The Tiskilwa Inn is an Italianate-style manor house built in 1848 by John Stevens.  The home was

built as a wedding gift for his daughter Louisa and her new husband, Edward Sawyer.  The Italianate style was popular throughout the mid-19th century as an alternative to Gothic or Greek-Revival style homes.  Common features of this style, all of which are incorporated into the Inn's design, include the low-pitched or flat roof, projecting eaves supported by imposing corbels, tall first-floor windows and the unique rectangular cupola or Belvedere, Italian for "beautiful view".  

The bricks used in the construction of the Tiskilwa Inn were made locally at Mr. Steven's own brickyard.  Inside, a central hallway extends from the north to the south end of the home and features two stairways.  The dramatic front stairway is a reverse curve with solid cherry rail and spindles; the back stairway and spindles are walnut.  Original geometric designs of molded plaster still grace the ceilings in the library and formal dining room.  The long windows are set into the walls at a depth of eight inches, indicating the thickness of the outer brick walls.  Five of the home's original fireplaces remain, each with its own distinctive design. 

This stately old home is one of seven in the Tiskilwa vicinity recognized in the 1975 Illinois Historic Structures Survey as places of "special interest because of their aesthetic, architectural and technological significance."