{"nrhp_refnum":"84001069","name":"Nisbet Homestead Farm","other_names":["The Old Stone House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Suydam Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Earlville","county":"DeKalb County","state":"IL","lat":41.67073617200003,"lon":-88.86320814599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-05-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A farmstead near Earlville and the village of Rollo in DeKalb County, Illinois, centered on \"The Old Stone House,\" a Greek Revival farmhouse of rough-faced limestone built by Matthew Nisbet between 1848 and 1863, with barns, a corn crib, a windmill well and a stone water tank.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the farm as a record of early settlement in Paw Paw Township, begun by Scottish immigrant Matthew Nisbet in 1841. It argues the hollow-walled stone house may be the only early Greek Revival example of its kind in this part of Illinois and the only such stone house in DeKalb County. It also says the older wooden barns are becoming rare.","narrative":"Near Earlville and the village of Rollo in DeKalb County, Illinois, the Nisbet Homestead Farm is built around a Greek Revival farmhouse known locally as the Old Stone House. Matthew Nisbet, a Scottish immigrant who claimed land at Ross Grove in 1841, began the house in 1848 and finished it in 1863. He and his brother Peter hauled rough-faced limestone by ox cart from near Ottawa. The two-story block and story-and-a-half wing have 24-inch hollow walls, with a four-inch air space and wooden beams to carry the interior frame. A carved lintel reads M.N. 1863. The farm also keeps a frame English barn, a pole barn, a 1935 double corn crib, a windmill well and a round stone water tank. The nomination says the house is the only one of its plan built of stone in DeKalb County, and that the wooden barns are growing rare. Nisbet descendants have owned the property since 1845.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates 1841-1863-1984)","architect_builder":"Matthew Nisbet","architectural_style":"Midwest Greek Revival farmhouse","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition, in agricultural and private residence use; the house has been altered with a rear room addition and an enclosed recessed porch.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.264985-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/8927/28892714/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84001069.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001069/78b492ca8b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001069/78b492ca8b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jim Roberts","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Stone_House_At_Nisbet_Homestead_Farm.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Roberts</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Stone_House_At_Nisbet_Homestead_Farm.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892714","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisbet_Homestead_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7040187"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/dekalb-county/nisbet-homestead-farm-84001069/"}