{"nrhp_refnum":"75000668","name":"Bryan, William Jennings, Boyhood Home","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"408 S. Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salem","county":"Marion County","state":"IL","lat":38.624405111000044,"lon":-88.94529670299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-02-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A white two-story frame house at 408 South Broadway in Salem, Marion County, Illinois, built in 1852 by Silas Bryan. It was the birthplace and boyhood home of William Jennings Bryan and now serves as a museum.","why_significant":"The house is significant as the birthplace and boyhood home of William Jennings Bryan, a three-time Democratic presidential candidate, Secretary of State and humanitarian. The family lived there from his birth in 1860 until 1866. Bryan later gave the house to the City of Salem to be used as a museum.","narrative":"A two-story white frame house at 408 South Broadway in Salem, Illinois, this building was constructed in 1852 by Silas Bryan, a state senator and Circuit Court Judge. His son, William Jennings Bryan, was born here on March 19, 1860, and the family lived in the house until 1866, when they moved to a larger home northwest of town. The younger Bryan went on to become a prominent political figure: a congressman from Nebraska, three-time Democratic nominee for President, and Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915. He later gave the house to the City of Salem to serve as a museum for his artifacts and memorabilia, and also donated land and money for a local library. The house was raised in the early 1900s and later moved about 90 feet to make room for that library. Alterations include a semi-enclosed front porch, removed shutters, and added gutters. The city owns it and displays Bryan collections, including campaign buttons.","period_of_significance":"1852 (19th and 20th centuries checked); historically significant dates 1860-1866","architect_builder":"Silas Bryan (builder/original owner, Illinois state senator and Circuit Court Judge)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Salem and used as a museum with restricted public access; condition good, altered and moved about 90 feet.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.605782-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/8935/28893598/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/75000668.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000668/8598781afa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000668/8598781afa-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Jennings_Bryan_Boyhood_Home.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Jennings_Bryan_Boyhood_Home.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893598","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Jennings_Bryan_Boyhood_Home","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14688258"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/marion-county/bryan-william-jennings-boyhood-home-75000668/"}