Ellwood House
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Ellwood House
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| Location | 509 N. 1st St., De Kalb, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 41°55′53″N 88°45′1″W / 41.93139°N 88.75028°WCoordinates: 41°55′53″N 88°45′1″W / 41.93139°N 88.75028°W |
| Area | 8.2 acres (3.3 ha) |
| Built | 1879 |
| Architect | George O. Garnsey |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Victorian, Georgian, Colonial Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 75002075 |
| Added to NRHP | June 13, 1975 |
The Ellwood House was built as a private home by barbed wire entrepreneur Isaac Ellwood in 1879. It is located on First Street in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, in DeKalb County. The Victorian style home, designed by George O. Garnsey, underwent remodeling in 1898-1899 and 1911. The house was originally part of 1,000 acres (4 km²) which included a large stable complex known as "Ellwood Green." Isaac Ellwood lived here until 1910 when he passed the estate to his son, Perry Ellwood.
After Perry Ellwood inherited the home he remodeled the interior and exterior, drastically altering the home's appearance. Thus, the Ellwood House incorporates elements from several architectural styles. The site contains four buildings in addition to the main house. A 50-foot (15 m) tall water tower dominates the west side of the property while a 14-foot (4.3-m) tall miniature Stick style house is located nearer the main house. There is also a carriage house, which houses a visitor's center and a museum house that was once used to hold Harriet Ellwood's (Isaac's wife) collection of "curiosities." In 1964 the home was donated to the city of DeKalb and converted into a museum. The house was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Construction on the original mansion began in April 1879, George O. Garnsey, a Chicago architect, designed the Ellwood Mansion for DeKalb barbed wire entrepreneur Isaac Ellwood. At the time, Garnsey had designed other structures in DeKalb and Sycamore. By November 1879 the Ellwood family occupied the home. Newspaper accounts of the day put the cost somewhere between US$40,000 and $50,000. The original Ellwood House had a number of elements common to Victorian designed homes and combined several styles. Its mansard roof remains one of the home's most striking features. In addition, the home still incorporates Gothic columns, pitched gables, and a cast iron roof cresting with a trefoil design.
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