Fred Francis’s historic home, Woodland Palace is located three miles outside of Kewanee. Over the years, the home has fallen into disrepair. The Kewanee Preservation Society in collaboration with the City of Kewanee hope to do something about that. [Photo by Susan DeVilder]

A plan to form a committee that would map out a way to repair and maintain the historical “Woodland Palace,” located in Francis Park just three miles from Kewanee, will be on the agenda at a meeting set this month.

The Kewanee Preservation Society in collaboration with the City of Kewanee will hold an informational meeting Tuesday, June 25, at 6 p.m. in the Kewanee High School Petersen Auditorium. The goal will be to form an ad hoc private sector committee that will map out how best to move forward.

According to the Kewanee Historical Society, Fred Francis grew up on a farm east of Kewanee. A mechanical genius, he retired from a watch company before purchasing the 40 acres known now as Francis Park to build a home for his wife, Jenny, and himself.

The solarium at Woodland Palace. Fred Francis designed the room for his wife, Jenny, who suffered from tuberculosis. [Photo by Susan DeVilder]

He christened the small house “Woodland Palace” and went to work to install innovations “far ahead” of their time. Baseboard heating and air conditioning using wind power, a solarium for his wife who suffered from tuberculosis and an automatic door are just a few of his inventions.

When Francis died he left the property, including the home, to the City of Kewanee, but over the years, the house has fallen into disrepair, with maintenance issues on the exterior and interior requiring attention.

More: Francis Park improvements to start soon | Kewanee Voice

In January of this year, the City Council hired Hutchison Engineering to oversee the overhaul of Francis Park after Kewanee received an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development(OSLAD) grant last year. The city will add $36,000 in matching funds for the project.

But those improvements will address the park only and include tearing down the shelter house and building a new one; installing new playground equipment; upgrading sewer and water hookup from campers and improving the hiking trails in the park’s timber.

At that time, city officials acknowledged that repairs needed to be made to Woodland Palace, but said those repairs would need to be done under the supervision of state-historic-preservation officials, and weren’t included in the OSLAD grant.

The preservation society and the city are calling on people with an interest in local historical preservation of the palace to attend the meeting to find out more.

The Kewanee Chamber of Commerce is asking those interested in attending to contact Mark Mikenas at (309) 852-2175 or email chamber@kewanee-il.com.

Woodland Palace is a State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.