Princeton Chapter House

The Princeton Chapter House is a historic building located at 1007 N. Main St. in Princeton, Illinois. The building was constructed between 1909 and 1910 as a meetinghouse for Princeton's chapter of the American Woman's League. The American Woman's League was a political and social organization founded by magazine publisher Edward Gardner Lewis in 1908. The organization was created to promote feminist causes, particularly the women's suffrage movement; Lewis also intended for the organization to promote and sell his women's magazines. Lewis commissioned the St. Louis architectural firm of Helfensteller, Hirsch & Watson to design five classes of buildings which the League would use as meetinghouses. The Princeton Chapter House is the only Class IV chapter house ever built; the Class IV plan was one of the larger buildings and was designed for clubs with 140 to 200 members. The building was designed in the Mission Revival style and cost $5,000. After the club disbanded, it served as a public library before being converted to a business.[2]

Princeton Chapter House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Night view of the front of the house
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Location	1007 N. Main St., Princeton, Illinois
Coordinates	41°23′5″N 89°27′53″W
Area	0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
Architect	Helfensteller, Hirsch & Watson
Architectural style	Mission Revival
MPS	American Woman's League Chapter Houses TR
NRHP reference No.	80001338[1]
Added to NRHP	November 28, 1980

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1980.[1] It is one of nine American Woman's League chapter houses on the National Register in Illinois.

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Meyer, Pauline (July 12, 1980). "American Woman's League Chapter Houses in Illinois Thematic Resource". Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. Retrieved February 5, 2014.