2004

The Gustave Koerner House is located at 200 Abend Street in Belleville, Illinois.  Between 1855 and 1896, this home served as the residence of Gustave Koerner, a nationally prominent German-American politician.  Born in Germany in 1809, Koerner immigrated to St. Clair County, Illinois in 1833 as a political refugee.  Although a lawyer by training, Koerner was drawn to state politics, and during the period 1842-1856 he served in succession as a State Legislator, Supreme Court Justice, and as Lieutenant Governor.  Koerner broke with the Democratic Party in 1856 over the issue of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the introduction of slavery to the western territories.  He afterwards helped organize the Republican Party and became a close political ally of Abraham Lincoln.  Koerner provided vital assistance to Lincoln during his bids for the United States Senate in 1858 (when Lincoln first achieved national prominence) and President in 1860, by bringing his German constituency into the Republican Party.  In 2004, the Gustave Koerner House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, based on a nomination form prepared by Fever River Research.  The house, which is owned by the City of Belleville, presently is undergoing a historic restoration.