Lambert: Herbert Cowell, Plainfield’s Prolific Architect

The Inquiry

Who designed Plainfield’s first buildings?

The Facts

Until the late 19th-Century, the practice of building design was left largely to master builders, those carpenters who possessed advanced knowledge of building construction and design. Many master builders relied on “pattern books” which were widely published after 1830. In addition to providing building plans, the illustrated pattern books provided many details for building components and architectural ornament.  

As the profession of architecture became established, master builders began to identify themselves as “architects” and those architects, in turn, taught successive generations in the art of architectural design. 

Architecture, as a professional course of collegiate study, was first offered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1868. 

The following year, the second architectural studies program in the United States was offered at the Illinois Industrial University at Urbana, Illinois (present-day University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). However, the first student, Nathan C. Ricker, did not enroll at Illinois until 1870.  Ricker eventually oversaw his own course of studies and guided the studies of the first three architectural students. 

Nathan Ricker, in fact, was the first student in the country to receive a degree in architectural studies, nearly three months before any graduates from the MIT program.

Early Architects at Plainfield

John E. Minott, a highly-regarded architect based at Aurora, is credited with Plainfield’s earliest, architect-designed, commercial building, the 1892 Masonic Block along Lockport Street.  

However, the first architect-designed residence, the 1886 George Frey Home, was designed by a Joliet architect, G. Julian Barnes. Identified as one of the most progressive, young businessmen of Joliet in August 1887, Julian Barnes was credited with revolutionizing the design of residential buildings in the City of Joliet. His brother, John Barnes, was also an aspiring architect at Joliet who studied under Nathan Ricker at the University of Illinois.

Herbert Cowell, another of the early Joliet architects, was responsible for transforming—nearly single-handedly—the architectural appearance of Plainfield at the dawn of the 20th Century. 

Herbert Cowell’s Early Career 

In 1859, Herbert Cowell was born at Homer Township in Will County, Illinois.  He was the son of Rev. Samuel Cowell, who—in 1858—moved to the Lockport area. Samuel Cowell served as the Pastor of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church (1858-62) and, later, was appointed by Governor Bissell as the chaplain at the State Penitentiary in Joliet between 1862 and 1866.

On December 11, 1884, Herbert Cowell married Abby Frances Harris and established a home on the then-fashionable east side of Joliet. In 1887, Herbert Cowell, himself, was listed as a carpenter in the Joliet City Directory. 

Two years later, Herbert Cowell and his father-in-law, Frederick G. Harris, advertised as real estate agents at Joliet. Cowell continued real estate pursuits through 1891. 

The next year, Herbert Cowell established an architectural practice at 106 Jefferson Street in Joliet. There, Cowell began designing residential, religious and commercial buildings. 

Sometime after 1892, Cowell and his wife moved to a Dutch Colonial residence, believed to be his own design and located at the corner of Raynor Avenue and Oneida Street.  Herbert Cowell is known to be the first architect in Joliet to have utilized the Dutch Colonial style.

Another of his early commissions was the J. C. Smith house at 609 Western Avenue, which is a unique mix of the Dutch Colonial and Queen Anne styles, constructed in 1894. 

Within four years, Herbert Cowell and his wife moved from Joliet to Huntsville, Alabama.  His practice there seemed to parallel his work at Joliet: a combination of residential, commercial and religious building designs. However, by 1905, Cowell was back in Joliet, where he continued to build his reputation for notable architectural design.

Herbert Cowell at Plainfield

One of Herbert Cowell’s first Plainfield commissions, most likely, was the 1905-1907 remodeling of the local Congregational church. 

However, Cowell’s immersion in the Plainfield community came around 1914 when he and his wife, Abby, moved to the once-sleepy hamlet that was experiencing new growth due to the popularity of Electric Park and the development of the Lincoln Highway.

In 1914, Cowell was overseeing the construction of two, local projects he had designed: the remodeling of the 1857 First Baptist Church building and the new Plainfield High School (razed 1968). During that time, Cowell maintained his Joliet office at 1 Jefferson Street, but lived in a small home along Division Street between the construction sites of the church and school buildings.

The two concurrent projects at Plainfield, apparently, led to many more commissions throughout the village. 

In 1914, Cowell likely developed the plans for the extensive remodeling of the Chittenden Residence, then owned by Dr. and Mrs. John C. Owens. The home was transformed from a highly-ornate home of the late Victorian era to a sleek, stucco-clad residence that reflected the influence of European architects of the era.   

As the remodeling of the First Baptist Church was nearing completion in December 1914, the church building was destroyed by fire. Cowell completed a design for the new building which stood at Lockport and Division (present-day Route 59) streets until September 2004. Within a few years of the completion of the new Baptist church building, Mr. Cowell designed the church’s parsonage, a stucco-clad bungalow immediately south of the church building. 

Numerous Plainfield buildings bear the trademark design elements of Herbert Cowell but have not been documented as his designs. Besides new and remodeled residences, it is likely that Cowell designed the remodeling of the former Universalist church building for use by the St. Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic parish around 1916.  Cowell likely designed the adjacent rectory (presently ).

Simultaneously, Cowell designed a new home at Lockport and Division streets for Dr. John P. Browne, the president of the school board when the high school was constructed. Not only did the Cowell-designed residence provide a home for Dr. and Mrs. Browne, but it also incorporated Dr. Browne’s examining room and office, located in the southeast corner of the first floor. 

A short time later, Cowell designed the L. B. Overman Home at the corner of Bartlett Avenue and Lockport Street. 

By 1923, Mr. and Mrs. Cowell built a new bungalow home for themselves immediately north of the Overman Home, near the south end of Bartlett Avenue. There, he constructed a fireplace of stone, hand-picked from the rubble of one of Plainfield’s first gristmills.

One of Cowell’s last known commissions was the remodeling of the Stiegle Farmhouse at the corner of Naperville-Plainfield Road and 127^th Street. There, in the mid-1920s, Cowell enlarged a simple wood-framed farmhouse, transforming it into an architectural hybrid of Tudor and Arts-and-Crafts details.

Postlude

Herbert Cowell—the first native-born Will County architect—lived at Plainfield for nearly 30 years—from 1914 until his death on February 22, 1943. Cowell’s wife, Abby, died on November 2, 1943. During that time, his designs greatly transformed the architectural character of the village. 

Although none of his known commissions at Plainfield is recognized as a local or national landmark, several of Herbert Cowell’s buildings at Huntsville, Alabama and Joliet, Illinois are designated as landmarks. 

Next Week: Getting Some Kicks Along Plainfield’s Stretch of Route 66

Have a question about Plainfield’s history? Send your inquiries to Michael Lambert via Plainfield Patch.