15 N. DUBOIS AVENUE
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
In the November 1925 edition of the the Elgin Daily Courier, one article lists all the recent building permits and notes Charles J. Smith buying a property on DuBois Avenue for the sum of $6,000. Roughly one year later in the 1925-26 City Directory, it lists a home at 15 N DuBois and Philip Schultz as the owner.
Schultz kept the house until 1934, when he sold it to Mary McMahon from Gilberts, IL. This marked the start of a long consecutive stretch of one family owning the home at 15 N. DuBois. Mary's daughter, Marie Floto, also lived in the home, moving in after Marie's husband, Elmer, died from an accident at work. Marie even continued living in the home after her mother's death in 1968 and, by the time Marie sold the home, her and her mother had collectively lived in the home for more than 50 years.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
15 N. DuBois is an example of a hipped roof Craftsman style Bungalow. While this sub-type makes up less than 10 percent of the Craftsman houses, it includes many of the features commonly associated with this style. This includes the wide overhanging eaves with clipped gables, its height of one-and-a-half stories, grouped windows, a dormer and a partial-width porch supported by square tapered columns. In the early 1900s, the Bungalow was one of the most popular house styles, seen all across the country.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 2003 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud