{"nrhp_refnum":"73000719","name":"Ratcliff Inn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"214 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Carmi","county":"White County","state":"IL","lat":38.09170867300003,"lon":-88.16310273199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick former stagecoach inn at 214 E. Main Street in Carmi, White County, Illinois, erected in 1828 by James Ratcliff, a founder of White County and Carmi.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the inn is an excellent example of the stagecoach inns of southern Illinois in the early and mid-1800s and a good example of Federal style architecture. It also played an important role in state and national politics, hosting legislators, judges and Abraham Lincoln, who lodged there in 1840.","narrative":"Built in 1828 by James Ratcliff, a founder of Carmi and White County, this two-story brick building on East Main Street served as a stagecoach stop and pioneer inn. Ratcliff, who came from Virginia, gave it a Federal style entrance with a fan-shaped window. The bricks were made on the grounds by his indentured servants. Stage routes ran from the inn to Vandalia and between Shawneetown and Vincennes. State legislators, judges and U.S. Senator John M. Robinson, Ratcliff's son-in-law, met or stayed here, and Abraham Lincoln lodged at the inn in September 1840 while campaigning for William Henry Harrison. The White County Historical Society bought and restored the building in 1960 with advice from historians. Later shops and offices had lowered the floors and altered the doors, so the floors were raised to their 1828 level and windows replaced the cut-down doors. Today it operates as a museum and is considered an excellent example of a southern Illinois stagecoach inn.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1828)","architect_builder":"James Ratcliff","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition; restored in 1960 by the White County Historical Society and used as a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.951782-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/78/8942/28894278/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/73000719.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000719/ef513f4c2e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000719/ef513f4c2e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ratcliff_Inn_at_Carmi.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ratcliff_Inn_at_Carmi.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894278","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratcliff_Inn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16899156"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/white-county/ratcliff-inn-73000719/"}