{"nrhp_refnum":"85001127","name":"Palmer, Col. Gustavus A., House","other_names":["Col. Palmer House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5516 Terra Cotta Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Crystal Lake","county":"McHenry County","state":"IL","lat":42.24882309900005,"lon":-88.29612901799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-05-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick farmhouse with a one-and-a-half-story rear wing at 5516 Terra Cotta Road (Illinois Route 176), Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, built about 1858 by stone mason and architect Andrew Jackson Simon for Colonel Gustavius A. Palmer and his wife Henrietta.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a well-preserved example of local Neo-Classical Revival architecture, combining Federal and Greek Revival elements with a cobblestone foundation, and is the work of one of the area's first known local architects. It is also tied to Colonel Palmer, an early Nunda Township settler, first postmaster of Nunda, and a founder of the local Masonic lodge.","narrative":"Built around 1858 on Terra Cotta Road in Crystal Lake, this brick farmhouse was designed and built by stone mason Andrew Jackson Simon for Colonel Gustavius A. Palmer and his wife Henrietta. The two-story front section and smaller rear wing blend Federal and Greek Revival details, including a dentilated wood cornice and dressed limestone sills, lintels and watertable. Its foundation is notable for cobblestone veneer, with stones reportedly gathered from the Lake Michigan shore near Waukegan. Palmer arrived in Nunda Township about 1840 from New York, received bounty land for service in the Patriots War, and later became the first postmaster of Nunda and a founding member of the local Masonic lodge, which met in the house after a fire in 1868. The Palmer family held the property until 1926. Alterations have been modest, though a rear wing was raised to two stories in the 1950s. The city acquired the house in 1979 and planned its restoration for public use.","period_of_significance":"1858","architect_builder":"Andrew Jackson Simon","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical Revival (Federal and Greek Revival elements)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Crystal Lake since 1979; the form lists it as unoccupied with work in progress, with plans for restoration as a historical museum and cultural arts center.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.873717-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/8936/28893640/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85001127.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001127/4d26f5f2eb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001127/4d26f5f2eb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palmer_House_1858.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palmer_House_1858.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893640","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col._Gustavus_A._Palmer_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14687464"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/mchenry-county/palmer-col-gustavus-a-house-85001127/"}