Armour's Warehouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Armour's Warehouse
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | Jct. of William and Bridge Sts., Seneca, Illinois |
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| Area | 1.4 acres (0.57 ha) |
| Built | 1861 |
| Architectural style | Grain elevator |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001333 |
| Added to NRHP | November 7, 1997 |
Armour's Warehouse, also known as the Seneca Grain Elevator, is a very old building in Seneca, Illinois. It's a special type of building called a grain elevator. This building and two smaller buildings nearby were added to a list of important places called the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
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A Look Back at Armour's Warehouse
This grain elevator was built a long time ago, between 1861 and 1862. It was built by John Armour. It stands right next to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which was an important waterway. Even though it wasn't the very first grain elevator in Seneca, it's the only old one still standing today.
How the Building Looks
The Seneca Grain Elevator is about 65 feet (almost 20 meters) tall. It has four floors above a basement. The building itself is about 40 feet (12 meters) wide and 80 feet (24 meters) long. It's a big building that stands out in downtown Seneca. Between 1924 and 1939, metal siding was added to the outside. This was done to help protect the building from fires.
Other Buildings on the Site
There are five buildings in total at Armour's Warehouse. You can still see an old railroad track from 1883 on the north side of the main elevator. This track led to a small shed where grain could be dumped. There's also an office building with a scale house, built in 1892. Farmers would use the scale house to weigh their grain. Plus, there are two buildings that were used as seed warehouses.
Why This Place is Important
The Seneca Grain Elevator is the oldest grain elevator still standing along the Illinois and Michigan Canal. This canal itself is a very important historical area. The elevator was super important for business in Seneca. It helped bring the railroad to the town and showed how important the canal was for moving grain.
Armour's Warehouse was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1997. This means it's officially recognized as a special historical site. The 1892 office building, the scale house, and one of the older seed warehouses are also part of this important historical listing.
See Also
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-25, "Armour's Warehouse"
