St. Charles, Oak Brook sites listed among most endangered historic locations in Illinois
A house in St. Charles and an Oak Brook barn are among the historic places in Illinois considered most at risk by a preservation group.
Landmarks Illinois released its 2025 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois list on Thursday. The nonprofit organization’s list includes the Judge William D. Barry House in St. Charles and the Fordon Horse Barn in Oak Brook.
Other sites that made this year’s list include the W.A. McConnell Farmstead in McHenry County, Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1903 JJ Walser House in Chicago, and Chicago Vocational High School.
“This year’s Most Endangered list is wide-ranging, not only in the kinds of troubling threats these places face, but also in their historical narratives, geographical locations and building types,” Bonnie McDonald, president and CEO of Landmarks Illinois, said in a press release.
Landmarks Illinois launched its Most Endangered program in 1995 to support advocacy and eventual preservation of the properties it annually lists.
The Barry House, 217 Cedar Ave., in St. Charles, is a Greek Revival built in 1844 by Judge William D. Barry, the first president of the Kane County Bar Association.
Located within St. Charles’ Central Historic District, its owner, the Baker Memorial Methodist Church, plans to demolish the house to create space for a parking lot.
In October 2024, the church petitioned St. Charles’ Historic Preservation Commission for a certificate of appropriateness to tear down the house. However, the commission has recommended denying the request.
The church has filed an appeal to the city’s Planning and Development Committee, according to Landmarks Illinois.
Preservationists say the house, which has been vacant since 2017, could be returned to active use as a residence or for retail space, Landmarks Illinois said.
“The Judge Barry House is a rare ‘story house,’ reflecting nearly two centuries of Illinois and national history,” Steve Gibson, a former member of the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission, said in a statement.
Owned by the Oak Brook Park District, the circa-1930 Fordon Horse Barn is in Saddle Brook Park within the Saddle Brook community.
Jerry Fordon, a polo player at the Oak Brook Polo Club, which ceased operations this March, bought the barn in 1941 to house his ponies.
In 1975, the Saddle Brook Development Company deeded the barn and surrounding parkland to the Oak Brook Park District, according to Landmarks Illinois.
After using the barn for storage, the park district sought to raze the structure by the end of April. However, the demolition was delayed because of opposition from residents.
Elizabeth Arts, president of the Oak Brook Historical Society, said the Fordon Barn “represents a window to the past … from a time when farms and pastoral settings were the norm.”
In the Landmarks Illinois press release, she cited the impact of Oak Brook’s founder, Paul Butler, who made the Oak Brook Polo Club “the cornerstone of American polo culture.”
“It is worth saving and preserving a place where American history happened,” Arts said.