4 Jacoby Place

by Randy Zimmerman

All of the original homes to the south of 4 Jacoby Place were recognized for their grandeur and splendor. However, the first home built on this property in 1910 by Herbert and Florence Hicks was by comparison a small, poorly constructed “cottage” with walls made of a pressed paper material that would actually flex when pushed upon. Also, the house did not have indoor plumbing. The Hicks’ used an outhouse on the property, and had to hand-pump water into the kitchen from a well that was dug next to the house. Apparently, Mr. Hicks voiced an intention to build a “grand” house for his wife to replace the original home, but simply never got around to doing so. However, whatever the Hicks’ home lacked in size and elegance, was partially made up for by the property they owned. At one point they had procured a section of land that extended from their neighbors to the south (Walter and Alice Green) across what is now Springcreek Road, through the west half of the current Anderson Japanese Gardens, across the Spring Creek itself and up to the ridge on the north edge of the present Gardens.

Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were connected in Rockford both politically and socially from the onset of their marriage in 1904. In fact, their marriage received highlighted mention in the Rockford newspaper. Mr. Hicks, a Rockford native and an attorney, had a passion for politics possibly ignited in his early 20s when he attended Stanford and met and became close friends with the President-to-be, Herbert Hoover. So close was their relationship that Mr. Hoover once visited the Hicks’ in their home while on a presidential campaign tour that had brought him to the Rockford area.

In 1914 Mr. Hicks was elected to the first of three terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, first as a Progressive, then as an Independent, and finally as a Republican. Then, in 1920, he was elected to the first of two four-year terms in the Illinois Senate. Subsequent to that, he was appointed by the Governor to the Illinois State Tax Commission. By the mid-1930s he was also conducting surveys for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. On February 2, 1936, while returning home from one of those assignments, Mr. Hicks was involved in an automobile accident. At first, it appeared that he would be all right, as he walked away from the wreck. However, it was soon discovered that he had suffered significant internal injuries, including a punctured lung, and he died the following day at the age of 63.

Mrs. Hicks was once described in a Rockford newspaper article as “a most distinguished gardener, acerbic wit, and one of Rockford’s brightest minds.” Among her many endeavors, she was very active in the Rockford Garden Club, and was also a charter member (along with her neighbor, Bess Bourland of 2 Jacoby Place) of one of the community’s women’s social clubs, The Ragazza Club.

Less than nine years after the death of her husband, Mrs. Hicks lost her only child, Margaret, at the age of 35 “following a long illness.” From the time of her husband’s death in 1936, and for the next almost forty-two years, Mrs. Hicks lived alone in their “cottage” until she died in January of 1978 at the age of 103.

After the passing of Mrs. Hicks, her grandson was considering subdividing the property and building four or five houses on it. Instead, in 1980, Rick (Karen) Nielsen, while still living at 2 Jacoby Place, purchased the 4 Jacoby Place home and property. They did some renovations on the home and rented it for a short time, then lived in it while building a stunning new home on the 2.1 acres of land. The “cottage” was then torn down. The Nielsens made every effort to not disturb the lovely wooded property while building their new home, and were able to achieve their goal by building with having to remove only two trees. They moved in in the late 1980s and reside secluded in their woods at the time of this writing.