James Thornton and Hannah Conklin Snell were an extremely wealthy couple, who moved to Bloomington in 1884 from Clinton. They first lived on Chestnut Street, but soon after moving to Bloomington began building their palatial home on Main Street.
Thornton Snell's life was a story of early successes in a very short space of time. He died at age 55. According to his April 20, 1896 obituary he had only entered into business at the age of 29, after being educated in Clinton and then attending Knox College. Perhaps he spent a few years enjoying Europe or other places frequented by the elite before getting down to working for a living.
This highly imaginative home, with a mish mash of architectural elements -- the onion dome, clock gable and a window gable combined with a chimney that looks like a hand bell -- must have been one of the most interesting homes on Main Street. It of course reminds one of the George Miller home on Market Street. A notice to contractors in September of 1889 confirms that the home was designed by George R. Miller.
Thornton came from a family with money in Clinton and was a primary stock holder in the Clinton Bank as well as the Corn Belt Bank. He invested heavily in land in Illinois and other neighboring states. He died whilst unpacking a pony cart for his youngest son, Harry Snell, in the carriage house of the home. The building of this magnificent home occurred in his 48th year. This photo, taken after his death, includes 12 year old Harry Snell in a pony cart, possibly the same one that Thornton Sr. and Thornton Jr. were unboxing on the date of Thornton Sr.'s death. In his obituary it was stated that he had created a life of independence for his children and his children's children. (Not such a challenge when he started off with a family of wealth and position.) A veteran of the Civil War, he was said to be a cheerful, friendly man who would "divide his last dollar with a friend and spend his last dollar to defeat a foe."
After his death Hannah Snell continued to live in Bloomington in the same palatial home until she moved to California to live with her married daughter, Lena Dinsmore. She died in 1932 and at that time the home was the Knights of Columbus club.
Young Harry Snell would also die young (age 32). As a young man he attended schools in Lawrenceville, N. J. and Andover, Massachusetts. He married in Elkhart, Indiana and was a stockbroker there. He never lived in Bloomington again, but his death stemmed from an automobile accident west of Bloomington on May 9, 1915. He was driving with Louis Forman and Fitch Harwood west of town when the car "turned turtle." His injuries were serious but not thought to be fatal. He died seven days later probably from the skull fracture he received. He left a wife and two young sons. Thomas Thornton Snell, an older brother, also died prematurely, following a surgery for an unspecified illness in 1927 at the age of 48 in California.