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Photograph of Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site
Photograph by ProfDEH, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Metamora Courthouse

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

From the record

“The Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site is a historic American courthouse located in Metamora, Illinois, the former county seat of Woodford County. The courthouse was built in 1845 as the governmental center for Woodford County and as a circuit court for the former Illinois Eighth Circuit.”

Wikipedia article Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 8 National Register listings published here for Woodford County · listed in 1978 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · 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. 113 E. Partridge St., Metamora, 61548
  • When was it listed? March 1978
  • Category. building
  • Township. Metamora township
  • Architectural style. Greek Revival architecture
  • National Register reference number. 78001203 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

4 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Metamora Courthouse between 2013 and 2020, burning about 6 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning4

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
29 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources20200620-15923
26 March 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources19-006739
26 March 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources19-007426
23 March 2013Debris and open burning4.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesWIAGAND

Every fire recorded in Woodford County

Mines and quarries near this property

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Metamora Courthouse: 1 occurrence, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Heck PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence

Every working recorded in Woodford County

Storms near this property

53 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Metamora, the town this property stands in, in 53 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 25 thunderstorm wind, 20 hail, 6 tornado, 1 flash flood. The reports record 8 injuries. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
November 2013Tornado (EF3)Metamora4 hurt, $25,000,000This tornado crossed the border from Tazewell County at 11:12 AM CST, then tracked northeastward across rural Woodford County before entering into far southern LaSalle County in National Weather Service Chicago's County Warning Area (CWA) at 11:33 AM CST. It weakened a bit to EF3 intensity but remained between 1/4 and 1/2 mile wide as it crossed into Woodford County. During much of its time in Woodford County, the tornado traveled across open fields, impacting dozens of farmsteads. Nearly 70 farm buildings and 7 homes were destroyed. Major damage occurred to 17 homes, while 23 others received minor damage. About 100 vehicles were damaged, including several semi trucks at a truck stop north of Minonk. Three people were injured in overturned semi trucks. One cell tower was toppled and hundreds of power poles and trees were snapped. Total damage from the tornado was estimated at $25 million.
July 2004Tornado (F4)Metamora3 hurtThe tornado touched down around 234 pm CDT approximately 1.75 miles north-northeast of Metamora in western Woodford County. The tornado traveled southeast for about 2.5 miles, before beginning a temporary eastward jog between county roads 1300E and 1400E. The tornado curved southeast again, striking the Parsons Company, Inc.'s manufacturing plant around 241 pm CDT. The plant was severely damaged by the tornado. Approximately 140 people were in the plant at the time, but all personnel made it to storm shelters in time (approximately 3 to 5 minutes before the tornado arrived). Steel beams and metal siding from the plant were found approximately three quarters of a mile east in a farm field. From the plant, the tornado continued east, just south of Illinois Route 116/117, affecting 4 farmsteads approximately 1/2 to 1 mile east of the plant. Two of the farmsteads closest to the plant (about 1/2 to 3/4 mile east) had the 2-story houses completely blown away, with only debris remaining in the basements and nearby property. The other two farmsteads had significant damage to the 2-story houses with outbuildings demolished. The center of the tornado tracked about 100 yards south of the houses located on the south side of the road.From the plant to the farmsteads, the average width of the tornado was 400 yards and was close to 1/4 mile wide at times. The greatest tornado intensity was during this approximately 1 mile stretch and has been rated F4 by the National Weather Service.At this point, the tornado began to move more east-southeast and caused significant damage to a barn near the intersection of County Roads 1300N and 1600E, about 2.5 miles southwest of Roanoke. The tornado continued to move east-southeast and damaged a house about 1.25 miles south-southwest of Roanoke, near the intersection of County Roads 1300N and 1700E. The tornado crossed 1300N shortly afterward and curved sharply to the southeast. The tornado lifted around 254 pm about 2 miles southeast of Roanoke, at County Road 1900E.
May 2000Tornado (F0)Metamora1 hurt, $5,000A tornado briefly touched down half a mile west of Metamora just south of Illinois Route 116. A teenager was driving through the area. His car was flipped several times into a field. Fortunately he only suffered some cuts and bruises, but his 1997 Cavalier was totaled. No other damage or injuries were reported.
