Elijah Iles House
- Architect
- William Vigal
- Year
- 1837
- Style
- Greek Revival
- City
- Springfield, IL
The Elijah Iles House at 628 S. 7th Street was built around 1837 for Elijah Iles, who moved to Springfield in 1821, ran the first store in Sangamon County, and helped persuade the county to locate its seat there. Designed by William Vigal in a Greek Revival style inspired by Southern architecture, it has survived nearly intact for 182 years and is the oldest such structure in Springfield, one of few Greek Revival residences in Central Illinois.
the building
Timber frame on a raised basement. The house is a timber-framed structure on a raised brick foundation with three levels — a ground-level basement, the main floor, and a finished attic that provided sleeping quarters — with original interior woodwork making extensive use of black walnut.
Moved twice, restored twice. The house was moved in 1910 to make room for a new church, when it was refurbished with electricity, plumbing, and radiator heating. It was moved again in 1998 to its present location and fully restored, funded almost entirely by private donations.
the style
Vigal designed the house in a Greek Revival style inspired by Southern architecture, making it one of the few Greek Revival residences in Central Illinois.
More on Greek Revivalthe architect
William Vigal designed the house for Elijah Iles in 1837.
significance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 for its architectural and historic significance, as the oldest surviving house of its kind in Springfield, associated with early settler Elijah Iles.
nearby
- Christ Episcopal Church
- Lincoln Home National Historic Site
- Cong. James M. Graham House
- Vachel Lindsay House
- Illinois Governor's Mansion
- Virgil Hickox House