numerous old dwellings which have become literary land-
marks because of their association with noted writers. Not least of
these is the boyhood home of the poet, Edgar Lee Masters, at Peters-
burg, an old town on the banks of the Sangamon River. A modest cot-
tage, with little architectural appeal, this house is frequently visited by
devotees of Masters' widely read Spoon River Anthology, as well as by
literary scholars in general.
In her article, "The Spoon River Country," Josephine Craven
Chandler (now Mrs. Robert C. Horner) says that "It was here [in Peters-
burg] that Masters spent most of those early years before he moved to
Lewistown; here he came to know personally, and through the infinite
resources of anecdote and familar allusion, that group of characters
which are among the most benign and ennobling of the collection [in the
Spoon River Anthology]', and here he came beneath the spell of those two
men who were to prove, immediate family influences aside, the most con-
stant sources of inspiration in his life and art his grandfather, Mr.
Squire D. Masters, and Abraham Lincoln."
Edgar Lee Masters House, Petersburg, Built 1870' *s.
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116 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
It was not that Edgar Lee Masters knew Lincoln personally, for the
Civil War President was dead four years before the poet was born. What
Mrs. Horner means is that Masters grew up in the Lincoln country, in a
town surveyed by Lincoln and among people who knew Lincoln, and
that as a result the impressionable young boy was early imbued with the
Lincoln tradition. As a child, Masters remembered seeing, in the Peters-
burg courthouse square, such men as Mentor Graham, William H. Hern-
don, and others who had been associates of the martyred President.
When the Masters family moved into its little white house in
Petersburg some time in the early 1870*8, the poet was a lad of about
three years old. At that time his father, Hardin Wallace Masters, had
but recently been elected state's attorney of the county in which they
lived, Menard. The house came to the new state's attorney as a gift
from his father, Squire Masters, who was a well-to-do farmer living some
miles outside Petersburg.
Although Illinois was the state of his ancestors and the state in
which he was reared and to which he devoted most of his writings, Edgar
Lee Masters was not born in the Prairie State. His birth occurred at
Garnett, Kansas, on August 23, 1869, where his parents had moved from
Illinois a year or two earlier. A young lawyer, Hardin Masters had gone
to Kansas in search of opportunities. Not finding them, he returned to
Petersburg with his family.
After an attempt at farming near the village of Atterberry, Hardin
Masters was prevailed on to become a candidate for state's attorney.
He accepted, was elected, and moved into the Petersburg house. Here
his family lived until 1880. In that year they moved to Lewistown, in
Fulton County near the Spoon River. When this move was made Edgar
Lee Masters was eleven years old. It was at Lewistown he grew to
maturity and studied law in his father's office. He afterward went to
Chicago, engaged in the practice of law, wrote his renowned Spoon River
Anthology, and became one of America's foremost poets.
A goodly portion of his boyhood days in the Petersburg house is
described by Masters in his autobiography, Across Spoon River. "This
was a small house and common enough; but there was a large yard
and trees and a barn," he writes. "Later my father built an addi-
tion to the house; but it had neither water save from a well nor heat save
from stoves. And in winter it was cold as the arctic."
That house, whose exact address is 528 Monroe Street, is still in
good condition. Standing next to a school on the slope of a hill above
Petersburg, it is not greatly different from hundreds of other old frame
dwellings of this Sangamon River town.
Where Lincoln and Douglas Agreed
In the southwest room of this house on the night of July 29, 1858,
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas made formal agreement to
hold joint delate in Illinois.
THIS IS the message on a bronze marker at the front entrance of a
small white-painted, green-shuttered cottage in Bement, located just
across the railroad tracks from the city's business section. A marked
arrow on state highway 105, which enters the town from the north, points
eastward to the dwelling. In front of it hangs a flag on a tall pole.
This house is one of Piatt County's principal sights. For in the
Historic American Buildings Survey
Francis E. Bryant House, Bement, Built 1856.
prim, tiny parlor of this cottage occurred the event which, as has been
said, "proved to be a large contributing factor in making Lincoln Presi-
dent of the United States."
The man who was host to the two distinguished guests on that mo-
mentous occasion was Francis E. Bryant, one of the "fathers" of Bement,
an early banker of the town and a cousin of the poet, William Cullen
Bryant. He was also an intimate friend of Stephen A. Douglas, and it
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118 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
was this friendship which brought about the appearance of Abraham
Lincoln in his home. Bryant was to live long enough to see Lincoln be-
come a greater figure in history than Douglas.
Coming westward to Chicago in the early 1850's, Francis E. Bryant
did not stay long in the young city by the lake. It is said he could "see
no future" in Chicago. So he headed toward central Illinois and settled
at Bement in 1856. That same year he built the frame cottage which
has become one of the chief points of interest to sightseers in that part
of the state. He and his wife and family lived here many years and were
highly esteemed by the townsfolk of Bement.
The story of the event which made this cottage famous goes back
to a July day in 18S8 when Senator Douglas was scheduled to speak in
near-by Monticello, county seat of Piatt County. He and his wife ar-
rived earlier in Bement and were the house guests of Mr. and Mrs.
Bryant. On their way to Monticello in a carriage, the Douglases and
Bryaats met a prairie schooner. In it were Lincoln and his friends. Lin-
coln jumped out of the wagon and greeted Senator Douglas.
On the prairie road that day Lincoln asked Douglas where they
could meet to discuss a series of joint debates. At this point the Bryants
invited the two political rivals to confer that evening in their Bement
home. This invitation was accepted and Lincoln and Douglas talked
for two hours in the Bryant parlor. The following day Douglas wrote
a letter to Lincoln on the Bryants' marble-topped table, accepting Lin-
coln's challenge to the joint debates.
The room in which this conference took place has been preserved
almost intact. One of the principal exhibits is the walnut chair in which
Lincoln sat. After his assassination Francis Bryant draped the chair
with crepe and a small American flag. These are still on it. On the wall
above the chair are oval-framed portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Bryant.
Here, also, is the marble-topped table at which Lincoln and Douglas
sat, as well as the chairs, whatnot, divan, and other articles of furniture
dating from the night of the historic meeting.
The cottage is small, gable-roofed, and with a porch over the front
entrance. In 1925, on the sixty-seventh anniversary of the event that
occurred in it, the house was presented to Bement by its owner, the late
J. F. Sprague, grandson of Francis E. Bryant, and mayor of Bement.
"This house, set apart to the memory of the immortal Lincoln and his
friend, the illustrious Douglas," said Mayor Sprague at the presentation
ceremonies, "will be kept open to the public, free, so long as it endures."
More recently (on July 29, 1947) the house became a state shrine.
On the University of Illinois Campus
A LANDMARK familiar to thousands who have been graduated from
the University of Illinois Is the small, old-fashioned private dwelling,
shaded by several maples and lindens, which stands on the south campus
of the Urbana seat of learning. Occupying an isolated position on the
broad, open green of the campus, this house of plain domestic architec-
ture is in sharp contrast to the Georgian facades of distant university
buildings. It is a little dwelling that has the distinction of being the
oldest edifice on the Urbana campus.
Both faculty and students regard it as something of a shrine and
identify it as the "Mumford House." This name was given it because
of the long residence here of the late Herbert W* Mumford, dean of the
university's college of argiculture and nationally known farm marketing
expert whose program for livestock market quotations has been adopted
Herbert W. Mumford House, Urbana, Built 1870.
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120 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
throughout the Midwest. Dean Mumford and his family occupied this
dwelling for more than thirty years.
Before that time it was the home of several earlier deans of the
college of agriculture. Its first occupant was a man who might be con-
sidered one of the "fathers" of the University of Illinois. He was
Thomas J. Burrill, who joined the university when it was founded in
1868 and who, as acting regent from 1891 to 1894, secured large appro-
priations from Governor John P. Altgeld and the state legislature which
put the institution on a sound footing and widened its scope of activities.
The little gray house on the campus was built in 1870, and when
Professor Burrill and his family moved into it the dwelling was known
as "The Farm House." The university catalogue for 1871-72 describes
it thus: "The Farm House, recently built on the horticultural grounds,
is designed to afford a fair model for a farmer's house. It is tasteful in
appearance, economical in cost, and compact and convenient."
Professor Burrill lived in the Farm House only a few years. It was
afterward occupied by Professor George E. Morrow, who helped to
found the university's agricultural experiment station and who became
dean of the college of agriculture. Another dean of the same college who
lived in the little house was Professor Eugene Davenport,
After Dean Davenport's retirement in 1902, the dwelling became
the home of Professor Mumford and his family. At that time Professor
Mumford was head of the university's animal husbandry department.
In the many years Dean Mumford lived in the little gray house, his
circle of friends and associates widened and here he and Mrs. Mumford
entertained many distinguished scholars, scientists, and leaders in agri-
cultural and educational fields. Dean Mumford died in 1938.
If the little house on the campus was long known as a residence of
agricultural experts, it is no less well known today as a dwelling place of
nationally famous artists. For here, each year, resides the university's
visiting professor of art some noted artist sent to the campus by the
Carnegie Foundation. A new artist is sent each year. While in resi-
dence, the visiting artist maintains "open house" in Mumford House
for art students and the art school faculty.
The first artist to occupy the house was Dale Nichols, who came
in 1939, While living here he did an effective water color of Mum-
ford House, showing it in a midwinter setting.
Of frame construction and with a gable roof, Mumford House is as
sound today as when it was built. All rooms are light and comfortable
and the parlor, now a studio, is heated by a spacious fireplace. The
stairway in the center of the house has a fine walnut balustrade.
Decatur Art Institute
FEW COMMUNITIES in Illinois are more closely associated with the
name of one man than is Decatur, that energetic city of railroad shops,
university buildings, and farmers' banks on the bluffs above the San-
gamon River. Although Abraham Lincoln's name was early identified
with this city, the Civil War President having lived a few miles west of
it when he was young, any mention of Decatur today usually brings up
the name of James Millikin and the institution he founded, James Mil-
likin University.
This university, with its stately buildings on an attractive, rolling
campus, stands as a great memorial to its founder. Several other me-
morials to this distinguished Illinoisan also survive and among these
may be mentioned the Millikin National Bank, whose seven-story build-
ing is one of the sights of downtown Decatur. But of much greater in-
terest than any of these as a reminder of the life of James Millikin is the
house in which he lived a house that has become almost as well known
throughout Illinois as the university founded by its master.
This imposing old residence houses an art museum that is the equal
of any in Illinois outside of Chicago. Several years ago, title to the man-
sion and park-like grounds on which it stands was transferred to the
board of managers of James Millikin University. The board appointed
a committee, headed by W. R. McGaughey, president of the Millikin
National Bank, to maintain the old landmark and continue operating it
as an art museum. It is known as the Decatur Art Institute.
As much of an exhibit as anything it shelters is the dwelling itself.
If one were searching for a typical mansion of the 1870's none better
could be found than the Millikin home. Two and a half stories high and
built of red brick, this house has such characteristics of a late Victorian
residence as tall, narrow windows with white-stone caps; tall, spacious
verandas with fanciful wood trim; wide stone steps; a low-pitched man-
sard roof, and, that most distinguishing characteristic of all, the man-
sarded cupola dominating the fagade and decorated with bull's-eye
windows and an ornate cast-iron cresting.
These features are plainly visible during the winter months, but in
summer the ancient mansion is almost hidden by the leaves of great old
elms, oaks, lindens, and other trees which shade a well-kept lawn. The
house stands in the center of a block-square plot of ground at the north-
east corner of Main and Pine streets, or halfway between the Decatur
business district and James Millikin University.
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OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
James Millikin House y Decatur^ Built 1876.
From a historical book published by the Millikin National Bank, we
learn that the Millikin residence was built in 1876. At that time James
Millikin was the leading citizen of Decatur. He had acquired the land
on which his mansion was built some fifteen years earlier from Captain
David Allen, paying 32,200 for it. The residence originally cost $1 8,000
to build, but later improvements in the interior cost an additional
$18,000. When completed it was considered one of the most impressive
residences in its part of the state.
Here James Millikin reigned as the wealthiest citizen of Decatur.
When he first came to Illinois, however, Millikin was not rich. He "was
born of Scotch Presbyterian parents at Clarkstown (now Ten Mile),
Pennsylvania, on August 2, 1827. His father was a farmer. It is re-
CENTRAL ILLINOIS 123
corded that in young manhood James Millikin and a neighbor boy drove
a herd of steers to New York City, winding up their trip by driving the
animals down Broadway. He subsequently entered Washington College
(now Washington and Jefferson College) at Washington, Pennsylvania.
"It was while attending Washington College/' says the bank's his-
tory, "that his sympathies were aroused by the struggles of boys to secure
funds enough to meet expenses and to overcome the inadequacy of their
preparation for the classes they entered. Then and there, only twenty
years of age, he made a vow that if ever he amassed a fortune he would
found an institution of learning in which all classes of youth could secure
an education fitting them for any occupation they might desire to enter.
This was finally fulfilled in 1901 in the James Millikin University."
After completing his studies at Washington College, young Millikin
again took up the business of being a drover, but this time his steps were
turned toward the western prairies. He felt that great opportunities lay
in that direction. So in 1849 he and his father drove a flock of sheep into
Indiana, selling it at a good profit and returning to their Pennsylvania
home. The following year young Millikin drove another flock westward,
selling it this time at Danville, Illinois.
He continued in this business at Danville, making more and more
profits, and then enlarged his activities to include cattle. "His large
flocks and herds," says the bank's historical work, "gave him great
prominence as a breeder of fine stock. He won six silver medal spoons
which bear the stamp of the 'Illinois State Fair of 1857.' He has been
called the 'first cattle king of the Prairie State/ ... He at one time had
10,000 sheep, which grazed over a radius of twenty miles."
All during this time Millikin had been buying tracts of land in Illi-
nois. The present city of Bement stands on land he originally owned.
He later sold much of his land with profit, came to Decatur in 1856,
entered the real-estate business, and then sold his livestock holdings. He
was then one of the wealthiest men in Decatur. He decided to enter the
banking field and established his bank in 1860.
Sixteen years later he built his residence at Main and Pine streets.
And that house, with its many lofty, walnut-paneled rooms and ornate
marble fireplaces, is still standing as an eloquent, if old-fashioned, re-
minder of the man who gave back to the city of Decatur almost as much
money as he made in it. Here he was living at the time of his death In
1909. His widow, Mrs. Anna B. Millikin, occupied the residence until
her own death in 1913. In her will she provided for use of the mansion
*" r
as a museum of art.
PART III, NORTHERN ILLINOIS
With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the build-
ing of the first railroad out of Chicago in 1848, a greater flood
than ever of homeseekers from the East came to Illinois, taking
up land especially in the northern part of the state. Chicago
became the gateway to a fertile ', rolling prairie country. Before
long,, railroad trains were bringing the sons and daughters of
foreign lands, sturdy people seeking homes in the New World.
They, like the Easterners who preceded them, laid out farms or
helped to make villages into towns, towns into cities. And a
descendant of Welsh pioneers, Frank Lloyd Wright, settled in
the metropolis at the foot of Lake Michigan and gave the world
an architecture that is as expressive of the twentieth century as
Gothic was of the twelfth.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5,
6.
7,
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Rock Island
Dixon
Kennicott's Grove
Bishop Hill
Elmwood
Waukegan
Evanston
Glencoe
Princeton
Ottawa
LaSalle
Aurora
Hebron
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Galesburg
Kewanee
Mendota
Grand Detour
Cedarvilie
Galena
Onarga
Rockford
Wayne
Oak Park
Oregon
Lombard
On an Island in the Mississippi
SOMEWHAT lost sight of among the numerous stone buildings of the
United States Army arsenal which surround it, the old Colonel George
Davenport house on Rock Island, in the Mississippi River, is one of the
oldest residential landmarks of northern Illinois. Located at the west
end of the tree-shaded and landscaped arsenal grounds, this ancient
frame dwelling stands as a reminder of the man who, after playing an
important role in the development of this region, came to a tragic end in
his island abode.
Colonel Davenport built his residence in 1833, following the close
of the Black Hawk War. He had served in that war as assistant quarter-
Historic American Buildings Survey
George Davenport House, Rock Island, Built 1833.
master general, an appointment he received from Governor John Reyn-
olds. Comfortably settled in his Rock Island home, Colonel Davenport
continued his public career and helped to develop this part of the Missis-
sippi Valley. Two years after his house was completed he and a group
of associates bought land across the river in Iowa and laid out a town,
which was named in honor of the colonel This is the present-day city
of Davenport, Iowa.
The frame house in which Colonel Davenport was living at this time
was not, however, his first dwelling on Rock Island. He had originally
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS 127
lived in a double log cabin he built soon after arriving here in 1816. This
was the first home in what was to become Rock Island County. Around
this cabin a little settlement grew and it became known as Rock Island
Village. A few years later the government established a post office here
and Davenport was appointed the. first postmaster.
A native of England, where he was born in 1783, Davenport fol-
lowed the sea in his youth, arrived in New York in 1804, enlisted in the
Army, served in the War of 1812, and came west at the close of that war.
A few years later he was appointed head of the commissary for a new
fort the government had built on Rock Island. It was called Fort Arm-
strong. He held this position only a year, however, giving it up to be-
come an Indian trader both In the Illinois and Iowa country.
It was as a trader that Davenport built his log house outside the
fort. Here, in 1819, the first religious service of the region was held.
Here, too, George Davenport welcomed Russell Farnham, explorer,
world traveler, and fur trader. The two formed a partnership and built
a house on the mainland opposite Rock Island. Around it a village grew
called Farnhamsburg. It was from this village that the present city of
Rock Island sprang. About this time Davenport and Farnham became
members of the American Fur Company, headed by John Jacob Astor,
and from then on the two prospered.
There followed the construction of Davenport's frame house on the
island. "Early photographs of the house," writes Architect Earl H.
Reed for the Historic American Buildings Survey, "show it to have been
of a highly developed type for the Midwest, with well proportioned side
and rear wings, one of the former having perhaps served as an office.
"Davenport, who was a man of broad culture, traveled widely
throughout the East and South and his familiarity with the finest Co-
lonial and post-Colonial traditions shows In the architectural lines of his
house. Its good proportions, skillful assemblage of tasteful detail and
the exterior chimneys, make the Davenport house uniquely interesting."
In 1845, on the Fourth of July, Colonel Davenport's family went
to the mainland for an Independence Day celebration. The master
of the house remained home alone. Later In the day a band of river
ruffians forced their way into the house with the Intention of robbing
Colonel Davenport. The colonel was brutally murdered and thus was
brought to a tragic end the career of a man who helped to found that
great metropolitan area on the upper Mississippi known as the "Quad
Cities."
Cabin on the Rock T&ver
ON THE RUSTIC, pine-shaded estate of the late Charles R. Walgreen
at Dixon there stands an ancient, well-preserved log cabin that is one of
the noteworthy historic landmarks of northern Illinois and the Rock
River country. It has been standing there for over a century and is asso-
ciated with more famous people of the state and nation than perhaps any
other dwelling in that part of Illinois. And this association continues,
for it now serves as the kitchen and dining room of the Walgreen guest
house where well-known social and artistic personages are entertained.
Throughout the scenic and historic Rock River country this dwell-
ing is known as the Governor Charters cabin. It dates from the earliest
beginnings of white civilization in northern Illinois and stands as a lone
survivor of many log dwellings that once dotted the wilderness in pioneer
days. Near it is situated a venerable barn, built a year later than the
cabin, and both cabin and barn have been restored by the Walgreen
family and converted into living quarters which are veritable museums
of pioneer Americana.
The estate, called "Hazel wood," on which the cabin stands is not
of recent origin. On the contrary, estate and cabin came into being at
the same time, and from the very beginning the estate was called Hazel-
wood. It is one of the oldest and best known of the many estates that
In later years grew up on both banks of the picturesque Rock River.
The one-story log cabin, now partly covered by morning-glory vines
and arched over by stately evergreens, was built in 1837 by Samuel M.
Charters, brother of the man who afterward made it famous. At that
time the Rock River country was just subsiding from the Black Hawk
War scare and John Dixon was operating a ferry at the place where later
the city of Dixon was to be established. At the request of his brother,
who waited in New York, Samuel Charters came west in 1837, laid claim
to 640 acres of land just north of what was later to become Dixon, and
built this log cabin.
A year later the brother arrived. He was Alexander Charters, who
became known in Illinois history as "Governor" Charters. Since the 640-
acre tract was laid claim to in his name, he immediately settled on his
land, living in the log cabin built for him by Samuel. Planning to set up
an estate, he called his tract Hazelwood and began to improve it.
Alexander Charters won the friendship of the early settlers at
Dixon's Ferry and the surrounding countryside. They liked him be-
cause of his hearty ways, his hospitality, his intelligence, and his educa-
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
129
tion. Not long afterward Alexander built a big frame manor house a
short distance from the cabin and in this house he entertained and lived
the remainder of his days. As the proprietor of an estate and manor
house, he was affectionately called "Governor" Charters.
From a historical sketch, "One Hundred Years at Hazelwood,"
written by the late Frank E. Stevens when the Walgreens observed the
one-hundredth anniversary of the estate in 1937, we learn that among
Alexander Charters House, Dixon, Built 1837 -
the famous people entertained at Hazelwood by "Governor" Charters
were Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, William Cullen Bryant,
General Philip Kearney, Margaret Fuller, John Quincy Adams, and
Bayard Taylor,
"Governor" Charters died at Hazelwood in 1878 at the age of
seventy-eight. Later the estate was acquired by Charles H. Hughes,
banker and state senator. Subsequently, the old manor house was de-
stroyed in a fire. But the log cabin and the barn remained. Then, in
1929, the estate and buildings were bought by Charles R. Walgreen,
who, as a youth in Dixon, had admired the grounds of Hazelwood when
he and his companions were fishing in the Rock River.
When the Walgreens acquired this historic estate, it was badly run
down. But under the careful supervision of Mrs. Walgreen, who is a
competent horticulturist as well as an antiquarian and student of Illi-
nois history, the estate was restored and is now one of the beauty spots
of the Rock River Valley.
Literary Settlement
SOME twenty miles northwest of Chicago, on a slight ridge shaded by
oaks, elms, and a few ancient pines, stands a scattered settlement known
as Kennicott' s Grove. Founded more than a century ago, this settle-
ment, located in Northfield Township, near Milwaukee and Lake ave-
nues, is of importance today because of its association with more well-
known writers, editors, and naturalists than any other similar commu-
nity in Illinois. And as a result of this association, Kennicott's Grove has
been the locale of numerous outstanding books, both of fiction and non-
fiction.
Among the dozen or so venerable dwellings constituting "The
Grove," most of which are occupied by descendants of the founder of
the settlement and of his brothers, the oldest is the Jonathan Kennicott
house. It was built in 1845. The man who erected it was the father of
the founder of Kennicott's Grove. But this was not the first house in
the settlement. That was built in 1836 by the settlement's founder a
log house which no longer stands. Because it is now the oldest, the
Jonathan Kennicott dwelling is looked on with some reverence by both
natives and visitors at the Grove. They recall that timbers for its con-
struction were floated down the Des Plaines River from Half Day, where
one of Jonathan's sons, Hiram, had started a sawmill in 1840.
