Benjamin Stephenson House
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Benjamin Stephenson House
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The fully restored Benjamin Stephenson House in 2007.
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| Location | 409 S. Buchanan St., Edwardsville, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 38°48′26″N 89°57′8″W / 38.80722°N 89.95222°WCoordinates: 38°48′26″N 89°57′8″W / 38.80722°N 89.95222°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1820; 1845 |
| Architect | Benjamin Stephenson (builder) |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP Reference # | 80001395 |
| Added to NRHP | May 31, 1980 |
The Benjamin Stephenson House is a Federal style home built in 1820 in the city of Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. The house was constructed by prominent Edwardsville citizen and Illinois politician Benjamin Stephenson. He died shortly after the home's completion and the home had 15 subsequent owners, some of whom made major alterations to the original structure. In 1845 the addition of an ell altered the appearance of the house. The last two owners were the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the current owner, the city of Edwardsville.
In 1999 the city of Edwardsville purchased the home from the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and in 2001 a restoration project began. The project aimed to restore the house to its authentic 1820s appearance and open the house as a public museum. The house has been the subject of tales of ghostly activity since at least the 1970s, though no recent reports exist. The Stephenson House has prominence for its architecture and for its affiliation with Illinois politics. The building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Benjamin Stephenson House was originally located on a 172-acre (0.7 km2) tract of land about two miles (3 km) from the center of Edwardsville, Illinois; at the time along the bluffs above Cahokia Creek. The house, today, is located along South Buchanan Street in Edwardsville, along one of the busiest stretches of Illinois Route 159. The house is still on its original site, though the property is only one acre.
Colonel Benjamin Stephenson purchased the 172-acre (0.7 km2) tract of land that would become the site of the Stephenson House in 1819. In 1820 he began construction on the original east portion of the house, which, when complete served as his home, office and political headquarters for the remainder of his life. Benjamin Stephenson died in the home on October 10, 1822.
On January 29, 1825, while at the Stephenson House for a party, Daniel D. Smith was stabbed to death. Apparently an argument occurred, and Smith was later found in the dining room with a stab wound; as the group was picking him up, he uttered "Winchester" and died. News reports in The Spectator (Edwardsville) indicated that Smith was "killed in an affray" at the Stephenson House. Benjamin's son, James W. Stephenson, James D. Henry and Palemon Winchester were indicted for the murder. Though all three men were charged with the crime, Stephenson and Henry were released on bond.
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