1) Seraph Warren Holmes School
After her death in 1905, her body was brought back to be buried in Warrenville. Nine years later, our great community paid her the most ultimate honor when they named the new elementary school after Seraph. The Seraph Warren Holmes School welcomed Warrenville students until 1991 when it closed.
2) The Roundhouse, One Man’s Folly, another Man’s Bakery and or Candy shop
Joyce Wagner, editing the Warrenville News during the summer of 1960 from the castle-like structure, decided to do an investigative piece on her headquarters. Her “Tower Topics” column reporting her findings was somewhat less than sensational. All she could dig up was the unromantic spectacle of a bunch of pipes.
It has been asserted that the profusion of living springs in Warrenville drew the first settlers here. Years later William J. Manning discovered an artesian well on his farm, and he announced even before subdividing that he intended to pipe the water from his overflowing springs to all the houses. The 12-foot diameter circular lot was indicated on his survey recorded in November 1906, and assuredly the purpose of the site was already designated.
Perhaps the Michigan Avenue water tower that survived the Chicago fire inspired him; whatever his reasons for building the elaborate camouflage for his water works will have to remain with him and the Hotchkiss Concrete Stone Company.
The intriguing tower, which William Manning deeded to his son, Ralph in 1915, has seen a few side lines within its confines over the years. Matt Moran and his half-brother, Alex ran a thriving business in “the Tribune Tower” for several years, vending candies and tobacco as well as magazines and newspapers, and operating a film service. Mary Singleterry’s short-lived confectionary shop occupied the place in 1946, and then George Soukup sold bakery goods there before opening his grocery store on Warren Avenue. Earl Brogie bought the building in 1970 for a gift shop, but it was closed in a dispute with the city fathers.
Most of the time the roundhouse has been vacant. Sometimes it is cursed as a safety hazard or sneered at as a worthless nuisance; other times it is pointed to as a not-to-be-tampered-with historical monument. At all times, it is a conversation piece.
Taken from Leone Schmidt’s In and Around Historic Warrenville
3) Warrenville Seminary
On September 14, 1851, Seraph Warren Holmes helped open and then ran the Warrenville Seminary. The boarding school drew students from the local area, but also from as far away as Chicago and Rockford. Two of our graduates, General Frederick Starring and Dr. John Maynard Woodworth of Chicago, the first surgeon general of the United States, are just two examples of the results of the fine education the school provided students in Warrenville.
4) Warrenville Historical Society (https://www.warrenvillehistorical.org/)
Preserving and presenting Warrenville History since 1980 – The purpose of the Warrenville Historical Society is to bring together those interested in Warrenville’s history, and to collect, preserve and display objects and documents that illustrate that history. The Historical Society is a self-supporting not-for-profit organization. The Warrenville Historical Society was organized in 1980 and the Society opened the Warrenville Historical Museum in 1984. Space was provided for the Museum in one room of the Greek Revival Style Albright Building through the generosity of the City of Warrenville, interest groups, businesses and individuals. The museum now encompasses the entire building. The Museum is supported by the Warrenville Historical Society Membership, donations, fund raisers, and the Warrenville Museum Guild, as well as a grant from the City of Warrenville.
5) Warrenville Cemetery – Take as stroll through history (You might want to check out Lot # 54)
The Warrenville cemetery association manages the cemetery. It is the oldest organization in town incorporated by the state legislature on March 3rd, 1845. The twelve of the graves in this cemetery were relocated from a plot east of Winfield Road and north of Main Street. During the civil war, the # of graves in the cemetery almost doubled. John player who was a former Sexton of the cemetery did the work installing the chain fence and the decorative bell towers at the entrance in 1963.
Plots of interest the following is a list of prominent citizens of Warrenville who are remembered for their contributions to our city.
Lot #92 Warren family plot Daniel and Nancy Warren, Colonel Julius Warren – founder of Warrenville.
Lot #63 Sophie Lambe 1834-1933 oldest this buried here – 99 years.
