The Baker's House Deep Dive
- Catherine Purcell
- Jan 30
- 3 min read
I'm starting the first blog of 2025 with one of the first homes I ever got the privilege of digging into. I enjoyed going back over it and refining my searches to include more little gems.
This house exists before 1885 in the local City Directories. It's since been divided up several times into various apartments, so it's original structure is difficult to determine and there is no architectural file online.
Tracing down the exact occupants in the 1885 City Directory is a little tricky. in the examples above, the city directory did not use typical address structures for every address. Some are as "r w s Market 5 s Springfield" which means residence, west side of Market, 5 houses south of Springfield" - Not the easiest to decipher, even with a map as a guide. Because of this, it's difficult to be certain of this house's exact occupants until 1900.
In 1900, The Bakers reside at this house. Valentine is an ice dealer, married to Sarah. They had two children, Emma, a Saleswoman, and Dora, a bookkeeper. Valentine and Sarah married in 1861 in Ohio.
I could find no photographs of either Sarah or Valentine Baker, though they were often described as some of the most earliest and pioneering residents of Champaign County. They died not long from each other, Valentine passing in 1907 and Sarah in 1911.
One can easily imagine how important Valentine's role was in the days before electricity and refrigerators when ice was a rare commodity for keeping one's food fresh.
After Mr. and Mrs. Baker died, their children took over their residence. Emma was a saleslady at the G.C. Willis store downtown. Dora never married, and worked as a stamp secretary and bookkeeper. She is buried near her parents in Hope Cemetery.
After this, the Wilson family takes residence next and is by far one of the most interesting occupants of this address!
James F Wilson came into the house in 1916. He was the son of Private John and Jane Wilson of Champaign and born Aug 1870 and died Jul 1941. He married Alma Cora (Cline) Kreason September 29, 1910. He was a grocer and mail carrier. Alma was born 17 Nov 1876 to Ezra and Mary “Mell” Bender, early settlers of Monticello, IL. Her grandfather was a pioneer Physician in Monticello, originally from Ohio, Ananias Knott.
For a time, the tiny house behind it, 504 N Prairie, was used as a grocery store by Frank. Frank’s brother Thomas A Wilson occupied the house from 1920-1922 with his wife, Blanche. But Frank and Alma moved back in 1924 according to the city directories.
Frank Wilson enjoyed writing into the local papers about his position and the occasional tumbles he would have as a mail carrier. He and his wife Alma were much beloved in the community and featured in social goings-on frequently.
He lived there with his step daughter, Shirley, through 1941, when he passed.
Shirley Kreason graduated from Millikin University and married Cecil Kreig sometime in 1920. They lived in Canada for a time and then Shirley moved back in with her step-father. Cecil died in 1931. She found work as an editor in a magazine by 1940. In 1942 she married Ross Strout, a clerk, born in 1915. He served in WW2 as an Aeronautical Engineer in the Army Air Force. They do not appear to have had children of their own. Shirley eventually went on to teach at the U of I as a stenographer and editor and Ross taught courses on Mechanical Engineering. Shirley died in 1978 and Ross lived to be 81 in 1997.
It seems like the house was divided into Apartments by 1945, probably as an extra income for Ross and Shirley.
After this point, the house changed occupants frequently outside of the Strouts, with the back building remaining a small grocery store through the 1960s.
This old house certainly saw a lot of interesting occupants with rich and varied histories. Let me know if you have a question about your old house or an item in it you've always wondered about! I'd love to dig in!
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