SS House Back Area

At the Strawbridge-Shepherd House,
Tom Bundy and crew are restoring the back area.
Above, a workman excavates below the first floor near HVAC ducts.

Workers replaced the old collapsed foundation with new sills and beams.

The exposed basement reveals early stone and brick work, ca. 1850.

If you want to contribute time or money to the project,
please call or write to the Iles House (address above).

Pictures by Dick Hart

Preservation Award

On May 14, the Elijah Iles House Foundation was named Preservationist of the Year at the 15th annual Mayor's Awards for Historic Preservation. Several hundred were present for the event, held at The Inn at 835.

Describing the Iles House as “one of the real jewels in the city,” Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin said the award honors the Foundation for its efforts over the past decade to restore the structure, which is the city's oldest residence.

The organization also won recognition for its work, with the University of Illinois at Springfield, to restore one of the oldest farmsteads in central Illinois, the 1841 Strawbridge-Shepherd House at the edge of the UIS campus.

Winners of the awards are selected by the Springfield Historic Sites Commission. Dave Barringer, Mike Dunbar and Dick Hart accepted the award on behalf of the Foundation.

Above and below are images taken at the S-S House on Sunday, May 20. Members of the House committee are discussing restoration of the four-acre prairie behind the house and renovation of the house foundation and sill, which are badly deteriorated.

Donations to support this work are welcome. Please use the phone or e-mail address above.

PS: The house needs 8 volunteer docents to lead tours this season. If interested, please call!

SS House Progress

This picture dates from last April 19, when the Strawbridge-Shepherd committee visited the House to meet with Professor William Siles and students from his UIS class on historic preservation.

Dick Hart is speaking to the group, which included Carolyn Oxtoby (right) and other members of the committee. The restoration team has made great progress on the House since last winter, and we hope to have more pictures soon.

Photo by Carol J. Dyson

Mourning Period

More images of the Lincoln mourning decorations have arrived.
Here, volunteers attach traditional funeral bunting to the porch railing.

This group of visitors represented Company A-14 Michigan Infantry.
They are members of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Viewed from any angle, the house has a somber appearance.

The mourning period ends on May 4, anniversary of the Lincoln funeral.

Pictures by Dulany Sriner

In Memoriam

Abraham Lincoln died 142 years ago today, at 7:22 am on April 15, 1865. His friends, Elijah Iles and Robert Irwin, mourned as did all of Springfield.

In memory of his death, the Iles House is decorated in mourning drapery from April 15 until the Lincoln funeral date of May 4. A photo and a video of the decoration process appears on the State Journal-Register site.

This observance marks the first time since 1865 that Springfield has so honored the passing of its famous citizen and America's greatest President.

Tribute by Henry Ward Beecher, pastor of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, New York:

Four year ago, O Illinois, we took from your midst an untried man and from among the people. We return him to you a mighty conquerer. Not thine any more, but the nation's; not ours, but the world's. Give him place, O ye prairies. In the midst of this great continent his dust shall rest, a sacred treasure to myriads who shall pilgrim to that shrine to kindle anew their zeal and patriotism.

Pictures by Dick Hart

More Findings

Restoration work at the Strawbridge-Shepherd House.
Here, stored items lie in front of the summer kitchen.

Shutters, wood work, lightning rods, tables, chests, windows, and doors.
Note the prairie acreage at the rear.

A fireplace surround, probably from the house second floor.

Two bent wood wheel chairs.

Charles and Dennis power-wash the shutters.
Almost fifty have been recovered.

The restoration contractor, Tom Bundy, says the shutters are original.
He plans to have them painted and reinstalled.

Charles Taylor power-washes a brick sidewalk by the kitchen.

Results of the power-washing.
Summer kitchens were used to keep heat out of houses.

Early visitors to the house. Left to Right:
William Siles, UIS Professor of History; Ian Hunt, UIS student; Rosie Serio, UIS student; Christine Morris, Program Officer for the Midwest Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and Carol Dyson, Senior Preservation Architect, IHPA

All pictures by Richard Hart

Happy Spring

On Saturday, March 31st, Iles House volunteers rose early to provide water to half-marathon runners. The House was their first water stop on the 13-mile journey. For more pictures of the race, see the DS Digitals site.

At noon a ribbon-cutting ceremony opened the new brick patio, which provides outdoor dining and easy access to the ground floor and elevator. Mr. Iles (left) joined visitors for nibbles.

In the afternoon, local experts continued their round-table discussion of historic preservation issues in Springfield and Sangamon County. All in all, a very busy day to welcome spring!

Pictures by Dulany Sriner

Busy Day for Elijah

Mr. Iles kept very busy on his birthday.
First, check the watch.
Yes, time for a little coffee and cake downstairs.

Do we have enough reminders of age around here?

Next, escort the first rider to the new elevator lift.

Watch her snip the ceremonial ribbon.

A moment for contemplation.
How time has gone by!

Finally, take in the round table discussion.
Here's to all those who remember and honor the past.

Pictures by Dulany Sriner

Iles Day

March 28 is the birthday of Elijah Iles (1796-1883), and opening day of Iles House for the 2007 season. We are now entering the third year of operation and the house has evolved considerably from the picture above, taken on Opening Day in September, 2005.

