{"nrhp_refnum":"99001569","name":"Brunk Farmstead","other_names":["Cotton Hill Farmstead"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"KOA Campground Rd., i mi. S. of E. Lake Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rochester","county":"Sangamon County","state":"IL","lat":39.69761525500007,"lon":-89.58667052099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-12-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A farmstead near Rochester in Sangamon County, Illinois, made up of a stone-and-brick house and a horse barn built by George Brunk around 1829, plus a modern non-contributing barn. It is also known as Cotton Hill Farm.","why_significant":"The house retains early stone construction and interior details from the late 1820s, including Federal and Greek Revival mantels and built-in walnut china cupboards. Its later second-story remodeling and the continuous farm use reflect changing farming and building practices in central Illinois. The farmstead also illustrates the early settlement of Cotton Hill Township and the Horse Creek area.","narrative":"Brunk Farmstead, also called Cotton Hill Farm, sits along KOA Campground Road southeast of Springfield, near Rochester, Illinois. George Brunk built the house and horse barn around 1829. The house began as a one-story stone building with an L-shaped plan and three large stone chimneys. In the 1850s or 1860s it gained a brick second story, a new roof, and bracketed eaves, producing the I-house with a rear service wing seen today. Inside, the early parlor keeps built-in walnut china cupboards, and several mantels blend Federal and Greek Revival details. Original woodwork and nineteenth-century window sash survive upstairs, though the floors have suffered water damage. The farm has worked continuously, and the old barn still shelters horses, while a modern barn is noncontributing. The house is now vacant. The property reflects early Sangamon County settlement, the nearby Horse Creek community, and the way central Illinois farms changed over time.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George Brunk","architectural_style":"Greek Revival (Mid-19th Century)","criteria":[],"status_note":"The Brunk House is described as vacant; the historic horse barn is still used to house horses, and the surrounding land remains agricultural. The north wall of the rear wing was demolished for deterioration and covered with plywood.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.631577-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/4/8940/28894004/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/99001569.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001569/d53165ce86-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001569/d53165ce86-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Boscophotos","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Ruins_of_Brunk_Farmstead.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_Ruins_of_Brunk_Farmstead.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894004","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunk_Farmstead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19460703"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/sangamon-county/brunk-farmstead-99001569/"}