115 N. PORTER STREET
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
In 1882, Sarah S. Lane, widow, purchased lots 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 of Block 2 of Grote & Waldron's 3rd Addition to Elgin for a total of $1,500. She quickly sold lot 10 to builder, Anton Buck, who bought the property on December 15, 1883 building a home shortly thereafter as an investment property. The improved property had an address of 57 Ettner Avenue prior to the last city-wide address change in 1894 and was sold to Charles F. and Amanda C. (nee Rundquist) Danielson on April 12, 1884.
Charles as a Watch Factory Worker being born in Sweden in 1860 along with his wife who was born in 1851. Charles and Amanda married on September 30, 1882 in Kane County and had two children, Ebba and Amanda. Charles passed away on March 4, 1900. Amanda remained in the home until she sold it in 1924. She moved to Chicago and passed away on June 22, 1938. Both are buried at Bluff City Cemetery.
John A. and Gertrude Broman owned the home next until they sold it in 1941 to John H. and Cora M. Dack. They owned the home for over 10 years before selling it to Grace M. Ballinger in 1958.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
115 N. Porter Street is considered a Folk Victorian worker's cottage and is a prevalent type of home for those who came to work in the Elgin National Watch Factory. The one and a half story home exhibits a front gabled roof with Queen Anne style details. The details include simple window hoods, an ornate porch with a free-classic columns and a peaked pediment at the front porch roof with scrollwork.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 1987 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud