West Dundee history, on the market

The Realtor's ad entices buyers to own a part of West Dundee's history.

Who wouldn't want to?

The relic in question, a house, has charm, a white picket fence, four fireplaces, five bedrooms and a sprawling garden lined with flagstone paths.

It also has history.

Built in 1843 at 204 S. First St., it originated the quaint neighborhood that so many people now drive through and see at least one house they too would like to own.

This one was built by Whiting Hull, a brick-maker who worked at the brick mine in Dundee Township.

But that was a long time -- and less than half a dozen owners -- ago. Now this corner house has no occupant. It hasn't for a while. It has been vacant and on the market since spring.

People who walk through the house are wooed by its charm and sturdiness. Their eyes fall on the hardwood floors and textured plaster walls. When they look up they cast their eyes on high ceilings and rustic woodwork.

There certainly is interest, but no offers, said Elizabeth Sincox, the Re/Max Realtor from Barrington.

"During the first open house we had, 50 people walked through here," she said. "But not one offer."

A few weeks ago, one couple expressed an interest, but it didn't go far.

"It will sell. I know it will sell. There's someone out there who will want it," Sincox said. "I'll sell it."

Two years ago Paul Wiley wanted and bought the 3,500-square-foot home for $395,000.

But his stay wasn't long. He's an industrial designer who took a job with the Food Network and Kohl's department store and moved to New York City.

Before he bought it, the house was on the market for 183 days after the previous owners decided to move.

The home was one he just had to have.

"I looked at it and loved it," Wiley said. "I looked at about 20 other houses but I was drawn back to the South First Street house. I was hoping my stay would be longer, but it just didn't work out.

"It has a great front porch I used to live in starting in April."

After he moved, other Realtors tried to sell it. When they didn't, the relocation firm Sirva, which is handling the sale, hired Sincox and Re/Max.

The cost also changed.

To make it more appealing, the price of it dropped from $425,000 to $399,000.

This time, the "For Sale" sign has been in the yard for nearly 200 days. That's longer than the average these days for home sales, Sincox said.

"Paul was just sick about having to move. He loved this house," she said. "But his life took him to New York City."

He owned it barely long enough to learn the white clapboard and brick home was the site of the original village well.

When Hull built it -- years before the first shot was fired in the Civil War -- it consisted of three rooms. Riders rode on the dirt road alongside of it. Many riders, including the famous detective Allen Pinkerton, stopped at the corner house to give their horses a drink.

Owners after Hull added rooms and built up its prestige. Now, not only is there a main residence, but a coach house.

So much history fills the house that it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois.

"There's a niche for houses like these. It's too big for a young family, but with five bedrooms it would great for a larger family," she said. "Someone will come along."

And the idea that home sales slow when cold weather arrives is a myth, she said.

Someone could come along in time to host a Super Bowl party in the house, whose builder never dreamed of indoor plumbing, let alone HDTV.