{"nrhp_refnum":"77000489","name":"Peterstown House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"275 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waterloo","county":"Monroe County","state":"IL","lat":38.342159510000045,"lon":-90.15086313199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-11-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story saltbox building at 275 North Main Street in Waterloo, Monroe County, Illinois, built in two parts: the original section in the mid-1830s and a larger northern addition in the early 1860s or possibly earlier.","why_significant":"It is described as the only intact structure along the sixty-mile Kaskaskia-Cahokia Trail that served as a stage inn and tavern. Through most of the nineteenth century it was also a focal point of community activity in the Waterloo area, hosting balls and other social events.","narrative":"Located on North Main Street in Waterloo, Illinois, this two-story saltbox was built in two stages: the southern section in the mid-1830s and a larger northern addition in the early 1860s or possibly earlier. It measures about forty-nine by thirty-eight feet and has hand-hewn oak framing in the older part, cellars once used to store food and beverages, and a second-floor ballroom with marks showing where a stage and chandeliers once stood. The building served as a stage inn and tavern on the Kaskaskia-Cahokia Trail, the earliest overland link between those two French settlements, and is described as the only intact trail structure of that type along its sixty miles. After the Civil War it was known as Sturtzum's Hall and hosted many balls and social events. Its exterior remains as it appeared in 1870. Apartments added in the 1930s have been removed during restoration, and the building now operates as a museum.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1830; 1870","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Saltbox (frame, rectangular, gabled, two-story, with ridge chimneys and an integral lean-to rear porch)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by a heritage society and used as a museum; restoration to its mid-nineteenth century appearance was under way, with 1930s apartment partitions removed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.03985-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/47/8937/28893747/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/77000489.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000489/f98ff73639-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000489/f98ff73639-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peterstown_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peterstown_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893747","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterstown_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7178279"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/monroe-county/peterstown-house-77000489/"}