Lot #23 Seraph Warren Holmes- educator – opened the Warrenville Seminary. Home school was named after her.
Lot #15 Doctor Levi Ward – first recorded burial – 1836
Lot # 54 Manning family plot. This stone appeared in Ripley’s Believe it or Not for its unusual epitaph.
Lot #247 John Player – devoted Sexton of the cemetery who constructed the bell fence.
Lot #128 Chuck Paver – Fire Chief
Lot # 334 William T Stafford – first mayor of Warrenville
Last #1 Ezra Galusha – veteran of the War of 1812
Lot #162 Glenn Rogers veteran of World War One
Lot #101 Jack Richards veteran of World War One
Lot #47 Folwer boys – died in service.
Lot # 43 Munk boys – died in service.
Lot #96 Ashley Carpenter – died in service. Son of Sarah Warren and Able Carpenter
lot #50 Private Robert S. Aborn 1835 – 1864 served in company C 52nd Illinois Infantry service 1861-1863 headstone rededicated in 1996.
Lot #129 Private Jerome G Beardsley 1847 – 1895 served in Co. H 23rd Illinois Infantry service March-August 1865 headstone rededicated 1996.
Lot #142 Private Lucian V Resseguie 1838 – 1905 served in Co. D 105th Illinois Infantry service 1862 – 1865 had stone rededicated 1996.
Lot #87 Private Stephen D Ward 1819 – 1864 served in company C 7th Illinois Infantry died in service after being captured by the Confederates August 19th, 1864, headstone rededicated 1996.
Lot #5 Ransom Hiram Ostrander died January 5th, 1926, served in company H of the 13th Wisconsin Infantry. Headstone rededicated 1997.
6) Second DuPage Baptist Church
In August 1834, sixteen members of the First DuPage Baptist Church gathered in the home of Nancy and Daniel Warren to found the Second DuPage Baptist Church, now known as Community Baptist Church of Warrenville. The church received its charter from the Northern Baptist Association of Chicago in February of 1836.
In the early years, the Warrenville Church depended upon visiting and neighboring pastors, as well as its own members to fill the pulpit. Shortly after the church was chartered, Lyman B. King became the first Pastor.
The church building was destroyed by fire in 1935, after which the present structure was built. The church facility was expanded in 1955 with the addition of an education building. Today, the William Wallace Education Building is the home of our Sunday School classes, a library, the church offices, and Agapè Preschool, a ministry of the church.
The recent pastors of the church have all nurtured strong ecumenical ties with the other churches in the community. The Church periodically engages in formal planning, including self-assessment and goal setting, as it seeks God’s guidance for the future direction of our ministry of Living God’s Love for ALL God’s Children.
Community Baptist Church moves into the future with hopeful confidence that the same hand which guided us in the past and sustained us for more than 185 years will continue to guide us in the future.
7) Little Red School House
Warrenville and the American Civil War: Hudson Family
The American Civil War deeply affected every community across the North and the South. In Warrenville, 50 brave men volunteered to fight for the Union cause and 17 paid the ultimate price. As the war came to an end in 1865, 150 years ago, Warrenville tried to return to some normalcy, however the sadness left by war time loss would last for many years.
The Joseph and Mary Hudson family was a local Warrenville family that lost a loved one in the war. The family came to Warrenville from Elyria, Ohio, after first visiting Mrs. Hudson’s father, Abel Culver, in the growing community in 1844. With the promise of farm land, the family settled in the Warrenville area in 1845 after shipping their furniture over Lake Erie to Chicago. The Hudsons first stayed in Big Woods, but when Mr. Hudson’s farming plans did not materialize, he found temporary employment as a tavern-keeper in Warrenville and moved the family into town. A year later, in 1848, the family bought the former Little Red Schoolhouse building, formerly located at 3S463 Batavia Road. This building had served as the first public building in town and the home of the community’s school from 1836 through 1848 when the Hudsons moved in, enlarging and remodeling the structure to become a private residence.
