History of the House
The Samuel W. Durant house is one of the oldest original homes in the Saint Charles downtown area. Mr. Durant and his wife purchased the property that the house sits on in 1852 from Jesse Ayers and built the first phase of the house in 1854. Throughout the last hundred and fifty or so years many changes have been made to the house and yard. Ira Menard, one of the founding fathers of Charleston (later to be named Saint Charles) owned a train route that ran from Saint Charles to the West Chicago area.
(Circa 1860)
Coincidentally, that train route crossed through the front yard of the Durant house in order to pick up lumber from the mills along the river. Changes to the house were made during the Civil War era, when and addition was built on the back extending the house significantly. Throughout the course of time, the house has had several owners. And in recent years, gained the nickname "the rose house," due to the number of rose bushes in the yard.
In 2000, the property was bought by its current owners Craig and Becky Simmons. In an attempt to preserve recent history, some of the original rose bushes were salvaged and new ones were added to the landscaping.
(year 2000 pre restoration)
During the renovation of the house, the rose theme was continued in some of the interior decorating. After a lengthy restoration of the property, the Samuel W. Durant house was designated a historic landmark in the city of Saint Charles.
(Spring 2006)
Simmons Insurance Agency - P.O. Box 1248 - 411 South First Street
St. Charles, IL 60174 - Phone (630) 377-8577 - Fax (630) 377-2767
© 2006 Simmons Insurance Agency