Monmouth Courthouse Commercial Historic District - Monmouth, IL - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

Warren County
Location of courthouse: Public Square, W. Broadway & N. A St., Momouth
District created: 2006

"Monmouth is located slightly northeast of the center of Warren County in western Illinois. Two major highways intersect at Monmouth, U.S. Highway 67 and U.S. Highway 34. The Quad Cities are to the north, Galesburg to the east, Macomb to the south, and the Mississippi River to the West; all a short distance from Monmouth. The Monmouth Courthouse Commercial Historic District contains 73 resources. Most of the buildings in the district are historically significant and demonstrate both the development of Monmouth and greater nationwide trends. The architecture of the district dates from the early development of Monmouth through the post Civil War boom into the mid-twentieth century. The architecture presents more examples of the later period due to several fires that destroyed much of the downtown, particularly the fire of 1871.

"The town of Monmouth grew out in four directions from the central square along Main and Broadway. Due to fire and the demolition of other buildings east and west of the square, the historic district is oriented in the north-south direction. The district extends two blocks north of the square on North Main and two blocks south of the square on South Main. The district also includes two blocks south on South A Street, as well as South First Street. While there are few historically significant buildings such as the high school within a few blocks of the district, the density of the historic buildings is much less pronounced in the blocks surrounding the district.

"Of the 73 resources in the Monmouth Courthouse Commercial Historic District, a few buildings have been built in the last 50 years and do not contribute to the district. On the aerial-photo map, these buildings are Buildings 7, 12, 28, 32, 48, 49, and 61. There are also a few buildings alter by the addition of a false façade, the most notable of these are Buildings 4 and 69. In total, there are nine buildings that are non-contributing. In addition to buildings, he district also includes Central Park (73) in the middle of the downtown square, which is the center of the community. This park is a contributing site within the district. The center of the park has a fountain, but the original fountain was removed years ago and replaced in 2002. The newer fountain (74) in the Public Square is a non-contributing object." ~ NRHP Nomination Form