{"nrhp_refnum":"86001008","name":"Jersey County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Public Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Jerseyville","county":"Jersey County","state":"IL","lat":39.118899664000025,"lon":-90.32914125199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Romanesque Revival county courthouse with a raised basement and an octagonal tower, standing in the center of the Public Square in Jerseyville, Jersey County, Illinois. It was built 1893-94 to designs by architect Henry Elliot.","why_significant":"The nomination cites criteria A and C. The building is the seat of government for Jersey County and houses its political, judicial and administrative functions. It is also a very good Illinois example of Romanesque Revival public building design and an important work of architect Henry Elliot.","narrative":"Jersey County's courthouse sits in the middle of the Public Square in Jerseyville and is the third courthouse on that site. Voters approved $40,000 in bonds in 1892, the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1893, and the building was occupied in summer 1894 at a total cost of $40,411.85. Architect Henry Elliot of Jacksonville designed it in the Romanesque Revival style, using rough-faced buff Grafton limestone with beige Bedford stone trim, a cross plan, and an octagonal tower above an interior rotunda. Inside are stained glass, plaster ornament and pressed metal ceilings. Elliot also designed courthouses in Carrollton, Paris and Pittsfield, and the Jerseyville building borrows from the Paris design at lower cost, partly because local stone was used. The courthouse still holds county records and houses the offices of the clerks, sheriff, treasurer and other officers. Alterations include an enclosed courtroom balcony and dropped ceilings.","period_of_significance":"1893-1936","architect_builder":"Henry Elliot (architect); F.W. Menke of Quincy, Illinois (contractor)","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as the county courthouse; exterior integrity described as very good and interior as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.798765-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/8930/28893057/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/86001008.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001008/da5301dda5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001008/da5301dda5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Calvin Beale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerseycourt.png\" rel=\"noopener\">Calvin Beale</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerseycourt.png"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86003528","name":"Jerseyville Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/jerseyville-downtown-historic-district-86003528/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893057","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15229517"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/jersey-county/jersey-county-courthouse-86001008/"}