{"nrhp_refnum":"00000472","name":"Union House","other_names":["Bower, John, House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"207 W. High St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Orangeville","county":"Stephenson County","state":"IL","lat":42.468391144000066,"lon":-89.64594673099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-05-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half-story brick house at 207 W. High Street in Orangeville, Stephenson County, Illinois, built in 1849 by town founder John Bower as his personal residence.","why_significant":"It is the first brick building, first permanent residence and oldest standing building in Orangeville, closely tied to John Bower, who founded and platted the town. It is also described as the only example of Gothic Revival architecture in the town, with Greek Revival influence.","narrative":"Built in 1849 on High Street in Orangeville, Illinois, this brick house was the home of John Bower, who platted the town in 1851. It is considered the oldest surviving building in Orangeville and was the town's first brick house and an early post office. The house has a limestone foundation, an asphalt shingle roof and steep gables with scroll-sawn bargeboards, a Gothic Revival design with Greek Revival crossover features. Inside, a central stair separates double parlors and a dining room, with a hand-hewn, pegged beam structure visible in the basement. Later changes include a bay window added to the east wall, a removed front balcony, a 1960s rear garage and spare room, and updated utilities, yet the form remains largely intact. Bower is recognized for settlement of the area, having built mills and promoted the village, so the house is linked to the town's origins. It is also valued as the only Gothic Revival example in Orangeville. Its significant period runs from 1849 to 1854, when Bower sold it.","period_of_significance":"1849-1854","architect_builder":"Bower, John, Builder","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, altered little since construction, and used continuously as a private single-family residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.402016-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/8941/28894172/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/00000472.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000472/ebf8d6d8eb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000472/ebf8d6d8eb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orangeville_Il_Union_House2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">IvoShandor</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orangeville_Il_Union_House2.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894172","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7885775"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/stephenson-county/union-house-00000472/"}