Just when officials appeared ready to abandon efforts to restore a historic farmhouse in a forest preserve near Bartlett and West Chicago, a private donor has kicked in cash to make sure the 163-year-old structure remains standing.

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $32,100 contract to repair the deteriorating foundation of the home. A private, anonymous donor — who is a descendent of the home’s original owner — has pledged $10,000 to make sure the project moves forward.

The Baker House overlooks St. Charles Road just west of Prince Crossing Road and sits at the southern end of West Branch Forest Preserve. It was built in 1845 by Peter Baker, an Irish immigrant to DuPage County.

It is considered the county’s best surviving example of Greek Revival-style architecture, which was popular in the U.S. from the early 1800s through the Civil War.

Paul Slomski, director of fundraising and development for the forest preserve district, said he hopes more private donors will help fund more restorations to the home.

“There are some groups of people around the county who are interested in the preservation of the Baker House,” Slomski said.

In the late 1980s through the mid-’90s, a group of volunteers with the Conservation Society of DuPage County helped maintain the property and raised money for restorations, said Mary Ellen Weller, manager of landscape architecture for the district.

Major exterior restorations took place from 1995 through 1997. The projects included repairing masonry, windows, shutters and gutters and putting new wooden shingles on the roof, Weller said.

Keith Letsche, who led the earlier volunteer efforts, helped the district secure the donation for the upcoming restorations. That project will include installing five underground drainage basins, repairing and tuckpointing 325 square feet of interior stone foundation walls, damp-proofing the basement floor and installing new gutters on the roof of the cellar access.

Despite the restorations, there are no plans at this point to open the interior of the building to the public.

“Up to this point, the focus has been to restore the exterior and maintain it as much as possible as a feature of the landscape,” Weller said.

District officials are still trying to determine future uses for the house, which could include educational signs explaining the history of the home.