Clendenen House

Clendenen House

George W. Clendenen was born in Greenebrier County, Virginia about 1779. He moved to Kentucky where he was married to Mary Reynolds. He then relocated to St. Charles Missouri, arriving in a one-horse Dearborn Wagon. In the spring of 1819, he and his family moved to Greene County, Illinois, near the point where the Macoupin Creek breaks through the bluff in Woodville Township and according to the best records available, they were the first settlers in that area. Here they built a log cabin and son Hazard Perry attended school mostly taught by his father. George died in 1841 and Mary in 1869. It is rumored that Blackhawk, a famous Indian Chief, was a frequent guest of the Clendenen Family when he was in the area.

Hazard Perry married Mariah Clark on December 20, 1842. She was born November 16, 1823 in the Macoupin Creek area. From their marriage was born 6 children, two of whom died at very young ages. Hazard became identified with the Whig party, and continued until it was disorganized, when he joined the ranks of the Republican party. Mr. Clendenen was one of the strong supporters of the Union cause.

Although it is unclear when the limestone house was built, the Greene County Atlas of 1873 shows Hazard as the owner of the home. His wife passed away December 5, 1862. He was at one time a farmhand and at another, a flatboat operator, but at the time of his death on November 20, 1880, Hazard was the largest landowner in the township possessing more than 1700 acres. Both of the Clendenens are buried at the old homestead. The stone house passed to George Shield who lived in the home until 1911 when the wood frame house was built. Theodore and Mary Koster bought the house in 1943 and it was while in their ownership that the world famous Koster Archeological site was discovered on the property.