Despite the Barnard family compiling extensive histories of the community and detailed records, their first one-room cabin and first house received only minor mentions in obituaries and newspapers articles. Local historians knew there was a first house of Erastus and Mary Lavinia Barnard, but the house was thought to no longer exist.
It wasn't until 2025 that the house at 1602 W. 108th Place was identified as their first house. The house had been moved from Beverly Hills to Morgan Park in 1924. Its history was subsequently forgotten.
I have not been inside the house to see the conditions. From the outside, there are boarded-up broken windows and a hole in the roof. While the interior may need to be gutted, hopefully some original interior details are salvageable.
The house is zoned RS-2. Permitted by-right uses include detached house, community home, cultural exhibits, library, day care, vacation rental, or shared housing unit. The building is outside the Additional Dwelling Unit-Allowed Area South Zone, so a conversion unit or coach house is currently not allowed with the current city ordinances.
Preservation-related grants and tax credits would likely be available if the house is landmarked at the city or national level and dependent on the type of building reuse/purpose. If the house is designated a Chicago Landmark, it could open up a significant Adopt-A-Landmark grant that might cover much of the restoration as well as other preservation-related tax credits. Additional tax credits and grants are available if the property were designated a national landmark, again dependent on the reuse. Community development grants from the City of Chicago may also be available to certain types of reuse partners.