Stonehouse History

The Nisbet Homestead Farm at Stonehouse Park is located in southern DeKalb County. The farm has a rich local history. Matthew Nisbet, the architect and builder of the Stone House immigrated to the United States from Scotland and crossed the country from New York to Illinois. Matthew Nisbet settled in DeKalb County, Illinois in 1841. He began construction of the Stone House in 1848. During construction, it took 5 days round trip for an oxcart to deliver limestone blocks from the Ottawa quarry. Each delivery brought between one and five blocks. With over 600 blocks, it took 15 years to complete the house. The builder's initials M. N. and the year of completion, 1863 are carved into the lintel above the front door of the house. The Stonehouse is of the Greek Revival style with approximately 2500 square feet of living space.

Interesting Architectural Facts

Matthew Nisbet constructed the Stone House in a very unique manner. He left a two inch air gap between the wooden frame of the house and the limestone exterior. Each room had a wood burning stove for heat with the smoke venting into the air gap. This provided central heating for the home and kept the air inside the walls dry, preventing the wood from rotting. Other limestone buildings from this time period connected the wood framing directly to the stone. When the stone sweats the moisture is absorbed into the wood, leading to rot and the eventual deterioration of the building. The air gap also provides a barrier that traps the cool air in the summer, thus keeping the house cooler than standard timber frame construction. Another unique innovation associated with the Stone House was running water. A windmill, still extant on the site, was used to pump water from a nearby limestone lined well, to an above ground cistern. This in turn provided gravity fed water to the house and farm. The well and cistern exist to this day and are also included on the National Historic Registry. An air space beneath the cistern was used as a storage area. The temperature beneath cistern was very cool and provided an early form of refrigeration.

Persons of Note

Before and during the construction of the Stone House, the Nisbet family lived in a two story log cabin located east of the Stone House. The limestone foundation stones of the original structure are still at the site, approximately 100 feet east of the current Stone House. Oral Nisbet family history speaks fondly of Matthew's friendship with Chief Shabbona of the Potawatomi Indians. Chief Shabbona often came to the homestead on Saturday nights for dinner, trading deer meat for onions grown on the farm. Chief Shabbona often camped at nearby Coon Groove. A property dispute in 1843 between Matthew Nisbet and a neighboring land owner, Ross, went through the Illinois court system, finally making its way to the Illinois Supreme Court (Ross vs. Nisbet, 7 Ill. 252). The case was decided in favor of Matthew Nisbet in January 1845. Representing Matthew Nisbet before the Illinois Supreme Court was then Springfield attorney Abraham Lincoln.

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