{"nrhp_refnum":"92001536","name":"Freeman-Brewer-Sawyer House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"532 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsboro","county":"Montgomery County","state":"IL","lat":39.156297273000064,"lon":-89.49393118799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-11-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame house with a one-story rear ell at 532 South Main Street in Hillsboro, Montgomery County, Illinois, built in 1840 and remodeled in 1904. A small smokehouse on the grounds is also counted as a contributing building.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant under Criterion C for architecture because it combines Greek Revival and Classical Revival styles. It shows two distinct periods in Hillsboro's history: frontier settlement in 1840 and the prosperous coal-boom town of the early 1900s. The 1904 changes were made in keeping with the original classical character.","narrative":"Built in 1840 on the west side of Main Street in Hillsboro, Illinois, this two-story frame house began as a textbook Greek Revival dwelling with a T-shaped plan, post-and-beam construction, weatherboard siding and a small central portico. It was reportedly meant as a student boarding house before Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff of Boston bought it for his daughter's family. In 1849 it passed to William Brewer, a merchant, probate judge and state legislator. His daughter and her husband, A. A. K. Sawyer, moved in during 1903 after it had stood vacant for a decade. Their two-year renovation added a rear second story, a two-story south bay, modern plumbing, electricity and heating, and a full-length Classical Revival porch with Tuscan columns. The unknown designer kept the additions classical, so the Greek Revival character remains clear. The house records both frontier-era Hillsboro and the town's coal-driven prosperity around 1900.","period_of_significance":"1840-1904","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Greek Revival; Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, owned by the same family for over 140 years, and still used as a single dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.338937-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/8937/28893757/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/92001536.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001536/214f2535ca-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001536/214f2535ca-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Boscophotos","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_The_Freeman-Brewer-Sawyer_House.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Boscophotos</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_The_Freeman-Brewer-Sawyer_House.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893757","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman-Brewer-Sawyer_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17299799"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/montgomery-county/freeman-brewer-sawyer-house-92001536/"}