{"nrhp_refnum":"79000856","name":"Godfrey, Benjamin, Memorial Chapel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Godfrey Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Godfrey","county":"Madison County","state":"IL","lat":38.95153620000008,"lon":-90.19052291999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-05-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story white frame church on a stone foundation with a full basement, located on Godfrey Road (Illinois Route 67) in Godfrey, Madison County, Illinois, built in 1854 as the chapel of Monticello Female Seminary.","why_significant":"The chapel is tied to Captain Benjamin Godfrey's effort to promote higher education for women, and it served the seminary and a local congregation for well over a century. It is also described as an authentic New England-style church and an unusual Greek Revival church in Illinois, ranked among the state's impressive Civil War-era structures.","narrative":"Built in 1854 in Godfrey, Illinois, this white frame church sits on a stone foundation with a full basement. Its entrance front is a Greek Revival temple form with six fluted Doric columns and a low pediment, topped by a Gothic-style spire. The original building measured about 90 by 40 feet, and a 30 by 40 foot addition was later added at the rear. The bell was cast in Troy, New York, in 1857, and a year-long restoration in 1939 cost $25,000. The chapel was part of Captain Benjamin Godfrey's educational vision for Monticello Female Seminary, founded in 1835 on the belief that educating a woman educates a family. From 1838 to 1971 it touched thousands of students, hosting daily services, concerts, commencements and dramas. A congregation formed in 1839 also used it for worship. A 1977 state study found nothing like it among Illinois Greek Revival churches.","period_of_significance":"1854","architect_builder":"No architect known; an 1854 record mentions a church under contract to W.H. Howell","architectural_style":"Greek Revival (Doric hexastyle temple form) combined with a Gothic-style spire","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and owned by a community college district; altered, in fair condition; a 1939 restoration cost $25,000.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.571964-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/8935/28893556/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/79000856.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000856/7e36418ef5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000856/7e36418ef5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Joseph T. Golabowski","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Godfrey_Memorial_Chapel_HABS.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Joseph T. Golabowski</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Godfrey_Memorial_Chapel_HABS.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893556","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Godfrey_Memorial_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16840312"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/madison-county/godfrey-benjamin-memorial-chapel-79000856/"}