This old house is ready to move to a new address
An 1845 farmhouse significant for its Greek revival architecture and for being part of the early agricultural settlement of Blackberry Township is being moved and saved from ruin.
The move is the result of direction from the Kane County development department and two developers: Shodeen Inc. and Foxford LLC of Hinsdale.
Foxford will move the Byron Kendall house today, weather permitting, from its present location at Keslinger and Anderson roads in Elburn to the Settlements of LaFox, where it can fit into a historic district with other old houses.
Once the house is relocated, Kane County will move to give it landmark status.
"Byron Kendall bought the property from the federal government in order to build the house," said Julia Thavong, preservation planner for Kane County. "We probably have only a handful of houses left with the original land patents.
"And you can go up in the attic and see the heavy hewn timber," Thavong added. "Someone took an ax to build it."
Thavong said the only other house she knows of with an original land patent is the Otto Read house in Virgil Township, a Kane County landmark.
The county became involved several years ago when planners found out the house was a topic regarding development. It rests on property owned by Shodeen. The parcel is part of land slated for a large development from Keslinger Road to Route 38. The house did not fit into Shodeen's development plans.
In an effort to save it, Kane County sat down with the village of Elburn and with representatives from Shodeen and Foxford.
"It took a lot of cooperation and negotiation," Thavong said.
According to Tim Kellogg, a consultant for Foxford LLC, the house will fit into a LaFox corridor within the proposed 1,254-acre Settlements of LaFox that has older, historic homes.
"We've created lots that reflect the ones of existing older homes," Kellogg said. "These lots can facilitate other historic houses, although there is no plan for another at this time."
Kellogg said that Foxford has a concept drawing for placing an addition on the house, and anticipates that it will be sold to an individual or a private entity.
The house will be placed on a new foundation on the east side of LaFox Road just south of the railroad tracks in LaFox, an unincorporated area.