HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-11-21 HPC Agenda PacketHistoric Preservation Commission
Thursday, February 11, 2021
7:00 PM
Village Boardroom
24401 W. Lockport Street
Plainfield, IL 60544
Agenda
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Approval of the Minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission held on December 10,
2020.
12-10-2020 HPC Minutes.pdf
CHAIR'S COMMENTS
COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS
PUBLIC COMMENTS (5 minutes per topic)
Please email public comments to publiccomments@goplainfield.com, please note
PUBLIC COMMENTS - HPC in the email subject line. Comments must be received by
Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.
• Village Meetings are livestreamed on the Village’s Website -
https://plainfield-il.org/pages/agendasmeetings, click “in progress” when available.
• Live meetings are broadcast on Comcast Channel 6 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99.
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
CASE NUMBER: 1896-092520.HPC
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Historic Preservation Commission Page - 2
REQUEST: Landmark Nomination (Public Hearing)
LOCATION: 15124 S. Route 59
APPLICANT: John Argoudelis
Please email public comments to publiccomments@goplainfield.com, please note
PUBLIC HEARING COMMENTS - HPC in the email subject line. Comments must be
received by Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.
15124 S. Rt 59 Nomination Staff Report and Graphics Packet.pdf
Nomination - 15124 S. Route 59.pdf
CASE NUMBER: 1911-020421.COA
REQUEST: Certificate of Appropriateness
LOCATION: 14907 S. Bartlett Ave.
APPLICANT: Michelle Kelly
14907 S Bartlett Ave Staff Report and Graphics.pdf
DISCUSSION
ADJOURN
REMINDERS -
February 15th - Village Offices Closed
February 16th - Plan Commission at 7:00 p.m.
March 1st - Village Board at 7:00 p.m.
March 11th - Next Historic Preservation Commission at 7:00 p.m.
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Meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission
Record of Minutes
Date: December 10, 2020 Location: Village Hall (Zoom Meeting)
CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, PLEDGE
Chairman Bortel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was taken: Commissioners Lucas,
Barvian, Schmidt, Derrick, Hendricksen, Hagen, Rapp, Olsen (7:10 p.m.) and Chairman Bortel were
present.
Also, in attendance: Jonathan Proulx, Director of Planning.
Chairman Bortel led the pledge to the flag.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Commissioner Hendricksen made a motion to approve the agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Rapp.
Voice Vote. All in favor. 0 opposed. Motion carried 8-0.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Commissioner Derrick made a motion approve the to the Historic Preservation Commission minutes
dated August 13, 2020 as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Rapp. Voice Vote. All in favor. 0
opposed. Motion carried 8-0.
CHAIR’S COMMENTS
Chairman Bortel stated the mayor will not be seeking re-election.
COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS
No Comments.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No Public Comments received via email.
OLD BUSINESS
No Old Business.
NEW BUSINESS
1930-111320.COA.VAR 15326 S. Joliet Rd. Laura Zaidi
Mr. Proulx stated the applicant is requesting consideration of a supplemental Certificate of
Appropriateness (COA) to attain compliance with limited sections of fencing that were installed
that deviated from the previously approved COA. Specifically, the sections of the fence along the
side lot lines from the front of the house to the front lot line were installed as taller, cedar privacy
fence in lieu of the open-style white aluminum fence. The subject property was approved as a
local landmark in 2009 and, therefore, the exterior modifications require a COA review.
Mr. Proulx reviewed the staff report dated December 8, 2020. Mr. Proulx concluded subject to
discussion by the Historic Preservation Commission, staff recommends approval of the
Certificate of Appropriateness request.
Chairman Bortel swore in Laura Zaidi, applicant. Ms, Zaidi stated they did not intentional violate the
COA but they were unaware that the COA was written with the transition from one height to another.
Ms. Zaidi indicated that she was not aware that the fence would also be in violation of the Village Zoning
Code. Ms. Zaidi stated that bringing the fence into compliance will cost an excess of $7,000.00.
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Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
December 10, 2020
Page 2 of 3
Commissioner Derrick stated she recalls that the applicant was present at the meeting when the fence
design was discussed and added that the commission accommodated the applicant’s need for a fence in
the front yard while trying to maintain the visible profile of the property with something that was
historically appropriate. Commissioner Derrick asked the applicant if she reviewed the COA before or
after she signed. Ms. Zaidi stated she did not but again did not realize that the suggestions from the HPC
were included in the COA. Ms. Zaidi indicated that she nor the fencing company were not provided the
zoning requirements. Mr. Zaidi stated the additional aluminum fence was not budgeted for and would
have been an additional cost for them.
Commissioner Olsen asked if the COA had specifics regarding HPC’s recommendations for the fence.
Commissioner Derrick stated there is a written description and visual in the Letter of Agreement of what
the HPC approved. Commissioner Lucas added the Letter of Agreement reference the marked plat of
survey. Chairman Bortel stated the Letter of Agreement was signed by the applicant and they would have
received a copy of the signed Letter of Agreement.
Commissioner Hendricksen stated the HPC is trying to set a precedent and he cannot understand why the
fence company was not aware of the zoning code. Commissioner Olsen asked if the front yard privacy
fence is in violation of the zoning code. Commissioner Derrick stated it is and the applicant will need a
variance, too. Mr. Proulx stated the section of fencing that is in violation is from the front corner of the
house to the sidewalk. Commissioner Barvian recalls that at the HPC meeting it was discussed how the
fence would look with different heights in the front of the house. Commissioner Hendricksen stated that
this property is a very significant property to Plainfield, the county, and state. Ms. Zaidi explained that
the fence was built for the safety of their children. Ms. Zaidi indicated that they did not intentional
violate the COA but the change to the existing fence will be significate. Commissioner Olsen indicated
that the fencing company should have been aware of the height requirements for the Village. Ms. Zaidi
stated that owning a historical home is new to her and her husband and if they knew they were in
violation they would have stopped the fencing company from completing the fence.
Commissioner Hendricksen asked that they consider giving the owner more time, like 4 years, to bring
the fence into compliance. Commissioner Schmidt asked if a permit was issued by the Village for the
fence. Mr. Proulx stated the Letter of Agreement is attached to the permit and becomes part of the permit.
Commissioner Schmidt asked if during the permit review process if we noticed that the fence was not in
compliance. Mr. Proulx stated that the Letter of Agreement is attached to the building permit and stated
that he is not aware if the permit has had a final inspection.
Commissioner Hendricksen would like to vote on the matter before them. Chairman Bortel asked staff
what they feel the Zoning Board of Appeal thoughts will be on the variance. Mr. Proulx indicated that the
applicant was givrn a deadline to bring the fence into compliance by a specific date or move forward with
another COA and variance. Mr. Proulx stated if the Village Board does not approve both the COA and
variance the Village will continue to proceed with Code Enforcement. Mr. Proulx explained what the
HPC needs to be taking into consideration this evening.
Commissioner Derrick feels that the HPC was very clear during the first COA meeting and she agrees
with Commissioner Hendricksen’s comment with letting the applicant have a couple of years to bring the
fence into compliance. Commissioner Lucas agrees with allowing a couple of years to bring the fence
into compliance. Commissioner Olsen feels that the applicant should be able to work with the fence
company to bring the fence into compliance, since the burden should not solely be on the applicant. Ms.
Zaidi stated there are several fences in the area that do not meet the zoning requirements. Ms. Zaidi
stated they have neighbors who have a messy yard and feels they should be able to have privacy from
that. Commissioner Derrick suggested for them to contact Code Enforcement regarding the messy
neighbor.
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Historic Preservation Commission Minutes
December 10, 2020
Page 3 of 3
Commissioner Schmidt stated he is struggling with this because the HPC thoughtfully considered the
original COA however he does personal like the current fence as it is. Commissioner Schmidt suggested
painting the cedar fence white to help it blend in better. Commissioner Schmidt suggested learning from
this and having an HPC member go along with the inspector when there is a COA. Commissioner Hagen
added he feels that the existing fence does not look bad as is and it looks better walking down the street
then in the photos.
Commissioner Olsen asked where the HPC input is required. Commissioner Derrick state it is from the
public right-of-way. Commissioner Derrick stated that the applicant is adding something that was not
historically there and the HPC discussed their best options for a historic design while taking into
consideration that the owner wanted to match the existing fence. Commissioner Derrick indicated the
conditions of the COA was discussed at the meeting with the applicant. Commissioner Schmidt
explained why he is having a hard time with deciding on his vote. Commission Hendricksen stated he
does not want to redesign the fence.
Ms. Zaidi asked if there is a way to have this home not be a landmark anymore because they don’t want to
have to go through this process when they want to complete work on the home. Mr. Proulx stated that he
will speak with Ms. Zaidi regarding this matter, but the Village ordinance does not have formalize process
to remove landmark status.
Commissioner Schmidt asked if the motion is for modifying the original COA. Chairman Bortel stated
correct. Mr. Proulx stated staff will convey the HPC’s suggestion of allowing the applicant an extended
period to bring the fence into compliance.
Commissioner Hendricksen made a motion to recommend approve the requested Certificate of
Appropriateness to permit a solid cedar privacy fence along the side lot lines of the front yard for
the property commonly known as 15326 S. Joliet Road, subject to the applicant executing a letter
of agreement with the Village and Historic Preservation Commission.
Seconded by Commissioner Schmidt. Vote by roll call: Barvian, no; Olsen, no; Derrick, no; Hagen, yes;
Rapp, yes; Lucas, no; Schmidt, yes; Hendricksen, no; Bortel, no. Motion did not carry 3-6
DISCUSSION
No Discussion.
ADJOURN
Commissioner Hendrickson made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Derrick seconded the motion.
Voice vote. All in favor; 0 opposed. Motion carried 9-0.
Meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Tracey Erickson
Recording Secretary
Click to view the video of the December 10, 2020 Historical Preservation Commission Meeting.
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HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS
15124 S. Rte. 59
PIN/Property Index Number
#06-03-16-214-004-0000
Historic Property Name(s)
Common Name(s)
Architectural Style
Greek Revival; Italianate
Vernacular Building Type
Side Hall Plan
Construction Date
c. 1860
Architect/Builder
Historic Use(s)
Single Family Residential
Present Use(s)
Multi-Family Residential
History (associated events, people, dates)
Original Town. Appears as #24 on the 1931 Sanborn map, with a south side bay and a blockish T-shaped 1 story rear
wing. A large 1 story rectangular outbuilding was on the south lot line, along the south side alley. The address was
changing to 506 on the 1944 Sanborn map, but the property appeared the same.
Description
See reverse side/Continuation Sheet.
Integrity/Major Physical changes from original construction
EXCELLENT integrity!!! House retains an exceptionally high degree of integrity, including a number of significant
stylistic features.
Subsidiary Building(s)/Site
Side alley south. Middle house in a series of three highly significant Italianate era houses on this short block of N.
Division between W. Ottawa and W. Chicago streets. No outbuilding. Larger side lot to north. Chain link fenced rear
lot. No front landscaping except for a newer maple tree at alley, near front.
Registration & Evaluation
National Register of Historic Places: Currently Listed: ___yes X no
If not currently listed, recommend: Individually X yes no; historic district X yes no
Contributing X or non-contributing
Significance statement: This house should be a top priority for landmarking. It is an outstanding example of the Greek
Revival and Italianate styles as applied to a Side Hall Plan vernacular form and retains a very high degree of integrity.
National Register status would depend on interior integrity. VP; VG&Comm; OT; EP.
Village of Plainfield designation: Currently Listed: ___yes X no
If not currently listed, recommend: Historic Landmark X yes no; Historic District X yes no
Contributing X or non-contributing
Form prepared by: ArchiSearch Historic Preservation Consultants (Alice Novak) Date of Field Survey: 11.05.05 - 302
15124 N. Division St./SR 59
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HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS
PIN/Property Index Number
#06-03-16-214-004-0000
Description
Course limestone foundation with part of the rear wing having a
concrete block foundation; clapboard walls, water table, corner
boards on all corners of main house (including rear) with caps in
Greek Revival pilaster fashion, and cornice; asphalt shingle gable
front roof as temple form influence of the Greek Revival style.
2 stories, with tall 1 story rear wing; rectangular shape; 3 facade
bays, varied side elevation piles. Flat roof Italianate style
entrance hood, right/north bay. Entrance with raise stoop,
limestone base, poured concrete stairs, wood floor. Double paneled doors original; aluminum storm doors added. 4-light
transom. Oversized brackets with side frieze cut-out panels. 1/1 double-hung sash with plained surrounds, molded drip
caps, symmetrically placed, two to left of entrance and 3 on 2nd story facade. Oculus apex window. North elevation blind
at entrance/staircase location as is typical with Side Hall Plan houses; single 1/1 on 1ststory, square fixed sash to its upper
right on 2nd story (otherwise the elevation is blind.) 1 story rear gable wing recessed slightly from north house plane. The
first/easternmost portion of the wing is original/historic, with a single 1/1 double-hung sash. The western portion of the
wing has a concrete block foundation, c. 1950. The wing extension continues in the same gable pitch; slider window pair.
South elevation with a unique semi-hexagonal Italianate style bay, the roof of which extends left/west to cover a small
porch. Bay with spandrel panels, brackets, and narrow 1/1 double-hung sash. Side entrance with original/historic 4 panel
door with modern storm door; large bracket, spindled open rail on side porch. Rear gable wing (1.5 stories) flush with
south elevation, also in two sections on this side as well. 1st story east with two 1/1; slider sash pair added to upper story.
2nd section west with door and slider pair on 1st, slider pair on 2nd story also. Gable roof porch with spindled balustrade on
east side only. Floor and base of solid concrete; no stairs to access.
15124 S. Rte. 59
15124 N. Division St./SR 59
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15124 S. Rt. 59 Location Map
Source: Esri, Maxar, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS,
USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community, Sources: Esri,
SubAddresses
Village Address Points
Parcels
Plainfield Municipal Boundary
2/9/2021, 3:10:55 PM
0 0.01 0.010mi
0 0.01 0.020.01 km
1:564
Plainfield Staff
County of Will, Esri, HERE, Garmin, INCREMENT P, USGS, EPA, USDA | Plainfield GIS | Plainfield GIS | Will County GIS | NPMS National Repository | Will County, Maxar, Microsoft |11
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Village of Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
Nomination for Individual Landmark Listing in Register of Historic Places
1882
For the property located at:
15124 S. Route 59 - (f/k/a 508 N. Division Street)
06-03-16-214-004-0000
The South ½ of Lots 1 & 2 in Block 12 in the East ½ of the NE ¼ of Sec. 16 in the Original Town of Plainfield
Petitioner: John Argoudelis
A request to the Village of Plainfield to consider designating the structure at
15124 S. Illinois Route 59, a local landmark.
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Table of Contents
Cover 1
Part I 3
Site
Part II 3
Overview
Part III 4
Architectural Style Description
Part IV 5
Photo Descriptions
Part V 25
Photo Description Key
Appendix A 27
Early Plainfield
Appendix B 32
Early History of Bartlett’s Subdivision
Appendix C 35
The Wallace Peter Hall Connection
Appendix D 39
Subsequent Owners
Appendix E 43
Summary Statement of Significance
Appendix F 44
Exhibit Table of Contents
Exhibit A 45
Ingersoll’s Original Plat of Planefield
Exhibit B 46
Ingersoll’s Addition to Plainfield
Exhibit C 47
Plat of Arnold’s Addition to Plainfield
Exhibit D 48
Chittenden & Smiley subdivision
Exhibit E 49
Elihu Corbin’s Addition to Plainfield
Exhibit F 50
Chain of Title for 15124 S. Route 59
Exhibit G 52
1850 & 1860 U. S. Census for Union & Centre
Townships
Bibliography 53
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Part I
Site
The house under consideration served as the first house built in Plainfield for Wallace Peter Hall and his wife
Carrie. The house is located on land in the NE ¼ of Section 16 purchased by Chester Ingersoll in October
1833 from the U.S. Land Office for $200 – 160 acres @ $1.25 per acre. The Plat of Survey of the area that
would encompass the Original Town of Planefield was completed by Jedidiah Wooley on June 5, 1834 and
was recorded by Chester Ingersoll with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds on August 27, 1834. Ingersoll
platted his town with twelve nearly square blocks consisting of rectangular lots and a Block 13 with twenty-
seven rectangular lots stretching west from the east bank of the DuPage River to West Street (now IL Route
59, formally Division) on a modified grid plan that would be familiar to many of the newly arriving pioneer
families from New England. On February 25, 1882, Wallace Peter Hall purchased Lots 1 and 2 in Block 12
of Ingersoll’s Original Town of Plainfield for $525 from the Trustees of Schools.
Part II
Overview
The Greek Revival style is the largest architectural representation in the Village of Plainfield with over forty
such structures. The quality of design and quantity of examples of this style in Plainfield is quite
extraordinary. The occurrence of the Greek Revival style is uniquely significant in Plainfield, when one
looks at the general lack of this style across the rest of communities in Illinois. The Greek Revival style was
common in the United States from about 1820 to just after the end of the Civil War (1865), however
examples in Illinois for the most part happened later here than in the eastern portion of the country.
The house under consideration is an example of the Side Hall Plan vernacular house type, combines with
Greek Revival and Italianate architectural styles. In its 2006 evaluation of this house, ArchiSearch Historic
Preservation Consultants noted, “it is an outstanding example of the Greek Revival and Side Hall Plan
vernacular form and retains a very high degree of integrity.” Sometimes also known as the Two-Thirds
Georgian, this style was used from c. 1840 – c. 1890.
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Part III
Architectural Description
The Greek Revival style promoted the use of classical ideals and elements and was inspired by
archaeological excavations and drawings of ancient Greek temples. Carpenters in the eastern sections of the
United States did much to popularize the style, so that it was quite popular in the 1830s and 1840s and
pioneers migrating west introduced the style when building their new homes in the new states of the
Northwest Territories. Many Greek Revival buildings in Plainfield exhibit the “Greek Revival influence”
rather than being full high style examples, and the Halfway or Plainfield House and the Congregational
Church are among the earliest examples.
The Greek Revival style is by far the most outstanding architectural representation in the Village of
Plainfield. Despite common integrity issues, the quality of design and quantity of examples of the style in
Plainfield is particularly striking. The occurrence of the Greek Revival style in Plainfield is especially
significant, given the general lack of the style throughout the State of Illinois. The style is reflected in the
proportions of the number of houses throughout the community, a sense of scale and massing – small houses
which are not quite two stories, but have a usable upper story.
Side Hall Plan houses are usually two or two and one-half stories tall and are one room wide with a
staircase/hall, and at least two rooms deep. It is generally known as an urban house form fitting well on
narrow, urban lots which in our case the house occupies the south half of Lots 1 and 2. Porches are not as
integral to the house form and may consist only of an entrance porch or have no porch at all. The Italianate
style became the most popular residential and commercial style of the mid-nineteenth century.
This house has a Gable Front/Temple Front form with the typical three bay Side Hall Plan façade
arrangement, with the entrance on the far end, the right or east in this case. A long blank wall on the east
elevation corresponds with the entrance hall and staircase, also typical of the Side Hall Plan house type. The
house features a coursed limestone foundation, newly painted historic clapboard walls, water table, and plain
window frames with drip caps. Notable are the corner boards which are embellished with caps as to effect
pilasters in the Greek Revival style. The flat roof entrance hood with its Italianate style double door entrance
and the west side semi-hexagonal bay with brackets.
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Part IV
Photo Descriptions
Note: See Part V for photo description keynote list.
Plate 1 – East Façade
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
A1,
TYP.
E1
B1
B2
G1
F1
D1
F2
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 2 – Corner condition, typical upper
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
F1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 3 – Corner condition, typical lower
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
F1
F2
D1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 4 – South Façade with bay window
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
C1
C2
C3
C4
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 5 – South facing bay window detail @ base
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
D1
C1
C2
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 6 – South facing bay window detail @ top
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
C2
C3
C4
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 7 – South façade side entry and bay window
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
C3
C2
C1
C4
B2
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 8 – Typical window @ original structure
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
A1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 9 – South façade @ rear addition and side entry porch
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
M1 L1
I1
H1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 10 – West façade @ rear addition
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
J1
L1
H1
H2
M1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 11 – Roof overhang detail @ rear addition
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
J1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 12 – North façade junction seam of original structure to rear addition
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
A1
F1
L1
D1
K1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 13 – North façade detail @ junction seam of original structure to rear addition
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
F1
L1
D1
K1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 14 – Typical window @ addition
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
H1
30
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 15 – North façade one-story portion original with rear addition
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
J1
L1
H1
A1
F1
K1
D1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 16 – North façade two-story portion
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
A1
F1
A1
G1
G2
F2
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 17 – Main entry canopy detail
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
E1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 18 – Main entry canopy detail and double entry doors
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
B1
E1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 19 – Foundation, front porch and water table trim detail
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
D1
E1
F2
F1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Plate 20 – Main entry porch @ east facade
(photo credit: Leif Hendricksen)
B1
E1
A1
D1
F2
F1
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
Part V
Photo Description Key
FRONT HOUSE ORIGINAL PORTION – 2-STORY FRONT WITH SINGLE STORY REAR
A. TYPICAL WINDOWS
A1 Single, clear glass, 1/1 double-hung; flat trim surround; crown molding lintel extended over window; simple sill.
A2 Single, clear glass, circle window, decorative molding at perimeter
B. TYPICAL DOORS
B1 Paired, paneled wood door featuring four inset panels each door – two tall above two shorter panels articulated with
molding and painted to differentiate from door main paint scheme; 4-lite transom; flat trim surround sides and top.
B2 Single, wood door with full clear glass; flat trim surround sides and top; crown molding lintel; large decorative bracket at
hinge side of door opposite bay window.
C. 5-SIDED BAY WINDOW
C1 BASE (up to and including sill)
Water table trim board (white) to match house trim with additional horizontal trim board with small overhang; flat board
siding framed with flat corner boards (white) and featuring centered rectangular insets articulated with molding and
painted to differentiate from main color scheme; continuous simple wood sill, white.
C2 MIDDLE
Flat painted wood sheathing with four (4) single, clear glass, 1/1 double hung windows; flat trim surround with raised
perimeter molding on sides and top.
C3 ENTABLATURE
Flat wood sheathing approximately 12 inches in height with decorative brackets painted to differentiate from main color
scheme, 9 total.
C4 ROOF
Asphalt-shingled low-pitched roof; approximately 12 inch boxed soffit overhang; crown molded fascia.
D. FOUNDATION
D1 High foundation of ashlar cut limestone block with flush joints under house, and bay window.
E. FRONT PORCH
E1 Limestone foundation to match main house, non-original; wood stoop; frame awning with flat roof; crown molded fascia;
articulated brackets flanking front door with decorative wood supports including front decorative beam.
F. TYPICAL SIDING
F1 Clapboard siding; yellow with white trim; corner boards with articulated top (capitol) and base.
F2 Water table trim board.
G. TYPICAL ROOF
G1 High roof @ front - single ridge gable roof with moderate pitch; asphalt shingles; typical approximately 12 inch roof
overhang; angled, closed eave; continuous under-eave boxed trim with additional crown molding butted to underside of
overhang; gutters and traditional downspouts, white.
G2 Low roof @ rear - single ridge gable roof with moderate pitch; asphalt shingles; typical approximately 12 inch roof
overhang; boxed eave wood soffit; gutters and traditional downspouts, white.
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Village of Plainfield Historic Landmark Nomination
15124 S. Route 59
REAR ADDITION PORTION
Notes:
1. Rear addition is an extension of the lower one-story portion of the original structure and matches the original in
roof height and roof pitch. Exterior walls flush to original with similar siding size. Foundation wall heights are
similar and exterior faces are abutted and aligned to original however construction materials differ per current
building methods.
H. TYPICAL WINDOWS
H1 Single, clear glass, sliding window; narrow flat trim surround.
H2 Single, clear glass, 1/1 double-hung; narrow flat trim surround.
I. TYPICAL DOORS
I1 Single, paneled wood door with clear glass on upper half; aluminum storm door of current purchase.
J. TYPICAL ROOF
J1 Single ridge gable roof with moderate pitch; asphalt shingles; typical approximately 12 inch roof overhang; boxed eave
wood soffit with vents; gutters and traditional downspouts, white.
K. FOUNDATION
K1 Concrete masonry unit (CMU) foundation.
L. TYPICAL SIDING
L1 Clapboard siding; yellow with white trim; aluminum corner trim; no water table trim board.
M. SIDE ENTRY PORCH
M1 Covered entry porch with simple pitched roof; concrete stoop with wood steps, handicap accessible wood ramp and wood
railings; two (2) turned porch posts of current dimensions; slender turned spindle railing.
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Appendix A
Early Plainfield
The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted on May 20, 1785 by the Continental Congress and set the stage for
an organized and community-based westward expansion of the United States in the years after the American
Revolution. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was the effort of a five-person committee led by Thomas Jefferson
that established a systematic and ubiquitous process for surveying, planning, and selling townships on the
western frontier.
Each western township contained thirty-six square miles of land which was divided into thirty-six sections,
each containing one square mile or 640 acres. Section 1 was located at the northeast corner of each township
with subsequent sections numbered east to west; each tier had six sections and there were six rows of six
sections for a total of thirty-six sections with Section 36 found in the southeast corner. This mathematical
precision of planning was through the concerted efforts of surveyors which allowed these sections to be
easily subdivided for re-sale by settlers and land speculators. Initially government land offices sold land to
pioneers at the price of $1.25 per acre. Each township contained dedicated space for public education and
other government uses, as the centermost of the 36 sections were reserved for government or public purposes
- Sections 15, 16, 21 & 22, with Section 16 dedicated specifically for public education. Additionally roadways
were often constructed along the north-south or east-west Township or Section division lines that comprised
the Township and Range delineations.
Revolutionary War land bounty warrants were first awarded through an Act of Congress on September 16,
1776. These were grants of free land from Congress or states like Virginia who claimed lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains in areas that would later become the states of Ohio and Kentucky as a reward for
serving in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The grants were not
automatic as veterans had to apply for them and if granted, use the warrant to apply for a land patent which
granted them ownership of the land that could be transferred or sold to other individuals. Land warrants
issued by Congress were usually for the newly established lands created by the Land Ordinance of 1785 and
the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Long before there were railroads, most Chicagoans’ link to civilization was primarily by schooner to and
from New York City via the Great Lakes, the Erie Canal and the Hudson River. In the early 1830s, Chicago
was closer to a Wild West town than a metropolis. The two principal cities of the Midwest were the river
towns of Cincinnati and St. Louis, both which had good steamboat service. The closest a river steamer could
get to Chicago was Ottawa, more than 90 miles from Chicago on the Illinois River.
The Postal Act of 1792 established the role of the Postmaster General and made the United States’
Government responsible for creating post offices and establishing the delivery of the mail by private
contractors. The first Post Office in northern Illinois opened in Galena in 1826, five years before Chicago
saw one established at their settlement. With the establishment of a post office in Galena in 1826, John D.
Winters began running stagecoaches between St. Louis and Galena, carrying passengers and the U.S. Mail.
The stagecoach became the pre-dominant mode of overland public transport for passengers and mail.
Stagecoach lines were chosen not just for the convenience of passengers but to accommodate the timely
collection and distribution of the mail. Without mail contracts most stage lines would not have survived.
Chicago’s first stagecoach line arrived from Detroit in 1833 after the end of the Blackhawk War of 1832 that
ended an Indian revolt over ownership of Illinois farmland which now made overland travel safe west of
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Chicago. In July 1833, John Taylor Temple (1804-1877) of Virginia, who had received a homeopathic medical
degree in 1824 from the University of Maryland arrived in Chicago with his wife and 4 children with a contract
from the U.S. Postmaster General to carry the mail from Chicago to Fort Howard at Green Bay. He soon
built a two-story frame house at the corner of Wells & Lake Street and a medical office at the southwest
corner of Franklin and South Water Street.
In 1831, the High Prairie Trail from Chicago to Ottawa had been laid out by State officials as both northern
Illinois’ newest official road that also used established Indian trails. Soon after the Chicago to Fort Howard
at Green Bay route began, it was discontinued and on January 1, 1834, Temple had political connections that
allowed him to secure the mail contract from Chicago to Peoria and had money to purchase a coach and set
up the necessary way stations. Temple was given a contract for operating a stagecoach line and conveying
the U.S. Mail from Chicago southwest to Peoria to meet the steamboats navigating the Illinois River from St.
Louis and later a route to Ottawa via Walkers’ Grove. The route to Ottawa started at the shore of Lake
Michigan near the banks of the Chicago River and extended almost due west following the old
Pottawattamie Indian trail along the DesPlaines River which is now part of U.S. 6 to the ford across the
DesPlaines River at Riverside, thence the road headed west to Captain Joseph Naper’s settlement at the
DuPage River ford before turning southwest towards Walker’s Grove averaging about 10 miles each hour.
Initially stage passengers stayed with settlers in Walker’s Grove, which consisted of three or four crude log
huts that offered limited comforts. Later the route was moved north to the newly platted settlement at
Plainfield (1834). Leaving Plainfield, the trail passed into what would become Kendall County in 1841,
crossing the prairie to the tiny cluster of cabins at the southernmost point of a grove of towering black walnut
trees before continuing on to Ottawa which was located at the head of navigation on the Illinois River.
The area from which Plainfield developed was first inhabited by the Potawatomie Indians. The Potawatomie
hunted the dense forests along the banks of the DuPage River and had some semi-permanent settlements.
When Illinois achieved statehood in 1818 most of the territory was wilderness. Occasional explorers, soldiers
on the marches to distant outposts, as well as Native American traders and trappers, had given glowing
descriptions of the beauties of the region. The Illinois and Michigan Canal project had been conceived during
the Wat of 1812 which prompted the initial purchases of Native American lands commencing in 1816. The
first Europeans arriving in the area were French fur traders in the 1820s, who traded peacefully with the
Potawatomie but did not establish any permanent settlements. By about 1826, American missionaries began
to arrive to Christianize the Native Americans and establish permanent settlements.
Along with the occasional pioneers who ventured into the lands covered by the Northwest Ordinance came
several early Methodist missionaries. One of these early Methodist missionaries was The Reverend Jessie
Walker who came to the area before statehood. Walker had been born in Virginia and first visited the Indiana
territory in 1806 and later was appointed to the circuit in Illinois and likely introduced his son-in-law, James
Walker, to the region. In 1828, James Walker led a party that established a small settlement and sawmill
along the DuPage River at Walkers’ Grove just south of present-day Plainfield.
This new settlement was known as Walker's Grove and the saw mill thrived in the midst of the thick forests
in the area. The DuPage River also provided essential transportation between the settlements at Fort
Dearborn at Lake Michigan (now Chicago) and Ottawa along the Illinois River. Walker's Grove was an
important link along the water and trail route. Walker's sawmill and the area's timber also supplied the fast-
growing settlement of Chicago with lumber to build their first wood-framed houses. It has been documented
that the lumber used to build the first structures in Chicago were hauled by wagons built in Plainfield by
John Bill and driven by Reuben Flagg and Timothy Clark from Walker's Mill – the George Washington Dole
Forwarding House and the Philip Ferdinand Wheeler Peck House – a two-story frame building in which
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Peck kept a store at southeast corner of South Water and LaSalle Streets that was built in the Autumn of
1832. Walker’s Grove was also reportedly the first permanent settlement in Will County.
In 1828, Chester Ingersoll had traveled from his home in Vermont to northeast Illinois and settled at the
Walkers’ Grove settlement and four years later, joined with others to defend Fort Beggs and later opened one
of the first hotels in Chicago. In October, 1833, Chester purchased 160 acres of land in the NE ¼ of Section
16 and in December 1833, married a young actress, Phebe Wever in Chicago and together they ran the
Traveler Hotel until 1834. Ingersoll platted a town in August 1834, northeast of Walkers’ Grove, naming it
Planefield. Ingersoll platted his town with thirteen nearly square blocks consisting of rectangular lots on a
modified grid plan that would be familiar to many of those newly arriving pioneer families from New
England. Ingersoll’s east-west streets were named for the three main towns in Northeastern Illinois at the
time - Ottawa, Chicago and Lockport - while his north-south streets were named for the region’s rivers -
DuPage, Kankakee, Fox River, DesPlaines, and Illinois. He envisioned a public square to become his central
business district that would be centered about the northern half of Block 3 with DesPlaines Street to the east
and Fox River Street to the west along a proposed east-west thoroughfare to be built on the section line
where Sections 16 and 9 met [Exhibit A - Ingersoll’s 1834 Plat of Planefield]..
In 1834 Chester Ingersoll built a house for his family on an open tract of land that was south of Lot 26 in Block
13 of his newly platted town; this house was recently restored and designated a Village Landmark in September
2013. In October 1837, Ingersoll’s oldest daughter, Melissa married Thomas Jefferson York and soon
thereafter, Ingersoll built a small cottage west of his house for them. The location of this house was south of
Lot 25 in Block 13 and was designated a Village landmark known as “Pioneer House” in 2008. In May 1837,
Ingersoll recorded an addition to his original town plat comprising of twelve additional blocks – 6 blocks on
either side of a new east-west street, named Juliet. Thus Ingersoll’s 1834 house came to be located on Lot 2
and the house built for his daughter came to be built on Lot 3 in Block 1 of Ingersoll’s Addition to Plainfield
which would became Shreffler’s Addition in 1851 [Exhibit B – Ingersoll’s Addition to Plainfield].
Levi Arnold, a bachelor, likely traveled to the settlement around Walker’s Grove in late 1831 or 1832 in the
company of the family of James and Sarah Mathers, who he had met in the area of St. Joseph, Indiana. He
staked claims in the area near the DuPage River and in present-day Kendall County before returning to St.
Joseph, Indiana to marry Mariah Skinner on August 6, 1833. Sometime in early 1834, Levi Arnold and his
wife Mariah arrived from Indiana and purchased the quarter section of land north of Ingersoll’s newly platted
town – the SE ¼ of Section 9 on December 11. Arnold was particularly interested in land adjacent to the
DuPage River and parcels that straddled the Chicago-Ottawa Road.
Unlike Ingersoll who preferred orderly development as shown in his 1834 Plat of Planefield, Arnold soon laid
out four streets in his addition and allowed pioneer families to build homes and businesses on his land but
often chose not to sell the land to them which allowed the creation of many irregular and disorganized lots in
shape and size. He did not embrace Ingersoll’s concept of a New England town square since a portion of
Block 4 in his corresponding addition would be needed to join Ingersoll’s planned segment - [Exhibit C –
Arnold’s Addition to Plainfield]. In May 1836, Ingersoll sold Lot 3 in Block 2 to Anson Johnson for $30. This
was the first recorded sale of land fronting onto the East-West road that would eventually become Lockport
Road. that took place in May 1836. Levi Arnold allowed settlers to build homes and businesses on his land
however he did not always sell the land to them, but instead continued to own the land with the lots often
becoming irregular in shape and size, thus it is likely that Arnold allowed entrepreneurs to build stores along
the roadway but chose not to sell them the land. Arnold’s first recorded sale on his side of the roadway took
place in March 1840 with the sale of a five acre parcel to Chester Bennett in what would eventually become
Chittenden & Smiley’s subdivision of a part of the SE ¼ of Sec. 9 in 1867. [Exhibit D – Chittenden &
Smiley’s subdivision].
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Likely, this difference in development styles frustrated Ingersoll’s sense of order and has led local historians
to record that Ingersoll and Arnold were “at loggerheads” regarding the development of the burgeoning
community. Arnold cultivated a new friendship with Lewis B. Judson and together in 1835, they started a
new town on the east bank of the Fox River called Hudson. Arnold only lived in Plainfield a short time,
choosing to devote most of his energies toward the development of his new town, Hudson. Initially the new
town which was located 10 miles northwest of Plainfield, attracted few settlers and in the Spring of 1836,
Levi Arnold moved his family to Hudson renting his Plainfield home on the Chicago to Ottawa Road, later
becoming known as Main Street to Dr. Erastus G. Wight, a circuit riding physician.
Chester Ingersoll abandoned his public square concept in 1836, opting instead for a public park located in
Block 10, now called the Village Green, which was immediately south of his failed public square concept
that was eventually surrounded by residential housing. In 1840, as the family of Chester and Phebe Ingersoll
grew, they moved from the village north to a farm in Wheatland Township and within three years were living
on a farm near Lockport. In 1847 Ingersoll along with members of his family and numerous families from
the area left Illinois and traveled to the West to settle in California where Ingersoll died unexpectedly in
September 1849.
Within a short time, businesses spread randomly throughout Ingersoll’s Plainfield with a concentration of
restaurants, blacksmiths, liveries and hotels along DesPlaines Street where it intersected with the east-west
roadway known as DuPage Street and by 1844, the first commercial buildings were being erected on this
thoroughfare that would later become known as “the Lockport Road” as it was known outside of the village.
This thoroughfare separated the two communities begun by Arnold and Ingersoll branching eastward 6 miles
to the canal port at Lockport which in 1848 saw the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Once this road
was completed, it carried travelers going between the canal docks at Lockport and the accelerating farm
settlements west of the DuPage River with the village of Plainfield growing significantly after 1850.
Various buildings were moved from other sites in Plainfield to the north side of DuPage Street and set on
every other lot so that infill buildings only required a front and rear walls, a floor, and a roof. By 1849 the
only centralized commercial and industrial center in Plainfield that had formed was located about the
intersection of present-day Joliet Road, Division Street, and Commercial Street. Kankakee Street was
renamed James Street, in honor of James Fairbanks, who created Fairbanks’ Addition along the street
bearing his name in 1853 and DuPage Street along the DuPage River had been abandoned. Unfortunately, no
formal adoption of street names existed between the Ingersoll and Arnold sides of the village. In fact, names
of streets changed—typically—at DuPage Street (now Lockport Street) which divided the two sides of the
village. A residential neighborhood grew around the Village Green in Ingersoll’s original part of Plainfield.
Simultaneous to efforts of Ingersoll and Arnold, a third distinct community began to develop. In November
1834, James Mathers and James M. Turner purchased a quarter section of land in the SW ¼ of Section 10
that was east of Arnold’s SE ¼ of Section 9. In June 1836, James Mathers purchased Turner’s half share and
in July 1836, platted East Plainfield which was comprised of 96 lots along Main Street and Water Street
(which is now Plainfield-Naperville Road), which paralleled the DuPage River on which Mathers built a
sawmill and gristmill. Mathers also built himself a house in 1835 at the northeast corner of Mill and Water
Streets (which is now Plainfield-Naperville Road) near his sawmill and gristmill and his partner James Turner
had built a small cottage for his family at the southeast corner of Section 10 (currently the house at the
northeast corner of Lockport Street and Eastern Avenue).
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The southeastern part of the Village or the NW ¼ of Section 15 was the last portion of the Village to be
developed. In December 1834 Robert Chapman had purchased 280 acres in NE ¼ & N ½ of the NW ¼ of Sec.
15 & S ½ of the NW ¼ of Sec. 15 and in July 1838 sold all of his holdings “excepting & reserving from the SW
corner of the S ½ of the S ½ of said NW ¼ of Sec. 15,” a 2 ½ acre parcel in the SW corner or 20 square rods to
be used as a cemetery that Chapman had donated to the residents in the Spring of 1837. In 1840, Dr. Oliver J.
Corbin purchased a twelve acre parcel south of Joliet Road and in 1845 sold a small three lot triangular
parcel of land to John Dillman to build a foundry, creating Plainfield’s first industrial park in what would
become Oliver J. Corbin’s Subdivision in 1856. In 1852, a forty-acre parcel was purchased by Elihu Corbin
who had the land subdivided into an addition to Plainfield as well as several subdivisions. [Exhibit E – Elihu
Corbin’s Addition].
Commercial development was scattered in each quadrant of the village, but soon began to concentrate along
either side of the east-west DuPage Street or what later became known as “the Lockport Road” which
occupied the area where Section 16 of Ingersoll’s Original Plainfield and Section 9 of Arnold’s Addition
met. As was the case in most of the newly established towns and villages of the Northwest Territories, once
the pioneer families had built their houses and established businesses, places of worship and schools for their
children were soon to follow. Plainfield’s commercial and residential development became concentrated in
portions of the four quarter sections of prairie lands along or near to the DuPage River that made up the
Village. Soon a North-South roadway (West St. or Division) and an East-West Roadway (Lockport Road)
were created along the division lines of Sections 9, 10, 15 and 16.
1. Chester Ingersoll’s - NE ¼ of Sec. 16 (1833),
2. Levi Arnold’s - SE ¼ of Sec. 9 (1834),
3. James Mathers’ - SW ¼ of Sec. 10 (1835),
4. Elihu Corbin’s - NW ¼ of Sec. 15 (1852).
By 1869, the northern and southern portions of Plainfield were incorporated into a single community and by
the 1870s, DuPage Street became commonly known as Lockport Street. By 1869, the northern and southern
portions of Plainfield were incorporated into a single community and by the 1870s, DuPage Street became
commonly known as Lockport Street. The 1870 Census listed the population of Plainfield at 723 and there
were 1,750 residents living in Plainfield Township.
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Appendix B
Schools
As stated previously the early settlement of Plainfield was centered around four sections that were part of
Plainfield Township. Plainfield township contained thirty-six square miles of land which was divided into
thirty-six sections; each section contained one square mile or 640 acres. Section 1 was located at the
northeast corner of each township with subsequent sections numbered east to west; each tier had six sections
and there were six rows of six sections for a total of thirty-six sections with Section 36 found in the southeast
corner. Each township contained dedicated space for public education and other government uses, as the
centermost of the 36 sections were reserved for government or public purposes - Sections 15, 16, 21 & 22 –
initially land in Section 16 was to be dedicated specifically for public education. Early roadways into
Plainfield often followed trails established by Native Americans, early explorers, or trappers. Soon the main
thoroughfares (roadways) in Plainfield were constructed along the north-south or east-west Township or
Section division lines that comprised the established Township and Range delineations. Thus Lockport Street
occupied the East -West line and West Street, now Division Street occupied the North-South line between
Sections 9, 10, 15, and 16.
