{"nrhp_refnum":"81000220","name":"Cumberland County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Court House Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Toledo","county":"Cumberland County","state":"IL","lat":39.27265687000005,"lon":-88.24485249699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-06-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A county courthouse on Court House Square in Toledo, Cumberland County, Illinois, built between September 1887 and May 1888 by contractors S. S. Goehring and L. L. Pierson from plans by McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the courthouse is politically significant as the center of county government for 94 continuous years in the same building and 125 years on the same site. The site was confirmed by referendums after the county seat moved from Greenup to Prairie City (later Toledo). The present building replaced an earlier courthouse destroyed by fire in 1885.","narrative":"Cumberland County's courthouse in Toledo, Illinois, was built between September 1887 and May 1888 for $17,700. S. S. Goehring and L. L. Pierson erected it from plans by McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky, and local citizens donated the bricks and sand. The building has round-headed windows on the south side, arched entrances beneath a cupola on the east and west, and Italian Renaissance details including columns, balustrades, cornices and bracketed windows. Its significance is political: it has served as the center of county government in one building for 94 years, on a site used since 1856. The county seat was moved from Greenup to the new town of Prairie City, later renamed Toledo, after an 1855 referendum. A fire destroyed the first courthouse in 1885, and a second vote in 1886 kept the seat in Toledo. Changes include a 1920s south addition and glass entrance doors added in 1966, both considered minor.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"S.S. Goehring and L.L. Pierson / McDonald Brothers","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance ornamentation (columns, balustrades, cornices, bracketed windows) under a gabled roof with a tower or cupola","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and still in use as the county courthouse; condition listed as excellent with minor alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.966635-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/8926/28892698/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/81000220.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000220/73d7c66631-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000220/73d7c66631-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"MattHucke","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cumberland-courthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">MattHucke</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:Cumberland-courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892698","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_County_Courthouse_(Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5193869"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cumberland-county/cumberland-county-courthouse-81000220/"}