Stolp Woolen Mill Store
National Register of Historic Places

Stolp Woolen Mill Store

Aurora, Kane County, Illinois
Listed
August 31, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
83000319

About this property

The Stolp Woolen Mill Store was built in 1860. It is located on Stolp Island in Aurora, Illinois. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is also a contributing building in the Stolp Island Historic District. Joseph G. Stolp built the Stolp Woolen Mill Store in 1861. Stolp was one of the first settlers of Aurora, Illinois and operated a wool carding business. Stolp had previously worked in wool manufacturing in Marcellus, New York. His first office was built in 1837 in a small frame building on Stolp Island. He bought a brick mill in 1849 and continued to grow the business. By the 1860s, he needed a new place to sell his goods outside of the mill. The growth of the railroad industry dramatically increased competition against Stolp's business, and he had to shut down the mill in 1887. The mill store was rented to C. C. Hinckley & Co., a local producer of watchmaking tools, and J. D. Rice & Sons, a painting and decoration company. In 1889, Stolp improved the building by rehabilitating the interior and adding an extension on the east. The mill store is the oldest building still standing on Stolp Island today. The building was recognized as a Historic Place by the National Park Service on September 1, 1983 and was listed as part of the Stolp Island Historic District when it was created three years later. The mill store building is 80 by 25 feet (24.4 m × 7.6 m) on the southwest corner of Downer Place and Stolp Avenue. The main entrance on the north was built during Stolp's 1889 renovation. Since then, the facade has been updated with modern wood and glass, but the design has not changed. An oriel window projects from the second floor with a flat window on either side. The bay window has a shallow cornice above the windows, with an ornamented pediment above the central window. A palmette design adorns the top of the gable at the apex. The first floor on the north side was updated to a modern glass storefront. piers can be found on either side of the facade, detailed at the time with limestone fluting. The only other exposed elevation is the eastern facade. The northernmost window remains from the 1889 addition with a limestone lintel.

Location

2 W. Downer Pl.
Aurora, Kane County, Illinois
41.75702, -88.31648

Categories

INDUSTRYCOMMERCEEXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

GAR Memorial Building
Industrial
0 mi
Keystone Building
Industrial
0 mi
Graham Building
Civil War
0 mi
Aurora Elks Lodge No. 705
Industrial
0.1 mi
Stolp Island Historic District
Modern
0.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Langford Tradition Conflicts
1350Pre-Columbian
6.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Stolp Woolen Mill Store listed on the National Register?

Stolp Woolen Mill Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 31, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Stolp Woolen Mill Store?

Stolp Woolen Mill Store is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Stolp Woolen Mill Store?

The period of significance for Stolp Woolen Mill Store is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1860.

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