{"nrhp_refnum":"82002523","name":"Rutherford, Dr. Hiram, House and Office","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"14 S. Pike St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oakland","county":"Coles County","state":"IL","lat":39.64867865000008,"lon":-88.03624094999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, L-shaped I-house built in 1846 at 14 South Pike Street in Oakland, Coles County, Illinois, together with a small one-room doctor's office built in 1855 across the street. Both are museums owned by a local landmarks group.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the property is significant mainly for its link to Dr. Hiram Rutherford, one of Oakland's first permanent settlers and its first graduate physician, who was an abolitionist involved in the 1847 Matson slave trial. It is secondarily significant as a fine, relatively unaltered example of an I-house with Greek Revival styling typical of the 1840s.","narrative":"Dr. Hiram Rutherford built this two-story, L-shaped I-house in 1846 one block south of Oakland's town square. Its Greek Revival touches include corner pilasters and triangular pediments in the gable ends. It was the first two-story frame building in Oakland. A one-room office, about 10 by 10 feet, was built across Pike Street in 1855. Rutherford came from Pennsylvania in 1840 and became the first graduate physician to practice in Oakland. He is best known for sheltering the Bryant family, whom Robert Matson claimed as slaves, which led to the 1847 Matson trial, in which Abraham Lincoln represented Matson. The court ruled for the Bryants. Rutherford also served as township supervisor, county board member and bank director. After his family line passed the property down, a granddaughter donated it in 1969 to Oakland Landmarks, Incorporated, which restored it. A summer kitchen, a drying house and an iron fence added in 1873 remain. Original woodwork and furnishings are displayed in the museum.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Unknown; Rutherford's letters suggest he assisted in construction","architectural_style":"Vernacular I-house with Greek Revival elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition and relatively unaltered; operated as a museum since 1969, with the office also operated as a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.193728-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/8918/28891896/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002523.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002523/2a65e592b1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002523/2a65e592b1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._Hiram_Rutherford_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._Hiram_Rutherford_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891896","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Hiram_Rutherford_House_and_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16899545"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/coles-county/rutherford-dr-hiram-house-and-office-82002523/"}