2. Paul Family Restoration and Additions
History and Ownership
Marion’s South Market Street, with its brick paving, lofty trees and Victorian homes, is the archetype of small town America. Past the Library and the Elk’s Club, past the old Aldersgate Church, down where the maple trees are tallest and most venerable, stands the white brick home thought to be Williamson County’s oldest. Built in the Italianate style resembling Grant’s home in Galena and Lincoln’s home in Springfield, this Pre-Civil War structure was the residence of Marion’s first U.S. Congressman, Willis Allen and was built in 1854. Allen bought one of the first lots around the Public Square in the new town of Marion and opened his law practice there. He remained active in politics, serving as prosecuting attorney, State Senator, and U.S. Congressman from 1850 to 1854.
During this latter period he bought several traces of land south of the existing city limits of Marion. The present two-story home was built by local craftsmen, probably German immigrants, using handmade, unfired brick and hardwoods cut on the site. The walls were laid up with four courses of brick in the exterior walls and three courses in the interior walls. The timbers, beams and rafters were hand hewn of oak and walnut. The roof decking was made of slab wood, hand sawed and rough planed. Square iron nails, made by a local blacksmith, were used in hidden places, but some of the finish work such as the walnut banister in the front hall which was pegged with wooden dowels. The original doors were custom made of native hardwoods, some of which are still in use in the upstairs bedrooms.
In 1859, while serving as a circuit riding Judge, Allen died, leaving the home to his wife, Elizabeth. She later soId the home to her daughter’s husband, Dr. Augustus N. Lodge. For more than thirty years, Dr. Lodge and his wife, Paulina, lived in the residence. Their photographs remain on display in the front hallway of the house. For many years, Dr. Lodge served as County Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Lodge’s office stood just north of the house. Several outbuildings, including a servant’s quarters, surrounded the building on the 33 acre farm. The family cemetery behind the house held the graves of Judge Allen, his wife, and later some of their children, including Dr. Lodge who died in 1891. After Dr. Lodge’s death this family plot was relocated to the “new” city cemetery, now known as Rose Hill Cemetery.
Hiram N. Boles and his buxom wife, Mary E. “Mollie” Boles, purchased the home from Dr. Lodge prior to his death. Mr. Boles ran a tavern on the public square (southeast corner) on the spot where the Stylart Shop used to stand. After his death in 1912 of “apoplexy” his widow, Mollie, ran into hard times. The house was sold to pay Hiram’s debts. Fortunately Mollie was able to buy it back from banker George Goodall in 1920. Mollie died in 1929 creating a local scandal. She was allegedly having an affair with a highly respectable mine manager, himself a married man. One night, while supposedly parked on lover’s lane, she was stricken with a fatal heart attack, and her poor paramour had to bring the lady into town to receive medical attention, and public scorn.
Mollie’s nephew, George Tyner, who was a coal miner, and his wife Eliza inherited the property. The Tyners installed indoor plumbing in 1914. A newspaper from that year was found beneath the floor boards of the upstairs bathroom when it was remodeled in 1975. George died in 1936 and in 1945 Eliza deeded the property to a Marlon Jeweler and his wife, Robert and Miriam Moore. This energetic couple began the revival of the timeworn structure. Central heating was installed, although two of the fireplaces were left in working condition. The floors were redone with hardwood and many of the windows replaced.
The Moore’s work was continued in 1965 by their successors, Mr. and Mrs. James R. Wilson. The old wooden back porch was replaced by a fully enclosed family room and a downstairs half bath was added. Mr. Wilson, of the Wilson Funeral Home, served as Williamson County Coroner. In 1973, Attorney Bernard A. Paul followed the Wilson’s in title to the historic home. Mr. Paul married the former Rebecca Baker in a candlelit Christmas wedding in the front parlor of the home in 1974. Since that time Mrs. Paul has developed the character of the home both as a family dwelling and as a public trust.
(Written by Bernard A. Paul ca 1980, archived at Williamson County Historical Society: edited for space only by Sam Lattuca on 12/26/2012)
Note: The Aldersgate (M.E.) church referenced early in the text used to sit across from the Public Library but was torn down in 1986. The congregation is now the Aldersgate church on East Deyoung St.
The Paul Family Restoration and Changes
In 1974-75, Mrs. Paul directed redecoration of the interior of the home. Ceilings which had been lowered during the Moore’s occupancy were restored to their original height. Small closets which had been installed were replaced with a new closet wall on the north side of the front bedroom. Doors upstairs which had been installed in the 1930’s to make upstairs apartments were removed to open up space.
