{"nrhp_refnum":"79003158","name":"Gurler, George H., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"205 Pine St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"De Kalb","county":"DeKalb County","state":"IL","lat":41.93333641600003,"lon":-88.75070797099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-03-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood frame house at 205 Pine Street in DeKalb, Illinois, built in 1857 in a simplified Greek Revival vernacular style, with a one-story east wing and a former summer kitchen outbuilding on a site of under one acre.","why_significant":"It is one of DeKalb's earliest houses, built a year after the town's founding and before the Barbed Wire Era. It is also tied to George H. Gurler, who bought it in 1893 and, with his brother Henry, ran pioneering dairies and creameries. Gurler helped organize the DeKalb County Farm Bureau and the DeKalb Agricultural Research Corporation.","narrative":"Built in 1857, this two-story wood frame house at 205 Pine Street in DeKalb reflects the simplified Greek Revival vernacular common to modest Illinois homes of its day. Its plain details include narrow corner boards, a wooden cornice with returns, shuttered sash windows, and an original entrance with sidelights and a transom. A one-story wing extends to the east, and a two-story outbuilding known as the summer kitchen stands on the grounds. The house went up one year after DeKalb was founded and recalls the village's early years before the Barbed Wire Era. In 1893 it was bought by George H. Gurler, who with his brother Henry ran creameries in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Their dairies were described as the first in the nation to use the Babcock butterfat test. Gurler also helped organize the DeKalb County Farm Bureau. The house was converted to two apartments in 1940, and a local heritage group planned to turn it into a museum of modest family life.","period_of_significance":"1893-1940","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Simplified Greek Revival vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and altered, with the house slated to become a house museum under the Gurler Heritage Association, which was purchasing it.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.902661-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/4/8927/28892704/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/79003158.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003158/e2cab31c08-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003158/e2cab31c08-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Andy McMurray","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GurlerHouse1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Andy McMurray</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GurlerHouse1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892704","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._Gurler_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5540030"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/dekalb-county/gurler-george-h-house-79003158/"}