108 N. CHANNING STREET
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
In 1883 Charles Sandberg took out a mortgage on the lots of 6 and 7 of block 1 of Hinsdell’s Addition, likely financing the lot to build a house. In the 1884-85 edition of the Elgin City Directory, Sandberg is listed at 60 N. Channing Street and when Elgin completed its fourth and final address numbering change in 1894, 60 N. Channing became 108 N. Channing.
Charles Sandberg was a Swedish immigrant who worked for the Illinois Condensing Company, a company owned by the famed Borden family. Sandberg worked at the Condensing Company for 43 years before retiring. When Charles’ wife, Hannah, died in 1912, the Sanberg family relocated to Rockford, Illinois. Charles passed away four years later in 1916.
The Sandberg family retained their ownership of the home until Maude, Hannah and Charles’ daughter, sold it in 1919.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
108 N. Channing is an example of the Gable-Ell style with some Italianate features. Some of the features of this style seen here include the cross-gabled roof and the height of two stories. Efforts to borrow from the Italianate style include the paired windows in the second story, the bay window on the south side of the house, vertical banding, and decorative wood window surrounds. The 1897 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map indicates a wrap-around porch on the front and south sides, now gone.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 2001 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud