{"nrhp_refnum":"88000470","name":"Tallman, Horace M., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"816 W. Main","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shelbyville","county":"Shelby County","state":"IL","lat":39.406271391000075,"lon":-88.80298472899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-05-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame Queen Anne style house at 816 W. Main in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Illinois, built in 1905 by Horace M. Tallman, with a ca. 1920 garage and a ca. 1915 pergola on the lot.","why_significant":"The house is the only remaining building in Shelbyville closely associated with Horace Tallman and his invention of the first successful pickup hay baler. Tallman conceived the idea in 1928-29 after moving the Ann Arbor Machine Company to Shelbyville in 1922. The invention automated back-breaking haying work and spread rapidly around the world. The nomination argues significance in agriculture and engineering under Criterion A.","narrative":"Built in 1905 by Horace M. Tallman at the corner of Main and Douglas Streets in Shelbyville, Illinois, this eight-room, two-story frame house shows Queen Anne features: an asymmetrical composition, a large bay, a columned wraparound porch, and a projecting pavilion. A Palladian window with a fanlight marks the front attic gable. Inside, dark stained fir woodwork and octagonal rooms with pocket doors remain. A ca. 1920 garage and a ca. 1915 pergola share the lot. The house matters because of its owner. Tallman moved the Ann Arbor Machine Company to Shelbyville in 1922 and, in 1928-29, conceived mounting a windrow pickup on a stationary baler. Tested in 1930, the pickup hay baler largely replaced the hay fork, loose hay loader, and stationary baler, and reached farms in many countries by the mid-1930s. This is the only surviving Shelbyville building closely tied to Tallman and that invention. Rehabilitation has left the house much as it was in 1905.","period_of_significance":"1929-1937","architect_builder":"Horace M. Tallman (builder); architect unknown","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Queen Anne","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Being entirely rehabilitated at the time of nomination for bed and breakfast and motel registration use; described as in excellent condition after rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.933257-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/9/8941/28894109/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/88000470.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000470/2b379cddec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000470/2b379cddec-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horace_M._Tallman_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horace_M._Tallman_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894109","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_M._Tallman_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16901126"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/shelby-county/tallman-horace-m-house-88000470/"}