410 South Third Street — Walker House

Queen Anne

The Walker house was built in the style of Queen Anne by Veneita Rebecca Hurd Walker, widow of Alexander Walker, in 1893 for a cost of $17,000.00 after the death of her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Walker were married shortly after the Civil War. The Walkers settled on 400 acres near Stillman Valley after moving from New York State. In 1883, at the age of 45, Mr. Walker passed away, leaving his widow with five children. August Peterson purchased the home in 1910. Mr. Peterson was the president of Skandia Coal and Lumber. Since 1940, the home was purchased by numerous owners. The Walker home was purchased by Carl and Barb Erbe in the fall of 1978. By 1978, the house had been covered in aluminum siding for three years; the Erbes were planing to replace the siding as soon as possible.

A former rooming house and nursing home, the house was purchased in 1991 for $58,000 by George and Barbara Fell. George Fell was the former executive director for the Natural Land Institute located down the street at 320 S. Third St. Before they purchased the house, Barbara Fell went to visit it to see if it was still on the market and was warned not to buy the house the previous owner's teenage son, and this after the boys parents had themselves already sunk a small fortune into the home. When the Fells purchased the house, not one room was finished and the house was in severe need of repair on the electrical, plumbing, plaster, painting both inside and out and the landscaping. The Fells, after a great deal of hard labor, no longer kept track of the amount of money used to restore the home to its original splendor. Sadly, George Fell passed away in March of 1994. During the Summer of 1996, Barbara was presented with the Heart of Rockford Award for the category of exterior/interior renovation.