DUNHAM CASTLE: The Dunham Legacy in the Fox River Valley

D

UNHAM

C

ASTLE

:

The Dunham Legacy in the Fox River Valley.

Edward G. FitzGeraldHIST 492Prof. Gildemeister05/09/05

Dunham Castle1

I

NTRODUCTION

“The castle came from Scotland and was reassembled stone by stone on a hill near

Wayne by immigrant stone masons. Ghosts inhabit its halls. Fierce dogs guard its fenced

grounds. . . .”

1

These are the sorts of myths that surround the Norman influenced castleMark Wentworth Dunham built at the end on the nineteenth-century. This curiousbuilding, located at the rather busy intersection of Army Trail and Dunham Roads, standsas a monument to old-fashioned American entrepreneurship and the extravagance of theVictorian age. Beyond the mysterious walls of the castle lay a local history rich in storiesof both high-class soirees and pioneer life.T

HE

D

UNHAMS OF

K

ANE

C

OUNTY

Solomon Dunham, born in 1794, was among the first to settle in the Fox Valley of Northern Illinois following the Black Hawk War, 1832. The war had opened millions of acres of land in Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. In the spring of 1835, Dunham, his wifeLydia and their eight children, Betsy, Daniel, Harriet, Jane, Delia, Julia, Franklin, andEmily, left their home in the Saratoga area of Upstate New York and began their overland journey.

2

By late April, the family arrived at Fort Dearborn in Chicago, only a smallvillage at the time, and Solomon continued on alone to stake his claim on the easternborder of an area known as the Little Woods in Saint Charles Township.In May 1835, the rest of the Dunham family arrived at the homestead andconstruction began on a small log cabin at the foot of the hill now occupied by the castle.

1

Bruce Smith. “Splendor of Past Lives on in West Suburban Landmark Castle.”

The Chicago Tribune

. 31May 1972. North West Section. 3.

2

Carol Cummins. “Dunham Castle: The Family, Grounds and Building.” St. Charles History Cente

rArchives (hereafter SCHC). Dunham Collection. Report, 4.

Dunham Castle2

The following year, the family began work on a more permanent home of red brick madefrom the clay found on site.

3

This home and the grounds are now the Dunham WoodsRiding Club. The two-story structure reflects the rustic style characteristic of simplepioneer architecture. Much of the interior of the lower floor is clad with black woodpaneling and large tiles. Upstairs, the rooms are small and simple, a far cry from thelavish dressings of the future Dunham home.Solomon Dunham appears to have been an influential figure in the early days of the Saint Charles Township. He is known to have formed an organization for the

protection of the pioneers’ land claims and had prevented several families from being

ousted from their homes.

4

Dunham had also held office on the Kane County’s first Board

of Commissioners and on July 7, 1853, was appointed the first postmaster of Wayne.Dunham was a civil engineer and surveyor by trade and when the first railroad west of Chicago (the Chicago and Galena) was being built, he pushed for the track to go throughhis own land.

5

The Village of Wayne moved from its original site east of the Dunham

property to a spot along the tracks where it is still located today. In 1857, Solomon’swife, Lydia, died and on April 2, 1865, Solomon Dunham, one of the Fox Valley’s most

influential settlers, perished at the age of seventy-four.

6

M

ARK

D

UNHAM AND HIS

P

ERCHERONS

The importance of the Dunham Family in the Fox Valley did not end with

Solomon. On June 22, 1842, Mark Wentworth Dunham, Solomon and Lydia’s youngest

3

Ruth S. Pearson. “Castle in Wayne.” Interview with Jane Dunham. (date unknown.) SCHC. Dunham