Building date: c. 1850, unnamed sources say 1850 and 1855.
Original use: Private Residence
Corner structures: Limestone quoins
Mortar application and content:
Types and uses of stones: Lake washed cobblestones from Lake Michigan
Types and choice of windows: 6 over 6 windows
Structures with similar masonry details: Walkup House, though it has many more architectural details and is much larger.
Masons who worked on building: Andrew Jackson Simons
Unique features: Doric columns on the porch, stone lintels, Greek Revival style
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°14'30.23"N 88°20'29.37"W. Current owner of record, Alano Club of Crystal Lake Inc as of the 2019 Tax Roll.
Township of Nunda and McHenry County Maps
The Columbus Wallace cobblestone house at 36 North Virginia St., Crystal Lake, Illinois was built in the 1850s by Andrew Jackson Simons. It now houses the Alano Club, an Alcoholics Anonymous center. Courtesy of Crystal Lake Historical Society. Richard Palmer blog.
This Greek Revival house is said to be the oldest house in Crystal Lake and dates from about 1850. Built of cobblestone, it is a more pretentious representation of the style than is usual. The windows in the two-story, gable-topped section have stone lintels, but they are covered with wooden panels to reproduce the character of a more archaeological pure Greek Revival. The porch has thin, colonic, Doric columns, with the lack of bases again indicating a self-conscious archaeological exactness. Courtesy "A Guide to Chicago's Historic Suburbs" On Wheels & On Foot, by Ira J. Bach, assisted by Susan Wolfson, Swallow Press, 1981, page 214.
I believe the Columbus Wallace House is the oldest of the cobblestone homes in Crystal Lake. The last known family member to live in the home was Sarah Lanphear. She stated the house was built 1850-51. The home was built for Sarah's aunt and uncle, Columbus Wallace and his wife Hannah Beardsley Wallace. The Beardsley family is credited with being the second family to settle in Crystal Lake. Hannah's brother, Ziba Beardsley, is credited with standing on the shore of our lake and declaring, "The water is as clear as crystal." Hannah Beardsley was the first school teacher in Crystal Lake.
The house has a plaque from the McHenry County Historical Society. This plaque offers no protection, but offers an acknowledgement to the property's historic significance.
The Columbus Wallace House is also landmarked by the City of Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission, which is a Certified Local Government. The landmark status provides protection against demolition or inappropriate changes.
The 2019 Photo of the front of the house shows some interesting patterns in the stones. Note at the top center, under the peak, there is an hourglass formation of the stones. Over the front doorway, the stones are placed in a circle - like a clock face. I corresponded with the Illinois Historic Preservation Commission, who referred my questions about these designs to several experts. No one could provide a definite answer for the symbolism.
Crystal Lake Historical Society, Diana Kenney email 10/17/2020.
I did a quick investigation of the cobblestone mason of Crystal Lake, Illinois. I was surprised by a reference online that he may have come from Vermont. Not surprisingly, the name Andrew Jackson Simons isn't unique for that time period, but I found what I thought I would, or what I hoped I would: He was from New York.
On findagrave.com I found an Andrew Jackson Simons born in LeRoy, NY in 1827. This is likely where he became familiar with cobblestone masonry. The gravestone was issued by the government in honor of his service to the Union in the 36th regiment, Illinois Infantry during the Civil War, 1861-1864. He is buried in Crystal Lake with a death date in 1892.
In the 1850 census he is in Algonquin, McHenry County, Illinois, listed as a mason, age 21, born in NY. The birth date on the grave stone is of slight suspect, as in the 1870 census he is living in Crystal Lake and listing himself as a stone mason at the age of 40. In the 1880 census, he is living in Crystal Lake and describes himself as a stone and brick mason at the age of 50, having been born in NY. But this age difference is not enough to be surprising and the other information is too consistent to be mere coincidence. He was 5 foot, 11 inches tall - a large man for the time - useful in the masonry business.
This supports our theory that the cobblestone buildings in the western states were primarily made by masons from western NY. Erin Anheier email 9/28/2020.
Cobblestone Sites Built on Historic Foundation, by Dave Barnes, Chicago Tribune, 2 July 1996. This article mentions Marty Perkins, curator of Interpretation and Research for Old World Wisconsin and an authority on cobblestone buildings. Related articles:
"A Fallen Comrade: Martin Charles Perkins, 1951-2012", eulogy by Professor John Krugler, Marquette University, Historians@Work, A blog from Marquette University history faculty.
"Remembering Marty", by Kathleen Ernst, Sites and Stories Blog.
"Cobblestone Homes Adorn Crystal Lake", The Sunday Courier News, 10/12/1975, from the files of the McHenry Historical Society, Grace Moline, Historic Sites Chairperson.
Editor's Note: Many thanks to Grace Moline, Historic Sites Chairperson for the McHenry County Historical Society, and Diana Kenney of the Crystal Lake Historical Society, who have contributed their interest, time and effort to provide additional documentation and photographs for this cobblestone structure web page.
 Wallace House Old Photograph.jpg ¹ |  Wallace House Images 1.jpg ² 1995 |  Wallace House Images 2.jpg ² 1995 |  Wallace House Images 3.jpg ² 1995 |
 Wallace House Images 4.jpg ² 1995 |  CroppedAngleFrontView.jpg ³ |  2020-10-08 Columbus Wallace House-3_0.jpg 4 October 2020 |  2020-10-08 Columbus Wallace House-1_0.jpg 4 October 2020 |
 2020-10-08 Columbus Wallace House-2_0.jpg 4 October 2020 |
¹ Published image ca. 1960 courtesy Grace Moline, Historic Sites Chairperson for the McHenry County Historical Society. This very old and rare photo is of the Columbus Wallace House on Virginia Street many years ago. Columbus Wallace, the owner and builder, was 90 years old at the time. With him are Alice Wallace, left, Ada Wallace right, and Sarah Lanphear in front. The cobblestone house, 106 years old, remains one of the residential showplaces in the community.
² 1995 omage courtesy Grace Moline, Historic Sites Chairperson for the McHenry County Historical Society. Photographer attribution not provided.
³ Image courtesy Alano Club of Crystal Lake. Attribution not provided.
4 Photography courtesy Grace Moline, Historic Sites Chairperson for the McHenry County Historical Society.
