1045 N. SPRING STREET

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

1045 N. Spring Street was built for John and Nellie Alexander in 1884. John Alexander was a colonel in the army during the Civil War prior to joining David C. Cook Company as a department supervisor. He and his wife remained in the home until 1891 when it was sold to notable Elginite, Andrew Barclay Spurling for $12,000.

Andrew Spurling was a Civil War Veteran himself working his way up to the rank of Brigadier General as well as earning the Congressional Medal of Honor. Prior to that, he lived an exciting life including taking part in the California Gold Rush, spending time as a cowboy and even surviving a shipwreck! Spurling is most notable for the construction of the Spurling Block, located at the northwest corner of Spring and DuPage Streets, now 40 DuPage Court.

This was Elgin’s first steel-framed “skyscraper” built at a cost of $105,000 designed by architect W. W. Abell. The economic downturn of 1893 made it impossible to fill the new building with tenants and Spurling became heavily in debt eventually losing his entire fortune. He returned to Chicago and ended his days on a $50 per month government pension.   

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

1045 N. Spring is considered as a Queen Anne style, half-timbered subtype. In the 1950s, the home went under an extensive modernization which was instituted by the Elgin Association of Commerce. The organization funded a program called “Operation Home Improvement” which rehabbed homes in need of major repairs. For this home, a competition was held and prizes were offered for the best suggestions. The best suggestion included alteration of the front porch with wrought iron columns and removal of the iconic tower.

The success of this program led to the designation of Elgin as an All-American City in 1956. We are perhaps fortunate, from a historical perspective, to have such detailed documentation of the 1950s efforts of a municipality to improve the local housing stock by modernizing old buildings. Though, Elgin is also fortunate in that most owners of historic homes did not have the resources for mid-century “modernization” in the wake of the departure of the National Watch Factory.

Sources: 2022 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud