{"nrhp_refnum":"05000431","name":"Rogers, Col. Matthew, Building","other_names":["Abraham Lincoln Long Nine Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"200 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Athens","county":"Menard County","state":"IL","lat":39.96005737200005,"lon":-89.72396452899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-05-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Greek Revival clapboard store building at 200 South Main Street in Athens, Menard County, Illinois, built circa 1832 by Colonel Matthew Rogers, the local postmaster.","why_significant":"The building is argued to be significant under Criterion A for its long association with the commercial development of Athens. It was one of the town's first major commercial buildings, housing a general store, the first Athens post office and an upstairs meeting room. It later served other commercial uses and remained a center for social activities, including a banquet honoring Abraham Lincoln and the Long Nine legislators.","narrative":"Built around 1832 by Colonel Matthew Rogers, the local postmaster, this two-story Greek Revival store at 200 South Main Street in Athens, Illinois, is a timber-frame building with clapboard siding, mortise-and-tenon joints and a brick foundation. It housed a general store, the town's first post office in the rear northeast corner, and an upstairs meeting hall. In 1837 townspeople held a banquet there honoring Abraham Lincoln and the other Long Nine legislators who helped move the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. Later owners, notably merchant Louis Salzenstein, kept it in commercial use, and it later served as a hardware store, garage and Masonic-related space. A 1972 rehabilitation restored windows, rebuilt the front porch and reinforced the structure. Today it operates as a museum with dioramas about Lincoln in Athens. It is significant for its long role in the commercial and social life of the town between about 1832 and 1955.","period_of_significance":"circa 1832-1955","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Now a museum honoring Abraham Lincoln and the Long Nine, with a post office area and general store space on the first floor; described as in very good condition after a 1972 rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.324078-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/8937/28893715/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/05000431.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000431/0839d8528c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000431/0839d8528c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matthew_Rogers_Building_in_Athens.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matthew_Rogers_Building_in_Athens.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893715","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col._Matthew_Rogers_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14687467"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/menard-county/rogers-col-matthew-building-05000431/"}