Historic home on forest preserve land in Geneva is slowly deteriorating

George and Nelle Fabyan would likely be pleased to see how their former home at 1511 S. Batavia Ave. has been kept up as the Fabyan Villa Museum through Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley.

But maybe not so much regarding a nearby house that one of their maids possibly lived in.

Col. Fabyan and his wife have locked their piece of local history as hundreds of people each year visit their expansive villa along the Fox River in Geneva's Fabyan Forest Preserve.

Their home was redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1907 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After Col. Fabyan died in 1936 and his wife in 1939, the county purchased the land for the forest preserve district.

It all brings back memories of what it must have been like for the Fabyans to have their slice of heaven along the Fox River, but time takes its toll as well. One structure, in particular, is showing its age, and the county forest preserve is stuck in no man's land in its attempt to salvage it.

The house on the north end of the property, down the hill from the villa museum, dates back to the early 1900s. Most likely, an employee on the grounds lived there. After all, the Fabyans employed between 60 and 100 people at any given time - cooks, chauffeurs, maids, farmers, animal handlers and gardeners.

Decades later, the house was occupied by forest preserve staff members and their families, the most recent leaving around 2010. The numbers of two sons' prep football jerseys are still noticeable on the back door.

"When that staff member left the district, the house sat empty for a short period of time, then, unfortunately, the heat broke down in the house," said John Goreth, director of operations for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. "It was hot-water heat, so we lost the heating boiler and the lines into the walls actually ruptured."

The house has been in what Goreth termed "protective storage," even though the district removed portions of the walls to locate the heating problem.

"We had a building evaluation completed on this house in 2015, and the total cost would be $320,000 to get the building back up to where it should be," Goreth noted.

That doesn't fit in the district's budget, so repairs on this house are not listed as a high priority on the district's expense ledger.

Preservation Partners contemplated using the building to store museum artifacts or maybe set up extra office space there, Goreth added. "But the funding wasn't there for that."

Seeking museum grants that would include house funds might be an option, and Goreth also said he was considering offering it to some area high schools' construction programs.

"But it's a historic structure, so you can't just go in and start throwing modern stuff into it," he said. It's a tough spot for the forest preserve, as the house falls into significant disrepair.

"It is cool that it has been there since the early 1900s, and we did some minor repairs to it, but nothing that would come close to the $320,000 that was needed," Goreth said.

It's tires galore

Do we have more mattress or tire stores around here? Here's a quick quiz.

Reader Phil Kessler points out that with the upcoming addition of Belle Tire Shop on Randall Road, the west side of St. Charles will have five tire shops within shouting distance of each other, with Costco Tire, Discount Tire, Firestone Tire and Pep Boys all operating on that side of town.

Toss in the Fox River Tire shop on 17th Street, Suburban Tire on Lincoln Highway, Discount Tire in downtown St. Charles and a Firestone on the east side.

Further south on Randall Road in Batavia, there's a Firestone and a Discount Tire next to each other, while Mavis Tires and Brakes, formerly known as NTB, has a location off Randall Road in Geneva and on the east side of St. Charles.

As for mattress stores, you can find all of these in the Tri-Cities area - American Mattress, the Bedding Experts, Mattress Firm, BMC Mattress, Back to Bed, Ashley HomeStore and Sleep Number. I think I'm overlooking one or two on either the tire or the mattress side. But at this count, there are 13 different tire store options and seven mattress shops.

The message here? We can all sleep well on our new mattress, knowing there are plenty of tire stores in case we have worn-out tires.

For farm and home

St. Charles is reviewing a building permit to make way for a Tractor Supply Company location west of Randall Road.

The site would be at 3000 W. Main St., just east of the Everbrook Academy building.

City planner Ellen Johnson said applications for the project were approved by the city last spring.

I've never been in a Tractor Supply Company store, but it sounds similar to a Farm and Fleet store.

TSC has been in operation since 1938 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Its desire to locate on the west side of St. Charles reminds us that there is plenty of farmland between here and DeKalb and beyond. But this American retail chain sells products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, in addition to the materials and supplies farmers need for livestock and horses and general pet care.

The store notes its products are for "recreational farmers and ranchers, pet owners and landowners."

Apparently, it goes beyond what Potter's in LaFox or Gander Mountain in Geneva used to sell in terms of work clothes and boots.

Development plans site Tractor Supply Company at Cardinal and Woodward drives, with Cardinal having access off and onto West Main Street.

Preparing for prom

Another event that tells us we're trying to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror, at least a bit, is the annual Prom Dress Giveaway through the Chip In Batavia organization.

After not holding the event for two years, co-chairs Joanne Spitz and Melinda Kintz are back at it, collecting dresses and accessories for the giveaway event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 12.

The event will be held at the former Sam's Club warehouse building on Randall Road in Batavia. That site most recently has been the Kane County vaccination center.

The dress collection continues at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave., as those interested in donating can drop off clean dresses and accessories in good to excellent condition at the library check-out desk. Tax donation letters are available.

Organizers are partnering with the Kane County Health Department, which provides the space at the 501 N. Randall Road site for the free dress giveaway for any girls from any school district - regardless of need. Masks are required at the dress giveaway.

Guests can also schedule a vaccination appointment for that day through KaneVax.org.

Monetary donations are also welcome to aid the Chip In efforts in helping pay for tuxedo rentals and prom tickets for Batavia students.

Blessings on this land

An interesting leftover note from the information last week about the industrial parks in the Tri-Cities reveals Batavia benefited from having a good relationship with the Billy Graham Foundation in the 1960s.

When Kane County put about 500 acres of farmland on the south side of Fabyan Parkway up for sale in the late-1960s, an "unknown cooperative based in Wheaton" purchased that land, Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke recalled.

When Schielke became mayor in 1981, a representative from that cooperative told him to let him know they were willing sellers if anyone came knocking on Batavia's door to acquire land in that area.

When some interested buyers surfaced, and some grant money was available to extend Raddant Road to Fabyan Parkway for industrial growth, Schielke learned this group working with the city was part of the Billy Graham Foundation in Wheaton.

"They eventually sold all of that land and, as I was told, the Graham Foundation was pleased with the investment in Batavia land and the amount of money they got from the sale - because it helped pay for their continued evangelical work," Schielke added.

Geneva by the numbers

Also, related to industrial parks, I was able to get some data from Geneva highlighting its commitment to these key economic drivers.

Currently, 10.5 percent of Geneva's land within the city's corporate limits is zoned for industrial use, while about 4.4 percent of the city's general levy is generated from industrial users.

As for the city's interactions with industrial development, about a third of the applications filed for land-use entitlements during the past two years have been related to industrial development, said city spokesperson Kevin Stahr.

He added that the city's Community Development Department also spends significant time responding to inquiries related to industrial development.

dheun@sbcglobal.net