Frentess, Henry N., Farmstead
Why it's listed
This five-acre farmstead along old U.S. Route 20 in East Dubuque, Illinois, sits below Mississippi River bluffs and is all that remains of an 1100-acre show farm begun in 1832 by the Frentress family. The main building is a 2½-story brick Italianate house built around 1880, with a side-gable roof, limestone sills and lintels, and paired wooden brackets under the eaves. Inside, original white pine floors, trim, stairways, wainscoting and a built-in kitchen cupboard survive. Behind the house, a 1½-story limestone summer kitchen, probably from the 1830s or 1840s and remodeled about the time the house was built, is set against a bluff outcropping and topped with a cupola holding the original dinner bell. A 1960s garage is noncontributing. Henry N. Frentress was a progressive stock farmer and inventor who was an early adopter of windmills, and the property is valued as a surviving piece of his large, innovative farm. The buildings are vacant but in fair to good condition.
Significance in brief: The farmstead is the last remnant of an 1100-acre show farm established in 1832 by the Frentress family. Henry N. Frentress was a progressive stock farmer and inventor who adopted windmills early and had a barbed wire patent. The house and summer kitchen show the prosperity of this agricultural operation.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 10001202, listed February 4, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 19140 US 20 W., East Dubuque |
|---|---|
| County | Jo Daviess County |
| Listed | February 4, 2011 |
| Reference number | 10001202 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian/Italianate |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed function is vacant/not in use; buildings are in fair to good condition. The property was purchased by the City of East Dubuque in 2008. |
| Acreage | 5 |
| Coordinates | 42.47349, -90.60354 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 10001202.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q24435824
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.