THOMAS EDWARD WILDER
IN 1905 the T. E. Wilders who had been living in Elmhurst in the Challacombe House for 10 or 12 years, purchased the Wadhams-King estate. Wilder, who was born in Lancaster, Massachusette in1855, received his formal education at Lancaster Academy and Worcester Polytechnical Institute. Wilder arrived in Chicago in1878 and established a leather commission business. He became a magnate in the leather industry, and his company eventually became the Chicago Rawhide Company. Considering his Massachusetts background, the source for Mr. Wilder's new name for the White Birch estate is clear; after the purchase, the estate house was renamed Lancaster Lodge.
The Wilders held many social events in Lancaster Lodge, including musicales in the northeast wing. This big drawing room later housed the Arts Division of the Elmhurst Public Library.
T. E. Wilder served as president of the Elmhurst School Board, president of the Elmhurst Golf Club, was a member of Christ Church, and served as president of the New England Society of Chicago. In 1908 he was general secretary of the Chicago Association of Commerce which he aided in organizing. Wilder also served as Director of the Great Lakes District of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress.
Although Mr. Wilder had commissioned Walter Burley Griffin to design a subdivision for the Wilder estate, he stipulated in his will that the estate should first be offered to the City with the provision that a library be built on a portion of the property. (The Griffin design for a subdivision of the Wilder property is on exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute.)
THOMAS EDWARD WILDER
IN 1905 the T. E. Wilders who had been living in Elmhurst in the Challacombe House for 10 or 12 years, purchased the Wadhams-King estate. Wilder, who was born in Lancaster, Massachusette in1855, received his formal education at Lancaster Academy and Worcester Polytechnical Institute. Wilder arrived in Chicago in1878 and established a leather commission business. He became a magnate in the leather industry, and his company eventually became the Chicago Rawhide Company. Considering his Massachusetts background, the source for Mr. Wilder's new name for the White Birch estate is clear; after the purchase, the estate house was renamed Lancaster Lodge.
The Wilders held many social events in Lancaster Lodge, including musicales in the northeast wing. This big drawing room later housed the Arts Division of the Elmhurst Public Library.
T. E. Wilder served as president of the Elmhurst School Board, president of the Elmhurst Golf Club, was a member of Christ Church, and served as president of the New England Society of Chicago. In 1908 he was general secretary of the Chicago Association of Commerce which he aided in organizing. Wilder also served as Director of the Great Lakes District of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress.
Although Mr. Wilder had commissioned Walter Burley Griffin to design a subdivision for the Wilder estate, he stipulated in his will that the estate should first be offered to the City with the provision that a library be built on a portion of the property. (The Griffin design for a subdivision of the Wilder property is on exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute.)
Family Members
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George Harris Wilder
1837–1864
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Anna Eliza Walton Wilder Phelps
1839–1922
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Harriet Ellen Wilder I
1841–1841
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Charles Lewis Wilder
1842–1920
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Enos Wilder
1844–1915
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Harriet Ellen Wilder Noyes
1846–1917
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Frances Ann Wilder
1849–1907
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Augustus Whipple Wilder
1851–1865
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Alice Wilder McClelland
1853–1937
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Marion Wilder Day
1859–1924
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John Emory Wilder
1861–1932
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