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Champaign County Hub Tour
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Champaign County Hub Tour
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A stroll down Main Street offers residents and visitors alike evidence of the Mahomet Chamber’s motto “Preserving the Past/Building the Future.” Located within this historic streetscape, you will find interesting shops such as: Main Street Mercantile, Wind Water and Light Gallery, Prairie Boatworks Gallery, The Victorian House, City Chicks, and Country Rose Floral and Gifts. |
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Established in 1956, The Champaign County Historical Archives is a department of The Urbana Free Library that specializes in genealogy and local history. In 1987 it was designated the official repository for non-current Champaign County records. Although it focuses on Champaign County, the Archives holds extensive collections of works dealing with the rest of Illinois and most of the states east of the Mississippi. Whether you have Champaign County ancestors (or no connections to the county at all) or are interested in local history, there is a wealth of potentially useful materials available for your research.
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The mission of this outstanding museum is to discover, collect, preserve, exhibit, study, and interpret objects relating to the history of the County, and to provide educational programs about the County's heritage and the Museum's collections. Housed in the historic Cattle Bank, which dates from 1858. With assistance from the Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA) of Champaign County and the Illinois State Department of Conservation, the building was restored by the owners for use as retail and office space. It is now the Champaign County Historical Museum. This building is believed to be the oldest commercial building in Champaign and has over 10,000 artifacts associated with people, businesses and organizations important in Champaign County history and will have both permanent and rotating exhibits.
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The first courthouse, a log cabin, was so crude it saw only two sessions of court in 1836 and 1837. It was replaced in 1840 with a brick and wood frame building that served for the next 9 years. It was in this building that Abraham Lincoln appeared as a lawyer while riding the circuit. The next courthouse, built in 1849, was a two-story building of brick and wood with a bell tower in the center of its roof.
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Krannert Art Museum offers residents of Central Illinois a rich and comprehensive collection of fine art spanning 6,000 years of world culture. The museum's collections of more than 8,000 works of art represent the cultures of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. In addition to its permanent collection, the Museum organizes outstanding temporary exhibitions throughout the year and offers a full schedule of docent-guided tours, lectures, performances, outreach programs, and activities for families. The Giertz Education Center at Krannert Art Museum serves educators with an extensive free-loan collection of art resources. The Museum's cafes open early morning through mid-afternoon and offers an assortment of coffees, pastries, and light meals. Krannert Art Museum is located on the University of Illinois campus, with metered parking during the week and free parking on weekends. Call for current program information and summer hours.
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The Early American Museum in Mahomet has an extensive collection interpreting 19th and early 20th century life in East-Central Illinois. Two floors of exhibits present architecture, trades and occupations, decorative arts, and childhood and domestic life of the time. The Discovery Room offers hands-on opportunities for children to interact and learn about the residents of the Grand Prairie. Educational programs are offered for all ages throughout the year. The basement features a full exhibit on Lincoln, including his years as a lawyer on the Eighth Judicial Circuit.
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Piatt County, named for James A. Piatt, Sr., was established January 27, 1841, from territory taken from Macon County. The county seat is currently Monticello. |
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The museum was started as “The Piatt County Pioneers” on March 11, 1965. The name was changed in December of 1965 to “The Illinois Pioneer Heritage Center.” Through the years, many dedicated people worked to preserve the heritage and artifacts unique to Piatt County. The name was changed to “The Piatt County Museum” in January of 1996. They are currently erecting the old University of Illinois Beef Barn and in order to create a new facility for their museum near the Train Museum.
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James Piatt Sr. came to this Central Illinois territory in 1829 and called the area Piatt's Point. In 1837, a plat was registered by Piatt and it was named Monticello by Major James McReynolds, an admirer of Thomas Jefferson. Industry progressed with the incorporation of the Monticello Railroad Company in 1861 and by the 1880's, Monticello was a major business hub in Central Illinois. |
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The continual success of the company helped spawn the construction of mansions on North State Street that became known as "Millionaire's Row”. Experience this evolution and growth of wealth on this one of a kind walking tour through Historic State Street in Monticello Illinois!
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Everyone knows that Lincoln expanded the railroads and used them heavily during the Civil War as President, but before that he road the rails, as they arrived throughout the Eighth Judicial Circuit and even argued cases for and against the railroads in Illinois. Now visitors can experience a bit of the railroad magic in Central Illinois.
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The 1500-acre woodland, garden, meadow, and prairie landscape that surrounds the Allerton Mansion was once the private estate of Robert Henry Allerton. Named “The Farms,” the estate was the center of the 12,000-acre Illinois agricultural enterprise acquired during the latter half of the 1800s by Robert’s father Samuel. The family wealth however, extended far beyond Illinois. Samuel Allerton owned more than 80,000 acres of farmland, was a founding principal of the First National Bank of Chicago, and held prominent leadership positions in five major stockyards, including the Union Stockyards of Chicago. |
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What was once the private oasis for a single family is now a vibrant teaching, recreational, and celebratory sanctuary for nearly 100,000 guests every year. Allerton Park and Retreat Center is a unique cultural and environmental asset of the University of Illinois and serves as a bridge between the public and the educational and research resources of the University’s faculty.
