Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Rev. 6-72) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Illinois COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES McLean INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY DATE (Type all entries - complete applicable sections) Clover Lawn AND/OR HISTORIC: David Davis House; Clover Lawn STREET AND.MUMBER: 1000 East Monroe Street CITY OR TOWN: CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Bloomington 21 COUNTY: Illinois McLean T13 CATEGORY ACCESSIBLE OWNERSHIP STATUS (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC n District jg Building Public Public Acquisition: (5 Occupied Yes: Restricted D Site Q Structure Private P~| In Process PI Unoccupied Unrestricted D Object Both P~| Being Considered C3 Preservation work in progress a REji^J^T USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Q Agricultural Government [ I Transportation PI Comments Q Commercial Industrial Private Residence [SJ Other (Specify) Q Educational Military Religious Residence I ] Entertainment Museum Scientific Custodian OWNER'S NAME: State of Illinois (The Illinois State Historical Library) ! STREET AND NUMBER: Old State Capitol CITY OR TOWN: Springfield Illinois 17 ••ViViVij; .^.v.v.-.v.-.-.v.-.-.-.-•• •• .-.•.-.-.-.vyy/.-.-.•••.• .-.-.•>.-.- -T••.-.-.-.-X-.'.-T-.-.•••.•,•.-.-.•.-.•.-.• -• •• ••-• -• -v•vv.y.-^-i^x-y-jV;-_-;.;. COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Office of the County Recorder STREET AND NUMBER: McLean County Courthouse, Main at Washington* CITY OR TOWN: Bloomington Illinois 17 TITLE OF SURVEY: Historic American Buildings Survey; National Register DATE OF SURVEY: 2.0,62 ; 1971 Federal State [~1 County | | Local DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: « Library of Congress; National Register of Historic Places STREET AND NUMBER: ; 1100 L Stree, N¥. CITY OR TOWN: STATE: Washington B.C. 11 (Check One) Excellent D Good Q Fair £] Deteriorated Q Ruins Q Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) Altered Q Unaltered D Moved X3 Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (i/ fcnown.) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The following1 description is based in part on the Illinois State Historical Library's pamphlet Clover Lawn: The David Davis Mansion, A Musuem of Nineteenth-Century Living (Springfield,n.d.). The approximately k^ acres on which the David Davis House now stands was originally part of a 200-acre farm owned by Bloomington attorney Jesse Fell. Davis acquired the property in 1844, added 1,000 acres to it, enlarged the two-story f ramehouse, and named the estate "Clover Lawn." After being appointed to the Supreme Court, Davis considered moving his family .to, Tfashington, but he decided instead to build a new house in Bloomington. To plan the structure, he selected Alfred H. Piquenard, one of the most prominent </> architects in the Midwest. m Piquenard designed a magnificent edifice in the Italian m Villa style, and construction began in May 1870, when the old Fell house was moved to one side. Workmen finished the exterior of the new house the following spring, then took a year to complete the interior. The Davis family moved into IS* their new home late in 1872, and the judge occupied it until his death. His descendants lived in the house until I960, 70 when it was given to the State of Illinois. At present the Illinois Sta ;te Historical Library maintains the structure as n a house, museum that depicts Victorian-era life as lived by one prominent family. Although some restoration has been dpne^, generally, the house is. little, altered and. contains many of the original Davis furnishings. These include o mant-elpieces, books, paintings, and children's toys. z <s> The Davis House is a two-story, 20-room, .brick structure with a truncated hip roof topped by iron cresting and six corbeled brick chimneys. Consisting of a slightly irregular central block and one rear wing, the massive dwelling covers an area approximately 6k by 88 feet, rests on a sandstone foundation, con.tains a full basement and full attic, and has a 2^--story entrance tower with a mansard roof and iron cresting.r Limestone quoins decorate the corners of the house, while scroll brackets and a boxed cornice with paneled frieze ornament the roofline. A pedimented portico with entablature and Doric supporting columns shelters the front entrance, which leads through the tower, and single-tiered porches .extend part way across the front ;and the west side. Both galleries are highly ornamented and feature iron railings and crestings. A one-story octagonal bay projects from the east side, and a two-story rectangular bay protrudes from the west side. The windows display various designs, but all ____(continued)_____________ t-iviviViViyiViY-'-'-Y-1- :::vv:v:vv-:v:v:v ••;:•:•:•:• PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) Q Pre-Columbian! Q 16th Century Q 18th Century ,20th Century D 15th Century D 17th Century 01 l$th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) i860 —1886 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal Q) Education g Political I1 Urban Planning Q Prehistoric Q Engineering. D R»ligio*£Rbi.