By Sheila Edmunds, Village Historian

The first brick building in Aurora, Leffingwell House, as it now called, was constructed  ca. 1826 for Eleazer Burnham (1780-1867), a lawyer and farmer. It was the center of a building complex accommodating his two occupations. Still standing are the barns on the east side, a tenant-house to the north (Chimney Corners) and across the street, Burnham’s brick law office (now “Grove,” an art gallery).

Leffingwell House is a vivid illustration of how a house’s appearance can evolve. Originally it was a neat Federal “cube,” whose ornament was simply a handsome fanlight over the front door. Around 1870, when the property had passed to Burnham’s nephew, the upper story was enlarged and the roof was “modernized” in the prevailing Italianate fashion.Finally, in 1896, when Dr. Leffingwell acquired it, a porch was extended across the front and south side, giving the house a up-to-date “Queen Anne” appearance.