If this house did not belong to the man who established the Grove,
it nonetheless sheltered him on almost daily visits he made here during
most of his mature life. This man was Dr. John A. Kennicott, known
in his time as "The Old Doctor." He was not only a pioneer practicing
physician, horticulturist, editor, and one of the organizers of the land-
grant college system in America but he was also the father of Robert
Kennicott, early Illinois naturalist, Arctic explorer, and first director of
the Chicago Academy of Sciences. It was at the Grove that Dr. Kenni-
cott established an extensive nursery that is still in existence.
In his biography of John S. Wright, founder of The Prairie Farmer,
Lloyd Lewis writes: "Destined to become more famous than all the
Kennicotts was Robert, who was a baby of one year when his father,
The Old Doctor/ started establishing the farm and orchard which,
known as The Grove/ was to become famous for its view, its rare and
beautiful flowers, and its sweeps of fruit trees and berry bushes. Humble
though the farmhouse was, it was celebrated for its hospitality. A drive
out to the Grove was in the 1840's and '50's c the* thing to do of a Sunday
afternoon In the 'refined' social circles of Chicago."
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
131
Jonathan Kennicott House, Kennicott* s Grove, Built 1845.
Although, it is unfortunate that "The Old Doctor's" farmhouse is
gone, the Jonathan Kennicott abode remains as a link with the earliest
days of the Grove. After Jonathan's death, the house was occupied by
his widow, Jean McMillan Kennicott, and her daughters, Avis, Delia,
and Emma. The daughters remained unmarried and, in the family as
well as throughout the countryside, were known as "the good aunts."
The old Jonathan Kennicott house a frame, L-shaped abode orig-
inally designed in the Greek Revival style is now (1948) owned by
Jonathan's great-great-grandson, J. Kennicott.
The second oldest house at the Grove is the picturesque, gabled
dwelling of board~and-batten construction into which *The Old Doctor"
and his family moved from their rambling log house in 1856. Afterward,
it was for many years the home of the late Edward S. Beck, associate
editor of The Chicago Tribune, who had married into the family. It is
now the home of Hiram Kennicott, grand-nephew of "The Old Doctor."
The third oldest house at the Grove was built by "The Old Doctor's"
son, Amasa, in 1875, and is occupied by Amasa's son, Walter, who still
carries on the horticultural pursuits of his father and grandfather.
Another grandson of "The Old Doctor" is Leigh Reilly onetime
132 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
editor of the old Chicago Evening Post, who lives in retirement at the
Grove. No longer standing in the settlement is the homestead of Dr.
William Kennicott, a pioneer Chicago dentist and son of Jonathan
Kennicott. Another son of the latter. Dr. J. Asa Kennicott, also
achieved success as a dentist in Chicago, and his beautiful home "Ken-
wood," which stood at what is now 48th Street and Dorchester Avenue,
in Chicago, gave the name to that section of the city's South Side.
With the marriage in 1923 of Donald Culross Peattie to Louise Red-
field, great-granddaughter of "The Old Doctor," the settlement on the
ridge entered a more distinctively literary phase. For both Mr. Peattie,
who was born in Chicago, and Miss Redfield, who was born at the Grove,
are writers of national reputation. And they spent many summers at
the Grove, studying the natural, as well as human, history of the place.
In this century-old setting, too, lived and wrote Mrs. Peattie's
brother, Professor Robert Redfield, of the University of Chicago, a
widely known anthropologist. Another who came often to the Grove
was Peattie's brother, Roderick Peattie, noted geographer and writer.
And the Grove was the setting of two noteworthy books, Peattie's A
Prairie Grove, and Louise Redfield Peattie's American Acres two books
which poetically present the natural and human history of a grove on
the spacious Illinois prairie.
Early Communistic Community
Farthest west, but still to the south of the park, are three large
brick structures faced with cement. Square, and three stories high, they
are unlike any houses to be seen in correspondingly small towns. One
of these was the hotel, each of the others, identical in arrangement, pro-
vided living quarters for several families, and thus they present, as do
many of the other buildings, an early form of the modern apartment
house.
THESE WORDS, appearing in an article by Margaret E. Jacobson in
the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (Vol. 34), describe the
few remaining dwellings of the Bishop Hill Colony, pioneer religious-
communistic community founded on the Illinois prairie by Swedish im-
migrants. Some eighteen miles west of Kewanee, this colony attempted
to be a Utopia in the New World similar to the colonies established by
the French at Nauvoo and by the English at Albion.
In recognition of the historical significance of the spot, the state of
Historic American Buildings Survey
Bishop Hill Colony House, Bishop Hill, Built 1840* s.
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134 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Illinois has placed a bronze marker on highway 34 at the intersection of
the road that leads to Bishop Hill. It reads: "At Bishop Hill, two miles
north of here, Eric Jansen and Jonas Olson founded a colony of Swedish
religious dissenters in 1846. Organized on communistic lines, the colony
at one time had 1,100 members and property worth a million dollars.
Dissolution and the end of the venture came in 1862."
Now shaded by great old elms, walnuts, and maples that completely
arch its streets, Bishop Hill Colony still retains most of its principal
houses and public buildings, although their great age is apparent. Here
is the Steeple Building, built in 1854 and containing a clock in its tower
that has been running continuously since it was constructed in 1859.
Here, too, are the Old Colony Church, the bakery and brewery buildings,
cheese factory, hospital, and Bishop Hill Cemetery.
Gone, however, is "Big Brick," which was a four-story brick com-
munal dwelling built in 1848-1851. It had ninety-six rooms. The
kitchen and dining hall were in the basement. This building was de-
stroyed by fire in 1928 and its site is occupied by a ball park. Just east
of this is Old Colony Church, a two-story frame edifice built in 1848.
"The settlement," wrote Miss Jacobson, "was a Christian com-
munistic organization, so property, responsibility, and work were shared.
Starting with sixty acres, the project accumulated a 'balance stock on
hand' of 2770,630.94, according to the treasurer's report in the annual
statement of the Board of Trustees on January 9, 1860."
It is recorded that the colonists worked eighteen hours a day in the
fields. Women labored side by side with the men. All ate their meals
in the dining halls of the various communal houses in which they lived.
Clothing was furnished from a community storehouse. Among the prin-
cipal products of Bishop Hill during its heyday were linen, made from
flax grown by the colonists, and broomcorn, which was exported in large
quantities.
At the peak of its existence, however, dissension broke out in Bishop
Hill. This break led to the murder of Eric Jansen in 1850. His widow
became head of the colony but subsequently she, too, met opposition and
soon was ousted from office. Affairs went from bad to worse and in
time the colony lost its original identity. Today, Bishop Hill is a state
park and descendants of the Swedish colonists live near by.
Although there are few firsthand, written accounts of life at Bishop
Hill, an unusual record of existence in the colony survives in the collec-
tion of paintings displayed in Old Colony Church. These paintings are
the work of one of the colonists, Olaf Krans, who is acclaimed by art
critics as an outstanding American "primitive" painter.
Birthplace of a Sculptor
ALMOST within sight of "The Pioneers/' that impressive bronze
statue which has brought considerable fame to the little Illinois city of
Elmwood, some twenty miles west of Peoria, stands a small, white-
painted old house that is as much revered by both townspeople and
Illinoisans in general as the statue itself. This is because the two are
linked. For it was in this unpretentious frame dwelling that the man
Illinois Writers' Project
Lorado Taft House y Elmwood, Built 1850*$.
who designed the statue was born and spent his boyhood days. That
man was the late Lorado Taft.
There are two events now observed annually in Elmwood. One is
the Fall Festival, a three-day affair which attracts farmers from all parts
of Peoria County. The other is the yearly celebration of the birthday
anniversary of Elm wood's most illustrious son, Lorado Taft. And on
the day of this latter-named event, the Taft birthplace becomes a center
of attention, visited by school children, art lovers, and just plain Elm-
wood folks proud of the man who, as one of them once said, "put our city
on the map."
Local residents are interested in the house for other reasons, too.
For one thing, it was the home of Taft's father, an esteemed pioneer
teacher of Peoria County who helped bring culture into a raw, rough-
and-tumble frontier settlement. Another reason is that it attracts
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136 NORTHERN ILLINOIS
architectural students as a good example of the Greek Revival style in
early American house design.
The day set aside in Elmwood for the annual Taft birthday observ-
ance is April 29. It was on that day, in the year I860, that Lorado Taft
was born in the modest little house a short distance from the public
square. At that time Elmwood was but a cluster of dwellings and was
not incorporated as a village until seven years later. Today, it is a
thriving coal-mining center with more than a thousand population.
In the years before the Civil War,- the sculptor's father, Professor
Don Carlos Taft, taught school in Elmwood township. "A few scattered
district schools were established earlier in the history of the township,"
says an old Peoria County history, "but the founding of the Elmwood
Academy, in 1855, marked the beginning of a literary and educational
prestige which has never abated. Professor Don Carlos Taft and Miss
Anna M. Somers were the tutors in its early years, and the school ac-
quired a renown and enjoyed a patronage extending over a wide scope
of country."
As a boy in the small L-shaped Elmwood house, a plain but taste-
fully designed home that contained comfortable rooms lined with books,
Lorado Taft was tutored by his parents and given a sound foundation
for his future career. The family lived here during the Civil War years
and then, when Lorado was twelve, moved to Urbana where the elder
Taft became a professor of geology in the University of Illinois.
After studying at the University of Illinois, and later at the Ecole
des Beaux Arts in Paris, LoradoTaft returned to his native state, estab-
lished a studio in Chicago, and began the career that brought him na-
tional fame. In addition to "The Pioneers," some of his other principal
works are the "Fountain of Time" and the "Fountain of the Great
Lakes" in Chicago, the "Black Hawk" statue at Oregon, Illinois, and
the Lincoln statue at Urbana.
A proud moment in Lorado Taft's life was the day in 1928 when he
was present at the unveiling of "The Pioneers" in Elmwood and at a re-
ception in his boyhood home afterward. The ten-foot bronze statuary
group, conceived as a tribute to his father and mother and other Illinois
pioneers, was unveiled by his daughter, Emily, now the wife of Illinois'
Senator-elect Paul H. Douglas of Chicago. The principal speaker was
Taft's brother-in-law, Hamlin Garland, the Midwest author. Lorado
Taft died in 1936 and his ashes were scattered over a plot of ground in
Elmwood Cemetery a spot now marked by one of his most effective
sculptural pieces, "Memory,"
Classical Masterpiece
SOME YEARS AGO a national magazine of wide circulation pub-
lished a photograph of the old Swartout house in Waukegan, pointing
out that it was a distinctive example of the Greek Revival style of archi-
tecture in America. This attention was well merited, for the Swartout
house has long been admired by architects for Its pure classic lines. It Is
an object of interest, too, to historical students. Built a century ago, this
dwelling has associations with the early history of northern Illinois and
that region north of Chicago known as the North Shore.
The man who erected the house was John H. Swartout, early settler
of Lake County. He first arrived In Waukegan when that industrious
North Shore city was a hamlet of log houses known as Little Fort, so
named because of a French outpost which occupied the site in the eight-
eenth century. In the year 1846, when the U. S. government designated
Little Fort as a port of entry, we find John H. Swartout one of the im-
portant citizens of the pioneer community, particularly in the religious
field.
In that year he is recorded as having been one of a small group of
Historic American Buildings Survey
John H. Swartout House, Waukegan, Built 1847.
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138 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
residents of Little Fort who banded together to organize a church of the
American Baptist Mission Society. This society had sent out the Rev.
Peter Freeman to establish a church in the North Shore settlement and
engage in missionary work. He found a responsive co-worker in John H.
Swartout, who was then a man of some means in the settlement.
Under Swartout's leadership, eleven citizens met in the Congre-
gational Church building, which then stood on Utica Street, and for-
mally established a church of the Baptist faith.
The first baptisms of this church were held in the Little Fort River
at a point where the Chicago North Western railroad tracks are now
located. In time the congregation, again under the leadership of John
Swartout, brought about the construction of a church edifice. It was a
building thirty feet long by twenty-two feet wide, which stood on North
Genessee Street. Here the Rev. Mr. Freeman preached to an ever-
growing congregation and here John Swartout wielded strong influence
in the religious growth of Little Fort.
When John Swartout built his house in 1847, the Greek Revival
style was popular in the Midwest, although it had reached its peak of
popularity in the East during the 1830*s. So, following the mode, Swart-
out achieved a dwelling that had the appearance of a Greek temple;
an abode somewhat resembling a miniature Parthenon. The facade of
this house, with its four fluted Doric columns, is typical of Greek classic
architecture at its purest.
Here John Swartout and his family lived during the late 1840*5 and
the ominous 1850's. Here he saw Little Fort grow in population and
become an outlet for the furs, hides, pork, wheat, and lumber of the
hinterland. And it was while living in this house that he was elected a
trustee of the village in 1850, the community having been incorporated
a year earlier and given the new name of "Waukegan." This was an
Indian word meaning "fort" or "trading post." The village became a
city in 1859.
When Lincoln Visited Evanston
SEVERAL YEARS ago, in an issue of the Journal of the Illinois State
Historical Society (Vol. 35), the late Dr. James Taft Hatfield, then a re-
tired Northwestern University professor, told of an unusual situation
existing for almost a quarter of a century in Evanston. This had to do
with the claims of at least half a dozen residents who, at various times,
said that Abraham Lincoln stopped at their houses when he visited
Evanston in 186X1. All of these claims have been discounted, said Dr.
Hatfield, with the exception of one, and it was in this house, and this
one only, that Lincoln spent a night just six weeks before he was nomi-
nated for President of the United States.
Although somewhat altered, the house in which the memorable visit
was made still stands. It has been moved twice and is now located at
2009 Dodge Avenue. For proof of the fact that Lincoln was a guest in
this dwelling, Dr. Hatfield cited a historian, J. Seymour Currey, who was
at one time president of the Evanston Historical Society. In addition to
writing numerous other works, Currey, in 1914, penned a pamphlet
titled "Abraham Lincoln's Visit to Evanston in I860." It is in this
pamphlet that we are given incontrovertible proof that the Civil War
President stopped in the dwelling which now stands on Dodge Avenue.
But this is not its original site. From research by Dr. Hatfield, who
took up the story of the house after Currey had written his pamphlet in
1914, we learn that it has been standing at its present location only since
1926. It had previously occupied another site after being moved from
the spot at the northwest corner of Ridge Avenue and Church Street on
which it stood when Lincoln was sheltered under its roof. This neigh-
borhood has always been known to Evanstonians as "The Ridge." To-
day, on its Dodge Avenue site, the "Lincoln House" (as it is sometimes
called) stands in the midst of the Negro section of Evanston, and, as Dr.
Hatfield said, is "rather appropriately" occupied by Negro tenants.
At the time Lincoln was an overnight guest in this abode, it was oc-
cupied by Julius White, a friend of Lincoln's who was then harbor master
of Chicago and a member of the Board of Trade. When Lincoln became
President, he appointed White collector of the port of Chicago. But
White soon resigned this office to raise a regiment, the 37th Illinois Vol-
unteers. After the war, General White returned to Evanston and there
he died in 1890. On exhibit in the Evanston Historical Society are two
Army commissions to White signed by President Lincoln.
It was at the time Lincoln was an attorney in the "Sand Bar" case
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OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
James Taft Hatfield
Julius White House, Evanston, Built 1850* s.
in Chicago that he came to General White's home in Evanston. He was
then being talked of as a presidential possibility. He was escorted to
Evanston in a Chicago & North Western Railway train by Harvey B.
Hurd, neighbor of General White*s and a founder and first president of
the Evanston Historical Society. The day was April 5, 1860. Lincoln
and Hurd sat near the stove in the railway coach and swapped stories.
Upon arriving in Evanston, the future President was taken for a
buggy ride about the village by his host, Julius White. The village then
numbered about 1,200 residents and only five years earlier Northwestern
University had erected its first building. When Lincoln was installed in
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 141
the White home on "The Ridge/' a crowd gathered in front and "sere-
naded" him. Lincoln came out on the veranda and delivered a brief
add'ress. Later that evening one of the guests, J. D. Ludlam, sang a few
songs, with Miss Isabel Stewart at the piano. It was the first time they
had seen each other. They were married a year later.
At that time the White home was a plain, two-story frame dwelling
set back on a wide lawn and surrounded by a white picket fence. It was
originally built by Alexander McDaniel and afterward sold to the Rev.
Philo Judson. General White moved into it when he first came to Evans-
ton in 1859.
"About 1884," wrote Dr. Hatfield, "General White's residence was
moved eight blocks to a site at 1227 Elmwood Avenue, immediately
south of the old Township High School, in a different quarter of the city,
and was acquired by A. D. Sanders, who remodeled it to conform to
more modern requirements. He added a third story, built a projecting
gabled front-wing, a verandah and a bay window." But the bed-
room which Lincoln occupied is still intact, said Dr. Hatfield. It is on
the second floor, in the northwest corner of the house.
After Lincoln was elected President and the Civil War began, the
young Evanstonian who sang for him in the White home, J. D. Ludlam,
joined the Army and became an officer in the 8th Illinois Cavalry. His
unit was sent to a camp near Washington, D. C. One day, while visiting
the camp, President Lincoln recognized the tall, young Evanstonian.
The Chief Executive remembered Ludlam's singing, and Miss Stewart's
accompaniment on the piano, in the Evanston home of Julius White.
The result of the encounter was that President Lincoln invited Ludlam
to the White House to sing for him and Mrs. Lincoln.
It Is recorded that Ludlam, who afterward became a major in the
Union Army, sang the same "homely songs" on the occasion of the White
House visit that he sang for Lincoln In the house on "The Ridge" in
Evanston. What these songs were, however, is still unrecorded. "This
echo of the Lincoln visit to Evanston," wrote J. Seymour Currey, "and
the romance that had its beginning at that time, throws a golden haze
of sentiment over the event we have been describing and heightens the
interest that the episode otherwise possesses for all who take a pride in
our Evanston annals."
"Rest Cottage"
NOT FAR from the Evanston campus of Northwestern University
there stands a quaint old cottage, with scrollwork trim and board-and-
batten siding. Although the cottage is of local interest because of its
association with the university, it has wider renown as the home of an
American woman who attracted international attention during the last
decades of the nineteenth century. She was Frances E. Willard, tem-
perance crusader, feminist, writer, orator, and a leader of numerous re-
form movements.
In 1865, the year that saw the end of the Civil War and the assassi-
nation of President Lincoln, Frances Willard's father built the board-
and-batten cottage that has become one of Evanston's principal sights.
At that time Miss Willard was twenty-six years old. She was already
familiar with Evanston, having been graduated, six years earlier, from
North Western Female College, which afterward was absorbed by
Northwestern University. In addition to her father and mother. Miss
Willard shared the newly-built Evanston cottage with her brother.
At the time her family dwelling was built, however, Miss Willard
was unknown to fame, although only the year before she had published
her first book, Nineteen Beautiful Years. This told of the life of her
younger sister, Mary, who had died earlier and to whom Miss Willard
had been devoted.
The two had come to Evanston in 1858 to attend North Western
Female College. Some time afterward they had persuaded their father
and mother, sturdy and devout Vermonters who had taken up life on a
farm in Wisconsin, to join them and settle in Evanston.
After receiving her diploma from North Western Female College,
Miss Willard continued her studies and became a teacher in a country
school near Evanston. Afterward, she taught elsewhere and then went
abroad, where she attended the University of Paris and traveled on the
Continent.
Meanwhile, she began writing for weekly newspapers and maga-
zines. Upon her return to the United States she joined the temperance
crusade of 1874 and this marked the beginning of her career as a reform
crusader.
During the remainder of her eventful and active life, the Willard
family dwelling, which stands at 1728 Chicago Avenue, was her home.
She called it "Rest Cottage" and thus it is known today, although her
father, after he built it "on some new lots reclaimed from the swamp,"
142
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 143
called it "Rose Cottage" because of the rose bushes planted around it
by the family.
Also planted here, in the yard at the rear, and by Miss Willard her-
self, were two chestnut trees. These are now full grown and shade the
cottage in summer.
After serving as president of the Evanston College for Ladies in the
early 1870's, Miss Willard was named first dean of the Woman's College
Frances E. Willard House, Evanston^ Built 1865.
of Northwestern University when that institution became coeducational.
Later, she founded the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
said to be the first international organization of women.
Work in this organization took her to all parts of the United States
and Europe. As a temperance crusader she won the approval and
friendship of a leading Englishwoman, Lady Henry Somerset, and even
Queen Victoria is said to have shown. an interest in the work of Frances
Willard.
The international scope of Miss Willard's career, the brilliance and
versatility of her mind, the honors bestowed on her, are all vividly
illustrated by the Willard relics, mementos, and souvenirs now on dis-
play in Rest Cottage.
The cottage and its furnishings remain as they were before Miss
Willard's death on- February 18, 1898. Owned and maintained as a
shrine by the W. C. T. U-, the national headquarters of which occupy a
modern two-story building at the rear of the dwelling ? Rest Cottage at-
144 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
tracted visitors from all parts of the United States and Europe during
the one hundredth anniversary, in 1939, of Miss Willard's birth.
Of greatest interest among visitors to Rest Cottage is the room on
the southwest corner of the second floor that Miss Willard called her
den. A combined workshop, study, and library, it was here she did her
writing and planned the activities that made her one of America's great
women.
Her personally-annotated books, favorite Bible, writing materials,
furniture, pictures, gifts, and many of her other cherished belongings are
all in the den, just as they were when Miss Willard was at the height of
her career. This room is warmed by a brick fireplace on which is in-
scribed Miss Willard's favorite motto: "Let Something Good Be Said."
This room contains the flat-topped oak desk where she wrote her
famous "Polyglot Petition." It was a temperance petition addressed to
the governments of the world and signed by more than seven million
persons in fifty dialects. The sheets of the petition were mounted on
rolls by Mrs. Rebecca C. Shuman of Evanston, and these rolls, if placed
end to end, would extend five miles. This petition is now one of the
prized exhibits in Rest Cottage.
Other exhibits in the den are Miss Willard's favorite rocker, in
which she sat while writing her autobiography, Glimpses of Fifty Years,
and while writing a book about Evanston called A Classic Town; her
"Old Faithful" traveling bag; a tall grandfather's clock made by an
ancestor, Simon Willard, famous Colonial clockmaker; and a large, hand-
somely-bound volume containing the originals of letters sent to her by
many famous persons on the occasion of her visit to England in 1893.
In rooms on the main floor of the little cottage, rooms furnished in
a manner typical of the 1880's and '90's, are several hundred other ex-
hibits. The custodian of the cottage will show you Miss Willard's parlor
organ, an embroidered "sampler" she made at the age of fourteen, a
bicycle she learned to ride .when she was fifty-three, a music box which
plays "Home, Sweet Home" and other songs favored by Miss Willard,
chinaware, glassware, and an old-fashioned English tea basket.
In a parlor on the north side of the cottage Miss Willard's long-
time secretary and friend, Anna Gordon, maintained an office. This
room is now the Anna Gordon memorial room. Miss Gordon, who in
1898 wrote The Beautiful Life of Frances E. Willard, continued to live in
the cottage after Miss Willard's death, remaining here until her own
death in 1931.
Northwest Territory Museum
ALTHOUGH not so old as most of the Illinois houses discussed in this
book, the Dawes residence, at 225 Greenwood Avenue, in Evanston, is
nonetheless an important landmark. For not only is it the home of a
former Vice-President of the United States who was an international
figure in the years after World War I, but it has been dedicated to per-
petual use as a museum of the old Northwest Territory the territory
out of which the states of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan,
and part of Minnesota were formed.
Designed in French Gothic style, this spacious brick mansion, under
its stately old trees, has been the home of General Charles Gates Dawes
for more than a third of a century. It is located just half a mile south
of the tree-shaded campus of Northwestern University, and from its east
windows the Dawes family can view the broad blue expanse of Lake
Michigan. From the south veranda of this mansion General Dawes de-
livered the speech in 1924 in which he accepted the Republican nomina-
Chicago Daily News
Charles G. Dawes House, EvanstoUj Built 1894.
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146 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
tion for Vice-President of the United States as the running mate of Cal-
vin Coolidge.
But General Dawes was not the builder of this mansion. That
honor fell to the Rev. Robert D. Sheppard, a professor at Northwestern
University who, during the 1890's, served as the university's treasurer
and business agent. Before going to Evanston, the Rev. Mr. Sheppard
was a minister in Chicago. He was born in Chicago in 1846, the son of a
pioneer lumber merchant and early school teacher of the city. It was
in 1894 that Dr. Sheppard built the residence in Evanston and General
Dawes acquired it in 1909.
At the time he moved into this house, General Dawes was forging
ahead in business and politics. He had already served as comptroller
of the currency in the administration of President McKinley and, after-
ward, he established the Central Republic Bank of Chicago. Before
going to Chicago, he practiced law in Lincoln, Nebraska, and while there
met, and formed a lifelong friendship with Lieutenant John J. Pershing,
who was to become commander of American forces in World War I.
General Dawes was born at Marietta, Ohio, on August 27, 186S.
His great-great-grandfather was Manasseh Cutler, who was a partner
of General .Rufus Putnam in the establishment of the Ohio Company,
the organization which settled the Northwest Territory. Acting for the
Ohio Company, composed largely of officers of the Revolutionary War,
Manasseh Cutler negotiated the purchase from the Continental Congress
of 1,500,000 acres of land, on which Marietta, Ohio, was founded on May
7, 1788.
With Manasseh Cutler as an ancestor, it was but natural for Gen-
eral Dawes to become interested in the history of the Northwest Terri-
tory early in his career. During the eventful years following, he con-
tinued to pursue his hobby of collecting material on this subject; ma-
terial which he stored in his Evanston home. Here, too, he wrote
numerous books and, as a pianist, composed the famous "Melody in A
Major." His interest in the Northwest Territory was shared by his
wife, whose great-grandfather, Paul Fearing, was the first lawyer west
of the Allegheny Mountains and who was the first delegate of the North-
west Territory to the Continental Congress.
Rich in historical papers and documents, as well as pioneer furniture
and exhibits connected with the career of General Dawes, the Green-
wood Avenue residence has been given to Northwestern University and
will become the Northwestern Historical Center. It will also shelter
the Evanston Historical Society. General Dawes and his wife will con-
tinue to live in the mansion during their lifetimes.
"Craigie Lea"
AMONG old mansions in the extreme northeast corner of the state, one
of the most venerable and best-known is the MacLeish home at Glencoe.
The mansion is nearly hidden from view in a grove of white oaks and
pines and its landscaped grounds front on an expanse of Lake Michigan.
It is a dwelling that dates almost from the beginning of North Shore set-
tlement.
Of greater interest, however, is the fact that it is the country seat
of three generations of a family that has played and is still playing
an important role in the literary and artistic, as well as the commercial
and educational development of Illinois. It is of interest, too, for its
architecture, representing as it does a style much in vogue during the
grandiose days of the late Victorian era.
It was here that Archibald MacLeish, nationally known poet and
former librarian of the Library of Congress, was born and reared, as
was his brother, Norman H., a well-known Illinois artist. A generation
ago the father and mother of these two brothers, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew
MacLeish, were leaders in business, cultural, and religious activities of
Chicago and the state at large.
Named in honor of the memory of a deceased member of this fam-
ily, who also was reared in the Glencoe home, is a fast, modern destroyer
of the United States Navy, the U. S. S. MacLeish^ which was on patrol
duty in the Atlantic during World War II. It was named after another
son of the MacLeishes, Kenneth, who, as a lieutenant in the United
States naval aviation forces, was killed in action during World War I.
An officer on this destroyer during the later conflict was young Hugh
MacLeish, kin of the man after whom the vessel is named.
An attractive, privately-printed little volume, Life of Andrew
MacLeish , tells that the house in Glencoe was completed in 1891.
It was named "Craigie Lea" after Mr. MacLeish's favorite Scottish
song, "Thou Bonnie Wood of Craigie Lea," by Robert Tannahill. In
his book the elder MacLeish wrote: "In 1889 we secured beautiful prop-
erty fronting on the lake at Glencoe, Illinois, and, after a few years of
summer residence upon it, finally decided to make it our permanent
home. We have never regretted this step."
At the time he built his suburban residence Andrew MacLeish was
widely known as a successful Chicago merchant and one of the prominent
figures of State Street. This position he was to maintain for the rest of
his long and useful life. As a member of a pioneer wholesale dry goods
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148 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
firm founded by Samuel Carson and John T. Pirie, it was Andrew Mac-
Leish who, in 1867, established that firm's retail department store, now
known as Carson Pirie Scott & Co. He remained its head until his
death in 1928 at the age of eighty-nine.
A native of Scotland, Andrew MacLeish came to Chicago in 1856
and worked as a clerk in a dry goods store on Lake Street, then the main
shopping street of the town. Later he set up a store of his own at Ke-
wanee. His health failing, he went to live on a farm near Golconda,
Illinois. When his health was restored he taught school at Golconda.
Then, in 1859, he returned to Chicago and once more entered the dry
goods business.
After Craigie Lea was completed Andrew MacLeish brought with
him Into the new dwelling his son by a previous marriage, Bruce, whose
mother had died a year after his birth. This son, upon reaching ma-
turity, joined his father's firm and today, as vice-president of Carson
Pirie Scott & Co., occupies almost as high a position in the mercantile
world as had his father.
Well known as a merchant when Craigie Lea was erected, Andrew
MacLeish was equally well known as a leader in education and as
one of the founders of the University of Chicago. His wife also oc-
cupied a high position in the educational world. Before her marriage
to the State Street merchant Martha Hilliard had served as president
of Rockford College. Both she and her husband were early advocates
of the progressive movement in education fostered by John Dewey, and
Dewey was a frequent visitor at Craigie Lea.
Others who came to Craigie Lea in its early years were Dr. William
Rainey Harper, Thomas W. Goodspeed, and Colonel Francis Parker, all
noted educators; well-known social workers like Jane Addams, Mary
McDowell, Ellen Gates, and Julia Lathrop; and on one occasion there
came Sir George Adam Smith, one of the foremost of Scottish scholars
and divines. In recent years, Craigie Lea has welcomed many writers
and artists, including Carl Sandburg, Margaret Bourke-White, Eunice
Tietjens, Lorado Taft, Francis Chapin, Aaron Bohrod, and Gertrude
Abercrombie.
The original MacLeish estate consisted of seventeen acres and
cost 310,000. The house, a great three-story residence of brick and
frame construction with conical towers, dormers, high-pitched gables,
and other characteristics of the French chateau style popular in the
1890's, cost 25,000 to build and was designed by William Carbys
Zimmerman and John F. Flanders, two well-known Chicago architects.
The estate today consists of ten acres.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
149
Chicago Daily News
Andrew MacLeish House, Glencoe*, B^lilt 1891.
The interior of the house, with more than thirty large, well-lighted
rooms, is tastefully furnished and reflects the personalities of quiet, cul-
tivated people who place high value on artistic and intellectual pursuits.
Paneled in golden oak, cherry wood, and mahogany, and warmed by
hospitable fireplaces of ornamental tile, the rooms contain shelves of
books, portraits in oil of the elder MacLeishes, many paintings of the
Illinois countryside by Norman MacLeish, a handsome grand piano,
antique furniture, sculptural pieces, and various family heirlooms.
During the many years she reigned as chatelaine of Craigie Lea,
the late Mrs. MacLeish engaged in religious and cultural activities that
made her one of the most esteemed women of Chicago and the North
Shore. She was at one time president of the Chicago Woman's Club.
It was through her efforts that the Women's American Foreign Mission
Baptist Society was formed. And each year, on the lawn of Craigie Lea,
she presided at a garden fete that was one of the outstanding annual
events of social life on the North Shore.
Underground Station
JUST BEFORE entering the leafy streets of Princeton, ancient seat of
early Illinois abolitionism, motorists on IL S. Highway 6 (old Peru
road) notice, on the right, a trim old-fashioned white farmhouse with
a sign on its comfortable veranda reading: "Owen Lovejoy Home-
steadUnderground Station." That house is one of the oldest in
Bureau County and ranks among the most important of the historic
sights in that section of the Illinois River country.
Here lived, during most of his career, Owen Lovejoy, preacher-
statesman of Illinois, leader of the antislavery movement in the state
before the Civil War, and younger brother of the Alton editor, Elijah
Parish Lovejoy, whose writings against slavery brought about his as-
sassination by a proslavery mob. The Lovejoy brothers occupy a secure
place in American history as fearless champions of human freedom, of
racial equality, and of the rights of free speech and free press.
Somewhat obscured by the fame of his slain brother, Owen Lovejoy
was just as fiery and influential an abolitionist as was Elijah. Through-
out the fifty-three years of his life he devoted himself unflinchingly to
the antislavery cause. He lived long enough to see his friend, President
Abraham Lincoln, free the slaves, and, a year before his death in 1864,
he heard, as a congressman from Illinois, the reading of the Emanci-
pation Proclamation.
The story of the house in which he lived goes back to the year 1843
when he married the woman who occupied it. She was Mrs. Eunice S.
Denham, whose late husband, Butler Denham, had been an early settler
of Bureau County. He is recorded as one of the group of twenty resi-
dents of Princeton Township who, in 1838, voted for incorporation of
the village of Princeton. Another in the group was John B[. Bryant,
brother of the poet, William Cullen Bryant,
A native of Albion, Maine, where he was born January 6, 1811, and
where his father was a clergyman, Owen Lovejoy, after attending Bow-
doin College, came west to Alton in 1836 and entered the ministry. He
soon joined his older brother in the fight against slavery. Alton was
then a hotbed of pro- and antislavery factions. In time, several of Elijah
Lovejoy's printing presses were destroyed or thrown into the river by
proslavery elements.
On November 7, 1837, a new press arrived at Alton, consigned to
Elijah Lovejoy. It was placed in a warehouse for safekeeping. The
warehouse was owned by Captain Benjamin Godfrey, whose home at
ISO
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
151
Godfrey, Illinois, is now a residential landmark of the state. Hearing
of the new press, a down-river mob descended on the Godfrey warehouse,
set it on fire, and shot and killed Elijah Lovejoy when he attempted to
protect the press. Kneeling beside the body of his slain brother, Owen
Lovejoy vowed "never to forsake the cause that had been sprinkled with
his brother's blood."
During the seventeen years that Owen Lovejoy served as minister
in Princeton, he never forgot that vow. Always he preached against
Owen Lovejoy House, Princeton, Built 1830* s.
slavery, even though Princeton contained some proslavery elements.
His home on the edge of town became a station of the Underground Rail-
way a system by which abolitionists passed escaped slaves secretly
from house to house until they reached Canada and freedom. In the
official guidebook to Princeton, written by George V. Martin, author of
a recent novel, For Our Fines Have Tender Grapes, an incident is given
of Owen Lovejoy* s abolitionist activities,
"One day an escaped Negro/' says the guidebook, "was captured
and chained to a tree just outside of the county courthouse. Lovejoy
awaited his chance, and when no one was in the immediate vicinity, he
told the Negro how he might escape, and the hour when it would be most
nearly possible. In some manner unexplained In the history of the case,
the Negro slipped out of his bonds and made a mad dash for the Lovejoy
home at the appointed hour.
152 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
"A mob immediately followed, demanded the return of the former
slave, and threatened violence. Lovejoy held them at bay with a rifle,
promising death to the first to enter the yard. No man entered. That
night the Negro was dressed in women's clothes, given a horse, and di-
rected to the next station of the Underground Railway. Scores of others
were assisted to escape by Lovejoy, but in less spectacular manner."
When he was elected to the state legislature in 1854 on the ticket of
the newly-founded Republican Party, Owen Lovejoy continued his fight
against slavery. Then, upon being elected to Congress in 1856, he be-
came a national leader of the abolitionist movement. "To him," says
an authoritative work, "fell the honor of proposing the bill by which
slavery in all the territories of the United States was abolished forever."
Following Owen Lovejoy's death while on a visit to Brooklyn in
1864, President Lincoln wrote of him: "My personal acquaintance with
him ... has been one of increasing respect and esteem, ending, with his
life, in no less than affection on my part. ... To the day of his death, it
would scarcely wrong any other to say he was my most generous friend."
Following the death of her husband, Mrs. Lovejoy and her children
continued to live in the old Princeton farmhouse. She died at an ad-
vanced age. Six Lovejoy children were born and reared here Sarah,
who became the wife of William R. French, Chicago; Owen G., who was
an attorney in Princeton; Ida, who was at one time Princeton's post-
mistress; Sophia, who married Charles Dickinson, Chicago; Elijah
Parish, who became a Bureau County farmer; and Charles P., who was
a leading veterinary surgeon of Princeton.
Standing in a grove of maples beside the highway, the ancient house
is remarkably well preserved. It is a low, two-story, frame dwelling
with a wide porch along its front. Having recognized the historical
value of the house, its onetime owner, the late J. L. Spaulding, who was
then the oldest practicing attorney of Bureau County, converted it into a
period museum. He was assisted in this work by his daughter, Mrs.
Sue Gross, an antique collector.
In each room of the house may be seen, simply and comfortably
arranged, articles of furniture dating from pre-Civil War days. Here are
walnut tables, chairs, and chests, trundle beds, spinning wheels, pewter
ware, and four-poster beds. On the walls hang old-fashioned family por-
traits as well as original paintings by an Illinois artist, Mary Skinner.
And over the fireplace is a bronze tablet containing an eloquent tribute
to Owen Lovejoy as an outstanding American.
Home of a Poet's Brother
AMONG long-settled families at Princeton, seat of Bureau County and
hub of a thriving farm area, one of the best known is the Bryant family.
Descendants of this family, which was established in Illinois more than
a century ago by four brothers of the poet, William Cullen Bryant, now
live on prosperous farms in Bureau County and adjacent territory. And
they occupy comfortable, well-preserved old family seats which are land-
marks of that part of the state.
Of the four Bryant brothers who came to Illinois between the years
1830 and 1833, the one who attained most prominence in the state was
John Howard Bryant. Because of the important role he played in the
early development of Illinois, and because of his associations with some
of the state's historic personages, his house in Princeton is of interest to
students of history. Of interest, too, is the dwelling of his brother,
Cyrus, which stands but a few blocks from John's house. Cyrus was
also a figure of importance in pioneer days.
Of John H. Bryant, a standard biographical reference work says:
"Like his friend Lincoln he was large, powerful, and of great endurance,
able in the course of a day to split a hundred rails, labor sixteen hours
John H. Bryant House, Princeton, Built 1840" s.
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154 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
about the farm, or ride seventy-five miles across country on horseback.
In temper and interests he was of much the same stuff as his brother,
William Cullen, to whom he was devoted. Although farming was his
chief occupation, he built roads and bridges, manufactured brick for a
time, and edited a local newspaper. He was probably the most useful
citizen in his community."
John Bryant and his brother, Cyrus, came to Princeton in 1832 and
built log cabins. Having prospered with their farming, the two built
brick houses in the early 1840's and these are the dwellings which sur-
vive. The address of the Cyrus Bryant house in 1 1 10 South Main Street,
and that of the John Bryant abode is 1518 South Main Street. It is
understood that the Cyrus Bryant dwelling was designed by Alvah
Whitmarsh, pioneer carpenter-architect of Princeton and grandfather
of Herma Clark (see the next chapter).
A guest in these two houses on several occasions was William Cullen
Bryant and these visits to Illinois inspired the poet to write "The
Prairies." Although it is not recorded that he ever visited either of the
Bryant homes, Abraham Lincoln is said to have delivered an address at
a Fourth of July gathering in Bryant's Woods in 1856. In these years
John Bryant was an antislavery advocate and his big brick house was
a station of the Underground Railroad as was the Owen Lovejoy abode.
In the Princeton Guide, we learn that John Bryant "was a member
of the state legislature from Bureau, Peoria, and Stark in 1842, and
again in 1858. ... In 1848 he was one of the early editors of the first
newspaper to be established in Bureau County; in 1860 was a delegate
to the convention in Chicago which nominated Abraham Lincoln; was
appointed collector of internal revenue by President Lincoln in 1862."
Not to be overlooked is the fact that John Bryant, too, was a poet.
His books, Poems and Life and Poems, were published in 1855 and 1894
respectively. His brother, Cyrus, was one of the founders of Bureau
County and its first county clerk. Another brother, Arthur, founded a
nursery in 1845 which is still in existence. And a third brother, Colonel
Austin Bryant, played a creditable part in the development of the
county.
On the lawn adjacent to the Cyrus Bryant house rests a boulder
with a tablet on it containing the words: "To commemorate the one
hundredth anniversary of the coming of the brothers Cyrus P. and John
Howard Bryant to Putnam, now Bureau County, Illinois, and pre-
empting this land. In this grove an early landmark known as Round
Point they built their log cabin, beginning the settlement which later
developed into the city of Princeton."
"Keepsake Cottage"
AFTER she became widely known for her entertainingly nostalgic
"When Chicago Was Young" column in The Chicago Sunday Tribune
and as an author, playwright, and monologist, Herma Clark returned to
her native town of Princeton and acquired a century-old house that now
is as much a landmark as are the Owen Lovejoy and John Bryant houses.
Here, amid the collection of relics, souvenirs, and antiques that has
evoked the name "Keepsake Cottage" for her house, Herma Clark con-
tinues to write her column and books like The Elegant Eighties, and to
add to her repertoire of monologues, such as her "Bustles and Bangs,"
"Albums and Antimacassars," and "Farm and Fireside," which are as
popular as her newspaper column.
In her role as a platform speaker specializing in modes and manners
of the Elegant Eighties and Neighborly Nineties, often wearing elaborate
costumes of those gaudy periods, Herma Clark is frequently absent from
Keepsake Cottage, delighting audiences in towns and cities of the Mid-
west. She also is in Chicago at weekly intervals, attending to her news-
paper work and engaging in various club and social activities. When
not thus involved, however, the gracious, whimsical author of the
"Martha Esmond" letters may be found in her northern Illinois home,
entertaining old friends and welcoming new ones. Living with Miss
Clark in Keepsake Cottage is her sister, Mrs. H. A. Gossard, who, be-
sides being joint owner of the house, serves as its mistress during Miss
Clark's absences.
Like most of the other houses in Princeton, Keepsake Cottage is
white-painted, kept in trim condition, and surrounded by a spacious
lawn. On one side of the house may be seen hollyhocks, descendants of
some from the garden of the humorous poet, Bert Leston Taylor.
Evidence that this cottage is almost a century old, although its
comfortable porch is of more recent date, is provided in the returns on
its facade, these being in the mode of the Greek Revival. It is believed
that the builder of the Clark cottage was John Crittenden, a pioneer
settler of Princeton, and that he erected it about 1850. Another Prince-
ton pioneer and a neighbor of Crittenden's was Alvah Whitmarsh, grand-
father of Herma Clark. As an early carpenter-architect, Alvah Whit-
marsh designed and built many houses which are still standing in the
town.
A native of Princeton, where her parents, Major and Mrs, Atherton
Clark, were highly esteemed residents, Miss Clark, after completing her
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studies at Oberlin College, went to Chicago and there met the person
who, she says, had the greatest influence on her life the Chicago so-
ciety leader, Mrs. William Blair. "As a young woman/' writes Herma
Clark in The Elegant Eighties, "hardly out of teen-age, intent on seeking
fame and fortune in the nearest large city, I left the Illinois town in
which I had grown up. A kind fate sent me the opportunity to act as
secretary to Mr. William Blair, retired businessman, who had been the
first wholesale hardware dealer in the infant Chicago.
"On his death, I remained with his widow, as her secretary Mrs.
Blair was a beautiful woman, and as she drove down Michigan Avenue
in her vis-a-vis, . . . she was a type of great lady indeed. But it was not
only her outward appearance, it was her inward and spiritual grace,
which so deeply impressed me. It is not too much to say that, aside
from my own family, she was the person who most influenced me."
When Herma Clark acquired the old Crittenden house in 1947, she
found it was in need of repairs and improvements. In characteristic
fashion, she became so enthusiastic over the work of restoration that
she infected her relatives and some of her close friends and they volun-
teered to help her. Writing in her delightful Guide Book to Keepsake
Cottage, Miss Clark says: "It may be asked if the matter of getting
relatives and friends thus to labor presented no difficulties. Our answer
is: 'None whatever.' It was done by a sublimation of the principle em-
ployed by Tom Sawyer, when he got his fence whitewashed. Tom made
it hard to get a chance to use the whitewash brush on that Missouri back
fence. Our method was to mention our intention to write the story of
the renovation of the house and to ask, 'Wouldn't you like to be in the
book?' So here is the promised volume."
Today, the interior of Keepsake Cottage is a veritable museum of
the Elegant Eighties. But in it there is none of the stuffiness, the over-
crowding, of an 1880 interior. After passing through the small entrance
hall which contains, among other things, an old hatrack and an oval-
framed picture of Herma Clark's father in his Civil War officer's uniform
and through a doorway above which hangs a cross-stitched motto;
"God Bless Our Home," the visitor finds himself in the living room.
Here are numerous articles from the home of the late Mrs. Blair, among
them a long gold-framed mirror, walnut and oak chairs, a teakwood
table, and a bronze lamp base, which was originally a Japanese vase
purchased at the 1893 fair in Chicago.
Other objects of interest in the living room are waz flowers under a
glass dome, several oils by the late Princeton artist, Edith Taber, a paint-
ing by Mrs. Grace Hall Hemingway, mother of the novelist, and a por-
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
157
Herma Clark House, Princeton, Built 1850.
trait of Herma Clark by the London artist, Dorothy Vicaji, who also
painted Queen Alexandra. From the living room the visitor passes into
the dining room, and here the most valued piece of furniture is a round
table with a cherry wood top, which was made by Grandfather Whit-
marsh. Among the books on shelves in the dining room are two old
volumes Literary Remains of Willis Gaylord Clark, written by a grand-
uncle of Miss Clark's, and History of the Ninth Illinois Cavalry, a regi-
ment in which Miss Clark's father served during the Civil War. In
other rooms of the cottage, especially in Miss Clark's study, are found
a great variety of quaint, sometimes amusing, heirlooms, mementos,
and keepsakes, either from friends of the author or from relatives.
