{"nrhp_refnum":"10000725","name":"Johnson County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Courthouse Square","address_restricted":false,"city":"Vienna","county":"Johnson County","state":"IL","lat":37.41657183800004,"lon":-88.89671876499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-09-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Italianate courthouse with a sandstone foundation and octagonal cupola, located on Courthouse Square in Vienna, Johnson County, Illinois. Built 1869-1871 and designed by Niles L. Wickwire.","why_significant":"The nomination argues local significance under Criterion C for architecture as an excellent, rare Illinois example of an Italianate courthouse. It also cites Criterion A for government and politics, since the building has served as the seat of county government since 1871. It is described as one of few Italianate courthouses in Illinois still used as a courthouse.","narrative":"Johnson County Courthouse sits in the center of the public square in Vienna, Illinois. Built between October 1869 and January 1871 to a design by Niles L. Wickwire, it is a two-story brick building with a basement, a cross-shaped plan and a sandstone foundation from a local quarry. Its Italianate character shows in the wide eaves with scroll brackets, tall arched windows with cast iron hoods, and an octagonal cupola with clocks that is visible for several miles. The east and west entrances were replaced with windows in the 1960s, but much of the original interior survives, including plaster ceilings, four-panel doors, vaults and cast iron radiators. The building is recognized for its architecture, as a rare Illinois example of an Italianate courthouse still serving its original purpose, and for its role as the center of county government since 1871. Its period of significance runs from 1869 to 1960.","period_of_significance":"1869 - 1960","architect_builder":"Niles L. Wickwire","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as the Johnson County Courthouse and county offices; described as well preserved with some 1960s alterations to entrances and the courtroom.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.392548-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/94/8930/28893094/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/10000725.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000725/4ba1727cd6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000725/4ba1727cd6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnson_County_Courthouse_in_Vienna.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnson_County_Courthouse_in_Vienna.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893094","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_County_Courthouse_(Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16850720"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/johnson-county/johnson-county-courthouse-10000725/"}