Every week we publish a historic photo highlighting a story from Naperville’s past from the history archives of Naper Settlement.
In 1883, George Martin built the house featured in the photo that accompanies this column. Named Pine Craig, the residence was a way to showcase the building materials produced by his brick, tile and limestone companies.
The home’s grandeur was a symbol of the wealthy “pioneer” family’s success at the time. George and his wife, Sibelia, lived there with their daughters, Elizabeth, Catherine and Caroline, each of whom played a prominent role in the family businesses following their father’s death in 1889.
Pine Craig was described in 1880s newspaper articles as a “suburb” of Naperville as it was part of a sizable piece of property outside the town’s boundaries. Built on Locust Hill, overlooking the DuPage River, the house was designed by Aurora architect Joseph A. Mulvey in a mix of styles known as Victorian eclectic, which was popular in the late 19th century.
The home’s bricks, made at the Martin-Von Oven factory in Naperville, were parged, meaning they were coated with cement mortar for waterproofing and to enhance their appearance.
There was also a carriage house on the property that served as a stable for Nelly, the family’s horse, and a garage to store the family’s buggy and sleigh and, later, Caroline’s automobile.
Limestone was a major industry in Naperville through the early 20th century, and Martin’s quarry grew even more successful following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, when Chicagoans needed materials to rebuild the city.
The tile and brick works Martin owned with Ernst Von Oven also supplied tiles used in construction of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition site.
Martin’s business office was located inside his home. Business visitors would enter via the porte-cochere where they would see the name “Martin” engraved in a glass transom over the door.
The double door in the photo would have been used by social callers.
The layout and furnishings of Pine Craig were fairly typical of a wealthy family’s home in an American small town in second half of the 19th century. There was a custom-built main staircase constructed by local craftsman Levi Shafer and the windows were purchased via mail-order from Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Following George’s death, his widow and three daughters became active partners in the family’s brick, drain tile and limestone businesses. Records that are now part of the Naperville Heritage Society’s collection include documents signed by all four women.
Eldest daughter Elizabeth, who had dwarfism, became a business partner in 1895 and but it was middle sister Catherine, known as Kitty, who was her father’s heir and ran his part of the partnership on behalf of her mother and sisters. She also was considered the head of the household.
Caroline, nicknamed Carrie, was the youngest. She married Hinsdale businessman Edward Grant Mitchell, a florist and greenhouse owner, after eloping with him to Milwaukee.
Caroline Martin Mitchell, who inherited the house following her mother and sisters’ deaths, was very proud of her family’s role in early Naperville’s settlement. In 1933 — the centennial of her father’s arrival in Naperville — she held a reception and program at Pine Craig to celebrate the occasion.
Caroline and her husband had no children. He would die in 1929 of complications from tuberculosis in 1929 and upon her death in 1936, the family home house and 212 acres were donated to the city of Naperville.
Per her arrangements, the house was to be used as a museum. It opened as the Martin Mitchell Museum in 1939 as part of the DuPage County Centennial Celebration.
Through a perpetual charitable trust, she appointed the city of Naperville as trustee of the estate. The terms directed that the land be used for the public good, and it’s now home to Naperville Central High School, Rotary Hill Park, Knoch Park, the Naperville Garden Plots, Von Oven Scout Reservation, Sportsman’s Park, Edward Hospital and Naperville Cemetery.
Pine Craig and its carriage house are part Naper Settlement, the only two buildings original to the Naperville history campus.
Andrea Field is the curator of history at Naper Settlement, www.NaperSettlement.org. Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
