The Blum family home was completed in the early
1900s. Documents in the Madison County offices in
Edwardsville, Ill., show the date of completion as 1900 but
construction was, according to my father, started when he was a small
child. Another house was on the lot before this house was built, and that house was moved west down Main
Street. It no longer exists. My father and my Aunt
Lucile both told me about begging to be allowed to ride in the old house
when it was moved down the street, but were denied the
pleasure. Since my father was born in 1902, the new
house could not have been completed by 1900.
Please take a look at the old photo of the house as it looked when my
father, the little boy standing against the foundation in the
foreground, was probably, judging by his size in the photo, 5 to 8
years old. If you look carefully you may be able to see my
grandfather standing on the porch, next to the white column between the
tree and where my father is standing. The house was painted a
dark color, probably green, and as you will see the wooden steps were
replaced by concrete ones at some point prior to my arrival on the
scene. Also the wooden railings around the porch
roof were added; again, I do not know the date but it was, of course,
before 1937.
This was the family home from the date of its completion until
1997. It is now the property of the Collinsville Public
Library. When I was growing up, there was a house between our
house and the library, which was the home of the Stehman
family. Mrs. Lucille Stehman, who was married to Milton
Stehman of that family and who is now deceased, is the author of the
book entitled “Collinsville : A Pictorial History” (G. Bradley, St.
Louis, 1992), which I recommend to anyone who wants to know more about
the community. Now the library and the family home
are next door to each other and the house is called “The Blum House”
and is used by community groups and by families for wedding receptions
and other gatherings, and in the summer the front lawn is the scene of
a variety of concerts.
