Evison, Ferson, & Satterlee

Tom Evison originally built this house as a barn in around 1883.

Evison was a farmer and Civil War veteran who served in the 127th Illinois Infantry from 1863 to 1865.

The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad purchased the Evison property in 1885. At that time, the barn was moved closer to the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad tracks and used as a grain elevator and feed store. George Ferson operated the store until he died in 1900.

Ferson's daughter, Emma Satterlee, inherited the structure, which she moved to its present location on Chestnut Avenue. Satterlee was in the process of converting the barn into a house when she died in 1903. Her son, George, inherited the barn and finished the conversion.

Pat and Tom Pretz purchased the Evison House in 2005 and embarked on a restoration project that earned the house St. Charles City Historic Landmark status in 2010. The house is noteworthy because of its association with the Ferson family, who were early settlers of St. Charles, and its original use as a utilitarian structure.

Sources

■ Rhodebeck, Ashley, "STC Landmark House Sends Couple on History Lesson." Kane County Clroricle 19 February 2010.

■ Durant, Pliny. Passing in Review: Reminiscences of Men Who Have Lived in St. Charles. St. Charles: Elizabeth Beckstrom, 1994.