{"nrhp_refnum":"83000324","name":"Beach, Thomas A., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"402 E. Hickory St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fairbury","county":"Livingston County","state":"IL","lat":40.75003383600006,"lon":-88.50839152599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Italianate residence with a tower at 402 E. Hickory Street, Fairbury, Livingston County, Illinois. The front half was built in 1872 and the back half about 1886 by original owner Thomas A. Beach, with T.D. George as mason.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the house as a fine, well-preserved example of 19th century Italianate architecture with notable construction techniques, including triple-brick walls with insulating air spaces, ventilation channels, and built-in gutters. It is also locally significant for the Beach family, whose members contributed to Fairbury's social, economic and political life.","narrative":"This two-story brick house at 402 E. Hickory Street in Fairbury, Illinois, was built in 1872 by Thomas A. Beach, with mason T.D. George. Beach added the back half about 1886 and a new front porch near 1900. Its Italianate character shows in long slender windows, a central tower, double brackets at the eaves and a wide overhang at the gutter line. The walls are triple brick with air spaces connected to basement grates and attic exhausts, an early ventilation and insulation system. Built-in gutters, a numbered porch foundation and buried methane equipment for gas lighting add to its technical interest. Beach was a leading farmer and businessman and a founder of a predecessor of the National Bank of Fairbury. His granddaughter Alma Lewis James, a local author and historian, later lived there. The house stayed in the family until 1981 and was restored in 1981-82. It is valued for its preserved original character and its local associations.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Thomas A. Beach / T.D. George, Mason","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as private residence and unoccupied at the time of the form; restored in 1981-82 and in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.956732-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/59/8934/28893459/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/83000324.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000324/d719f11576-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000324/d719f11576-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_A._Beach_House2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">IvoShandor</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Thomas_A._Beach_House2.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893459","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_A._Beach_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7786846"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/livingston-county/beach-thomas-a-house-83000324/"}