Paris High School and Gymnasium

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

From the record

One of 9 National Register listings published here for Edgar County · listed in 2019 · category: Building.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 309 S. Main St., Paris, 61944
When was it listed? April 2019
Category. building
Township. Paris township
National Register reference number. 100003647 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

The ground it stands on

8,506 words

The chapter on Paris Township in The History of Edgar County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County--its Cities, Towns, &c. : Directory of Its Tax-payers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c. Illustrated, published 1879 names Paris. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Next follows a certifiate of Samuel Vance, Justice of the Peace for Edgar County, showing an acknowledgment of the County Commissioners that it is the town plat of Paris, and also a certificate from Jonathan Mayo, Recorder, testifying that the plat was then admitted to record. From the report of the Commissioners appointed by the General Assembly (John Huston and John Boyd), to locate the " seat of justice of Edgar County," we make the following extract as bearing on the early history of the place : * * * * " Twenty - six acres, the property of Samuel Vance, being the north west quarter of Section 1, Town 13 north, Range 12 west. And we do further report, in the discharge of the duty aforesaid, declare and make known to all persons to whom these presents shall come, that the said county seat, or seat of justice, shall, from and after this day, be styled and known by the name of Paris. And we further certify that Samuel Vance, the proprietor of the land, whereon the said county seat is located, gave as a donation to the county aforesaid the quantity of 26 acres of land for the use of said county, for which he has executed his bond to the said county, which is herewith inclosed and made a part of our report." This report is dated April 21, 1823, and the bond of Vance follows in the records, in the sum of $10,000, with Smith Shaw and William Lowry as sureties, the object of which was that he should execute " a good and sufficient deed in fee simple (for the land donated) to the county of Edgar, on or before the 15th day of April, 1825.

Passage source: The History of Edgar County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County--its Cities, Towns, &c. : Directory of Its Tax-payers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c. Illustrated, published 1879.

When the county seat was located, this section was all a wilderness, and very far from being the beautiful town it is to-day. Until 1834, we were informed that the public square was a brush-thicket, and the town was desig¬ nated by a board nailed to a tree, upon which was painted the name Paris. A good deal of strife and hard feelings had been engendered by the different sec¬ tions of the county; for, as is the usual custom in such cases, every neighbor¬ hood wanted the county seat in its midst, and every settler wanted the Court House at his door. The North Arm settlement made vigorous fight for it, and had laid out a town, which they had given the high-sounding name of Cam¬ bridge City, in expectation of getting the seat of justice there. The act for the formation of the county provided that as much as twenty-six acres of land must be donated by the people for the purpose of defraying the expense of put¬ ting up the public buildings. Cambridge City, or the eastern part of the county, we are told, offered a hundred acres for the purpose, which prompted Mr. Vance to come to the front with his offer of the quantity required by law. This spot being nearest the center of the county of any containing timber, the Com¬ missioners at once accepted the offer of Vance's donation, and the town of Paris was located beyond peradventure.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Paris Township - 8,506 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Paris High School and Gymnasium: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Limestone Prospect	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Occurrence

