{"nrhp_refnum":"00000949","name":"Ritzman, William, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"10715 IL 26 N","address_restricted":false,"city":"Orangeville","county":"Stephenson County","state":"IL","lat":42.45921216100004,"lon":-89.64178989599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-10-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Greek Revival farmhouse on Illinois Route 26 about a mile south of the business district of Orangeville, Stephenson County, Illinois. William Ritzman, a settler from Union County, Pennsylvania, built it around 1847.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is the best local example of Greek Revival architecture and one of the oldest residential buildings on the outskirts of Orangeville. It has the style's typical low-pitched gabled roof, wide cornice band, recessed four-panel door with glazed surround, and six-over-six windows. It was restored using a c. 1854 line drawing and is said to retain good integrity.","narrative":"Built around 1847 by Pennsylvania-born settler William Ritzman, this two-story brick farmhouse sits on Illinois Route 26 just south of Orangeville, in northern Stephenson County. Once the first impressive sight for travelers heading north from Freeport, it remains a single-family home among pine and black walnut trees. Its Greek Revival character shows in the low-pitched gabled roof, a wide undecorated band beneath the cornice, six-over-six windows, and a recessed four-panel front door framed by narrow glass panes and flat Doric pilasters. Cast iron stars on the exterior tie into the floor structure. The walls are solid brick laid in American bond on a sandstone foundation. Rehabilitation starting in 1974 used a c. 1854 line drawing as its guide, removing a later porch and tin roof and restoring a wood shingle roof. Two first-floor interior walls were partly removed during structural repairs. The house is valued as the best local example of its style.","period_of_significance":"circa 1847","architect_builder":"William Ritzman (builder/original owner)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still a single-family residence. It was rehabilitated beginning in 1974 after years as a rental, and was vacant when bought.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.219654-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/8941/28894162/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/00000949.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000949/3dfe126d7b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000949/3dfe126d7b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orangeville_Il_Ritzman_House1.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_Ritzman_House1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894162","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ritzman_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8017603"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/stephenson-county/ritzman-william-house-00000949/"}