{"nrhp_refnum":"70000245","name":"Menard, Pierre, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Fort Kaskaskia State Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ellis Grove","county":"Randolph County","state":"IL","lat":37.961416847000066,"lon":-89.90649514499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-04-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1970-04-15","areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large French Colonial \"raised cottage\" plantation house built about 1802 for Pierre Menard within Fort Kaskaskia State Park, Randolph County, Illinois, near Chester and the Mississippi River.","why_significant":"The house is considered a magnificent and little-altered example of a Louisiana-type French Colonial raised cottage, with over 90% of its fabric original. It is also tied to Pierre Menard, a trader who presided over the first Territorial Legislature and became Illinois's first Lieutenant Governor in 1818. It was recommended as eligible for National Historic Landmark status in a colonial architecture study.","narrative":"Built about 1802 for Pierre Menard, this two-and-a-half-story frame house in Fort Kaskaskia State Park, Randolph County, Illinois, is a large French Colonial raised cottage of the Louisiana plantation type. Master carpenter Joseph Champaigne built it above a high stone basement with two-foot-thick walls, where Menard stored trading goods. A wide galerie wraps the front and ends, and white oak timbers 53 feet long form the frame. More than 90 percent of the present house is original, including walnut trim, flooring, doors, hardware, most window glass and the beaded clapboard siding on the front and ends. A stone kitchen and a two-story brick smoke house survive behind it. Menard, born in Canada, arrived in Kaskaskia in 1790, became a successful trader, presided over the first Territorial Legislature and served as Illinois's first Lieutenant Governor. His family kept the house until 1902, and the state acquired it in 1927 and has shown it to the public since.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Joseph Champaigne, master carpenter","architectural_style":"French Colonial \"raised cottage\" (Louisiana-type plantation house)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the State of Illinois, open to the public as a historic house exhibit since 1927, maintained in excellent condition and furnished with many original Menard pieces; the brick smoke house was being restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.914124-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/30/8916/28891630/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/70000245_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000245/09fbe0b89f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000245/09fbe0b89f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Kbh3rd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre_Menard_House_113.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kbh3rd</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre_Menard_House_113.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"74000772","name":"French Colonial Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/french-colonial-historic-district-74000772/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891630","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Menard_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12061682"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/randolph-county/menard-pierre-house-70000245/"}