The Weyerhaeuser House, also known as House on the Hill, is a building in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

, United States. It was built in 1865 and 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 1975. The home is now part of the

Augustana College Augustana College may refer to: *Augustana College (Illinois) *Augustana University Sioux Falls, South Dakota *Augustana University College, Alberta See also *Augustana Divinity School (Neuendettelsau) The Augustana-Hochschule Neuendettelsau is ...

campus.

History

Frederick Weyerhaeuser Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

(1834–1914) was a native of Nieder-Saulheim, in the independent

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

, in present-day

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He immigrated to the United States in 1856. Weyerhaeuser and his brother-in-law,

Frederick Denkmann Frederick Denkmann (April 8, 1821 – March 2, 1905) was an American lumber baron based in Rock Island, Illinois. He teamed up with his brother-in-law Friedrich Weyerhäuser and formed Weyerhäuser-Denkmann Lumber Company. Biography Early life ...

, founded the Weyerhaeuser and Denkmann Lumber Company in Rock Island. The company continues today as the

Weyerhaeuser Company Weyerhaeuser () is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company also manufactures wood products. It operates as a real e ...

with its offices in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fe ...

. As the company prospered Weyerhaeuser bought a house in 1865 and re-built it from 1882 to 1883. In 1900 Weyerhaeuser and fifteen partners bought of timberland in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. The local partnership ended in 1905 when Denkmann died; Frederick Weyerhaeuser and his wife had moved to Washington by this time. He died in 1914 in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, and is buried in

Chippiannock Cemetery Chippiannock Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on 12th Street and 31st Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. The word “Chippiannock” is a Native American term which means “place of the dead”. It was listed on the National Regi ...

in Rock Island. After Weyerhaeuser moved from the house his daughter Apollonia and her husband Samuel S. Davis lived in the house. They were leaders in industry, society, and philanthropy in the city of Rock Island. The home remained in the Weyerhaeuser family for 85 years before it was donated to Augustana College in 1954. The first floor of the home is now used for entertaining college and community guests. Female students are housed in apartments on the second and third floors. The building is maintained by an endowment created by friends of the college, with support from descendants of the Weyerhaeuser family.

Architecture

When Frederick Weyerhaeuser bought the house in 1865 it was a two-story brick structure with a square

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. He had it rebuilt in 1882–1883 in the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

style. Added to the original structure are the west entrance hall, additional rooms, bathrooms, and the third floor. The third floor features a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

, and a tower room was built over the main entrance. A large tank on the third floor supplied water to the entire house. The dining room was enlarged and elaborate woodwork, carvings, and the

John LaFarge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge is best known for ...

stained glass window above the fireplace were added in 1888. It is the most elaborate Second Empire structure in Rock Island.

References

{{NRHP in Rock Island County, Illinois Second Empire architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures in Rock Island, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Rock Island County, Illinois Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Weyerhaeuser Houses in Rock Island County, Illinois