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"The Famous Buford Landmark Home of Rock Island."by Curt Borders
The building currently used by Word of Life was originally the Charles Buford mansion, constructed in the summer of 1854 from plans drawn by Buford himself. Charles Buford had been part of a wealthy plantation family in Georgetown, Kentucky, and the house was built in the Neo-Classical style to follow the old Southern Colonial design.Charles Buford, a Yale graduate, came to Rock Island from Virginia in 1852, where he founded what later became the Rock Island Works of JI Case. The mansion's style and location, with a direct view of the Mississippi, was chosen to reflect his wealth and position in the community.
According to Charles Buford's plans, the building was to be 54 feet by 55 feet, with an "L" of 20 by 30 feet at the southwest rear corner. The front doors were originally double French plate glass, opening into the 13-foot-wide hallway leading directly to Charles Buford's grand staircase, which still exists and is in use.
The main hallway doors leading into the front parlors are framed by decorative pilasters common to the first floor, and intricate horsehair/plaster moldings of a shield-and-garland design traverse the length of the hallway. These are accented by dentil moldings that also frame the ceiling. Molding similar to that of the hallway can be found inside the front parlor.
Across the hall are the smaller west parlors now used for meeting rooms and a library. The first thing you see in the library is the smaller fireplace which is no longer in use. Pilasters around the door and windows have capitals that resemble Corinthian, and ornamental horsehair/plaster moldings formed into plant designs surround the room. In the middle of the ceiling, a wrought iron chandelier base, no longer in use, can be seen more clearly. Fluorescent lights have been installed in the ceiling.
The second floor's rooms house fireplaces made of cast concrete, which are smaller and much less grandiose than those of the east parlor downstairs. The rooms to the right of the stairs are offices, and the room located directly in front of the stairs is an office, which has access to the front porch balcony. The second floor hallway boasts a small alcove which leads to the class rooms on the south end of the second floor, as well as a smaller stairway leading to the third floor. Located on the third floor where the The BigHouse Youth meets, is a 60' x60' open room with a 10x12 foot circular skylight, located in the center of the ceiling. For years this skylight was covered over, but it is now opened up and has had all broken glass replaced, and it is in the process of restoration. In the spring of 1999, a small door was investigated, which lead into a large un-finished attic room. In this room many interesting artifacts were found including; clay marbles, several old leather moccasins and many papers and documents, some dating back to the 1860's. The History of Ownership of the mansion After Charles Buford died, his sons Basil Duke Buford and John Buford lived in the house. In 1906, the mansion was sold to E. W. Hurst. After E.W.Hurst died, the mansion was sold to Walter Rosenfield, the son of Moline Wagon Company founder Morris Rosenfield. He moved his family into the home from their family mansion across the street, in 1917. The Moline Wagon company later became part of John Deere. In 1935, Israel C. Gellman, an influential businessman in Rock Island and part of the Jewish community, recognized that there was a need for a place for those of Jewish descent to meet. The old Buford mansion was bought from Walter Rosenfield, and the Tri-City Jewish Center was established in 1936. In 1948, after the congregation had expanded, so did plans for the building; an addition was built in 1951, and housed the sanctuary and gymnasium. An entrance was added on the west side of the addition, which has Hebrew lettering located to the right of the entrance. In 1958, the Center purchased the old Rosenfield mansion across the street to use as an educational facility. After several local Jewish congregations merged with the Tri-City Jewish Center, they became too large for the old Buford mansion to hold them anymore, so in 1981 they built a new facility at 2715 30th Street, Rock Island, on 4 acres donated by the Hebrew Cemetery Association. Word of Life Christian Center bought the building in June of 1982. The mansion was sold to Word of Life complete with furnishings. When Word of Life moved in, they decided to retain the structural details that identified it as having been the Jewish Center. The structural details can still be seen on the addition's exterior, as well as a Star-of-David in each of the Sanctuary windows. The latest additions to the mansion include:
The sanctuary and the gymnasium were re-modeled in June of 1999, into one large worship facility, and a second story nursery was added above the south entrance, to accommodate the growing church. The third floor has been remodeled into the home of the BigHouse Youth Ministry of Word of Life. *Pictures by Jason Stephens and Nicole Hoppe
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If you are a visitor to the Word of Life Christian Center, 1804 7th Avenue, Rock Island, please take time to walk out front of the mansion as if you approached the building (from 7th Avenue). The first thing to catch your attention will be the impressive Neo-Classical portico on the north (front) side of the mansion.
Just inside the front doors, the floor still has the mosaic Charles Buford installed. It bears a decorative Old English "B" which may or may not be the Buford family crest, set into a shield on a field of rust colored tiles, surrounded by curvilinear decorative forms.
Just east of the front doors is the "Chandelier room", which is now used for a conference and prayer room. In this room it appears that Buford opted for more rectangular forms than those in the hallway; visually the molding sections off the large parlor into two smaller areas. Of the most interest are the chandeliers, hanging from wrought iron holders set into the ceiling, and the two original hand carved Italian Carrera marble fireplaces, detailed with elaborate, symmetrical stylized plant designs.
On the way up the split stair case to the second floor, (over the landing) is a large stain glass window topped with an arch composed of three smaller, curved windows. The whole window is tied together by an outer molding that echoes its arched shape. Lighting in this upper hallway includes cast metal lamps beside the landing window and a simple chandelier.
A stage which was located in the south-west end of the gymnasium was removed, and a new entrance to the Sanctuary added. This entrance opens into the parking lot located on the south end of the property.