2008 Under One Roof Designer Showcase Home Tour

About the Home

Home History

Located in the heart of Churchill’s Grove at 1806 National Avenue, Rockford, the Under One Roof 2008 Designer Showcase Home is set back on a double lot of a beautiful tree lined Avenue of historic Rockford mansions.

Built in the 1860s, this is the oldest home still standing, and was possibly the first residence built on National Avenue.  The William Blinn home first appeared in the City Directory in 1872.  It was first located on the river-side of the street at 1813 National, then in 1903 it was moved across the street to its present location at 1806 National Avenue by William Blinn, because the Rock River water was thought to cause typhoid at the time.  Blinn, president of Rockford Burial Case Co., occupied the home with his son-in-law and daughter (the George Needhams) until 1919.

  

   1872-1904 – William Blinn

   1905-1919 – William Blinn and George Needham

   1920-1923 – Daniel Flanders

   1924-1925 – Phillip Chappel

   1926 – vacant

   1927-1967 – William Barton

   1968 - Mrs. Constance Barton (widow of Wm. Barton)

   1969 – Loren Smith

The home was owned by Rockford College in the 80’s.  The current owners, Pat and Gina Daly, have resided in the house since August 1998.

This historic home has approximately 5,000 square feet of living space, and consists of seven bedrooms, 5½ bathrooms, an office, a sunroom, and a wood-paneled library with a fireplace. The formal living spaces are filled with familiar hallmarks, such as high ceilings, gleaming hardwood floors, leaded glass, stunning floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as a dramatic staircase. 

National Avenue – Early History

Recorded history of the National Avenue area begins with Catherine Myott, daughter of a Winnebago Indian woman and a French soldier.  637 acres of land was deeded to her in the form of a “half-breed float section” in 1837.  She split the parcel of land and sold a portion to Nicholas Boilvin for $800.00, which was the first recorded sale of land in Winnebago County. 

Boilvin tried to develop this area as a town he hoped to call Winnebago, however a referendum was held and Rockford, an area near Tinker Cottage on the southwest side, became the town’s focus center.  The land in this area changed hands many times in the years after 1836.  Much of Catherine Myott’s original “float” had been acquired by Phineas Churchill, a farmer who in 1862 leased his cornfields to the U.S. Army.  In July, 1862 the land, known to locals as “Churchill’s Woods,” achieved prominence when it became the site of a Civil War training center called Camp Fuller.  The original hospital still stands at 1260 North Main Street.  Camp Fuller closed in January 1863 and the barracks were sold for wood.  It was replanted as a cornfield.

The Under One Roof 2008 Designer Showcase Home was one of the first residences to be built on this land in 1860s.  Actual subdivision of the land occurred some twenty years after this home was built, but the area was slow to develop.  This was due to the fact that National Avenue was simply too far away from the pulse of Rockford in the days of horse and buggy.  By the turn of the century there were only about fifteen homes on the unpaved, unlighted street.

Designer Showcase Home Redesign

The Under One Roof 2008 Designer Showcase Home will be transformed top to bottom by area’s top Interior Design and decorating professionals.  The following areas of the historic mansion will be redesigned in preparation for the Junior League of Rockford’s Tour event: 

• Living Room – Designer: Thomas Littrell
• Dining Room – Designer: Pat Henry
• Kitchen and Breakfast Area – Designers: Lori Bonelli and Denise Schultz
• Library – Designer: Cindy Molosz
• Sunroom – Designer: Tonya Clutter
• Office – Designer: Vicki Dyer
• Master Bath – Designer: Ruth Wagner
• Master Dressing Room – Designer: Tricia Chen
• Master Bedroom & Front Sitting Room – Designers: Maureen Moriarty and Karen Frazier
• Preteen Girl’s Bedroom – Designers: Mary Sweeney and Elizabeth Branyan
• Preteen Girl’s Study & Sitting Room – Designers: Mary Sweeney and Elizabeth Branyan
• Front Bedroom & Bath – Designer: Sylvia Vehmeier

The Design Committee plans to transform the following additional spaces of Showcase Design Home:

• Vestibule & Foyer
• Deck & Mudroom
• Second Floor Gallery
• Second Floor Front and Back Bath Rooms