Rudolphus Hutchinson, Harvard

Rudolphus Hutchinson and his second wife relocated from Vermont to Illinois to raise their sons. Hutchinson, a prominent local figure, was the Justice-of-the-Peace for the area and his house served as courthouse, jail, and stage stop. Potawatomi Chief Big Foot, also a former area resident, was his frequent houseguest.

The 1840 Gothic Revival-style brick house was built between 1838 and 1840 and is known locally as the “house of seven gables”. The building sports whimsical touches of Victorian influence in the lofty peaks and curved gothic windows. Each of the seven gables is topped with a decorative finial representing a sign of the zodiac. The red transom glass over a doorway hints at a possible Underground Railroad connection.

The property possesses two buildings that predate the main house, a smokehouse as well as a carriage house with an original wood-burning stove. The barn is of Germanic origin and has notched timbers that are believed to have been rafted down from the forests of Wisconsin before the advent of the railroad.