Upon leaving Keepsake Cottage, nestling under its shade trees, the
visitor is likely to hear the bell in the Congregational Church tower near
by ringing out the hour or half-hour a bell which owes its existence to
Princeton's most famous historical personage, the Rev. Owen Lovejoy,
Home of an Abolitionist Leader
ONE of the famous abolitionists in northern Illinois was John Hossack,
who used his house in Ottawa as a station of the Underground Rail-
way. Because of this, the Hossack house has become a historic land-
mark and shares interest among sight-seers with several other historic
dwellings in Ottawa, notably the homes of General W. H. L. Wallace,
and State Senator William ReddicL
But the Hossack house is of interest for other reasons than its asso-
ciation with the abolitionist cause. Not only was the owner of the resi-
dence a leader in the antislavery movement but he was an influential
grain dealer of the Illinois River Valley and the maternal grandfather of
three men who became well-known Chicago merchants. The house, too,
appeals to architectural students, since it is an example of the Southern
Colonial style of domestic building, one of the several styles which pre-
vailed in Illinois during the 1840's and 'SO's.
According to data compiled by the Historic American Buildings
Survey, John Hossack built his residence in 1854 and 1855. The archi-
tect was Sylvannus Grow, of Chicago, and the builder was Alonzo
Edwards. The present address of the house is 210 West Prospect Ave-
nue. Here John Hossack lived as an influential citizen of the Illinois
River city and here he reared his family.
"The memory of Hossack," writes C. C Tisler in his interesting
booklet, Lincoln's in Town, which deals with Lincoln's visits to Ottawa,
"lives on in the hearts of those who love freedom, who hate tyranny and
who have the courage to defy the law if they consider it unjust, rather
than submit supinely. His courage led him to defy the Fugitive Slave
Law in 1859 by aiding escaped Negro slaves, so that he was jailed and
fined in Federal Court in Chicago, in 1860, along with other Ottawans.
The confinement was nominal City officials took them riding and gave
a banquet for them. The jailing of men and women for defying the
Fugitive Slave Law was not popular in the North in 1859 and 1860."
There is a story current in Ottawa that Abraham Lincoln was a
visitor in the Hossack house but Lincoln scholars have not been able to
prove this. It is certain, however, that John Hossack was present on
that August day in 1858 when Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas staged
the first of their historic joint debates in Ottawa. During the Civil War,
one of John Hossack' s sons, Henry Lens Hossack, headed a company
of soldiers he raised himself and, after the war, was active in Grand
Army of the Republic affairs. He was also a leading Ottawa merchant.
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159
Historic American Buildings Survey
John Hossack House^ Ottawa, Built 1854.
After the death of John Hossack, the house on Prospect Avenue
was occupied by his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. John Edwin
Scott. During this time, John Edwin Scott conducted a dry goods store
in Ottawa. He later moved up to Chicago and became the first partner
of Samuel Carson and John T. Pirie in the ownership of a dry goods
store, well known today as Carson Pirie Scott & Co. Two of John
Scott's sons, Robert L. and Frederick H., are members of the depart-
ment store firm.
The old Hossack house, with its typical two-story Southern-style
gallery and its spacious mid- Victorian rooms, is now the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Thomas R. Godfrey. He is a well-known Ottawa real-estate
man. White painted, well preserved, and surrounded by attractive
shrubbery, it is easily distinguishable as one of the city's landmarks.
On the North Bluff
ALTHOUGH a monument in honor of General W. H. L. Wallace, one of
Illinois' great Civil War commanders, stands in Tennessee on the spot
where he fell mortally wounded during the Battle of Shiloh, his memory
is much more effectively recalled by a landmark in the northern part of
the state of his adoption. This is the general's home, a spacious stone
residence on a bluff north of Ottawa. It is now a historic shrine, owned
and maintained by the state, and annually visited by hundreds of sight-
seers and students of the Civil War.
The Wallace home has of late attracted the attention of architec-
tural historians as well as specialists in the field of pioneer American in-
terior design. Its stone exterior contains evidences of Gothic ornamen-
tation, a style which was beginning to appear in America in the late
1850's, and its interior, with its original Wallace furnishings and bric-a-
brac, is representative of the homes of the upper class during the Civil
War period.
This dwelling is of interest, too, to Lincoln scholars. General Wal-
lace, who also was a lawyer, was one of Lincoln's friends and strong sup-
porters. Among exhibits in this house are the bed in which Lincoln is
said to have slept, the checkerboard on which he played, and his favorite
chair. These, possibly, may have come from the near-by mansion of
Judge T. Lyle Dickey, father-in-law of Wallace, who also was a close
friend of Lincoln's but was his political antagonist. Lincoln is known
to have visited the Dickeys at various times conceivably he took much
interest in the construction of the Wallace home which started in 1858
and continued for two years. Other exhibits in the Wallace house in-
clude a beautiful dress General Wallace gave his wife when Lincoln was
elected President.
It was shortly before this incident that the stone house on the North
Bluff was completed at a cost of 325,000. The house was supplied with
fine walnut furniture and other household articles which Mrs. Wallace
purchased in Boston. As it stood on an estate of four acres shaded by
stately oaks, the Wallaces promptly called their place "The Oaks."
Although General Wallace attained his greatest fame in the Civil
War, which opened only a year after his mansion on the Ottawa bluff
was completed, it was not his first encounter with the grim ways of war-
fare. For he had earlier served in the Mexican War, taking part in the
Battle of Buena Vista and several other engagements. There he became
adjutant with a rank of second lieutenant. When the war ended he re-
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
161
turned to Illinois, once more took up the practice of law, and in 1852 was
elected state's attorney.
A native of Urbana, Ohio, where he was born July 8, 1821, William
Hervey Lamb Wallace was brought to Illinois by his parents when he
was eleven years old. He received a common school education, studied
. H. L. Wallace House, Ottawa, Built 1858.
law, and was admitted to practice in 1845. He made his way to Ottawa,
then a lively river town, and here he married a daughter of T. Lyle
Dickey, an attorney who became a justice of the State Supreme Court
and, as a colonel in the Civil War, served as commander of cavalry on
the staff of General Grant.
When the Civil War started and his friend President Lincoln issued
a call for troops, William Wallace promptly enlisted and was appointed
colonel of the llth Illinois Regiment of volunteers. Into the conflict he
carried with him a flag presented to the regiment by the ladies of Ottawa
and which now is on exhibition in this house. As commander of the
2d Division, Army of the Tennessee, Brigadier General Wallace wa?
162 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
mortally wounded on April 6, 1862, at the Battle of Shiloh. He died at
Savannah, Tennessee, on April 10, 1862.
The general is buried in the family cemetery on the grounds of his
estate on the North Bluff. His widow and daughter, Isabel, continued
to occupy The Oaks for many years after his death. Mrs. Wallace
died in 1889. In 1909 the general's daughter completed and published
a biographical volume, Life and Letters of Gen. W.H. L. Wallace. After
Isabel Wallace's death in 1933, a movement to have the state purchase
the house for a historic shrine was started by the late State Representa-
tive Edward G. Hayne, of Ottawa. He attained his objective in 1940.
The house is a square, two-story dwelling of rough-faced limestone.
It contains twelve large rooms, eight of which have marble fireplaces.
All rooms are outfitted with the original Wallace furnishings elegant
walnut tables, chairs, chests, beds, and a grand piano purchased in 1850.
Side lights of colored glass at the front entrance depict scenes of Chicago
as it appeared a hundred years ago.
In such surroundings, the visitor may view a large collection of
relics, souvenirs, curios, and trophies associated with early Illinois his-
tory, the Mexican and Civil Wars, and with General Wallace, President
Lincoln, General Grant, Colonel Dickey, and other figures of the state's
and the country's past.
Library in a Mansion
NUMEROUS old mansions throughout Illinois have been converted into
public libraries, and an interesting example of this is the venerable Red-
dick residence in Ottawa. For more than half a century it has served as
a library and this fact has helped to make it one of the most familiar
buildings of the Illinois River city. Its location, too, adds to its famil-
iarity, for it is situated adjacent to Ottawa's principal recreation spot,
Washington Park.
An imposing, old-style mansion, three stories high and redolent of
the gaudy era of American architecture, this house, it Is apparent at
first glance, was built by some man of wealth and importance in Ottawa
life. The man who built this house, which stands at the northwest
corner of Columbus and Lafayette streets, was William Reddick. He
constructed his home in 1859, at a cost of about $60,000. It is of red
William Reddick House, Ottawa, Built 1859.
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164 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
brick, with white stone facing, and there is a legend that the bricks were
hauled by wagons from Milwaukee. Reddick built on such a grand
scale that his house and outbuildings occupied half the block bounded
by Lafayette, Columbus, and Washington streets, with an alley at the
west end of the property. The main building was his home. Along the
alley were a horse barn, a carriage house, and a two-story smokehouse
of such size that now it has been converted into the home of the library
custodian. ...
After its completion the Reddick abode became one of the show
places of Ottawa. Here, during the Civil War and in the years following,
the Reddicks reigned as one of the first families of their city. ^Reddick
was elected to the state senate for three successive terms beginning in
1846 and to a fourth term in 1870. He served his final two-year period
at Springfield with distinction and, when it was over, returned to
Ottawa and spent the remainder of his life there.
In his magnificent house overlooking the trees of Washington Park,
William Reddick lived to a ripe age and here he died in 1885. When
his will was opened it was found that he had set up an endowment fund
of ^100,000 for the founding and maintenance of a library in his home.
The library was established here three years later. Since that time
several generations of Ottawans have derived knowledge and pleasure
from the great array of books lining the walls of the old Reddick man-
sion Also in the library is Reddick' s indenture paper by which he was
bound out as an apprentice glass worker. His first 31,000 was accumu-
lated by two years of work as a glass blower in Washington, D. C.
from 1832 to 1834.
In addition to the library Reddick's will left a hundred acres of land
to La Salle County for "enlargement of the county home.*' That land,
which is still owned by the public, is underlain with millions of tons of
fine silica sand and is now worth many times as much as all his property
at the time of his death.
Queen Anne Style Mansion
ON A SPRING DAY in 1833, shortly after the small log settlement of
Chicago had been incorporated as a town, a lanky lad of twenty-one
arrived there aboard a sailing vessel. His name was John Dean Caton.
He had come to Chicago determined to practice law and equally deter-
mined never to have anything more to do with a farm. Only a short
time earlier he had suffered a severe cut on his foot while working on a
farm in his native state of New York.
In later life, however, when John Dean Caton was one of the best-
known men in Illinois, being then an associate justice of the Illinois
Supreme Court, he evidently broke his early resolve and acquired a
large farm on a bluff above Ottawa. Here he erected a magnificent
Queen Anne style mansion which became one of the noteworthy old
residential landmarks of Illinois. In winter, when the trees surrounding
it are bare, its red brick, castle-like bulk, with its gable roof, great round
bays, dormers, spacious veranda, and tall chimneys, may be seen from
the streets of the city below.
In addition to Justice Caton, this house is associated with numerous
other prominent persons, among them the justice's son, Arthur J. Caton;
Mrs. Marshall Field; Senator Albert J. Beveridge, and Mrs. Beveridge.
In the early years of the present century it was a summer social center
where house parties, lawn fetes, and outdoor sports events attracted the
attention of society editors in all parts of the state.
Because of the charm of its location, above the rooftops of Ottawa
and the sparkling expanse of the Illinois River, the Caton house brought
other leading Illinoisans to this river bluff and in time a colony of coun-
try homes was established here.
So far as can be determined, Justice Caton erected his brick man-
sion early in the 1880's. He was then retired from public life. At that
period Queen Anne architecture was in vogue among well-to-do citizens.
And in this class of citizens was Judge Caton, for in 1867 he had enhanced
his worldly fortune by selling his interest in a pioneer Illinois telegraph
company to the then newly organized Western Union Telegraph Com-
pany.
He was not sitting on the Supreme Court bench at that time, having
retired from office in 1864 after twenty-two years' service, mostly as
chief justice, in the state's highest tribunal. While on the bench, he
served with distinction, and his decisions are scattered through some
twenty-seven volumes of Illinois reports.
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166 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
It is known that Judge Caton first saw Ottawa when he attended a
political convention there in 1834. The river town was, at the time of
this visit, in a boom stage as a result of the opening of the Illinois and
Michigan Canal, which ran through it. After his first appointment as
associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1842 justices then traveled
on circuits John Caton again saw Ottawa.
"Judge Caton's circuit," says an old volume of Illinois biographies,
"consisted of twelve counties, and at Ottawa, the county seat of one of
them, he decided to make his home. Here, on one of the bluffs over-
looking the rich valley of the Illinois, he built a comfortable mansion,
surrounded by groves and lawns, and commanding a view of the most
beautiful scenery in the state."
This mansion was his first home. Here was born, in 1851, the
judge's son, Arthur, who was reared here until he was sixteen. This
house was then replaced by the present brick dwelling. In his new abode
Judge Caton lived the life of a country gentleman, tending to his blooded
stock, studying nature, reading in his library, and engaging in literary
and scientific pursuits which resulted in half-a-dozen noteworthy books
from his pen. He also, in company with his wife, made occasional trips
to Europe and the Far East.
At a house party in the Caton home young Arthur Caton met Miss
Delia Spencer, attractive daughter of one of the founders of the Chicago
hardware firm of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. They were after-
ward married and lived with the elder Catons at Ottawa. During the
1890' s Arthur Caton was a leading Chicago lawyer, sportsman, and club-
man. By then he and his father had established a Chicago residence on
fashionable Calumet Avenue. Among their closest neighbors and
friends there were the Marshall Fields.
Upon the death of Judge Caton in 189S the Ottawa estate fell to
Arthur Caton, and here he engaged in his favorite hobbies raising
thoroughbred horses and pedigreed dogs. His wife, meanwhile, won
wide admiration as a hostess. After the death of Arthur Caton in 1904
the Ottawa mansion became the property of his widow. Some ten
months later she was married to Marshall Field, who then was a widower
and considered one of the richest men in the world. But this marriage
was destined not to last long, for Marshall Field died of pneumonia five
months later.
In the years following, Mrs. Marshall Field continued to occupy her
Ottawa estate, spending the summer months here. In winter she lived
either at her Chicago residence or at her imposing home in Washington,
D. C. Often with her as companions in the Ottawa mansion were her
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
167
John D. Caton House,* Ottawa, Built in early 1880's.
niece, Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge, and the latter' s husband, Senator Albert
J. Beveridge, of Indiana. With the death of Mrs. Field in 1937 the
Ottawa landmark fell to Mrs. Beveridge. She afterward sold it to
Anthony S. ("Hum") Berry, a well-known Ottawa merchant and real-
estate man.
Under the guidance of Mr. Berry, the old Caton home was made
the nucleus of a suburban development on the North Bluff, known as
Field Hill Estates. Many recently-built homes, white-painted and
bright, surround the venerable Caton mansion under its elms and ever-
greens.
Some remodeling has been done in the interior of the mansion but
on the whole it retains much of its onetime splendor. Here are twenty-
eight great rooms trimmed in fine woods and adorned with marble and
tile fireplaces, parquet floors, and highly ornamental built-in cabinets.
Some of the rooms retain their original brass and copper chandeliers, one
of which is handsomely embellished with opalescent and ruby glass.
* The house has been razed since this article was written.
Above the ~Rjver
AFTER it was built almost three quarters of a century ago, the
impressive Hegeler mansion, standing like a baronial castle on a bluff
above the rooftops of La Salle, was an object of awe to the Illinois River
steamboat men of the 1870's and 1880's.
Today, with its stone walls faded by age and its environs crowded
by later houses, this mansion arouses the curiosity of a new generation
of river men the men who operate the modern, Diesel-engined tow-
boats. What they observe is one of La Salle's outstanding residential
landmarks, a landmark that once was known throughout the country as
the seat of a new religious movement.
This tall, three-story stone dwelling, with its French-style mansard
roof and mansarded cupola standing out against the sky, was built In
1874 by Edward C. Hegeler, who at that time was one of the leading in-
dustrialists of America and La Salle's most prominent citizen.
Thirteen years after the completion of his residence Hegeler estab-
lished the Open Court Publishing Company for the dissemination of his
scientific-religious beliefs. From the first floor of his La Salle mansion
went out tracts, books, and magazines, including The Monist, to all parts
of the country and even to foreign lands.
Before erecting his house, however, Hegeler had established himself
as one of the builders of La Salle. This he did by founding, in association
with another man, the Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Company, which in
time became one of the largest zinc works in America and La Salle's prin-
cipal industry. The great plant, with its many buildings, yards, and
smoking stacks, lies just below the bluff on which stands the mansion.
During the middle 1850 5 s Hegeler and a companion, Frederick W.
Matthiessen, had come west from Pennsylvania in search of a suitable
zinc-works site. Both were young mining engineers. They found what
they wanted at La Salle, then experiencing a boom as a shipping point on
the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which connected Chicago with the
Illinois River at Peru. This factor, as well as the nearness of coal mines
and the presence of zinc ore at Galena, caused them, in 1858, to establish
their works at La Salle.
The firm grew rapidly. We are told that Hegeler and Matthiessen
"carried on investigations and experiments leading to important dis-
coveries which were embodied in patents on inventions, taken out
jointly by both. 5 ' The partners acquired coal mines, became financially
interested in railroads, and began the manufacture of sulphuric acid.
168
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
169
Edward C. Hegeler House, La Salle, Built 1874.
Having become one of the wealthiest men In northern Illinois,
Hegeler decided to erect a mansion suitable to his station. The same
decision was reached by Frederick Matthiessen, and when the two
houses were completed they won widespread admiration for their size
and magnificence. About this time Matthiessen established the Wes-
tern Clock Manufacturing Company and the La Salle Tool Company.
Among his best-known philanthropies was his development of Deer
Park, near La Salle. This property of 174.6 acres was given to the state
of Illinois by the Matthiessen family in 1944. It is known as the Mat-
thiessen State Park Nature Area.
Established in their spacious residence on the bluff above La Salle,
Mr. and Mrs. Hegeler reared their children, entertained some of the
leading men and women of the state, and reigned as one of the first
170 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
families of La Salle. Two sons Julius and Herman established a
second zinc smelter at Danville. This and the one at La Salle were the
outstanding plants of their kind in America. Julius Hegeler also be-
came a well-known Danville civic leader.
In its heyday the Hegeler abode was one of the show places of the
Illinois River Valley. The house stood in the center of an estate occupy-
ing an entire city block. Fine shade trees spread "their branches over
well-kept lawns. Bubbling fountains, flower gardens, paths, and drive-
ways added to the attractiveness of the place. From their small balcony
porches or bay windows the Hegelers could see the broad, rolling surface
of the Illinois River.
As he advanced in years Hegeler became more and more interested
in religious and scientific problems. He was naturally of a scholarly
disposition, and the mansion library was his favorite haunt. He met
Dr. Paul Cams, a scholar and writer with similar views. The Open
Court Publishing Company was established, with Dr. Carus, who had
become Hegeler' s son-in-law, as its head. Through this company the
two men propounded their religious views.
From a biographical sketch of Hegeler in the Official Reference Book
of the Press Club of Chicago (the zinc magnate having been a member of
this club) we learn that the Open Court Publishing Company was
founded for the purpose of bringing about "the free and full discussion
of religious and psychological questions on the principle that the scien-
tific world conception should be applied to religion. Mr. Hegeler be-
lieved in science, but he wished to preserve the religious spirit with all
its serious endeavor, and in this sense he pleaded for the establishment
of a religion of science and a science of religion."
From the La Salle mansion, with the assistance of a corps of edi-
torial workers, translators, and printers, Hegeler sent out tracts, book-
lets, and magazines advancing his philosophical and religious beliefs. It
is said that one of the reasons for this activity was to counteract the
agnostic utterances of Colonel Robert Ingersoll, who lived in near-by
Peoria.
Edward Hegeler died in 1910 at the age of seventy-five.
Historical Museum
AN INTERESTING example of the old mansions in Illinois which
have been converted into historical museums is the venerable Tanner
residence in Aurora, thriving century-old city on the Fox River. Located
on the west side of the city, at Oak Avenue and Cedar Street, this old-
fashioned mansion now houses the Aurora Historical Society and, as
such, is replete with relics, souvenirs, and mementos of Aurora's early
days; of the days when the city was a tiny sawmill settlement on the
river knovra as McCarty's Mills.
The choice of this spacious, sturdy pre-Civil War mansion for a
historical museum was fortunate, for the man who built it was not only
one of the earliest pioneers of Aurora but one of the first settlers of
Chicago. As a result, the house contains many articles of furniture
from the Tanner household, thus adding to its appeal as a museum.
F. B. Marchialette
William A. Tanner House, Aurora, Built 1857,
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172 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Some of this furniture was brought to Aurora by the Tanners in sailing
vessels on the Great Lakes.
From data compiled by Charles P. Burton, local historian and col-
umnist of the Aurora Beacon-News, we learn that this residence was
built in 1857 by William Augustus Tanner, one of the first hardware
dealers of Aurora. The firm he founded more than a century ago, the
Tanner Hardware Co., is still in existence. As a pioneer hardware
dealer of Aurora, Tanner supplied tools to the settlers who built up
civilization in the Fox River Valley.
But William Tanner was not new at the hardware business when he
set up shop in Aurora. He acquired his first knowledge of it in Chicago,
where he originally settled in the early 1830' s after coming west from
New York State. There he obtained employment in the hardware shop
of King, Jones & Co.
However, Tanner did not stay in Chicago very long. In 1835 he
struck out across the prairies and settled at McCarty's Mills. Here he
remained for the rest of his life and here he played his role in the build-
ing of Aurora. His hardware business prospered and then, in 1841, he
went back to New York State and married Anna Plum Makepeace. The
couple returned to Aurora. By the middle 1850's Tanner was sufficiently
well-to-do to build a mansion comparable to the best in Aurora.
Here the Tanners reared their children and entertained many im-
portant people of their day. The mansion is typical of the pre-Civil
War period. It is of brick construction, two-and-a-half stories high, and
has an octagonal cupola. There are seventeen rooms in the house and
all are spacious and comfortable. This residence remained in the Tanner
family until a few years ago when it was given to the Aurora Historical
Society. The donors were Mrs. Martha T. Thornton, of Naperville, and
Mrs. Mary T. Hopkins, of Kansas City, twin daughters of the Tanners.
As a museum the Tanner mansion, according to Illinois: A Descrip-
tive and Historical Guide, contains a "grandfather's clock, Aurora's first
piano and other pieces of early furniture brought by boat from Buffalo
to Chicago and then hauled overland to Aurora. Home utensils, orna- -
merits, intimate letters and other exhibits are arranged throughout the
rooms to portray, in warmly personal terms, living conditions of early
days. There is an excellent collection of pioneer portraits, an original
Lincoln letter and a group of legal documents and memoirs of local his-
torical significance."
In the Victorian atmosphere of this house the old-time residents of
Aurora and the Fox River Valley hold a reunion once a year and recall
the early days of their town and valley.
