596 Oak

The large home at 596 Oak is likely the oldest on this tour and was built sometime in the early 1850s. The first known owners of this house were David P. and Mary Wilder, who lived here from about 1857 to 1876.

David Wilder was born in Worthington, Massachusetts on May 14, 1826. When he was 10 years old, he was left an orphan and from then on, was reportedly “almost entirely dependent upon his own resources.” Despite being left on his own, Wilder found his way in the world, graduating from Harvard in 1851 and the Law School of Cambridge in 1854. While in school, he both taught and studied, helping him gain an appreciation for education.

After completing law school, Wilder moved to the Chicago area – records indicate that he lived in the Chicago “vicinity,” so it’s possible that he was living in Winnetka at 596 Oak by then, but we don’t know for sure. We do know that he married Mary Harding Partridge in Medway, Mass., her hometown, on January 1, 1857, and that they were living in Winnetka that year. Within the next 7 years, the Wilders had 5 children – no twins – with one more to follow a few years later.

After moving to Winnetka, David Wilder quickly established himself as one of the village’s most prominent early settlers. He continued practicing law out of his office downtown, and at the same time, became increasingly involved in the local community. His appreciation for education led him to become an early school board member. He was also a member of Board of Trustees that voted to incorporate the Village in 1869.

In addition to his contributions to the village’s founding and growth, Wilder was also one of the best-liked members of the early Winnetka community. It’s truly hard to exaggerate how much people seemed to like him. After he died in this house on March 26, 1872 of “a malignant attack of jaundice,” people across Chicagoland sang his praises. In his lengthy obituary in the Chicago Tribune, he was described as “a high sense of a gentleman. He was of inflexible integrity and of unusual character.” Additionally, the Chicago Law Institute (the city’s “legal fraternity”) held a special meeting so that his colleagues could “give expression of their feelings of respect and affection for the deceased.” At the meeting, one Cook County judge stated that “when a man like Mr. Wilder dies, his character should be held up to the world as a model.”

After David died, Mary Wilder moved back to Massachusetts, where she lived until her death in 1930. The house changed hands a few times before it was purchased by prominent local architect Edwin Clark, the designer of the current Village Hall building. Clark lived here from 1911 to 1925 and reportedly remodeled the house extensively. As a result, the style of the house is a bit of a mystery. Architectural historian Gwen Somers Yant describes this as a high style house, but one without a particular stylistic designation.