The Old Stone Hotel, also known as the Warren Community Building or Warren House Hotel, was constructed in 1851 as a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

station. It was located closely to the crossing of two stagecoach routes near the Illinois-Wisconsin border in the village of

Warren, Illinois Warren is a village in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,323 at the 2020 census, down from 1,428 at the 2010 census. Warren was named after Warren Burnett, the first male child born at the site. History Captain Ale ...

, United States. The building was added to the U.S.

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 1975.

History

The Old Stone Hotel, or Warren House Hotel, was built as a

station in 1851 by F. Tisdall.Warren Community Building
, (

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

), Illinois Historic Sites Survey Inventory, ''

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 ...

'', pp. 5–10, accessed April 29, 2008. The current building maintains its historic appearance down to the white

picket fence Picket fences are a type of fence often used decoratively for domestic boundaries, distinguished by their evenly spaced vertical boards, the ''pickets'', attached to horizontal rails. Picket fences are particularly popular in the United States, ...

surrounding the structure. When the building was constructed two stagecoach trails crossed near Warren. The Chicago-Galena Trail and the Sucker Trail, which went from

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

to the lead smelting operations in

Wiota, Wisconsin Wiota is a town in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 856 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Wiota, Woodford and Five Corners are located in the town. History When William S. Hamilton, the son o ...

Architecture

The Old Stone Hotel was built in the early

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...

and constructed from block

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

; the building's exterior remains unaltered from its original form and appearance. The east wing of the first floor was altered into a large

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

but much of the rest of the first floor remains unaltered. Upstairs, is the building caretaker's apartment, which served as the station owner's apartment when the building was used as a stagecoach stop. The former third floor ballroom serves a similar purpose as offices for village administration.McCool, V.D.
Old Stone Hotel
, (

), National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, September 20, 1974, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency'', pp. 1–5, accessed April 29, 2008.

Historic significance

The hotel was a stop along the crossing of two major stagecoach routes and hosted prominent visitors such as

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 ...

, a resident of nearby

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

, on multiple occasions. The building was restored and used as the Warren Community Building in recent years. On April 16, 1975 the U.S.

and its

Keeper of the Register Keeper may refer to: People * Keeper (surname) * Archivist * Beekeeper * Gamekeeper * Gatekeeper * Greenkeeper * Keeper of the Privy Purse * Keeper of the Royal Archives * Legal guardian * Lighthouse keeper * Museum curator * Prison warden * Re ...

approved the listing of the Old Stone Hotel.

References

External links

Property Information Report
Old Stone Hotel,

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Jo Daviess County, Illinois Buildings and structures in Jo Daviess County, Illinois Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois