Clarkson W. Freeman House

Clarkson Winfield Freeman's father Abraham was one of the earliest settlers in the town of Springfield. Clarkson was born in 1852. In 1875, Clarkson was living in the home of Abram Freeman, a farmer, at 313 West Monroe St., according to the city directory. Clarkson married Mary Catherine Taylor in May 1879. Clarkson began working as a farmer but later went into the storage and transfer business. The house was built on parts of Lots 11, 12 and 13 in Block 1 in the Thomas W. Doyle subdivision of Section 33. The Freeman household did not appear on the 1880 population census of Springfield residents.

In the 1900 census. Clarkson was a 47-year old whose occupation was landlord. He shared the house on Monroe Street with his 41-year-old wife, Mary C. The couple never had children and both had been born in Illinois. Clarkson (age 57) had no occupation by 1910 and shared the house with his wife, "Catherine" (51) and a servant, Mayme Palmer (21). Clarkson last appeared in the city directory in 1917; he was retired. Clarkson died at home on October 8, 1917 of apoplexy. Mary C. was a 61-year-old widow living alone in the Monroe Street house in 1920; she had no occupation. The house was inherited by Clarkson's nephew, Arthur Freeman Hughes, after Mary C. Freeman passed away in 1928. Clarkson and Mary C. are buried in the Taylor family plot at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.

Arthur F. Hughes was the son of Clarkson's sister, Mary E. Hughes. Arthur lived elsewhere in Springfield in 1930, in a house he owned on a farm on Route 8. The 49-year-old worked as a realtor and was married to Faye M. (age 33). The house on Monroe Street likely was occupied by tenants during the period of Arthur's ownership. A garage and storage room was added in back of the house in the 1930s.

By 1980, the house was owned by Dr. and Mrs. Floyd S. Barringer and still contained most of the original furniture; the couple planned to turn the house into a museum of late nineteenth century local history. The Barringers moved to Springfield in 1947 and bought a small farmhouse on eighty acres in 1951. Dr. Barringer developed a deep interest in historic preservation and was involved in restoring not just the Freeman-Hughes House but several other historic homes and the Illinois Governor's Mansion. Three exterior chimneys of the freeman House were removed in the 1960s. By 1980, much of the interior woodwork, doors, and trim were still the originals. The neurosurgeon retired in 1982 and died in 1993. He authored several books including one on historic homes of Springfield. His widow, Winifred Lois Wain Barringer, passed away in 2008. The couple met during World War II in Birmingham, England when he worked as a physician and she was a nurse. They are buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, the subject of another of Dr. Barringer's books.

Babeuf, Julius. Babeuf's Directory of Springfield, Illinois and Patrons' Business Mirror for the Year 1875. Edition Third. Springfield, IL. Julius Babeuf, 1875.

Barringer, Daniel M. . Voelkl, Cynthia C.. NRHP Nomination of Clarkson W. Freeman House. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1980.

Brown, Charles W.. Dr. Floyd S. Barringer (1915-1993) Memorial 24834765, Find A Grave. February 23rd 2008. Accessed October 21st 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24834765/floyd-s_-barringer.

Kluge, Sandra. Clarkson Winfield Freeman (1852-1917) Memorial 20626736, Find A Grave. July 25th 2007. Accessed October 21st 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20626736/clarkson-winfield-freeman.

City of Springfield. Clarkson W. Freeman House, Historical. January 1st 2016. Accessed October 20th 2020. https://www.springfield.il.us/Departments/OPED/Historical/ClarksonWFreemanHouse.aspx.

Jeffersons Directory of the City of Springfield, Illinois for the Year 1917. Springfield, IL. Jeffersons Printing Company, 1875.

U.S. Census. Household of Clarkson Freeman at 704 Monroe Street, Springfield Illinois Ward 4, District 94, Dwelling 1, Family 1. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1900.

U.S. Census. Household of Clarkson W. Freeman at 704 Monroe Street, Springfield Illinois Ward 4, District 140, Dwelling 424, Family 430. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1910.

U.S. Census. Household of Mary C. Freeman at 704 Monroe Street, Springfield Illinois Precinct 26, District 144, Dwelling 109, Family 129. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1920.

U.S. Census. Household of Arthur F. Hughes on Route 8, Springfield Illinois District 86, Dwelling 341, Family 446. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1930.