Second Empire mansion built in 1882 for a Civil War veteran turned barbed wire magnate, site of two murders and the deaths of at least three owners
206 N. Broadway, Joliet, IL 60435
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewable from public sidewalk; no regular public interior access as of last report
Access
Limited Access
Residential street; Victorian mansion exterior accessible from sidewalk only
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1882 · National Register of Historic Places · Barbed Wire Industry History · Civil War Veteran · Second Empire Architecture · Joliet Local History
Hiram Scutt arrived in Joliet with a background in Civil War service and an eye for the barbed wire market that was transforming American agriculture. In 1874, he opened H. B. Scutt & Co., the first barbed wire manufacturer in Joliet, and went on to hold ten patents for different wire varieties before selling the business in 1884. He then founded the Joliet Barbed Wire Company and led the Joliet Wire Check Power Company and Citizens Electric Company. At the height of his commercial success, he commissioned architect James C. Wesse to design a mansion on N. Broadway.
The resulting 4,960-square-foot structure, completed in 1882, was built in the Second Empire style with Eastlake movement detailing. Scutt died in 1889 from injuries sustained in a riding accident. Adelaide Scutt, his widow, continued living in the mansion through a period of mourning — she had already outlived a daughter — and is the figure most frequently associated with the Lady in Black legend. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 2003.
In 2004, a 19-year-old named Steven Jenkins was shot and killed during a party held in the house. Two University of St. Francis football players, Donald Motley and Jerod Milian, were convicted of the murder and sentenced to prison. Local historian and John Wilkes Booth impersonator Seth Magosky purchased the mansion thereafter and began converting it into a Victorian museum, but died suddenly of an abdominal aneurysm inside the house in 2007, just six months into the project. The museum briefly operated under subsequent ownership before closing in January 2013.
The mansion entered foreclosure in 2014 and was listed at under $160,000. Multiple paranormal investigation groups have conducted documented investigations on the property.
Sources
The Lady in Black is the figure most consistently associated with the Scutt Mansion in paranormal accounts. Adelaide Scutt, Hiram's wife, is identified in this tradition as a woman seen in period mourning clothes moving through the house, described as grieving the deaths of her husband and at least one daughter. The identification rests on lore rather than documented witness accounts, but the figure has been reported by multiple investigation groups over the years.
Multiple paranormal groups have reported children's spirits, particularly in the third-floor doll room, which investigations since at least the 2010s have designated a hotspot. The Illinois Paranormal Research Association, led by David Scott, conducted a documented investigation in which a section of ceiling in the doll room collapsed immediately after Scott verbally requested a spirit manifest itself audibly. Scott interpreted this as a response; the structural condition of the abandoned building offers an alternative explanation.
The deaths of Hiram Scutt's family members in the house, the 2004 murder of Steven Jenkins, and the sudden 2007 death of Seth Magosky have collectively given the property an incident record that ghost tour operators present as cumulative evidence of lingering energy. The mansion's third-floor spaces, in particular, generated consistent reports across different investigation groups operating independently.
Notable Entities
The 4,960-square-foot Second Empire mansion at 206 N. Broadway is visible from the public sidewalk. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003. Interior access has varied by ownership; check current status before visiting.
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