No artifacts found at site of planned school

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By Alma Gaul | Thursday, March 27, 2008 | No comments posted

VIDEO: Villa de Chantal Archaeological Survey
Before the historic RI remains can be torn down an archaeological survey m…
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Grasping the handles of a posthole digger and slamming it into the soft ground, archaeologist David Wright pulled a fist-sized clump of soil from the grounds of the former Villa de Chantal, one of Rock Island’s most storied landmarks.

He dropped that and other clumps in a wood frame and scraped the dirt across the wire mesh bottom to check for artifacts such as arrowheads that might indicate long-ago habitation of the area by American Indians.

Wright and three co-workers were at the Villa on Wednesday, conducting an archaeological survey that likely will be the last piece of documentation required by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency before the Rock Island-Milan School District is given the go-ahead to tear down what remains of the historic, fire-ravaged structure.

The building site will then be cleared for a new, $9.1 million elementary math and science magnet school the district hopes to open in the fall of 2009.

The Villa, sitting on a 14-acre wooded bluff at 20th Street and 16th Avenue, was built in stages during the early 1900s by an order of religious sisters who operated a school there until 1978. The sisters continued to live on the property until the early 1990s, when dwindling membership and rising maintenance costs forced them to put it on the market.

It eventually was sold in 1996 and went through several different uses before it was purchased in 2004 by developer Chris Ales and his Signature Development Co. Ales was in the midst of converting the property into apartments for senior citizens when a fire in July 2005 destroyed all but the shell of the Villa’s oldest section.

Ales said the shell might be rebuilt, and he continued with the conversion of the newer east wing, known as Lewis Hall, until November 2006, when he ran out of money for the project and all work stopped.

Vandals subsequently caused extensive damage to Lewis, ripping out copper pipes and breaking windows. In June 2007, the property was transferred by Ales to his lender, Wells Fargo Bank. The school district purchased it later that year.

The archaeologists’ assignment Wednesday was to dig holes every 50 feet on the property’s entire open area, looking for anything indicating human activity 50 years or older, including the possibility of an early pioneer cabin.

Oak leaves crunched under Wright’s feet and birds called from the trees as he walked off the distance between dig points.

What he was most concerned about finding was a “preserved feature,” such as a fire pit or postholes indicating a house, not simply a random arrowhead or a piece of a china cup.

But in three hours of digging, the crew bagged only an animal bone along with some brick shards, nails and glass found in the same hole, indicating a non-American Indian use. Based on that, Wright said he does not think the site warrants any more study, but that will be up to the preservation agency.

Mike Oberhaus, Rock Island-Milan’s associate superintendent for operations, said he hopes to get a decision from the agency in about two weeks because the district is on a tight timeline for construction.

Anne Haaker, deputy state historic preservation officer for the agency, said the survey was required because, when a property cannot be saved, the agency at least wants the site to be documented and a final record compiled.

In addition to the survey, the agency required photographic documentation and drawings. Both were compiled by the Public Service Archaeology and Architecture Program of the University of Illinois for $12,104.

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com.

Villa’s roots go back 100 years

The Villa de Chantal was founded as a Catholic all-girls academy at the turn of the 20th century by members of the Order of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin from Maysville, Ky., at the invitation of Bishop John Lancaster Spalding.

The school flourished for more than 75 years, providing elementary and high school education until it closed in 1978.

The property was designated a City of Rock Island landmark in 1994 and was placed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in May 2005.

The Villa was deemed historically important because of its association with the academy and because of its architecture, in terms of both the style and the men who designed it.

The style is known as late Gothic Revival, reminiscent of European cathedrals. Features include pointed arches and towers, crenellated parapets, terra cotta ornamentation, a slate roof and extensive stained glass, including the magnificent “rose” window in the chapel.

Prominent Rock Island architect George P. Stauduhar designed the centerpiece building and its first major addition. Edward Lerch designed a later wing and a freestanding power plant.

The landscape, with walks, drives, a pergola and a pavilion, was designed by Alling Stephen DeForest of Rochester, N.Y.

The city’s Web site describes the Villa as a “unique, magnificent estate in the heart of Rock Island (that) is one of the most beautiful Gothic Revival treasures in the Quad-Cities.”

A chronology of the Villa’s history

-- 1900-01, 1906, 1919, 1929 — Construction.

-- 1958 — Boarding school closes.

-- 1960s — Reaches a peak population of 45 nuns and 350 students. Boys admitted during the 1970s.

-- 1978 — School closes. Factors include declining enrollment due to competition, increased energy and maintenance costs and a declining number of sisters to teach. The sisters continue living there.

-- 1991 — Remaining 11 sisters announce that they will move within 18 months and the property, with its steep maintenance costs, will be for sale.

-- 1994 — Designated a local landmark by City of Rock Island.

-- 1996 — After about five years on the market, the property is purchased by Joe Seng, a Davenport veterinarian and Iowa state senator.

Seng’s tenure includes some rocky times, with various plans that did not materialize for one reason or another. Occupants include a dance studio, a restaurant, a canine university and the major tenant, Morning Star Academy, a nondenominational Christian school.

-- 2004 — Building complex is purchased by Quad-City developer Chris Ales and his Signature Development Co. with plans to convert it into senior citizen apartments.

-- May 2005 — Property is listed on the National Register.

-- July 2006 — Fire destroys original portion of the Villa.

-- November 2006 — Signature Development stops work on the conversion because of financial problems.

-- June 2007 — Ales transfers the property to his lender, Wells Fargo Bank.

-- October 2007 — Rock Island-Milan School District purchases the property.

-- November 2007 — City Council agrees to rescind the building’s historic landmark status.

-- Summer 2008 — School district hopes to begin work at the site.

Bricks might be available for salvage

Once the Rock Island-Milan School District gets the go-ahead to demolish the buildings on the Villa de Chantal site, work will move fairly quickly, and there will not be time to carefully “deconstruct” the building piece by piece, said Bruce Harding of Shive-Hattery Inc., the Moline firm hired to design a new school on the property.

He hopes that building debris, such as terra cotta trim and bricks, can be moved for a year to the site of the old Farmall plant, where interested people might be able to claim materials for salvage or sentimental reasons.

In addition, Habitat for Humanity ReStore will be allowed to “harvest” Lewis Hall, part of the Villa site, for such materials as woodwork or cabinets.

The design of the new elementary school will echo some of the lines of the Gothic Revival-style villa, Harding said, and there will be a facsimile of the original entrance inside the new school.

Besides the Villa proper, other buildings on the site that will be demolished are two homes built for caretakers, a garage and a power plant. Most of the trees will be saved, he said.