Saline County Poor Farm
Also known as: Poor Farm; Saline Creek Pioneer Museum
Why it's listed
Saline County Poor Farm in Harrisburg, Illinois, preserves the surviving core of a county-run home for the poor. Of the original 175 acres, 3.46 remain, holding a 2 ½-story brick poor house built in 1877 in a modified Italianate style, a board-and-batten storage building, and a separate cemetery across Feazel Street. A matching addition around 1904 doubled the house in size. Inside, the first floor housed the superintendent's family, the second floor held small sleeping rooms for residents, and the basement contained the kitchen. The county bought the land in 1863 and first used log buildings before building the brick house. The farm reflects the shift from auctioning paupers to individual caretakers toward housing them in a county almshouse. It is recognized for its role in local social welfare between 1877 and 1950. Buildings moved onto the site in 1961 now serve a museum but are not counted as contributing resources.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the property is locally significant under Criterion A for its link to county government efforts to care for the local poor from 1877 to 1950. It represents the county poor farm method of handling social problems when little money was available for welfare. The poor house, storage building and cemetery convey that history and retain integrity.
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 00001048, listed January 22, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1600 Feazel Rd., Harrisburg |
|---|---|
| County | Saline County |
| Listed | January 22, 2001 |
| Reference number | 00001048 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1877-1950 |
| Architect / builder | Winterberger, A., Builder |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Now used as a museum (Saline Creek Pioneer Museum) and cemetery; several unrelated historic buildings moved onto the site in 1961 do not contribute. |
| Acreage | 3.5 |
| Coordinates | 37.71968, -88.55414 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 00001048.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15274587
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.