413 DOUGLAS AVENUE
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
413 Douglas Avenue was built in 1903 for Henry Schoonhoven. Members of the Schoonhoven family were among the earliest settlers in Elgin. In 1841, James, who was Henry’s father, and his uncle Thomas arrived in Elgin where they bought large tracts of land from the government for $1.25 an acre!
By the late 1840s, James built a cobblestone farmhouse formerly located on Shoe Factory Road. He and his wife, Lydia, had 9 children who grew up in this house including Henry. Interestingly, when the farm went to auction in 1885 it sold for $75 an acre. Quite the investment from $1.25!
Henry was the eldest and followed in his father’s footsteps as a farmer. He was born in 1839 in New York traveling to Elgin when he was 2 years old. He married Martha Cass in 1861 and had 5 children. When he retired in 1893, he purchased an 1880s house that was located at 413 Douglas which he replaced in 1903 with the current structure. Martha passed away in 1901 before seeing the new home. Henry remarried in 1910 to Adeline Pierce Coleman but passed away in 1916 leaving the home to her who would follow him in death two years later.
The house remained with Adeline’s son and later, her grandson until 1968. The house has had a few more stewards since the Schoonhovens and impressively still retains much of its original features.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
413 Douglas Avenue is of the Queen Anne style - Free-Classic sub-type originally built at a cost of $4,200. Details that classify it under the Free-Classic sub-type include its use of classical columns, and a pedimented, project front gable. Other characteristics include an asymmetrical facade with an irregular roof line, the use of shingles at the 2nd floor and clapboards at the first floor and an extensive wrap-around porch.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 2018 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud