{"nrhp_refnum":"84000308","name":"Cambre House and Farm","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of Niota","address_restricted":false,"city":"Niota","county":"Hancock County","state":"IL","lat":40.59406984900005,"lon":-91.34332335199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["European"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A farmstead with an 1867 house and several outbuildings on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River southwest of Niota, in Hancock County, Illinois, built by French immigrant carpenter Adolphe Cambre.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is the last Icarian-associated construction in Illinois that retains architectural integrity, linking themes of communitarianism and French ethnicity in the state's mid-nineteenth-century history. It is described as an anglicized Creole house type. The long tenure of the builder's family kept the house and its handmade interior largely intact.","narrative":"Overlooking the Mississippi River southwest of Niota, this Hancock County farmstead centers on a house built in 1867 by Adolphe Cambre, a French immigrant and carpenter associated with the Icarian communal movement. The house is described as an anglicized Creole type, with a two-story front, an inset porch originally enclosed against the northern climate, and extra-wide front doors. Cambre made the interior panelling, doors, trim, cabinetwork and mantel by hand, and much of it survives, including original blue-milk paint in the stairwell. Changes since 1867 include a new roof and the removal of a partition in a former rental room. Outbuildings, mostly dating from about 1900 to 1930, include a barn, garage, shed, henhouse and pumphouse-cistern fed from Mormon Springs. The property matters as the last Icarian-associated building in Illinois to retain its integrity, and as an expression of French identity along the river. Cambre's family kept it until 1979.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Adolphe Cambre","architectural_style":"Anglicized Creole house","criteria":[],"status_note":"The form marks the property as both occupied and unoccupied. The house is described as having excellent interior woodwork, most outbuildings are in good condition, and the henhouse is deteriorated.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.759362-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/8929/28892957/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000308.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000308/2a8becef31-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000308/2a8becef31-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cambre_Farm_distant.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cambre_Farm_distant.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892957","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambre_House_and_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21197496"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/hancock-county/cambre-house-and-farm-84000308/"}