During his active years Mr. Hudson dabbled in local politics, holding the offices of justice of the peace, constable, township collector, and three times he was elected tax assessor (1852, 1853, and 1866). The last office may or may not have brought him popularity. At any rate, there was much coming and going at the Hudson home, especially while he was justice of the peace. Mr. Hudson also served in the affairs of the cemetery association as a director, trustee, secretary, and treasurer at various times.
The Hudsons had three children: Bowman, William and the oldest, Josephine. Josephine was a school teacher who never married and continued to live in the family home after her parents’ death. William, the middle child, joined the 8th Illinois Cavalry in December of 1863, and sadly died in a Richmond, Virginia, prison on March 4, 1865, just weeks before Confederate General Lee surrendered to Union General Grant.
Exert from: https://warrenvillehistorical.wordpress.com/tag/little-red-schoolhouse/
8) Julius Warren’s House
“COL. JULIUS M. WARREN, only son of Daniel Warren, a pioneer settler of Du Page County was born in Fredonia, New York, June 13, 1811, being the first white child born in Chautauqua County. He became a member of the New York militia, in which he attained the rank of colonel. With the family, he came to DuPage County in the autumn of 1833, and spent the balance of his life there. He was a very genial and happy dispositioned gentleman, and early became a favorite in society. A recent writer in the Chicago Herald speaks thus of the society of that today: “The society of all this region, including town and country, forty-five years ago, had its attractive seat and held its principal revelries in the valley of Fox river. ‘The best people’ that came out from the eastern states to settle in this region did not stop in Chicago, but made for the magnificent farming lands in this vicinity. Some came from central and western New York, where they had seen families of the aristocracy plant themselves and flourish on the fat lands of the Mohawk and Genesee valleys. To clear off timber and reduce those great farms to productivity, had taken half a century of time and had exhausted the lives of three generations. This was known to the new emigrants, and as they heard of or saw these Illinois lands, bare of obstinate trees, but clothed with succulent grasses, of nature’s sowing; in a climate that possessed no torridity, nor yet any destructive rigors; all this being known before hand, many refined and cultivated families came out with all their effects, and bought or entered land and proceed ed to make themselves homes, which, they had no doubt, would be homes to them for their natural lives.” Mr. Warren had a keen sense of humor and was always amiable and cheerful, which made him a favorite in all circles. Instead of disapproving the amusements of the young people, he always had a strong sympathy and interest in their pleasures. He was the constant attendant of his sisters, and often laughingly mentioned them as seven reasons why he should not marry. He was also devotedly attached to his mother who was justly proud of her only son. Together they kept house until her death, when he induced his nephew to bring his family to live on the old homestead at Warrenville, where he continued to reside. He passed away on the first of May, 1893, his last words being, “Take me home to my mother.” In speaking of Colonel Warren and the village of Warrenville, we again quote from the Herald: “He called in a storekeeper, a blacksmith, a cooper and a carpenter, and a tavern keeper came in good time. Naperville was a smaller village, having but two log houses. Aurora scarcely had a being, and St. Charles was not. But all along the banks of the Fox river were settlers of a high class, who had knowledge of and correspondence with the eastern portions of the United States. Foremost among these was Judge Whipple, who, acting with the Warrens, father and son, organized and gave direction to local affairs. They were without postal facilities of any kind, and every family had to send a member into Chicago for letters and papers. A letter from Buffalo to any place on the Fox river was from four to six weeks in coming, and to Chicago cost fifty cents postage. Colonel Warren making use of eastern friends, got a post office (the first in the valley) established at Warrenville in 1833, and himself
appointed postmaster. He was his own mail-carrier, making weekly trips, on foot some times, to Chicago and out again, with letters and papers for distribution through his office to people in all that section. Colonel Warren held this office for fifty years, and only lost it when President Cleveland came in the first time.” Although chiefly self-educated, Colonel Warren was a thoroughly well-read man, and was admirably fitted for a leader in politics, as well as in society. He represented his district for three successive terms in the State Legislature, from 1840 to 1843, but refused to longer remain in public life, preferring the quiet joys of his home and neighborhood to anything the capital or metropolis might offer. He continued to manage the large homestead farm until his death. He was a loyal adherent of the Republican party, having espoused its leading principles before its organization. The following incident will indicate the kindly nature of Colonel Warren and his noble mother, as well: A young lawyer of Chicago, now known
throughout Illinois as the venerable ex-Chief Justice of the State, John Dean Caton, fell sick of fever while staying at the log tavern in Naperville, one of the two buildings of that village. Hearing of the case, Colonel Warren went at once to see what he could do to render the sufferer comfortable, and soon decided to remove him to his own home, where he could receive better nursing than at the little frontier tavern. This probably saved the life of the patient, who attributes his recovery to the careful nursing of Mrs. Warren and her daughters, with such aid as Colonel Warren could apply. The last-named saw the completion of his eighty-second year, full of humor and harmless badinage to the last, and died as the result of an attack of pneumonia, after an illness of only two days, leaving as an inspiration to those who come after the record of a well-spent life.”
