740 Greenwood Ave
Glencoe, IL 60022, USA

Mr. James Kent Calhoun House (Javore, R. Scott and Barbara Kent, House) - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The James Kent Calhoun Family House, or 740 Greenwood Avenue, exhibits remarkable historic integrity on all elevations of the residence, as well as on the interior of the first and second floors. The finishing of the spaces in the attic and basement are non-historic., yet they were done tastefully to complement the home's design aesthetic and in a way that would not ' impact any existing historic materials. The only major non-historic alterations to the residence have occurred either within service spaces or were undertaken as part of remodeling projects that took place more than fifty years ago, so may be considered historic. These historic alterations, which occurred in 1920, consist of the enclosure of the second floor recessed· porch on the east elevation and the construction of the two-story, eight-foot addition at the residence's · southwest corner.

The area that would later become part of the Village of Glencoe was originally known as Taylor sport, having been settled by Anson and Eliza Taylor in 1835.1 The land purchases creating Taylor sport consisted of two separate sales of government land that date from 1839. The first sale was signed by President Van Buren and, in 1845, the second was signed by President Polk.2 Taylor built the first tavern and inn, known as the La Pier House, on what would become Green Bay Road in the early 1840s. The inn with recognized as the first hotel constructed for tourists to the north of the City of Chicago; a bi-weekly stagecoach that began service in 1840 serviced it.3 By 1842, the surrounding area held two additional families, the Wolfgang Louidel family, who owned a farm in the Skokie Heights area, and the Gormley family whose property was located in the present location of Glencoe's Skokie Country Club.

In the early 1850s, a group of investors purchased property along the Chicago and North Western Railway in New Trier Township. These purchasers included: Mr. Dingee (present site of Wilmette Depot), Mr. Peck (present site of Winnetka Depot), Walters. Gurnee (present 'Site of Glencoe Depot), Matthew Coe {property at Ravinia), and Judge Blodgett (property at what was then Little Fort, presently Waukegan). 5 These purchasers were all highly positioned officers, or were heavily invested, in the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad Company. Blodgett, an attorney, was additionally responsible for securing the railroad right-of-way between Chicago and Waukegan, with work beginning on the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad in 1852 and trains running to Waukegan in 1855. 6 At the time of these purchases, Walter’s. Gumee7 was President of the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad, which became the Chicago & North Western Railway, and intended to make his home in Glencoe.8 He purchased the land from his father-in-law, Matthew Coe, who owned a stock farm. Gurnee named the land Glencoe Farms in honor of his wife’s maiden name and the North Shore's wooded glens.

Initially under the direction of the Glencoe Company, and later through the work of the Village Board (the Village held its first election in 1 870 with Philo Judson elected Village President) 19, Glencoe continued to develop its amenities. In 1872, the Village's roads were graded, although not macadamized until 1 891 , 20 and the first Board of Health was appointed in August of that year containing founders Michael Gormley and Alexander Hammond. 1 The winter of 1872 saw the construction of a schoolhouse at a cost of $4,183.40 that was rebuilt in 1877 (due to a fire) at a cost of $3,1 00; this structure remained in use until 1899 when a brick building was constructed for approximately $20,000?2 An 1886 real estate advertisement shows that there were eleven Chicago and North Western trains a day running both to and from the City of Chicago with the commute estimated to take fifty minutes. The population of the Village was 500 with amenities including a Congregational Church, grade school, post office, store, meat market, and shoe shop; whatever else Glencoe residents required could be purchased in Chicago and shipped to Glencoe on the railroad, a service free of charge to commuters.

The 1890s saw remarkable developments. The Glencoe train station was dedicated in 1891 ; 24 water main pipes were introduced in 1892; and the Village Hall was erected in 1894.25 The Village Council oversaw management of the Village school system until 1893 when a Board of Directors was elected that consisted of three members. In 1896, the First Board of Education was formed consisting of seven members: Mr. Forsyth, Mrs. E.M. Culver, Mrs. Andrew MacLeish, Ms. Jennie Hurford (who would later become James K. Calhoun's mother-in law), Mr. Granville D. Hall, John Plummer, and James K. Calhoun, who constructed and resided 740 Greenwood Avenue.

The James K. Calhoun property, Lots 1 through 6 in Charles E. Browne's subdivision, were retained as such until April 30, 1921, when James K. Calhoun and Wife sold the North , ·twenty-feet of Lot 1 to William and Beatrice Berry.36 On April27, 1946, the parcel was further reduced by the sale from Blanche Calhoun to son-in-law Robert C. Javore and Wife (Audrey, Blanche's daughter) of Lots 5 and 6.37 Finally, the parcel was reduced on October 6, 1965, through the sale by Blanche Calhoun to Robert C. Javore and Wife of the south five feet of the west ninety-six feet of Lot 4.38 This final reduction in parcel size results in the current legal description identified as Property Index Number 05-07-111-026 owned by R. Scott Javore: "Parcel I: Lot 1 (except the northerly 20 feet thereof) and Lot 2, 3 and 4 (except the south five feet of the west 96 feet) Of lot 4 in Charles e. Browne's subdivision of Lots 12, 13, 14, 21, 22 ·and 23, I Block 31 in the village of Glencoe .... " and "'Parcel 2: The easterly half of the vacated alley lying westerly and adjoining the westerly line of Lot I (except the northerly 20 feet thereof) and Lots 2, 3, and 4 (except the southerly 5 feet thereof) all in Cook County, Illinois.

James Kent Calhoun and Alice Duffield were married on June 26, 1890, and on July 15, 1890, the newly married Calhoun's moved into a small cottage (no longer extant) built by Charles E. Browne towards the southeast side of the parcel owned by the Calhoun’s in Browne's subdivision.40 The Calhoun’s began construction of the residents known as 740 Greenwood Avenue in May 1894, ultimately moving into the finished residence in May 1895.