Neighborhood House Histories
E. Grove Street: 401 | 402 | 409 | 418 | 421 | 512 | 701
E. Taylor Street: 412 | 512 | 701
S. Clayton Street: 502
E. Front Street: 702
Mandel House (402 E. Grove)
401 E. Grove:This Italianate-styled home was built for Dr. David Oliver Moore
in 1874. He was educated first in Ohio and continued his studies under Dr. Emerson
of Bloomington with whom he practiced medicine in 1858. During his successful
40 year career, he also held the office of City Physician of Bloomington.
409
E. Grove: General Ashael Gridley, Bloomington's first millionaire, built this
Queen Anne house for his son Edward in 1886-87. By 1903, the house was occupied
by Huber Light, brother of the Broadway actress, Maude Light (Margaret Illington).
She was married to Major Bowes of The Original Amateur Hour, an immensely
popular radio show of the time.
412
E. Taylor: This gate reflects the present owner's desire to carefully blend
new elements with old. In the 1800's it was home to Wm. Dimmitt's granddaughter,
Marie Litta, an internationally known opera singer. In 1857, John Routt developed this property as a
one-and-a-half story rental home. In 1912 it was enlarged to a
two-story stucco house.
Ezra M. Prince
The original owner and resident of the house at 418 East Grove Street was an important figure in the history of Bloomington. Ezra M. Prince was the first General Secretary of the McLean County Historical Soceity and was perhaps the most studious of all the Society's early officers in the research and preservation of the county's early history. Mr. Prince's ancestors lived in Maine in the late 18th century. John Prince, Ezra's great Grandfather served under Captain Blake in the War of 1812. John Prince's son, Job, was born in Maine in 1798. Job Prince had a reputation of possessing great physical courage, exemplified most dramatically in his single handed arrest of a well known desperado who had eluded the town constables of Turner, Maine.
Ezra M. Prince was born at Turner on May 27, 1831. After his basic education at the common schools of the area, he was a student of Washington Gilbert, a prominent lawyer of Bath, Maine. In the fall of 1854 he entered the law school of Harvard College. After a year at the college he was admitted to the bar and in April 1856 he moved permanently to Bloomington.
On May 29th 1856, Ezra M. Prince attended one of the first Republican Conventions in Bloomington and was witness to Lincoln's now famous "Lost Speech." This speech, one of the few Lincoln ever delivered without notes, was arguably one of the most important public addresses of his career. The content of the speech was reputed to be so far-reaching in its condemnation of the institution of slavery through Lincoln's seldom displayed passion and emotional intensity that all onlookers were literally held spellbound throughout its duration. Prince wrote in 1900:
"At the convention of 1856, enthused by the sympathy of the audience and feeling perhaps a prophetic insight into the future, Mr. Lincoln made one of his great speeches, great even for him in which he showed the sinfulness of slavery and the need of a new party to curb the aggressions of the slave power, and so preserve the Union from impending destruction. His audience spell-bound by his eloquence and earnestness listened only to applaud. The reporters, affected the same as the other hearers, made no notes of the speech. This has been called the "Lost Speech" of Mr. Lincoln. Since then portions of this speech have lingered in men's minds like some half forgotten music which one thinks he can recall, but regretfully finds it an elusive dream..."
Ezra M. Prince held the office of Master of Chancery of McLean County for four years and served for two years as a member of the Bloomington Board of Education. He was an officer of the Bloomington Library Association, a co-founder of the Law Library of Bloomington and he taught for several years in the Wesleyan Law School. He died Auguest 27, 1908 in Bloomington.
The largest and by far most important contribution by Ezra M. Prince was his extensive work done as co-founder and secretary of the McLean County Historical Society. His methods of preservation and dedication to the task of preserving information about people, events and customs of the early settlers helped to lay the foundation of the Historical Society as it exists today.
- Gary Justis
Mowrer Brothers
The small house at 418 East grove street, c, 1855, is one of the oldest remaining continuous- use structures in Dimmitt's Grove. This house was once home for a pair of brothers who would become two of the most important foreign news correspondents of the early 20th century. Paul Scott Mowrer, b. July 14th, 1887 and Edgar Ansel Mowrer, b. March 7th 1892 grew up in Dimmitt's Grove experiencing an active boyhood, full of richness and adventure, despite their family's modest means. Parts of the house and neighborhood are eloquently described in Paul Scott Mowrer's book, House of Europe, pub. 1945: "Downstairs our house had a parlor, a sitting room, two bedrooms, a dining room, and a kitchen; upstairs, with slanted ceilings, were grandma's room, the hired girl's room, and the attic. Father and Mother used one downstairs bedroom; my brother and I slept upstairs with Grandma Mowrer. She and I both retired at the same early hour. After I was in bed, before she undressed, she would sit by the lamp and read me a chapter from the Bible, usually some forthright Old Testament story like that of David and Goliath, or Noah and the flood." Young Paul Scott had a somewhat conflicted interest in the neighbor girl, Hazel Funk: "The Funks, unfortunately, were rich. They lived in a big brick house on the corner of the next block. They had a coachman and governess, and according to mother's ideas, I had to be washed and dressed up before I could go to play with Hazel; otherwise I might have liked her more. As it was, we played fairy tales, which we both liked to read--just us two. Side by side in the swing under the oak, we took long journeys together, and I rescued her, all over the place, from sundry robbers and witches, as a princess should be rescued; but that governess was never very far off."
During the period of the Mowrer brother's childhood, Grove Street was a major residential thoroughfare. All the important parades, circus, G.A.R., political campaigns and torchlight processions passed by the Mowrer house. Paul recalls a visit to his house by Gordon Lily, better known as Pawnee Bill, the most famous Wild West Show owner and promoter of the day.
