Now that The 1846 Blodgett House has been moved to the Downers Grove Park District's museum campus and restored to a mid-19^th century appearance, the next chapter of this historic home's life is about to be written. Park Board commissioners heard April 21 about plans for Phase II of the restoration of the house.

The 1846 Blodgett House is not only one of the oldest houses in the village, but also was a stopover point on the Underground Railroad. The home's first resident, Israel Blodgett, was a blacksmith who once owned hundreds of acres in the village, according to the Downers Grove Park District Museum.

The house was situated at 812 Randall St. for about 100 years and, under the guidance of the The Downers Grove Heritage Preservation Corp. and the Park District, and with the help of many donors and sponsors, was moved back near its original location in Wandschneider Park in 2008. The park district will operate the house as a museum focusing on the Underground Railroad.

The second phase of the restoration project aims to finish part of the first floor and enclose the exposed part behind glass panels to allow visitors to view the structure and architecture of the house, said Director of Recreation Sandy Pfundheller. The second floor functioned as a sleeping loft for children, so that area will be outfitted with period-appropriate child-sized furniture.

In the basement there will be a lecture area where tours of the house will begin. The beams and other structural elements of that room will be left in place to allow visitors to get a feel for the house, Pfundheller said.

Parks Administrator Dan Cermak added that artifacts and other archives would be placed on the first floor along with interpretive storyboards.

Proposed work on Phase II is expected to cost between $59,000 and $123,000, Pfundheller said. The DGHPC has a balance of about $6,000 following work on exterior restoration, so fundraising is necessary, she told the board.

Commissioners liked the plan as presented, especially the idea to leave some of the interior structure of the house exposed.