The Lewis Steward House is a historic residence in Plano,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It was the home of

Lewis Steward Lewis Steward (November 20, 1824 – August 27, 1896) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Illinois. He also co-founded Marsh, Steward & Company, a company that later merged to become International Harvester. ...

, a prominent early settler to Kendall County who co-founded

Marsh, Steward & Company Marsh, Steward & Company (Marsh Brothers) (Marsh Harvester) (Marsh Brothers & Steward) began with the invention and patent of a reaper-harvester by brothers Charles Wesley Marsh and W. W. Marsh of De Kalb, Illinois in August 1858. By 1863 the imp ...

, ran for the governorship of Illinois, and was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

History

was born in Wayne County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He came with his family to Kendall County,

as a child. Steward helped his father with his farm and eventually moved out to start a farm of his own. In 1862, he joined C. W. and W. W. Marsh to form

, where they developed a harvester. The company was later purchased by

William Deering William Deering (April 25, 1826 – December 9, 1913) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He inherited a woolen mill in Maine, but made his fortune in later life with the Deering Harvester Company. Life Early life Deering was born ...

and was merged to create

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

. Steward stayed in Plano after selling his portion. He ran for

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

in 1876. Steward started a tannery and shoe factory in Plano. He ran for a seat on the

in 1890 and served one term. He ran unsuccessfully for the same seat in the next two elections. Steward died on August 27, 1896.Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
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Architecture

The Steward homestead was built in 1854, shortly after Steward was able to convince the

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

to build a station in town. The property is now at the western corner of East Main and North East Streets. The one-story wood-frame house is generally of

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

design, built on a coursed stone foundation. The east and west wings were added c. 1875 and have a foundation of brick, finished to appear like the original foundation. The house has a tall raised basement, known as the garden level. The main entrance is flanked with window bays. The entrance has a small porch with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof and two

chamfer A chamfer or is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fu ...

ed posts. The concrete steps leading to the porch are modern, although the wood railings and

newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also refer to an upright post that supports and/or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post"). In stairs having str ...

s are original. A three light

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

is over the door, trimmed with heavy moldings. A projecting gable roof appears over the porch, with a one-over-one double-hung window underneath. The basement level has several garden windows. In 2012, the property was purchased by Chet and Mary Kay Sergo. The Sergo's opened the property as The Homestead 185
thehomestead1854.com
a historic wedding, team building and retreat venue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steward, Lewis, House Houses completed in 1854 Italianate architecture in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Kendall County, Illinois Plano, Illinois Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Houses in Kendall County, Illinois