Marine Chapter House

Illinois, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Located on Silver Street in Marine, Illinois, the Marine Chapter House is a Prairie School structure built between 1909 and 1910 as a meetinghouse for the local chapter of the American Woman's League, a political and social organization founded by magazine publisher Edward Gardner Lewis to advance feminist causes and the women's suffrage movement. Designed by the St. Louis firm Helfensteller, Hirsch & Watson as a Class I building intended for chapters with 30 to 60 members, it was one of five standardized designs commissioned by Lewis for the League's meetinghouses. Built at a cost of $1,200, the building was later converted to a library after the club disbanded. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as one of nine American Woman's League chapter houses so recognized in Illinois.