Voorhies Castle

The Voorhies Castle is a Victorian home located in Voorhies, a small community 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Bement in Piatt County, Illinois.

Voorhies Castle
LocationVoorhies, Piatt County, Illinois
Nearest cityBement, Illinois
Coordinates39°52′01″N 88°34′48″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1900-04
ArchitectSchroeder, William H
Architectural styleQueen Anne
NRHP reference No.79000861[1]
Added to NRHPJune 20, 1979

History

Nels Larson, a Swedish immigrant who at one point controlled all the land in Voorhies, commissioned the house for himself in 1900; construction was completed in 1904. The two-story house was designed to resemble a Swedish palatial manor, and its name comes from its castle-like appearance; while its design resembles Queen Anne architecture, its symmetrical plan distinguishes it from the style. Its unusual appearance made it a local attraction which drew visitors from throughout central Illinois. After his wife Johannah's death in 1914, Larson abandoned his castle, which sat empty until the 1970s.[2]

Architecture

The house's southern corners feature round turrets, each with a conical roof and a finial. While the turrets were originally a story taller than the house to provide views of the surrounding area, Larson later had them lowered for aesthetic reasons. The main entrance to the house, located between the turrets, features a portico with Doric columns and a balustrade along the second-story porch roof. The second story of the house is sided with scalloped wooden shingles, a Queen Anne-inspired element which contrasts with the roof shingles. In addition to the turrets, the roof includes both gabled and hipped sections and dormers, which is typical of Queen Anne works. Decorative iron pieces top the roof's various ridges, and Swedish-styled lightning rods are located in several places.[2]

Larson also built a clock tower barn on his property in 1905. The clock tower stood 68 feet (21 m) tall and included a Seth Thomas clockworks, which the company considered "the finest they could make". The tower's brass bell could reportedly be heard up to 5 miles (8.0 km) away. A tornado destroyed the barn in 1976.[2]

The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]

Notes
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Olsen, Gary L. (January 15, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Voorhies Castle" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
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