As was the practice in most of those early pioneer settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains of the
“West”, soon after the homes of the inhabitants had been constructed, the citizens concentrated on the
establishment of houses of worship and schools. In 1840 Plainfield two schools were created – South
Plainfield (lower district) and North Plainfield (upper district) with Lockport Street serving as the boundary
for the two divisions. The 1976 Plainfield Bicentennial Commission’s, A History of Plainfield “Then and
Now, stated “early accounts tell of a great rivalry between the two – they vied with each other on teachers,
buildings, equipment and even in the form a “spelling bee.”
The South District opened their first school on the upper floor of John Bill’s one and a half story wagon shop
located on Lot 4 in Block 11. The lot [15123 (511) W. Chicago] located at the southeast corner of DesPlaines
and Chicago Streets was purchased in August 1836 from Chester Ingersoll for $5.00. In June 1849, the
School Trustees of the South District purchased Lot 1 in Block 12 from Samuel Pratt and Frederick Tuttle
for $15 to build a one room schoolhouse at the southwest corner of Chicago and Division streets [15118 (510)
S. Division]. The book, A History of Plainfield “Then and Now relates that schoolhouse was used for two
years until 1851 when the School Trustees sold the structure to Charles Needham, Sr.
However archival records at the Will County Recorder of Deeds indicate the lot to where the schoolhouse
was moved by Needham was neither surveyed nor subdivided until 1853. Franklin Parmalee had purchased
two eighty (80) acre parcels, consisting of the N½ of NW¼ & N½ of NE¼ in Sec. 15 for $3,200 from Riley
B. Ashley in March 1851. Elihu Corbin purchased forty (40) acres from Parmalee in December 1852 for
$1,000 and had that parcel surveyed and subdivided by January 3, 1853, calling it - Elihu Corbin’s Addition
to Plainfield. The parcel to where the schoolhouse was moved [Lot 6 in Block 2 – 15129 (503) S. Division]
was not purchased by Needham until March 1855. [Exhibit E – Elihu Corbin’s Addition]. Based on the archival
records, it seems entirely probable that the one-room schoolhouse was used by the District for six years at its
southwest corner location of Chicago and Division Streets until the end of the 1855 school year. Sometime
after the one-room schoolhouse was moved by Charles Needham, Sr. to Lot 6 in Block 2 of Elihu Corbin’s
Addition to Plainfield, the ownership of the property was passed to his son Charles, Jr. and his wife Margaret
Countryman.
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Charles Needham Jr. and his wife Margaret were married on July 4, 1856 and the lot where the former one-
room schoolhouse had been moved was sold by them on October 26, 1876 to Jonathan Hagar and James H.
Smiley. Twenty-five years later in January 1901, the heirs of Jonathan Hagar and members of the James H.
Smiley family sold the lot to Harry Howard Bayles for $276.67. In December 2000, the estate of Lila Bayles
sold the property to Clayton and Debra Olson for $86,000. In preparing the property for demolition, the
Olsons’ located the original schoolhouse surrounded by previous additions, rescued and moved the historic
one-room schoolhouse to a new site to be restored.to its original appearance and updated the structure so it
could be utilized as a “learning classroom.”
In August 1863, District 1 School Trustees, purchased the adjacent Lot 2 in Block 12 from Jonathan Hagar
for $75 that Hagar had purchased in May 1862 from Frederick and Lucia Tuttle for $70. The Tuttles had
purchased the property from Chester Ingersoll in March 1846 for $10. Once the one-room schoolhouse was
moved from its location at the southwest corner of Chicago and Division, the District 1 School Trustees built
a two-story replacement school at a cost of $1,200 on the north half Lot 1 in Block 12. The new school had
eight rooms and a large hall and was used until 1881 when the North and South districts were consolidated.
In February 1882, after the District consolidation, the Trustees of the new district sold Lots 1 and 2 in Block
12 to Wallace Peter Hall for $525. On March 1, 1882, Wallace Peter Hall sold the 2-story school building on
the north half of Lot 1 in Block 12 to Peter W. Spangler for $300 with the understanding that Spangler would
move the schoolhouse from its current location once he was able to purchase a suitable lot for his building.
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In March 1884, Peter Spangler purchased Lot 2 on Fox River Street in Emma Harbaugh’s re-survey and re-
subdivision of the N½ of Block 4 in Ingersoll’s Original Plainfield for $1,300 and shortly thereafter moved
the schoolhouse to where it now stands.
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Appendix C
The Wallace Peter Hall Connection
Wallace Peter Hall was the fifth of eight children born to Henry Hall (1805 – 1873?) and Maria Carroll
(1804 – 1875). All eight of their children were born in the Canadian province of Ontario near Toronto –
Ichabod (1827), Maria (1830), Sarah (1832), Clarissa (1834), Henrietta (1838), William (1840), Susan
(1845) and Wallace - June 25, 1836. Listed on the 1900 Census form taken on June 25, 1900 in Plainfield,
Wallace Hall noted that he had lived in the United States for the past 56 years. In the Spring of 1847, Henry
Hall purchased forty acres of farmland in Union Township west of the small farming community of
Valparaiso, Indiana from the U. S. Government Land Office on May 10, 1848 after having emigrated from
Canada with his family to Porter County, Indiana. The Census of 1850 enumerated on October 2 listed Henry
Hall and his wife Maria farming their forty-acre farm with their seven children – Ichabod, Maria, Clarissa,
Peter, Henrietta, William and Susan.
Also enumerated on the same Census sheet was the eighteen year old daughter of Henry and Maria Hall,
Sarah, who married twenty-three year old Adam Hider Parriott on July 25, 1850 from Virginia and they were
living near her parent’s farm. Adam’s parents were William Wilford Parriott (1799-1866) born in Maryland
and Cordelia Hider (1808 – 1891) from Hampshire County, Virginia. On September 30, 1824, William and
Cordelia were married in the unincorporated community of Tyler located in Tyler County, Virginia. Tyler
County had been formed from a part of Ohio County on December 6, 1814 and on June 20, 1863 Tyler
would be one of the fifty Virginia counties that gathered together to create the key border state of West
Virginia, entering the Union as the thirty-fifth state during the second year of the Civil War. On October 16,
1826, Adam Hider Parriott was the first of four children born to William and Cordelia and their only child
born in Virginia before they moved to Indiana from northwestern Virginia in 1835. Adam’s siblings,
Knighton (1836), Wilford (1840) and Bernice (1844) were all born in Porter County, Indiana near the
farming community of Valparaiso.
The 1830 Federal Census enumerated a young couple, Abraham A. Hall (30 – 40) and his wife (20 – 30)
living in central Indiana near Indianapolis in Marion County. Records from the Bureau of Land Management
for Porter County, Indiana listed a forty-acre parcel purchased on March 15, 1837 by Abraham A. Hall.
Records from the Porter County Historical Museum indicated that the first hotel in Valparaiso, Indiana was
the American Eagle House located at the southeast corner of Main and Franklin Streets. Additional
information listed Abraham Hall as an early settler in Porter County and the owner of Valparaiso House
often referred to as Hall’s Tavern in 1839. At the time of the 1840 Census, Abraham Hall (40 – 49) and his
wife (30-40) had three children under five years of age – two boys and a girl.
It is difficult to link the Indiana family of Abraham A. Hall to the Canadian family of Henry Hall and his
wife Maria Carroll and their eight children who emigrated to Porter County, Indiana in 1847 from near
Toronto, Canada. However, it seems likely that the two families may have shared some type of connection,
since they had a common surname, settled in close proximity to each other and became engaged in similar
enterprises though historical records including Census records and family research at Ancestry.com have
large gaps or are incomplete. Not until the 1850 Census were husbands, wives and children listed with their
places of birth and ages. Records from the Porter County Museum and the Bureau of Land Management
validate that Abraham A. Hall purchased farmland and managed a hotel, however by the time of the 1850
Census, there is no record of where the family of Abraham A. Hall had relocated.
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Following this nomination, the reader can consult Exhibit G which shows the 1850 and 1860 U. S. Census
information for Union and Centre Townships, two of the 12 townships in Porter County, Indiana. The 1850
Census enumerated on October 2 for Union Township located west of the farming community of Valparaiso
listed the family farm of Henry Hall, with his wife Maria and seven of their eight children. Living nearby
was their eighteen year old daughter, Sarah who married Adam Hider Parriott on July 25, 1850 and also
living nearby in Union Township were Adam’s parents – Wilford, his wife Cordelia and their three children.
Residing in Center Township which included much of Valparaiso was Silas Carr, his wife Zada and their two
year old daughter Mary, plus Silas’s brother Molby who married Wallace Hall’s oldest sister Maria on
March 1, 1856.
The Sunday, January 19, 1860 weekly issue of the Valparaiso Republic newspaper noted the marriage of
Wallace Peter Hall, then twenty-three and his twenty-four year old bride, Carrie M. Liscomb on Wednesday,
January 15, 1860, officiated by The Reverend E. J. Jones. In the 1860 Census for Valparaiso, Indiana taken
on June 4, 1860, Wallace, his wife Carrie and his brother-in-law Adam Parriott, his wife Sarah (Hall),
Wallace’s older sister along with their three children -Celia, Wilford and Wallace were listed as landlords
and living at the hotel. Local historical records seem to indicate that Adam’s parents also had a share of the
business. Additional records from the Porter County Museum indicate that the hotel was located on Lot 5 in
Block 19 at the northeast corner of Main and Franklin Streets across the street from the Public Square. The
hotel, originally known as the Tremont House, was constructed in the 1840s and was commonly referred to
as the Hall & Parriott Hotel after they purchased the property in 1857.
Wallace’s wife, Carrie Liscomb was born on March 6, 1834 near Albany, New York in Troy, which was
about eight miles north of New York’s capital. At an early age Carrie showed a talent for music while
attending Troy Female Seminary founded in 1821 by woman rights’ advocate, Emma Hart Willard. The
school is known today as the Emma Willard School and was the first school in the United States “for young
ladies of means” becoming “the first school in the country “to provide girls the same educational
opportunities given to boys.” Soon after graduating, Carrie accepted a position as a musical instructress at
the Valparaiso Male and Female College in Valparaiso, Indiana.
The Valparaiso Male and Female College founded by the Methodist Church in 1859 was one of the first co-
educational four-year institutions in the United States. The citizens of Valparaiso were so supportive of the
placement of the College that they raised $11,000 in early 1859 to encourage the Methodist Church to locate
there. Students paid a tuition of $8 per term – 3 terms per year plus nearby room and board of $2.00 per
week. Instruction at the college actually began with young children and most students were in the elementary
grade levels. Courses at the collegiate level included mathematics, literature, history, the sciences, music and
philosophy courses stressing the Christian faith that included “moral philosophy” and “moral science.”
The school was forced to close in 1871 due to fallout of the Civil War. Not only did most of the men, both
students and administrative members enroll in the Army, but Indiana passed a bill in 1867 that provided state
support for public education adding competition for students. More over the Methodists broad state-wide
efforts toward higher education meant none of their schools were self-sustaining. The combination of factors
proved too much to overcome for the Valparaiso Male and Female College, so the school closed in 1871 and
re-opened in 1873 with a new charter. In 1900, it became Valparaiso College and was re-chartered in 1906 as
Valparaiso University.
Enumerated in the 1860 Census and living in Valparaiso were the parents of Adam Parriott – Wilford and
Cordelia with their three children – Knighton (24), sixteen year old Bernice and Wilford Jr.(20) who clerked
at the Hall & Parriott Hotel. In the Spring of 1864, Wallace and his wife Carrie sold their interest in the hotel
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and Carrie resigned from her position at the College at the end of the Spring term and moved west to
Plainfield. After the death of Adam’s father, William Wilford Parriott on September 6, 1866, Adam Parriott
and his wife, Sarah sold the hotel in downtown Valparaiso.
In 1867, Adam moved his family and used the money from the sale of the hotel to purchase farmland near
the state capital of Iowa, Des Moines located in Jefferson Township of Polk County, where he and his wife
would live until their deaths. Adam’s mother, Cordelia decided to remain in Valparaiso after the death of her
husband in 1866, having moved to the area in 1835 where she had raised her family. She lived in the near her
three youngest children, Knighton, Wilford and Bernice – all who elected to remain in and around
Valparaiso. Knighton was a carpenter and Bernice was a teacher and her husband, David Turner was also a
carpenter and often worked with Knighton. Cordelia Parriott died in 1891 in Porter County and her three
children remained in the area – Knighton died in 1895, Wilford died in 1901 and Bernice died in 1908.
Adam the oldest of all the children who moved to a farm outside Des Moines, Iowa, died in 1911 at the age
of 84 and his wife Sarah, the sister of Wallace Peter Hall died in 1917 at the age of 85.
On July 3, 1865, the Illinois State Census was taken in Plainfield and Wallace P. Hall and his wife Carrie
were listed as residents of the village. The 1848 Illinois Constitution provided for state census’ to be done at
the mid-decade. Thus in 1855 and 1865, Illinois conducted a State Census to determine the state’s
population. In 1869, the Illinois General Assembly decided to change the 1848 Constitution since there had
been so many transportation-related innovations since 1848 rendering the document as inadequate. Delegates
were chosen across the State in November 1869 and in December the chosen delegates began their
deliberations in Springfield. On July 2, 1870, Illinois voters approved the new State Constitution which
became the law of the State soon thereafter.
In the 1870 Census taken on August 15 and the 1880 Census taken on June 25, Wallace listed his occupation
as a painter and along with his wife Carrie were enumerated as living within the Village of Plainfield. The
earliest property contracts for Wallace Hall located at the Will County Recorder of Deeds were dated July
27, 1883, leading one to believe that Wallace and Carrie Hall rented places to live in Plainfield when the
1865 Illinois Census was taken and during the Federal Census’ of 1870 and 1880. When looking at the 1870
and 1880 Census sheets, it appears that Wallace and Carrie were living somewhere in Arnold’s Addition to
Plainfield since they are listed on the same page as the family of Edgar L. Doud. Edgar Doud had purchased
Block 3 in Arnold’s Addition to Plainfield in January 1869 from Robert and Frances (Bales) Crist for $1,000
and were living in the former house of Reverend Stephen R. Beggs.
On February 25, 1882, Wallace Hall purchased Lots 1 and 2 in Block 12 in Section 16 of Ingersoll’s Original
Plainfield from Plainfield District 1 School Trustees for $525. Built on the north half of Lot 1 was the
Academy Building, a two-story Greek Revival-styled structure with a rare Temple Front interpretation of the
style constructed by the District in 1855 replacing the one room school built by the Lower District School
Trustees that was moved to the east side of Division Street by Charles Needham, Sr. Lot 1 had been
purchased by District 1 Trustees in 1849 from Samuel Pratt and Frederick Tuttle for $15 and Lot 2 was
purchased by District 1 Trustees in August 1863 for $75 from Jonathan Hagar.
On March 1, 1882, less than a week after purchasing Lots 1 and 2 from the District 1 School Trustees,
Wallace Hall sold the Academy Building to Peter W. Spangler for $300 with the understanding that he
would move the building off of the north half of Lot 1 in Block 12. Spangler moved the former school
building west to Fox River Street to Lot 2 and the East 20 feet of the South 66 feet of Lot 3 in Block 4 of
Emma Harbaugh’s re-subdivision of the North half of Block 4 sometime after March 1884. On March 10,
1882, Wallace Hall sold the North half of Lots 1 and 2 in Block 12 to George Robert McClester for $175 and
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hired McClester, a master carpenter, to build him the 2-story single family residence exhibiting Greek
Revival and Italianate styles as applied to a Side Hall Plan vernacular building type on the South half of Lots
1 and 2 that is the subject of this nomination. Once Spangler had relocated the Academy school building to
Fox River, McClester built himself a house on the North half of Lot 1 [15118 (510) S. Division]. Nearly
eighteen months later on July 27, 1883, Wallace and Carrie Hall sold their new house on the South Half of
Lots 1 and 2 to widow, Judith Suydam for $2,250 in contract 135-165.
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Appendix D
Subsequent Owners
Judith (Aulsbrook) Suydam was one of nine children, four boys and five girls, born to John Aulsbrook and
Mary Raynor in England between 1805 to 1820, eight of whom emigrated to the United States. Historical
information indicates the patriarch of the family, John Aulsbrook, age 64, arrived in New York City on
September 6, 1838 from Liverpool on the ship “South America.” Their first-born child, William Aulsbrook
had emigrated six years earlier in 1828 and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio and in March 1830 married Elizabeth
Sibcy. In May 1831, Elizabeth gave birth to their son Alfred W. and two years later in April 1832, she was a
widow after William drowned in the cellar.
Several children of the Suydam family settled in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky.
On April 14, 1834, Judith married Charles Suydam in Fern Creek, Kentucky. Fern Creek had been first
settled in 1789 and was located southeast of Louisville and soon thereafter the couple moved across the Ohio
River into southwestern Ohio near Cincinnati. In 1838, Samuel was born and two years later in 1840, James.
Judith’s older brother, Henry Aulsbrook, was a cabinetmaker by trade in Louisville and on January 14, 1836,
married Philena Livingstone in Louisville. Henry and Philena had two children while living in Louisville,
Henry was born in 1840 and Charles in 1843. In late 1848 or 1849, Henry moved to Plainfield and on
January 12, 1850, Henry purchased Lots 14 and 15 in Block 13 from John D. Shreffler for $250. The
contract (R-426-7) was for the two lots located on Ottawa Street at the southeast corner of Ottawa and Fox
River with a house located on Lot 15. A month later in February 1850, Henry purchased Lots 16 and 17 at
the southeast corner of Oak and DesPlaines Street from the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church and
built his cabinet shop on Lot 17 selling Lot 16 to Robert Webb in September 1851. Prior to Henry’s arrival
in Plainfield, his sister Judith Aulsbrook and her husband Charles Suydam had purchased a farm near Bristol
in Na-Au-Say Township in Kendall County and Judith’s father, John Aulsbrook relocated to Plainfield to
live with Henry and Philena.
In April 1850, John Aulsbrook died in Plainfield at the age of seventy-six and two months later on June 2,
1850, Henry Aulsbrook’s wife Philena passed away at the age of 35. Henry remarried in September 1851 to
Caroline Smith of Frankfort, Illinois and they would have three sons – Martin (1853), Julius (1854) and Jesse
(1857). The 1850 Census indicated that Henry’s oldest child, Henry Jr. was living in nearby to Joliet
employed as a painter. In October 1861, Henry signed up in Joliet with the 13th Regiment of the Illinois
Cavalry, Company F as a bugler. On May 4, 1862 soon after his twenty-second birthday, Henry was killed
instantly while assisting with a 32-pound artillery piece that discharged prematurely in Ironton, Missouri..
His body was returned to Joliet where he was buried.
After turning sixteen, Henry’s two sons, Martin and Julius became apprentice cabinetmakers alongside their
father at his cabinet shop in Plainfield. In October, 1876, Martin married in Iowa and soon thereafter his
father moved with his wife Caroline and their son Julius to near Belle Plaine, Iowa located in the southwest
corner of Benton County approximately two miles north of the Iowa River where they established a cabinet
shop. By 1885, Henry and his wife Caroline and his two sons have relocated to Sturgis, Michigan where
Martin ran a furniture store and his youngest son Julius continued his work as a furniture maker and married
in 1887.
On January 4, 1880, Judith’s husband Charles Suydam died at the age of 67 on their farm in Kendall County.
The 1880 Census finds Judith briefly living with the family of William Barron who had married the middle
child of Judith’s youngest sister Mary. Judith decided to move from Kendall County where she and her
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husband had resided for over 35 years to purchase a house in Plainfield. Using money from the sale of their
farm, Judith purchased the house built for Wallace Peter Hall and his wife Carrie on the south half of Lots 1
and 2 in Block 12 by George R. McClester for $2,250 on July 27, 1883. Judith lived in the house until her
death on September 12, 1891 and on December 29, 1891, the executor of her estate, William Barron sold the
house to John D. Hahn, Sr. for $2,000.
Eventually children of the Hahn, Mottinger and Hartong families became intertwined and would move
from Summit County in eastern Ohio to Will County and Plainfield. The oldest child of Peter and Anne
Marie Hahn was Sarah Frances born in 1810, nearly sixteen years before the birth of her brother, John David.
When Sarah married Dr. John Garland Sowers on April 8, 1830, she was twenty and her husband was nearly
fifty and her brother John David was not quite four. A year after the 1840 Census was completed, Dr.
Sowers moved with his wife and their one-year old daughter, Mary Louisa from eastern Ohio to Adams
County, Illinois. Adams County was the westernmost county in Illinois and was formed in 1825 from Pike
County and was named in honor of the sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams with the
county seat being named Quincy. On January 1, 1842, Dr. Sowers and his wife had their second child,
Frances Ardelia in Plainville about 18 miles southeast of Quincy and in May 1845, they had their third child,
Andrew Jackson in Akron, Ohio. By 1847 Dr. Sowers had moved his family to Naperville, Illinois where on
January 9, 1848, their last child, Jared Henry was born. Sarah died in September 1848 and Jared died soon
thereafter and Dr. Sowers died during a cholera outbreak in Naperville in July 1849. It seems likely that via
correspondence and conversations after the Sowers’ family moved back to Summit County, Ohio in 1844 the
virtues of northeastern Illinois and Will County were extolled.
On December 29, 1891, the sixty-five year old retired farmer, John David Hahn, Sr. and his sixty-two year
old wife, Rebecca Shreffler became the third owners after they purchased the house from the estate of Judith
Suydam for $2,000 and moved into town after having lived on their farm east of the village for 34 years.
Judith Suydam had lived in the house for nearly 8½ years before her death in September 1891. John David
Hahn came to Plainfield Township in the Spring of 1847 with his mother after the death of his father in May
1844. His oldest brother, Peter William Hahn had changed careers in 1842 after having worked on the family
farm for more than ten years and entered the ministry of the Evangelical Association. The Evangelical
Church or Evangelical Association, also known as the Albright Brethren, was a “body of American
Christians chiefly of German descent”, Arminian in doctrine and theology; in its form of church government,
Methodist Episcopal. Its roots reach back to May 1767, though the church was not organized until 1800 in
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where the movement spread to include German-speaking churches in
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and Ohio.
In April 1846, Peter Hahn married Mary Ann Mottinger of Greensburg, Ohio and by August 1846 they
joined Mary’s uncle, the Rev. George Mottinger, also affiliated with the Evangelical Association to move to
Plainfield. Here George Mottinger and Peter Hahn joined with Daniel Shreffler, also a member of the
Evangelical Association who had moved his family from Center County, Pennsylvania to begin an
Evangelical Class. In September 1846, Peter Hahn purchased an 80-acre farm with a house in Section 12 of
Plainfield Township about three miles east of Plainfield and his brother John David and their widowed
mother moved from Ohio in early 1847 to live and work the farm. Soon Peter Hahn chose to join other
pastors in the Naperville circuit which grew to over 100 members by 1855. By November of 1855 the
building of the Sharon Evangelical Church at the southeast corner of Dillman and Lockport Street was
finished with services in English and German.
In April 1848, Daniel Shreffler sold a six-acre parcel complete with a house south of Plainfield to John D.
Hahn in Section 21. In June, 1848, John’s brother, Peter Hahn and his wife sold their 80-acre farm in Section
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12 and a 6½ acre parcel in Section 21 adjacent to the property purchased from Daniel Shreffler to his brother
John David Hahn, Jr. After 1848 Peter Hahn began criss-crossing the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana.
Michigan, and Illinois while maintaining his residence on a farm outside Greensburg, Ohio near where his
paternal grandfather, Adam Hahn moved his family to the eastern Ohio Territory from Manchester,
Maryland near Baltimore in 1800 and his maternal grandfather, George Adam Stump moved his family from
York, Pennsylvania to the same area of eastern Ohio Territory in 1800. Both men had served in the
Continental Army and had earned Revolutionary War land bounty warrants that they used to secure their
farmland in eastern Ohio. These two families along with another by the name of Sumner formed the nucleus
of the new community, New Lisbon, Ohio founded by a Baptist minister Lewis Kinney, naming it after
Lisbon, Portugal.
Sometime after John David Hahn brought his mother to the Plainfield area in early 1847, he became
acquainted with Daniel Shreffler’s youngest daughter Rebecca at Evangelical services. On June 8, 1849, a
twenty-two year old John David Hahn married a just turned nineteen year old, Rebecca Shreffler. In January
1857, John D. Hahn and Daniel Shreffler completed the purchase and sale of two properties – John and
Rebecca sold the Daniel Shreffler the 80 acre farm in Section 12 for $4,000 that John had purchased from his
brother in June 1848 and Daniel Shreffler sold his 192 acre farm in Section 1 to John and Rebecca Hahn for
$9,500. When Daniel Shreffler died at age sixty-six in May 1860, John and Rebecca had had five
grandchildren. Ten years later, the 1870 Census shows a retired John Hahn with real estate valued at $22,000
and his wife Rebecca living on their Plainfield Township farm with their six children and her seventy-six
year old mother, Catherine Shreffler.
The 1860 Census lists a John Mottinger, a widower living on the family farm near Greensburg, Ohio with
sons Samuel Long (21) and Daniel (19), single daughter Rebecca (23) and married daughter Leah (30), with
her husband John Bender (32) and their three children. In December 1862, his youngest son Daniel married
Elizabeth Shoemaker and in February 1863 his daughter, Rebecca became the third wife of Elias Hartong.
Later in 1863, John sold his family farm to Thomas Shoemaker and with his son Samuel Long Mottinger
relocated to Plainfield where his younger brother, Rev. George Mottinger had moved in 1846, as a member
of the Evangelical Association. John Mottinger married the widow of Michael Dillman in December 1864
and purchased the house at the northeast corner of Lockport and Eastern Avenue in 1865 where they lived
until she died in 1877. In 1881, John Mottinger sold the house in Plainfield and moved back to Akron in
Summit County, Ohio to live with his daughters Leah and Rebecca until his death in 1883. Several members
of the Mottinger family continued to live in Plainfield.
The beginnings of the Hartong family originated in Lancaster County of Pennsylvania. Lancaster County is
located in southeast central Pennsylvania about eighty miles east of Philadelphia and was organized on May
10, 1729 as Pennsylvania’s fourth county and was named after the city of Lancaster in the English county of
Lancashire, the native home of John Wright, an early settler. Many of the settlers to Lancaster County
originally came from German-speaking areas of Europe and spoke a dialect of German, they referred to as
“Deitsch” (Deutsch). Over the years this was corrupted to “Pennsylvania Dutch” – they have nothing to do
with Holland, the Netherlands or the Dutch language.
The patriarch of the Hartong family was Christian Hartong (1758 – 1809) and with his wife Barbara
Schumacher (1762 – 1835) lived initially in Lancaster County raising at least a dozen children. Family
records from the 17th and 18th Century are often difficult to locate, read or verify and the records of the
Hartong children indicate they were quite prolific. In 1813 Philip Hartong moved his family from
Pennsylvania to Stark County in northeastern Ohio and in 1824 his younger brother Jacob, a weaver, moved
his family to Summit County in eastern Ohio, which was adjacent to Stark County, purchasing 200 acres of
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land that the family farmed. However after 15 years of farming, Jacob returned to his love of weaving,
supplying clothes to his family and neighbors while his sons worked the farm.
Elias Hartong was the second of twelve children born to Jacob and Elizabeth and one of six boys. He was
five years old when his parents moved from Pennsylvania to their new farm in Summit County, Ohio near
Akron in 1824. Elias married in February 1840 and over the next forty-six years Elias would have three
wives, twenty-one children, purchase land in Plainfield Township from the estate of Daniel Shreffler in
1861, have alternate residences in Will (Census’ 1850, 1860, 1880) and Summit (1870) counties on his
father’s farm outside Akron, Ohio and was buried in Akron, Ohio in 1886. Additionally four of Elias’
brothers, Jacob, Jonathan, Levi and Clinton also relocated to the Plainfield area during the nineteenth century
and made substantial contributions to the community.
After John David Hahn, Sr. purchased the house, he lived in the house for only 125 days before his death on
May 4, 1892 and his wife Rebecca lived in the house 7 weeks shy of twenty years – December 29, 1891 to
November 4, 1911. After seventy-eight years, the heirs of John David Hahn, Sr. sold the property in January
1970. Thus the 139-year old house has had only 6 owners since it was built in 1882 by Wallace and Carrie
Hall.
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Appendix E
Summary Statement of Significance
ArchiSearch’s 2006 evaluation of this 138 year old, two-story house survey notations exclaim –
EXCELLENT Integrity !!!! House retains an exceptionally high degree of integrity, including a
number of significant stylistic features –
course limestone foundation on original house, clapboard walls, water table, corner boards on all corners of
original house including the addition with caps in Greek Revival pilaster fashion and cornice; asphalt
shingle gable front roof as temple form influence of the Greek Revival style; 3 façade bays, varied side
elevation piles, flat roof Italianate style entrance hood, right/north bay, double paneled original doors, 4-
light transom, oversized brackets with side frieze cut-out
panels
The period of significance would be when Wallace Peter Hall and his wife Carrie had this house built for
themselves by a local carpenter and friend George Robert McClester in 1882 to the sale of the property by
the heirs of John David Hahn, Sr. in 1970. The addition onto the west one story original structure was
completed in 1980 or 1981 by the Smith family who had purchased the property in January 1970, after an
accident left their son a quadriplegic so he could navigate around the house.
The house at 15124 S. Route 59 is nominated for designation as a local landmark in the Village of Plainfield
under the following criteria:
Criterion c: is identified with persons who significantly contributed to the development of the community,
county, state, or nation;
Criterion d: embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a
period, type. Method of construction, or use of indigenous materials;
Criterion f: embodies elements of design, detailing, materials, or craftsmanship that are of architectural
significance;
Criterion j; - is suitable for preservation or restoration
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Appendix F
Exhibit Table of Contents
A. Ingersoll’s Original Plat of Planefield – 1834
B. Ingersoll’s Addition to Plainfield – 1837
C. Plat of Arnold’s Addition to Plainfield – September 4, 1845 – this shows the quarter section that
came to be known as Arnold’s Addition - was surveyed almost a year after Levi Arnold’s death.
D. Chittenden & Smiley’s subdivision of a part of the SE ¼ of Sec. 9 -1867
E. Elihu Corbin’s Addition to Plainfield – 1852
F. Chain of Title for 15124 (508) S. Route 59 (f/k/a Division)
G. 1850 & 1860 U. S. Census for Union & Centre Townships in Porter County, Indiana
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EXHIBIT A
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EXHIBIT B
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EXHIBIT C
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EXHIBIT D
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EXHIBIT E
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EXHIBIT F
15124 (508) S. Route 59 (f/k/a Division)
06-03-16-214-004-0000
S ½ of Lots 1 & 2 in Block 12 in E ½ of NE ¼ of Sec. 16 in original town of Plainfield
GRANTOR GRANTEE
7/19/2017 Ionia Real Properties, LLC [MTG – R2017057538] $233,600 Bank of the West
7/05/2017 English, Michael E. [WD-R2017057538] $292,000 Ionia Real Properties, LLC
9/30/2008 English, Michael E. [WD – R2008135373] $6,700 IL. Dept. of Transportation
234 Square Feet sold to IDOT
9/18/1991 Smith, Mary C. [WD – R91055185] $85,000 English, Michael E.
