Condell in the 21st Century
This project developed from a 2017 graduate internship with the Springfield branch of Landmarks Illinois. By combing through historical documents, newspapers, and previous research concerning Springfield’s history, a picture of John Condell’s life developed. The research’s primary focus was on the house that John Condell bought and lived in ten years after he arrived in Springfield. It is Landmarks Illinois goal to have the building, known as the Condell House, placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. During the research on period newspaper articles it was discovered John Condell owned several dry-good stores in downtown Springfield. Further research lead to a curiosity concerning the stores and how they had changed over the course of the fifty years when John Condell operated as a merchant in Springfield Illinois.
House History
The First Methodist Episcopal Church was established May 23, 1821. The first sermon, by Rev. James Simms, was held in the Matheny cabin located at what is now 101 E Washington St. In 1829, Pascal P. Enos offered the church their choice between fifty dollars or two lots of land. Rev. Peter Carwright decided to accept the property, giving the congregation room to grow. The church was dedicated in 1830, becoming the first church with its own building in Springfield.
In 1842 the church attempted to expand by building an annex. The congregation continued to grow, and it was decided a second location was needed to properly support Springfield’s citizens. The church took out a loan to pay for the building but was not able to raise funds from the congregation to play back the loan. When the loan became due, it was decided to sell the annex. It is unclear if the church or just
the annex was sold. An ad appeared in the journal ‘Houses, Lands, Farms and Lots – For Sale’ advertising a house described as a ‘Grecian Cottage’ located opposite the Second Presbyterian Church between Adams and Monroe street on the east side of 4th street. Historic records suggest the church annex was purchased in 1852 by John S Condell Sr. Land records show that John Condell bought the lot of land the house currently sits on in 1853. It is possible John Condell purchased the house and had it dismantled to be moved to a yet unknown location for the church to begin building the new structure.
The land at 605 S 4th St consists of one full lot of land and the south half of the adjoining lot to the north. As the annex was rebuilt on the new property, modifications were made to the building to provide additional living space. The celling was dropped two feet to create a second floor, and a fireplace was added to provide heat to the building.
The neighborhood gradually grew, with the wealthy inhabitants of Springfield moving to the area. Occupants of the neighborhood including the Bunn family, Iles family, and Lindsay family. In the mid 1850's the Governor's mansion was constructed across the street from the Condell house. To keep up with the growing neighborhood and stylish houses that were being added the Condell house underwent a remodel around 1875. Sanborn Fire Maps indicates a porch was added but was smaller and narrower than the currently existing porch. At this time, a wing of the house was added to the northern rear side of the house.
The house remained in the Condell family after John Condell Sr.'s death. His daughter Bella lived in the home until it was bought in 1909 by George R. Berriman a prominent business man in Springfield. Berriman built the existing porch and added a smaller, though similar, style porch to the rear of the house. He renovated the interior of the house to modernize it and added bathrooms to the bottom level. A full basement was created at this time. From 1915 through 1965 there were multiple occupants including the Broadwell, Corneay, Hodgson, Fiske, Wright, Briggle, and Hickox Families. During this time the south wing of the house was added. In 1985 the house became a vacant property.
In 1997 an ad appeared in the St. Journal Register stating the Condell House was for sale. This ad was different from regular 'for sale' ads as the asking price for the house was $0. Charles Robbins and his business partner Robert Heckenkamp, co-owner of the Condell House, was looking for a not-for-profit to take on the house, so they could receive a tax write-off. They also required the new owners to move the house, allowing them to have room to expand their other property, the Mason View Motel. Robbins and Heckenkamp foresaw the biggest problem would be finding a suitable lot to move the house to. One possible location offered was next to the Elijah Iles house on South 8th St. While the Elijah Iles Foundation could not afford to give away the adjoining lot they would have been willing to work with a group to determine terms that would work for both groups.
In 1999 the Junior League of Springfield expressed interest in acquiring the Condell House as their new headquarters. In January of 2000 the League bought a vacant lot at 818 E Edwards St for $40,000. The location is just south of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site and would keep the Junior League in the Historic Lincoln Home area. Their plan was to move the house by the end of June and begin restoration work as soon as it was settled in its new home. In January 2001 the Junior League abandoned their venture to acquire the home. They determined that the cost of restoring the building was too expensive. The League decided that the cost of the renovation would be better used to help families in the community.
Though the Junior League gave up on the home there are other non-for-profit groups interested in the historic building. The founder of Save Old Springfield, Jerry Jacobson proposed moving the home to Washington Park to replace the Field House which burned March 22, 2002. In 2014 the house faced demolition due to deterioration. In 2015 a local commission recommended the home to be placed on a statewide list of threatened historic sites. Their hope was that the list would help raise awareness of the house’s history and the need to save the historic home. In the spring of 2015 the house made the list of Landmarks Illinois Most Endangered Historic Places.
Since 2017 a team, led by Frank Butterfield from Landmarks Illinois has been working to place the Condell home on the National Park Service National Register of Historic Places. He is currently collaborating with Massie Massie & Associates, Illinois Times, and Fever River Archaeology. Their plan is to restore the home, add a small parking lot, and landscape the yard so the building can be used as an office space in the future. As they work to preserve the building they are also working to find the best way to present the building’s history to the public.