The Lemuel Milk Carriage House or Stone Barn is a historic building in Kankakee, Illinois, United States. It is the last remnant of the estate of Lemuel Milk, who once owned over 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) of land.
Lemuel Milk moved to Kankakee, Illinois from New York around 1855. An early settler to the area, Milk was among the first to drain the Kankakee region for farming. By purchasing cheap, swampy land for draining, Milk was able to amass a large estate exceeding 25,000 acres (10,000 ha). This made him one of the largest landowners in Illinois. Milk opened a department store in Chebanse in 1868, which he ran until 1883. In 1876, he founded the Waldron Ice Company, harvesting ice from the nearby Kankakee River. Milk was a trustee on the board of the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane. Milk's most ambitious undertaking was the draining of Beaver Lake in Newton County, Indiana.[2]
The carriage house, built at some point between 1861 and 1868, is the only remaining structure from Milk's large estate. Milk lived in a seventeen-room mansion at the corner of Oak and Indiana Avenues, which has since been demolished. Aside from sheltering his carriage, Milk also used the building to house livestock. The carriage house is now the third-oldest building remaining in Kankakee after the First Baptist Church and the Asbury United Methodist Church Sanctuary.[2]
The building was used as a barn until the early 1920s, when it was used as a painting garage. It later became a warehouse for Fred Swannell Sr.'s hardware store. The building was converted to a bakery and restaurant in 1973. The restaurant quickly went out of business and the building became a meeting place for civic groups.[2] On June 4, 1979, the carriage house was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
Architectureedit
The carriage house is built with locally quarried limestone. The roof features a cupola with a weather vane, placed at the crossing of the two gables. The building is largely undecorated except for a wide bracketed cornice. The interior retains its rough cut roof trusses. The floor was changed to concrete in the 1920s.[2]
lemuel, milk, carriage, house, stone, barn, historic, building, kankakee, illinois, united, states, last, remnant, estate, lemuel, milk, once, owned, over, acres, land, national, register, historic, placesshow, illinoisshow, united, stateslocation165, indiana,. The Lemuel Milk Carriage House or Stone Barn is a historic building in Kankakee Illinois United States It is the last remnant of the estate of Lemuel Milk who once owned over 25 000 acres 10 000 ha of land Lemuel Milk Carriage HouseU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of IllinoisShow map of the United StatesLocation165 N Indiana Ave Kankakee IllinoisCoordinates41 7 16 N 87 51 41 W 41 12111 N 87 86139 W 41 12111 87 86139Arealess than one acreBuiltc 1865 1865 Architectural styleItalianateNRHP reference No 79000849 1 Added to NRHPJune 4 1979History editLemuel Milk moved to Kankakee Illinois from New York around 1855 An early settler to the area Milk was among the first to drain the Kankakee region for farming By purchasing cheap swampy land for draining Milk was able to amass a large estate exceeding 25 000 acres 10 000 ha This made him one of the largest landowners in Illinois Milk opened a department store in Chebanse in 1868 which he ran until 1883 In 1876 he founded the Waldron Ice Company harvesting ice from the nearby Kankakee River Milk was a trustee on the board of the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane Milk s most ambitious undertaking was the draining of Beaver Lake in Newton County Indiana 2 The carriage house built at some point between 1861 and 1868 is the only remaining structure from Milk s large estate Milk lived in a seventeen room mansion at the corner of Oak and Indiana Avenues which has since been demolished Aside from sheltering his carriage Milk also used the building to house livestock The carriage house is now the third oldest building remaining in Kankakee after the First Baptist Church and the Asbury United Methodist Church Sanctuary 2 The building was used as a barn until the early 1920s when it was used as a painting garage It later became a warehouse for Fred Swannell Sr s hardware store The building was converted to a bakery and restaurant in 1973 The restaurant quickly went out of business and the building became a meeting place for civic groups 2 On June 4 1979 the carriage house was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places 1 Architecture editThe carriage house is built with locally quarried limestone The roof features a cupola with a weather vane placed at the crossing of the two gables The building is largely undecorated except for a wide bracketed cornice The interior retains its rough cut roof trusses The floor was changed to concrete in the 1920s 2 References edit a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 a b c d Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lemuel Milk Carriage House amp oldid 1014986263, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