In the Lakes Country
A MAN who did much to further the cause of scientific agriculture in
this country during pioneer days, and who even introduced progressive
farming methods into Japan, was General Horace Capron, who estab-
lished a home in Illinois. The old Capron house on a hill near Hebron,
in the vicinity of the much-visited lakes region northwest of Chicago,
has become a well-known residential landmark.
Horace Capron, whom one biographical reference work designates
as "a public-spirited man of outstanding character, high ideals, great
personal courage, and of courtly, distinguished bearing," built his house
in 1850. But it was not until 1854 that he occupied the mansion, bring-
ing to it a second wife, who was Margaret Baker of New York. Here
the Caprons lived during the 1850* s and supervised their large farm,
which was almost a thousand acres in extent.
"During 1850 and early 1851 the 'Mansion' was built, the bricks and
building materials being hauled from Milwaukee by slow ox teams,"
writes Kenneth K. Schaefer in a centennial history of Hebron, published
in 1936. "The Capron house was a marvelous building for its day, and
present-day visitors to the 'Mansion' cannot help being impressed with
its spacious and multitudinous rooms, high ceilings, large fireplaces,
solid mahogany spiral stairway and priceless glass chandeliers."
Horace Capron was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, on August
31, 1804, the son of a physician who had served with distinction in the
Revolutionary War. Another son, Seth Capron, was graduated from
West Point in 1821 and for a time was stationed at Fort Dearborn, on the
site of Chicago. Upon reaching maturity, Horace entered the cotton
manufacturing business in Maryland and, following his first marriage,
acquired a large farm. At this time he wrote a' series of articles for the
American Farmer magazine entitled "On the Renovation of Worn-Out
Soils." He later became a leader in agricultural societies in Maryland.
During the years he lived in his northern Illinois mansion, Capron
enlarged his experiments in progressive farming and helped to educate
other farmers to improve their cultivation methods. This work was in-
terrupted, however, by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. He was
commissioned a lieutenant colonel of the 14th Illinois Cavalry, served
in many campaigns, and later became a brigadier general. For a time
he was adjutant to General Grant.
After the war, General Capron returned to his northern Illinois farm
and later went to Washington, having been appointed United States
173
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OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Horace Capron House, Hebron,, Built 1850.
Commissioner of Agriculture. Then, in 1871, lie resigned this post to
accept an appointment from the Japanese government to introduce
American farming methods into that country. After several years he
returned to America and lived in Washington until his death in 1885.
When General Capron was living in his Hebron house after the Civil
War, he entertained numerous distinguished persons, including General
Grant. For his war services, Capron was awarded land by the govern-
ment. On this tract the town of Capron grew up.
After General Capron left Hebron for Washington his mansion was
occupied by his brothers, Newton and John. When they died, the He-
bron house came into the possession of a number of successive owners,
including George F. Harding, Sr., Halsey Fink, the Bates family, and
George McCiure. Here was born Granville Bates, well-known star of
the "silent'* movie days.
More recently the old Capron abode became the country home of
Ross D. Siragusa, president of the Admiral Corporation of Chicago.
And, in 1945, Mr. Siragusa sold the property to Royce A. Kelley, of
Alden, Illinois.
Workman's Cottage
DURING the 1937 centennial of Knox College there was placed on a
plain little workman's cottage near the smoky railroad shops in Gales-
burg a wooden marker containing the inscription: "Birthplace of Carl
Sandburg. One of America's immortals. Placed by A. G." Although
it is debatable whether a writer who is still alive can be designated an
"immortal," most literary critics agree that if any living American
writer has a chance to become immortal he is Carl Sandburg.
One noted literary critic, Harry Hansen, in his book, Midwest Por-
traits^ touched on this point more than two decades ago (1923) or before
Sandburg published his great master work on Abraham Lincoln. "In
less than ten years," wrote Hansen, "Carl Sandburg has become a figure
of national significance. Today he is invariably named as one of the
four or five outstanding poets of America, and his influence toward a
liberation from classical bondage and the development of wholesome
American themes is felt among a host of followers. He has helped direct
our thinking back to the primitive forces of our land; to the soil, human
labor, the great industries, the masses of men. No matter what he
writes in the future, the cumulative effect of his poems will survive and
be of great influence in our land."
If Sandburg had written nothing at all after the publication of his
numerous books of poetry, volumes which brought him national fame
as the "Chicago Poet" or "the bard of the prairies," the house in which
he was born would still be of widespread interest. But following the
completion of his six-volume life of Lincoln, a work which made his
name familiar throughout the Anglo-American world, the little work-
man's cottage in Galesburg has become one of America's literary land-
marks. More and more visitors are coming to Galesburg each year to
view the birthplace of the man who made Lincoln live again.
Although not of log construction, the house in which this man was
born is as plain and humble as is the birthplace of his truly immortal
hero. There is nothing to distinguish it from millions of other workmen's
cottages that cluster near grim industrial works in cities throughout the
country. It is a one-story frame dwelling with a gable roof, clapboard
siding, front and rear door and a few windows. Nothing more. There
is not even a small porch at the front entrance.
Here, then, in this small workman's cottage, was born Carl Sand-
burg, poet, ballad singer, columnist, lecturer, and Lincoln biographer.
His birth occurred on January 6, 1878. He was one of the sons of August
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OCCASIONAL PUBLICATION'S
Johnson, a Swedish immigrant who, upon arriving in Galesburg, discov-
ered there were too many "Johnsons" among the Swedes there and
changed his name to "Sandburg." It is said that a mixup in pay checks
at the railroad shops caused Sandburg's father to make the change.
When Sandburg was a baby his father worked as a blacksmith for
the Burlington railroad. He was a husky Swede who, it is said, could
C. C, Burford
Carl Sandburg House,, Galesburg, Built 1870*$.
not write English. In the little house he reared his family and took his
place as one of the hundreds of honest, thrifty laborers who worked ten-
hour shifts, six days a week, in the near-by railroad shops.
It was in the Galesburg cottage, at 311 East Third Street, that Carl
Sandburg spent the first five or six years of his life. Each month, the
elder Sandburg, out of his meager wages, had to pay rent for the use of
the cottage. Later, however, August Sandburg bought a house of his
own, and thereafter the family had little thought of the Third Street
cottage. When Carl Sandburg was thirteen years old it was necessary
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 177
for him to leave school and go to work, but he managed later to earn his
way through Lombard and Knox colleges.
The poet's subsequent career, his work as a newspaperman on The
Chicago Daily News^ his first fame as the "Chicago Poet," his ballad
singing, and finally the writing of his great, six-volume life of Lincoln
all these achievements are vividly told in Carl Sandburg: A Study in
Personality and Background by Karl Detzer, published in 1941. In-
cidentally, it was recently recalled that Sandburg's first book of poetry,
In Reckless Ecstasy, was issued by a Lombard, Illinois, printer in 1904,
the author signing himself "Charles A. Sandburg." That Lombard
printer was Philip G. Wright, father of Professor Quincy Wright, Uni-
versity of Chicago authority on international affairs and author of A
Study of War and other books.
As might have been indicated by the closing phrase "Placed by
A. G-," the wooden marker attached to the Sandburg cottage in 1937
was placed there by Mrs. Adda George of Galesburg. Since that time,
she has organized the Carl Sandburg Association, which now numbers
many prominent persons among its members. It was this association
that purchased the Sandburg cottage and, after restoring it, opened
it to the public as a museum of Sandburg and Lincoln relics and me-
mentos.
Eccentric Inventor's Home
ONE of Illinois' most unusual houses, designed, built, and occupied by
one of the most unusual characters in the recent history of the state,
stands on the outskirts of Kewanee. Now owned by the city and main-
tained as a museum, this curious dwelling annually attracts hundreds of
visitors who come to view the eccentric home of an eccentric man a
man who was an inventor, mathematician, artist, scholar, horticulturist,
and recluse.
In this house lived Fred Francis, who died in 1926 at the age of
seventy. As a dramatic climax to his strange career, he left an unusual
will, which provided that his house and forty-acre estate, valued at
^50,000, be given to Kewanee for a museum and public park that is,
under certain stipulations. The main one was that his body be cremated
on a pyre of cordwood in his back yard and the ashes buried, coverless,
in the earth.
If possessed of a romantic imagination, Francis was a realist, too.
In his will he added that if the health authorities objected to the public
cremation in his yard, his body was to be disposed of in a crematory. He
summed up by saying if the city officials failed to carry out this provision
of his will, his forty-acre estate and house were to be given to his alma
mater, the University of Illinois. A graduate of this institution in 1878,
he had displayed exceptional mathematical talents while there.
Shortly after the death of Francis, the Kewanee City Council, at
a special meeting, provided for the carrying out of the terms of his will.
One of these was that the house was to be opened only u when it is safe
to do so without admitting flies or mice." It has been said that pro-
visions of the will are being adhered to, but the "flies-and-mice" clause
gives the caretakers many a bad time.
One of Francis' phobias was a particular horror of flies. To deal
with this aversion, and also to indulge his tastes and hobbies, Francis
designed an abode which is a unique example of the truism that the house
reflects the. man. Outstanding as an inventor, he conceived automatic-
action doors and windows. When a window is opened, a screen auto-
matically drops to keep out the flies. He obtained water from a huge
cistern, "so designed that it was filtered, heated and syphoned into a
marble bathroom."
Many household conveniences now in general use were enjoyed by
Fred Francis in his dwelling years ago. He is said to have been one of
the first to use air conditioning in a home. He accomplished this by
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
179
Fred Francis House, Ke<wanee^ Buill
building a tunnel from his orchard to the house which brought in fresh
air, cooled by passage through the tunnel. A favorite haunt was his
basement workshop, and here he operated his various machines with
power obtained from a shaft and windmill arrangement.
At one corner of his abode stands a conservatory which he designed.
It is heated in winter by a skillful arrangement of steam pipes. Here he
nurtured his favorite plants and engaged in horticultural experiments.
In the various rooms of the house, rooms arranged at different
levels, are displayed many paintings from the brush of the recluse. He
had unusual gifts as an artist and showed discrimination as a collector
of art objects. His ability as a mathematician is demonstrated in the
dining room. Here, on one wall, are geometric symbols which Francis
claimed were proof of the solution of various difficult mathematical
problems. He is said to have been one of the outstanding mathemati-
cians of the Midwest- ,
Obviously, Francis could not have built his house, with its many
innovations, unless he had had the means to do so. His income "was de-
rived from royalties on patents, 'mostly a connection with watches he
had been employed for eleven years by the Elgin Watch Company.
The Octagon Mode
IN THE BURNHAM Library of Architecture at the Art Institute of
Chicago may be found a small, rare, time-stained volume that was re-
sponsible for an exotic, but short-lived, architectural style throughout
northeastern America in the years just before the Civil War. This book
is A Home j or All; or, the Gravel Wall^ and Octagon Mode of Building^ by
0. S. Fowler of New York, who is identified on the title page as an
"author of various works on phrenology." First published in 1849, this
book was widely read in successive editions and resulted in the construc-
tion of octagon-shaped houses in many villages, towns, and cities from
the Atlantic to the Mississippi.
Some of these eight-sided houses, with their curious V-shaped
rooms, are still in existence. A number of them survive in Illinois, and
one of the best of these, although not one of the most impressive, is the
old Warren Clark house at Mendota. It is located on U. S. 34, at the
west end of town, and is a unique residential landmark in that part of
the state. Several generations of farmers, bringing their corn to Men-
dota, have wondered about the odd style of construction of this house.
Whether the builder of this dwelling, Warren Clark, was a follower
of the phrenological writings of Professor 0. S. Fowler has not been
determined, but he must have known of Fowler when he built his abode
in 1853. For at that time Professor Fowler was one of the most popular
phrenologists in the United States, and his Phrenological Almanac was
read by thousands. "Fowler's interests," says the Dictionary of Ameri-
can Biography, "were universal and he supposed himself able to solve
the problems of every department of knowledge by means of 'phrenology
and physiology* alone."
Discussing octagon houses in Country Life in America magazine
(March, 1913), Fanny Hale Gardiner wrote: "Whether those who fol-
lowed Fowler's teachings had the idea that there was any metaphysical
connection between his diagram of our 'dome of thought' and his plan
for a dwelling for our mortal body is not certain. There is no evidence
that he intended a symbolical purpose in selecting a figure of eight sides
rather than one of any other number."
Some clue as to what Professor Fowler had in mind when he de-
signed the octagon-style house might be found in the introduction to
his book where he wrote: "I kept asking myself, Why so little progress
in architecture when there is so much in other matters? We continue to
build in the same square form adopted by all past ages. Cannot some
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
181
radical change for the better be adopted, both as to the external form of
houses and their interior arrangements ? Why not take our pattern from
Nature? Her forms are mostly spherical."
A comparison of the Warren Clark house with an etching of the
residence built by Professor Fowler himself at Fishkill, New York,
(which no longer exists) shows the similarity of the two dwellings. The
professor's eight-sided house is, of course, more pretentious than the
Mendota abode. When W'arren Clark built his house he was a man of
some means in the community. An early settler of La Salle County, he
acquired land and helped to develop the region.
Set back on a landscaped lawn at the intersection of Washington
Street and Iowa Avenue, the Warren Clark house is a two-story frame
dwelling with a bay window on the south side and a small porch on the
southeast wall. It has an almost flat roof of tin, with a chimney pro-
truding from the center. The rooms of the house, some of them
V-shaped, are plain, with pine trim. A walnut stairway leads to second-
floor bedrooms.
Historic American Buildings Survey
Warren Clark House, Mendota, Built 1850* s.
In a Picturesque Community
ON A HORSESHOE bend of the Rock River, some six miles northeast
of Dixon, is one of the oldest, best preserved, and most attractive villages
in Illinois. It is called Grand Detour, so-named by early French traders
because of the "Great Bend" on which it stands. Having a population
of no more than two hundred and being located away from main-traveled
roads, Grand Detour is something of a "deserted village"; a white, elm-
shaded, picket-fenced community of the type found in older New Eng-
land regions.
Because of its picturesqueness, this little, century-old community
has in recent years attracted a number of artists who have taken over
some of the ancient red brick and white clapboard dwellings and con-
verted them into studio homes. But Grand Detour is of interest to
historical students, too, for the founders of the village, John Deere and
Major Leonard Andrus, manufactured the first steel plows in the United
States and thus played important roles in the development of American
civilization.
In consequence, the two outstanding sights of Grand Detour are as-
sociated with these two men. One is the Major Leonard Andrus' Me-
morial, marking the site of the original Deere & Andrus plow factory,
and the other is the home of John Deere. Situated in the center of the
village under a huge, ancient elm and surrounded by a white picket
fence, the Deere house, although built more than a hundred years ago,
is remarkably well preserved and noteworthy for its interior furnishings,
all of which are authentic and of the John Deere period.
A native of Rutland, Vermont, where he was born on February 7,
1804, John Deere came west in 1837 and settled at Grand Detour. He
set up a blacksmith shop and the following year he built his house and
brought his family to Grand Detour. Both he and Major Andrus, who
also was from Vermont, succeeded in bringing other settlers from the
Green Mountain State to Grand Detour and soon the village was a thriv-
ing community.
Since its two best-known citizens were Vermonters, as were many of
its first settlers, it was inevitable that Grand Detour should grow and
develop in the manner of a New England village. Like innumerable old
Vermont communities, Grand Detour has wide, unpaved streets, foot-
paths instead of sidewalks, houses set far back on spacious lawns, wind-
lass wells, picket fences, and massive old trees that arch over the streets
and in summer clothe the white village in a mantle of green.
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
183
When Grand Detour was at the height of its boom in the middle
1840's, due mainly to the presence of the Deere & Andrus plow factory,
the village contained an estimated population of a thousand. The
number declined, however, when railroads appeared in the late 1840's
and by-passed Grand Detour, It was in 1847 that John Deere sold his
interest to Major Andrus and moved to Moline, where he established a
larger plow works than the original factory.
With the departure of John Deere, his house acquired a new owner.
It continued to be occupied as a dwelling through the Civil War period.
John Deere House, Grand Detour y Built 1838.
In later years, ail unsuccessful attempt was made to purchase it by
Deere' s son, Charles, who had become president of the Deere company,
The house did come back into the Deere family, however, some years
after the death of Charles Deere when it was acquired by his daughter,
Mrs. William Butterworth, of Moline.
Appreciating the historic value of this house, which is a simple, dig-
nified, two-story frame dwelling with a classic portico, Mrs. Butterworth
carefully furnished its rooms with maple and walnut furniture, fine china
and pottery, pictorial wallpaper, hooked rugs, old lithographs, mid-
Victorian bric-a-brac, and other household articles of the 1840 J s-
Amid Unusual Rural Beauty
RECALLING her girlhood days in northern Illinois, the late Jane
Addams, founder of Hull House in Chicago and world-famous human-
itarian, once wrote: "These early recollections are set in a scene of rural
beauty, unusual, at least, for Illinois. The prairie around the village
was broken into hills, one of them crowned by pine woods, grown up
from a bag full of Norway pine seeds sown by my father in 1844, the
very year he came to Illinois, a testimony perhaps that the most vigorous
pioneers gave at least an occasional thought to beauty."
Continuing, she said: "The banks of the mill stream rose into
high bluffs too perpendicular to be climbed without skill, and containing
caves of which one at least was so black that it could not be explored
without the aid of a candle. . . . My stepbrother and I carried on games
and crusades which lasted week after week, and even summer after
summer, as only free-ranging country children can do."
It was in this idyllic setting that Jane Addams spent her childhood
and young womanhood. The house in which she was born, one of the
oldest in the little village of Cedarville, some six miles north of Freeport,
still stands in its grove of elms and has become a revered historic shrine,
much visited by admirers of the great humanitarian.
When she grew to maturity Jane Addams remembered her happy,
"free-ranging" childhood days at Cedarville, and it was in part this
memory that caused her to become interested in underprivileged chil-
dren of the foreign districts of Chicago. Deciding to help these children,
to give them a place to play and an opportunity to develop into good
Americans, Miss Addams founded Hull House in 1889.
Miss Addams was but two years old when her mother died and after
this her father became the guiding star of her young girlhood. Eight
years after the death of his wife John H. Addams married again, this
time to the widow of William Haldeman, a Freeport businessman. The
second Mrs. Addams was an educated, accomplished woman and her
little stepdaughter, Jane, became attached to her. When she became
mistress of the Cedarville house the new wife brought along her two
sons, Harry and George Haldeman.
In these early years John H. Addams was an outstanding personage
of northern Illinois. Honest, self-educated, idealistic, and a hard worker,
John Addams had prospered as the owner of a gristmill adjoining his
home at Cedarville. He was elected to the state legislature, helped to
establish the Republican Party, was a close friend of Abraham Lin-
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
185
Raymond Folgate
Jane Addams House, Cedarville^ Built 1854.
coin's, organized the "Addams Guards" during the Civil War and helped
to found the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad which was later con-
solidated with the Chicago & North Western Railway.
"By that time [in 1849, when Cedarville was platted] John Addams
was on the highroad to prosperity," wrote the late Professor James
Weber Linn in his Jane Addams: A Biography. Linn, who was a nephew
of Jane Addams', tells us that "in 1854 he built for his increasing family
a wide, two-story-and-attic, gray-brick house, in the simple, oblong
architecture of the day." Here Jane Addams was born on September
6, 1860. And here she was living when her father died in 1881 at the
age of fifty-nine.
Subsequently the old Addams homestead, in its grove of pines and
elms at the base of the steep cliff on Cedar Creek, became the property
of Marcet Haldeman, daughter of Miss Addams' stepbrother, Harry
Haldeman, who had become a physician and banker of Girard, Kansas.
It was in the Addams home that Marcet Haldeman was married to
Emanuel Julius, a writer. Under the firm name of E. Haldeman-Julius,
the two publish the five-cent "blue books" at Girard, Kansas.
Still in sound condition after almost a century, the old Addams
homestead, now privately owned, retains much of the atmosphere of
pioneer times. It has been furnished with many fine period pieces
articles of furniture and other household belongings contemporaneous
with the girlhood days of Jane Addams.
Abode of a Statesman
DURING the early part of the nineteenth century there lived in Maine
a large family whose sons, upon reaching maturity, played important
roles in the history of various states and the nation at large. This was
the Washburn family, established at Livermore, Maine, by Israel and
Martha Washburn. One of the best known of the sons was EHhu Ben-
jamin Washburne, who, early in life, attached an "e" to his name after
his English forebears. As a congressman from Illinois, as Secretary of
State during President Grant's administration, and as United States
minister to France, Elihu B. Washburne was one of the outstanding men
of the 1870's and 1880's.
In view of such a career, his home at Galena, Illinois, which he built
about a century ago, is one of the principal sights in a city rich in his-
torical sights. It was in the library of the Washburne house that Gen-
eral Grant received news of his election as President of the United States
in 1868. This news was conveyed over telegraph wires into the Wash-
burne abode and marked the first time in American history that a presi-
dential candidate himself received such welcome news by telegraph. It
w'as welcome news, too, to Congressman Washburne, for he had long
been a close friend and champion of Ulysses S. Grant.
When Grant arrived in Galena in 1860 to work in his brother's
eather store, Washburne was representing that community and that
region in Congress. The two were introduced and became friends. Upon
the outbreak of the Civil War, many Galena men volunteered for service
and a company of these volunteers was drilled by Grant on the lawn
adjacent to Congressman Washburne's house. Subsequently, Wash-
burne sponsored the bills in Congress that brought promotions to his
friend Grant lieutenant general and, later, general And after the war,
Washburne was a leader in the campaign to elect Grant President.
The Congressman was equally devoted to Abraham Lincoln. It is
said that he used "his talents in Congress to aid his personal and political
friend Lincoln." He is on record as having been the only person to wel-
come President-elect Lincoln at the train upon the latter's secret arrival
in Washington for the inauguration of 1861. This secrecy was put into
effect following rumors of a plot to assassinate the President-elect,
After General Grant became President in 1868, Elihu Washburne
left his home in Galena and went to live in Washington. He was ap-
pointed Secretary of State in Grant's cabinet and, later, was named
United States minister to France. In that capacity he saw the downfall
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
187
of Napoleon Ill's empire and the establishment of the Paris Commune.
His two volumes of memoirs, Recollections of a Minister to France,
1869-1877., are regarded as valuable historical records of France in the
days of the Commune. On his retirement from public life, Elihu Wash-
burne took up residence in Chicago and devoted the remainder of his
days to literary and historical pursuits.
The residence in Galena which remains today as a memorial to
Elihu Washburne is believed to have been built between 1845 and 1850,
Historic American Buildings Survey
Elihu B. Washburne House, Galena, Built 1840* s.
according to the Historic American Buildings Survey. It is known that
Washburne was married in 1845 to Adele Gratiot, descendant of French
settlers from St. Louis., and the presumption is that he built his house m
the years immediately afterward. It is a two-story brick abode and re-
sembles Greek Revival residences of Southern plantations that is with
a two-story "temple" portico.
The records show that in 1882 the Washburne house was sold to
Thomas Sheean and that a porch was added to the north side of the
house that same year. In 1931 title to the property was conveyed to
Frank T. Sheean, member of the same Sheean family and judge of the
Circuit Court. Although a century old, this historic house is well
preserved and is often visited by sight-seers and students of history.