In 1989 the exterior of the Allen house was stripped of its many coats of white paint and the original terra cotta colored brick was restored. Waterproofing was applied to protect the soft, handmade bricks. The many layers of roofing was stripped off and replaced with modern materials.
In 1991, R. Gail White of White and Borgognoni Architects, in Carbondale, was hired to begin design of a family room, basement and garage structure to be added to the house. In the early spring of 1992, William “Butch” Jack of Goreville was hired to be the general contractor for the new addition to the home.
The new addition was designed to be compatible with the architecture of the original Italianate house. In terms of proportions, materials, and architectural detailing, the 1992 wing blends with and matches the 1854 structure.
The Pauls are fortunate to be able to incorporate some of the history of another Williamson County landmark into the new addition. The Jordan Curve Store, established east of Crab Orchard nearly one hundred years ago, was about to be torn down to make way for the relocation of route 13. Located not far from their headquarters at Shady Rest, the Jordan store had been a frequent stop for the notorious Birger gang, southern Illinois’ legendary gangsters of the Roaring Twenties. With the kind permission of the Jordan family and Amax Coal Company, the Pauls’ carpenters salvaged the pine flooring, the beaded board walls, some old doors and other materials from the historic store. These were cleaned and trimmed to size and installed in the new structure. People walking across the Pauls’ family room can honestly say they are walking where Charlie Birger’s feet once trod.
Similarly, the red tile floors in the lower level rooms and the garden house have a unique history of their own. Thanks to the generosity of chief brick mason, John Aldridge of Eldorado, Illinois, the house was able to obtain these dramatically beautiful and functional tiles. They came from the roof of the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot which formerly stood in the community of Maunie, in White County, Illinois. That building, probably constructed well before the turn of the twentieth century, was dismantled in 1955 by Mr. Aldridge, his father-in-law and brother-in-law. The tiles were kept stored by Mr. Aldridge until presented for use in the Willis Allen House in 1993. The Paul family is very grateful for his kindness, as well as for his superb craftsmanship.
Landscaping plans for the home were researched and designed specifically for the home by Max Jones of Plantscape Nursery in Herrin, Illinois. Only species of plants that would be typical of planting around an 1850’s Southern Illinois household were chosen for use around the home.
(Extracted from Backyard Archaeology, The Willis Allen House, by Bernard Paul, James Ross, and Tracey Sandefur)
Inside the home, February 2013
When Mrs. Paul, the daughter of Ervin N. Baker, was young she remarked to her mother, “I wish I knew who lived there so that I could go visit them.” Just as her wish came true, mine did as well. On February 1, 2013, I had the opportunity to visit the home of Bernie and Rebecca Paul.
Many people may have the dream of owning and restoring a historic home, but often the chemistry of desire and resources don’t allow for completion of that dream. That fortunately, is not the case in the Willis Allen house under the guardianship of the Paul family.
In 1992, before additions were made to the home, an archaeological dig was performed around the exterior of the home. The results of that dig were compiled in a booklet called “Backyard Archaeology, The Willis Allen House, 1854-1994”.
When you ascend the staircase that confronts you upon entering the home, you enter the sleeping quarters for the home. Originally, there was one large room in the front north corner that had no door on it. This room likely once served as a sitting room and access to two smaller rooms that adjoined. It now serves as the master bedroom with an accompanying dressing room.
A bathroom added by earlier occupants which was made out of a bedroom has been remodeled by the Pauls for their use upstairs. There are two additional smaller bedrooms on this floor including one with twin beds that once saw the birth of twin children in its past. At one time, the home served as a boarding house.
If you turn right after entering the home, you enter the library with its corner fireplace and piano. This room, like most of the early period, has the large baseboards and crown moldings reminiscent of the period. A large oil painting of Bernie and Rebecca, done in New Orleans, hangs on one wall to commemorate one of their wedding anniversaries.
Straight through from the front entry brings you to a formal dining room. This room, like many in the home has its own fireplace as well. Looking just outside the window, you see a well curbing alongside the home that likely provided water for the home at one time.