-> Q Other (Specify) Q Historic - |~~| ' Industry losophy I | Agriculture [ | Invention |1 Science [jjj] Architecture Q Landscape | | Sculpture D Art Architecture | 1 Social/Human­ |~1 Commerce Q Literature itarian | | Communications Q Military [~1 Theater | | Conservation n' Music | | Transportation STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Biographer Villard L. King suggests that with the exception of John Randolph,' David Davis "might be called the most prominent Independent in American history."1 Some scholars might dispute that "claim, but none would question Allan Nevins 1 assertions that "few Illinois leaders of his time enjoyed greater popularity than David Davis, and none in the second rank of eminence laid a deeper impress on events."2 in i860, while a circuit judge, Davis headed the Abraham Lincoln forces at the Republican National Convention and was more responsible than any other individual for Lincoln's nomination. From 1862 to 1877 Davis served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, and in 1866 he wrote the majority opinion in Ex parte Milligan. By restrict ing the right of military courts to try civilians, the Milligan decision aroused much controversy, but according to constitutional historians Alfred H. 'Kelly and Vinfred A. Harbison, Davis' opinion "came to be considered as one of the real bulwarks of American" civil lib'erty.'"'3 Vhile on the High Court, Davis defied precedent, maintained an active interest in politics, and almost garnered the Liberal Republican Presidential nomination in 1872. Less than 5 years later, he' appeared destined to become the independent 15th member of a special Electoral Commission formed by Congress to determine the result of the disputed 1876 Presidential election. Before the position could be offered to Davis, however, the Illinois Legislature elected him to the U.S. Sena'te, thereby 1 (destroying the probable political balance of the Commission and practically insuring the victory of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Finally, follow­ ing the assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881 Davis served as President pro tempore of the Senate for 15 months, and during that time he was the designated successor to-President Chester A. Arthur. (continued) (Cambridge,Villard 194o), L. King, 307. Lincoln's Manager; David Davis 2 Allan Nevins, "Foreword," in ibid., p. xi. Alfred H. Kelly and Vinfred A..Harbison, The American Constitution; Its Origins and Development. 4th Edition(New YorK, kk'7 . fit The Illinois State Historical Library, Clover Lawn: The David Davis Mansion, A Mus eum of Nineteenth-Century Living (Springfield, n.d.) Kelly, Alfred H. , and Vinfred A. Harbison, The American Constitution: Its Origins and Development. 4th Edition (New York, 1970). King, Villard L. , Lincoln's Manager: David Davis (Cambridge J-^OU J « Randall, J. G. , and David Donald, The Civil ¥ar and Reconstruct! on . ?rl PH i -f- -i r»n /-n^^4-r-.n-. T A / i -t - LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGf-'JDE COORDINATE^ DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY 0 DEFINING THc. ttisTER POINT OF A PROPERTY ROF LESS THAN TEN ACRES CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW o , 0 kO ° 28 ' 56 ' 85° 58 ' k7 " NE ° o SE ° o SW 9 ' • 01. APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: n ). 1 [LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPIN"G STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE: CODE COUNTY CODE rn m STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE NAME AND TITLE: George R. Adams, Managing Editor n ORGANIZATION DATE -i American Association for State and Local History Dec. 1, 197* STREET AND NUMBER: o 1315 Eighth Avenue South z CITY OR TOWN: STATE CODE Nashville Tennessee 47 As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na­ tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law I hereby certify that this property is included in the 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion National Register, in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the c-iteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Director, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation level of significance of this nomination is: National Q] State Q Local Q Date Name ATTEST: Title Keeper of The National Register Date Date GPO 931.894 Form 10-300a UNITED SI ,£S DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Illinois NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES McLean INVENTORY • NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER Davis House (Continuation Sheet) (Number all entries) (Page 2) 7. Description (cont'd.) have limestone sills and are either segmentally or semi circularly arched. Of particular note are the carved lime­ stone labels that top several second-story windows on the right front and the east and west sides. Also interesting are the Victorian round dormers with overhanging gables that adorn each side of the mansard tower roof.