Smith, C. Deane
Smith, Barbara Pauline
1/23/1970 Ramsey, John [WD –R70001350] Smith, C. Deane
McCoy, Gertrude Hamlin(dies 1968)
3/28/1947 Bertino, Delores [QCD – 1158-359] Hamlin, Lester S. (died 1949)
Hamlin, Gertrude C.
S ½ of Lots 1 & 2 in Block 12 in E ½ of NE ¼ of Sec. 16
3/28/1947 Hamlin, Lester S./Gertrude V.[QCD – 1158 – 357] Bertino, Delores
8/06/1940 Bronk, Clare/Myrtle [QCD – 891-535] Hamlin, Lester S.
Bronk, LaVerne/Ferne (Son of Catherine Hahn)
Hamlin, Catherine (Hahn) S ½ of lots 1 & 2 in Block 12
9/13/1913 Hahn, William T./Marietta [Deed – 486-384-5] $1.00 Hahn Jr.,John D.
(died 1939 – youngest son of John D. Hahn)
McClaskey, Helen E./David E.
Hamlin, Catharine J./Harrison S. S ½ of lots 1 & 2 in Block 12
Bronk, Mary Alice/Eugene J.
Heirs at law of John D. Hahn, Sr. & Henrietta Hahn (dec. daughter of John D. Hahn)
12/29/1891 Suydam, Judith (Est) [Deed – 290-54] $2,000 Hahn Sr., John David
William Barron- Executor Died May 4, 1892
S ½ of Lots 1 & 2 in Block 12 in the Village of Plainfield
7/27/1883 Hall, Wallace P./Carrie M. [SWD – 135-165] $2,250 Suydam, Judith
S ½ of Lots 1 & 2 in Block 12 in the Village of Plainfield – built by George Robert McClester
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2/25/1882 Trustees of Schools [WD – 220-175] $525 Hall, Wallace P.
Frank Metcalf, Pres.
Chittenden, G. N.; Clerk
Lots 1 & 2 in Block 12 in Village of Plainfield
8/18/1863 Hagar, Jonathan/Adaline [WD – 105-231] $75 Dist. 1 School Trustees
Lot 2 in Block 12 in Village of Plainfield
5/01/1862 Tuttle, Frederick/Lucia [WD – 74-272] $70 Hagar, Jonathan
Lot 2 in Block 12 in Village of Plainfield
6/11/1849 Pratt, Samuel S/Adeline [WD – 105-230] $15 Trustees of Schools
Tuttle, Frederick B./Lucia
Lot 1 in Block 12 to be held as a school lot for District 1
3/20/1846 Ingersoll, Chester [Deed – K-1] $10 Tuttle, Sarah
Lot 2 in Block 12 in Village of Plainfield
8/27/1834 Plat of Planefield – Record 1 – 52-53 –
Survey completed by Jedidiah Woolley on 6/05/1834
4/02/1834 (US Land Office) to State of Illinois [Patent – 417 – 515] $200 Ingersoll, Chester
160 A. located in NE ¼ of Sec. 16 paid by Chester Ingersoll to the Auditor of Public Accounts,
Richard I. Hamilton, School Commissioner & Agent for Cook County
12/03/1833 Ingersoll, Chester [Mtg – 1-24] $1,000 Blanchard, Francis Gurtrey
Cook County) (Cook County - Bachelor from Brooklyn, NY)
W ½ & E ½ of NE ¼ of Sec. 16 in Twp. 36 N Range 9E, containing 160 A. with interest at 10%
per year & in case of non-payment of said sum of $1,000, Chester Ingersoll empowers Francis
Blanchard to sell & convey the above mortgaged premises at public auction…..
acknowledged - 12/03/1833
10/21/1833 Hamilton, Richard I. [Deed – 417-515] $200 Ingersoll, Chester
NE ¼ of Sec. 16, containing 160 A. in Cook County to be used by inhabitants of Sec. 16
for schools. The parcels set aside for use of schools shall be Lots 1 & 2 in Block 12 in
the Village of Plainfield
10/21/1833 U.S. Land Office [Land Patent] $200 Ingersoll, Chester
E ½ of NE ¼ & W ½ of NE ¼ of Sec. 16 in Twp. 36 N Range 9 E, containing 160 Acres
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EXHIBIT G
1850 Census 1860 Census
October 2 – Union Twp., Porter County June 4 – Centre Twp., Valparaiso, Porter
23 Adam H. Parriott – VA (farmer) 32 Adam H. Parriott - Landlord
18 Sarah (Hall) Parriott – Canada 27 Sarah
24 Philo M. Robinson – VT. 9 Cicelia A. - IN
6 Wilford Henry - IN
45 Henry Hall – Canada (farmer) 1 Wallace Adam- IN
46 Maria (Carroll) – Canada 27 Wallace P. Hall - Landlord
23 Ichabod Hall 25 Carrie (Liscomb) - Ohio
19 Maria A. Hall
16 Clarissa Hall With 14 listed as residents of hotel
14 Peter Hall
12 Henrietta Hall
10 William P. Hall
5 Susan S. Hall
1850 Census 1860 Census
Oct. 8 – Union Twp., Porter County June 1 – Centre Twp., Valparaiso, Porter
52 Wilford Parriott – Maryland (farmer) 61 Wilford Parriott
42 Cordelia – VA 52 Cordelia Parriott
14 Knighton – IN 24 Knighton (carpenter)
10 Wilford E. – IN 20 Wilford E. (clerk at Hotel)
7 Bernice A – IN 16 Bernice A.
Parents of Adam Parriott & his siblings 37 Molby Carr - PA
29 Maria A (Hall) – sister of Wallace
7 Pulaski V. Carr – IN
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
A Field Guide to American Architecture, Carole Rifkind, A Plume Book, 1980, ISBN 0-452-25334-5
A History of Plainfield: Then and Now (2nd Edition), Plainfield Bicentennial Commission (Plainfield
Enterprise: Plainfield, Illinois, 1976
Ancestry.com
Appointments of US Postmasters – 1832 - 1971
Historic Urbanized Core Survey, Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission. ArchiSearch Historic
Preservation Consultant Alice Novak, Sept. 12, 2005
Archivists at Dickinson College, Kings College, Thomas Jefferson University, University of Pennsylvania
The History of Will County, Illinois - 1878
Plainfield Enterprise
Plainfield Historical Society Archives – Plainfield, Illinois
Plainfield Township Cemetery Records
Restoring Old Houses, Nigel Hutchins, Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY, 1997, ISBN 1-55209-144-9
Rush University Medical Center Archives (Rush Medical College)
U.S. Federal Census Records – 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940
Will County Clerk’s Office
Will County Recorder’s Office Archives: Joliet, Illinois.
Researchers:
Michael Bortel
Leif Henricksen
David Schmidt
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14907 S. Bartlett Ave. Location Map
Source: Esri, Maxar, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS,
USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community, Sources: Esri,
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HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS
14907 S. Bartlett Ave.
@ NE corner Amboy St.
PIN/Property Index Number
#06-03-10-310-037-0000
Historic Property Name(s)
Common Name(s)
Wright Residence
Architectural Style
Queen Anne
Vernacular Building Type
no type
Construction Date
c. 1890
Architect/Builder
Historic Use(s)
Single Family Residential
Present Use(s)
Single Family Residential
History (associated events, people, dates)
H. H. Evan’s [sic] Subdivision. Appears as #111 on the 1931 Sanborn map, the earliest map to show this block. House
shown with the slight facade L-shape and a central wing, with full-wing reentrant angle porches on both the north and
south sides. A small 1 story garage single bay garage was along Amboy, to the SE of the house. At that time, Amboy was
not paved, and no other houses were to the north of this house, on this block. By the 1944 Sanborn, 805, adjacent to the
north, had been built, but the remainder of the block was still vacant.
Description
See reverse side/Continuation Sheet.
Integrity/Major Physical changes from original construction
Rear gable wing added in place of non-historic garage addition. High degree of integrity, thanks to renovation work which
unveiled the extant highly varied wall treatments.
Subsidiary Building(s)/Site
Nicely landscaped front and side lots. 5-light “street” light added to left/north of front walk. Larger north side lot with
patio. 2 car modern gambrel roof garage inspired by house’s roof line and in the style of a carriage barn. Two overhead
doors, shed roof dormer with bank of 5 windows south for upper story office space. Pedestrian door south, to west of
overhead doors; shed hood as extension of gambrel slope. Fiber cement siding with belt course between 1st and upper
story, also as inspired by house.
Registration & Evaluation
National Register of Historic Places: Currently Listed: ___yes X no
If not currently listed, recommend: Individually ___yes X no; historic district X yes no
Contributing X or non-contributing X (garage, due to age)
Significance statement: An outstanding example of the Queen Anne style, with the characteristic highly varied walls
and cut-away bay. VP; EP; BA.
Village of Plainfield designation: Currently Listed: ___yes X no
If not currently listed, recommend: Historic Landmark X yes no; Historic District X yes no
Contributing X or non-contributing X (garage, due to age)
Form prepared by: ArchiSearch Historic Preservation Consultants (Alice Novak) Date of Field Survey: 9.13.05 - 129
803 N. Bartlett Ave.
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HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS
PIN/Property Index Number
#06-03-10-310-037-0000
Description
Coursed limestone foundation; varied wall treatment including narrow gauge clapboard and shaped shingles (2nd story),
wood water table, corner boards, belt course between 1st and 2nd stories; architectural asphalt shingle gable roof, with steep
shed. 2 and 1.5 stories; L-shaped front; 3 facade bays; varied side elevation piles. Left gable pavilion with rectangular cut-
away bay with fixed sash on 1st story, stained glass transom, under extended 2nd story above. Paired 1/1 double-hung sash
on 2nd story with 4-light historic wood storm sash. Belt course at gable with shaped shingles, including diamond and
rounded shingles. Right/south with steeply-pitched shed roof porch off side gable section. Corner post, wood floor, no
balustrade. Entrance toward reentrant angle/left under porch. Shed roof dormer above with 2 fixed sash. Mixed side
elevation sash includes 1/1 double-hung sash pairs and shed pent roof over two fixed sash on the upper story. Rear gable
wing under construction/renovation with porch moved to east end, former garage location. c. 1973 2 car attached garage
removed for wing.
803 N. Bartlett Ave.
14907 S. Bartlett Ave.
@ NE corner Amboy St.
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Sketch of Fence at side yard facing front yard.
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Existing fence adjacent to the applicant. The pickets shown in this photo are the exact ones proposed.
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Front Yard view from Bartlett Avenue (google image)
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Proposed Fence – Wellington Aluminum Fence‐ 48” height
This fence matches the neighbor to the north that adjoins the side yard of the applicant.
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