Fitting all the parts into the giant puzzle that will become the reconstruction of St. Charles’ stately Farnsworth mansion seems a daunting task. But the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission is up to the challenge.
Re-creating the mansion, once the grand home of Civil War Gen. John F. Farnsworth, is now a work in progress by the local preservationists. When completed, it will be used as a museum.
The project is steeped not only in history but in controversy over matters of historic authenticity.
“Farnsworth wore many hats and was very well-connected,” said Kim Malay, the historic preservation coordinator for the city and project manager.
Among his friends were Abraham Lincoln and Joseph Medill, publisher of the Chicago Tribune. Farnsworth played a role in founding the Republican Party and was the driving force behind the formation of the 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment.
Farnsworth built a cupola-crowned, three-story mansion in 1860 in a spectacular wooded setting in what is now St. Mary’s Park along the Fox River’s western bank. After a fire in 1885 destroyed the structure, it was rebuilt, and it remained a St. Charles fixture until 1993, when it was razed. The remains were later donated to the city.
Last weekend, Malay and a group of 13 volunteers began unloading and taking inventory of two semitrailers packed with artifacts that were salvaged after the mansion was torn down.
“This is not junk but very valuable pieces to the mansion’s character,” said David English, vice president of the Farnsworth Mansion Foundation, as he glanced over neatly arranged piles of disassembled items. “Before we finish today, we’ll have a lot better idea of what we have to work with in making the mansion as close to the original as we can,” he said.
For seven hours Saturday, volunteers unpacked and tagged their grimy loot. Most of the woodwork was oak or mahogany. Moldings, ornamental trim beading, doors, window frames, wainscoting, staircase railings, spindles and stringers, cabinets, cupboards, bookcases, fireplace fixtures, outdoor columns and veranda supports were among the thousands of pieces they handled.
“We know what a lot of it is, but where it goes is something else,” Malay said. Len Chandler, treasurer of the non-profit foundation, agreed that most of the material is identifiable.
“We have between 60 to 70 percent of the trim here,” he said. “Most of it is oak, but a lot of it is mahogany–the bookcases and things like that.”
Chandler, a professional restorer, estimated the value of the salvaged materials to be as high as $100,000. Preservationists estimate the cost of reconstructing the 10,000-square-foot mansion will be at least $2 million.
Most of the funding, they said, will come from a fundraising drive scheduled to begin Oct. 14, when festivities will include a re-enactment of life in Camp Kane, where the 8th Illinois Cavalry trained, and a Civil War-era ball.
Because preservationists won’t be able to match the original structure, the project does not qualify for many federal and state grants.
“We’re going to make it as close to the original as we can on a site in Langum Park,” Malay said. Langum Park is the site of Camp Kane.
Dubbed “Farnsworth’s Big Abolition Regiment” by Lincoln, Farnsworth’s troops took part in numerous battles, including Manassas, Mechanicsville, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Warrentown, Williamsburg and Gettysburg.
Although some have expressed concern about the potential for damage to trees in Langum Park, Malay said the preservation is not expected to cause major disruptions.
“We’re doing a full-blown tree survey and a soil test, trying to do everything right,” Malay said. “We know we’ll have to take out some scrub trees and underbrush, but we’re as concerned about the environment … as anyone else.”
