903 DOUGLAS AVENUE

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

In 1903, Frank Bosworth was issued a deed for block 13 of Lovell’s Grove Addition in Elgin. When the Elgin Daily Courier’s annual construction Frank H. Bosworth received a building permit for 903 Douglas for $4000.

Frank H. Bosworth was a member of F.S. Bosworth and Son, lumber and coal dealers. Frank’s father was Frank S. Bosworth, who was Elgin’s mayor from 1880 to 1883. When Frank H. died in 1919, he was survived by his widow, Bertha, and their three sons, Wilder, Wesley, and Franklin. Bertha Bosworth continued living in the house until her death in 1935. 

In 1939, 903 Douglas was rented to Charles Lindquist, the managing officer of Sherman Hospital. The Bosworth sons had divided their ownership rights of the home into thirds, but by 1946 sold their interest, with Lindquist leaving in the same year.  

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

903 Douglas Avenue is an irregular shaped, two-story frame, Queen Anne style house with a hipped roof with intersecting gables on the side and rear of the building. The building also has an asymmetrical facade with a full-width front porch with a pedimented section over the front steps with supporting ornamental brackets, and the porch has classic columns. 

TIMELINE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS

 

Sources: 2002 Heritage Plaque Application; Audio: TextAloud