Allerton Park Part 1 |
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Bryant Cottage was built in 1856 by Francis E. Bryant a friend and political ally of Senator Stephen A. Douglas. According to Bryant family tradition, on the evening of July 29, 1858, Douglas and Abraham Lincoln conferred in the parlor of this house to plan the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates. The picturesque one-story, four-room wood frame cottage has been “restored” and is interpreted as an example of a middle-class life in mid-nineteenth-century Illinois. The furniture on display is of the Renaissance Revival style, appropriate for a small-town family of the mid-nineteenth century.
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Danville is the first stop from the East coming from I-74 and for those looking for a unique location, try
picturesque Danville/Vermilion County, ideally located on I-74 in the heart of Central Illinois. For the
history buff-- had you been walking down Vermilion Street in Danville in the early 1850's you very possibly
might have run into a tall, somewhat unkempt, young attorney crossing from his office to the courthouse to
argue a case in the 8th Judicial Circuit. |
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Completed in 2002, this reproduction of an early Danville court house tells of Danville’s rich Lincoln history. He tried over 200 cases in the courts here and had many friends in this community. As visitors enter the museum, the first thing they see is an imposing statue that represents the Lincoln that his friends from Danville would have recognized. The museum also houses a recreation of the law office that Danville attorney Ward Hill Lamon shared with Lincoln, and includes a desk that Lincoln actually used. There are many other fine exhibits in this museum that reflect the history of Vermilion County.
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Dr. William Fithian was Danville’s most prominent physician during most of the 19th Century. The house that he built is still standing and is part of the Vermillion County Museum Complex. Lincoln was known to have spent time in this home as Dr. Fithian was not only a doctor, but was also very active in Vermilion County politics. In 1858, during the senate campaign, Lincoln made an impromptu speech from the second floor balcony outside the bedroom that he frequently occupied. The house contains a bed that Lincoln slept in that night. The home is located next to the newly completed Vermilion County Museum. |
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Fithian hosted Lincoln many times when he visited Danville and supported him both financially and with speeches when Lincoln ran for office. In September of 1858, Lincoln gave a speech from the south balcony of the Museum when he was campaigning for the U. S. Senate. The balcony, the window Lincoln stepped out and the bedroom Lincoln used on his visits remain as they were that autumn day in 1858. The bed in the Lincoln room is the bed the tall statesman slept in when he visited Fithian. There is also an original newspaper announcing Lincoln's candidacy, a photograph of him taken in Danville and a hand-written note from Lincoln to Secretary Risley written just a few months before his assassination.
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Located in the heart of the Renaissance District of Danville, Illinois, they have all probate records from the Vermilion County, IL courthouse either on microfilm or hard copy, hundreds to thousands of family histories and files, copies of the naturalizations from the Vermilion County, IL, courthouse, and all cemetery readings for Vermilion County.
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Probably the oldest frame residence in Danville, this house has connections with several important persons of Danville History. It was built in 1850 by Joseph and Melissa Beckwith Lamon. Melissa was the daughter of the man after whom Danville was named -- Dan Beckwith. Her husband, Joseph Lamon, was the cousin of Ward Hill Lamon, a Danville attorney who was for four years the law partner of Abraham Lincoln, and who later went to Washington, D.C. with Lincoln to act as the friend and bodyguard during the Civil War (1861-1865). |
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The Lamon House is furnished with pieces primarily of the 1850 - 1875 era. The fireplace grate is original to the house and wicker chair next to the fireplace belonged to the family. None of the other furnishings are original to the house. The DAR furnished the north side of the house -- that is, the living room, dining room and kitchen. The bedroom was furnished by the Newell Township Historical Society, and the library was taken care of with donations from some of the Danville High School faculty.
Lamon House Part 1 |
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A catch-all name that incorporates camping, fishing, hiking, and a host of other activities the entire family can enjoy, this area covers more than 15,000 acres of park land. Among the areas of interest are: Kennekuk County Park, Kickapoo State Park, and others. |
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In 1816, the land that is now Edgar County was offered for sale by the federal government after it had been acquired through a treaty with the Kickapoo Indians. The following year, settlers began arriving, many via an Indian trail that became the Chicago-Vincennes Road, also known as Illinois Route 1. |
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In June of 1823, the Board of Commissioners established the boundaries for the county square, measuring 310 3/4 feet each side, with a total area of two acres. The roads surrounding the square were also laid out during this meeting. The building on the register is the third building to be built upon the square.
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The Art Center offers a full range of art activities and programs to the residents and artists of the region including exhibitions, classes and workshops, tours to other art centers and events, community outreach programs, and, scholarships for talented youth. The Art Center maintains a permanent collection, the nucleus of which are the paintings by Alice Baber, a native of Edgar County, who achieved international recognition in 1960's and 70's. Other collection pieces include paintings, drawings, prints, and three-dimensional pieces by artists with national and regional reputations.
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The historic Arthur House, built by Henry Clay Moss, in the late 1800’s, is included in the complex that is used by the Edgar County Historical Society right next door to their genealogical library right next door. Also housing a set of displays covering the early history of Paris and Edgar County, the complex boasts a wide array of genealogical research materials and displays covering Mr. Lincoln. The Arthur House is on the National Historic Register.
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