As adults, the Mowrer brothers became noted journalists; each assigned at various times during both World Wars to the Chicago Daily News' foreign offices. Both distinguished themselves as reporters, authors, lecturers, editors and respected leaders in their fields. Paul organized and directed the Daily News service in France from 1914-18. He was awarded the French Legion of Honor in April of 1918. In 1929 he was awarded the First Pulitzer Prize for war correspondence. Paul Mowrer married Hadley Richardson, Hemingway, former wife of Ernest Hemingway in 1933. Along with his autobiography, he published 10 volumes of poetry. Eventually becoming a resident of the state of New Hampshire, Mr. Mowrer was named poet laureate of that state in 1968. He died in April 1971.
Edgar Ansel Mowrer joined the staff of the Chicago Daily News in 1913 at the outbreak of the First World War. He was assigned to the French and Belgium fronts, then to the Italian front where he saw the fighting that paved the way for Hitler's rise to power. His observations on Hitler's activities and its resulting correspondence and analysis won him the Pulitzer Prize for foreign correspondence in 1933. Edgar Mowrer was one of many foreign journalists asked to leave Germany during Hitler's increasing harassment of the free press. He continued to cover the Second World War with an important report on the fall of France, filed after his move to Lisbon in 1940-41. Edgar Ansel Mowrer died in March 1977.
Photo of Paul Scott Mowrer reproduced
Courtesy of the Newberry Library, Chicago
421 E. Grove: This brick
Italianate home was built in 1870 for John Roush. Roush came to Bloomington after
being involved in various successful mid-western grocery businesses. He was dragged
to death by a runaway horse in 1884
502 S. Clayton: This was
the former home of Lewis Bunn Thomas. His parents William and Catherine were some
of the earliest settlers of the county. From 1872-1883 attorney John Hamilton
lived in this Victorian farmhouse which was designated a National Register Site
in 1978. Hamilton was elected the 19th Governor of Illinois, after serving terms
as an Illinois State Senator and Lieutenant Governor
510 E. Grove: This New England
sidehall house, built in 1853, became the home of Rueben Moore Benjamin. Abraham
Lincoln helped him to receive his license to practice law in Illinois. He was
also a part-time dean of IWU. The house was built by John Routt who later became
the first elected Governor of Colorado. This is a National Register property.
512
E. Taylor: This gate reflects the present owner's desire to carefully blend
new elements with old. In the 1800's it was home to Wm. Dimmitt's granddaughter,
Marie Litta, an internationally known opera singer. In 1857, John Routt developed this property as a
one-and-a-half story rental home. In 1912 it was enlarged to a
two-story stucco house.
The house at 512 E. Taylor was built by John Routt in 1857. It is believed the house was built as rental property, utilizing the upstairs section. This section contained what was referred to as "sleeping beds" which suggests a dormitory type arrangement.
From 1878 to the early 1880s Hugo Von Elsner and Kate Dimmitt Von Elsner, daughter of William Dimmitt, occupied the house at 512 East Taylor. Hugo Von Elsner was descended from a German family. Mr. Von Elsner, a highly educated civil engineer by profession, was also an accomplished musician. Of the Von Elsner's five children, Marie Eugenia, born July 1, 1856, displayed an impressive musical talent. Marie Litta, as she was later called, was gifted with an exceptional singing voice. With careful training by her father, she was earning $2000 a year by the age of ten. Marie was taken to several major cities to study; her places of residence during this time included the city of Chicago. Moving to Europe at the age of 18, she continued her studies with the lessons of the noted Professor Underner of Cleveland and the patronage of a Mr. Hough until her Paris debut in 1878. French critics and public alike soon referred to her as the "Queen of Song." During this time, Marie's name was changed to Marie Litta. With the events conncted to the Franco-Prussian war, dropping the name of Von Elsner made good sense considering the importance of her continued activities in France.
Marie Litta returned to America at the close of the European Opera season the same year (1878). Embarking on an exhausting three-year performance tour, she fell ill as a result of her willingness to work far beyond the limits of her health and eventually returned to Bloomington in the spring of 1883. On July 7 of that year she died in her mother's house on Washington Street, three blocks from where she was born. Marie Litta had just celebrated her 27th birthday.
The citizens of Bloomington erected a stone monument to mark Marie Litta's resting place in Bloomington's Evergreen Cemetery. One inscription on the monument reads: A flower is dead. A star is fallen. A bird, singing the highest and rarest melody, has gone from the groves of that time.
The current occupants of 512 East Taylor, Herb and Pamela Eaton, have done extensive re-designing and re-modeling, adding a great deal of originality and charms to this historic home.
- Gary Justis
Information courtesy of Pamela Eaton and the Pantagraph Archive.
701 E. Grove: This Queen
Anne style brick and frame home was designed by architect George Miller and built
in 1886 for George H. Cox. Cox was the Secretary-Treasurer and General Manager
of the Hungarian Roller Mill Company. He was a board member of the Corn Belt Bank
and a leader of the First Presbyterian Church.
701 E. Taylor: The Scott-Vrooman
home was purchased by Matthew Scott in the 1870's. Scott's son-in-law, Carl Vrooman,
lived in this Italianate-Romanesque style home with his wife Julia Scott Vrooman
for many years. Mr. Vrooman was assistant Secretary of Agriculture from 1914 to
1919 during the Wilson Administration.
702 E. Front: This Queen
Anne home was designed by local architect Arther Pillsbury and built in 1904 for
Illinois Wesleyan University professor Delmar Darrah. Darrah developed and coached
the men's and women's basketball programs at IWU. He was Grand Master of the Scottish
Rite Lodge and wrote the American Passion Play, which has been produced locally
since 1924.