Creole House
Creole House | |
Location | Market St., Prairie du Rocher, Illinois |
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Coordinates | 38°5′8″N 90°5′50″W / 38.08556°N 90.09722°W |
Area | 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) |
Built | 1800 |
Architectural style | Poteaux-sur-sol |
Part of | French Colonial Historic District (ID74000772) |
NRHP reference No. | 73000717[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 3, 1973 |
The Creole House is a historic residence in the village of Prairie du Rocher, an old French settlement in present-day Randolph County, Illinois, United States. Built at the end of the eighteenth century and later expanded, the Creole House is the last survivor in Illinois of its type of vernacular architecture, and it forms an important part of the built environment of a portion of the Upper Mississippi Valley that possesses an unparalleled connection to the French settlement period.
History
French settlers founded Prairie du Rocher circa 1722. At least twelve surviving houses in the village were built in the eighteenth century, including the Meilliere House, which was constructed in 1735.
Architecture
Although it was built by Americans,[4] the Creole House is a typical example of a French colonial style known as poteaux-sur-sol,[3]: 2 which is otherwise unknown in present-day Illinois.[6] Such houses were constructed by erecting a palisade of logs on top of a stone foundation, rather than using horizontal beams or studs like more modern designs. While the roof is supported by oak beam rafters, the original roof no longer survives; it is presently composed of modern composite shingles. Atop the stone foundation, pine boards have been laid to form the floor, and the interior walls are plastered. Multiple fireplaces are placed in the various rooms, with wooden mantels around them.[3]: 2
The original portion of the house forms the southern half of the present structure; the northern half is the 1850s addition, which features a more modern stud-based form of construction. While the halves are
Preservation
In 1973, the Creole House was listed on the
References
- ^ a b c d "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Brown, Margaret K. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: French Colonial Historic District. National Park Service, n.d.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gilster, Ruth, and A. Hahn. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Creole House. National Park Service, n.d.
- ^ a b c Drury, John. Old Illinois Houses. Champaign: Illinois State Historical Society, 1948, 4-6.
- ^ Combined History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois. Philadelphia: McDonough, 1883, 67.
- ^ a b c d French (Creole) House, Market Street, Prairie du Rocher, Randolph County, IL, Historic American Buildings Survey, n.d. Accessed 2013-02-02.
- ^ Civil War Re-Enactment Slated in Prairie du Rocher, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2011-04-25. Accessed 2013-02-02.