The Illges House, now an event venue known as the Illges-Woodruff House, is one of the most imposing works of residential architecture in Columbus. It was built by James A. Chapman (c. 1809-1869) circa 1850. Chapman, a native of Warren County, came to Columbus about 1840 and was one of the largest planters in the area, dependent on the labor of over 140 slaves. The Civil War ended his prosperity and with it went the ownership of this house. When Abraham Illges (1830-1915) purchased the home from interim owner William H. Woods in 1877, he added the elaborate doorway, pedimented windows, iron roof trim, paired eave brackets, and an iron fence. The house remained in the family until being sold in 1946. It returned to the family in 1956 when purchased by James Waldo Woodruff for his wife, Ethel, a daughter of Abraham Illges.
Illges, a native of Pennsylvania, worked for the Confederacy as an intelligence agent behind enemy lines, as he did not want to fight against his brothers who remained in Pennsylvania. His Columbus businesses included groceries, mills, manufacturing companies, and banks.
High Uptown Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This is a classic, iconic-looking Southern mansion. The sad and shameful history of slavery is revealed starkly in these beautiful and graceful houses build by slave owners, this one being a particularly grand showplace to display the wealth of planters. Beauty, cruelty and tragedy — such paradoxical and painful reminders of our country’s past and the civil war that tore it apart. What stories architecture and history tell us!