{"nrhp_refnum":"78001164","name":"Mount Pulaski Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Public Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mount Pulaski","county":"Logan County","state":"IL","lat":40.009479691000024,"lon":-89.28621361799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-08-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small Greek Revival courthouse on the public square in Mount Pulaski, Logan County, Illinois, built in 1847 and used as the county courthouse from 1848 to 1853. It is a brick and frame building about 25 by 30 feet.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an intact example of small-scale Greek Revival architecture adapted for public buildings, described by one architectural historian as among the finest and best-preserved pre-1850 buildings in the state. It is also significant in politics and government as the Logan County Courthouse and as part of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, which drew figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, David Davis and Robert J. Ingersoll.","narrative":"Perched on the highest point of the public square in Mount Pulaski, this small courthouse was built in 1847 after local citizens raised $2,700 to add to a $300 county appropriation and win the county seat from Postville. It served as the Logan County Courthouse from 1848 to 1853, when the seat moved to Lincoln. The building later housed a school, a city hall and jail, and a post office. The State of Illinois bought it in 1936 and began restoration in 1938, removing later partitions and a cupola and bell added in its schoolhouse years. Its form is a rectangular Greek Revival block raised in temple fashion, with pediments, corner pilasters and a low roof ridge. Inside are six offices, a central hall, and an upstairs courtroom with original oak floorboards. Because it belonged to the Eighth Judicial Circuit, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, David Davis and Robert Ingersoll were drawn to the building. It now operates as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1847","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the State of Illinois, occupied and used as a museum; restored beginning in 1938 and furnished to appear as in Lincoln's day.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.325076-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/81/8934/28893481/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001164.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001164/969b47f38d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001164/969b47f38d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Pulaski_courthouse_from_northwest.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Pulaski_courthouse_from_northwest.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893481","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pulaski_Courthouse_State_Historic_Site","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6923088"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/logan-county/mount-pulaski-courthouse-78001164/"}