Founded in 1853, Elsah, Illinois, is located in central Illinois along the Great River Road next to the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis, Missouri. Elsah consists of two streets running perpendicular from the River nestled in between the bluffs. Elsah comprises an area of about 35.2 acres and contains about 48 buildings with portions of nineteenth century work with the majority erected before 1860. According to Hosmer, perhaps the most important overall characteristic of Elsah’s appearance is the way in which the buildings all fit into the scale of a small river village. Principia College is located down river from town on top of the bluffs with a marvelous view.
Principia’s setting was well planned and executed by architect Bernard Maybeck. Preservationist, Charles Hosmer, completed his undergraduate studies at Prinicpia College before advancing his studies at Columbia University in New York City. Hosmer returned to teach at Principia and set the ground work to preserve the town of Elsah and nominate Principia as a National Historic Landmark.
Dr. Hosmer wrote the National Register Nomination for Elsah which can be found here.
Charles Bridgham Hosmer, Jr. (1932-1993)
Dr. Charles Hosmer, Jr., was nationally known as the historian of the preservation movement in the United States, a title earned from his two pioneering publications, Presence of the Past: A History of the Preservation Movement in the United States before Williamsburg and Preservation Comes of Age: From Williamsburg to the National Trust, 1926-1949. These two volumes have become standard teaching and reference texts. The American Institute of Architects has designated them “the bible of the preservation movement.”
Charles Hosmer was born in Naples, Italy, and raised in Washington, D.C.. He received his bachelor’s degree from Principia College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University. From 1961 to 1992, he was a professor of history, including architectural history, at Principia College. He held the first endowed chair at the College as the Jay P. Walker Professor of History. A very popular teacher who was equally known for his rigorous scholarship, Professor Hosmer instilled in students enthusiasm and dedication to learning. For decades he cultivated an appreciation and understanding of Bernard Maybeck’s architecture on the Principia campus.
Active in local preservation, Dr. Charles Hosmer helped establish the Historic Elsah Foundation, served as its president from 1971 to 1993, and was editor of “Elsah History” from 1980 to 1993. In 1967, he co-authored with Paul O. Williams, Elsah: A Historic Guidebook. In 1973, he wrote the documentation for the nominations of the Village of Elsah’s historic district to the National Register of Historic Places, and later in 1991, the same for Principia College as a National Historic Landmark. He served several separate terms on the Elsah Zoning Board. From 1972 to 1976, he was a member of the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council, a panel that advised the state of matters pertaining to historic preservation and evaluated properties for National Register designation.
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I remember referencing Hosmer in grad school all the time, and a few of us would get together in the evenings to discuss the great Hosmer, Jacobs, Mumford trifecta. I have all their books in my personal library.
I particularly love all the stone work on these buildings. There’s just something about the wood and stone combo that is so beautiful.
I studied Hosmer in grad school too, Aileen. It was an exciting discovery while going to school in Maryland to know Hosmer lived close to my home town.
Lovely tribute to Elsah, IL and Dr. Charles Hosmer, Jr. !