McHenry County, IL
Home MenuLandmarks in Northwestern McHenry County
Chemung, Alden, Dunham, and Hartland Townships
Rudolphus Hutchinson, Harvard
Rudolph Hutchinson and his second wife relocated from Vermont to Illinois to raise their sons. Hutchinson, a prominent local figure, was the Justice-of-the-Peace for the area and his house served as courthouse, jail, and stage stop. Potawatomi Chief Big Foot, also a former area resident, was his frequent houseguest.
The 1840 Gothic Revival-style brick house was built between 1838 and 1840 and is known locally as the "house of seven gables". The building sports whimsical touches of Victorian influence in the lofty peaks and curved gothic windows. Each of the seven gables is topped with a decorative finial representing a sign of the zodiac. The red transom glass over a doorway hints at a possible Underground Railroad connection.
The property possesses two buildings that predate the main house, a smokehouse as well as a carriage house with an original wood-burning stove. The barn is of Germanic origin and has notched timbers that are believed to have been rafted down from the forests of Wisconsin before the advent of the railroad.
Newman House, Harvard
Built on a hill in 1873 on land purchased six years earlier by Frank and Louisa Newman, this Italianate style house is constructed of brick that may have been handmade on site by Newman and his father-in-law, Washington Hammond. Brick masons by trade, it is possible they operated a brick kiln on site. Upon close examination, one finds the names and initials of various family members pressed into the clay bricks. This was done before firing. These bricks are scattered here and there on the house's exterior.
The Italianate style farmhouse contains a kitchen, dining room, parlor and a sewing room that has since been converted to a bathroom on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor. There is also a partial basement or possibly a root cellar. A wooden porch was added sometime after construction. Both Newman and Hammond served in the 12th Illinois infantry and fought at Vicksburg during the Civil War.
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Harvard
In tribute to Harvard's founding fathers, graves from the original Harvard cemetery were relocated to Mount Auburn after the cemetery was established in 1867. The residents of Harvard contributed local stone to build the cemetery's chapel in 1936. This tranquil place encompasses a glorious landscape of gardens, shrubs, trees, and native prairie that has become home to a multitude of colorful songbirds. There are many prominent figures buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, including the grandfather of President Gerald Ford. These are but a few of the significant interments at Mount Auburn Cemetery: Elbridge Ayer Burbank, the famous 1880 Old West artist; Edward Ayer, the founder of the world famous Field Museum in Chicago; and Elbridge Ayer, the grandson of Elbridge Gerry who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence (and the source of the word "gerrymandering").
William Coventry House, Harvard
The land which was known as the William Coventry Farm was once crossed by Indian trails and roamed by deer and wolves. Initially, two 40-acre homestead parcels were deeded to Franklin Smith, the first in 1844, signed by President Tyler and the second in 1845, signed by President Polk.
William Coventry, the former captain of a whaling ship, arrived in the area in 1844 from New York. In 1855. He had the original portions of the house and barn constructed. (Previous to this a log cabin served as a residence.) The nearby Harvard Townsite was platted in 1856, and the Coventry farm's gravity-fed reservoir supplied water to the nascent Village. History also suggests that the house was used as an early stop for stagecoaches.
Prior to 1871, William Coventry left for Minnesota. David Coventry and Ida May (Smith) were married in 1871 and lived in the house with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Smith. Around this time, the first addition to the house was completed along with a facade modification to the original section. Sometime after this, the first addition to the barn was completed.
Mr. Smith died in 1880 and Mrs. Smith in 1901. Ida May and David Coventry inherited half of her parents' estate. (The house and barn appeared then much the same as it does today.) A short time later, they purchased Ida's brother Horace's share. Having ownership of the entire estate, the property became known as the David Coventry Farm.
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