570 N. SPRING STREET
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
570 N. Spring Street was built in 1887 for Rebecca and Charles Curtis for a cost of $2,600. The assumed builder of this home was Reuben Tuck, a local builder who had owned the property prior to Rebecca and Charles acquiring ownership. Charles B. Curtis was born in Massachusetts in 1824 and moved to McHenry, Illinois with his family shortly after. He married his first wife, Marie and they had several children. Marie passed away shortly before Charles enlisted in the Union Army as a blacksmith in 1863. After he had mustered out, he married Rebecca Lamphere in Wauconda in 1865 and together farmed land in Lake County, Illinois. They retired from farming but kept their land and moved to Elgin in 1887 when the bought the property from Reuben Tuck.
In 1905, Charles and Rebecca sold the eastern portion of their property to Sarah Tuttle for $50 and in that same year, they sold the south part of their property to Clara Russell for $1,000. Charles passed away in 1907 and Rebecca in 1909.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
570 N. Spring is an irregular shaped, two-story frame, Queen Anne style house with a cross gabled roof. The building has an asymmetrical facade with a full-width front porch with a pedimented section over the front steps. The porch has turned wood posts and decorative wood railings. The home was in disrepair for several years until it was restored in 2006.
TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS
Sources: 2012 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud