Abandoned Farm House Outside Washington, Illinois

Update: The house was destroyed sometime in the first half of 2019.

I had seen this abandoned farmstead on Old Highway 24, between Washington and Eureka, Illinois. Realizing that a tornado or strong winds, or just simply the owner, could demolish the structure any day, I convinced my parents to stop by on the way back from dropping my grandmother off in Eureka after a wonderful German dinner in Peoria.

The house sits up front, close to the road and still maintains a semblance of its original dignity. It looks like many farmhouses around here, but obviously worse for wear.

Around back is either a barn, or a corn crib. It was hard to tell through all of the underbrush that has exploded due to the large amounts of rain and sunshine.

Storm clouds were brewing, just an hour after driving to Eureka in the setting sunshine. I jumped back in the car, and told my father to hit the gas back to Morton.

14 Comments Add yours

  1. Boxcar Fritz says:

    Where'd you eat in Peoria? Hofbrau?

  2. Chris says:

    Yes, in fact I did.

  3. Anonymous says:

    After looking at your photos of Stuckey's, I wanted to Google that farm and found you had taken pics of it too. There's a vehicle in that crib and the crib is no longer there. The owner has also posted a No Trespassing sign next to the front door frame.

  4. Chris says:

    Interesting, the no trespassing signs weren't there before.

  5. kmal1128 says:

    I have always wondered about this house. It's the closest thing to a ghost house there is around here. I'm from eureka and would always drive by it and wonder why it wasn't demolished. I'm surprised kids haven't lit on fire at some point as a prank.

  6. ABDULAZIZWASSWA says:

    HOW DOES ONE GO ON TO LEGALLY GET THESE ABANDONED FARMS?

    1. Chris Naffziger says:

      I photographed all of these pictures from the right-of-way of the public highway.

  7. Maureen Isenberg says:

    This place now has windows and a new metal roof.

  8. Chris Naffziger says:

    There’s a new metal roof on it now, too? When I was there in August of this year (2018), the windows had been installed, but not the roof. How interesting!

    http://stlouispatina.com/the-house-on-pleasantview-road-august-2018/

  9. Marianne Martin says:

    It was demolished today.

    1. Chris Naffziger says:

      Noooo!!!! Even after they spend money on new storm windows and a front door?

  10. charles Eldredge says:

    the sad thing is high property taxes incentivize people to tear down old buildings like this.

  11. Tracy Stober says:

    I graduated from pleasant view grade school and the school bus drove past this house every day. I wondered what has happened to it. Did you ever find out who owned the property? The school was just down the road aways. Not sure if it is still there. Thanks for posting these photos

    1. cnaffziger says:

      The school is still there as of June of 2023! I’ve photographed it several times, as recently as 2021:
      https://stlouispatina.com/pleasantview-road-july-2021/

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