The Robert A. and Mary Childs House is a historic Queen Anne Style

Queen Anne Style architecture (United States)

In America, the Queen Anne style of architecture, furniture and decorative arts was popular in the United States from 1880 to 1910. In American usage "Queen Anne" is loosely used of a wide range of picturesque buildings with "free Renaissance" details rather than of a specific formulaic style in...

 residence in Hinsdale

Hinsdale, Illinois

Hinsdale is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; it is located partly in Cook County and mainly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 17,349 at the 2000 census. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town has a rolling, wooded topography, with a quaint downtown and is a 30-minute...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. The Childs family moved to Hinsdale 1873, the year of its incorporation. Mary purchased a lot of land in 1881 for a new property. Civil War veteran (15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 15th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 15th Illinois Infantry was mustered at Freeport, Illinois on April 25, 1861....

) Robert A. Childs

Robert A. Childs

Robert Andrew Childs was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Born in Malone, New York, Childs moved to Illinois with his parents, who settled near Belvidere, Boone County, in 1852.He attended the common schools....

 was an attorney

Attorney at law

An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...

 who graduated from Illinois State Normal University, passing the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1873. Robert Childs was the president of the Hinsdale School Board from 1879 to 1894, and was a founder of Hinsdale Trust & Savings Bank. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 in 1893 and served one term. In total, Robert Childs practiced law for 42 years. Mary founded the Hinsdale Library Association in 1886 and served as its director for 15 years.

The Childs commissioned the building in 1888 to avoid a 600% property tax hike on undeveloped property. They raised five children in the house until 1919. The house was awarded a Historic Preservation Award from the Hinsdale Historical Society in 1994 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 2000.