101 MONROE STREET
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
101 Monroe Street was built in 1908 for $1,600 by local builders John and Arthur Kenyon. Father and son, John and Arthur, were prolific builders, responsible for the construction of dozens of houses in Elgin, many on the near-west side including 115 N Commonwealth, 118, 231 and 270 Hamilton, 809, 815 and 873 Larkin, and 29 Monroe. They built six houses in the 100 block of Monroe: 101, 105, 109, 102, 106 and 110.
John Kenyon, born April 4, 1856 in Elgin, married Sarah Pound in 1879. They lived in Elgin at 815 Larkin Avenue, and had three children, Arthur, Lucie, and Susie. Sarah passed away in 1931 with John following her in death in 1944. Both are buried in Bluff City Cemetery.
Arthur was born in 1883 and eventually married Mary in 1908 and had two daughters. The family lived at 109 Monroe and 55 N. Commonwealth before settling at 1003 Larkin Avenue, where they lived from 1930 until around 1958.
The first City Directory listing, in 1909-10, shows the occupant of 101 Monroe as Otto Schuette. Since there are no county records showing Schuette as on owner of this property, the assumption is that he was a renter. In 1909, the Kenyons sold the property to Winifred Adkins, a piano teacher, and her husband Robert, who remained in the home until 1926.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The configuration of 101 Monroe Street is American Foursquare. The name derives from the fact that most such houses had four rooms on each story. These homes enjoyed popularity from the early 1900s well into the 1920s. At that time, the term “box house” was used and the term “American Foursquare” was substituted later. Hipped-roof dormers such as those on the north and south elevations were common elements of foursquare homes. The house also has a lovely parlor window on the front elevation and diamond pane glass on the dormers, as do all five of the other Kenyon homes on this block.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 2018 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud