Benjamin Stephenson House | |
.JPG) The fully restored Benjamin Stephenson House in 2007. | |
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| Location | 409 S. Buchanan St., Edwardsville, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 38°48′26″N 89°57′8″W / 38.80722°N 89.95222°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1820; 1845 |
| Architect | Benjamin Stephenson (builder) |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 80001395[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 31, 1980 |
The Benjamin Stephenson House is a Federal style home built in 1820 in the city of Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. The house was constructed by prominent Edwardsville citizen and Illinois politician Benjamin Stephenson. He died shortly after the home's completion and the home had 15 subsequent owners, some of whom made major alterations to the original structure. In 1845 the addition of an ell altered the appearance of the house. The last two owners were the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the current owner, the city of Edwardsville.
In 1999 the city of Edwardsville purchased the home from the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and in 2001 a restoration project began. The project aimed to restore the house to its authentic 1820s appearance and open the house as a public museum. The house has been the subject of tales of ghostly activity since at least the 1970s, though no recent reports exist. The Stephenson House has prominence for its architecture and for its affiliation with Illinois politics. The building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1980.