A Gift from the People
AS ALMOST everyone in the state knows, two of the most famous old
houses in Illinois are the Abraham Lincoln home in Springfield and the
Ulysses S. Grant home in Galena. Each is associated with one of the
nation's greatest men and both are now owned and maintained by the
state of Illinois as historic shrines. Thousands of tourists from all parts
of the country visit these dwellings each year, obtaining a glimpse in
them of the home life of two men who played vitally important parts in
the history of the United States.
The Grant home is the principal sight of Galena, picturesque old-
time city in a hollow of the hills at the extreme northwest corner of the
state, not far from the Mississippi River. This city was once a booming
river town, located on the Galena River, and had its rise with the dis-
covery of lead in the vicinity. But with the coming of the railroads in
the 1850's, Galena declined and soon lost its position as a lead-producing
center. Still standing, however, are the fine old mansions and houses of
the men who made fortunes in the lead mines. These, as well as the
Grant home, attract sight-seers to the city from near and far.
It was Just after the close of the Civil War that General Grant, who
had helped win the war for the Union cause and who was therefore the
hero of the day in the North, was presented with the spacious, two-
story brick residence in Galena that was in after-years to become a me-
morial to him. Here the Grants lived until 1868 when the General was
elected President of the United States.
Just why a house in Galena should be chosen and presented to
General Grant is easily explained. It was simply that Galena was
Grant's city of adoption. He had gone there before the outbreak of the
Civil War and at a time when he was low in funds and needed a job. For
some years before this, he had served in the Army. Upon leaving the
Army, he secured a 6QO-a-year job as clerk in a leather goods store
operated by two of his younger brothers in Galena.
Still standing, this store, at 120 Main Street, is now one of the
sights of Galena. Another is the modest home which Grant and his
family occupied when they first came to Galena; when Grant was an
obscure retired Army lieutenant. This dwelling is at 121 High Street,
located on a hill slope above downtown Galena. Here Grant and his
wife and four children were living when Lincoln was elected President
and Fort Sumter was bombarded.
As a former professional soldier, one who had been graduated from
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
189
West Point and who had fought in the Mexican War, the Galena store
clerk offered his services to the War Department. Response to his offer
was slow in coming. In the meantime, Grant trained volunteers for the
Army and his drill ground was the lawn of the Elihu B. Washburne
house in Galena. Subsequently, Grant was commissioned a colonel of
the 21st Regiment of Illinois Infantry by Governor Yates. Thus began
his Civil War career, a career that brought him international renown.
At the close of the war, when General Grant had accepted the gift
mansion from the people of his adopted city, he found himself in pos-
session of one of the show places of Galena. It had been built in 1857 by
Alexander Jackson, an influential and successful citizen of the boom
town. In obtaining it as a gift for General Grant, the citizens are said
to have paid 215,000. This sum included the furnishings of the house.
"The new home was on a high hill across the river on the East side,
almost opposite the first home," writes Florence Gratiot Bale in her
Galena? s Yesterdays. She continues: "The Grants established themselves
Herbert Georg Studio
Ulysses S. Grant House, Galena, Built 1857.
190 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
in this sightly and comfortable house, and renewed the friendships of
early days, and General Grant showed his intention of making it his
permanent home by bringing his war trophies with him."
Mrs. Bale tells us that "people in the town entertained the Grants at
dinners and other social affairs; all the ladies made formal calls on Mrs.
Grant and once more the old town felt Grant was a citizen of Galena.
His official duties took him to Washington and he was away a great deal
of the time, but his legal home was always considered Galena. In 1868,
his country gave him the greatest honor it can confer; he was elected
President of the United States, and the family left their home and re-
moved to the White House in Washington."
After the Grants left, the residence in Galena was occupied by H. H.
Houghton and his wife. Mr. Houghton was editor of the Galena Gazette
and at one time had been postmaster of the town. W T hen Grant com-
pleted his second term as President, he and his family came back to the
Galena mansion. Here he was living when, in 1880, he was prevailed
upon to become a candidate for President once more. Upon losing the
campaign to Garfield, ex-President Grant moved to New York. His last
days were spent writing his Personal Memoirs, which became a best
seller. He died July 23, 1885.
Following the departure of the Grants, their brick residence
was rented to the Rev. Ambrose Smith, who was pastor of the South
Presbyterian Church of Galena. Subsequently, the house was occupied
by David Nash Corwith and his family and, later, by the C. C. Matheys.
It was then given to the city in 1904.
The house today, open free to the public, is filled with furniture arid
other household belongings of the Grants. On the plate rail in the din-
ing room are dishes which were used in the White House during Grant's
administration. This room also contains the silver used in the White
House. The dining-table centerpiece was made by Mrs. Grant herself.
It is an arrangement of bananas, oranges, pears, and grapes, carefully
preserved in wax and still bright in their glass bell jar after more than
three-quarters of a century.
"The Larches"
DURING the seventy-five years it has been standing in its grove of
larch trees a mile outside of Onarga, small city in the eastern part of
Illinois, the Allan Pinkerton house has given rise to more conjectures and
legends than perhaps any other dwelling in the state. This was un-
doubtedly caused by the career of the man who built the house, for Allan
Pinkerton, as this country's earliest and best-known private detective,
had worked on many sensational crimes and plots during the Civil War
period and later and, besides, had written eighteen widely read books
telling of his experiences.
In a paper read several years ago before the Lincoln Group of Chi-
cago, Clint Clay Tilton, a Danville historian, said of Pinkerton and his
house: "Here [near Onarga] he caused to be built the square house
which he termed his 'villa,' but which is known locally in this day as the
Pinkerton 'Whoopee house.' . . . The villa never was used as a family
home but was the scene of many a high carnival when he went there
with his cronies for days of relaxation. Within the walls of the historic
house leaders in sports, the stage, writers of note and painters of national
reputation would gather as his guests, during which time the Stars and
Stripes would flutter from the flagpole atop the lookout tower in the
center of the building."
Others of less repute came to this house, too, Tilton declared. Re-
ferring to the various rooms of the dwelling, he says: "One . . . was made
soundproof, where he held interviews with mysterious individuals from
time to time, giving rise to the tradition that ex-convicts frequently
found a haven there until they could accustom themselves to their new
freedom."
When this country dwelling was built in 1873, Pinkerton or "The
Eye," as he was widely called was already at the height of his career
and had amassed a considerable fortune as head of a private detective
agency of national scope. Twelve years earlier he first attracted wide-
spread attention as the personal bodyguard of President-elect Abraham
Lincoln during the sensational "Baltimore Scare/' It was Pinkerton's
belief, based on the evidence of one of his operatives, Timothy Webster,
that Lincoln was to be assassinated in Baltimore. So "The Eye" ar-
ranged for Lincoln to change trains secretly. This was done and he
arrived safely in Washington.
At the time he built the Onarga house, Pinkerton was a resident of
Chicago. It was there, in fact, that he began his career as a professional
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detective. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1819, Allan Pinkerton came
to Chicago in 1842, and a year later moved to the Scotch settlement of
Dundee on the Fox River, where he set up a cooper's shop. In 1846 he
was made a deputy sheriff of Kane County after discovering and helping
round up a gang of counterfeiters.
During this time, being an ardent abolitionist, he also served as a
"foreman" of the Underground Railway, his cooper's shop being a "sta-
Chicago Daily News
Allan Pinkerton House, Near Onarga^ Built 1873.
tion" of the railway. By 1850 he was living in Chicago and serving on
the city's police force as its first detective. He later organized a private
detective agency, said to be America's first such organization, and helped
to solve several sensational express robberies.
After the "Baltimore Scare" and following service with General
George B.McClellan during the Civil War, Allan Pinkerton, in 1864,
acquired a 254-acre farm on the outskirts of Onarga. It was on this
tract he built his villa nine years later. In landscaping the grounds
around the house, "The Eye" planted many larch trees, as well as other
types of evergreens, and in time his estate was called "The Larches."
It became a show place of Iroquois County in the 1870' s and '80's.
Writing of this estate for the Historic American Buildings Survey, Loren
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS 193
Van Degraft said: "He created on the prairies of Illinois a replica of a
gentleman's estate he had known when a boy in Scotland. The larch
trees were imported from Scotland and were set in orderly rows along
the drives of the estate. Along these drives were planted thousands of
flowers in beds that were always neat and orderly. Guards were sta-
tioned at the gates, and visitors who drove their horses along the drive
faster than a walk were fined five dollars for raising dust that would
settle on the flowers."
Some idea of what "The Larches" was like in its prime was ob-
tained from an old Onarga resident, John Nichols, who served as a kind
of major-domo of the Pinkerton estate. He reports that the estate con-
tained a fish pond and swimming pool, a race track and numerous out-
buildings. These latter included a great barn called "Big Jumbo" where
between forty and fifty Indian ponies were housed, a wine cellar called
"The Snuggery," which was connected with the villa by an underground
passage, a milk house, root cellar, several smaller barns, and a group of
greenhouses. The sloping walls of "The Snuggery" were decorated with
murals of heroic Scots attired in kilts.
The villa, now showing signs of decay, is a frame building, one-and-
a-half stories high, with a windowed cupola on its roof. Originally, it
contained verandas on all four sides. A wide hall runs through the center
of the house and on each side are bedrooms and living rooms. Still to be
seen on the walls of the central hall are the murals of Civil War scenes of
which Major Pinkerton was so proud. Running water for the villa was
furnished by a large wind engine.
"It was a lively place on week ends," recalled old John Nichols.
"Major Pinkerton would come down from Chicago on Fridays with a
group of friends and go back on Monday morning. They would arrive
on an Illinois Central train, getting off at a special stop alongside the
estate. There were always three cooks on duty and the pay roll, I dis-
tinctly remember, ran to $1,200 a month. Yes, sir, it was a great place
while it lasted, but after Major Pinkerton died, in 1884, it gradually de-
clined. And now it is but a mere shadow of what it once was."
Swiss Cottage
AN OUTSTANDING example of exotic architecture in Illinois is the
Swiss Cottage at Rockford. Standing there for more than three-quarters
of a century, this authentic reproduction of an Alpine chalet is one of the
principal sights of the big city on the Rock River. During World War II
many of the thousands of soldiers at near-by Camp Grant viewed it on
their walks through the city just as it was glimpsed by soldiers from
the same camp during World War I. Recently, the Rockford Park Dis-
trict voted funds for the care and maintenance of this unusual landmark.
Not only is the Swiss Cottage, which stands at 411 Kent Street, on a
bluff overlooking Kent Creek, of absorbing interest to architectural stu-
dents, but it survives as a memorial to one of Rockford's noted person-
ages of the 1870's and '80's. This man was Robert H. Tinker, who was
elected mayor of Rockford in 1875. A cultured, widely traveled indi-
vidual, Tinker was one of the "fathers" of the Rockford Grand Opera
House, now gone, and also was instrumental in establishing the city's
system of sixty-three attractive parks.
In the many world-wide travels he made with his wife, Robert
Tinker is said to have become impressed with a chalet he saw in Switzer-
land and thereupon to have decided to build a home in this style when
he returned to America. His determination was carried out and in the
early 1870's the Swiss Cottage was built for him.
With its broad, low gables, overhanging eaves, and ornate galleries,
it is an authentic reproduction of the type of dwelling so familiar in the
Alps. At the time the cottage was built it stood on the attractive
grounds of the Manny estate one of the best-known estates in Rock-
ford.
Into his comfortable frame house, with its twenty-six rooms, Tinker
brought his large collection of books. This collection included hundreds
of volumes which he acquired when Rockford's first community library
was auctioned in 1865. All of the Tinker books are housed in the library,
one of the most impressive rooms in the cottage. It is circular in shape
and its ceiling reaches to the full height of the house. A circular stair-
case of intricately carved wood serves the second-floor balcony in the
library.
In all the rooms of his house, Tinker installed the many antiques,
art objects, curios, and souvenirs which he had collected in his travels.
Here, too, are rare oil paintings, as well as fine examples of period fur-
niture. Among the latter is a settee on which Abraham Lincoln is said
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
195
H. Bruckner
Robert H. Tinker House, Rockford, Built 1870" s.
to have sat. Another interesting item here is an early oil portrait of
Mark Twain.
The Lincoln settee originally came from the mansion of John H.
Manny, who moved to Rockford in 1853 with a reaper he had invented,
began the wholesale manufacture of his invention, prospered, and built
for himself a mansion which stood across Kent Creek from the Swiss
Cottage. When Cyrus H. McCormick sued Manny, charging infringe-
ment of the McCormick patent, the Rockford inventor was defended in
the federal court at Cincinnati by Abraham Lincoln. Manny was cleared
of the accusation. It was at this time that Lincoln is alleged to have
used the settee in the Manny residence.
When Robert Tinker died, the Swiss Cottage was occupied by his
widow. Here she lived for many years, surrounded by treasures that had
been collected over a period of half a century. With her death, the cot-
tage and five acres of landscaped ground around it passed to the Rock-
ford Park District.
"Indian Terrace"
WHEN, several decades ago, the century-old Sanford residence in Rock-
ford was acquired by a prominent business and civic leader of that city,
Mr. Ralph Hinchliff, a corps of workmen and skilled artisans immedi-
ately went to work on a restoration of the house and the wide lawns
around it. Today, the quaint old Sanford home, with its board-and-
batten siding, its windowed cupola, its fanciful eave brackets, and other
details of nineteenth century architecture, is an outstanding historic
show place, widely known as "Indian Terrace." Because of its authentic
mid- Victorian atmosphere, both outside and inside, Indian Terrace is
attracting the attention of an ever-growing number of historical and
architectural students, as well as "period" decorators and antiquarians.
Members of the Illinois State Historical Society, at their forty-eighth
annual meeting in Rockford, foregathered at Indian Terrace and heard
the story of this venerable landmark of northern Illinois.
As Indian Terrace, however, is the private home of Mr. and Mrs.
Hinchliff, it has none of the discomforts, the stuffiness, and overcrowd-
ing usually associated with mid-Victorian interiors. Here, Mr. and
Mrs. Hinchliff, both of whom are historically minded, with a fine per-
ception of artistic requirements, have created an atmosphere of the past
without losing any of the comforts of the present. As those who know
agree, this is the secret of successful old-house restoration. In this pic-
turesque mansion, then, the Hinchliffs can, and do, continue the tradi-
tions of hospitality and gracious living introduced here a century ago by
the builder of the house, Goodyear Asa Sanford.
It has been definitely ascertained that Goodyear Sanford built this
home now located at SOS North Main Street in 1847. The site on
which it was constructed was a sizable tract of land that Sanford and his
cousin, Worcester A. Dickerman, had acquired and which included an
ancient Indian mound. This latter gave rise to the present name of
"Indian Terrace." When their home was completed, Mr. and Mrs. San-
ford immediately gave it an atmosphere of generous hospitality by stag-
ing an elaborate house-warming party, climaxed by a magnificent dinner.
Thus was begun a tradition of hospitality in the Sanford residence that
continues to the present time. Here, too, the Sanfords early fostered
cultural activities, the city's first literary circle, the Monday Group,
having been formed in this house in 1877 by the second Mrs. Sanford.
In addition, Goodyear Sanford devoted much time to his two hobbies
animal pets and flower gardens.
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197
When Mr. and Mrs. Hinchliff obtained the old Sanford residence,
they installed in its many rooms their collections of art objects, antiques,
and mementos gathered over the years in all quarters of the globe. The
result, however, is not a museum. Each room is comfortable and livable.
A descendant of the Harlan family of colonial Virginia, and of the Cox
family, members of which were prominent in the early history of Ken-
tucky, Mrs. Hinchliff possesses many prized family heirlooms, as does
Mr. Hinchliff of his ancestors who came over on the Mayflower.
But Indian Terrace is more than just a restored mid- Victorian man-
sion. It is situated in the midst of an attractively landscaped estate,
shaded by numerous old maples, elms, and catalpas. Old brick walks,
bordered by tulips and other flowers, connect the various outbuildings
the quaint guest house, the greenhouses, and the garage. On the basis
of a century-old garden plan, drawn by Goodyear Sanford's old Scotch
gardener, Mr. Hinchliff was able to restore the "congress boot" design
of the Sanford garden and to rebuild the curious serpentine wall along
one side of it.
Herzog
Goodyear Asa Sanford House, Rockford, Built 1847.
Fox River French Chateau
REMINISCENT of a chateau in La Perche, that district of France
famous for its Percheron horses, is the gray stone mansion in the little
village of Wayne in northern Illinois, a mansion widely known as Dun-
ham Castle. Modeled after a French chateau, this residence has been
a landmark of the Fox River Valley for more than half a century, being
particularly associated with the introduction of Percheron horses into
America. Although Percherons no longer roam the pastures around it,
the castle continues to be an equestrian center, for on its grounds each
year is held the Dunham Woods Horse Show, and here, too, are staged
annual hunts and other equestrian events. It is also the nucleus of a
colony of socially prominent Chicago gentleman farmers, and among
guests here in the past have been numerous members of European royal
houses.
In a setting not unlike that of provincial France, with great old elms
bordering roadsides and stone gates marking the entrances to estates,
Dunham Castle stands as a memorial to the man who built it Mark
Dunham. It stands, too, as a reminder of Mark Dunham's role in the
history of American agriculture the introduction and long-continued
breeding of Percheron horses; sturdy draft horses which helped break
the soil of the western prairies and aided the advancement of civilization
in the Midwest. As a breeder of horses Mark Dunham in his time was
visited by horse fanciers not only from all parts of America, but from
many European countries as well.
He was America's leading importer and breeder of Percherons dur-
ing the latter half of the nineteenth century. He brought them over by
the shipload and transported them in special trains to Wayne. Old
residents of Du Page County say that the whinnying of the Percherons
could be heard for miles when they ate their first mouthful of green grass
after weeks of travel by boat and train. According to one story Mark
Dunham turned down an offer of 320,000 for a colt on the New York
dock and this colt in a few years became the most famous Percheron in
America. His name was Brilliant. He was the ancestor of a long line
of blue-ribbon Percherons.
Once when Mark Dunham was on a business trip in Normandy he
was asked about American western ponies by Rosa Bonheur, famous
French painter of animals. She said she would like to paint some of
them. On his next trip to France, Dunham brought along two ponies
for the painter. She was so gratified over this generous gift that she
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
199
F. B. MarcMalette
Mark Dunham House., Wayne, Built 1880.
made two paintings of Percherons which Dunham had purchased and
presented them to him. These are still in the possession of the Dunham
family. Additional prized possessions of the family are numerous bronze
statues of horses made by famous French sculptors.
Having acquired a fortune as a breeder and importer of horses,
Mark Dunham decided to build a large house suitable to his tastes. The
castle was erected in 1880. It immediately won the admiration of resi-
dents of the Fox River Valley and visitors from Chicago and other
200 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
points. Although modeled after a French chateau, the mansion has an
interior more in keeping with the late Victorian era. Still in the house
today are the furniture and other household articles used in Mark Dun-
ham's time.
Much like that of any well-to-do horse breeder of France, Mark
Dunham built his castle on an ancestral estate. For the land on which
it stands was acquired by his father, Solomon Dunham, in 1842. A
native of New York State, Solomon Dunham had come west with his
family, traveling by way of a flatboat on the Ohio River and a covered
wagon across Illinois. He acquired three hundred acres of land near the
Fox River, paying $1.25 an acre, and built a log cabin. He was one of
the founders of Wayne. In time he built himself a brick house, made
from clay on the spot, and this house is today the Dunham Woods Rid-
ing Club.
In the years when Mr. and Mrs. Mark Dunham lived in the castle
they entertained many notable personages. Among the earliest of these
were the Infanta Eulalia of Spain and the Duke of Beragua. The castle
was the scene of a brilliant wedding when Belle Dunham, daughter of
Solomon, was married to Count Adimari-Morelli, of Italy. One of the
latest royal visitors was Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, who
was a guest there on her visit to Chicago a decade ago.
Living in the shadow of the castle are a number of prominent Chi-
cagoans, among them the novelist, Arthur Meeker, and Corwith HamilL
And, in the fields around the castle where blooded Percherons once pas-
tured, tractors are used to cultivate the soil.
Birthplace of a Novelist
IN THE OPINION of many literary critics, Ernest Hemingway is
among the foremost American writers of our time. They claim he will oc-
cupy a permanent place in American literature. If this is the case, it
follows that the house in which Hemingway was born and where he
spent his early childhood should be of interest to many people, and es-
pecially to devotees of his writings. That house still stands. It is one
of the older dwellings of Oak Park, well-to-do village on the western
border of Chicago.
The Hemingway home is located at 339 North Oak Park Avenue.
Here Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1898. And here he spent
the first six years of his life. When he was six years old, his_ parents
Chicago Daily News
Ernest Hemingway House, Oak Park, Built 1890.
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202 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
moved to another house near by, at 600 North Kenilworth Avenue, and
it was in this dwelling that the future novelist grew to maturity. After
graduating from Oak Park High School, young Hemingway left Oak
Park and went out into the world to achieve fame as a writer.
The house in which he was born was built in 1890. It is a typical
middle-class Queen Anne dwelling of the late Victorian era. Of frame
construction and two stones high, it is marked by a corner tower with a
conical roof. Originally, there was an open porch at the front, but this
has been replaced by an inclosed porch. Several big trees planted by
Ernest Hemingway's father shade the house in summer. On the inside,
the rooms are large and comfortable and fireplaces warm some of them.
The novelist was born in the south bedroom on the second floor.
His parents were both well-known Oak Parkers. His father was the
late Dr. Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, who had practiced medicine in
the Chicago suburb for almost half a century. Dr. Hemingway's father,
Anson Tyler Hemingway, was a pioneer real-estate man of Chicago, hav-
ing settled there after serving in the Civil War. The novelist's mother,
Mrs. Grace Hall Hemingway, in her earlier years was a musician and
vocal teacher and later became a painter. Many of her oils and water
colors have been exhibited in Chicago.
The house in which the author of For Whom the Bell Tolls and other
novels spent his earliest years was built by Mrs. Hemingway's father,
Ernest Hall, who, with his brother-in-law, William L. Randall, con-
ducted a wholesale cutlery house in Chicago the second such firm to
be established in the city. In the late 1880's Hall moved to Oak Park
and, after living in a rented house, built the Oak Park Avenue abode.
Early in life Ernest Hemingway discovered the world of literature
in the library of his grandfather's house. And not far from his house he
discovered the delights of the outdoor life, of fishing and hiking and
hunting. We are told that his father was fond of the outdoors and took
Ernest on many hikes along the Des Plaines River and through Thatch-
er's Woods, pointing out birds, flowers, and trees to the youngster.
It was from the house on Oak Park Avenue that Ernest Hemingway
first went to school. His mother took him to a private kindergarten con-
ducted by Mrs. Helen Thane Raymond and here the future author
learned to read and write. Much of his early education, of course, came
from his parents, both of whom encouraged his interest in the world of
books* art, and music.
