He went into the mercantile business with James Waterman, a prominent local businessman for whom the historic Waterman Block is named. The George P. Wild House is a large two-story Italianate home constructed in 1869 by George P. Wild, a successful Sycamore dry goods dealer, when he commissioned a Chicago architect, either John W. Ackerman or George Ackerman, to build the two-story house for $4,000. The final cost of construction was $4,500 and the bill outraged Wild. The building was designed in the Italianate architectural style. It features a veranda, though not original, which winds from the front door, around the building, to the secondary entrance on the home's south side. The door has the name G.P. Wild etched into its glass. The Henry Garbutt House is another one of 187 contributing structures to the Sycamore Historic District in Sycamore, Illinois. The 1890 Queen Anne style home stands on South Main Street and was home to Henry Garbutt, a prominent Sycamore banker. The Hosea W. Willard House, in the 400 block of Somonauk Street is one of numerous 19th-century houses in the historic district. The house was built by Sycamore mason Hosea Willard in 1867. The Willard House is one of the Sycamore Historic District houses to feature the distinctive Jerkin roof, basically a combination of the simple gable roof and the hipped roof. Both the main gables and the smaller gables over the second floor windows contain this roof element. On the home's south facade a prominent oriel is set into the first floor. Willard was a prominent Sycamore mason and builder. He was responsible for the construction of several of the historic district's other notable buildings, including the St. Peter's Episcopal Church as well as the Old Congregational Church (now Sycamore Baptist Church). Willard arrived in Sycamore in 1843, a time when the city had just 18 homes. J.H. Rogers settled in Sycamore in 1858. He was a highly respected dry goods merchant and associate of George R. Wild. Wild's House is another of the Sycamore Historic District's notable homes. Later in his dry goods merchant career he worked without Wild. His circa 1890 home is a blend of Queen Anne style and Romanesque Revival architecture. The distinctly Queen Anne turret on the home's northwest side is offset by the distinctly Romanesque arch over the front doorway.