The George H. Gurler House or simply, the Gurler House, is a home in DeKalb, Illinois. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places to which it was added in 1979. The home was built in 1857 and was occupied by members of George H. Gurler's extended family as early as 1888. Gurler was the co-founder of the Gurler Brothers Creamery.[2] Gurler was also the president of the DeKalb County Farmer's Institute, the predecessor of the American Farm Bureau Federation.[2][3]
The Gurler House is estimated to have been constructed in 1857; however, county records are not available for that time period. A sign in the front yard of the Gurler House lists it as 1857, and the Gurler Heritage Association celebrated the sesquicentennial of the house in 2007. In approximately 1857, a local banker, Ellzey Young, had the home built for himself and his new bride, Alida Ellwood. Alida was the younger sister of barbed wire baron Isaac Ellwood (http://www.ellwoodhouse.org/). George Gurler would not purchase the home until years later.[2] There are conflicting reports on the original owners of the property. One assertion is that Wyman constructed the home and sold it to the Gurlers, which was also stated by Beatrice "Bea" Gurler in an interview with the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb. However, according to the property abstract this is simply not true.[5]
According to that document the Gurler House, as it eventually would become known, began its history as an 80-acre (32ha) tract of land sold by the U.S. government to Steven S. Jones on April 13, 1844. Jones was a resident of Kane County. It is possible that Jones was a land speculator who gathered up pieces of property scattered across northeast Illinois.[5] The 1878 collection "Past and Present of Kane County, Illinois," described Jones as a St. Charles attorney born on July 23, 1813, in Barry, Vermont. He moved to Illinois in June 1838 with his wife Lavinia where he has been credited with naming St. Charles.[5]
In 1846 the family sold the 80 acres (32ha) in DeKalb (then known as Huntley's Grove) to Russell Huntley, a founding settler of DeKalb. Huntley, with his brother Lewis, co-owned the property until 1851 when an entry in the abstract indicates that John M. Goodell, another early DeKalb settler, received the land as a result of legal action against the Huntleys. Regardless, Goodell eventually sold the parcel back to Lewis Huntley in 1853. Huntley then platted the land as an addition to the town. He laid out 93 city lots in all.[5]
Construction
The property that would eventually become the Gurler House was sold to the man who would eventually construct the home which would become the Gurler House, Ellzey P. Young, in 1857. Young along with his wife Alida Young (who was the younger sister of Isaac Ellwood) paid Huntley $320 for the three lots that make up the property where the Gurler House stands today. This entry on the property abstract confirms the widely held and long standing belief that the house was constructed in 1857. There is, however, another possibility.[5]
If the second possibility were true it would mean that the Gurler House is one year younger than it is traditionally thought to be, being built in 1858 instead of 1857. Records show that Young took out a mortgage on the land for $537 in February 1858. It is thought that this money could have given the Youngs enough cash to build the Gurler House over a more humble home such as a log cabin.[5]
The Gurlers move in
The Gurler family, under the patriarchy of George, moved into the home in 1893. Gurler's nephews, sons of his brother Henry, with whom he had started the dairy that led to their success, had occupied the home since 1888 and did until Gurler moved in.[3] The Gurler Brothers Creamery's proprietary milking and manufacturing process was later sold to HP Hood in exchange for 5% claim of the Hood company. The partial ownership of HP Hood and Gurler House were eventually inherited by heir Emrah Gurler who then donated the home to the DeKalb Historical Society.
Beatrice Gurler, daughter of George H. Gurler, lived in the house until her death in 1977. Shortly thereafter, community members worked together to save the house from being demolished, partially paying for the property with Community Development Block Grant money invested by the city of DeKalb. The story is a very interesting one, with many twists and turns, to be found in a history prepared by Northern Illinois University Students and currently resting on the piano in the Gurler House community room. [citation needed]
DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,290 at the 2020 census, down from 43,862 at the 2010 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian-French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War.
Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a commercial district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census, up from 17,519 at the 2010 census. Sycamore is the county seat of DeKalb County and was named after the sycamore tree.
Isaac Leonard Ellwood was an American rancher, businessman and barbed wire entrepreneur.
Jacob Haish was one of the first inventors of barbed wire. His type of barbed wire was in direct competition with the other barbed wire manufacturers in DeKalb, Illinois. He was a known carpenter and architect in DeKalb County and designed several prominent DeKalb homes.
The Haish Memorial Library was designed by Chicago architects White and Weber and built in the art deco style of the 1930s with funds left to the library by Jacob Haish in his 1928 will. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Ellwood House was built as a private home by barbed wire entrepreneur Isaac Ellwood in 1879. It is located on First Street in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, in DeKalb County. The Victorian style home, designed by George O. Garnsey, underwent remodeling in 1898-1899 and 1911. The house was originally part of 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) which included a large stable complex known as "Ellwood Green." Isaac Ellwood lived here until 1910 when he passed the estate to his son, Perry Ellwood.