"Ganymede"
IN EXISTENCE for almost half a century, the Eagle's Nest Art Col-
ony on the attractive, wooded banks of the Rock River, in the Black
Hawk country of northern Illinois, is one of the best-known art colonies
of the Midwest. Here, during the heyday of the community, gathered
writers, artists, and sculptors who were nationally known and who did
much to develop a native American literature and art. One member of
the group, Lorado Taft, executed the giant statue of Black Hawk that
towers above the Rock River just north of Eagle's Nest.
In the center of this colony, which is located across the river from
the town of Oregon, stands a comfortable old white stone residence that
is regarded with reverence by artists and writers who visit it today.
For here lived the founder and benefactor of the community, Wal-
lace Heckman, who was a distinguished Chicago lawyer, connoisseur of
the arts, and business manager of the University of Chicago. In his later
years he became vice-president of the Chicago Surface Lines. Although
a man of business affairs, Wallace Heckman had an appreciation of the
arts which few Chicago men of his time could equal.
That he should establish an art colony on the Rock River seems
natural, since this region, with its riverside bluffs, woodlands, and rolling
country, is one of the most scenic in the northern part of the state. But
Heckman was not the first to discover its attractiveness. A famous
American woman writer seems to have been the first to call attention to
the charm of the Rock River country. She was Margaret Fuller, one of
the Concord group of writers. She visited this region in 1843 and de-
scribed it in one of her books, At Home and Abroad.
But she did more than this. She gave a name to this spot, calling
it Eagle's Nest because of a tall, dead cedar tree upon which eagles
nested. Here, too, on July 4, 1843, she composed one of her best-known
poems, "Ganymede to His Eagle." And another thing she did was to
name a spring near the riverside "Ganymede's Spring." What brought
Margaret Fuller to this place originally was that here lived a cousin of
hers, one of the early settlers of Ogle County.
As a consequence of this visit by Margaret Fuller in the early days,
Wallace Heckman, when he set up the art colony here, formally called it
Eagle's Nest. And upon completion of his residence in 1893, he named
it "Ganymede." He had earlier visited the Rock River country, was
impressed with its scenic beauties and had bought a thirteen-acre tract
here for his country home.
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Then, five years after being established in his spacious house on
Rock River, Wallace Heckman invited a group of Chicago writers,
artists, and sculptors to spend their summers on the grounds of his estate
and provided cabins for them. They accepted the invitation, and from
that year the popularity of the colony grew.
In the original group who came in 1898 were Lorado Taft, sculptor;
Ralph Clarkson, Charles Francis Browne, and Oliver Dennett Grover,
artists; Hamlin Garland, Henry B. Fuller, and Horace Spencer Fiske,
writers; Irving K. and Allen B. Pond, architects; Clarence Dickinson,
organist; and James Spencer Dickerson, secretary of the University of
Chicago.
In his widely read book, A Daughter of the Middle Border a book,
by the way, which was written in the guest room of the Heckman resi-
dence Hamlin Garland described at some length the early days of the
colony. Here, in this idyllic setting, Garland began a romance with
Lorado Taft's sister, Zulime, which led to their marriage. Having an
attractive personality, Miss Taft was one of the most popular members
of the original group.
"The camp," wrote Garland, "consisted of a small kitchen cabin, a
dining tent, a group of cabins, and one or two rude studios to which the
joyous offhand manners of the Fine Arts Building had been transferred.
It was, in fact, a sylvan settlement of city dwellers a colony of artists,
writers, and teachers out for a summer vacation."
Describing the house, Garland wrote: "The Heckman home, which
the campers called 'The Castle/ or The Manor House, 5 a long, two-story
building of stone which stood on the southern end of the Bluff, over-
looked what had once been Black Hawk's Happy Hunting Ground. It
was not in any sense a chateau, but it pleased Wallace Heckman's artist-
tenants to call it so and by contrast with their cookhouse it did, indeed,
possess something like grandeur/'
In later years many other famous writers and artists visited Eagle's
Nest, among them William Vaughn Moody, Ralph Pierson, Bert Leston
Taylor, Harriet Monroe, Lucy Fitch Perkins, George Barr McCutcheon,
John T. McCutcheon, Dr. James H. Breasted, Mrs. Laura McAdoo
Triggs, Edgar A. Bancroft, Charles R. Crane, and I. K. Friedman. Here,
too, came Robert Burns Peattie and his novelist wife, Elia, who brought
with them their two sons, Donald Culross and Roderick, both of whom
were to become nationally-known writers.
Since the death, several years ago, of Ralph Clarkson, painter and
one of the original members of the colony, there has been little activity
at Eagle's Nest. Throughout the life of the colony, Mrs. Heckman as-
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
205
Wallace Heckman House, Near Oregon, Built 1893.
sisted her husband in providing hospitality for the guest writers and
artists.
In the years since the Eagle's Nest colony was established, numer-
ous prominent Chicagoans have acquired farms and estates in this
vicinity. One of the largest of these tracts is the 4,600-acre Sinnissippi
Farms, originally owned by the late Colonel Frank O. Lowden, former
governor of Illinois. Just north of Eagle's Nest is the farm of Hal
O'Flaherty, foreign editor of The Chicago Daily News. Other large es-
tates in the vicinity were owned by the late Walter Strong, onetime pub-
lisher of The Daily News, and the late Medili McCormick, former owner
of the Chicago Tribune and United States Senator.
In Lilacia Park
EACH YEAR, In late April or early May, several thousand visitors
come to Lombard, attractive residential village some twenty miles west
of Chicago, to witness the village's annual Lilac Festival. This colorful,
fragrant, springtime event is to Illinois what the Blossom Festival is to
Michigan or the Cotton Festival to Tennessee. When it is being held,
and the trim, green lawns of Lombard are enchanting with purple, blue,
red, and lavender lilacs, motorists from all directions may be seen con-
verging on the village's principal show place Lilacia Park.
On a grassy knoll in this park, under a great old silver aspen, stands
an ancient house that has become an object of veneration to Loin-
bardians and to lilac-lovers throughout Illinois and the Midwest. For
this was the home of the late Colonel William R. Plum, pioneer resident
of the village soldier, lawyer, traveler, writer, horticulturist, and
founder of Lilacia Park. Containing more than three hundred varieties
of lilacs from all parts of the world, this park is regarded by botanists as
the finest lilac garden in the Western Hemisphere.
The Plum home is of frame construction, white-painted, gable-
CMcago Dally News
William R. Plum House, Lombard, Built 1869.
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS 207
roofed, and with a spacious veranda across its front. It now houses
Lombard's public library the Helen W. Plum Memorial Library,
named in honor of Colonel Plum's wife. A lineal descendant of Roger
Williams, Helen Williams married Colonel Plum in 1867 and two years
later they moved into the house which stands today as a memorial to
them. It was his wife, Colonel Plum always said, who first aroused in
him an interest in lilacs.
"In 1911, when we were on a tour of Europe," Colonel Plum once
told a family friend, Mrs. Annabelle Seaton, "we stopped at Nancy, in
France, and there visited the famous lilac gardens of Pierre La Moine.
That visit proved my downfall. My wife purchased two choice lilac
specimens, a double white and a double purple, and we brought them
back to Lombard. From that time on my enthusiasm for lilacs grew and
I have never lost interest in them since."
When Colonel Plum made this statement, the results of his hobby
could be seen all about the old Plum home. Here were all types of lilacs,
including one of his favorites, a blue variety called the "President Lin-
coln." The shrubs were pleasingly arranged on the Plum estate of two
and a half acres, which he called "Lilacia." Since expanded to ten acres,
Lilacia re-named Lilacia Park now contains 1,500 lilac bushes as well
as 87,000 tulip bulbs.
Before settling in Lombard, Colonel Plum had served as an expert
telegrapher in the Civil War under General George H. Thomas. He
afterward went to Chicago, where he engaged in the practice of law.
Then, following his marriage, he took up residence in Lombard. This
was about the time that Lombard was platted as a village by Joseph
Lombard, a Chicagoan. A few years later Colonel Plum served, for
several terms, as village president. He and his wife were, from the be-
ginning, leading and highly esteemed residents of the village and re-
mained so throughout their lives.
In addition to being a lilac-grower and horticulturist, Colonel Plum
was also an accomplished writer, as was his wife. Two prized volumes
in the library which now occupies the Plum home are his novel, The
Sword and the Soul, a story of the Civil War, and his The Military Tele-
graph During the Civil War in the United States, an authoritative work.
During the many years Colonel and Mrs. Plum occupied their Lom-
bard home, the interior was comfortably furnished in the style of the
1860's, and an atmosphere of dignity and culture always prevailed.
Solid walnut furniture adorned the rooms carved chairs, old-fashioned
rockers, marble-topped tables, and numerous ornamental cabinets and
chests which contained Civil War relics, as well as souvenirs and trophies
208 OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
from all sections of the globe. The colonel's book-lined den, with its
fine billiard table of inlaid woods, was on the second floor.
Colonel Plum died in 1927 at eighty-two, his wife having died a few
years earlier. In his will he bequeathed his estate and house to the
village, with the stipulation that the estate be converted into a park and
the house into a free library as a memorial to his wife. He also left
25,000 to further this plan. An auction of his belongings, including his
antique furniture and valuable law library, brought in additional funds
for the establishment of the park.
The terms of Colonel Plum's will were carried out, a park commis-
sion was set up by the village board, and the services of a world-famous
Chicago landscape architect, Jens Jensen, were obtained to create Lilacia
Park. Tulips were added to the lilac collection. Afterward, the Lom-
bard Lilac League was created to hold an annual lilac festival. This^has
been held each year since and is marked by pageantry, color, the night
lighting of Lilacia Park, music, and the selection of a lilac queen all
against a fresh, bright, varicolored background of lilac blooms through-
out "The Lilac Villa."
During this time, the old Plum home is as much an object of in-
terest as the park around it. Some nine thousand volumes are housed
on the shelves here. On the walls hang large portraits of Colonel and
Mrs. Plum. This portion of the house has been remodeled for library
purposes, but the second floor remains largely intact and contains many
pieces of furniture from the Plum household.
The big silver aspen in front of the house is now known as "Mother's
Tree" so-called because it owes its existence largely to Colonel Plum's
mother-in-law. The story is told that she discovered it as a sapling
when her son-in-law was clearing out the underbrush around his house
soon after moving into it. She prevailed on him to transplant the sap-
ling.
"And Willie, like a dutiful son, set it out in front of the house,"
writes Mrs. Seaton, "where all through the years since it has grown
and flourished like the legendary green bay tree, and to family and
friends became known as 'Mother's Tree.' "
Standing near "Mother's Tree" is a sturdy Schwedler maple which
the Plums brought back from the Black Forest in Germany. Here, also,
is a Chinese ginkgo tree and a native Ohio buckeye. The center of the
park is marked by a lily pool and a goldfish pond.
Over the graves of Colonel and Mrs. Plum, near Cuyahoga Falls,
Ohio, stand two handsome lilac bushes offshoots of the two original
French bushes which formed the nucleus of the famous Plum collection.
Architectural Landmark
NOT REALLY an old house, although built in the 1890's, the curious,
rambling, brick-and-shingle dwelling at the southeast corner of Forest
and Chicago avenues in Oak Park, survives as an important landmark
in the evolution of "modern," or twentieth century, domestic architec-
ture. For this house was designed and occupied by Frank Lloyd Wright,
now regarded by many as the foremost living American architect.
What makes this house especially interesting is the fact that it was
built more than fifty years ago, or at a time when architecture was still
in an imitative stage, copying Gothic castles, Renaissance palaces, and
Romanesque strongholds. In this house we see the beginnings of
Wright's unique method of design, a design that helped to bring about
the rise of what the public calls "modern" architecture but which archi-
tects identify as the "international" style.
In designing his Oak Park home, Frank Lloyd Wright broke with
tradition and created a dwelling whose form was determined, not by
any French chateau or Viennese palace, but by its function in this
case, a place in which to live in a modern manner. It was, in fact, the
first of his series of houses "designed for living." Several of these still
stand on Forest Avenue, in the vicinity of the original Wright home, and
have made Oak Park a mecca for architectural historians.
Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1869, at Richland Center,
Wisconsin. His father, William, was a traveling musician, who later
became a preacher, and his mother, the former Anna Lloyd-Jones, was a
school teacher. After attending the public schools and studying en-
gineering at the University of Wisconsin, Wright left college without
completing his courses and went to Chicago. This was in 1888, and
soon he had obtained employment in the office of Adler and Sullivan,
two of the city's leading architects of the 1880's and 1890's.
It was during his Adler-and-Sullivan period that Wright married
Catherine Tobin, a Chicago girl, who was nineteen at the time, while
he was twenty-one. And, in 1891, shortly after his marriage, Wright
built his Oak Park house. In his autobiography he says that building
this home was made possible by a substantial advance on his salary
given him by his employer, Sullivan. In 1893 Wright left the partners
to begin his career as an independent architect, a career that was to
bring him world-wide fame.
In the years when they were living in their Oak Park house, a dwell-
ing that was part home and part architect's studio, the Wrights became
209
210
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 211
the parents of six children. Some idea of what life was like in this house-
hold may be gained from Wright's autobiography, which was published
in 1932. In it we learn of the children and of how the father gave them
musical instruments to play, how the family owed a grocery bill of 2850,
and of Wright's interest in books, prints, rugs, and handicraft articles.
We are told, also, of the old willow tree around which a corridor was
built connecting the main part of the house with the studio.
The Wrights lived in this house for nineteen years. Then in 1911,
after being divorced from his wife, Wright built a country house at
Spring Green, Wisconsin, near his boyhood home, and here he has lived
since. Called "Taliesin," the place has become widely known because
of its architecture and as a school for architectural students.
After Weight left his Oak Park house, it was occupied for some
years by his divorced wife and his children and subsequently was pur-
chased by Alfred MacArthur, a Chicago insurance executive, patron of
the arts, and friend of Wright's. Here, too, came to live MacArthur's
brother, Charles, who was then a Chicago newspaperman. He afterwards
became a playwright, scenario writer, husband of Helen Hayes, and
collaborator with Ben Hecht in the writing of The Front Page and
other Broadway plays and Hollywood movies.
Wright was still somewhat under the influence of conventional ar-
chitecture when he designed his Oak Park house. This is evidenced by
the gabled roof. He had not then achieved the flat, or low-pitched roof
which marks typical Frank Lloyd Wright houses of today. Aside from
the roof, however, the Oak Park house contains all of the characteristics
of Wright's method of design horizontal lines, overhanging eaves, sim-
plicity of trim, and rows of windows.
On visiting the interior, one is surprised at the "modern" features
of the rooms and that such "modernism" was created in an age of late
Victorian gilt, decoration, and trim. Here, the ceilings are simple and
low and leaded glass windows of plain design let in the daylight. The
opening of the great brick fireplace is sunk below the floor and there is
no overmantel. The house does not contain a basement. The studio,
where Wright first conceived buildings that were to make architectural
history, is lighted by large north and east windows.
In this house architectural students may see the latest phase of
domestic architecture in Illinois during the nineteenth century, a mani-
festation that pointed the way to twentieth century house design. And
in the same state of Illinois, as was pointed out at the beginning of this
book, one may find the earliest phase of permanent shelter construction
the Saucier log house at Cahokia.
INDEX
Abercrombie, Gertrude 148
Adams, John Quincy 25, 129
Addams, Jane 148, 184-85
Addams, John H 184-85
Adimari-Morelli, Count and Countess. . 200
Albion (111.) 15, 16,18-19
Allen, David 122
Altgeld, John P 60, 120
Alton (111.) 150-51
Andrus, Leonard 182-83
Angle, Paul M 104, 107
Arnett, Mrs. William 92
Aurora (111.) 171-72
Aurora Historical Society 171, 172
Austin, Albert B 98-99
Baker, Edward Dickinson 104, 113
Baker, Margaret, see Capron,
Margaret Baker
Balch, David Arnold 53
Baldwin, Theron 26
Bale, Florence Gratiot 189-90
Bancroft, Edgar A 204
Barber, Clayton 109
Barnhart, Joseph H 79
Bates, Granville 174
Bates family 174
Beardstown (TIL) 94-95
Beauvais, Julia, see Jarrot, Julia
Beauvais
Beck, EdwardS 131
Beecher, Lyman 22
Belleville (111.) 20-21
Bement (111.) 117-18, 123
Beragua, Duke of 200
Berry, Anthony S 167
Beveridge, Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. . 165, 167
Beveridge, John L 104
Beveridge, Kiihne 104
Birkbeck, Morris 15, 18
Bishop Hill (111.) 133-34
Bishop Hill Colony 133-34
Bissell, William H 68, 103, 104
Black, Bessie M. (Mrs. Carl Ellsworth). 74
Black, Carl Ellsworth 75
Black, Greene Vardiman 74-75
Black, Robert 40
Blair, Mrs. William 156
Bloomington (111.) 59-64
Bluffdale (111.) 42-43
Bohrod, Aaron 148
Boisbriant, Pierre Duqu 6
Bond, Shadrach 7, 10
Bonheur, Rosa. . . , 198-99
Booton, Joseph F. 3
Bourke-White, Margaret 148
Bowen, A. L .100
Boynton, Percy H 58
Brackett, Mrs. James L 11
Branson, 75
Breasted, James H 204
Breese, Sidney 106
Brickey, Franklin 5-6
Brickey, John 6
Brown, Mrs. Mary Edwards 102
Brown, Virginia Stuart 102
Browne, Charles Francis 204
Browning, Eliza Caldwell (Mrs. Orville
Hickman) 69
Browning, Orville Hickman. . 64, 69-70, 71
Bryan, Maria Elizabeth Jennings (Mrs.
Silas Lillard) 34
Bryan, Silas Lillard 34
Bryan, William Jennings. 34-35, 62
Bryant, Arthur 154
Bryant, Austin 154
Bryant, Cyrus P 54-55, 153-54
Bryant, Francis E 117-18
Bryant, John Howard
54-55,150,153-54,155
Bryant, William Cullen
55,117,129,150, 153-54
Burrill, Thomas J 120
Burton, Charles P 172
Bush, Sarah, see Lincoln, Sarah Bush
Butterworth, Mrs. William 183
Cabet, Etienne 90
Cahokia (111.) 2, 10-12
Cahokia Courthouse 2-3
Cairo (111.).. 36-37
Caldwell, Eliza, see Browning, Eliza
Caldwell
Caldwell, James 72
Campbell (111.) 49
Cannon, Horace Franklin 82
Cannon, Joseph Gurney 82-84
Cantrall (111.) 109-11
Capron, Horace. 173-74
Capron, John 174
Capron, Margaret Baker (Mrs. Horace) 173
Capron, Newton 174
Capron, Seth 173
Carl Sandburg Association 177
Carman, Bliss 58
Carmi(IlL) 24-25
Carr, Clarke E 60
Carrollton (III.) 40, 44-45
Carrollton Patriot 42-43
Carson, Samuel... 148, 159
Carthage (III),. 86
Cams, Paul 170
Cary, Annabel C... 65, 66
Caton, Arthur J. 165, 166
Caton, Mrs. Arthur J., see Field,
Delia Spencer Caton
213
214
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Caton, John Dean 106, 165-67
Cavin, William 30
Cedarville (111.) 184-85
Chandler, Mrs. Carl B 112
Chandler, Josephine Craven, see Homer,
Josephine Craven Chandler
Chapin, Francis 148
Chapman, A. H 49
Charleston (111.) 46-49
Charters, "Governor" Alexander. . 128-29
Charters, Samuel M 128
Chicago (111.) 6, 13, 132, 192
Chouteau, Jean Pierre 8
Church of the Holy Family (Cahokia,
III) 11, 12
Clark, Atherton . 155, 157
Clark, George Rogers 2
Clark, Herma 154, 155-57
Clark, Matthew St. Clair 72
Clark, Warren 180-81
Clarkson, Ralph 204
Cobbett, William 15
Coles County 46, 48
Collins, Anson 22
Collins, Augustus 22
Collins, Elizabeth A., see Reed,
Elizabeth A. Collins
Collins, Frederick 22
Collins, Michael 22
Collins, William B 22
Collins, William H 23
Collinsville (111.) 22-23
Communistic dwellings 89-90, 133-34
Connelly, J. A 60
Conner, Elizabeth, see Lindsay,
Elizabeth Conner
Conner, Thomas J 4, 5
Connolly, Joel 46
Cook, John 22
Corwith, David Nash 190
Cotner, Frederick 24
Cox family 197
"Craigie Lea" 147-49
Crane, Charles R 204
Craw, John 24
Crenshaw, John Hart 29-31
"Creole House" 4-6
Crittenden, John 155
Crosby Opera House (Chicago, 111.) . . 6
Cunningham, Andrew , 96-97
Currey, J. Seymour 139, 141
Cutler, Manasseh 146
Cyprian, Augustin Louis 9
Dallnian, V. Y. 109
Danville (111.) 78-84
Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion 46, 73,78
Davenport, Eugene 120
Davenport, George 126-27
Davenport (Iowa) 126
Davidson, Samuel. 11
Davis, David 54,63-64
Dawes, Charles Gates 145-46
Dawes, Mrs. Charles Gates 146
Decatur (111.) 121-23
Decatur Art Institute 121
Deere, Charles 183
Deere, John 182-83
Deneen, Charles S 62
Denham, Butler 150
Denham, Mrs. Eunice S., see Lovejoy,
Eunice S. Denham
Dent, Julia, see Grant, Julia Dent
Detzer, Karl 177
Dewey, John 148
Dickens, Charles 42-43
Dickerman, Worcester A 197
Dickerson, James Spencer 204
Dickey, T. Lyle 160
Dickinson, Clarence : 204
Dickinson, Sophia Lovejoy (Mrs.
Charles) 152
Dickson, Francis 15, 16
Dickson, Henry L 16
Dickson, Mrs. Lansing A 40, 41
DIxon (111.) 128-29
Dixon's Ferry (III.) 128
Dobson, 61
Dodge, Helen, see Edwards, Helen
Dodge
Douglas, Emily Taft (Mrs. Paul H.). - 136
Douglas, Paul H 136
Douglas, Stephen Arnold
64, 70, 71, 105, 106
and Francis E. Bryant 117-18
and Alexander Charters 129
in Fulton County 113, 114
in Ottawa 158
and George Power 109, 111
Dresser, Charles 100
Dubuque, Catherine, see Reynolds,
Catherine Dubuque
Duncan, Elizabeth Caldwell Smith
(Mrs. Joseph) 72-73
Duncan, Henry 66
Duncan, Joseph 71-73
Duncan, Julia, see Kirby, Julia
Duncan
Duncan, William R. 65-66
Dunhan, Belle, see Adimari-Morelli,
Countess
Dunham, Mark 198-200
Dunham, Solomon 200
"Dunham Castle" 198-200
Eagles' Nest Art Colony 203-5
East St. Louis (111.) 10
Easton, Honor Hubbard . 52
Ebaugh, Charles S.. 95
Eddy, William 76
Edwards, Mr. and Mrs. Albert S 102
INDEX
215
Edwards, Alice, see Ferguson, Alice
Edwards
Edwards, Alonzo 158
Edwards, Benjamin S 105-6
Edwards, Helen Dodge (Mrs. Benja-
min S.) 105-6
Edwards, Mary, see Brown, Mary
Edwards
Edwards, Mary Stuart 106
Edwards, Ninian 10, 20, 106
Edwards, Ninian Wirt 106
"Edwards Place" 105-6
Eldred (111.) 42-43
Elmwood (111.) 135-36
English Prairie (111.) 15, 16, 18-19
Equality (111.) 30
Eulalia, Infanta of Spain 200
Evanston (111.) 139-41, 142-46
Evanston Historical Society 140, 146
"Farm House, The" see "Mumford
House"
Farmington (111.) 49
Farnham, Russell 127
Farnhamsburg (111.) 127
Fearing, Paul 146
Feigenbutz, William 21
Feldkamp, Charles 79
Fell, Jesse W 54, 55, 64
Ferguson, Mrs. Alice Edwards 106
Field, Delia Spencer Caton (Mrs.
