{"nrhp_refnum":"82002547","name":"Stearns-Wadsworth House","other_names":["Lake Run Farm"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 S. 570 Bliss Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Batavia","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.84456848600007,"lon":-88.40741217899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, wood-frame Italianate farmhouse on Bliss Road near Batavia, Kane County, Illinois, built in 1868 by George N. Stearns as part of a farmstead in the post-village of Bald Mound.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is historically significant for the roles of its builder George N. Stearns and second owner Edgar D. Wadsworth in founding Bald Mound and developing agriculture and commerce in early rural Kane County. It is also presented as a noteworthy example of disappearing 19th-century rural vernacular architecture. The house is described as all that remains of a small settlement.","narrative":"Built in 1868 for George N. Stearns, this two-story wood-frame farmhouse on Bliss Road near Batavia is made of two attached rectangular sections in the Italianate style. The cubic north portion has a hipped roof, once topped by a belvedere removed in 1920, and wide eaves with paired brackets. The narrower south portion holds the kitchen and laundry. Stearns was the largest landholder in the township, and the house reflected his standing. After his death, Edgar D. Wadsworth acquired the farm and in 1886 planned the Bald Mound Creamery, later a grist mill. Bald Mound's school, store and mills have since become residences or disappeared, and the mound itself was largely lost to gravel mining. The farmhouse is described as the remnant of a small settlement that never grew into a town, and as a surviving example of nineteenth-century rural building. Original woodwork remains largely intact inside, and restoration of porches and belvedere has been planned.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"George N. Stearns, builder","architectural_style":"Victorian Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied as a private residence and farm in excellent condition after restoration by the present owners; interior work complete and most exterior work complete.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.666487-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/8931/28893148/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002547.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002547/caad5aeba7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002547/caad5aeba7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stearns%E2%80%93Wadsworth_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stearns%E2%80%93Wadsworth_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893148","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stearns%E2%80%93Wadsworth_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7605529"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/stearns-wadsworth-house-82002547/"}