Oglesby Mansion to Host Open House June 25

The Oglesby Mansion

     The Governor Richard J. Oglesby Mansion located at 421 West William Street will be hosting an Open House on Sunday, June 25th.      The doors will open at 2pm and the Mansion will close at 4pm. A $2 per person donation is requested.
     Members of the Board of Directors and community volunteers act as docents during the tours.
     The home is open the last Sunday of each month (2pm-4pm) through November.
     The mansion was built in 1875-76 with the original plans by famed Chicago architect William LeBaron Jenney.
Jenney is known for designing the first modern skyscraper. Oglebsy modified the plans and hired a local contractor for the build. Numerous craftsmen worked diligently to complete the elegant such details as the oak and walnut flooring which is still in place today.
The home is Italianate Style architecture with a low pitched roof and a “widow’s walk.”
     Once the home was purchased by the Conservation District in 1972, structural repairs to the roof and downspouts commenced. As a core group of local women led the restoration of the inside of the house, they too found themselves asking a local craftsman for assistance.
The beautiful walnut mantle in the Parlor was no longer there but pictures were.
Monte Hall of Elwin, IL was asked to replicate the mantle with a grant from the Lions Club of Decatur. It is an amazing match to the historical photos of the original.
More information about the Mansion is available at www.oglesbymansion.org