{"nrhp_refnum":"07000476","name":"Williamson County Jail","other_names":["Williamson County Historical Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"105 S. Van Buren St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marion","county":"Williamson County","state":"IL","lat":37.73060458600003,"lon":-88.92813711999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Law"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A combined sheriff's residence and county jail at 105 South Van Buren Street in Marion, Illinois, approved for construction by the County Board of Supervisors in 1912. It now serves as the Williamson County Historical Museum.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the building as an example of Prairie School architecture, designed to look like a residence in a residential neighborhood. It also reflects Progressive Era jail reform and is tied to the county's violent history, including the 1922 Herrin Massacre indictments and the last county hanging in 1927.","narrative":"Built after the County Board of Supervisors approved a new jail on July 20, 1912, this Marion building combined a sheriff's residence with cell blocks for about eighty-five prisoners. It replaced an old jail that a local newspaper had condemned as a disease-breeding vermin trap. The design followed Progressive Era efforts to improve jail conditions and was meant to look like a house in a residential neighborhood. Its Prairie School features include a strong horizontal emphasis, a three-part stone foundation skirt, stone-capped brick piers, a cream terra cotta modillion cornice, and geometric art glass in the entry. The jail is also linked to the county's turbulent history. It held about 125 prisoners after the 1922 Herrin Massacre indictments, and a gallows beside the north wall was used for the county's last hanging in 1927. Today it houses the Williamson County Historical Museum, with a library, Native American artifacts and displays in the former residence, cells and basement.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Prairie School Architecture","criteria":[],"status_note":"Now in use as the Williamson County Historical Museum, with exhibits in the former residence, cell areas and basement.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.393557-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/8943/28894363/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/07000476.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000476/54863678f4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000476/54863678f4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Williamson_County_Jail_in_Marion.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Williamson_County_Jail_in_Marion.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894363","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamson_County_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16903469"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/williamson-county/williamson-county-jail-07000476/"}