Former Lake Forest mayor's house caught fire

Former Lake Forest Mayor Francis C. Farwell II owns the sprawling house that was engulfed by fire Wednesday on the city's west side, officials confirmed.

Lake Forest Fire Department officials estimated damage to the house at $1.3 million. They also said about $2 million in potential damage to the home and contents was prevented by the 87 firefighters from 24 suburban departments who worked the scene.

City spokeswoman Rosemary Haack said the Farwells are one of Lake Forest's founding families. She said Farwell was one of five men in his family to be mayor, serving from 1984 to 1987.

Fire officials said the former mayor was not home when the blaze was reported about 3 p.m. Wednesday in the 1500 block of Waukegan Road, just south of Route 176. One of the home's occupants escaped the house without injury, while another was helped out by a Lake Forest police officer.

Authorities said the flames originated in a fireplace on the home's southeast side. They said the fire remained under investigation Thursday.

Coincidentally, former mayor John V. Farwell's barn and all of its contents burned to the ground in 1902, according to the official Lake Forest Fire Department history. The closest fire plug to his home was about 1,000 feet away.

Also known as J.V. Farwell, he was Lake Forest's sixth mayor from 1871 to 1872. He was the first in the Farwell clan to become mayor and was considered the force behind construction of Chicago's first YMCA in 1857.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=347633">Firefighters battle blaze at Lake Forest home <span class="date">[12/31/09]</span></a></li>

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