Benjamin Hypes House

The house at 904 Belleville St. was built around 1865 for Benjamin Hypes, the postmaster of Lebanon who was appointed by President Lincoln. Hypes had been one of Lebanon's leading merchants for decades and served as treasurer of McKendree College from the 1830s to the 1870s. The Belleville St. house held Benjamin, his wife, and all six children in 1870. By 1880, three of the children had moved out but two of the remaining added spouses and children. In 1896, Benjamin Hypes died in Lebanon and his widow, Caroline, moved to St. Louis to live in one of the homes of her youngest son, a physician. The Benjamin Hypes House is part of the Lebanon National Register Historic District.

Benjamin Hypes' grandfather Nicholas Hypes emigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1760. Nicholas settled on a farm near Winchester Virginia after living in Philadelphia; he had been educated as a Lutheran minister. Benjamin's father Henry H. Hypes was born in Virginia and moved with his wife and children - including Benjamin, who was born in 1805 - to Xenia, Ohio in 1811.

Benjamin was a member of the first class of the Lebanon Seminary in 1828. The Seminary became McKendree College, affiliated with the Methodist Church, in 1830. Benjamin served as a trustee of McKendree College for sixty-one years and as its treasurer for thirty-seven. In 1834, Benjamin married a woman from Baltimore named Caroline Murray; her father Daniel was an early settler of Belleville, Illinois. One of Benjamin's first businesses in Lebanon was an oxen-powered grist mill. One of Benjamin's sisters, Nancy, was married to Lebanon businessman Nathan Horner. In 1831, Benjamin and Horner became partners in a mercantile business; this arrangement lasted until 1840. The business had a third partner, H.K. Ashley, in the mid-1830s. In the early 1840s, Benjamin was a farmer before opening up his own store in Lebanon. Benjamin was one of two men on the publishing committee of a Methodist newspaper, The Illinois Advocate, published in Lebanon from 1848 to 1852. In 1863, Benjamin was appointed postmaster of Lebanon by President Lincoln.

Benjamin and Caroline had six children: Cornelia, Adelaide, William Henry, Mary, Benjamin M., and Caroline ("Carrie"). All six children (age 20 to 30) were still single and lived at home with their parents in 1870. By 1870, Benjamin (66) was a retired former merchant; Caroline and the children did not have jobs. By 1880, three of the children had moved out of their father's house, and two of the remaining children lived in the house with their own families. In 1880, Benjamin was a retired merchant (75); Caroline (65) kept house and single daughter Cornelia (44) did not work. William Henry (40) was an Internal Revenue collector, and was married (Emma, 35) with a child (Anna, 1). Youngest daughter Carrie married Reverend William Fletcher Swahlen, a McKendree College professor of Greek and German, in 1873. Carrie (30) and her husband (40) also lived in her father's house, with sons Percival (3) and Arthur (1). A boarder, Eliza Muny (68) and two domestic servants - Fredricka Schroeder (20) and Solomon Rolly (20) - completed the list of occupants.

Both Benjamin and Caroline lived into their nineties and are buried in College Hill Cemetery in Lebanon. When Benjamin died in Lebanon in 1896, Caroline went to live with her youngest son in St. Louis. The youngest son, Benjamin Murray Hypes, was born in Lebanon in 1846 and graduated from McKendree in 1866. Benjamin M. became a doctor and professor and worked in Missouri and other towns in Illinois. Dr. Hypes was one of the founders of Marion-Sims Medical College in St. Louis; he never married and had a second home at 1615 Grand Avenue in Lebanon. Dr. Hypes donated land to McKendree, where he also served as a trustee; the property became "Hypes Athletic Field." When he died in 1924, Dr. Hypes' funeral was held in St. Louis, but he was buried with his parents in Lebanon.

The oldest son, William Henry (1839-1887), became a businessman in Lebanon. In 1881, William Henry worked as an insurance agent. He married Emeline Allyn, the daughter of a former president of McKendree, his alma mater (Class of 1860). William Henry lived his whole life in Lebanon.

The Benjamin Hypes House is still a private residence. The two-story, brick structure with a covered front porch contains 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Renovations have kept the home's Victorian feel with high ceilings, hardwood interiors, and antique style light fixtures. The next-door neighbor, the Governor French House, also is a Clio entry.

Brink, McDonough & Co. History of St. Clair County, Illinois. With Illustrations Descriptive of its Scenery.... Edwardsville, IL. Brink, McDonough & Co, 1881.

Schmittling, Janet. 904 Belleville St., Lebanon IL, Redfin. January 1st, 2023. Accessed January 5th, 2023. https://www.redfin.com/IL/Lebanon/904-Belleville-St-62254/home/134502846.

U.S. Census Bureau. Household of Benjamin Hypes, Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois, dwelling 107, family 113. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1870.

Walton, William Clarence. Centennial McKendree College with St. Clair County History. Lebanon, IL. McKendree College, 1928.