There are more pre-designed
“kit” homes in the SRC region,
built by the moderately
affluent who lived here from
the mid-1800s to World War
Two; but no others are open
for regular tours. They were
designed for generations of
use (and stories), rather than
built to last only 50 or 60
years, as are many modern
middle-class wood frame
homes.
By contrast, the Hegeler
Carus Mansion in LaSalle,
14 miles west of Ottawa, is
the creation of wealthy Ger
man industrialist Edward
Hegeler, who immigrated to
SRC in 1856 to build one of
the largest zinc smelting operations
in 19th Century America.
In 1874 he commissioned
this lavish 57-room, 16,000
square foot home. In the tra
dition of 19th Century industrialists,
the Second Empire
home was next to Hegeler’s
factory—its successor company,
Carus Chemical, is still
adjacent to the mansion.
In the right light, the house
looks a little like the Addams
Family mansion. Like Gomez
and Morticia’s TV home,
the exterior subtly misleads
observers. The brick façade
was covered with thick stucco
veneer, then smoothed and
tooled to give the illusion of
massive stone blocks.
Like Reddick Mansion, the
interior restoration is a workin
progress, and the work
required to return the insides
to turn-of-the 20th Century
grandeur threaten to overwhelm
the foundation responsible
for its maintenance. But
the stories still ooze from its
rooms, walls, and the lips
of informative and friendly
guides.
Hegeler-Carus Mansion is
another example of how the
rich-and-powerful lived before
income tax, but is more
egalitarian, and less ‘Vanderbilt
ish.’ A key family story
is of Renaissance men and
women inviting others from
around the globe to consider
new philosophical views, and
reconcile science and religion
through research and objective
inquiry—with a tolerance
not found in 21st Century
political and religious debate.
In 1887, Hegeler launched
Open Court Publishing Company,
at the mansion (the
name proclaims free thought
and inquiry). His son-in-law,
Paul Carus, was the company’s
most prolific author. His
salient work, The Gospel of
Buddha, did not advocate
Buddhism, but rather, explained
the Eastern religion
for Gilded Age readers.
If you take in the stories of
Starved Rock Country in your
next visit to the region, you
will surely come back for
more.