HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY Plainfield Historic ...
HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY
Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS @ NE corner N. Eastern Ave. 23718 W. Lockport St. 33 W. Lockport St. PIN/Property Index Number #06-03-10-315-009-0000 Historic Property Name(s) Centennial House Huling House Common Name(s) Architectural Style Greek Revival influence Vernacular Building Type Four-over-Four Construction Date c. 1844 Architect/Builder Historic Use(s) Single Family Residential Present Use(s) Single Family Residential History (associated events, people, dates) See reverse side/Continuation Sheet Description Limestone foundation; synthetic siding (blue vinyl); asphalt shingle side gabled roof with deep returns. 2 stories, with a rear/north 1-1/2 story wing; rectangular front shape; 3 facade bays and 2 elevation piles. Flat broad central porch, not quite full-facade. Low with two stairs, low cheek pieces, plain wood posts, and angled braces. 3 bay facade with 2nd story middle window off-set to left/west of door below. Large fixed windows, end bays, 1st story; one 6/1 double-hung sash appears to be intact on the west bay of the 2nd story. 2 symmetrical piles west with some 6/6 intact. Lower rear 1-1/2 story wing c. 1864, with frieze window, with 6/6 on 1st, off-set below. Tiny shed rear 1 story wing, only a door’s width; door west. Integrity/Major Physical changes from original construction Wall material. Most windows replaced. Porch materials mostly newer. Subsidiary Building(s)/Site Large front corner lot, open with minimal plantings. Gravel driveway off Eastern Avenue, 2 card wide with secondary side parking. Minimal rear lot. 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 Significance statement: Of great historic significance, with connections to the Underground Railroad. VP; EP; EST. 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
yes
no
Form prepared by: ArchiSearch Historic Preservation Consultants (Alice Novak) Date of Field Survey: 9.24.05 - 210
HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY
Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS @ NE corner N. Eastern Ave. 23718 W. Lockport St. 33 W. Lockport St. PIN/Property Index Number #06-03-10-315-009-0000
History (associated events, people, dates) Included in the 1974 state survey, “Inventory of Historic Landmarks in Will County, Interim Report,” for the connection to the Underground Railroad, noting that the hiding closet was still intact. According to a remembrance written by Jean Huling (available at the Plainfield Historical Society), this house has 8 rooms (in Four-over-Four vernacular form), and was built around 1844. The house was constructed of walnut logs with oak flooring. Huling notes that this may have been Sam Mottinger’s farmhouse, but this had not been confirmed at the time of her writing (undated). About 1864, the rear section was added; it consisted of one very large room on the main floor, probably used as a kitchen-dining area (according to Huling), with an upstairs containing three small rooms. Connecting the two levels is a “curious stairway,” which curves almost at a right angle, with several stair risers of unusual and varying heights. The stairway walls are paneled in dark wood. The downstairs room had a built-in cupboard, the back wall of which appeared to be flush with the outside west wall of the house; however, there was about a foot of space behind it. This space is connected to a small room under the stairway which is wallpapered on both the walls and its ceiling. This small room, and the space behind the cupboard is thought to have been connected to the Underground Railroad, a place to hide slaves who were escaping. The space was accessed by removing a riser on the staircase, one of those which was somewhat oversized. Either the “room” or the back of the cupboard could have provided hiding spaces. The staircase also has a natural knot-hole in the wood, positioned in a place where it could conveniently be used as a peep-hole by anyone in the staircase room. Jean Huling lived in the house at the time of writing this, but the piece is undated. Whether these significant features of the house remain, is not known as part of this survey.
Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS @ NE corner N. Eastern Ave. 23718 W. Lockport St. 33 W. Lockport St. PIN/Property Index Number #06-03-10-315-009-0000 Historic Property Name(s) Centennial House Huling House Common Name(s) Architectural Style Greek Revival influence Vernacular Building Type Four-over-Four Construction Date c. 1844 Architect/Builder Historic Use(s) Single Family Residential Present Use(s) Single Family Residential History (associated events, people, dates) See reverse side/Continuation Sheet Description Limestone foundation; synthetic siding (blue vinyl); asphalt shingle side gabled roof with deep returns. 2 stories, with a rear/north 1-1/2 story wing; rectangular front shape; 3 facade bays and 2 elevation piles. Flat broad central porch, not quite full-facade. Low with two stairs, low cheek pieces, plain wood posts, and angled braces. 3 bay facade with 2nd story middle window off-set to left/west of door below. Large fixed windows, end bays, 1st story; one 6/1 double-hung sash appears to be intact on the west bay of the 2nd story. 2 symmetrical piles west with some 6/6 intact. Lower rear 1-1/2 story wing c. 1864, with frieze window, with 6/6 on 1st, off-set below. Tiny shed rear 1 story wing, only a door’s width; door west. Integrity/Major Physical changes from original construction Wall material. Most windows replaced. Porch materials mostly newer. Subsidiary Building(s)/Site Large front corner lot, open with minimal plantings. Gravel driveway off Eastern Avenue, 2 card wide with secondary side parking. Minimal rear lot. 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 Significance statement: Of great historic significance, with connections to the Underground Railroad. VP; EP; EST. 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
yes
no
Form prepared by: ArchiSearch Historic Preservation Consultants (Alice Novak) Date of Field Survey: 9.24.05 - 210
HISTORIC URBANIZED CORE SURVEY
Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission
ADDRESS @ NE corner N. Eastern Ave. 23718 W. Lockport St. 33 W. Lockport St. PIN/Property Index Number #06-03-10-315-009-0000
History (associated events, people, dates) Included in the 1974 state survey, “Inventory of Historic Landmarks in Will County, Interim Report,” for the connection to the Underground Railroad, noting that the hiding closet was still intact. According to a remembrance written by Jean Huling (available at the Plainfield Historical Society), this house has 8 rooms (in Four-over-Four vernacular form), and was built around 1844. The house was constructed of walnut logs with oak flooring. Huling notes that this may have been Sam Mottinger’s farmhouse, but this had not been confirmed at the time of her writing (undated). About 1864, the rear section was added; it consisted of one very large room on the main floor, probably used as a kitchen-dining area (according to Huling), with an upstairs containing three small rooms. Connecting the two levels is a “curious stairway,” which curves almost at a right angle, with several stair risers of unusual and varying heights. The stairway walls are paneled in dark wood. The downstairs room had a built-in cupboard, the back wall of which appeared to be flush with the outside west wall of the house; however, there was about a foot of space behind it. This space is connected to a small room under the stairway which is wallpapered on both the walls and its ceiling. This small room, and the space behind the cupboard is thought to have been connected to the Underground Railroad, a place to hide slaves who were escaping. The space was accessed by removing a riser on the staircase, one of those which was somewhat oversized. Either the “room” or the back of the cupboard could have provided hiding spaces. The staircase also has a natural knot-hole in the wood, positioned in a place where it could conveniently be used as a peep-hole by anyone in the staircase room. Jean Huling lived in the house at the time of writing this, but the piece is undated. Whether these significant features of the house remain, is not known as part of this survey.
