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Photograph of Nachusa House
Photograph by IvoShandor, CC BY 2.5. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Nachusa House

Built in 1853. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

From the record

“The Nachusa House is a former hotel building in Dixon, Illinois, United States along Galena Avenue. The building was constructed in 1853 and operated continuously as a hotel until 1988.”

Wikipedia article Nachusa House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 10 National Register listings published here for Lee County · listed in 1983 · category: Building · built in 1853.

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. 215 S. Galena Ave., Dixon, 61021
  • When was it listed? February 1983
  • Category. building
  • Township. Dixon township
  • When was it built? 1853
  • National Register reference number. 83000323 - 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.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Dixon township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Dixon and Lee County, Chronological Record .., published 1880 - Dixon Township

The City Of Dixon, 107

The month of July had not passed, however, before the rejoicing of Independence day was shrouded in the deepest lamentation for those who had fallen victims to the cholera scourge of that year of sad memory. A writer of July 27, 1854, referring to this epidemic, said, " Death in its most frightful form swept through our heretofore healthy town like an avalanche, carrying away within twenty-four hours eighteen souls.

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

52,260 words

The chapter on Dixon Township in History of Dixon and Lee County, Chronological Record .., published 1880 names Dixon. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

The old settle!s are pissing away, and with them many interesting facts in regard to the early history of our town are lost to our citizens. It is proper that in this, the fiftieth anniversary year of the founding of our town by the honored John Dixon, there should be gathered together, as far as it is now possi¬ ble, a record of' all the events of interest relating to the history of the place, from the earliest settlement to the present time, and that the results of this labor be published to the citizens of Dixon in such a shape that these facts and remin¬ iscences shall be preserved for their benefit and entertainment, and for the infor¬ mation of future residents of this beautiful city.

Passage source: History of Dixon and Lee County, Chronological Record .., published 1880.

In the year 1828, a half breed named Joseph Ogee, built a log cabin and established a ferry icross Bock river at the present site of Dixon A license was granted him ty keep this ferry, Dec 7,1829 by Jo Davies connty, under whose jurisdic lion this section then was.

Passage source: History of Dixon and Lee County, Chronological Record .., published 1880.

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 Dixon Township - 52,260 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 38 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 38 workings within 5 miles of Nachusa House: 29 past producers, 5 occurrences, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General. 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
Dixon Quarry & Cement PlantLimestone, GeneralProducer
Medusa QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rock River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Dixon QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Gerdes QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Hallquist QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Law QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence

Every working recorded in Lee County

Storms near this property

59 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dixon, the town this property stands in, in 59 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 33 thunderstorm wind, 20 hail, 2 lightning, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
March 2009Thunderstorm WindDixon$30,000A garage was destroyed. A roof was blown off a building and trees were blown down.
August 2006LightningDixon$5,000Lightning struck a utility pole, the pole and power lines caught on fire.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindDixon$2,000Trees and power lines were blown down.
November 2010Thunderstorm WindDixon$1,000Trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDixon$1,000A tree was blown down across a road. Power lines and a utility pole were also blown down.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindDixon$1,000Trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindDixon$1,000Tree limbs were blown down onto powerlines.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindDixon$1,000Trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDixon$500A street light pole was blown down.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindDixon-An emergency manager estimated 60 to 70 mph thunderstorm winds in Dixon.
March 2024HailDixon-Quarter size hail was reported on the north side of Dixon.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindDixon-Photos shared on social media showed a storage shed that had been destroyed with debris blown across a 2 to 4 block area, including a large section of the shed landing on the roof of a house near the intersection of 2nd Street and College Avenue.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindDixon-Two large trees were blown down and a porch roof had collapsed in Dixon.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindDixon-Trees and electrical wires were reported down in Dixon. Wind speed was estimated using radar.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindDixon-A photo was shared on social media showing a fence that was blown down.
November 2022Thunderstorm WindDixon-A tree limb damaged a power line in the 500 block of East Bradshaw Street.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindDixon-A photo showed a large live tree that was snapped near its base.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindDixon-A private weather station measured a wind gust to 92 mph. Winds gusted above 50 mph for 20 to 30 minutes.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindDixon-Multiple power lines down in the town of Dixon. Time estimated from radar.
August 2016Flash FloodDixon-Route 26 and Route 52 closed due to water up to 2 feet deep. Businesses nearby flooded. Numerous streets across Dixon flooded. Three to five inches of rain fell. Lowell Park Road was closed due to flooding. Many ditches filled with water.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindDixon-Two separate reports were received from just north of Dixon of wind gusts to 74 mph. Multiple large trees and power lines were blown down across the area.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindDixon-A seven inch diameter tree limb was blown down.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDixon-Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Dixon. A truck was blown over on Route 26 in Dixon.
August 2009Heavy RainDixon-Rainfall of 2.03 inches was reported in the past 24 hours.
May 2008HailDixon-Pea to grape size hail was reported four miles west of Dixon.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindDixon-Large trees and tree limbs were blown down.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindDixon-Trees and tree limbs were blown down.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindDixon-A tree was blown down at 9th and Highland.
July 2007FloodDixon-Flooding near Route 2 on the northeast side of Dixon, 4.36 inches of rain measured in Dixon.
April 2006HailDixon-Hail ranging in size from nickels to baseballs was reported in Dixon.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindDixon-A gust to 58 mph was reported in Nachusa Township.
October 2006Thunderstorm WindDixon-Trees were reported down across many locations of Lee County.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindDixon-Tree limbs were blown down.
July 2004HailDixon-A swath of hail cut across Lee County, beginning at 6 miles south of Polo or 6 miles northwest of Dixon, through Dixon, Amboy, Sublette to 1 mile south of Sublette. Large hail was observed throughout this path. The following reports were received:4.00 inches in diameter, was observed by a Farm Service Agent 1 mile south of Sublette. 2.00 and 1.25 inch hail was observed in the town of Sublette. 1.00 inch hail in Amboy2.75 inch hail in Amboy by law enforcement0.88 inch hail 6 miles south of Polo0.75 inch hail in Dixon
May 2000Thunderstorm WindDixon-Trees were blown down on Route 26 south of I-88 near Dixon.
February 1999Thunderstorm WindDixon-A tree blew down on a house in Dixon. A wind gust to 60 mph was reported at Compton Airport.
April 1995Thunderstorm WindDixon-A wind gust to 60 mph was recorded at the Dixon toll plaza.
May 1995HailDixon-State Police reported a tornado on the ground southwest of Harmon. No damage was reported. Golf ball-size hail fell near Dixon.
July 1995Tornado (F0)Dixon-Emergency management reported a tornado at Sterling and Lyons Road east of Dixon. No damage was reported.
April 2026HailDixon-no account filed
July 2025HailDixon-no account filed
July 2025HailDixon-no account filed
September 2021HailDixon-no account filed
February 2017HailDixon-no account filed
June 2010HailDixon-no account filed
May 2006HailDixon-no account filed
September 2006HailDixon-no account filed
September 2006HailDixon-no account filed
September 2006HailDixon-no account filed
May 2004HailDixon-no account filed
May 2004HailDixon-no account filed
May 2003LightningDixon-no account filed
June 2002HailDixon-no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindDixon-no account filed
May 2000HailDixon-no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindDixon-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindDixon-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindDixon-no account filed
June 1995HailDixon-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lee 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.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Illinois Central Stone Arch Railroad Bridges0.2 miles1987
Dixon Downtown Historic District0.5 miles2012
William H. Van Epps House0.6 miles1982
Ronald Reagan's Boyhood Home0.7 miles1982
Christopher Brookner House3.2 miles1984
Lowell Park3.3 miles2006

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 83000323 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Lee CountyAll 10 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.