Maeystown Historic District

Maeystown is a small Illinois village in southwestern Monroe County, set above the bluffs that separate the Mississippi River flood plain from the uplands. The historic district takes in the whole village as it stood in 1973, matching the old McRoberts claim that Jacob Maeys bought in 1848 and platted in 1856. German immigrants, many of them refugees from the 1848 revolutions, settled the town and kept their language and customs for generations. Its 62 major structures, mostly built before World War I, include limestone, brick and frame houses, a flour mill, a tavern and hotel, a bank, an 1881 stone bridge and the 1866-68 limestone church of St. John. Few buildings would stand out individually, but together with their outbuildings and wooded surroundings they form a rural streetscape the nomination describes as nearly unique in Illinois. Their modest, practical design reflects a self-sufficient farming community.