Illinois Landmarks Added to National Register of Historic Places

Watson House

Polo, Ogle County

The David and Julia Watson House, built in 1900 and designed by Rockford architect E. F. Dowling, is a substantial Shingle Style residence. The Shingle Style, developed in New England in the early 1880s, is uniquely American. Its single defining feature, a continuous wall surface clad in wood shingles, became ubiquitous in upper class suburban America and in resort and vacation communities throughout the country in the 1880s and ’90s. Inside and out, the Watson home exhibits many elements that define the style, including a wide and low building profile, long open porch in the front, shingle-cladding, a central hall with inglenook, and fine woodworking throughout.