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The Kunz House A Look at Belleville's Past
Matt Simon Today the Emma Kunz House in Belleville is considered the oldest Greek Revival style home in Illinois. When it was built in 1830 it was one of many row houses in Belleville that featured Greek Revival architecture. Over the years, however, all of the other houses have been destroyed or altered, leaving the Kunz House as unique. Belleville, Illinois, was established as St. Clair County's new county seat in 1814. It grew gradually, and by 1837 it included 107 residences within its borders. By this time, German immigrants greatly influenced the town, and all aspects of life, including the architecture, reflected this influence. Conrad Bornman, an area brick contractor built the Kunz House. It was a very nice house during the nineteenth century, when it was in its prime. By 1835 James and Anne Affleck owned the house. Affleck was an important member of the community, both a cabinetmaker and alderman of the fourth ward. After the Afflecks left the house, it changed hands several times until banker Ed West sold the house to his brother, Benjamin West. In 1875 Benjamin and his wife sold the house to former Lieutenant Governor Gustave Koerner who was one of the German leaders in St. Clair County. Koerner then presented the house to his newlywed daughter and her husband, Mary and George Detharding. They retained the house until 1895. Henry Kunz then bought the house before he became the city's fire chief. His daughter Emma lived in the house for seventy-seven years. Emma never married and inhabited the house the longest of any of its tenants, hence the house's name. Originally the house was located downtown on East Washington, facing the public library. When the city scheduled improvements in the 1970s, the house was threatened with demolition to make room for a parking lot. At this point the St. Clair Historical Society stepped in, and in one of their crowning achievements, arranged for the house to be moved to preserve it. The house was moved to 602 Fulton Street in 1972, where it now stands. Total cost for restoration and moving exceeded thirty-thousand dollars. The house is actually the society's second building. Their first building, a Victorian house, is located on the corner of East Washington and Oak and was occupied in 1963. The St. Clair County Historical Society was organized in 1905, but it ceased to function for many years until it was reorganized in 1960. Members realized they needed a headquarters and a museum. Therefore, in 1963, the society bought its first building and restored it. It was used for various society functions until the Kunz House was purchased. The Kunz House was originally designed and built with two rooms, but it was later expanded. It now contains a sitting room, a dining room, a keep room, a kitchen, and a bedroom. The rooms have been restored to conditions of the time period, and they contain period furniture and accessories. Among these are a nineteenth-century pump organ and concertina, a walnut chest, folk art, and an iron cookstove. The story of the Kunz House, while historically significant, is not the reason the house continues to merit attention. The house's Greek Revival architecture distinguishes it as an object that is still studied by students and architects. Greek Revival architecture was introduced to America in the late eighteenth century by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. In 1795 he constructed the notable Bank of Pennsylvania in this style. Germans carried the style from the East Coast as pioneers moved west into newly settled territory. German row houses, those of lower- and middle- class families, were the most common example of the Greek Revival style. The row houses were built with small front yards in order to accommodate a garden in the back. Each Greek Revival house incorporated features dictated by location, climate, and available materials. Typical details, however, included a tall ceiling, chimneys at the two long ends, solid paneled doors, and sidewalk access. Brick masons also incorporated ornamentation in a dentil pattern to simulate that of die famous Greek temples. The St. Clair County Historical Society members continue to give tours of the house not only to local visitors but also for out-of-town bus tours. On several occasions in December the house serves as one of the main buildings on the tour route of historically significant local homes. In addition to its museum functions, the house has been used for years as part of the society's Teddy Bear House Tour, which also takes place during the holiday season. The house also serves as a meeting place for the monthly gathering of the society's board of directors. Several times the society has held yard sales at the home to raise funds to finance its activities. Today the building stands on the outskirts of downtown Belleville. Most town activity has moved away from the Kunz House, but it remains open as a museum that tourists visit to get a glimpse of what life in Belleville was like long ago.—[From Cecil
Barnes and Warren Vennum, The Architectural
History of Belleville; St. Clair County Historical
Society, Emma Kunz House-, student historian's interview with Mary Hamilton, Dec. 23, 1998; Dwight D.
Jackson, "Kunz Home Open As New Museum," Belleville News-Democrat, 1978; James D. Trabue, "The
Historical Society House," Journal of the St. Clair
County Historical Society; St. Clair County Genealogical Society, History of St. Clair County, Illinois.}
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