{"nrhp_refnum":"85000771","name":"Steffens, Joseph, House","other_names":["Rammed Earth House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off of Elkhorn Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Milledgeville","county":"Carroll County","state":"IL","lat":41.96638999700008,"lon":-89.71748585899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-04-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half story rammed earth cottage near Milledgeville in Carroll County, Illinois, built in 1843 by Joseph Steffens, with 1890s rear additions and a 1960s enclosed porch.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is the only one known to be built of rammed earth in Illinois, so it is significant under Criterion C for its method of construction. Steffens probably chose the material because timber was temporarily scarce locally, and perhaps because he knew it from his Canadian home. The rarity of the technique makes its construction details noteworthy.","narrative":"Built in 1843 near Milledgeville, Illinois, this one-and-one-half story cottage has thick walls of rammed earth, a technique in which soil is pounded into moulds on a foundation. It is the only house known to be built this way in the state. Joseph Steffens, a wealthy Methodist minister born in Upper Canada, settled on a 200-acre farm in Carroll County in 1840. Family tradition says he used rammed earth because his Canadian house was built of it, and timber was also temporarily scarce near Elkhorn Grove. The walls rest on a limestone foundation and are covered with whitewashed rough cast mortar over a short masonry sheath. Two rooms were added at the back in the 1890s, making a T-shaped plan, and an enclosed porch was added in the 1960s. Original features include two fireplaces, built-in cabinets, false-grained doors and pit-sawed joists. The house is structurally sound, though the front porch has collapsed and some wall plaster needs repair. It is listed for its rare construction method.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Joseph Steffens (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and in good condition. The house is structurally sound, but the front porch has caved in and parts of the rammed earth wall need replastering.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.7504-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/76/8917/28891776/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85000771.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000771/0d90e8ec0e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000771/0d90e8ec0e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jon Roanhaus","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Steffens_House_NRHP_85000771_Carroll_County,_IL.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jon Roanhaus</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:Joseph_Steffens_House_NRHP_85000771_Carroll_County,_IL.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891776","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Steffens_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20709987"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/carroll-county/steffens-joseph-house-85000771/"}