Description

The Morgan-Wells House, also known as the Norwood-Morgan-Wells House, was added to the United States National Register of Historic Place on November 16, 1977. Edward Wells, owner of a cooperage firm, built this grand Italianate house facing Jersey Street onto an earlier structure in 1860.  J.E. Norwood, a pork packer, built the original structure at the rear in 1853.  Elements common to the Italianate style include a low-pitched hipped roof, paired brackets, window hoods, an arched entryway, and a full-width, single-story porch.  A Quincy banker, Lorenzo Bull, who owned the home by 1901, gave it to the Cheerful Home Association and it became the first licensed children’s home in the state of Illinois in 1901. In 1933 the YWCA purchased the home for $10.

On October 17, 2016, the Quincy City Council approved a demolition permit for the Morgan-Wells House to allow the expansion of offices for the local newspaper.  Before its demolition, 12,000 board feet of wood was salvage, giving new life to fifteen tons of reclaimed material.  This structure will always be remembered as a timeless landmark that represents a large part of Quincy’s historical past.

Our goal at Sangamon Reclaimed is to honor our past and preserve it for future generations to come.  The heirloom-quality pieces we built allow this structure to live on for years to come.