{"nrhp_refnum":"95000488","name":"Willits, Levi, House","other_names":["New Boston Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"202 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Boston","county":"Mercer County","state":"IL","lat":41.168632467000066,"lon":-90.99982118199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-04-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick house built in 1856 at the northeast corner of Main and Second Streets in New Boston, Mercer County, Illinois, about a block and a half east of the Mississippi River. It was built by Levi Willits and now serves as a museum.","why_significant":"The house is locally significant under Criterion C for architecture as a representative mid-19th century house with Greek Revival details. Those details include horizontal sills and lintels, six-over-six windows, a low-pitched gabled roof and interior woodwork. It was extended to the east soon after it was built.","narrative":"Built in 1856 by Levi Willits, this two-story brick house sits at the corner of Main and Second Streets in New Boston, Illinois, near the Mississippi River. Its bricks came from a brickyard in Mannon, and some carry the maker's \"J.S.\" mark. The low-pitched gabled roof, six-over-six windows and flat wood sills and lintels reflect the Greek Revival style, and the parlor has Doric pilasters and entablatures. The east section was added shortly after construction, extending the house about 14 feet 6 inches. Other changes followed: a late-1800s kitchen addition, an office addition of 1908-1910 for a telephone company, 1920s porches, and conversion to apartments. An original brick summer kitchen survives behind the house. The house was listed for its architecture, as a representative local example of a mid-19th century home with Greek Revival details, during a period of significance running from 1856 to the early 1860s. It now houses a museum.","period_of_significance":"1856-c. 1860s","architect_builder":"Willits, Levi, Builder","architectural_style":"Greek Revival (Mid-19th Century)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Historically a single dwelling, later divided into apartments; now used as a museum (New Boston Museum) and owned by the City of New Boston.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.683786-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/8937/28893721/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/95000488.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000488/ee851c3589-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000488/ee851c3589-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Boscophotos","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Willits_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_Willits_House.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893721","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Willits_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23073874"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/mercer-county/willits-levi-house-95000488/"}