Blomquist Home

John Blomquist, Grocer, Early Supporter of County Roads, Main St. businessman, and civic leader here for many years, built this home in 1912.

Born Feb. 4, 1872, in Sweden, he came to St. Charles from Indiana in 1882. A prominent businessman on Main St., he operated a grocery store from 1910 to 1937. He represented St. Charles on the Kane County Board of Supervisors for 35 years, from 1914 to 1949. He was a member of the Union Cemetery board, Unity Lodge No. 48, AF and AM, and the Bethlehem Lutheran church of which he was a board member for many years.

Blomquist was born in Oneby in central Sweden and was the son of a man who divided his tie between farming and lumber millwork. The Family came to America when John was nine. His father was hired to work a farm west of St. Charles, and John was raised there. In 1908, he came to town and worked in Charley Olson's hardware and grocery. He later went into partnership with his brother-in-law, Louis Johnson, forming the Johnson-Blomquist grocery. Still later he went into partnership with Carl Larson (now the bank teller), and then went on his own until he sold out in 1937. His stores were located where Kroger's and Bagge's are now.

He married Josephine C. Axelson of St. Charles on Sept. 17, 1902. Together, they built this home in 1912.

During his nine terms on the county board, John Blomquist was a key member of the road and bridge committee and backed the highway division in its program of building blacktop roads. Burlington Blacktop and Silver Glen Rd are some of the secondary roads he fought for when county boards were reluctant to spend taxpayer's money on the automobile. He was one of the valley men who joined hands with suburban leaders to promote the construction of Route 64 against the opposition of the Tribune and others who thought a "four-lane" highway a wild idea.