{"nrhp_refnum":"85001911","name":"Welling-Everly Horse Barn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off US 136","address_restricted":false,"city":"Adair","county":"McDonough County","state":"IL","lat":40.43334986800005,"lon":-90.53479313699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-08-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1882 heavy timber-framed Stick Style horse barn on a farm west of Adair, McDonough County, Illinois, built by farmer and livestock shipper Dave Welling. The nominated area is less than one acre around the barn.","why_significant":"The barn, with its setting, is argued to exemplify the aspirations of affluent farmer-businessmen of 1870-1890 for a refined, villa-like estate. It is also described as one of very few Stick Style horse barns remaining virtually intact from the time it was built. Its working horse-powered grain elevator and original stalls and fittings add to its interest.","narrative":"Built in 1882 on a farm west of Adair, this horse barn is a six-bay, center-aisle, heavy timber-framed building in the Stick Style. It measures about 60 by 32 feet and can house 13 horses along with a year's feed, with room for wagons and carriages in the south end. Original details survive, including oak-pegged framing, metal-bound oak mangers, barred windows and a horse-powered grain elevator that still works. Dave Welling, a livestock shipper who ranked among the wealthiest farmers in New Salem Township, built it as part of a showpiece estate that a newspaper of 1890 praised for its artistic beauty. Welling lost the property to financial trouble in the early 1890s, and Jonas Everly bought it in 1901. Rebecca Everly's estate later passed the farm to a trust, whose trustees have kept the buildings in good repair. The nomination presents the barn as a rare, nearly intact example of its style and of farm-estate ambition.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Unknown, but could be Newt Willis","architectural_style":"Stick Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, unaltered, on its original site, and occupied; it is kept in good repair under the terms of a trust and the horse-powered grain elevator is still in working order.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.514692-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/8936/28893614/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85001911.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001911/c4b760f2d6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001911/c4b760f2d6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"fafinney","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Welling-Everly_Horse_Barn_on_CR1150N.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">fafinney</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:Welling-Everly_Horse_Barn_on_CR1150N.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893614","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welling-Everly_Horse_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24061415"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/mcdonough-county/welling-everly-horse-barn-85001911/"}