Plans for this old house
There is some big news for the oldest house in Springfield that still sits on its original foundation.
The Springfield Art Association at Edwards Place recently received a Jeffris Foundation matching grant for renovation of the historic Enos Park home to restore it to its appearance during the Lincoln era.
“They are giving us $20,000 to create a revitalization plan for the interior of Edwards Place, a plan where each piece of furniture, window coverings, floors, and furnishings, room by room, will be analyzed as to what needs to be done to repair or restore it, or leave it alone, put a ribbon over it so nobody touches it, or which pieces may not be period appropriate,” said Betsy Dollar, SAA executive director. “One staff member already has been researching family letters and papers, to figure out which pieces go in which rooms, for instance. We have a much stronger historic interpretation of the house at this point. Now it’s just a matter of getting the rest of it visually up to snuff.” To pay for the plan’s recommendations, SAA has created the new 1913 Centennial Fund, a capital campaign. “It is going to be a pretty big capital campaign to do what that plan lays out for Edwards Place. I’m hoping as well that we can fund a computer lab, do some other work on the various studios, upgrade lighting, and really give us a nest egg to move forward into our next 100 years as a great arts location here in Springfield.”
Edwards Place, the home of Benjamin and Helen Edwards from 1843 to 1909, is an elegant Italianate mansion once a center for social activity in Springfield. Prominent citizens and notables, such as Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, were entertained at lavish dinner parties and the grounds played host to many summer picnics and political rallies. It is said that Lincoln courted his future wife, Mary Todd, at Edwards Place.
The 4,200-square-foot Italianate mansion and five-acre grounds was donated by the Edwards’ daughter, Alice Edwards Ferguson, to the Amateur Art Study Club in 1913.
Dollar is using the history of the place to attract visitors. One tool for that is a new brochure with a map that points out that Edwards Place is only a short walk from the Lincoln Presidential Museum. It’s open for guided tours from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and by appointment. Suggested donation is $3. Located at 700 N. 4th St., SAA is two blocks north of Carpenter Street.
“We’re getting Edwards Place more into that historic loop in Springfield. We’re between the museum and Lincoln’s tomb. We are only six blocks from the museum, and people act like we are up here in the hinterlands. It’s a nice walk,” she said. –Rick Wade
