The Buel House is a single-family house and historic site in

Golconda, Illinois Golconda is a city in and the county seat of Pope County, Illinois, United States, located along the Ohio River. The population was 630 at the 2020 census. Most of the city is part of the Golconda Historic District. History The city is named af ...

on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. The house, built in 1840, is owned by the

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...

and is operated by the Pope County Historical Society.

Description

The home's first owner, Alexander Buel, was a tanner of hides into dressed

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

. At the time, there were substantial shipments of hides and leather up and down the Ohio River, with craftsmen such as Jesse Grant (father of

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

) in the river leather trade. The house remained in the hands of the Buel family until 1986, and is preserved as an example of a working-class home's 146-year occupation by one family. The Buel family's period of residence included the years of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. A local legend claims that the Buel House was a site on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

; this is impossible, however, because the house was not built until 1840. It is fact that the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

were forced to march through Golconda in 1838, and the deportees undoubtedly passed the house site. The Buel House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976 as part of the Golconda Historic District. It is located at Madison and Columbus Streets, in central Golconda.

References

{{Protected areas of Illinois Houses in Pope County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Pope County, Illinois Houses completed in 1840 Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Illinois Illinois State Historic Sites