I’ve been enjoying diving in a bit on some historical buildings in and around Champaign-Urbana this summer. One I recently learned about is the Wilber Mansion, which stands tall at 709 West University Avenue in Champaign. Digging into our archives a bit, it led me to Rick Williams’ article from 2020 about visiting some sites around C-U and looking at them with a historical perspective, one of which he pointed out was this very home. This article was published right in the midst of the pandemic summer, and Williams revisited the idea in July 2020 in regards to what was nearby West Side Park when, you know, going outside was really the best option for everyone in a variety of ways. Remember social distancing? Me too.
As he pointed out, the home was built between 1903 and 1907 by Robert and Elizabeth Wilber for their daughter, Ella, who lived in the house until the 1930s. You can still visit the house and see it set back from the street a bit with a large yard in the front, and there’s a beautiful pergola in the back which is well over 100 feet, according to New Prairie Construction, who rebuilt it based on the original design, found in photographs from 1935. New Prairie, an employee-owned company, was awarded a Heritage Landscape Award for their work here.
Champaign County History Museum called the Wilber Mansion home from 1974 until 1997 before it was returned to being a residence and the CCHM moved to the Cattle Bank on University.
