The Frederick Weistar House is a historic stone cottage house at 515 Chestnut Street in Chester, Illinois. The house was built circa 1859 for Frederick Weistar, a Swiss immigrant. The house has a vernacular design with a two-door facade pattern, in which two front doors provided access to each of the house's two first-floor rooms. The house itself was two rooms wide and one room deep which provided access to most of the house. While the two-door facade is common in vernacular architecture, the purpose of the two doors is historically disputed; as the form is especially prevalent in German vernacular architecture, it may have been inspired by traditional German architecture, though it may have also functioned as a way to separate public and private spaces in a home. This particular design of house was very popular for single-family residences.[2] The one-story limestone house also features a wooden front porch with carved columns and brackets, its only significant decorative element.[3]
Frederick Weistar House | |
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| Location | 515 Chestnut St., Chester, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°54′15″N 89°49′44″W / 37.90417°N 89.82889°W |
| Built | c. 1859 |
| Architectural style | Two-door facade |
| NRHP reference No. | 100002573[1] |
| Added to NRHP | June 15, 2018 |
On the outside front of the house remains a plaque that states "Stone Cottage 1850 on Lot 20 deeded to John & Samuel Lybarger Descendants of Revolutionary War Patriots Ludwick Lybarger and Jean Baptiste Montreuil".[4] The house allows visitors to see a more modest Family home that was built in the mid 1800s to get a better understanding of life during this time period.[2]
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#100002573) on June 15, 2018; its name was misspelled "Frederick Weister House" in its listing.[1] The house is also a part of the Randolph County Museum.
References edit
- ^ a b "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 5/10/2018 Through 6/15/2018". National Park Service. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- ^ a b https://lewisandclark.travel/nomination/frederick-weistar-house/
- ^ Foley, Terri L. (June 7, 2017). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Weistar, Frederick House" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Division. Retrieved December 1, 2019.[dead link]
- ^ https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=163831
