The Creole House is a historic residence in the village of Prairie du Rocher, an old French settlement in present-day Randolph County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

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. 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 Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

, and it forms an important part of the

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

of a portion of the

Upper Mississippi Valley The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, a city at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River. Historically, it may refer to the area above the Arkansas ...

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.Brown, Margaret K.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: French Colonial Historic District
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National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, n.d. One of these is the Creole House, built around 1800,Gilster, Ruth, and A. Hahn.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Creole House
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, n.d. which was constructed in the

French Colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. French colonial architecture has a long history, beginning in North America in 1604 and being most active in the Western Hemisphere (Car ...

style by an unknown English-speaking immigrant from the eastern United States.Drury, John.
Old Illinois Houses
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Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...

: Illinois State Historical Society, 1948, 4-6. The builder was one of Illinois' earliest American settlers; only about eight hundred Americans lived within the bounds of the present state of Illinois in 1800, including just one hundred within present-day Randolph County. From 1830 until 1848, it was owned by William Henry, a local miller, although starting in 1845 it was home to the family of E.C. Hansbrough. In 1848, the property passed into the ownership of Henry's son-in-law A.H. Lee, who owned it until it was obtained by F.W. Brickey in 1855.French (Creole) House, Market Street, Prairie du Rocher, Randolph County, IL

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, n.d. Accessed 2013-02-02. Brickey moved into the house around 1855, and three years later he arranged for the house to be doubled in size. His heirs owned the house for many decades, although by the 1930s, they were renting it instead of living there themselves. The house's most significant resident was Henry Clay Hansbrough; the son of E.C. Hansbrough, he grew up to be a nationally prominent Republican politician and a

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

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Architecture

Although it was built by Americans, the Creole House is a typical example of a French colonial style known as poteaux-sur-sol, which is otherwise unknown in present-day Illinois. Such houses were constructed by erecting a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

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

rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as Beam (structure), steel beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof Roof shingle, shingles, ...

s, the original roof no longer survives; it is presently composed of modern

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic material ...

shingles. Atop the stone foundation, pine boards have been laid to form the floor, and the interior walls are

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

ed. Multiple

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

s are placed in the various rooms, with wooden

mantels The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and c ...

around them. 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 separate from each other, the newer northern portion and older southern portion appear similar on the exterior, since both were sided when the northern portion was built. Because the shallow

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof extends past the western front of the house, it forms a large overhang that has been adapted into a long porch. The partially wooded lawn is surrounded by a fence of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

Preservation

In 1973, the Creole House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

; it was the fourth Randolph County property to gain this distinction. The house qualified for inclusion on the Register because of its colonial architecture, as it is the only known original house of its type remaining in Illinois. By that time, it was no longer a residence; although vacant, it was owned by the Randolph County

Historical Society A historical society is non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and promoting the history of a particular place, group of people, or topic. They play a crucial role in promoting historical awareness and understan ...

, which was in the process of restoring it. One year after it was added to the National Register, much of Prairie du Rocher and the surrounding portions of the

American Bottom The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mos ...

were designated a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

, the

French Colonial Historic District The French Colonial Historic District is a historic district that encompasses a major region of 18th-century French colonization in southwestern Illinois. The district is anchored by Fort de Chartres and Fort Kaskaskia, two important French ...

, and listed on the National Register. Although the district included sites as varied as the remains of old

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

, the site of

Fort de Chartres Fort de Chartres was a French fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. It was used as the administrative center for the province, which was part of New France. Due generally to river flo ...

, and

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

s such as the historic

Kolmer Site The Kolmer Site is an archaeological site in the far southwest of the U.S. state of Illinois. Located near Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher in western Randolph County, it lies at the site of an early historic Indian village from the French p ...

and the prehistoric Modoc Rock Shelter, the Creole House was deemed one of the district's core components. By designating the area a historic district, Illinois

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

officials hoped to highlight the significance of places such as the Creole House because of their connection to the strong French influence on the region. The house is still owned and used by the Randolph Historical Society, and periodically hosts historical events at the property.Civil War Re-Enactment Slated in Prairie du Rocher
''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

'', 2011-04-25. Accessed 2013-02-02.

References

External links

Historic American Buildings Survey
{{National Register of Historic Places Poteaux-sur-sol framing Houses completed in 1800 Houses in Randolph County, Illinois Creole cottage architecture in the United States French-American culture in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Randolph County, Illinois Historic district contributing properties in Illinois Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois