Bloomington in McLean County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Ezra & Barbara Prince House

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 10, 2021

1. Ezra & Barbara Prince House Marker

Inscription.
418 E. Grove St.
Ezra & Barbara
Prince House
Built c. 1855
Victorian Cottage

Ezra was a friend of Abraham Lincoln, and was a
co-founder of the McLean County Historical Society.

Pulitzer Prize winning brothers Paul and
Edgar Mowrer lived here as children.

Erected by Dimmitt's Grove Neighborhood Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical year for this entry is 1855.

Location. 40° 28.681′ N, 88° 59.332′ W. Marker is in Bloomington, Illinois, in McLean County. Marker is on East Grove Street west of South McLean Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 418 E Grove St, Bloomington IL 61701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Horace and Nora McCurdy House (a few steps from this marker); Edward & Ora Gridley House (a few steps from this marker); John and Caroline Roush House (a few steps from this marker); Lawrence and Mary Jane Weldon House (within shouting distance of this marker); Oscar and Sara Mandel House (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. David & Elizabeth Moore House

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(within shouting distance of this marker); Eugene and Mary Funk House (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ruben & Laura Benjamin House (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bloomington.

Regarding Ezra & Barbara Prince House. Excerpt from East Grove Street Architectural/Historical Survey by Greg Koos (1985):

… Ezra Morton Prince (b 1831 — d 1917) was the earliest known occupant of the house. He is listed there in 1868. He may have lived there ten years earlier. Prince was born in Turner, Maine, graduated from Harvard Law School and arrived in Bloomington in 1856. He, a small scholarly man with a pronounced limp successfully passed the State Bar Exam and went into practice locally. As a young lawyer he came into close contact with Abraham Lincoln, David Davis, and the other lawyers who travelled the 8th Judicial Circuit. He was one of the founders of the Free Congregational Society and Unitarian Church. Prince's most lasting contribution to the community was his founding, in 1892, of the McLean County Historical Society. Prince oversaw the work of this organization from its founding to his death in 1917.

By 1891 the
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 10, 2021

2. Ezra & Barbara Prince House Marker
house was occupied by Rufus and Nellie Mower (sic). Their two sons, Paul Scott (b 1887) and Edgar Ansel (b 1892), were both born here and spent their early childhoods here. These two brothers became two of the best known American journalists in their long careers as foreign correspondents. Paul Scott, the better known of the two, covered W.W.I., the troubles of Europe in the 1920's and 30's and W.W.II, all for the Chicago Daily News. This newspaper was known internationally for its European coverage. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1929. In his autobiography, published in 1945, Mower (sic) fondly remembers Grove Street and provides an excellent description of the neighborhood. During Mower's (sic) work with the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in the 1930's he came in close contact with fellow Bloomingtonian, Adlai Stevenson II, and provided Stevenson many contacts and insights important to the latter's career

• • •
Edgar Ansel Mowrer also was a European correspondent for the Chicago Daily News, an assignment given by his older brother, who was then the newspaper's editor. Edgar covered World War I in France and Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany, winning the 1933 Pulitzer Prize but being forced to leave the country under Nazi pressure because of his reporting. He later was assigned to

Paul Scott Mowrer image. Click for full size.

DN-A-3301, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum/Fair use, circa 1933

3. Paul Scott Mowrer

Paris, where he covered the outbreak of World War II and the fall of France, followed by a stint within the Office of War Information. Mowrer wrote several books about world affairs and became a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy.

Edgar Ansel Mowrer image. Click for full size.

Photographed By University of Michigan, circa 1940

4. Edgar Ansel Mowrer

Credits. This page was last revised on December 7, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 14, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 136 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 14, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.