{"nrhp_refnum":"78003113","name":"Lebanon Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Mermaid House Hotel"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Irregular pattern centered along St. Louis and Belleville Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lebanon","county":"St. Clair County","state":"IL","lat":38.603357864500055,"lon":-89.81061842626929,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-10-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Prehistoric","Education","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 129 acres in Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois, centered on St. Louis and Belleville streets. It contains 211 structures, mostly 19th-century homes, a commercial main street, McKendree College buildings and an archaeological area.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the district's architecture, archaeology and history. The commercial ensemble on St. Louis Street, including three adjacent Second Empire business houses, is called the most significant feature. McKendree College, founded in 1828, is one of the earliest institutions of higher education in Illinois. A Late Woodland village site on the west side could clarify links between Late Woodland peoples and the Mississippians at Cahokia.","narrative":"Lebanon's historic district covers roughly 129 acres of a low ridge in northeast St. Clair County, Illinois, about 25 miles east of St. Louis. It includes 211 structures, mostly single-family homes in frame and masonry, along with a nearly continuous wall of two- and three-story brick commercial buildings on St. Louis Street. Styles range from the simple Federal Mermaid Inn of 1830 to Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne buildings. McKendree College, organized in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, anchors the northwest and is among the oldest colleges in the state. The town also grew along the Vincennes-St. Louis road, and Charles Dickens stayed at the Mermaid Inn in 1842. A section on the southwest edge protects a Late Woodland village and mound site that may help explain relations with the Mississippian culture at Cahokia. Together these features were judged to give the district architectural, archaeological and historical importance.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne, with some Cottage Gothic, Classical Revival and Tudor Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is marked good. The district is occupied and mostly residential, with commercial, educational, religious and park uses.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.743405-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/24/8941/28894124/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78003113.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003113/660f51f82c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003113/660f51f82c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victorian_home_restored.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victorian_home_restored.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894124","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon_Historic_District_(Lebanon,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6511102"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/st-clair-county/lebanon-historic-district-78003113/"}