Exert from: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15780999/julius-morton-warren
9) Community Baptist Church
In August 1834, sixteen members of the First DuPage Baptist Church gathered in the home of Nancy and Daniel Warren to found the Second DuPage Baptist Church, now known as Community Baptist Church of Warrenville. The church received its charter from the Northern Baptist Association of Chicago in February of 1836.
In the early years, the Warrenville Church depended upon visiting and neighboring pastors, as well as its own members to fill the pulpit. Shortly after the church was chartered, Lyman B. King became the first Pastor.
The church building was destroyed by fire in 1935, after which the present structure was built. The church facility was expanded in 1955 with the addition of an education building. Today, the William Wallace Education Building is the home of our Sunday School classes, a library, the church offices, and Agapè Preschool, a ministry of the church.
The recent pastors of the church have all nurtured strong ecumenical ties with the other churches in the community. The Church periodically engages in formal planning, including self-assessment and goal setting, as it seeks God’s guidance for the future direction of our ministry of Living God’s Love for ALL God’s Children.
Community Baptist Church moves into the future with hopeful confidence that the same hand which guided us in the past and sustained us for more than 190 years will continue to guide us in the future.
10) Warren Tavern
The Warren Tavern is operated by a group of volunteer residents called the Warren Tavern Preservationist. The Tavern is located at 3S540 Second Street and its mailing address is P.O. Box 17, Warrenville, IL 60555.
The Warren Tavern Museum was built in 1838 as a hotel. The Founder of Warrenville, “Colonel” Julius Morton Warren, built this historic landmark of DuPage County.
“…[Colonel Warren] built a fine hotel and spacious hall in it for dancing. It was patronized by the elite of Chicago as well as Naperville and the Fox River towns, and here it was that John Wentworth made his debut into social circles…no more refined and truly aesthetic circles than these dancing and private parties have ever graced the elegant drawing room of even Chicago since that eventful period”
Rufus Blanchard History of DuPage County (1882) With the owners slating the landmark for demolition in 1991, a group of volunteers banded together to form the Warren Tavern Preservationists, Inc., to assume the responsibility of; relocating, restoring, maintaining, and interpreting the 1838 Warren Tavern-Hotel. On October 7, 1992, the landmark made a triumphal journey to its new home on Second Street, in the designated Historical Park arranged for by the City of Warrenville.
Today, the Warren Tavern Museum is located one block north west of the Warrenville and Winfield Road intersection, adjacent to the Albright Studio, which houses the Warrenville City Museum. The Tavern is still managed by Warren Tavern Preservationist volunteers and is available to rent for social events. This building is suitable for small functions such as, wedding showers, birthday parties, family gatherings, organization or club meetings, craft sales, lectures and much more. To view the Tavern or to arrange for rental contact, Carla Kibler at (630) 393-4001.
Exert from: https://www.warrenville.il.us/543/Warren-Tavern