ROCHESTER — Alex Hunter said that every time he was in his parent’s vehicle driving past the Old Stone House on West Main Street, he always wondered what was inside.
On Sunday, the 11-year-old finally got to take a look.
At least 20 people came out to walk through a guided tour of the reconstructed 1830s residence. Open houses are held the first Sunday of each month, weather permitting, through October.
Inside the two-story stone building, people can find items and furniture dating back to the 1800s.
Cabinets, cast-iron pots and pans, 160-year-old beams and bed frames tied together with rope are just a few of the items visitors can see.
Alex, who was touring the house with his two brothers and parents, said it was neat seeing how people lived in the 1830s.
“Every time I go through an old building, it makes me realize how hard it must have been back then,” he said.
According to Bob Fairchild, the house has been open in its present location since 2003. The building was formerly about 2 miles outside of Rochester on Buckhart Road.
The Rochester Historical Preservation Society became owners of the property in 1997, said Fairchild, who’s a member of the society.
Volunteers tore down the building and began reconstructing it at is present site at on the Historic Village Site on West Main Street, next to Rochester Park, he said.
Fairchild said special events and some tours have been held at the house, but the society wanted to open it up to more people interested in history.
That’s what brought out Kenneth Stephens of Berlin.
He said he and his wife enjoy visiting historical sites and had never been to the stone house.
“Any old stuff we can find we always stop and look at,” he said.
Outside of some preservation society members, nobody knows more about the house than Tori Speller, 8, of Rochester.
She said she’s been teaching people about the house since she was 5 years old.
Tori’s mother, Stephanie Speller, said her daughter became interested in the house because her grandmother used to give tours.
Tori memorized enough about the items inside that she took over, her mother said.
“Eventually, she just started chiming in anytime any information about the home was left out,” she said. “We’ve been coming out here almost every Sunday.”
For more information about the Old Stone House, call 498-7795.
Stony, storied history
According to Bob Fairchild, a member of the Rochester Historical Preservation Society, a local land speculator built the Old Stone House between 1834 and 1836.
He said the original owner, Samuel Stephens, wanted to marry a woman named Lucetta Putnam from New Hampshire.
The problem was that Putnam’s father wanted his daughter to live in a stone house once she was married, Fairchild said.
During that time, people who lived in stone houses were perceived as upper class, he said. Most people in central Illinois lived in log cabins, he added.
Stephens built the house, and the couple lived there together for three years until he died.
They had a son shortly before his death, Fairchild said.
That’s where the story gets more intriguing, and a connection to Abraham Lincoln was formed.
Putnam had to sue her son, who was a baby at the time, to gain ownership of the home. Lincoln represented Putnam in the case.
Putnam won the lawsuit, eventually remarried and lived in the house with her new husband.
On Sunday, the 11-year-old finally got to take a look.
At least 20 people came out to walk through a guided tour of the reconstructed 1830s residence. Open houses are held the first Sunday of each month, weather permitting, through October.
Inside the two-story stone building, people can find items and furniture dating back to the 1800s.
Cabinets, cast-iron pots and pans, 160-year-old beams and bed frames tied together with rope are just a few of the items visitors can see.
Alex, who was touring the house with his two brothers and parents, said it was neat seeing how people lived in the 1830s.
“Every time I go through an old building, it makes me realize how hard it must have been back then,” he said.
According to Bob Fairchild, the house has been open in its present location since 2003. The building was formerly about 2 miles outside of Rochester on Buckhart Road.
The Rochester Historical Preservation Society became owners of the property in 1997, said Fairchild, who’s a member of the society.
Volunteers tore down the building and began reconstructing it at is present site at on the Historic Village Site on West Main Street, next to Rochester Park, he said.
Fairchild said special events and some tours have been held at the house, but the society wanted to open it up to more people interested in history.
That’s what brought out Kenneth Stephens of Berlin.
He said he and his wife enjoy visiting historical sites and had never been to the stone house.
“Any old stuff we can find we always stop and look at,” he said.
Outside of some preservation society members, nobody knows more about the house than Tori Speller, 8, of Rochester.
She said she’s been teaching people about the house since she was 5 years old.
Tori’s mother, Stephanie Speller, said her daughter became interested in the house because her grandmother used to give tours.
Tori memorized enough about the items inside that she took over, her mother said.
“Eventually, she just started chiming in anytime any information about the home was left out,” she said. “We’ve been coming out here almost every Sunday.”
For more information about the Old Stone House, call 498-7795.
Stony, storied history
According to Bob Fairchild, a member of the Rochester Historical Preservation Society, a local land speculator built the Old Stone House between 1834 and 1836.
He said the original owner, Samuel Stephens, wanted to marry a woman named Lucetta Putnam from New Hampshire.
The problem was that Putnam’s father wanted his daughter to live in a stone house once she was married, Fairchild said.
During that time, people who lived in stone houses were perceived as upper class, he said. Most people in central Illinois lived in log cabins, he added.
Stephens built the house, and the couple lived there together for three years until he died.
They had a son shortly before his death, Fairchild said.
That’s where the story gets more intriguing, and a connection to Abraham Lincoln was formed.
Putnam had to sue her son, who was a baby at the time, to gain ownership of the home. Lincoln represented Putnam in the case.
Putnam won the lawsuit, eventually remarried and lived in the house with her new husband.
Jason Nevel
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