Marshall) 165, 166-67
Field, Marshall 166
Fifer, Joseph Wilson 59-60, 104
Fink, Halsey 174
Fiske, Horace Spencer 204
Fithian, William 78-79
"Five Oaks" 50-51
Flanders, John F 148
Flower, George 15, 18
Fort Armstrong 127
Fort Chartres 6
Fort Kaskaskia 7
Fort Kaskaskia State Park 7
Foster, Robert D 85
Fowler, O. S 180-81
Francis, Fred ; . . 178-79
Frazee, Esther Catherine, see Lindsay,
Esther Catherine Frazee
Freeman, Peter 138
French, Elizabeth 19
French, George 18-19
French, Sarah Lovejoy (Mrs. William
R.) 152
French, William R 152
Friedman, I. K 204
Fuller, Henry B 204
Fuller, Margaret 129, 203
Galena (III) 186-90
Galesburg (111.) 175-77
Galigher, Charles A 36, 37
Gallatin County 29-31
"Ganymede" 203-5
Gardiner, Fanny Hale 180
Garland, Hamlin 136, 204
Garland, ZulimeTaft (Mrs. Hamlin). . 204
Gates, Ellen 148
George, Mrs. Adda 177
Gjldersleeve, Charles 50
Gildersleeve, James T 50
Gildersleeve, Joseph D 50
Gilman, Winthrop S 27
Glencoe (111.) 147-49
Glenn, Mrs. Robert Burr 95
Globe Tavern (hotel) 100
Glore, Mrs. Virginia Reilly 110, 111
Godfrey, Benjamin 26-28
Godfrey, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R.. . . 159
Godfrey (111.) 26-28
Godin, Therese, see Menard, Therese
Godin
Good, Burrow Diskm 64
Goodspeed, Thomas W 148
Gordon, Anna 144
Gossard, Mrs. H. A 155
Governor's Mansion 103-4
Graham, Mentor 1 16
Grand Detour (111.) 182-83
Grant, Julia Dent (Mrs. Ulysses S.). .
36,37,188,190
Grant, Ulysses S
. . . .36-37, 105, 173, 174, 186, 188-90
Gratiot, Adele, see Washburne, Adele
Gratiot
Green, Letitia, see Stevenson, Letitia
Green
Green, Lewis W 62
Gross, Mrs. Sue Spaulding 152
Grover, Oliver Dennett 204
Grow, Sylvannus 158
Haldeman, George 184
Haldeman, Harry 184, 185
Haldeman, Marcet, see Julius, Marcet
Haldeman
Haldeman, William 184
Hall, Ernest 202
Hall, Grace, see Hemingway, Grace
Hall
Halliday Hotel (Cairo, III.). 36
Hamill, Corwith 200
Hanks, Dennis 49
Hansbrough, Elias C 5
Hansbrough, Henry Clay , . 5, 6
Hansen, Harry 175
Hardin,JohnJ 71
Harding, George F., Sr 174
Harim family. 197
Harlow, George H 102
216
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Harper, William Rainey 148
Harris, Elizabeth Woods (Mrs. Gib-
son) 16
Harris, Gibson 15-16
Harris, Gibson, Jr 16
Harris, John H 95
Hatfield, James Taft 139, 141
Hay, John 106
Hayes, Helen, see MacArthur, Helen
Hayes
Hayne, Edward G 162
"Hazelwood" 128-29
Heath, Mary Hubbard 52
Hebron (111.) 173-74
Hecht, Ben 211
Heckman, Wallace 203-5
Heckman, Mrs. Wallace 204-5
Hegeler, Edward C 168-70
Hegeler, Herman 170
Hegeler, Julius 170
Helen W. Plum Memorial Library . . 207
Hemingway, Anson Tyler 202
Hemingway, Clarence Edmonds 202
Hemingway, Ernest 201-3
Hemingway, Grace Hall (Mrs.
Clarence Edmonds) 156, 202
Henry, Marie Josephine, see Lee,
Marie Josephine
Henry, William 5
Herndon, William H 116
Hewitt, Herbert E 26
Hill,- , Dr 5
Milliard, Martha, see MacLeish,
Martha Hilliard
Hmchliff, Ralph 1 96-97
Hinchliff, Mrs. Ralph 197
Hobson, James 40
Hofferkamp, Herman 102
Hoffman, George E 79
Hooten, Reason 80-81
Hooten, Sylvester 81
Hopkins, Mrs. Mary Tanner 172
Horner, Josephine Craven Chandler
(Mrs. Robert C.) V 11S
Hossack, Henry Lens 158-59
Hossack,John 158-59
Houghan, Thomas 106
Houghton, H. H 190
Hovey, Charles 56-58
Hovey, Harriette Farnham Spofford
(Mrs. Charles Edward) 56
Hovey, Richard 56, 58
Hubbard, Elbert 50-53
Hubbard, Juliana Frances Read (Mrs.
Silas) 52
Hubbard, Silas 52
Hubbs, Barbara Burr 30, 31
Hudson (111.) 50-53
Hughes, Charles H 129
Hull House 184
HurdJEf arvey B 140
Hutton, John 46
Icarians 88-90
Illinois State Historical Library 108
Illinois State Normal University 54-58
"Indian Terrace" 196-97
Ingersoll, Robert 113, 170
Jackson, Alexander 189
Jacksonville (111.) 71-77
Jacksonville Art Association 77
Jacobson, Margaret E 133, 134
James Millikin University 121-23
Jansen, Eric 134
Jarrot, Julia Beauvais (Mrs. Nicholas)
10, 11
Jarrot, Nicholas 10, 11
Jarrot, Vital 10
Jefferson, Thomas 112
Jennings, Maria Elizabeth, see Bryan,
Maria Elizabeth Jennings
Jensen, Jens 208
Jersey County Democrat 42-43
Johnson, August, see Sandburg,
August
Judson, Philo 141
Juliana, Crown Princess of the Nether-
lands 200
Julius, Emanuel 185
Julius, Marcet Haldeman (Mrs.
Emanuel) 185
Kaskaskia (111.) 7-9
Kearney, Philip 129
"Keepsake Cottage" 155-57
Kelley, Royce A 174
Kennicott, Amasa 131
Kennicott, Avis 131
Kennicott, Delia 131
Kennicott, Emma 131
Kennicott, Hiram 131
Kennicott, Hiram (son of Jonathan).. 130
Kennicott, J 131
Kennicott, J. Asa 132
Kennicott, Jean McMillan (Mrs.
Jonathan) 131
Kennicott, John A 130-32
Kennicott, Jonathan 130-32
Kennicott, Robert 130
Kennicott, Walter 131
Kennicott, William 132
Kennicott's Grove (111.) 130-52
"Kenwood" 132
Kewanee (111.) 178-79
King, FainW 37
Kirby, Edward P 73
Kirby, Julia Duncan (Mrs. Edward
P.) 73
Kirby, Mrs. Lucinda Gallaher 73
Knoz College 175, 177
Krans, Olaf 134
INDEX
217
Lafayette, Marquis de 9, 112
Lamon, Ward Hill 80
Lane, Harriet 25
Langan, Peter T 37
Langlois, Jean St. Th6rese 6
Langlois, Matthew 6
"Larches, The" 191-93
Larkin, Frances Hubbard 52
La Salle (111.) 168-70
Lathrop, Julia 148
Law, John 4
Lawson, Victor F 50
Lee, Abraham H 5-6
Lee, Marie Josephine Henry (Mrs.
Abraham H.) 5
Lewis, Lloyd 130
Lewistown (111.) 112-14, 116
Lilacia Park (Lombard, 111.) 206-8
Lincoln, Abraham. .39, 103, 104, 105, 106
and John H. Addams 184-85
and "Duff" Armstrong 95
and Orville Hickman Browning. ... 69
and Bryant family. . . . 117-18, 153, 154
in Carmi 24
and Alexander Charters 129
in Coles County 46, 47, 48-49
and David Davis 63, 64
debates 117-18, 158
inDecatur 83-84,121
and Joseph Duncan 71
in Evanston 139-41
and Jesse W. Fell 54
and William Fithian 78, 79
and Gibson Harris, Jr 16
home 100-2, 188
and Reason Hooten 80-81
and Ward Hill Lamon 80
in Lewistown. 113-14
Vachel Lindsay, influence on 107-8
and Owen Lovejoy 150, 152
and J. D. Ludlam 141
and John H. Manny 194-95
and Samuel K. Marshall 13
Edgar Lee Masters, influence on. 115-16
in Ottawa 158,160
and Allan Pinkerton 191
and George Power 109-10
and William D. Power Ill
Carl Sandburg on 175
and Clark M. Smith family 107-8
and Newton Walker 112
and Elihu B. Washburne 186
and Edwin B. Webb 25
and Henry C Whitney 80
and John Wood 67
Lincoln, Mary Todd (Mrs. Abraham)
25, 100-102, 104, 105-6, 107-8
Lincoln, Robert Todd 100, 102
Lincoln, Sarah Bush (Mrs. Thomas)
Lincoln/f homas .' ! '. '. * '. ". '. '. ". '. '. ". 47, *48, 49
Lincoln Log Cabin State Park 49
Lindsay, Elizabeth Conner (Mrs.
Vachel) 108
Lindsay, Esther Catherine Frazee
(Mrs. Vachel Thomas) 108
Lindsay, Ruby 108
Lindsay, Vachel 107-8
Lindsay, Vachel Thomas 108
Linn, James Weber 185
Little Fort, see Waukegan (111.)
Lloyd-Jones, Anna, see Wright, Anna
Lloyd-Jones
Logan, S. T 64
Lombard, Joseph 207
Lombard (111.) 206-8
Lovejoy, Charles P 152
Lovejoy, Elijah Parish 27, 54, 150-51
Lovejoy, Elijah Parish (son of Owen) . 152
Lovejoy, Eunice S. Denham (Mrs.
Owen) 150,152
Lovejoy, Ida 152
Lovejoy, Owen.. 54, 150-52, 154, 155, 157
Lovejoy, Owen G 152
Lovejoy, Sarah, see French, Sarah
Lovejoy
Lovejoy, Sophia, see Dickinson,
Sophia Lovejoy
Lowden, Frank 205
Ludlam, Isabel Stewart (Mrs. J. D.). . 141
Ludlam, J. D .....141
Ludlum, Cornelius 101
Lundeen, Edgar E 10
MacArthur, Alfred 211
MacArthur, Charles 211
MacArthur, Helen Hayes (Mrs.
Charles) 211
McCarty's Mills, see Aurora (III.)
McClellan, George B 192
McClernand, John A 71
McClure, George 174
McCormick, Cyrus H 195
McCormick, Medill 205
McCutcheon, George Barr 204
McCutcheon, John T 204
McDaniel, Alexander 141
MacDonald, , Dr 5
McDowell, Mary 148
McGaughey, W. R 121
McGinnis, Lydia Olivia Matteson
(Mrs. John, Jr.) 104
McKinney, Abram S.. 91
MacLeish, Andrew 147-49
MacLeish, Archibald 147
MacLeish, Bruce 148
MacLeish, Hugh 147
MacLeish, Kenneth 147
MacLeish, Martha Hilliard (Mrs.
Andrew) 147,148,149
MacLeish, Norman H 147, 149
MacMurray College 75
218
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
McNulta, John C 60
Madison, James 112
Maffitt, Mrs. Fannie Hay 24
Makepeace, Anna Plum, see Tanner,
Anna Plum Makepeace
Manny, John H 194, 195
"Mansion House" 85-86
Marshall, John 13, 14
Marshall, Samuel 13
Marshall, Samuel K 13
Martin, George V 151
Martin, Lorene 97
Masters, Edgar Lee 108, 112, 115-16
Masters, Hardin Wallace 116
Masters, Squire D 115, 116
Matheys, C. C 190
Matteson, Joel A 103
Matteson, Lydia Olivia, see McGinnis,
Lydia Olivia Matteson
Matthiessen, Frederick W 168-69
Matthiessen State Park Nature Area. 169
Meeker, Arthur 200
M6nard, Angelique Saucier (Mrs.
Pierre) 8
Menard,L. C 9
Menard, Pierre 7-9
Menard, Therese Godin (Mrs. Pierre)
7,8
Mendota (III.) 180-81
Millikin, Anna B. (Mrs. James) 123
Millikin, James 121-23
Minor, Anne Rogers 71
Moline(IlL) 183
Monroe, Harriet 204
Monticello College and Preparatory
School for Girls (Godfrey, 111.). /.
v '...26,27,28
Monticello Female Seminary, see
Monti cello College a nd Prep'a ra to ry
School for Girls
Moody, William Vaughn 204
Mormons 85-86, 87-88, 89, 90
Morris, William 53
Morron, Jean 93
Morron, Mr. and Mrs. John Herschel . 93
Morrow, George E 120
Mount Pleasant (111.) 40
Mulcaster, J. G 32
Mulkeytown (111.) 32-33
Mumford, Herbert W 1 19-20
"Mumford House" 119-20
Nauvoo(IlL) 85-90
Netherling, , Mr 21
New Harmony (Ind.) 15, 90
Nichols, Dale 120
Nichols, John 193
Normal (111.) 54-58
North Western Female College 142
Northwestern University 74, 142, 146
Oak Park (III.) 3, 201-2, 209-11
"Oaks, The" 160-62
O'Flaherty, Hal 205
Oglesby, Richard J 104
Oglesby, Robert 104
"Old Slave House" 29-31
Olson, Jonas 134
Onarga (111.) 191-93
Oregon (111.) 203-5
Ottawa (111.) 158-67
Owen, Robert 15, 90
Palmer, John M 60
Paris (111.) 98-99
Parker, Francis 148
Parker, John 46
Parks, Oliver Lafayette 12
Parks Air College 12
Peattie, Donald Culross 132, 204
Peattie, Elia (Mrs. Robert Burns) ... 204
Peattie, Louise Redfield (Mrs. Donald
Culross) 132
Peattie, Robert Burns 204
Peattie, Roderick 132, 204
Peoria(Ill.) 91-93
Perkins, Lucy Fitch 204
Pershing, John J 146
Petersburg (111.) 115-16
Pierson, Ralph 204
Pinkerton, Allan 191-93
Pirie, John T 148, 159
Plum, Helen Williams (Mrs. William
R.) 207-8
Plum, William R 206-8
Pollitt, Daisy Hubbard-Carlock 52
Pond, Allen B 204
Pond, Irving K 204
Powell, Janette C 75
Power, Charles Ill
Power, George 109-11
Power, James E Ill
Power, June, see Reilly, June Power
Power, Nancy (Mrs. George) Ill
Power, William D Ill
Prairie du Rocher (111.) 4-6
Princeton (111.) 150-57
Putnam, Rufus 146
"Quadroon Girl" 32-33
Quincy(IlL) 67-70
Quincy Historical Society 67
Rainey, Henry T 44-45
Rainey, John 44-45
Rainey, "William C 44
Randall, William L 202
Randolph, John 112
Ratcliff, James 24
Raymond, Mrs. Helen Thane 202
INDEX
219
Read, Juliana Frances, see Hubbard,
Juliana Frances Read
Reddick, William 158, 163-64
Redfield, Louise, see Peattie, Louise
Redfield
Redfield, Robert 132
Reed, Earl H 95, 127
Reed, Elizabeth A. Collins 23
Reilly, Mrs. June Power Ill
Reilly, Leigh .^ v; .... .131-32
Really, Virginia, see Glore, Virginia
Reilly
Reinecker, John 1 60
Rennels, James 46, 47
Rennels, John 46
"Rennels Settlement" 46
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints 86
"Rest Cottage". 142-44
Reynolds, Catherine Dubuque (Mrs.
John) 20
Reynolds, John (Governor) 20-21
Reynolds, John 91-93
Reynolds, William 93
Richardson, William A 70
Ricker, Henry F. J 70
Riiey, Calvin 26
Robinson, John M 24-25
Robinson, Margaret, see Stewart,
Margaret Robinson
Rock Island (111.) 126-27
"Rock Prairie" (111.) 4
Rockford (111.) 194-97
Rockford Park District 194, 195
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano 44
Ross, Frances Simms (Mrs. Lewis W.) 112
Ross, Lewis W 112
Ross, Ossian M 112-13
Russell, John 42-43
Russell, Spencer G 42
St. Joseph Home for Girls (Quincy,
111.) 69,70
St. Joseph's Hospital (Quincy, 111.). . . 69
Salem (111.) '. 34-35
Sandburg, August ^ . , . . 175-76
Sandburg, Carl 49, 148, 175-77
Sandburg, Charles A., see Sandburg,
Carl
Sanders, A. D 141
Sanford, Goodyear Asa 196-97
Saucier, Angelique, see Menard,
Anglique Saucier
Saucier, Francois 2
Saucier, Jean Baptiste 2
Schmitt, Walter D 21
Scott, Frederick H 159
Scott, Mr. and Mrs. John Edwin. . . . 159
Scott, Robert L 159
Seaton, Mrs. Annabelle 207
Shawneetown (III.) 13-14
Sheean, Frank T. 187
Sheean, Thomas 187
Sheppard, Robert D 146
Shuman, Mrs. Rebecca C 144
Silkwood, Basil 32-33
Simms, Eliza, see Walker, Eliza Simms
Simms, Frances, see Ross, Frances
Simms
Siragusa, Ross D 174
Skinner, Mary 152
Slavery, in Illinois 29-31
Smith, Ambrose 190
Smith, Anna Maria Todd (Mrs. Clark
M.) 108
Smith, Clark M 107-8
Smith, Elizabeth Caldwell, see Dun-
can, Elizabeth Caldwell Smith
Smith, Emma Hale (Mrs. Joseph) 86
Smith, Fred A 86
Smith, Sir George Adam 148
Smith, Hyrum 86
Smith, John C 60
Smith, Joseph 85-86, 87, 88
Smith, Joseph (Jr.) 86
Smith, J. W. R 42
Somers, Anna M 136
Somerset, Lady Henry 143
Spaulding, J. L 152
Spaulding, Sue, see Gross, Sue
Spaulding
Spencer, Delia, see Field, Delia
Spencer Caton
Spofford, Harriette Farnham, see
Hovey. Harriette Farnham Spofford
Sprague, J.'F 118
Springfield (111.) 100-108
Springfield Art Association 105, 106
Stevens, Frank K. . .^ v ... 129
Stevenson, Adlai Ewing. . . . 50, 51, 61-62
Stevenson, Letitia Green (Airs. Adlai
Ewing) 62
Stevenson, Thomas W 50-51
Stewart, Isabel, see Ludlam, Isabel
Stewart
Stewart, Mrs. Margaret Robinson 24
Stewart, Mary Jane 24
Stone, Elijah 50
Stone, Melville E 50, 51
Strawn, David 77
Strawn, Jacob 76
Strawn, Julius E 76-77
Strawn, Mrs. Julius E. 77
Strong, Walter 205
Sturtevant, Christopher C 95
Sugar Grove (111.) 97
Swartout, John H 137-38
Swett, Leonard 54, 64
"Swiss Cottage" 194-95
Taber, Edith 156
Taft, Don Carlos 136
220
OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Taft, Emily, see Douglas, Emily Taft
Taft, Lorado 135-36, 148, 203, 204
Taft, Zulime, see Garland, Zulime
Taft
Tallmadge, Thomas E 47
Tanner, Anna Plum Makepeace (Mrs.
William Augustus) 172
Tanner, John R 60
Tanner, Martha, see Thornton,
Martha Tanner
Tanner, Mary, see Hopkins, Mary
Tanner
Tanner, William Augustus 171-72
Tarbell, Ida M 49
Taylor, Bayard 129
Taylor, Bert Leston 155, 204
Thomas, George H 207
Thomas, Samuel 45
Thompson, Frank B 19
Thornton, Mrs. Martha Tanner 172
Tietjens, Eunice 148
Tilton, Clint Clay 191
Tilton, L 102
Tinker, Robert H 194-95
Tisler, C. C 158
Tobin, Catherine, see Wright,
Catherine Tobin
Todd, Anna Maria, see Smith, Anna
Maria Todd
Todd, Mary, see Lincoln, Mary Todd
Towanda (111.) 65-66
Triggs, Laura McAdoo 204
Trumbull, Lyman .64, 105
Ulrichson, -
-, Mr.
91
Underwood, Maude 20
Unionville (III.) 22
University of Illinois 1 19-20
Urbana (III.) 1 19-20
Van Degraft, Loren 192-93
Vicaji, Dorothy 157
Virginia (111.) 96-97
Walgreen, Charles R 128, 129
Walgreen, Mrs. Charles R 129
Walker, Eliza Simms (Mrs. Newton) .112
Walker, Newton 112-14
Wallace, Isabel 162
Wallace, William Hervey Lamb
158, 160-62
Wallace, Mrs. William Hervey Lamb
160, 161, 162
"Walnut Hall" 44-45
Washburn, Israel 186
Washburn, Martha (Mrs. Israel) 186
Washburne, Adele Gratiot (Mrs. Elihu
Benjamin) 187
Washburne, Elihu Benjamin. . 186-87, 189
Waters, Mr. and Mrs. William L 28
Waukegan (111.) 137-38
Wayne (111.) 198-200
Webb, Edwin B 25
Webb, Patty 24-25
Webster, Daniel 71, 72-73
Webster, Timothy 191
Weller, Justus 53
Wendlandt, Gustav. 102
White, Julius 139-41
Whitmarsh, Alvah 154, 155
Whitney, Henry C 80
Willard, Frances Elizabeth 142-44
Willard, Mary 142
Willard, Simon 144
Williams, Helen, see Plum, Helen
Williams
Williams, Roger 207
Williamson, Hugh 91
Wilson, Edith Kirby 72
Winn, Otis 13
Wood, Daniel 68
Wood, John 67-68
Woods, Elizabeth, see Harris,
Elizabeth Woods
Woods, John 16
World's Woman's Christian Temper-
ance Union 143
Wright, Anna Lloyd- Jones (Mrs.
William).. ...209
Wright, Catherine Tobin (Mrs. Frank
Lloyd) 209-11
Wright, Frank 60
Wright, Frank Lloyd 3, 125, 209-11
Wright, John S 130
Wright, Philip G 177
Wright, Quincy 177
Wright, Wjlliam 209
Young, Brigham 87-88
Younger, Louis 8
Zimmerman, William Carbys. ....... 148
115 100
