{"nrhp_refnum":"99000588","name":"Union Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2.5 mi. SE of Oreana, on Kirby Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oreana","county":"Macon County","state":"IL","lat":39.92019116100005,"lon":-88.84798994099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-09-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story rectangular frame church built in 1876 on Kirby Road, about 2.5 miles southeast of Oreana in Whitmore Township, Macon County, Illinois. It sits within the active Union Cemetery and was built as a non-denominational \"free to all\" building.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a good vernacular example of an 1870s rural church, with simple rectangular massing and some Italianate and Greek Revival features. It is described as the only church in Whitmore Township and the surrounding area that retains its historic integrity, with original furnishings and no modernization. The cemetery is included for its association with the church.","narrative":"Union Church is a small white clapboard country church built in 1876 on a rise along Kirby Road southeast of Oreana, Illinois. Local settlers built it with donated materials and volunteer labor, and it was meant to be open to all. The foundation and chimney use bricks molded from red clay by nearby residents. Inside are twenty-six movable walnut and oak pews, a raised podium, a pump organ given in 1879, a wood stove, plank floors and plaster walls beneath a high ceiling. The building has no electricity or water and has never been renovated. Over the years it hosted worship, civic meetings, elections, concerts, temperance gatherings and funerals, and it still serves for weddings and Memorial Day. Its simple rectangular plan, with Italianate windows and entry transom and Greek Revival interior woodwork, makes it a good example of an 1870s rural church. It is the only church in the area to keep its original character, and its cemetery adds to its setting.","period_of_significance":"1876","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century; vernacular with some Greek Revival and Italianate features","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Sound and in original condition but in need of some restoration; still used for weddings, Memorial Day observances and as a polling place, with an active burial ground. It has no electricity or water.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.747761-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/8934/28893499/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/99000588.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000588/fdbc20b0ca-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000588/fdbc20b0ca-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Church_near_Oreana.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Church_near_Oreana.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893499","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Church_(Oreana,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7885517"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/macon-county/union-church-99000588/"}