{"nrhp_refnum":"79000870","name":"Winchester Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"IL 106","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winchester","county":"Scott County","state":"IL","lat":39.62979285800003,"lon":-90.45775026799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district covering most of the built-up area of the city of Winchester, the Scott County seat in Illinois, plus some unincorporated parcels to the north and west. It contains 438 structures, with the oldest dating from the 1830s and 1840s.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Winchester as an excellent example of a small, rural Illinois county seat laid out on the town square plan as it developed in the third quarter of the 19th century. It retains the square enclosed by commercial buildings and a courthouse, fine residences and churches, almost no industry, and no major highways. It also holds a well-documented Greek Revival to Italianate architectural sequence and the Greek Revival Presbyterian Church, called the finest in any Illinois town over 500 people.","narrative":"Winchester, the seat of Scott County, Illinois, lies about 40 miles west-southwest of Springfield. The historic district takes in most of the town's built-up area, drawn around visual cohesion and visible history. Commercial and government buildings ring the town square, while churches, schools and mostly single-family houses spread through the surrounding streets. Of 438 structures, 86 were judged architecturally or historically significant. The oldest date from the 1830s and 1840s in Federal and Greek Revival styles, including a Presbyterian church regarded as the finest Greek Revival church in any Illinois town of over 500 people. The shift from Greek Revival to Italianate is unusually well documented, and Queen Anne cottages and an Arts and Crafts example also appear. The county courthouse is the largest building and is described as too eclectic to categorize. The district was valued as a typical 19th-century county seat on the town square plan, with little industry and no major highways. Recent construction and aluminium siding are the main intrusions.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, with some Classic and Medieval Revival and Arts and Crafts examples; the courthouse is described as uniquely eclectic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated good; 81 structures (about 18%) are recent intrusions and 84 of 207 background buildings have been sided, mostly with aluminium.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.926127-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/7/8941/28894107/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/79000870.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000870/e592642de2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000870/e592642de2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scott_County_Courthouse,_Winchester.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scott_County_Courthouse,_Winchester.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894107","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Historic_District_(Winchester,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20710981"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/scott-county/winchester-historic-district-79000870/"}