FREEPORT, Ill. (WIFR) – A grove of towering trees greets visitors on the drive into Freeport’s Oscar Taylor House. Rachel Gastel spent her childhood with the historic property as her backyard.
“It’s gorgeous here,” she says inside the Victorian home’s entrance. Ornate wallpaper and period furniture permeate the interior. Photographs and portraits of the Taylors are scattered across mantles and bookshelves alongside the family’s artifacts.
Gastel provides an impromptu tour through the halls. The marketing director for the Stephenson County Historical Society oversees the building’s legacy.
“I’m so proud to like be able to kind of share their stories,” she noted…