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History Walk Site 6:
Blodgett Homes & DG Museum
Israel Blodgett, an early settler of Downers Grove, built this simple Greek Revival house in 1846 to replace the small log cabin that his family had lived in since 1835. He used mortise and tenon joinery to fit wood beams into one another without the use of nails. The main part of the house has a “temple front”, meaning that the gabled roof above the two-story mass resembles the pedimented front of an ancient Greek Temple. The cornice returns at the eaves of the two story portion are typical of Greek Revival houses of this period.
Israel and his wife, Avis, had strong abolitionist beliefs, and several sources document that they aided fugitive slaves escaping to Canada. They hosted up to 15 “freedom seekers” in the house at one time, hiding them in their root cellar or attic when the need arose.
When Charles built his Queen Anne home in 1892, he moved this structure to 812 Randall Road. When it faced demolition in 2007, the Downers Grove Heritage Preservation Corporation raised funds to relocate the house to the grounds of the Downers Grove Museum.
For more information, visit the 1846 Blodgett House organization and the Downers Grove Museum.
Charles Blodgett built this Queen Anne house in 1892 on the foundation of a small frame house that he inherited from his father, Israel Blodgett. The house’s elaborate, asymmetrical composition, wrap-around porch, various window shapes, and ornamental woodwork are all typical of the Queen Anne style.
Charles was a member of the DuPage County Board of Supervisors for 35 years and ran a dairy business from the property.
The house became the Downers Grove Museum in 1977, and its rooms have been appointed with furniture and artifacts from the Victorian period. Of special interest is the Victorian-era kitchen, in which 1890s chores and housekeeping are interpreted.
