875 Gordon Terrace

This charming Victorian-era house was built c. 1878 by developer E. Ashley Mears, who has quite an interesting history on the North Shore and beyond.

Mears was born in Vermont in 1840. He moved to Chicago at a young age, where he first became a stove manufacturer before attending law school and later, diving into banking and real estate. In 1869, Mears married Margaret Everts and had 6 children.

Mears made a fortune in banking and real estate. He saw an opportunity to enhance his wealth in Winnetka, which was on the cusp of a real estate boom. In the early-to-mid 1870s, Mears built 14 imposing Victorian mansions in the village.

While impressive in stature with unique architectural features on the outside, none of the mansions were complete by the time they were sold. Most of the mansions were sold as a shell of a house, and a poorly constructed one at that. According to Village engineer Frank Windes, the mansions were “cheaply constructed and could hardly stand by themselves when a stiff wind struck them.” Mears had a hard time selling some of the houses and many of the homeowners that purchased a Mears mansion could not afford to complete the construction. Several had to sell or vacate the house due to a lack of insulation during Winnetka’s bitter cold winters.

Records show that Mears, under scrutiny for his “loose” business practices and “shaky” banking methods, left Chicago and opened several banks in North Dakota. There, he was investigated for fraud and after losing much of his fortune in the Panic of 1893, moved his family to Minneapolis. Mears died in Minnesota a poor man on May 4, 1912.

Many of Mears’ Winnetka mansions, knowns as the “sham mansions,” fared little better than their developer. Some stood vacant while others were torn down, or worse – engulfed in fire (at least 3 suffered this fate). Thankfully, 875 Gordon Terrace escaped such a fate. Unlike most of Mears’ mansion, records show that the house was likely purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Miller the year it was built. The Millers had sold the house by 1900, and it changed hands several times until 1922, when it was purchased by Lettie Johnston.

From 1922 to 1934, Johnston, a progressive educator, ran a “farm school” at her home at 875 Gordon Terrace. Her school emphasized a hands-on approach to learning, teaching children how to raise animals and grow crops through practice.

While homeowners like the Millers and Lettie Johnston ensured that the Mears mansion at 875 Gordon Terrace survived into the 20th century, they may not have realized that Mears had cut corners in its construction. As a result, by the time Johnston sold the house in the 1940s, it was reportedly in such bad shape that it appeared to be on the brink of collapse. The homeowner, Fred Wale, recognized the historic significance of the house, and repaired the structure to save it from ruin.

In 2005, the house underwent an extensive renovation, adding on the entire western side of the house as well as the wrap around porch. While much of this structure has changed, the original portion of the house still maintains elements of the Victorian structure that was built in 1878.