{"nrhp_refnum":"80001409","name":"Taft Farmstead","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 3","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rochester","county":"Sangamon County","state":"IL","lat":39.75244856200004,"lon":-89.55954377399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complete early 20th-century farmstead near Rochester, Sangamon County, Illinois, made up of a neo-classical revival farmhouse (1912), a barn (1906), a summer kitchen and several outbuildings, all built by Bill Dickerson.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a complete, unaltered example of a prosperous early 20th-century central Illinois farmstead, with a remarkable number of intact buildings and few intrusions. It reflects a diversified operation of grain, work horses, cattle, sheep and fowl. The farmhouse adapts neo-classical revival styling to what would otherwise be a typical four-square farmhouse.","narrative":"Near Rochester in Sangamon County, this two-acre farmstead preserves nearly all of the buildings of a prosperous central Illinois farm from the early 1900s. Bill Dickerson built the barn in 1906 and the Henry Taft house in 1912. The white clapboard house has a pyramid roof and a two-story porch with four fluted Doric columns, giving a classical look to what would otherwise be a typical four-square farmhouse. Inside, the oak and pine woodwork, hardware, light fixtures and steam radiators survive. A summer kitchen, a walnut-framed barn, a sheep barn, storage sheds, a chicken coop, an outhouse and a garage complete the group. Together they show a diversified operation with grain, horses, cattle, sheep and fowl. The farm was listed because it is an unusually intact, unaltered example of its type, built new rather than on an earlier farmstead. It has remained in the Taft family since Henry Taft, its original owner, built it.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Mr. Bill Dickerson","architectural_style":"Neo-classical revival farmhouse (adapted from a four-square form)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied private residence and agricultural property; the house is described as largely unaltered, with only the kitchen and bathroom remodeled.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.389573-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/8940/28894002/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001409.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001409/72e2997e75-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001409/72e2997e75-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taft_Farmstead.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taft_Farmstead.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894002","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft_Farmstead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20710761"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/sangamon-county/taft-farmstead-80001409/"}