Newman House, Harvard Built on a hill in 1873 on land purchased six years earlier by Frank and Louisa Newman, this Italianate style house is constructed of brick that may have been handmade on site by Newman and his father-in-law, Washington Hammond. Brick masons by trade, it is possible they operated a brick kiln on site. Upon close examination, one finds the names and initials of various family members pressed into the clay bricks. This was done before firing. These bricks are scattered here and there on the house's exterior. The Italianate style farmhouse contains a kitchen, dining room, parlor and a sewing room that has since been converted to a bathroom on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor. There is also a partial basement or possibly a root cellar. A wooden porch was added sometime after construction. Both Newman and Hammond served in the 12th Illinois infantry and fought at Vicksburg during the Civil War.
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Harvard
In tribute to Harvard’s founding fathers, graves from the original Harvard cemetery were relocated to Mount Auburn after the cemetery was established in 1867. The residents of Harvard contributed local stone to build the cemetery’s chapel in 1936. This tranquil place encompasses a glorious landscape of gardens, shrubs, trees, and native prairie that has become home to a multitude of colorful songbirds. There are many prominent figures buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, including the grandfather of President Gerald Ford. These are but a few of the signifigant interments at Mount Auburn Cemetery: Elbridge Ayer Burbank, the famous 1880 Old West artist; Edward Ayer, the founder of the world famous Field Museum in Chicago; and Elbridge Ayer, the grandson of Elbridge Gerry who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence (and the source of the word "gerrymandering"). Rudolphus Hutchinson, Harvard
Rudolphus Hutchinson and his second wife relocated from Vermont to Illinois to raise their sons. Hutchinson, a prominent local figure, was the Justice-of-the-Peace for the area and his house served as courthouse, jail, and stage stop. Potawatomi Chief Big Foot, also a former area resident, was his frequent houseguest. The 1840 Gothic Revival-style brick house was built between 1838 and 1840 and is known locally as the "house of seven gables". The building sports whimsical touches of Victorian influence in the lofty peaks and curved gothic windows. Each of the seven gables is topped with a decorative finial representing a sign of the zodiac. The red transom glass over a doorway hints at a possible Underground Railroad connection. The property possesses two buildings that predate the main house, a smokehouse as well as a carriage house with an original wood-burning stove. The barn is of Germanic origin and has notched timbers that are believed to have been rafted down from the forests of Wisconsin before the advent of the railroad.
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