{"nrhp_refnum":"72000459","name":"State Bank","other_names":["Bank of Illinois"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Corner of Main St. and IL 13","address_restricted":false,"city":"Old Shawneetown","county":"Gallatin County","state":"IL","lat":37.69660680700008,"lon":-88.13522303899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival bank building at the corner of Main Street and Route 13 in Old Shawneetown, Gallatin County, Illinois, built in 1839-1840 for the Bank of Illinois. It has a sandstone portico of five Doric columns on a high sandstone basement, with solid brick walls.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the finest building in Illinois south of Vandalia and among the finest in the state and Midwest, notable for its size, durable materials and refined detailing. Its odd-numbered five-column portico is unusual and may have been designed to disguise an asymmetrical interior plan. It also reflects Shawneetown's role as an early financial center and the Bank of Illinois's strength during a period of bank failures.","narrative":"Built in 1839-1840 for the Bank of Illinois, this Greek Revival bank in Old Shawneetown rises from a high sandstone basement, with solid brick walls and a portico of five Doric columns reached by a wide flight of steps. The raised platform likely protected it from Ohio River floods, which reached halfway up the columns in 1937. The odd number of columns is unusual for the Doric order and may have masked an uneven interior plan with two front entrances. Inside, Greek Revival door and fireplace frames and an original ceiling centerpiece survive. The bank was built when Shawneetown was a leading financial center of early Illinois, and it was completed despite widespread bank failures, which the nomination takes as a sign of the bank's strength. Later owners used it for banking, including the First National Bank of Shawneetown from 1865. The nomination called it among the finest buildings in the Midwest and noted that the roof timbers needed repair.","period_of_significance":"19th Century; specific date 1839-1840","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and altered; the roof and roof timbers needed repair, and the interior main rooms and trim remain largely intact. The property was owned by the State of Illinois and is marked unoccupied.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.395337-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/8929/28892901/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/72000459.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000459/82bf656373-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000459/82bf656373-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Russell Lee","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shawneetown_bank.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Russell Lee</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shawneetown_bank.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892901","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawneetown_Bank_State_Historic_Site","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7491576"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/gallatin-county/state-bank-72000459/"}