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Location 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
808 and 804 E. Central Street - William Busse Houses
The
houses at 808 and 804 E. Central have seen Mount Prospect from a variety of
perspectives. Originally built in 1894, the house at 808 was located on
Main Street. In the 1920s the house was moved to Emerson
where it stood next to what is now 804 E. Central. In 1958 both houses were
then moved to their present local on Central Road.
William Busse originally lived on a farm in Elk Grove Township. After being appointed Deputy Sheriff in 1890, he aspired to a future in politics and believed a location closer to the train would allow him to do this more easily. In 1894 he built his first home (now 808 E. Central). A Victorian style house, it was elaborate and included such impressive features as decorative iron work around a widow’s walk, a large formal living room and perhaps, most impressively, a large formal garden in the back of the house.
In 1900, William Busse was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and his prominent political career and role in the development of Mount Prospect began. In the 1890s, he helped found the Central School in Mount Prospect and 1911 he was involved in the Mount Prospect Improvement Association. After the incorporation of the town, he became the first mayor of Mount Prospect. William Busse also largely influenced the commercial development of the downtown by establishing Busse Hardware and Busse Buick. Also, most importantly for the economy of the town, he established Mount Prospect State Bank in 1911, one of the few banks that survived the Great Depression without major setbacks.
As his children began to grow older, William Busse believed he no longer needed the large space that his first home provided. After giving his house to his son William Jr., he had a second house built on Emerson Street. This house, now standing at 804 Central was the house in which William Busse lived until his death in 1955.
After William Jr. inherited the first house of his father, he moved the house to the location on Emerson and also turned it 90 degrees, making the side door the main entrance. This also prompted a change in the interior layout of the house which was made less formal. Throughout the years, the ornate iron work and Victorian decorations to the house have been stripped away as changes have been made to architectural tastes.