The Ellwood House was designed by George O. Garnsey and built in 1879 for barbed wire baron Isaac Ellwood and his wife Harriet. In typical Victorian fashion, the house featured elements of several historic styles, including Victorian Gothic and Second Empire style. The mansion underwent architectural changes in both 1898 and 1910, with the addition of Georgian features and an Arts & Crafts sunroom with a large exterior terrace. As a result of these changes, the Ellwood House assumed much more of the feeling of an elegant country house, integrated into the landscape and its spacious pastoral setting. Given to the DeKalb Park District in 1965 by Mrs. Erwin Perry Ellwood, the house is now a nonprofit museum.