Bicentennial Committee Homes

In 1976, the Arlington Heights Historical Society formed the Bicentennial Committee which selected 6 homes of historical significance. A historical landmark plaque has been placed at each home.

Allen Home

116 W. Euclid Ave.

The home was built in 1849 by Elijah Allen. Elijah Allen was a farmer from Vermont who moved to the Arlington Heights area in 1847.The house was unusual for the time, it has brick on the inside and a wood frame on the outside. Mr. Allen passed the house onto his foster son, Eugene Berbecker in 1888. Berbecker Park in named in his honor.

Burlingame Home

402 N. Evergreen Ave.

This Saltbox style home was built around 1861 by Joel Burlingame. His son Anson was a diplomat during President Lincoln and President Grant's administrations. The home was replaced by a new home in 2007.

James Dunton's Home

619 N. Arlington Heights Road

James and Esther Dunton had 8 children and built this large home in 1869. In 1871, people stood up on the flat roof and watched the Great Chicago Fire burning.

505 N. Dunton

The home was built in 1850 and is an example of Victorian frame construction. The home has carved wood bay windows and gingerbread scroll trim along the eaves

MacNab Home

2 W. Euclid Ave.

Duncan McNab built this house in 1861. It was part of an 80-acre land grant. The MacNab family owned and occupied this home until 1989. The original home had 9 foot ceilings heated by coal, then oil. Central heating was installed in 1947. Duncan MacNab was the first constable (police officer) in Arlington Heights.

Shirra Home

609 N. Dunton Ave.

This house was built in 1865 by James Shirra, owner and operator of the first grist mill (a mill for grinding grain) in Arlington Heights. The construction method used is now called brick veneer, a brick-over-wood frame technique not widely used until the turn of the century. In 1880, a two-story addition containing a library and child's room was added at the rear of the house and, in 1976, a clapboard-sided addition replacing the old summer kitchen and chicken coop was built.

PDF of Bicentennial Homes

References:

Chronicle of a Prairie Town: Arlington Heights, Illinois Its People and Progress, The Arlington Heights Historical Society, 1997.

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