Smile Politely

Solon House tours offered on May 7th

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).

Staff writer

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