Set on a quiet, tree-lined street, the home at 4703 Saratoga Avenue is a striking example of the American Craftsman Foursquare style. With its simple square footprint, pyramidical hipped roof, and prominent center dormer, the house embodies the understated elegance and functionality characteristic of the 1920s.
Inside, the home features large, well-proportioned rooms—roughly four per floor—with wide, unadorned wood trim and a graceful wooden staircase accented by a simple, elegant newel post. The second-floor facade is balanced by two evenly placed windows, lending a clean symmetry to its design.
This home is recognized on the Downers Grove Architectural Survey as potentially contributing to the historic fabric of the village due to its architectural integrity and preserved design.
A Glimpse into the Past: The Wilson Family
While the home has had many owners over the years, its most historically significant residents were Frederick M. and Lillian Wilson, who lived here from 1937 to 1941.
F.M. Wilson was a railway executive whose daily life in the late 1930s comes alive through a remarkable discovery—over 600 canceled checks found in the basement during a recent renovation. Carefully preserved and cataloged, the checks span from 1936 to 1939 and offer a rare and personal glimpse into the Wilsons’ life during the Great Depression.
The financial records reveal a family engaged in community life and connected to both local and national culture. F.M. shopped at Chicago’s most iconic department stores—Marshall Field’s, Carson Pirie Scott & Co., and The Fair—and occasionally traveled as far as San Francisco. Lillian supported local businesses like J.L. Lehman and Downers Grove’s Cloverleaf Dairy. They made car payments, carried insurance, and used local services such as Triangle Service Station and Dicke Motor Sales.
The Wilsons raised three children: daughters Helen Kathleen (“Kay”) and Mary Francis, who graduated from Downers Grove North High School, and son George, who served in Company E, 335th Infantry. George’s 1946 draft card notes he had lost two limbs, a poignant reminder of the family’s sacrifice. He passed away in Florida at the age of 43.
The family moved to Downers Grove from Brookfield, initially renting on Forest Avenue before purchasing the Saratoga home from Metropolitan Life Insurance in 1934, possibly due to a foreclosure involving the previous owner. In 1941, the Wilsons moved and later Lillian and the daughters relocated to Prescott, Arizona, where the girls attended college.
Though their time in the home was brief, the Wilson family’s legacy lives on. The personal history revealed through their records offers an intimate window into 1930s life in Downers Grove. For this reason, it is fitting that the home at 4703 Saratoga be recognized not only for its architectural merit but also for its place in the lives of one of the village’s remarkable families—as the Frederick M. Wilson House.
