Building date: 1858
Original use: Private Residence
Corner structures: Limestone quoins
Mortar application and content:
Types and uses of stones: Lake washed stones from Lake Michigan
Types and choice of windows: 23 original windows, 20-6 over 6 windows and 3-3 paned windows in the basement
Structures with similar masonry details:
Masons who worked on building: Andrew Jackson Simons
Unique features: Cobblestone foundation, brick structure, stone lintels, Greek Revival/Federalist Style
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°14'56.12"N 88°17'45.74"W. Current owner of record, City of Crystal Lake, 99 year lease in 1998 to Crystal Lake Park District.
Township of Nunda and McHenry County Maps.
Colonel Palmer House, Crystal Lake Historical Society
The Col. Gustavius A. Palmer House has a plaque from the Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission which is part of a certified local government offering protection.
Editor's Note: The Crystal Lake Historical Society documentation states the street address as 660 E. Terra Cotta Avenue which is the correct USPS address, whereas the National Register of Historic Places states 5516 Terra Cotta Road. The house is on the NE corner of the intersection of Terra Cotta Road and E. Terra Cotta Avenue. Neither address could be found on the 2019 tax roll since the property is tax exempt. The Crystal Lake Historical Society owns nearly all of the contents inside the house and maintains its office, archives, and research library there.
"This red brick house, in the Federal style, probably dates from just before 1850. It is owned by the town of Crystal Lake and is being restored to its original condition. The carefully detailed wooden cornice is the type rendered in brick at the Ellsworth House and at the Holcombville School." Courtesy "A Guide to Chicago's Historic Suburbs" On Wheels & On Foot, by Ira J. Bach, assisted by Susan Wolfson, Swallow Press, 1981, page 213.
"Colonal Palmer House Restoration Proceeds", Keystone Country Peddler, 5/15/1983. Editor's Note: Missing text at the bottom of the page with the three text columns cut off.
"Volunteers seek help around house, and Wood home replicas help effort" NW Herald Thursday, April 22, 1993
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National Register of Historic Places Registration
¹ Image courtesy Crystal Lake Historical Society.
² Photography courtesy Grace Moline, Historic Sites Chairperson for the McHenry County Historical Society, 10/08/2020.
