The 1958 courthouse was the second courthouse built in Mount Carroll after
the county seat had been relocated here in 1843. A Greek Revival structure
designed by architects William Olmstead & Peter Nicholson, it is built of
local stone and locally made brick. The 1958 courthouse is a National
Historic Landmark and was entered on the National register of Historic
Places November 26, 1973.
Owen P. Miles settled in Mt. Carroll in 1854 and entered the employ of
the mill as a bookkeeper. He later acquired an interest in the mill
company. In 1859, Miles was elected treasurer of Carroll County, a
position he held for 14 years. O. P. Miles also held various town offices
and, after 1878, was cashier of the First National Bank. This, his second
residence, was constructed in 1873.
The Hotel Glenview was erected by the Mount Carroll Hotel Company, Judge B. L. Patch,
president. The brick is from the local Hallett brickyard and the cost of construction
in 1886 was $20,000. “Our home is your home” warmly welcomed many a traveler when
the hotel was at its peak during the height of the passenger train. Local residents
may well remember the superb dining and delightful atmosphere of the hotel’s
dining room.
In 1841 Emmert, Halderman & Co. purchased a mill site on Carroll Creek for $3,000. The company then contracted with Daniel Hurley to build the dam and lay the foundations for the mill in return for 160 acres on land. The new flouring mill attracted ox and horse teams from far beyond the county borders which waited in line with their wheat to be ground into the best flour made in its day. Month of June
A Native of Pennsylvania, Uriah Green emigrated to Carroll County in 1841, settling on a farm north of Mt. Carroll near the Jo Daviess County line. Having amassed a sufficient fortune in farming and stock raising to be characterized by profession as a “Capitalist,” he moved to Mt. Carroll city in 1873 the year this home was built. Green held offices of School Trustee and School Director and was a director of the First National Bank.
Nathaniel Halderman, one of the founders of Mt. Carroll and the first
mayor of the city of Mt. Carroll, had this gracious Italianate home
built in 1854. Emmert, Halderman & Co. were responsible for contracting
the mill site on Carroll Creek, and by offering some 40 acres of land and
$1,000 played a key role in attracting the county seat from Savanna to
this city in 1843.
Metcalf Hall, dated 1907, was named in honor of Mrs. Sarah Metcalf, a life-long friend of Shimer College whose son, Dr. Henry S. Metcalf was long president of the Board of Trustees. The Hall is but part of the beautiful ensemble of Georgian Revival buildings constructed after a fire demolished the original Shimer College campus in 1905. Purchased in 1979 by the Restoration College Association, the campus now houses The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies with Metcalf Hall as the administrative core.