Every working recorded in Edgar County

Storms near this property

60 of 88 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Paris, the town this property stands in, in 88 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 49 thunderstorm wind, 31 hail, 6 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
April 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	1 hurt	Thunderstorm winds blew a pickup truck off of Route 133 five miles west of Paris. One person was injured in the truck. Also, several trees and numerous tree limbs were blown down in Paris, as well as, one parked tractor semi-trailer.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$250,000	Widespread wind damage occurred across Paris. Numerous trees were blown down or uprooted, including one that crushed a truck. Power lines were blown down and minor roof and siding damage took place as well.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$200,000	Several trees and powerlines were blown down. Some of the fallen trees caused minor damage to a couple of homes. A large farm shed was destroyed on the south edge of town.
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$110,000	Winds blew three large trees over onto a house that used to be a funeral home. Several other homes and businesses were damaged by fallen trees. Also, an airport hanger was damaged. Crops in the area sustained wind and hail damage. Damage was estimated around $110,000 for properties and around $35,000 in crop damage.
September 2005	Hail	Paris	$55,000	A thunderstorm produced golf ball size hail for 10 minutes as it moved across portions of northern Edgar county. The hail caused $170,000 damage to corn and soybean crops. Six homes had roof damage and broken windows, and numerous vehicles were dented from the hail.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$50,000	Numerous trees and power poles were blown down. Also, a barn and a house sustained damage and a semi trailer was overturned.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$40,000	Several tree limbs were blown onto houses and nine power lines were reported down on the east side of Paris.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$25,000	Several trees and power lines were blown down in Paris.
December 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large sign and several power poles in Paris. Just east of Paris a pole barn was destroyed. No injuries were reported and damage to the pole barn was estimated around $25,000.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$20,000	Multiple 2 to 3-inch diameter tree branches were blown down.
October 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$20,000	Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down in Paris.
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$20,000	Several power lines blown down. A large tree limb went through the roof of a house on the northwest side of town, causing minor damage.
May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$15,000	Metal shed doors were blown in and some roofing was peeled off.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$15,000	Several trees were blown down at the cemetary on High Street on the north side of Paris.
May 2016	Hail	Paris	$10,000	The hail damaged the siding of a home.
October 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$10,000	Several trees and power lines were blown down.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Barns and other farm outbuildings sustained minor damage from thunderstorm wind gusts at this location. This damage occurred about a quarter mile east of a tornado track.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Multiple power outages reported near Paris.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Power lines down near Blackburn Street on the north side of Paris. The downed power lines were on fire.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Numerous tree branches and power lines were blown down.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	The Edgar County Courthouse was damaged in Paris.
October 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several trees were blown over, causing roof damage.
April 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A pine tree was blown down.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A tree was blown onto a road.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree was blown down.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree limb was blown down at Cherry Point and Maple Avenue in Paris.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Numerous streets were flooded in and around Paris.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Two barns blown down as well as numerous trees and power lines. No injuries were reported.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large tree limbs and power lines and an 8 inch diameter tree were blown down.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large tree limbs blown down.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A few large tree limbs blown down.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several trees were blown down around town. Some of the trees caused minor damage to a couple of homes. No injuries were reported.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down over 40 trees on a farm. The trees caused minor damage to the soffit of a house on the farm.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large trees and power lines were blown down.
May 2003	Hail	Paris	-	Large hail caused widespread damage between Paris and Chrisman. Numerous homes, vehicles, barns, outdoor furniture, etc. were damaged or destroyed.
April 2002	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Several roads in town had over a foot of water on them after very heavy rain fell in a short amount of time.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree was blown down across a powerline.
April 2002	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Very heavy rainfall fell over a short amount of time in Paris. Numerous roads in the area were flooded as well as basements. Several people were rescued from their cars after driving into areas with water over the roads. No injuries were reported.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Two large trees were blown down in town. One fell onto an unoccupied van, destroying it.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew a tree down onto a house causing minor damage. No injuries were reported.
February 2001	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Streets in the towns of Paris and Kansas were reported under water as a result of 1 to 3 inches of rain falling on frozen ground.
May 2001	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Over 2 inches of rain fell, resulting in street flooding in Paris. Several cars became stranded in the flood waters, but no injuries were reported.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large trees were blown down. One briefly blocked Illinois Route 1.
October 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several power poles were blown down as well as trees and tree limbs. Also, a semi was blown over on Illinois Route 1, seven miles north of Paris. No injuries were reported.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A 3 foot diameter tree was snapped off at the ground.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree was blown over, as well as numerous tree limbs.
July 2000	Flash Flood	Paris	-	An area of thunderstorms moved through the county during the early morning hours of the 11th. Recently saturated ground allowed for the rainfall, totaling over 2 inches in some areas, to cause flash flooding mainly in the Paris area. County roads were reported underwater for several hours. A police vehicle was reported flooded out in the area. No injuries were reported and no damage estimates were available.
February 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Numerous power poles and power lines were blown down.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees and tree limbs from Paris to Vermilion as the thunderstorm associated with them moved east southeast across Edgar County.
June 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree and numerous tree limbs in Paris. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
April 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew over a large tree onto a home in Paris, damaging the roof. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
May 1995	Hail	Paris	-	Winds blew three large trees over onto a house that used to be a funeral home. Several other homes and businesses were damaged by fallen trees. Also, an airport hanger was damaged. Crops in the area sustained wind and hail damage. Damage was estimated around $110,000 for properties and around $35,000 in crop damage.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree in a cemetary causing minor damage to a few headstones.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Numerous trees, power poles, and power lines were blown down in Paris. One tree fell onto a house in Paris and another one fell onto a cabin in the Twin Lakes area two miles north of Paris, causing minor damage to both. Also, several metal sheds, shed doors, and siding on some homes were damaged. No damage estimate was available.
August 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Winds stripped the brick facade off a store front and damaged trees. A tree fell on a home.
June 2024	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
May 2022	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
April 2016	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
April 2016	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
August 2016	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Edgar County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Paris Elks Lodge No. 812 Building	0.2 miles	1987
Paris Carnegie Public Library	0.2 miles	2002
France Hotel	0.2 miles	1987
Edgar County Courthouse	0.2 miles	1981
Shaw-Van Gilder House	0.2 miles	2007
Henry Clay Moss House	0.4 miles	2008

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 100003647 in Record Group 79.
Edgar County	All 9 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.