The Joseph F. Glidden House is located in the United States in the DeKalb County, Illinois city of DeKalb. It was the home to the famed inventor of barbed wire Joseph Glidden. The barn, still located on the property near several commercial buildings, is said to be where Glidden perfected his improved version of barbed wire which would eventually transform him into a successful entrepreneur. The Glidden House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The home was designed by another barbed wire patent holder in DeKalb, Jacob Haish.
Russell Huntley, along with his brother Lewis Huntley, founded the Illinois city of DeKalb. The pair owned most of the land that would become DeKalb. County surveyor Daniel W. Lamb platted two sections of DeKalb township as a new village in November 1853, a village originally known as Huntley's Grove. Huntley gave the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad right-of-way across his land and a site for a depot. Other railroad investors also received land for speculative purposes.
Lewis Huntley, along with his brother Russell Huntley, founded the Illinois city of DeKalb. The pair owned most of the land that would become DeKalb. County surveyor Daniel W. Lamb platted two sections of DeKalb township as a new village in November 1853, a village originally known as Huntley's Grove. Huntley gave the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad right-of-way across his land and a site for a depot. Other railroad investors received also land for speculative purposes. Huntley co-owned the Gurler House in DeKalb with his brother Russell as well. Huntley lost his wife and three children to diphtheria in 1869.
George Halil Gurler was a prominent American businessman in DeKalb, Illinois. Gurler, along with his brother Henry, founded a successful dairy, Gurler Brothers Creamery, where they were regional leaders in the field of milk production. After the brothers split in 1895, Gurler and his son Charles established a large network of creameries in Illinois and Iowa. Gurler served as president of the Illinois State Dairy Association and produced over 30,000,000 pounds (14,000,000 kg) of butter in his creameries.
The DeKalb County Courthouse is located in the county seat of DeKalb County, Illinois, U.S., the city of Sycamore. The Classical Revival structure sits on a square facing Illinois Route 64 as it passes through the city. The current courthouse was constructed in 1905 amid controversy over where the courthouse and thus, ultimately, the county seat would be located. The current building is the third structure to bear the name "DeKalb County Courthouse." DeKalb County's Courthouse still serves as the county's primary judicial center and is a contributing property to the Sycamore Historic District. The district joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. As the county's primary courthouse for over 100 years, the site has been host to many trials, including prominent murder cases.
The Frederick B. Townsend House is located in the DeKalb County, Illinois county seat of Sycamore. The home is within the boundaries of the Sycamore Historic District. The district was designated and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1978. The Queen Anne style home was designed and constructed in 1890 or 1892 by the same architect and general contractor responsible for Altgeld Hall at Northern Illinois University and the nearby DeKalb County Courthouse, as well as the courthouse in Lee County.
The Charles O. Boynton House is located in the DeKalb County, Illinois, city of Sycamore. The home is part of the Sycamore Historic District which was designated and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1978. The Queen Anne style mansion sits on a stretch of Sycamore's Main Street that is dotted with other significant Historic District structures including, the Townsend House and the Townsend Garage. The Boynton House was designed by the same architect who designed the Ellwood House in nearby DeKalb and the David Syme House, another house in the Sycamore Historic District.
The Chauncey Ellwood House is a 19th-century Italianate residence in the DeKalb County, Illinois city of Sycamore. It is a contributing property to the Sycamore Historic District; added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The house is in the 800 block of Somonauk Street. The Esther Mae Nesbitt House, next door, was once the carriage house for the home.
The houses in the Sycamore Historic District, in Sycamore, Illinois, United States, cross a variety of architectural styles and span from the 1830s to the early 20th century. There are 187 contributing properties within the historic district, 75% of the districts buildings. Many of the homes are associated with early Sycamore residents, usually prominent business leaders or politicians. Houses within the district are known by, either their street address or by a name associated with a prominent owner or builder. For most of the houses, the latter is true.
As of 2007 there are five church buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois, United States which are listed as contributing properties to the district. The Sycamore Historic District was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1978. When it was nominated to join the National Register there were seven church buildings within the district. One of those included is a residential structure that was utilized as a church when it was first constructed; the Arthur Stark House was once home to the Sycamore Universalist Church congregation. In the time since its listing, two churches have been destroyed or demolished. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John was destroyed by fire in 2004 and the United Methodist Church in Sycamore is no longer extant, replaced by a modern office building.
The commercial buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois, United States are mostly located in and around the city's downtown. The largest concentration of commercial contributing properties to the historic district are found along Illinois Route 64 as it passes through Sycamore. They include several buildings known as "blocks" which can consist of more than one adjacent and attached structure, as is the case with the Waterman Block, one of the Sycamore commercial buildings.
Reuben Ellwood was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
The Andrew O. Anderson House, also known as the A. O. Anderson House, is a Prairie style house in the city of DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by American architect John S. Van Bergen around 1913 and built around 1916. Van Bergen designed many Prairie homes and was an associate of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Throughout its history the Anderson House has been mistaken for a residence designed by Wright. The Anderson House contains many elements common to both Prairie style in general as well as some of Wright's early Prairie designs. The house was constructed for DeKalb clothing merchant Andrew O. Anderson about 14 years after an original house project on the site fell through.
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