{"nrhp_refnum":"84001145","name":"Caldwell Farmstead","other_names":["Caldwell Mansion","Thomas House","Payne Thomas House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"IL 4","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chatham","county":"Sangamon County","state":"IL","lat":39.70264643000007,"lon":-89.70581553099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A farmstead on Illinois Route 4 near Chatham, Sangamon County, Illinois, made up of an 1876 two-story brick Towered Italianate house, a square horse barn, a brick smoke house, a brick garage and a storage shed.","why_significant":"The nomination cites architecture, as a well-preserved local example of the Towered Italianate style, and politics/government, through the career of Benjamin Caldwell. The house and the Brinkerhoff house in Springfield are described as the only remaining Towered Italianate examples in Sangamon County. The barn is noted as one of the last square horse barns in the county.","narrative":"Near Chatham in Sangamon County, this farmstead centers on a two-story brick house built in 1876 in the Towered Italianate Villa style. Its symmetrical plan, brick quoins at the corners, wide bracketed eaves, tall slender windows grouped in twos and threes, and three-story tower with a cupola are typical of the style. A wrought iron fence is original, while the front porch was added around 1900. Interior features include a curved walnut staircase and a foyer floor of alternating walnut and maple strips. The grounds also hold a square horse barn echoing the house's eaves, brackets and cupola, a brick smoke house, a brick garage, and a heavy-timber storage shed. The barn is one of the last square horse barns in the county. The property was also tied to Ben F. Caldwell, a farmer, banker and businessman who served four terms as a U.S. Congressman from 1898 and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1912. The architect and builder are unknown.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates 1874-76)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Towered Italianate Villa","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked unoccupied on the form's status line and listed in excellent condition, with a private residence use; the house has a modern swimming pool and a newer kitchen.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.191207-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/8940/28894058/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84001145.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001145/8bbd361017-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001145/8bbd361017-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Coalfather","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caldwell_Farmstead_Front.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Coalfather</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Caldwell_Farmstead_Front.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894058","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldwell_Farmstead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19460766"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/sangamon-county/caldwell-farmstead-84001145/"}