Where to find 'older' homes in the Tri-Cities

If a potential homebuyer were to ask where to find nice "older houses" in the Tri-Cities area, they'd be walking into a real estate gold mine. There are hundreds of great older homes in this area, but one does have to pinpoint what "older" means.

Let's not forget that an "older" home now could easily mean something from the 1980s or '90s.

But let's assume they mean something more historic, or at least from the 1940s or '50s. However, if you know where the truly historic houses in our communities can be found, those are generally good places to steer potential buyers to find what they are looking for.

Some people love moving into houses that were from the turn of the century, and by that we mean the mid to late 1800s into the early 1900s.

Batavia Depot Museum director Jennifer Putzier makes a good point in saying even though the Tri-Cities communities were settled by their first pioneers in the 1830s, those folks built structures out of material that likely wouldn't stand the test of time.

That's why so many older homes that still stand today are from the 1840s and 1850s.

The oldest house in Batavia is at 406 E. Wilson St., a structure built in 1843 by Judge Isaac Wilson, of whom the street is named. Another older house, built in 1852, can be found at 125 S. Lincoln. It was the home of John Burnham, an agent for the U.S. Wind Engine Co.

So, in Batavia, if you were directing someone interested in older homes, you'd point to most any portions of Wilson Street and streets feeding into Wilson.

In St. Charles, the 1840s time frame stands out, particularly the William Beith House, located near the Arcedium coffeehouse downtown. Beith, an immigrant from Scotland, built this riverstone structure in the late 1840s for his family.

The Barry House at 217 Cedar Ave. is another stone structure built in 1850 by Judge William Barry.

Like the other communities, St. Charles is dotted with interesting older homes for potential buyers, particularly just east and west of the river in the downtown areas.

Geneva has its historic district established near the downtown, featuring plenty of Italianate, Greek Revival and Queen Anne architectural styles.

Some of the city's older homes can be found at 502 S. Fourth St., one built in 1864, and the Conant House at 208 S. First St. that dates back to 1844.

Anyone seeking an older house has an unlimited supply of interesting structures to choose from in this area. It's one of the factors that those of us who have been around a long time sort of take for granted. But it goes a long way in making an area appealing.

Been here a long time:

So, with all of this talk about older homes in this area, how long have the towns that make up the Tri-Cities been around?

Like most river towns in Illinois, they have been here a long time.

Geneva's first settlers came in 1835, it was incorporated as a village in 1867 and as a city in 1887, while St. Charles was settled in 1834, incorporated as a village in 1839 and reincorporated in 1874.

Batavia was incorporated as a city in 1872, but has the official tag as being the oldest town in Kane County in that it was founded with first settlers in 1833.

Funny thing about retirement:

Readers found my simplistic retirement goal - to have the time to eat at the Costco food court when shopping there - to be humorous. It encouraged some current retirees to share insights about the type of questions they encounter about their lives of leisure.

One said she is often asked, "Why do you drive up Randall Road (or Route 59) on a Saturday when you are retired?"

She said it was for that very reason - they are retired, so a busy highway doesn't matter. You're not in that much of a hurry anymore.

The same premise would hold true for another couple who said they are questioned about why they go to Woodman's Markets in North Aurora or Costco in St. Charles on Saturdays at the busiest times, when they could go on a Monday instead.

The answer? The food samples are far more plentiful on a weekend.

Another couple noted a fondness for Basils restaurant in Aurora, admitting that it is far better to go to a place like this around 2:30 p.m. and enjoy the great food and service while the place is quiet.

Still, the weekends remain a good part of being retired by my way of thinking. But traffic has its downsides.

My shift to working in my home office about four years ago most certainly has extended my shelf life, but I went to the Chicago O'Hare Marriott last week for a lunch meeting and it felt like I hadn't been in a car in that much traffic in decades.

But it certainly wouldn't matter as much if I didn't have to get back to work after that meeting.

That's good pizza:

Just in case Batavians are wondering what the planned new Riverside Pizza restaurant in downtown might be like, let me assure you of something. It's really good.

We've had Riverside's fare from the St. Charles restaurant on more than a few occasions and have never been disappointed.

This should be a good move for Batavia in having a pizza parlor move into what has been an empty former Walgreens location in its downtown retail strip.

Work dries up too:

As of this writing, we hadn't a lot of rain in the Tri-Cities area for some time. It was supposed to rain midweek, so that was likely to help a bit.

The dry spell made me wonder how workers taking care of plants and the grounds in a forest preserve or park are keeping busy.

Nothing's growing, so there hasn't been a lot of mowing or plant trimming to do. And you can only do so much watering and other maintenance tasks before you have to stop and just wait for it to rain.

dheun@sbcglobal.net