{"nrhp_refnum":"78001174","name":"Maeystown Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"SR 7","address_restricted":false,"city":"Maeystown","county":"Monroe County","state":"IL","lat":38.226426074000045,"lon":-90.23363991879111,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["European","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district covering the entire village of Maeystown in southwestern Monroe County, Illinois, about thirty miles south of St. Louis. It follows the 1973 corporate limits and the original McRoberts claim, and the village was platted in 1856 by Jacob Maeys.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the village's value lies in the whole rather than in any single building. Its 19th-century German settlement pattern, limestone, brick and frame buildings, outbuildings and wooded natural setting are described as rarely found elsewhere in Illinois. It was evaluated as significant at the state level.","narrative":"Maeystown is a small Illinois village in southwestern Monroe County, set above the bluffs that separate the Mississippi River flood plain from the uplands. The historic district takes in the whole village as it stood in 1973, matching the old McRoberts claim that Jacob Maeys bought in 1848 and platted in 1856. German immigrants, many of them refugees from the 1848 revolutions, settled the town and kept their language and customs for generations. Its 62 major structures, mostly built before World War I, include limestone, brick and frame houses, a flour mill, a tavern and hotel, a bank, an 1881 stone bridge and the 1866-68 limestone church of St. John. Few buildings would stand out individually, but together with their outbuildings and wooded surroundings they form a rural streetscape the nomination describes as nearly unique in Illinois. Their modest, practical design reflects a self-sufficient farming community.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Simplified local variants of Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne; few pure examples of any style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Of 62 major structures, most predate World War I. Recent buildings are mostly sympathetic, and the only intrusions are two house trailers. Some buildings are re-sided or altered, and one house is noted as abandoned.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.070292-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/8937/28893739/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001174.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001174/fb3c491054-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001174/fb3c491054-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mill_at_Franklin,_Maeystown.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mill_at_Franklin,_Maeystown.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893739","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeystown,_Illinois","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2615382"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/monroe-county/maeystown-historic-district-78001174/"}