This Italianate style residence was built in 1880 for L. L. Haworth (1831-1918) by Decatur architect Ebenezer McNabb. Lysander L. Haworth was one of the principals of the Haworth & Sons, a major Decatur industrial establishment. The company invented and manufactured check rowers, an invention that saved the farmer 3/4 the labor of planting. The civic minded Haworth was actively involved in community affairs, and was elected Decatur mayor in 1879 serving one term.
This house in the 300 block of W. William St. served as a family dwelling for 40 years. Then for 20 years it served as the home of kindergartens, dancing schools, lodge organizations and the Community Recreation Association before it became the Burke Nursing home in May 1938.
In 1943 it was remodeled and taken over by the Decatur Day Nursery Association. The nursery name was changed to the Decatur Day Care Center in 1967. The day care center continued to operate from this house until 1994 when it moved to its present location on E. Lake Shore Drive as part of a $2.3 million intergenerational complex that incorporates the Life Enrichment Center of St. Mary's Hospital for older adults. This house on W. William St. is once again a private residence.
The L. L. Haworth House is a significant architectural property in the Decatur Historic District, a residential historic district in the Millikin Heights neighborhood of Decatur. The district encompasses the city's historic Near West and Southwest neighborhoods and was formed beginning in the 1850s and continuing through the 1920s. The Decatur Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Decatur is the seat of Macon County. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in central Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College.
Decatur's estimated population for 2019 was 70,746, making Decatur the thirteenth-most populous city in Illinois, and the state's sixth-most populous city outside the Chicago metropolitan area.
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