The Shriver Farmstead is a historic farm located on County Line Road northwest of Virden,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The farm consists of a historic farmhouse, barn, and smokehouse; it also includes several modern outbuildings and of land. Owner John Ryan built the farm's original buildings from 1858 to 1860. The farmhouse has an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

design which features a front porch supported by square posts, paired

bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

s below the

eave The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s at the corners, and a projecting

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 ...

above the entrance. The barn, one of two built for the farm, has a New World Dutch-inspired plan which incorporates elements of several barn styles. Dr. William Shriver purchased the farm in 1890, and his family has owned the property until very recently. It was part of the

underground railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. The farm was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on September 29, 1980.

References

Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Italianate architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures in Macoupin County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Macoupin County, Illinois {{MacoupinCountyIL-NRHP-stub