Kendall County OKs $1.2M contract for Pickerill-Pigott Forest Preserve project

An architecturally stunning house located in the Pickerill-Pigott Forest Preserve will become a nature and events center for Kendall County residents to enjoy.

The Kendall County Forest Preserve Commission on Sept. 6 approved a $1.2 million contract for renovating the home.

The contract with Lite Construction of Montgomery includes replacing the roof and siding on the house. Work is expected to start this fall and be completed next summer.

The modern-style 1970s home and the surrounding 26-acre property was donated to the Kendall County Forest Preserve District by the late Ken and Jackie Pickerill.

Ken Pickerill was a much-beloved athletics director who coached Oswego High School football and wrestling teams to multiple state championships, while Jackie Pickerill was a prominent Oswego businessperson.

The 1970s-era Pickerill home is secluded in a heavily wooded area on Minkler Road about halfway between Yorkville and Oswego.

Together with adjacent property purchased from the Pigott family, the Pickerill-Pigott Forest Preserve covers about 99 acres and is considered one of the forest preserve district’s premier properties.

The preserve with its hiking trails and other amenities was opened to the public in 2020.

Now, Kendall County officials want the public to have access to the Pickerill home, which will be available for the forest preserve to host public events and for the public to rent for weddings, private parties, school programs and nature studies.

“It’s going to lend itself to a lot of possibilities,” forest preserve President Judy Gilmour said.

The forest preserve district has received approval for a grant of $828,000 from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to help fund the project. The money will be reimbursed to the district as work progresses and invoices are submitted.

Meanwhile, the forest preserve also is making plans for open space improvements directly outside the house, including a pavilion, outdoor fireplace and work to make the property compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Atop the pavilion roof will be solar panels, designed to help power the home, which is all-electric because of its rural location.

The forest preserve board, which is composed of the same individuals who make up the Kendall County Board, approved the submission of an application for $100,000 in federal American Rescue Act fund to the county board.

The ARPA funds, designed to help businesses, non-profit agencies and local units of government recover from the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, are being distributed by the county government.

Kendall County Board Finance Chairman Matt Kellogg said the outdoor pavilion “fits perfectly” as the type of project the ARPA program is designed to help fund.

Kellogg said that construction businesses have donated about $125,000 in time and materials to help renovate the house. Gilmour said forest preserve staff have also worked on the property.

The house suffered some storm damage to the roof and an insurance claim is pending, Kellogg noted.

Inside the home’s front door visitors find themselves in a great hall dominated by a mammoth stone fireplace.

Above, a catwalk runs through the center of the open, vaulted ceiling that connects the two second-floor bedroom wings of the house, while a grand staircase leads from the hall to the upper floor.

The house features large windows that bring daylight and the surrounding scenes of nature directly into the home.

The project includes replacement of plumbing, septic and mechanical systems, as well as lighting.

No work is to be performed on the second floor, which will remain closed to the public.