{"nrhp_refnum":"82002595","name":"Sparta Historic District","other_names":["Bricktown"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"S. St. Louis, W. 3rd and S. James Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sparta","county":"Randolph County","state":"IL","lat":38.12037757100006,"lon":-89.70379965702057,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district known locally as \"Bricktown\" in the southern part of Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois, made up of fourteen nominated houses, mostly two-story brick, built between about 1860 and 1879.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the district as an excellent example of a prestigious residential neighborhood in a small commercial crossroads town that prospered before the Civil War and through Reconstruction. Local brick kilns supplied the material for the elegant homes, which remain largely unaltered. Developer William Rosborough required lot buyers to commit to building good brick houses, which shaped the area's cohesive character.","narrative":"Bricktown is a compact residential neighborhood on the south side of Sparta, Illinois, centered on West Third and South St. Louis Streets. Its fourteen nominated houses, nearly all two-story brick, date from about 1860 to 1879 and show Gothic Revival, Victorian, Greek Revival, Italianate and Federal influences. Many have \"Steamboat Gothic\" porches, marble fireplaces, parquet floors and thick masonry walls. One exception is a wood-frame Victorian house with a circular porch and turret, which still has a carved brick chimney. The neighborhood grew from the vision of William Rosborough, a merchant and developer who reportedly would sell a lot only to buyers who promised to build a good brick house. Local kilns supplied the brick, and the original owners included physicians, merchants, a mayor and a woolen mill operator. The district was listed because it preserves a cohesive group of large brick homes that has no equal elsewhere in Sparta.","period_of_significance":"1860-1879","architect_builder":"William P. Murphy - William Rosborough (Brick Mason) (Developer)","architectural_style":"Mixed styles including Gothic Revival, Victorian, Greek Revival, Italianate and Federal, with \"Steamboat Gothic\" porches","criteria":[],"status_note":"All residences are inhabited by single-family units; some were temporarily converted to apartments or a nursing home. Condition is marked excellent, with buildings largely unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.352728-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/8939/28893935/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002595.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002595/03edeb8403-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002595/03edeb8403-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosborough_House_in_Sparta.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosborough_House_in_Sparta.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893935","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta_Historic_District_(Sparta,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16900413"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/randolph-county/sparta-historic-district-82002595/"}