Elliott Street Historic District

South Elliott Street in Olney, Illinois, is a five-block residential district of 33 main structures, most of them single-family houses, along with St. Joseph Church and Convent, St. Joseph Rectory and St. Alban's Episcopal Church. The street was platted by William Elliott after the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad opened in 1855, and Olney's prominent families moved there. It became known locally as the "Silk Stocking District." Early residents included Judge Aaron Shaw, attorney and horsebreeder Henry Sands, merchant John H. Gunn, and the Kurtz family of Red Top Seed. Architecture ranges from Italianate and Queen Anne houses to Georgian Revival residences built in the early twentieth century. Maple trees line the street, and the original brick paving from about 1880 remains beneath asphalt. A 1979 railroad viaduct divides the district into two sections. Two later houses, built in 1969 and about 1950, are classed as intrusions. The district was recognized for its largely intact historic character and local importance.