Minard House
(Jones House, Farson House)
504 E. Main Street

Early settler, Ira Minard, built this frame house in 1842. Steven Sandborn Jones bought the house in 1843. Jones, a native of Vermont who moved to St. Charles in 1838, is thought to have proposed St. Charles’ name in 1839 after he learned that another Illinois town had already chosen the name “Charleston”. He later proved instrumental in securing the town's charter in 1849. The first lawyer in St. Charles, Jones was also a Kane County Judge from 1843-1846. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Franklin Medical College, and built the Tremont Hotel in 1850. Jones was murdered in 1877.

At one time, Jones’ law office was attached to the west side of the house. The office was moved in 1988 to its current location at the Dunham-Hunt Museum. During the Civil War, the house served as an army recruiting headquarters. The small law office building served as a holding cell for deserting soldiers. Evidence of the soldiers' presence is still apparent--an exposed portion of plaster displays the graffiti they left behind.

Today the former residence houses shops and businesses.

For additional photographs, see these sources, more fully described in the Bibliography.

St. Charles Illinois p 42
Celebrating History p 19

Also see...

Camp Kane

Sources

• Calby, Shirley. "A Lawyers Life is Brought to Order." St. Charles Chronicle 14 Sept. 1988, Our Towns:10.
• Clauter, Hazel. Our Community--St. Charles. 1967.
• Costerisan, John. "A Lot of History in a Small Space, First Law Office Thought to be First Courthouse." Kane County Chronicle 25 May 1999, A:9:1.
• Pearson, Ruth Ann. Reflections of St. Charles. Elgin: Brethern Press, 1976.
• St. Charles Historical Society. Celebrating History: A Pictorial Essay of St. Charles Illinois. St. Charles: St. Charles Historical Society, 1990.
• St. Charles, Illinois. Historic Main Street Self-Guided Walking Tour. St. Charles: St. Charles Heritage Society, 1999.