7425 S Wolf Rd
Burr Ridge, IL 60527, USA

Vial, Robert, House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The historic Robert Vial home, located at 7425 South Wolf Road in Burr Ridge, is locally significant for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C, as an excellent example of an upright-and-wing vernacular dwelling, and Criterion A for Robert Vial's early settlement in the area and his role in the early development of the community. The building was constructed in 1856 by prominent farmer and civic leader, Robert Vial; today it is the oldest and only remaining early farm house in the Burr Ridge community; in addition to being the community's oldest residence structure. This building is important for its outstanding architectural features. The house displays exceptional character and integrity, and stands as a significant architectural example from the early settlement of the area.

The home is historically linked to the locally important Vial family. Three generations of Vial family members served as important leaders in the Lyons Township community, and aided in both the growth and development of the region. The township, which is comprised of a series of small villages that have changed boundaries over the years, has historically served as an important link between Chicago and developing regions farther to the west'. Vial family members, particularly Robert Vial, were participants in early government as well as community organizations.

The Robert Vial house is significant for its impressive architectural integrity, and for being the singular remaining example of an important architectural style; in addition, through its familial association the building has a strong connection to earliest settlement growth of Lyons Township. It is these elements that the enable the Robert Vial House to transcend its specific location to become an important regional marker; resonating the history of an entire community.

ROBERT VIAL HOUSE: HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Vial House was built by Robert Vial, a prominent early settler of Lyons Township, ca. 1856. Robert Vial was an influential agricultural and civic leader during the early development of the township, where he lived from 1834 until his death in 1921. Robert Vial was born in Chester, Orange County, New York, on April 9, 1824. When Robert was age two, the Vial family relocated from Chester to Elmira, New York, where they lived for another eight years until moving to the Lyons area of Cook County, Illinois, by way of stage coach and the Erie Canal in 1834.^

Robert's father Joseph, first settled in western Cook Country, in an area just west of the present-day village of LaGrange in 1833. At that time there were only two fur trappers living in the vicinity. Joseph's intention was to find suitable farmland near water and timber. The place he located was along Flagg Creek, just off of an old trail, which also served as a stage coach route into the city of Chicago. The land that Joseph settled was government land not yet opened for sale as it was technically still Native American land; he named the area Goshen, referring to a town located in Chester, New York. Its significance referred to the biblical land of plenty. Mr. Vial built a 16x16 foot log cabin, and in the spring of 1834 sent for his family to join him.

Over the following years the small cabin Mr. Vial built would serve a variety of needs, in addition to being the home of his family. Joseph Vial was appointed postmaster of Goshen in 1836 (this is a position that his son Robert would later take over), operating the mail station out of his cabin.'' In addition to operating the first post office of what would become La Grange, the Vial cabin also served as a hostelry and the site of the first Democratic convention of Cook County in 1835.

During his youth Robert was active in the maintenance and development of his father's farmland, reportedly purchasing his first cow in 1835 at the age of eleven. The first school in Lyons Township was organized in 1842. Because Robert was already eighteen at the time, he was only permitted to attend for ten months. This was apparently his only formal education; in which time he was able to learn basic arithmetic as well as algebra and geometry. In 1845 Robert worked for a short time at the Aurora Flour Mills, earning a wage of $16 per month; his duties included shoveling flour and the maintaining the mill machinery. However, he returned the following year due to illness and began working full time on the farm.'° Sometime between 1850 (as Joseph is still listed as head of household on the US Census of 1850)" and Joseph's death in 1853, Robert purchased the 470-acre farmstead in partnership with his brother Samuel. They divided the land between them with Robert acquiring 270 acres and substantial livestock. The 1850 Agricultural Census indicated that the Vial farm was worth $9,000, a great deal more than other farmsteads in the immediate vicinity. They owned six horses, fifty cows, fifteen sheep and six swine. The total value of livestock was $732. In addition to other crops, they listed 1,000 bushes of Indian com and 800 bushels of oats as well as 1,000 pounds of butter.

After acquiring ownership of the land, Robert continued to farm, emphasizing cattle-raising. In 1850 Lyons Township was officially organized, and in 1852 Robert was elected town clerk.'^ In 1853 Robert was appointed overseer of highways, and in 1855 was appointed deacon and treasurer of Lyonville Congregational Church, where he had been a founding member in 1843. He would hold the position of deacon for sixty-four years.

In 1856, Robert built his house just yards from the original settlement cabin that his father constructed in 1834. It can only be assumed that Robert chose the upright-and-wing vernacular design as a result of his exposure to it in his home state of New York. Robert Vial paid $2,000 for the construction of his home, which included an extra $200 for a two-foot extension of the wing. In the same year, Robert married Mary R. Ketchum in a neighboring home. The couple had eight children: Mary Louisa (b. 1868), Edward (b. 1861), Frederick (b. 1864), Eugene (b. 1866), Stella (b. 1868 - died in infancy), Robert C. (b. 1872), Albert (b. 1874 - died 1877), and Alice (b. 1876), all of whom were reared in the newly constructed farm house. Robert's youngest daughter Alice lived in the house until her death in the 1960s.

In addition to his agricultural career Robert maintained a strong commitment to education. All but one of his surviving children attended college and received degrees, an uncommon event in nineteenth-century farm communities. He also served as township treasurer of schools from 1858 to 1900, during the time that nearly all of the early school houses of the township were built. It was also noted in his obituary in the La Grange Citizen in 1921, that before "the days of the county superintendent of schools, he was appointed school director and a member of the examining board to pass upon the qualifications of school teachers."^' Robert was also dedicated to his own education, often attending farmers "short courses" at what was then State University in Urbana, Illinois. These were one-week courses held during the winter months. Robert attended during 1880- 1885

Robert's continuing education aided his many agricultural achievements. The 1880 US Agricultural Census stated the total value of Robert's 274-acre farm, including livestock, at $13,875. These numbers were significantly higher than those of neighboring farms. He had on hand at that time forty-three head of cattle and had sold 6,000 gallons of milk the previous year, in addition to the production of 150 pounds of butter on his own farm. In 1885 Robert built the fu-set silo in Cook County using plans acquired through Prairie Farmer (a popular national agricultural journal) and information he had gained through the short courses taken at the university in Urbana. This first silo measured twelve by sixteen feet and provided the inspiration for another larger sixteen by thirty-two feet silo built two years later. Finally in 1906 he built a stave silo that measured sixteen by twenty-seven feet. He was a pioneer in the use of early faming machinery, always interested in new innovations. When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad opened in 1862, Robert became one of the first farmers in the region to ship milk into the city of Chicago via this new transportation route. He had for years driven cattle into the stockyards in Chicago and transported other products by wagon