16 S. DU BOIS AVENUE
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
16 S. Du Bois Avenue was the second residential structure built on the Northeast section of Block 15. It was built for John and Mary Kampman in 1901 for $1,500. John was born in 1868 in Indiana and his wife, Mary, was born in 1869 in Wisconsin. John was employed at the Elgin Silver Plating Company, which was one of two companies that produced casket trimmings at that time in Elgin. The Elgin Silver Plating Company was purchased in 1926 by the Western Casket Hardware Company and the firm's name was changed to Elgin Metal Casket Company in 1939. Interestingly, Former President Calvin Coolidge is buried in an Elgin Metal Casket and the body of John F. Kennedy was transported from Dallas to Washington in an Elgin casket after his assassination in 1963.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
16 S. Du Bois Avenue is a unique Dutch Colonial Revival style home. The Dutch Colonial Revival style is a subset of the Colonial Revival style though it has some distinguished characteristics that set it a part including its gambrel roof, round windows in the gable ends and eight over eight windows. Some significant features of this home include its crescent, semi-circle inlay upper window and two half-moon dual crescent center windows. In addition, its indigenous field stone three pillar full front porch is quite unique to this home and contains its original wooden porch decking.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 2010 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud