HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY
Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS 503 W. Main St. PIN/Property Index Number #06-03-09-402-020-0000 Historic Property Name(s) Plainfield House Halfway House Common Name(s) Halfway House Architectural Style Greek Revival influence Vernacular Building Type no type Construction Date 1834; c. 1836 - 38 Architect/Builder Historic Use(s) Commerce/restaurant; Domestic/hotel; Government/post office; Domestic/single family Present Use(s) Single Family Residential History (associated events, people, dates) See attached Continuation Sheet. Description See reverse side. Integrity/Major Physical changes from original construction Blown-in insulation holes through original wood walls. House reflects a series of historic wings & renovations, with no modern alterations apparent.
Subsidiary Building(s)/Site Marker in front of house, in east front lot. Single width driveway to adjacent east of house, changed from gravel to asphalt between field survey and photography (January & February 2006) phases of the survey. 1.5 story board and batten modern garage in carriage barn style. Side gable faces front/west with pedestrian door and two 4-light windows, plus loft door. 2 gable roof dormers west; 2 entrances/openings boarded. 2nd story rear balcony, north.
Registration & Evaluation National Register of Historic Places: Currently Listed: X yes no (NR listed: September 29, 1980) If not currently listed, recommend: Individually ___yes X no; historic district X yes no Contributing X or non-contributing X (outbuilding) Significance statement: This property should be a top priority for local landmarking. It is one of the better documented properties in the Village and is one of only 3 Plainfield properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a much higher threshold for approval that local designation. VP; AA; MSC. Village of Plainfield designation: Currently Listed: ___yes X no If not currently listed, recommend: Historic Landmark X yes no; Historic District X Contributing X or non-contributing X (outbuilding)
yes
no
Form prepared by: ArchiSearch Historic Preservation Consultants (Alice Novak) Date of Field Survey: 9.24.05 - 249
HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY
Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS 503 W. Main St. PIN/Property Index Number #06-03-09-402-020-0000
Description Foundation not clearly visible; clapboard (wide gauge) walls (painted white); cornice and corner boards with caps; architectural asphalt shingle side gable roof; half-round gutters. 2 stories; rectangular core; 4 facade bays; 2 elevation piles (on core). Windows with thin muntins. Asymmetrical facade with entrance off-set to left/west. 12/8 double-hung sash left bay. Entrance at grade; door with 5-light sidelights, panels, pilasters on low pedestals framing each in Greek Revival influence. Porch appears to date to c. 1925 with steep hip hood, Doric columns at corners. Two 12/8 double-hung sash in east end bays. 2nd story with 4 12/8 windows over windows & door below. East side gable with 12/8, 2 per story, but right/north rear one is 6/6. West elevation with long, shallow 1 story hip wing, as a two-part enclosed (glassed in) porch. Front section with single 12/8 front and 4 12/8 to west side. Second section projects slightly more, with a 6/6 facing front; side/west with porch door flanked by three 6/6 on either side. Two 6/6 above. An exterior end chimney extended just to the rear/north of the ridge, and is surrounded by the frontmost enclosed porch. Rear wings difficult to view from right-ofway. Rear/2nd story wing undergoing renovation with insulation being applied at time of survey; wall material unknown.
See Continuation Sheet, 3rd page
HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY
Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS 503 W. Main St. PIN/Property Index Number #06-03-09-402-020-0000 History (associated events, people, dates) Among 5 Plainfield properties which were listed in the “Inventory of Historic Landmarks in Will County,” oriented more toward historic significance. Listed as follows: Plainfield House [Halfway House], 503 Main Street, 1834, “Stage inn on Chicago-Ottawa Road. Also post office. Historical marker.” Among only three current listings for Plainfield properties in the National Register of Historic Places. Listed on September 29, 1980 for historic significance; should also have been listed for architectural significance. As taken from Plainfield’s Historic Urbanized Core Survey Report: Plainfield House, also known as Halfway House or Wight House, was built in 1834, with the first incarnation being a one and one-half story building constructed as a tavern for Squire Arnold. (The original section exists within the structure of the current building.) It also became the first government franchised post office in what eventually became Will County, with James Walker serving as the first postmaster. The location of the building–half way between Chicago and Ottawa, on the Chicago and Ottawa Trail (later Main Street)–was ideal. The Dr. John Temple Stage Line, later the Frink and Walker Stage Line and the Hinton Stage Line, used Halfway House from 1834 - 1852. In 1836, Dr. Erastus G. Wight of Naperville leased Arnold’s Tavern and some adjoining property; but Plainfield Then and Now also states that Squire Arnold continued to keep the post office at Halfway House until his death in 1845, so the information seems contradictory. Dr. Wight enlarged the building to its present configuration circa 1836 - 38 with lumber hewn at James Walker’s saw mill. The first floor of the house consisted of the tavern, dining room, and kitchen; sleeping rooms were on the second floor, but two fireplaces in the attic meant that was usable space available for sleeping also. Purportedly, a ballroom was also on the second story. Wight had “Plainfield House” painted on the east side of the building, but the establishment became popularly known as “Halfway House” or “Wight Tavern.” A large horse barn was located west of Halfway House, providing space for the stage line horses. Dr. Wight, like many others who settled in Plainfield at this time, was from the east– Philadelphia. Wight was reportedly the first practicing physician in northern Illinois, traveling a circuit from Plainfield to Bourbonnais Grove to Chicago Heights, back through Western Springs and occasionally across the state to Rock Island. In 1838, Wight built a two story frame drug store across from Halfway House on Main Street; the exact location is unknown, but it is thought to have been where the apartment building is now, at the northeast corner of Main at Illinois streets. He continued his practice until his death in 1845 and the family continued to operate the inn as late as 1886. The building was a focal point of activity for the region, as a hotel, tavern, and post office; a number of the 1834-35 Cook-Will County land grants were also administered at Halfway House, as well as being a favorite meeting place for the pioneer Methodist circuit riders. The building also served as militia headquarters and artillery park for the Plainfield Light Artillery and Union Greys. Source: A History of Plainfield: Then and Now, pp. 9 - 10. Sanborn map coverage never extended this far east on West Main St.
See main pages 1 & 2, separate sheet.