Dunham Castle (Wayne, Illinois)

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Dunham's Castle was built between 1878 and 1882 in the Norman Gothic style of architecture. This castle is the result of the success of a horse breeding farm. Mark Dunham and his uncle established this Fletcher Norman Horse Company, which bred Perheron and French Coach horses. Prior to the invention of the motorized plows or other heavy farm machinery, those horses were deemed perfect for farm work.

When his business prospered, he commissioned the building of a 12,000 square foot home from the plans of a castle that resided in the Normandy section of France. The castle was named , "one of the finest farm residences in the State of Illinois", in an 1888 history of Kane County. The farm housed as many as 800 animals at any given time.
www.st-charles.lib.il.us/history/dunham.htm
www.listphile.com/StCharles_LocalHistory/Dunham_Castle_...
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