A historic two-story gray Queen Anne Victorian-style house in northeast Glen Ellyn — moved across town in 1989 — has an uncertain future.
The house, built in 1895 by a member of one of Glen Ellyn’s founding families, is deteriorating and faces possible foreclosure.
This isn’t the first time the house’s future has been in doubt. In 1989, the Glen Ellyn Bible Church wanted to expand, and the long-neglected house — which sat on the church’s property — was in the way. Village officials and the town’s historical society objected to demolition, citing the home’s historic value.
That’s when Linda Hatchell and her husband at the time paid the church $1 to buy the house and moved it from the corner of Main Street and Hillside Avenue to Elm Street, almost two miles away. Because the house is 40 feet tall, it had to be moved in parts.
Hatchell restored the house and in 2005, with a year left on the mortgage, she and her current husband refinanced it. By 2009, however, Hatchell had lost her job and fell behind on the payments. Her husband also is unemployed.
“Now, I’m 38 payments past due,” she said. “So I’m doomed.”
In 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy, along with chemotherapy and reconstructive surgery. Unable to work, Hatchell collected some government benefits, but it wasn’t enough.
“I’m collecting $2,100 a month, but my mortgage is $3,300 a month,” she said.
The house has been on the market since last year for $549,999. Hatchell says losing it could mean further deterioration and eventual demolition. “This was my claim to fame,” she said.
— Bob Goldsborough
