{"nrhp_refnum":"80001421","name":"Plainfield Halfway House (Additional Documentation)","other_names":["Halfway House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"503 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Plainfield","county":"Will County","state":"IL","lat":41.611526999000034,"lon":-88.20430167299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-09-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Exploration/Settlement","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, ell-shaped frame house at 503 Main Street in Plainfield, Will County, Illinois, built in 1836 by a Mr. Mathews as a tavern, inn and stagecoach stop. It later received additions in 1850 and 1907.","why_significant":"The building marked the halfway point on the Chicago to Ottawa stage line and became a center of community life, serving as a town meeting hall, militia headquarters and social gathering place. It was also home to Dr. Erastus Wight, the first practicing physician in the Will County area. It retains much of its pioneer-era appearance.","narrative":"Built in 1836 on Plainfield's Main Street, this two-story, ell-shaped frame house began as a tavern, inn and stagecoach stop. Its owner, a Mr. Mathews, bought the land from Squire L.F. Arnold, the town's first postmaster. The name Halfway House came from Plainfield's position midway on the stage line between Chicago and Ottawa. The structure has an oak and walnut frame joined with pegged mortise and tenon joints, black walnut siding painted white, and a gable roof. A rear addition came around 1850, a porch in 1880, and a west addition in 1907. Dr. Erastus Wight, the first practicing physician in the Will County area, rented and managed the house from 1837 until his death in 1845. Between 1836 and 1886 it also served as a town meeting hall, a land grant administration site, a dance hall and the base of the Plainfield Light Artillery. After the inn closed in 1886, it remained a private home and still serves as one.","period_of_significance":"1836-1886","architect_builder":"Mr. Mathews","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a private residence; condition described as good and on its original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.243925-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/8943/28894351/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001421.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001421/89931512ac-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001421/89931512ac-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08 at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PlainfieldHalfway.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08 at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://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:PlainfieldHalfway.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894351","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plainfield_Halfway_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7200689"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/will-county/plainfield-halfway-house-additional-documentation-80001421/"}