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John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
adgorn
(---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 21, 2010 11:31PM
I think I remember someone interested in the Wentworth farmhouse at Archer & Harlem in the Summit area from prior posts (that were zapped.) I just happened to find this link so I though I would post it if interested:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhphoto&fileName=il/il0400/il0496/photos/browse.db&action=browse&recNum=0&title2=John%20Wentworth%20Farmhouse,%20Chicago,%20Cook%20County,%20IL&displayType=1&itemLink=D?hh:130:./temp/~ammem_31xZ::
Alan
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2010 11:35PM by adgorn.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhphoto&fileName=il/il0400/il0496/photos/browse.db&action=browse&recNum=0&title2=John%20Wentworth%20Farmhouse,%20Chicago,%20Cook%20County,%20IL&displayType=1&itemLink=D?hh:130:./temp/~ammem_31xZ::
Alan
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2010 11:35PM by adgorn.
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 22, 2010 12:05AM
I am familiar with that area. When did the house come down? I remember seeing a large house there in the 50's and a small house near the road more like a shed. Turn right off of Archer and go down and turn left at a gas station or garage. Am I close?
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 22, 2010 12:23AM
[b]Correction: I was thinking of turning right off of Archer on Center St. There was a large building on your right and the garage or station on the corner about a block down. If you turned left at that intersection I think the road is Lincoln you would pass a few houses and a tavern and go over a bridge and on to Lawndale through a industrial area and end up on 47th. We used to go to a Swedish Smorgesborg named Karen's there.[/b]
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 22, 2010 12:25AM
Can you give the approxamate address of that farmhouse?
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
b.a.hoarder
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: March 22, 2010 01:54AM
Middle of the 5400 block of S. Neva on the west side of the street. I'm pretty sure that paw, who posts here sometimes, has grandparents who built on the exact spot, or at least on a lot near it when it was subdivided. When Wentworth lived there it was considered part of Summit extending all the way to Central Ave. (5600W); I don't know when the area was annexed into the city.
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
adgorn
(---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 22, 2010 02:26AM
Drill in a bit and this site shows the location:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=/pnp/habshaer/il/il0400/il0496/sheet&topImages=00000a.gif&topLinks=00000r.tif,00000a.tif&title=&displayProfile=0
as being right in btw Harlem and Nottingham (although I think they must have meant Neva), N of Archer. Historic aerials shows this distinctly in the 1938, 51 and 62 views.
Alan
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=/pnp/habshaer/il/il0400/il0496/sheet&topImages=00000a.gif&topLinks=00000r.tif,00000a.tif&title=&displayProfile=0
as being right in btw Harlem and Nottingham (although I think they must have meant Neva), N of Archer. Historic aerials shows this distinctly in the 1938, 51 and 62 views.
Alan
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 22, 2010 01:29PM
[b]I also looked it up on the aeriel views and saw the same thing. Is there any trace of it today?[/b]
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
liz
(---.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net)
Date: March 22, 2010 06:53PM
from the book Summit by Robert Kott
Summit Farm,1862 "Long John" Wentworth owned the Summit Farm and visited there almost daily.
after retirement Wentworth lived at the estate located at the corner of Archer and Harlem Avenues.
The farm offered cattle,milk,turkeys,sheep from english stock and race horses.
Cyrus E. Parlin farm foreman and horse breeder bought the Summit Farm from the Wentworth estate.including 18-room farmhouse and back buildings located at 7200 Archer Ave.
The house stayed in the family for many years.then passed to the Ridder family.
it was never given historical status
torn down in 1968
Summit Farm,1862 "Long John" Wentworth owned the Summit Farm and visited there almost daily.
after retirement Wentworth lived at the estate located at the corner of Archer and Harlem Avenues.
The farm offered cattle,milk,turkeys,sheep from english stock and race horses.
Cyrus E. Parlin farm foreman and horse breeder bought the Summit Farm from the Wentworth estate.including 18-room farmhouse and back buildings located at 7200 Archer Ave.
The house stayed in the family for many years.then passed to the Ridder family.
it was never given historical status
torn down in 1968
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 23, 2010 09:17PM
[b]After I saw the historic aeriel views of 1952 and 1938 I do remember seeing a large fram house years ago on the north east side of Archer & Harlem. I am 74 years old this year.[/b]
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
bowler
(---.chipublib.org)
Date: March 27, 2010 05:09PM
The address is usually given as 5441 S. Harlem although I've seen it listed as 5441 S. Neva. It was built in 1868 and torn down in 1968. I am working with paw on the history of the area and we've actually interviewed a member of the Parlin family who owned the house after Wentworth. They gradually sold off the acerage sorrounding the house until there were about 3 acres left in 1968. There is a Walgreen's and a Banquet Hall (European Chalet) on the property now and no trace of it is left. You can see traces of it in the historic aerials prior to 1968. There are several pictures of it on the Internet as well as in the "Summit" book mentioned above.
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
bowler
(---.chipublib.org)
Date: March 27, 2010 05:20PM
In response to b.a. horder, the city annexed bits and pieces of the present day Garfield Ridge and Clearing neighborhoods from 1915 to 1923. Prior to annexation the area was know as different things. Most considered it Summit, there is a church located at Archer and Mayfield (just slightly east of Austin) that up until 1938 at least had Summit as part of it's name. The area was sometimes refered to as Stickney because after 1901 that area was part of the newly formed Stickney Township. Prior to that it was refered to as Lyons Township or simply Lyons.
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
b.a.hoarder
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: March 27, 2010 08:16PM
Thanks for the clarification on when the Garfield Ridge area was annexed.
I'd say that originally the Wentworth house had the Harlem Ave. address, as Neva did not exist early on. In later years, the property along Harlem was developed and likely had changed hands too, thus there was a need for the Neva address.
I'd say that originally the Wentworth house had the Harlem Ave. address, as Neva did not exist early on. In later years, the property along Harlem was developed and likely had changed hands too, thus there was a need for the Neva address.
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
Susasn Selle
(192.227.62.---)
Date: April 13, 2011 06:44PM
The Farmhouse was located on Archer and Harlem. If you were driving west on Archer you would have to take a right turn and go a block north. I can remember it in the 1950's. It is a shame that it was torn down.
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
adgorn
(---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: April 13, 2011 07:32PM
I just finished a book about Wentworth called "Chicago Giant." Chapter 13 had good info on his estate including a map. See the link below for this excerpt as pdf:
http://www.scribd.com/full/52957382?access_key=key-c7bry9xs984xi3ovf9j
He eventually owned quite a few acres, all the way to Midway.
Alan
http://www.scribd.com/full/52957382?access_key=key-c7bry9xs984xi3ovf9j
He eventually owned quite a few acres, all the way to Midway.
Alan
Re: John Wentworth Farmhouse
Posted by:
bowler
(---.chipublib.org)
Date: April 15, 2011 02:24PM
Wentworth owned nearly 4700 acres in the area at his peak, encompassing the land from the I&M Canal to 63rd Street and from Cicero to the Desplaines River. So basically he owned most of the modern day Garfield Ridge neighborhood, Clearing neighborhood as well as the suburb of Summit and parts of unicorperated Central Stickney.
There is another book "Old Chicago Homes" by John Drury that has a chapter on the house.
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Chicago-houses-John-Drury/dp/0226165558
I spoke to a member of the Parlin family once about the house and she said that the house was neglected and needed a lot of work. It was still being heated by coal and the family couldn't keep up on the house. It was demolished in April of 1968.
There is another book "Old Chicago Homes" by John Drury that has a chapter on the house.
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Chicago-houses-John-Drury/dp/0226165558
I spoke to a member of the Parlin family once about the house and she said that the house was neglected and needed a lot of work. It was still being heated by coal and the family couldn't keep up on the house. It was demolished in April of 1968.
