Jeremiah Strawn House
Encyclopedia
The Jeremiah Strawn House is a historic house in the city of Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,786...

. It is a good example of a front-gabled house with Italianate detailing. The Strawn House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

History

The Jeremiah Strawn House in Ottawa, Illinois was built in three phases from around 1855–70 for property owner Jeremiah Strawn. Strawn purchased the property in 1857 from William Osman for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

4,000.

Architecture

The Strawn House is a high-integrity example of the front-gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...

 architectural design, also known as Mid 19th Century Design. Essentially this style of American residential design was loosely based upon Greek and Roman models. Large-scale American sympathy for the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

, archaeological investigations and the proliferation of design models in publications all helped spread this style. The Strawn House features Italianate detailing such as the brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...

 beneath the eaves. Though the Strawn House was constructed at the height of popularity for Greek Revival style it still maintains many elements of the earlier Classical Revival period.

Historic significance

The Strawn House is a good example of a front-gabled house. The house is architecturally significant as the only example of such design in Ottawa, with most others falling into the Italianate or Greek Revival categories. The Jeremiah Strawn House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 on January 24, 1995.

External links

  • Jeremiah Strawn House, Property Information Report, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
    Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
    The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is tasked with the duty of maintaining most State-owned historic sites within Illinois, and maximizing their educational and recreational value to visitors....

    , accessed May 16, 2008.
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