I’ve driven by this house on the corner of State and Healey for years, never knowing exactly what it was all about. After seeing an event posting on Facebook, I looked up some info and found out a few things.
The house was originally built between 1865-1869, and was purchased by Francis Solon in 1907. The family maintained ownership into the 1980’s. According to a News-Gazette article, once vacated it became a place where homeless residents took shelter, leading to a fire in the kitchen.
Now, it’s owned by PACA– Preservation & Conservation Association of Champaign County, and they are opening it up to the public for tours on Saturday, May 7th from 11am-5pm.
A fun tidbit: the PACA website has archived all of it’s newsletters since 1981, which is where I found some of the history of the house. You can read more here.
Here’s the poster for the event (found on the Champaign Urbana History Facebook page).
