Brainerd, Charles, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1885 for Charles Brainerd, this two-and-one-half-story brick house sits at the northwest corner of Main Street and Grafton Hills Drive, at the eastern edge of Grafton where the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers meet. It is designed in the Queen Anne style, with a rock-faced limestone foundation resting on the natural bluff outcrop, limestone lintels and sills, multiple gables, and bands of hexagonal slate shingles. An angled corner entrance, topped by a steep pyramidal roof that reads as a tower, opens to a small porch with turned posts and spindlework. Inside, the house keeps original pine floors, cherry and pine woodwork, brass window locks, and three fireplaces. Rear additions from the 1970s were built when the house served as a restaurant. A limestone retaining wall frames the lot. The house is a prominent focal point at the entrance to town and is now being rehabilitated as a restaurant and bed and breakfast.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the house as a well-preserved example of Queen Anne architecture in Grafton, with a high degree of interior integrity including original woodwork, fireplaces and hardware. It also marks the eastern entrance to the river town. The surviving text does not state the criteria or period of significance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 98000065, listed February 5, 1998. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 420 E. Main St., Grafton |
|---|---|
| County | Jersey County |
| Listed | February 5, 1998 |
| Reference number | 98000065 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Under rehabilitation for use as a restaurant and bed and breakfast; it was previously used as a restaurant from the late 1970s to early 1990s. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.97209, -90.42919 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 98000065.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16845789
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.