Arts Entertainments

Stephen Wright House – Paw Paw, Illinois

Before reaching the Reagan landmarks in Dixon, we stop at Paw Paw, Illinois, a small town that many of you Illinoisans have probably passed on Interstate 39, you know you’re there when you see the big mills of wind generating electricity on the horizon. Prior to 2005, the town of 850 Paw Paw had no properties listed on the Federal National Register of Historic Places. The Stephen Wright House listing changed that in May of that year.

After mingling for a while among the windmills at the Mendota Hills Wind Farm, I headed into the town proper and looked for the Wright House. The house was built sometime between 1895 and 1906 by Paw Paw native and real estate speculator Stephen Wright.

The house is an excellent example of Queen Anne style architecture. It very clearly illustrates the hipped roof (wiki) with cross gables flanking it (wiki) found on about 50 percent of Queen Anne style houses . The style of the roof is a quick way to identify many less obvious Queen Anne examples. Viewed from the crossed gables, the hipped roof is less obvious, making for an interesting visual game, depending on where the roof is located. viewer.

Tomorrow we will visit our first Reagan landmark in Dixon. Paw Paw is a town in Lee County, located in northern Illinois. Northern Illinois is full of interesting places that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are worth visiting for any student or history buff. Feel free to google it and take a look for yourself.

online resources

Stephen Wright House: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (PDF)

Wikipedia: Stephen Wright House, Mendota Hills Wind Farm (both by me, for you).

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