Charles O. Boynton House - History

History

Planning for the Charles Boynton House began in 1886, by Boynton. His hand picked architect was George O. Garnsey of Chicago, who had designed a number of prominent structures in DeKalb and in Sycamore. Many of those structures are listed on the National Register either individually or as part of the Sycamore Historic District. The Queen Anne style mansion was completed by April 1887 at a cost of about $12,000.

The house remained in the Boynton family for around 100 years but went through numerous changes throughout its history. In the 1940s the family converted the first floor of the home for use as a gift, antique and women's clothing shop. To add merchandise space they enclosed the porch with glass and consolidated their living quarters to the upper floor. Finally, in 1986, the home left the hands of the Boynton family as third generation Lillian Boynton put the home up for sale, asking $275,000. The home, nearby Charles O. Boynton Carriage House, and surrounding property sold for $207,000.

The home's new owners set about remodeling, mostly the interior of the home. Outside they returned the porch to its 1880s appearance. The third floor had originally held a grand ballroom, said to have been even larger than that in the Ellwood House. At its height the ballroom was lavishly decorated and furnished. Even in the home's last years with Lillian Boynton the ballroom still retained its deteriorated original wallpaper and gas chandeliers. After the sale, the ballroom was gutted to make way for a new master bedroom.

The home hit the market for the third time in a little over 100 years in 1997. Both the home and carriage house passed hands, separately this time, due to bankruptcy proceedings. The home, at 8,824 square feet (819.8 m2) remained a single family home while the carriage house was converted for office space.