An Historic Steal? Tamaroa Ibendahl House (Part of the Underground Railroad), the B.G. Roots School, a Log Cabin and Three Acres--All for $52,000

It has taken over three years for a national lender to let loose of the Calvin and Jean Ibendahl home south of Tamaroa, arguably one of Perry County's most historic homes, now for sale through Gold Team Realty, Inc. of Du Quoin.

At the asking price of $52,000 it could be an historic steal.

The package contains the Civil War Era home originally built by B.G. Roots and later owned by Calvin and Jean Ibendahl. Roots was a Civil War abolitionist who trafficked slaves to freedom through Illinois into Canada. The home is proven to be part of the storied Underground Railroad where slaves were hidden until it was safe to travel.

It also contains the large, four- room B.G. Roots schoolhouse to the rear of the home, which Jean Ibendahl used as a teaching tool during her decades as a teacher and agribusiness educator. Thousands of Southern Illinois school children toured the school, which back in the day Ibendahl furnished with the desks, chairs, chalkboards and books common to that period.

It was the Holy Grail of education and civil rights.

On the northwest corner of the three-plus acres is even a log cabin from that period, built by B.G. Roots.

Realtor Janice Tilley said everything will have to be rehabilitated after years of neglect. Over time if could be returned to a statuesque home or a bed and breakfast.

The home is in the possession of the government's Fannie Mae housing program, which has as one of its guidelines that there is a reasonable expectation of owner occupancy in a timely manner. The house is available to investors, as well, but the government would rather that houses be sold for living purposes to individuals.

Mrs. Tilley can provide anyone interested with the requirements.

She says if someone has the money and the vision, the property is a bargain. The sylvan lined three acres alone--located immediately east off Rt. 51 south of Tamaroa on Kimzey Road--are worth some money.

Eight years after Mrs. Ibendahl sold the house at auction to SCD Investments of St. Louis for $131,250 in 2004 and less than a year after it was purchased in 2007 by Jonathan and Aimee Niswonger of Anna, Ill. for $180,000 the house was abandoned and foreclosed upon.

The house went back to lender Countryside Financial when the Anna couple filed for bankruptcy in December 2008, The case was closed on May 10, 2010.

Countryside's assets are now owned by Bank of America, which had the house in its inventory.

The 16-room B.G. Roots estate, built in 1856 by the Civil War era abolitionist, was later referred to by the U.S. Biographical Dictionary as "one of the most stately, tasteful and costly mansions ever built in the State of Illinois.

To fast forward the paper trail, the Perry County treasurer's office shows that Bank of America tax services paid last year's taxes of $3,564.38.

The Niswongers purchased the historic home after a similar home they purchased in Du Quoin years before--the Leach home on North Vine Street--burned in Fall 2006.

William Timpner of the Perry County Historical Society said earlier this year it has no financial means to purchase the home as a landmark.

Historic values are an intangible, largely in the eye of the beholder. The house and original 680 acres were a wedding present in 1958 and for over four decades the Ibendahls were stewards of the mansion's great significance. In fact, before he died it was the late Sen. Paul Simon's mission to once and for all trace its beginnings to the Underground Railroad. Basement diggings and relics largely confirm that theory and the house was listed as a stop on the Underground Railroad. It also became worthy of Historic Registry consideration. In the throes of that work, the home was sold. In more recent years a descendent of a slave even visited the home and talked about its meaning.

The home was actually the third home of educator B.G. Roots--Jean's great, great grandfather, who established the Locust Hill Academy, which schooled John A. Logan for a year.

Roots is also credited with founding what came to be known as this country's grade school system. Years ago the newspaper chronicled all of the work to restore the home to its original grandeur and Jean's contribution's to education and agri-business.

In its day, the house had six bedrooms, two full baths, a library, a pair of Tiffany chandeliers, sunroom, two walnut staircases, beautiful oaken woodwork and many other distinctive features.At some point, many of the fireplaces were removed and converted into 16 closets, although two large fireplaces remained, one in the library and one in the master bedroom.

The acres surrounding the home were at one time home to 59 varieties of native trees, including four cherry trees. The 40-foot-long living room covers the entire south side of the home, which was built with walnut and tulip poplar, impervious to termites.

The two-story home has a full-size attic which had a ladder leading to a trap door in the roof where people could go to keep a lookout on the widow's walk in the days when slaves were hidden in the home.

Roots once owned 1,600 acres and had a team of horses and a hired hand for each 40 acres, Ibendahl said.

Roots was also an Illinois Central Railroad surveyor and he laid out the Centralia-to-Carbondale route with a curve so it would pass through his property, which was already on the Shawneetown to St. Louis Trail.

The train thus stopped right at the Roots home. One day when Roots alighted from the train he heard the rattle of chains and quickly reboarded the train, where he found a man named Jim Grey in chains. The slave was actually a free man but had been captured by slavecatchers despite that fact. . Roots risked his own life to fight the legal battle that he ultimately won to help Jim Grey remain a free man.

Roots was also an attorney and a passionate educator. The four-room Roots School he founded in 1858 was relocated to the Ibendahl's farm, too. The Roots lived in the log cabin while the mansion was being built.

The Ibendahls gifted the surrounding farm acreage to Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1984 as they retired in an annuity, and the university has since sold the ground with the proceeds being used by the university for agricultural scholarships.

The acreage surrounding the property is currently farmed by the Pitchford family.

For a while, it was no longer Southern Illinois' business to worry about what happened to the house. It was out of our hands.

Now, it is our business--again.