Today begins regular House tours, offered from 10 am to 4 pm every Wed and Sat until late December. Tours are led by period costumed guides or well-informed docents. At 11:15 am we will have a dedication and opening ceremony for the new elevator lift, providing service to disabled visitors. A program of 19th-century American music will follow, with service of free cake and Melinda Iles punch.

In the afternoon, students from the Iles School will perform choral and instrumental music, and experts will deliver a round table on historic preservation in Sangamon County. Iles House is the oldest home in Springfield, and it is open again to everyone.

Layers of the Past

Restoration work at the Strawbridge-Shepherd House on the UIS campus has proceeded this winter, despite heavy snows and bitter cold. Above we see a worker removing a drop ceiling on the second floor. Peeling back layers of the past brings to light constant discoveries.

First floor, northeast room: removal of wall paneling and dropped ceiling exposes an early fireplace location, which fits a mantle found stored in the summer kitchen. The original wall paint is a mustard color, and stencils appear on both ceiling and walls.

First floor, southeast room: removal of carpet and floor reveals the original wide planks. The top part of the mantle is Greek Revival and also came from the summer kitchen.

Second floor, northeast room: workers uncover an original firebox and flue. Most of the rooms have fireplaces, a fact that reflects on the winters those early residents faced.

Pictures by Dick Hart.

Brinkerhoff House

A Victorian monument on the north side of Springfield, the George M. Brinkerhoff House stands at 1500 North Fifth Street. Built in 1869 for $17,000 ($250,000 today), the home was occupied by the Brinkerhoff family until 1926.

G. M. Brinkerhoff was a teacher at Illinois State University, helped organize railway and iron companies in Springfield, and served in city government as comptroller and auditor.

In 1926 the Ursuline Order bought the home and used it as an administration building. In the 1970s Doris Bucari of the Springfield College Board helped to save it from demolition. Today it is available for private events and remains a treasure of historic preservation.

Photographs by Dulany Sriner; see more at his site.

Strawbridge-Shepherd House

Today the University of Illinois at Springfield and the Iles House Foundation announced an agreement on the Strawbridge-Shepherd House, an 1845 home on University land.

The University has granted the Foundation a 10-year lease and the two institutions will work together to preserve and maintain the property. Some restoration work began in late November, as seen in these pictures.

Details about the agreement appear in today's issue of the State Journal-Register. The Foundation has raised seed funds to launch this project, and it welcomes contributions from the public. Eventually the Strawbridge-Shepherd House will serve Sangamon County as the Iles House serves Springfield, as places for preserving and learning about a remarkable past.

Pictures by Dick Hart

Robert Davis

On Feb 20, Iles House hosted the Sangamon County Historical Society. The guest speaker was Robert Davis, who delivered a moving first-person account of Andrew Lewis, a slave who escaped to freedom and fought in the Civil War with the 29th Illinois Regiment.

Mr. Davis is pictured here with his wife, Patricia J. Davis, who works in recruitment for the SIU School of Medicine. A fiscal officer with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Mr. Davis holds degrees from Princeton and Chicago, and he has taught at Lincoln Land and the University of Illinois at Springfield.

He grew up in Detroit, where he heard stories about the Civil War from his parents and grandparents. Born in 1886 and 1889, his grandparents lived near Comer, Georgia, and spoke often about General Sherman's army marching through Georgia.

Mr. Davis is active with Civil War re-enactors and hopes one day to form an African-American cavalry unit, complete with uniforms and horses. Recently he joined the board of directors of the Abraham Lincoln Association.

Pictures by Dick Hart

Meacham Reception

The speaker of the hour on Lincoln Day was Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek, seen here making a hasty departure to try to beat the Feb 12 blizzard. (See below for update.)

On the evening of February 11, the Iles House hosted a reception for the Abraham Lincoln Association. The event capped a year of presidency of the ALA for Richard Hart, seen above in the center, and flanked by Robert Lenz and Richard Marroc.

Also attending was Kathryn Harris, Director of Library Services for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

Update: Mr. Meacham's jet taxied to the end of the runway at Capitol Airport, but it could not take off. Thanks to the Big Snow, he spent part of Valentine's Day still in Lincoln Land.

Pictures by Dulany Sriner.

Lincoln Days

Much excitement in Springfield this weekend, as citizens gather to mark the 198th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. A reception for distinguished guests will be held at the Iles House at 6 pm on Sunday, February 11.

On Monday, February 12, the Abraham Lincoln Association will hold its annual dinner at the Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center. The Association president this year is Richard E. Hart, a Springfield attorney and founding member of the Iles House board.

The banquet speaker is Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek and author of distinguished books on civil rights, the Roosevelt-Churchill friendship, and religion in American political life. His address title is "The Will of God Prevails: Abraham Lincoln and American Religion."

Also of historic note: on Saturday, February 10, the junior U. S. Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, declared his candidacy for President in the 2008 election. His setting was the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln made his famous "House Divided" speech against slavery.

Lifelong Learning

Recent visitors to the Iles House included members of the Academy of Life-Long Learning, sponsored by Lincoln Land Community College.

Over forty seniors from the Springfield area enjoyed a tour of the House and a presentation by John Alexander. Mr. Alexander was a member of the Illinois Constitutional Convention in the 1960s. He now owns Books on the Square, a store in Virden that specializes in the history and genealogy of Macoupin County.

As you may tell from the presence of heavy coats, the winter afternoon was cold, but good cheer and warm smiles prevailed.

Pictures and story by Dick Hart.