820 N. SPRING STREET

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

820 N. Spring Street was built in 1903 for Dr. Frederick Schurmeier and his wife, Marie, for $2,400. Born in 1872, Frederick Conrad lived in Haubstadt, Indiana with his parents, Henry Schurmeier Jr. and Mary A. Gublie Schurmeier, both of whom were born in Germany. His grandfather, Henry Sr. also lived in Haubstadt. Frederick held the position of City Physician, overseeing health issues in Elgin. Marie was born in 1879 in Illinois.

Frederick and Marie had two sons, LeRoy and Fred all of whom lived at 820 N. Spring Street. They remained there until 1922 when they built a new home at 849 Douglas Avenue. The Schurmeiers remained at 849 Douglas until Frederick’s death in 1941. In 1945 Marie sold the property and moved to an apartment at 400 Douglas Avenue.

In 1923, Emma and David Rovelstad purchased 820 N. Spring Street from the Schurmeiers for $4,000. David was born in Illinois to Andrew and Inge Rovelstad in 1882. David was a jeweler, optician and optometrist. Emma Rippberger was born in 1884 and married David on April 19, 1909.

Rovelstads came to Elgin from Norway in 1869. Five branches of their ancestors remain here. Brothers Peder and Sigvart Rovelstad left the family homestead north of Oslo, arriving in Elgin in 1869, finding jobs at the Elgin National Watch Company. Between 1882 and 1886 four more brothers, Andrew, Hans, Erik and Theodore also moved to Elgin. Sigvart died in 1871, and Hans moved to Ohio in the early 1890s. The four remaining brothers prospered and raised 27 children in Elgin, including renowned sculptor Trygve Rovelstad. Many of them worked at the watch factory: Erik for 34 years, his son Carl Arthur for 45 years and his grandson Edgar for 46 years. Peder and Andrew opened a jewelry store in downtown Elgin in 1883 where four generations of Rovelstads, including David, worked before it closed in 1959.

In 1954, Emma sold the home to Edna M. Stephens. The house remained in the Stephens family until 2001.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

820 N. Spring Street is a one-and-a-half story side gabled home featuring a centered gable dormer and a deep full width open front porch. The home has a likeness to 414 N. Spring Street and 115 N. Commonwealth with a steeply pitched side gable that swoops down to become the roof of the front porch. The front dormer and the upper story is shingled with the first floor of the home cladded in narrow clapboards. The porch is composed of Colonial Revival elements including simple, Doric style porch columns with an off-center front door flanked by a small window and a large cottage window. The home is considered to be a cottage type with Queen Anne-Free Classic sub-type detailing.

Sources: 2019 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud