Please keep in mind that this is a privately owned residence and can only be viewed from the street or public sidewalk. Please do not drive up or walk up the driveway to view the home.

The “Hidden House” on Washington Drive is truly one of Lombard’s finest homes. The large house is tucked in behind the houses that line Washington and Martha Streets and people often ask the Lombard Historical Society about how the house came to be built in such a manner. The answer is that the home was there first and the homes surrounding it on Washington, Martha, and even Morningside were built many years later.

To begin, we need to travel back in time. Samuel J. Lumbard, not related to Josiah Lombard, for whom the town was named back in 1869, was living at 216 W. Maple Street by the mid-1890s. Samuel was born near Oswego, Illinois in 1859 to John Lumbard and Esther Guy Lumbard. His parents emigrated from England to the United States and settled on a farm in Wheatland Township. Samuel attended the Union College of Law at the University of Chicago, graduating with a law degree in 1883 and establishing his law practice in Chicago. He married Louise Simons in 1888. She, too, had been born near Oswego and was a childhood friend of Samuel’s.

The couple lived in Chicago and Oak Park before moving to Lombard. Their only child, a daughter named Laone, was born in 1890. One of Samuel Lumbard’s largest clients was the brush manufacturing firm of Gerts, Lumbard & Company, which was co-owned by Samuel’s uncle, Henry.

P76.201.2 Lombard Board of Trustees, William Zabel, Fred Fischer, John Morton, Samuel Lumbard, John Ehinger, Louis Penzo, Charlie Mech, c. 1910.

While it’s not entirely certain, one of the reasons that Samuel Lumbard moved his family to Lombard was because of the availability of large tracts of land near the downtown. He must have seen the opportunity for growth and by 1907, Samuel purchased a tract of land from Henry Peck, which measured almost 100 acres.

He also acquired a portion of land from the Castleman family on the northwest corner of the tract. Samuel subdivided this tract, calling it Morningside Subdivision. He also became involved in civic duties and was elected President of the Village of Lombard in 1907.

By 1910, county records show that Samuel Lumbard filed a record to vacate, or unsubdivided, a portion of the Morningside Subdivision. He had collaborated with Henry Peck, who was working in real estate, to create the Lumbard and Peck subdivision west and north of Lumbard’s Maple Street home. Samuel was buying other lots in Lombard as well around this same time.

In 1915, the Lombard News reported that Samuel Lumbard had built a “beautiful and expensive home” in the Morningside Subdivision that was equipped with modern conveniences such as electric lights, water, and gas. It was one of 19 new homes in the village, and Samuel had several of those homes built. When the Lumbards moved into their new mansion, Samuel established a peony nursery surrounding the home. He also realized that his big three-story house also had an outstanding view of Lombard Cemetery to the west on Main Street. He fixed the problem by digging out a section of the property on that side to create a hill that blocked his view of the cemetery. That section of the property was available to Lombardians in the winter for sledding on Lumbard’s Hill and skating on Black’s Pond.

Caption on Back: Samuel J. Lumbard’s home and coach house situated on an eleven acre tract of land bounded by Main Street, Martha, Morningside and Washington Boulevard. Mr. Lumbard grew peonies commercially. -George W. Peterson. — Caption on Back: *Samuel J. Lumbard’s home and coach house situated on an eleven acre tract of land bounded by Main Street, Martha, Morningside and Washington Boulevard. Mr. Lumbard grew peonies commercially.* -George W. Peterson.

The home that Samuel Lumbard built for himself and his family in 1915, is described as an English Tudor Revival with the exterior walls constructed in stucco and half-timbering on the upper levels. A Porte-cochere, intended for carriages to stop and let off passengers, can be seen on the north side of the home where a large porch wraps around the west and south of the home. Just like the Lumbard’s home on Maple Street had originally, greenhouse windows can be found on the south side of the home.

Stained Glass, Inside Hidden House. c. 1980s.

The coach house to the east of the home is as impressive as the home itself. The top floor of the three-story structure burned in December 1932 but the majority of the building was saved. Inside, the home is as grand as the outside. An abundance of stained glass can be found throughout the home, starting with the front door. Bookcases in the living room have stained glass roses while in the dining room, built-in cabinets contain stained glass that resembles grapes. Quartersawn oak floors, trim, and cabinetry abound and never were painted. One of the outstanding pieces of stained glass art is found overhead.

The main staircase, constructed of oak, climbs past the bedrooms to a large third floor that many visitors refer to as the ballroom. The stained-glass skylight is actually built into the attic so that the main roof of the home protects the fragile art from the elements. Windows in the attic provide natural light that causes the skylight to glow as if lit.

Louise Simons Lumbard died in 1929, and Samuel Lumbard died in 1932. Their daughter, Laone, had married Wilmer Hays and had a family of her own. Samuel had begun to subdivide the big property in the 1920s and after his death, Laone Lumbard Hays sold the property in 1936, to Charles Cress, a local lawyer, and real estate developer. A real estate listing in O.J. Roath’s business records described the property as the “Old Lumbard Property”, a 14 room house on 13 acres with a large garage. The asking price? $25,000.

Charles Cress began to subdivide the property further so that the big house began to be surrounded by suburban homes. He even allowed the new homeowners a deal where they could dig up peonies from the big house’s gardens within nine months of purchasing their home and transplant them onto their new lots. Prior to the Cress family’s ownership, an article in the Lombard Spectator (May 16, 1936) reveals that a woman, Mrs. Elizabeth Hull, was occupying the house and operating a private school in it which was in violation of the village zoning laws.

The Cresses sold the property to Lawrence & Dorothy Harris and then it was sold to Ian and Lawrie Makinson in 1956. After two years, the home was sold to Patrick & Mary Durkin who transferred ownership to Joseph & Jane Philbin. It sat vacant for several years until Hugo and Mildred Stettner purchased the home.

The current owners purchased the Lumbard home in 1992 and have spent many years renovating the home to its glory days. There are peonies, most likely dating to Samuel Lumbard’s days, blooming in the gardens. And while the yard is much smaller than when the Lumbard family lived there, it’s still a big piece of property. The Lumbard Home was designated a local landmark by the Historic Preservation Commission of the Village of Lombard in 2011 and in 2014, it was recognized on the Historic and Architectural Survey of Lombard. It was also the feature of the Lombard Kiwanis Club Housewalk, Over the Threshold, in 2012.