Allerton, Robert, Estate | |
 Allerton House and Reflecting Pond | |
   | |
| Location | 515 Old Timber Rd., Monticello, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Area | 1,517 acres (614 ha) |
| Built | 1900 |
| Architect | Borie, John Joseph; et al. |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000701[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 18, 2007 |
39°59′53″N 88°39′00″W / 39.998°N 88.65°W
The Robert Allerton Park is a 1,517-acre (614 ha) park, nature center, and conference center located in the rural Piatt County township of Willow Branch,[2] (T 18 N, R 5 E) near Monticello, Illinois, on the upper Sangamon River. The park and manor house, The Farms, are attributed to owner Robert Allerton, industrialist heir, artist, art collector and garden designer. Robert donated the complex to the University of Illinois in 1946.[3]
The National Park Service registered the Robert Allerton Estate as a National Historic Place on July 18, 2007.[4] The Allerton Natural Area within the park was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1970.[5]
As of 2007, the park was used by approximately 100,000 visitors per year. It has been described as "a vast prairie turned into a personal fantasy land of neoclassical statues, Far Eastern art, and huge European-style gardens surrounding a Georgian-Revival mansion".[6]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "The question of tax exemption for the Allerton gift". I Love Allerton Park. August 27, 2012. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.
- ^ Indentures by and between Robert Allerton and The University of Illinois. Document signed by Robert Allerton, George D. Stoddard and Park Livingston; notarized by Esther F. Ahlberg, State of Illinois, County of Cook, 14 October 1946. Transfer of property located in County of Piatt, Township 18 North, Range 5 East of the Third Principal Meridian. Printed copy pp. 1, 7
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". National Park Service. July 27, 2007. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018.
- ^ "Allerton Natural Area". National Natural Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- ^ Fliege, Stu (2002). Tales and trail of Illinois. University of Illinois Press.