{"nrhp_refnum":"95000990","name":"Ashelford Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"566 Eychaner Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Esmond","county":"DeKalb County","state":"IL","lat":42.03339090600008,"lon":-88.93598976799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-08-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, wedge-shaped concrete block community hall at 566 Eychaner Road in Esmond, DeKalb County, Illinois, built in 1925 by William Henry Ashelford, with a one-story generator room at its west end.","why_significant":"It is locally significant under Criterion A as Esmond's center of entertainment, recreation and meetings from 1925 to 1945, hosting the Grange, the Esmond Men's Community Club, dances and plays. Under Criterion C it is a good example of ornamental concrete block construction, made by hand in Esmond with a system popular from 1905 to 1930. It is also the only historic business building in Esmond still standing as built.","narrative":"Ashelford Hall is a two-story concrete block building on Eychaner Road in Esmond, a tiny farming community in DeKalb County, Illinois. William Henry Ashelford built it in 1925 using blocks made by hand in town in five different patterns, including a daisy-embossed band and rockface courses near the top. A low generator room at the west end once supplied electricity to the hall, the Ashelford General Store and the Esmond State Bank, until power reached town in the early 1930s. Upstairs rooms served as a dance hall and community center, hosting vaudeville and medicine shows, parties, wedding receptions, Grange meetings and the Esmond Men's Community Club. The building matters both for that social role between 1925 and 1945 and as a good example of ornamental concrete block construction. It is the only historic business building in Esmond still standing as originally built. Its condition is poor but solid, with restoration planned.","period_of_significance":"1925-1945","architect_builder":"Ashelford, William Henry, Builder","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition described as poor but solid; the roof leaks, the generator room roof is gone, and repairs were planned for 1995 through 1996. Current function listed as work in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.395655-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/8927/28892726/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/95000990.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000990/a3989e43e2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000990/a3989e43e2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Andy McMurray","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AshelfordHall5.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Andy McMurray</a>, <a href=\"http://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:AshelfordHall5.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892726","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashelford_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4804798"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/dekalb-county/ashelford-hall-95000990/"}