April 2013Flash FloodMetamora$13,000,000Rainfall rates of 2.00 inches per hour for three to four hours produced up to 8.00 inches of rain and major flash flooding. Hundreds of homes and businesses in Roanoke, Eureka and Metamora were flooded and several water rescues had to be made. Roads near the town of Minonk were flooded with more than one foot of flowing water. Every road from the central to northeast part of the county was impassable. No injuries were reported.
June 2010Tornado (EF2)Metamora$70,000A tornado crossed into Woodford County from Tazewell County approximately 3.2 miles south-southwest of Metamora. Several trees were snapped, five power poles were damaged, the metal roof of a barn was lifted off and windows were broken on a house. The tornado lifted 2.6 miles south-southeast of Metamora.
April 2024LightningMetamora$50,000Lightning struck and damaged a building near Metamora Fields Golf Club in Metamora in Woodford County. A power outage also occurred due to the lightning strike.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindMetamora$40,000Several trees and fences were blown down.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindMetamora$30,000Numerous trees were blown down.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindMetamora$25,000Numerous tree limbs were blown down in Metamora.
March 2009Thunderstorm WindMetamora$25,000Several houses in Metamora experienced shingle and trim damage.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindMetamora$12,000A large tree was blown over onto a house in Metamora.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindMetamora$10,000Power poles were blown down at 900E and 1200N.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindMetamora$4,000A metal chicken coop was destroyed and a large tree branch broke a window in a home.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindMetamora$3,000A 9-inch diameter tree was blown down across Morris Road 3 miles north of Metamora.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindMetamora-A large tree was snapped.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindMetamora-A broadcast meteorologist estimated 80 to 90 mph gusts.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Several trees were blown down.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Several large tree limbs were snapped.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindMetamora-A large tree was blown over.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindMetamora-A 24-inch diameter tree was snapped. A power pole and several power lines were blown down.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindMetamora-A tree was blown down in Metamora.
August 2011HailMetamora-Storm spotters reported penny sized hail near Metamora.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Power lines were blown down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Several large tree limbs were blown down.
March 2005Tornado (F0)Metamora-A tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
March 2005Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Six power poles were blown down.
May 2004HailMetamora-A large swath of hail ranging in size from three quarters of an inch to 4 inches fell from the Metamora area through Roanoke and into Eureka and Secor. The 4 inch hail was reported only in the Secor area near the tornado.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Metamora-A tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Several trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. A small shed was destroyed in Roanoke.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Several large tree limbs were blown down around town.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindMetamora-A large tree was snapped off. No structural damage was reported to the nearby home.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Several trees were uprooted and numerous tree limbs were blown down in Metamora. One power pole was snapped off on the south side of town. No injuries were reported.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindMetamora-Numerous large tree limbs were blown down in Metamora.
February 2024HailMetamora-no account filed
April 2023HailMetamora-no account filed
April 2023HailMetamora-no account filed
April 2023HailMetamora-no account filed
March 2023HailMetamora-no account filed
September 2019HailMetamora-no account filed
March 2017HailMetamora-no account filed
November 2013HailMetamora-no account filed
August 2012HailMetamora-no account filed
June 2009HailMetamora-no account filed
June 2009HailMetamora-no account filed
May 2008HailMetamora-no account filed
April 2006HailMetamora-no account filed
May 2006HailMetamora-no account filed
April 2005HailMetamora-no account filed
June 2005HailMetamora-no account filed
July 2004HailMetamora-no account filed
April 2001HailMetamora-no account filed
October 1996Thunderstorm WindMetamora-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindMetamora-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Woodford 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

4 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.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Stevenson, Adlai E., I, House0.2 miles1980
Joseph Schertz House2.6 miles1995
Eureka College Campus Historic District7.2 miles2010
Eureka College Administration and Chapel7.3 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 78001203 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Woodford CountyAll 8 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.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • 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.