{"nrhp_refnum":"92000051","name":"Knox County Courthouse and Hall of Records","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Public Sq., Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Knoxville","county":"Knox County","state":"IL","lat":40.90827238900005,"lon":-90.28430076799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-02-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two early county buildings on the public square in Knoxville, Knox County, Illinois: a two-story brick Greek Revival courthouse designed in 1837 and completed in 1839, and a one-story brick Hall of Records built in 1854, both designed by John Mandeville.","why_significant":"The buildings are significant under Criterion A for politics and government, since they served as the center of Knox County's government from 1840 until the county seat moved to Galesburg in 1873. The courthouse hosted circuit court sessions, including those of Judge Stephen Douglas, along with the county court, the Board of Supervisors, and political conventions.","narrative":"On the public square in Knoxville, Illinois, stand two early county buildings designed by John Mandeville: a brick courthouse and a smaller Hall of Records. The courthouse was designed in 1837, completed in 1839, and first used in 1840. It has soft red locally made brick walls, a gable roof, and a pedimented portico with four Doric columns. The Hall of Records followed in 1854, a one-story brick building with a vestibule and bracketed cornice. Until the county seat moved to Galesburg in 1873, the courthouse held circuit court sessions, including those of Judge Stephen Douglas, as well as the county court, meetings of the Board of Supervisors, and political conventions. Afterward it served as an opera house, then a fire station, and was restored beginning in the 1950s. It now houses the Knox County Museum, while the Hall of Records, once a city library, serves as city hall. A storage shed, war memorial, and reconstructed log cabin on the grounds are noncontributing.","period_of_significance":"1840-1873","architect_builder":"Mandeville, John (architect); Wheeler, Alvah; Cooley, Zelotes; Fox, Samuel (builders)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"The courthouse houses the Knox County Museum and a restored courtroom; the Hall of Records is now used as city hall.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.91934-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/82/8932/28893282/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/92000051.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000051/f230b0b020-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000051/f230b0b020-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knox_County_Courthouse_and_Hall_of_Records.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knox_County_Courthouse_and_Hall_of_Records.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893282","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knox_County_Courthouse_(Knoxville,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23302757"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/knox-county/knox-county-courthouse-and-hall-of-records-92000051/"}