{"nrhp_refnum":"94001602","name":"St. James Episcopal Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"111 N. Pearl St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"McLeansboro","county":"Hamilton County","state":"IL","lat":38.09526262700007,"lon":-88.53776930399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-01-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Gothic Revival church at 111 North Pearl Street in McLeansboro, Hamilton County, Illinois, built 1880-1882 to designs by W. G. Thompson of Mt. Vernon, Illinois. An adjacent c. 1890s rectory is included but does not contribute.","why_significant":"The church is argued to be an excellent local example of a Late Victorian Gothic Revival building, combining Gothic Revival and High Victorian Gothic details such as a bell tower, buttresses, pointed arch windows and a cruciform plan. It qualifies under Criterion C for architecture and Criteria Consideration A, since its significance is architectural rather than religious. It has changed little since its completion in 1882.","narrative":"St. James Episcopal Church is a tall, one-story, cruciform brick church at the corner of North Pearl and Jefferson Streets in McLeansboro, Illinois. Built between 1880 and 1882 for a mission congregation, it was designed by W. G. Thompson of Mt. Vernon, and the congregation still holds his original drawings and specifications. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop George Franklin Seymour in 1880, and the building cost $10,000. Dark red locally made brick rises from a limestone foundation, and a fifty-foot bell tower, buttresses, a steep gable roof, rose windows and pointed arch windows give it a clear Gothic character. Inside, the original pine pews, vaulted stained pine ceiling, iron chandelier and cast iron bell survive. Later changes include storm glazing over the stained glass, replica front doors and an asphalt roof. The church was listed for its architecture, as a well-preserved example of Victorian Gothic design in a small Illinois county seat. A c. 1890s rectory beside it is included but does not contribute.","period_of_significance":"1882","architect_builder":"Thompson, W. G., architect","architectural_style":"Gothic (Gothic Revival / High Victorian Gothic)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a religious facility; few alterations since 1882. The adjacent rectory, now a parish hall, is noncontributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.797953-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/8929/28892935/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/94001602.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001602/d354b46691-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001602/d354b46691-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._James_Episcopal_Church_in_McLeansboro.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._James_Episcopal_Church_in_McLeansboro.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892935","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Episcopal_Church_(McLeansboro,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588480"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/hamilton-county/st-james-episcopal-church-94001602/"}