Woodward Home

Woodward Home. . After the Civil War, increasing congestion in the valley finally forced expansion to the bluff. This dynamic new growth was fueled by the courage and enterprise of men such as Henry R. Woodward. Responding to growing demands for public services, he and his partners founded the Peoria Street Railroad and the Peoria Bell Telephone Company.

In 1870, the year mules first pulled trams on newly laid rails up the Main Street hill, Henry Woodward built his Second Empire style residence on the newly fashionable bluff, away from the clamor of the city. An ornate and imposing tower, almost invisible from the front, but dominating the south side of the house, could be widely admired from the valley., The Woodward Mansion remained in the family until 1945. Periodically remodeled to reflect desires and tastes of the owners and now adapted to apartment usage, it is among the oldest structures still standing on Moss Avenue, and one of the finer examples of Second Empire style architecture of this period remaining in downstate Illinois.