{"nrhp_refnum":"81000221","name":"Edgar County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Paris","county":"Edgar County","state":"IL","lat":39.61170722000003,"lon":-87.69570769599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Romanesque Revival county courthouse on the Town Square in Paris, Edgar County, Illinois, built 1891-1893 to designs by architect Henry Elliot.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a fine example of late nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival public architecture, set apart by an unusual \"wedding cake\" tower that blends two styles. It also reflects how county residents viewed themselves and their public buildings. It occupies the only site ever used as the county seat of justice, making it a political and community focal point.","narrative":"Edgar County Courthouse rises from the Town Square in Paris, Illinois, where it serves as a working government building. Construction began with a cornerstone laid in November 1891 and finished in 1893, at a cost of $122,890.90. Architect Henry Elliot designed it in the Romanesque Revival manner, with brick and reinforced concrete construction, heavy rough-hewn stone, terminal towers, medieval-style dormers and restrained carving. Its most distinctive feature is a three-tiered galvanized iron \"wedding cake\" tower topped by a statue of Justice, which sets it apart from other Romanesque Revival buildings of the period. The nomination argues that the tower reflects the expectation that a courthouse have a tower, achieved here by combining two styles. The building is the third courthouse on land donated in 1823, the only site the county has used for its seat of justice, and it has long been the center of local political life and the downtown business area.","period_of_significance":"1891-1893","architect_builder":"Henry Elliot, architect","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in government use; condition rated excellent, with some alterations such as aluminum windows (1969), a handicapped-access entry and elevator (1970), and remodeled offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.304446-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/8928/28892821/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/81000221.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000221/c5817065ef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000221/c5817065ef-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edgar_County_Courthouse_from_southwest_at_dusk.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edgar_County_Courthouse_from_southwest_at_dusk.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892821","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5337187"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/edgar-county/edgar-county-courthouse-81000221/"}