{"nrhp_refnum":"71000292","name":"Orendorff, Ulysses G., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"345 W. Elm St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Canton","county":"Fulton County","state":"IL","lat":40.55697703800007,"lon":-90.04262212399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-12-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large brick-and-plaster residence at 345 W. Elm Street in Canton, Fulton County, Illinois, built in 1902 for Ulysses G. Orendorff and designed by Chicago architect Robert C. Spencer.","why_significant":"It was the largest and finest residence in Canton and was built for a leading citizen whose family firm, Parlin & Orendorff, was a major farm-equipment manufacturer. It is also an early Prairie School work by Spencer and links his earlier half-timbered designs to his later modern ones. The form also credits its fine massing, brickwork, and open stair hall.","narrative":"This large house at 345 W. Elm Street in Canton, Illinois, was built in 1902 for Ulysses G. Orendorff, an officer of the farm-equipment firm Parlin & Orendorff, which his father co-founded. Chicago architect Robert C. Spencer designed it. It has remained the largest and finest residence in the city. The exterior combines Flemish-bond brick on the first floor with plaster and dark-stained wood strips above. Inside, a three-story stair hall with leaded casement windows is the main feature, along with mahogany trim in the dining room and glass mosaic fireplaces. O. C. Simonds laid out the grounds. Spencer was a charter member of the Prairie School in Chicago. The house shows his shift from English half-timbered design toward a rectilinear early modern style, and it is described as the link between those phases. It was recognized for its owner, its architect, its early Prairie School character and its aesthetic quality. At the time of the nomination it was unoccupied and in fair condition.","period_of_significance":"1902","architect_builder":"Robert C. Spencer (architect); grounds laid out by O. C. Simonds, landscape gardener of Chicago","architectural_style":"Early Prairie School / early modern","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied, in fair condition, and largely unaltered; the grounds were not well cared for at the time. The upper floor of the carriage house had been converted to a dormitory that was no longer in use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.207748-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/82/8928/28892882/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/71000292.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000292/bec4327c1b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000292/bec4327c1b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Boscophotos","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Orendorff_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Boscophotos</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:Image_Orendorff_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892882","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_G._Orendorff_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14688140"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/fulton-county/orendorff-ulysses-g-house-71000292/"}