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Location 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
604 W. Sha-Bonee Trail – Schmidt Cottage
This charming house
was built for William P. Schmidt and his family in 1933. Despite
the costs, it was built
during the height of the depression and was one of the first homes in the area.
It is considered a Cotswold Cottage, a styled characterized by its slopping,
irregular roof and asymmetrical design. The style derives its name from a
pastoral section of England where architects were inspired by the small medieval
cottages. It became popular in American in the 1920s and 30s and was often
pared with Tudor designs, as can be seen in the lumber detailing in the Schmidt
Cottage.
Not much is known about William and his family other than they moved out of the cottage in 1941. It was then owned by Dr. Louise Koester, first doctor in Mount Prospect. She had been living at 221 S. Owen, where she maintained an office and hospital (see walking tour east).
Another interesting aspect of this house is the street on which it stands. Like many of the streets around this area, it is a Native American word. Sha-bonee trail was originally known at Birchland Avenue, but a proposal by Axel Lonnquist in 1925 changed it to its current name. Shabonee was the name of a Potawatomi Indian chief, who rode through northern Illinois in 1832 to warn white settlers of an Indian raid during the Black Hawk War. The naming of Sha-bonee and the surrounding streets was inspired by the Campfire Girls, established in Mount Prospect in 1927. They studied Native American culture and proposed naming many of the streets in Lonnquist’s development.