The Orson Rogers House is listed on the 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...

 and located in the McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 308,760, which is an increase of 18.7% from 260,077 in 2000. Its county seat is Woodstock. This county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest county, in...

 city of Marengo

Marengo, Illinois

Marengo is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,355 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Marengo is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Major Streets:...

. The property consists of several outbuildings, currently and in the past, as well, those buildings are and were mostly agriculture related.

Ownership

The home was owned by the Orson Rogers family from 1847 until around 1869. William Boies owned the farmstead from 1869 and held it until the early part of the 20th century. Boies was the owner of a well-known dairy and creamery. From 1920 until 1961 Jesse Jackson owned the Rogers House and in 1961 it was purchased by Willis and Wilma Brown. Willis Brown had inherited the home from his grandparents. The present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Kling purchased the home in 1979, the year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Orson Rogers

Orson Rogers, the home's namesake, was born in Middletown, Vermont in 1814. In the late 1830s he and his wife, Mary, moved, by wagon

Wagon

A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....

, from Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 to the Marengo, Illinois area. Rogers' parents accompanied him and his wife on the relocation. Originally, Rogers settled in a town he liked called Coral. In the 1840s the area was home to a number of Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 settlements and the Rogers' were among the first white settlers of the Marengo area. Rogers built the first log cabin

Log cabin

A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...

 schoolhouse

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 in the area and taught there as well. In the 1850s his farming savvy led him to purchase the revolutinary McCormick Reapers

Reaper

A reaper is a person or machine that reaps crops at harvest, when they are ripe.-Hand reaping:Hand reaping is done by various means, including plucking the ears of grains directly by hand, cutting the grain stalks with a sickle, cutting them with a scythe, or with a later type of scythe called a...

.