Mascoutah Historical Society, Glen Ellyn's Schiller House, Jersey County's Fulkerson Farm, and Jacksonville's Duncan Home are featured in latest issue of Historic Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - Stories about preserving historic properties in Mascoutah, Glen Ellyn, Jersey County and Jacksonville are featured in the latest issue of Historic Illinois, a publication of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA). The articles were written by IHPA Publications Editor Cynthia A. Fuener.

The cover article features the Mascoutah Historical Society, which has taken the lead in preserving the St. Clair County community's history. The 100-member group rescued a log cabin that was slated for demolition, a historic wood-sided barn, and a commercial structure, restored all of the buildings, and now the public may tour all three structures to learn about the town's history.

The one-of-a-kind Alfred A. Schiller House in Glen Ellyn, built in 1954 and designed by architect Paul Schweikher, is the subject of another article. Dr. Schiller wanted a home that would completely shut out the outside world, so Schweikher designed a home without windows but featuring a central, sun-lit courtyard. Later residents added a wing with windows, but kept the rest of the unique, original design intact.

Confederate Colonel William H. Fulkerson's home in the Jerseyville vicinity was built in 1866 when Fulkerson and his wife moved to land his wife owned among his former adversaries. The house, named Hazel Dell, is one of the area's finest examples of high-style Italianate architecture in the area. It has been preserved and is operated by a not-for-profit historical interpretation corporation, which hosts a public event there over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

When Joseph Duncan was elected governor of Illinois in 1834, the capital city of Vandalia offered no official governor's mansion to house the state's highest elected official. So when Duncan and his wife built their own Georgian Revival-style home one hundred miles away in Jacksonville, it became the governor's mansion during Duncan's single term in office. Today the Duncan Home is owned by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and is open for tours every Wednesday and Sunday during the summer.

Historic Illinois is a bimonthly IHPA publication that features historically significant sites in Illinois. Subscriptions are $10 per year, which includes six issues of Historic Illinois and one full-color Historic Illinois Calendar. For more information, call (217) 524-6045, visit www.Illinois-History.gov, or write: Historic Illinois, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield, IL 62701-1507.