From the years 1844 until 1853 the house was owned by several different individuals, including a Colonel Joel E. Walker. In 1853 the house was bought by Ezra May. May stayed in the home until 1886 and it was during his ownership that the house underwent the first of two significant alterations. During the 1860s May added the balloon framed wing section of the home; this section of the house rests upon a brick foundation. May was another prominent Belvidere citizen. May held office as "School Director," and "Town Trustee," and later owned a flour mill and served as president of a local bank. After 1886 the house was owned by a local educator, about whom little is known today, John Christian Zinzer. Zinzer owned the Lampert-Wildflower House until he sold it to a friend from Forreston, Illinois, Phillip C. Lampert on September 11, 1891.