{"nrhp_refnum":"94000017","name":"Mason, Paris, Building","other_names":["Mason's Landing"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"100 N. Springfield St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Grafton","county":"Jersey County","state":"IL","lat":38.970566362000056,"lon":-90.45013496699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half-story native limestone building at 100 North Springfield Street in Grafton, Jersey County, Illinois, built c. 1840 by Paris Mason and also known as Mason's Landing.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a significant example of early native limestone architecture in Grafton, showing construction and workmanship from the town's earliest period. It is a vernacular four-room Hall and Parlor plan that predates the late-1850s quarry industry. It is also tied to Paris Mason, brother of Grafton's founder James Mason.","narrative":"Built around 1840, this one-and-one-half-story limestone building at 100 North Springfield Street in Grafton was constructed by Paris Mason, brother of the town's founder, James Mason. It follows the vernacular Hall and Parlor type in a four-room variation, with rock-faced, random-coursed limestone walls, dressed limestone lintels and sills, and a standing seam metal roof. Mason built what was described as a house and warehouse after a change in control of the family's interests moved him west of the original town, and the plan could have served both uses. The building originally sat along the river's bank at Mason's Landing, though the river has since shifted about three blocks south. It was listed for its architecture as an early example of native limestone construction, dating from before the local quarry industry grew in the late 1850s. Damage from the 1993 flood exposed original plaster, split lath, brick nogging and embedded wood nailing blocks.","period_of_significance":"c. 1840","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century; Other: Hall and Parlor (vernacular, no architectural style)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Used as a residence before the Great Flood of 1993; at the time of the form it was being dried out after flood damage, with interior finishes stripped to bare walls and studs.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.2834-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/82/8911/28891182/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/94000017.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000017/104a6bea38-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000017/104a6bea38-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_Mason_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_Mason_Building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891182","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Mason_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18155723"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/jersey-county/mason-paris-building-94000017/"}