Sold- Cheapish Circa 1910 Illinois Charles G. Powers Mansion For Sale $130K

History

Charles G. Powers

This gorgeous home was built in 1910 for Charles G. Powers (1861-1926) and his wife Effie at a cost of $100,000.  Charles was a manager of his father’s estate which consisted of several thousand acres of land in Macon County.  He and his wife were snowbirds who spent winters in Florida, but as an asthmatic, Florida was detrimental to his condition. He passed away from bronchial complications in 1926 while at a resort in Florida.

 

 

John F. Wieser

Somehow Effie Powers got involved in a Florida land investment swindle and the Powers mansion was foreclosed upon. John F. Wieser then purchased it in 1933. JP Gobberdiel purchased it from Wieser in 1935 and sold it back to him in 1937.

 

Samuel D. Jarvis

Two years later Samuel D. Jarvis, the largest independent oil operator in Southern Illinois at the time, purchased the home with plans to completely remodel the house and grounds. Hollywood actress Nancy Walters, a Jarvis sister-in-law, often stayed at the home. In fact, she had an extended stay in 1961 after she shooting the film “Blue Hawaii” with Elvis Presley.  It has even been rumored that the King of Rock n’ Roll came to visit her there.

Later

The mansion stood empty for quite some time, and an arson fire put it in jeopardy in the 1970s, when the city threatened to bulldoze it to build a senior housing complex.

In 1988, however, the Bachrach family, who owned Decatur-based Bachrach Clothing Inc., puchased the mansion. They restored it in the 1990s and used the mansion as a training center for their business before it was sold at the 2005 auction to Anthony Grayson for $400,000. He is now the subject of a foreclosure action and refuses to leave the house or let anyone in the house. That is why the house has no interior pictures and must be sold without viewing the interior, plus the buyer will have have to make eviction arrangements.