Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
“Wear House is a historic house located south of Princeville, Peoria County, Illinois. Wear, a farmer from Ohio, had the house built in 1870.”
Wikipedia article Washington C. Wear House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 35 National Register listings published here for Peoria County · listed in 1993 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Princeville Township in The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .., published 1880 names Princeville. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Is situated in the northern portion of the count}', on section 13 of Princeville township, on the Peoria and Rock Island railroad, twenty-two miles from Peoria, and is a nourishing town of about 900 inhabitants. It was laid out and named by Wm. C. Stevens, on the 20th day of June, 1837, in the midst of a rich and fertile prairie.
Passage source: The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .., published 1880.
The first store in Princeville was kept by Elisha Morrow, on block No. 9, (owned by Thos. Morrow,) in a log building, where he remained about two years. Afterwards, Mr. Wm. C. Stevens put in a small stock of goods - as he says - to hold the village together. After the closing out of Morrow, Hitchcock & Rowley embarked in business in the same building. They were afterwards succeeded by J. W. Gue, in 1851, where he remained a short time and then built the brick store now occupied by F. B. Blanchard, it being the first brick store in the town.
Passage source: The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .., published 1880.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Princeville Township - 1,078 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Washington C. Wear House: 3 past producers, 2 occurrences, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Run Creek Shale Exposure | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Chipman Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Stoekers Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Long Rock Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Princeville, the town this property stands in, in 32 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 16 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2022 | Lightning | Princeville | $50,000 | A house was struck by lightning near the intersection of Highway 91 and Streitmatter Road causing a fire that damaged the attic. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $40,000 | Several trees were blown down. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $30,000 | The roof of a greenhouse was damaged just west of Princeville. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $25,000 | Two outbuildings were destroyed. A garage was damaged, with debris from the structure blocking a road. One horse was injured. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $15,000 | A few trees were uprooted and numerous tree branches were blown down. The roof of a barn was lifted up on the back wall and flashing/gutter damage occurred to the roof of a house. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $15,000 | Numerous tree limbs were blown down in Princeville. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $3,000 | A 16-inch diameter tree was blown down. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $1,000 | An 18-inch diameter tree was snapped. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | A tree was blown down across a road. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | Several tree branches were broken. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | A 59 mph gust was measured by the emergency manager two miles south of Princeville. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | A 12-inch diameter tree limb was blown down. |
| July 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Princeville | - | A tornado briefly touched down in a field 3.1 miles SSE of Princeville at 5:45 PM CDT. The tornado tracked ENE and quickly dissipated 2.2 miles NW of Dunlap at 5:53 PM CDT. No damage was reported. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | Numerous 3 inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.| |
| April 2006 | Hail | Princeville | - | Hail ranging from nickel size to 2 inches in diameter from the vicinity of Princeville, to Dunlap, to Rome, to Chillicothe. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree 2 miles west of Princeville. No injuries or damage were reported. |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | Thunderstorm winds took the roof off of a trailer and blew down several trees 2 miles north of Princeville. No injuries or damage estimate were available. |
| May 1995 | Tornado (F1) | Princeville | - | A tornado touched down 1 W of Princeville and traveled to the east northeast. Two homes were destroyed and two homes had major damage. Several outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed, as well as, numerous trees. Also, a country club in Edelstein sustained major roof damage. Numerous power poles were blown down as well. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| February 2017 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| November 2013 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| April 2012 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Princeville | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Jubilee College | 6.1 miles | 1972 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 93000838 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Peoria County | All 35 listed properties in this county. |
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