John Bowman Atwater House in Geneva for sale

One of Geneva's most notable and well-known homes is on the market for the first time since 1964. The John Bowman Atwater House, which has stood in stately grandeur on a hill overlooking Batavia Avenue since it was built in 1867 or 1868, is looking for a new owner.

Most recently owned by Mary and Howard Bogash, it is being sold as part of their estate.

Stories surrounding the home and its owners are numerous, as are the bedrooms and other fine points of the home.

The Victorian home features a three-story tall octagonal wing, a gorgeous wraparound porch with a rounded sitting area, an unusual paneled staircase, an original butler's pantry with vintage cabinetry, multiple staircases, abundant built-ins and lots of nooks and crannies, including a small sink nestled in a niche in the master bedroom.

The home features six bedrooms, including two (and a bath) over the two-car garage that was added to the back of the house at some point. Another bedroom is on the third floor of the octagonal wing. The remaining three grace the second floor of the main house, along with two full baths. In fact, the master bedroom also features a lovely sitting room with a fireplace.

The vintage feel of the homestead is accented by wrought iron gates on either side of a gravel circular drive, as well as the many lots of tall trees on the 1.7-acre lot. The home, at 814 Batavia Ave., is listed for $995,000.

The original owner, John Atwater, had an interesting past before he arrived in Geneva to build this home. A traveling actor and musician from the East, Atwater began his career as a violinist and dancing master, using the name John Bowman. When he began acting, he began including his surname.

Eventually, in July 1849, he traveled west to California with an acting troupe, arriving in Sacramento "barefoot and destitute," according to newspaper accounts at the time. The wagon train with which he had been traveling had been attacked and he was lucky to be alive.

Atwater spent only 13 months in Sacramento, working as an actor, before he left California to travel back East.

Sometime between 1850 when he left California and 1867 when he and his wife, Maritra, and their three children arrived in Geneva, Atwater made a fortune with an invention.

His name is still on a patent filed with the U.S. Patent Office for a "rifled projectile" that was widely used by Union forces during the Civil War. That invention made Atwater a millionaire.

When Atwater and his family arrived in Geneva, they purchased two parcels totaling 41 acres at a cost of $16,700, and the home was built soon thereafter with a flat roof and widow's walk on top of the octagonal wing.

When one enters the home through the original double doors, you find a large foyer with a graceful paneled staircase, flanked by clear leaded glass windows.

The octagonal wing and arrangement of the other rooms result in intriguingly shaped rooms and lots of visual interest in the living room, library/card room, dining room and foyer.

The rear of the house features the powder room/laundry room, butler's pantry, kitchen and garage.

Original hardwood floors abound in much of the house, except in the master suite where the house experienced a fire in the 1970s and the hardwood was replaced with carpet-covered plywood there.

The property Atwater purchased included some mineral springs, which were abundant along the Fox River in those days.

"The spring of central interest is situated near the north boundary of the grounds of Mr. Atwater," reported renowned mapmakers Thomas H. Thompson and Louis H. Everts in their book "Combination Atlas Map of Kane County," published in 1872.

During the summer, the spring was a popular gathering spot for many Geneva citizens and was thought to improve health, somewhat of a "fountain of youth," the mapmakers wrote.

"The enterprising proprietor of this mineral spring and the beautiful grounds in which it is situated, is considering the feasibility of erecting an elegant hotel in the vicinity of the spring, as a resort for denizens of the city who may wish to enjoy the country air and a short rest during the summer's heat. It only needs such a step on the part of Mr. Atwater to make his spring famous," the entry concluded.

It appears that Atwater never followed through on that suggestion, however, selling the home and property in 1881 to John H. Cheever of New York City.

Cheever turned the home and property into "an infirmary, full of people from abroad who are rusticating and resting for their health," according to a July 1882 clipping from the "Elgin Weekly Frank" newspaper. As late as 1892 Cheever was still advertising the property as a "rest home, restorative spring and real estate development."

In 1894 Cheever sold the home and its new owner did extensive renovations, including replacing the flat roof on the octagonal wing with a peaked roof, and adding the full wraparound porch. It has been a residence ever since.

But the home didn't fall into complete obscurity. In 1949 a rendering of a gathering inside the home graced the cover of the Feb. 5 Saturday Evening Post magazine. The home was owned by Sidney Castle at the time. His daughter is apparently one of the people pictured in the color drawing.

However, no one seems to know how that picture happened to appear on the cover of the renowned national periodical.

And John Atwater also didn't fall into obscurity. Atwater's Restaurant at Geneva's five-star Herrington Inn keeps the old actor/inventor's name from being lost to time.

For more information on the Atwater home, call Jamie Daniel at Miscella Real Estate at (630) 232-1570.

Incidentally, an estate sale will be held at the home the weekend of May 14 and 15.