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The
Dudley-McFarland House, located at 895 Seventh Street in
Charleston, Illinois, has been inducted into the National
Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of
Interior. Graced by tall, flowing oak and hickory trees, the Dudley House (its common name) is one of handful of select Queen Anne style frame residences still existing in Illinois. The architect and builder was Charles D. Mitchell, a native of Charleston. He emerged as a prominent architect of buildings, ranging from Queen Anne to Prairie Four-Square constructions, including the Carnegie Public Library in Charleston. |
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| The Dudley house
was completed in 1892 on Lot 4 of the 20 acre Compton
Addition. Its dimensions are 40 feet by 65 feet and the
lot is 90 feet by 250 feet. The house is of a cross
gabled design and a wooden belt course divides each story
and extends around the north, west and south elevations.
The frame residence has three first-story and one second-story
porches. It features two brick chimneys, green and gray
shingles over the main gable and the half-hipped
bisecting roofs. The single door front entrance opens from a wraparound porch to a foyer. From the foyer a staircase with spindlewood balusters leads to the second floor on the left and on the right the entrance to the parlor. The second floor has four bedrooms, a nursery and an elevated porch. The ground floor has classical examples of double parlors, a side doubled pocketed and glazed entrance, kitchen (modernized for contemporary meetings) and a wooden mantled fireplace. |
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| The Queen Anne
style of architecture was named and popularized by a
group of 19th century English architects whose designs
were borrowed from later Medieval styles. Primary
features included half-timbering and patterned masonry.
It was the dominant style of American residential
buildings in the period 1890 to 1900. The style decreased
in the first decade of the 20th century, supplanted by
the styles of the Eclectic Movement with its traditional
European styles. The Coles County Historical Society uses the Dudley House as a museum and culture center. Some museum artifacts are stored there, including the period furniture, art, fixtures, and library. Social and business meetings can be held there with proper arrangements (See Reservation Form below). The ambience of the House makes it an ideal meeting place for small public groups who are willing to make appropriate donations for its maintenance. |
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