Trobaugh-Good House
Also known as: House at Homestead Prairie Farm
Why it's listed
This one-story vernacular house southwest of Decatur began as a single-room hewn-log cabin built between about 1847 and 1853. Its logs were joined with half-dovetail notches and chinked with wood chunks and mud. In the mid-1850s the cabin was remodeled with a raised roof and lapped siding, and a frame lean-to was added at the rear. A two-room frame addition on the west end, built in the late 1850s or early 1860s, turned the plan into a saddlebag form, and another addition followed around 1920. The house stands on its original site within a county conservation district's environmental education center and has been restored to its mid-nineteenth century look. It is the center of an interpretive farm that presents prairie farming life around 1860. The house is significant for its plain workmanship, its Midland and Upland Southern building traditions, and its link to the Ward Settlement, one of Macon County's first pioneer communities, where few original farm buildings survive.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be a good example of rural settlement architecture and Upland Southern/Midland building traditions, and it reflects the Exploration/Settlement period in Macon County. It is one of very few surviving structures from the Ward Settlement era. Its additions record the shift into the later railroad period.
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 96000858, listed August 1, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1495 Brozio Ln., Decatur |
|---|---|
| County | Macon County |
| Listed | August 1, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000858 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1847-c. 1860s |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Mid-Nineteenth (vernacular; reflects no architectural style) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Exploration/Settlement |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored externally and internally to its mid-nineteenth century appearance; used as a museum within an interpretive living history farm. |
| Acreage | 1.4 |
| Coordinates | 39.79649, -89.01087 (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 96000858.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20710465
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.