John F. Bretz House and Warehouse

John F. Bretz was born in Kentucky in 1844 to John Bretz, a native of Germany and a brickmaker, and his wife, Jane, who was born in Culpeper, Virginia. The family moved to Springfield in 1857. After finishing school, John F. went to work with - and formed a partnership with - his father. The partnership was dissolved in 1870 when John F. became the inspector of materials for the new State House.

John F. Bretz married a woman from Wisconsin, Mary Quaid, in 1866; the couple raised seven children. John F. worked as the City of Springfield supervisor of public streets off and on from the late 1870s to 1890. In 1879, John F. went into business with John White for construction projects; they specialized in street paving with brick and sewer systems. Bretz also owned two brickyards in the town of Springfield. Mary Bretz died in 1881 and John F. remarried a native of Illinois named Maria. John F. Bretz and his son, John E., were business partners as of 1894. In 1900, John F. (age 55) and Maria (45) shared the house at 1113 N. Fifth Street with two of John F.'s children: John E. (31) and Katharine (21). A nephew-in-law, John Saukey (17) and a servant, Katie Gahnen (22) also lived in the home. John F. may have retired from the construction business in 1905; the N. Fifth Street address had been listed as the business address prior to then. John F. moved a few blocks away from the Fifth Street House in 1916 and rented out the Fifth Street home, which is very near railroad tracks. A tenant in 1914 was a teamster named C.E. Van Warner. John F. Bretz passed away in Springfield in 1927 at age 82.

The house at 1113 N. Fifth Street is on Lot 10 of Martin Rafter's Addition to the city. The large, two-story brick warehouse abutting an alley at the rear of the house lot seems to have been added in the late 1890s, based on map evidence. The warehouse replaced a slightly smaller wood frame outbuilding identified as a barn on the 1896 Sanborn fire insurance map. Photographs of the house's exterior and an interior view of the parlor appeared in an 1898 book on Springfield's architecture (photos attached). Unlike many of the other buildings depicted in the 1898 book, the John F. Bretz House is not only still standing but is easily recognizable from the circa 120-year-old photograph. Cast iron fencing encloses the small front yard and expansive south yard.

Brown, Charles W.. Mary Quaid Bretz Memorial 21077885, Find A Grave. August 22nd 2007. Accessed October 18th 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21077885/mary-bretz/.

Brown, Charles W.. John F. Bretz Memorial 21077860, Find A Grave. August 22nd 2007. Accessed October 18th 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21077860/john-f.-bretz.

Illinois State Register. Illinois Capital Illustrated. Springfield, IL. 1898.

Stratton, Christopher. NRHP Nomination for John F. Bretz House and Warehouse. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1999.

U.S. Census. Household of John F. Bretz at 1113 N. Fifth St., Springfield Illinois Ward 2, District 88, Dwelling 85, Family 90. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1900.

U. of IL Springfield University Archives. Lost Springfield: Photographs from Illinois Capital Illustrated, Collections. January 1st 2019. Accessed October 18th 2020. https://library.uis.edu/archives/collections/localhistory/capital1898Intro.html.

Wallace, Joseph. Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois. Volume I. Chicago, IL. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1904.