839 CEDAR AVENUE

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

839 Cedar Avenue was built in 1909 for Henry and Augusta Baumann. At the time, the cost to build and purchase the property was $3,300.

Henry worked as an employee at the Elgin Wind and Power Company. Henry and Augusta did not stay in the home long and sold it in 1918 to Alexander and Minnie Harrison. Alexander was a retired saloon owner, and Minnie worked at the Watch Case Company.

After the Harrisons, there were several subsequent owners, though the longest stewards of 839 Cedar Avenue were Donald and Josephine Lowman who owned the property from 1943 through 1976. Donald was a manager at Elgin Softener Company.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

The home is considered to be built in the Dutch Colonial Revival style which is a sub-type to the Colonial Revival style. It is a one and half story structure with a cross-gambrel roof. The front porch was enclosed in 1928 and the home was clad in aluminum in 1960 by the Lowman family. At that time, aluminum was in vogue and considered a low-maintenance material. Unfortunately, key features such as the fanlight and other subsequent details were covered up. Despite these changes, the property has potential and likely has all of its original siding underneath including the attic fanlight.

Sources: 2021 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud