The Pettengill–Morron House, or simply Morron House, is a historic

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

located in the city of

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

, United States. This Second Empire style home is located in the local historic Moss-High District. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places and is a City of Peoria Local Historic Landmark. It currently operates as a museum by the Peoria Historical Society.

History

The house was originally built in 1868 for Moses Pettengill, a hardware store owner who came to Peoria from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in 1833. When Pettengill arrived in Peoria, there were 150 people, 30

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

s, and three

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

houses. Pettengill and his wife Lucy originally made their home on the site of the present-day

Peoria Civic Center Peoria Civic Center is an entertainment complex located in downtown Peoria, Illinois. Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Philip Johnson and John Burgee, it has an arena, theater, exhibit hall and meeting rooms. It opened in 1982 and c ...

from 1836 to 1862. The original house on the site, an 1862 construction that was built for $5,000, was destroyed by fire on December 13, 1865. A new brick building was constructed in 1868 in the Second Empire style for the cost of $12,000. A

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

porch and porte-cochere were added in 1900. Its original address was 464 Moss Avenue before Peoria's address renumbering in the 1950s. The last resident was Miss Jean Morron, who lived there from 1953 until she died in 1966; the Peoria Historical Society acquired the house in 1967.

Legacy

The house was listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on April 2, 1976. The home is also listed as a contributing member to the West Bluff Historic District, which was added to the National Register in December 1976.West Bluff Historic District
" (

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

), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, HAARGIS Database. Retrieved 15 April 2007. It was added to the City of Peoria Local Historic Landmark list in December 2021. The house received a grant from Landmarks Illinois in 2020 to fund repairs. The Peoria Historical Society operates this house and the Judge Flanagan Residence as

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

s. The Pettengill Collection of artifacts was donated by Moses Pettengill's relative, Daisy Peirce Hale. The collection includes paintings that were restored and hung in the museum, Blanchard Pettengill's diary of growing up on the Moss Avenue property, and other family history records.

Notes

External links

Pettengill–Morron House Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettengill-Morron House Houses completed in 1868 Buildings and structures in Peoria, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Peoria County, Illinois Historic house museums in Illinois Museums in Peoria County, Illinois Houses in Peoria County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Peoria, Illinois Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois 1868 establishments in Illinois