Rare Look Inside 213-Year-Old Illinois Mansion

Illinois residents can soon get a rare look inside a 213-year-old mansion whose owner was a refugee from the French Revolution.

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency says the Jarrot Mansion State Historic Site will be open on July 13. The home is usually closed because of a long-term construction project.

The agency said Friday the mansion will be open the day before Bastille Day. The French mark the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris by revolutionaries on July 14 each year.

The mansion was built by Nicholas Jarrot. He was a prominent businessman in the formerly French-owned region of Illinois around Cahokia. The town is just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

The mansion was built in 1810. It is the oldest brick building in Illinois.