As was not uncommon in early homes, there was originally no kitchen in the home. Cooking was accomplished in a fireplace at the back of the home which faced outside. The home originally had a “summer kitchen” which was an external building, about 12 feet square, located several feet from the fireplace and the back of the home. What is now the kitchen today has had the back wall removed to allow for reclamation of app. 5 feet of expansion to the backside of the outside fireplace. With the enclosure of the addition to the back of the home, the “outside” fireplace is now only accessed thru a newly constructed pantry. The kitchen floors are constructed of Italian tumbled marble tiles and cooking is done on an imported AGA oven/stove. The AGA stove weighs 1,000 lbs. and was shipped here from England. It remains on 24/7 constantly ready for use. The top grills are covered with heavy hinged lids for safety and to maintain heat. Mrs. Paul said it took some getting used to at first but now wouldn’t live without it and that about 80% of her cooking is done as slow cooking in ovens as opposed to grills. She said many homeowners in England who use them will run piping through them to preheat water and heat their homes.
When you pass from the kitchen to the north, you enter the breakfast nook which was a room added by the Wilson occupancy. This room, like most of the new additions to the home, has the pine flooring and beaded board serving as wainscots removed from the Jordan curve store. A small bathroom added by the Wilson’s has an antique claw foot tub added by the Pauls and sits over what used to be an outside root cellar for the home.
From the breakfast nook you enter the great room, which is part of their new addition. The room sits over a basement entertainment room and double garage with concrete reinforced ceilings giving the Pauls a shelter during threatening weather. The great room has very tall, recessed, coffered ceilings with a built in surround system and serves as a portal to the conservatory room. They installed folding glass doors to separate the rooms for heating/cooling purposes, but they indicate that the need has never arisen to close them since the conservatory maintains a fairly consistent temperature. Mr. Paul calls the great room his “Wilt Chamberlin” room due to its size and ceiling height.
From the conservatory you overlook the backyard of the home. A St. Francis statue in the backyard marks the approximate location of the old family grave yard belonging to the Allen and Lodge families. The drainage creek behind the home is named “Lodge Branch” after one of the homes former owner, Augustus Lodge.
From the rear of the kitchen you exit through a door that originally would have taken you outside. After the addition was made it now serves as a hall with pantry storage areas and a stairwell to access the downstairs portion of the home. Mrs. Paul was able to reclaim handrails and stair spindles from a turn of the century home in St. Louis for this purpose.
The entertainment room downstairs next to the garage has both of the Pauls personal touches written all over it. From an antique, wooden ash airplane propeller on the wall to a cast iron collection of military figures that reflects Bernie’s military past to the straw ceiling that caught Rebecca’s eye in an English pub years ago, this room is highly personalized.
The wooden bar top was handmade for them by a craftsman in Carbondale, Illinois and has gently rolled edges. The bar itself has a custom, built in refrigerator and the bar back has a matching freezer. The propeller on the wall hides a built in, fold down bed and is accompanied on either side by recessed storage spaces in the walls. The floor is made of the roof tiles of the old L & N depot from Maunie, Illinois and music is played on a vintage Wurlitzer juke box.
The fireplace in this room is made from the brick of the old cistern that was dug up during the archaeological dig done on the home before the addition was begun. An antique, adjustable device sits in front of the fireplace to allow one to snuggle up for the fire for warmth. During my visit, their friendly, family cat couldn’t resist getting into the picture.
The heating and air system for the home is hidden away in a specially constructed subfloor assembly and accessible only through a crawl space. There are no visible cold air returns or thermostats hanging on the wall in sight. The floor vents in the remodeled rooms were handcrafted from wood and made to fit flush with the floors making them nearly invisible.
The home still has its original windows which were refurbished during the Moore family occupation. The Pauls have since added specially made storm windows to protect them. There is only one door in the house that sports a transom and that is the front entry door.
The home, at one time, was illuminated by gas ceiling lamps, of which only one original remains in the master bedroom upstairs. Mrs. Paul has, however, managed to find antique lighting fixtures to match the period and placed them throughout the home giving the newer portions of the home continuity to the older parts. Throughout the restoration/addition process, primarily in 1992, Rebecca called upon Wayland Sims of Distinctive Interiors as her “guru”.
With the original home and its present additions, the home now sports over 6,000 square feet of living space. While maintaining and restoring the old home to its original splendor, the Pauls have managed to add on many modern conveniences of today’s living such as a high tech security system, while carefully maintaining the “look and feel” of a historic home. This has been achieved by the careful and vigilant oversight of Mr. and Mrs. Paul throughout the remodeling and addition process never willing to accept “standard procedure”.
Note: This building in referenced in Historical Architecture of Marion
(Written by Sam Lattuca on 02/03/2013)