Twelve thousand people heard the two candidates for the United States Senatorship discuss the question of slavery in American politics near this location. The site continues today as the Coles County Fairgrounds, in use during my visit as a rollicking amusement park.
From their website: Lincoln Douglas Debate Museum This new museum is the only one in Illinois that retraces the senatorial debates of 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. One of these debates took place in Charleston on this spot. The museum addresses the significance of the debates, what the issues were and how these important dialogues affected the country. Using exhibits, interactive displays, audio selections, artifacts and photos, the story of the Lincoln Douglas Debates is told in an interesting a compelling way. The museum also includes a Children’s Hands-On Area, a Gift Shop and a life-size sculpture of Lincoln and Douglas.
The museum is very interesting. It contains much information about the debates, including a model of what the Charleston debate may have looked like. See their website for more information: (
visit link)
Inscription at base of nearby Lincoln & Douglas statue:
"A House Divided September 2001
This sculptural composition borrows the house divided metaphor from Lincoln's speeches. A chasm or rift represents the division. Two great Americans study the chasm caused by the split in the country over slavery and its extension. Both men love the union and want to hold it together. They differ mainly in their solutions.
John McClarey" (the sculptor, from Decatur, IL, who specializes in Lincoln)
Numerous benefactors and donors are also listed.
Nearby marker text:
"The Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Charleston
On September 18, 1858, Springfield attorney and former US Congressman Abraham Lincoln debated US Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Coles County Fairgrounds during the senatorial campaign of that year. The Charleston debate was the fourth of seven debates held between Lincoln and Douglas from August to October. A reported 12,000 to 15,000 people were in attendance at the Charleston debate, with many spectators traveling to Charleston by train and wagon from Indiana.
The campaign centered on the issue of slavery in the federal territories. Was the institution to be extended into the territories and new slaves states created or not? Lincoln as the Republican candidate opposed the extension of slavery while Douglas as the Democratic incumbent defended his doctrine of "popular sovereignty," which held that the residents of the territories should decide the slavery issue for themselves. It was during the Charleston debate that Lincoln denied Douglas' charge that he favored social and political equality for African-Americans. He opposed slavery but took the position that whites should maintain "a superior position" - a statement that has qualified his legacy as the Great Emancipator.
Lincoln won the popular vote but lost the election since the Democrats controlled the Illinois senate, and state legislatures at that time elected United States Senators. Although Douglas was reelected the debates positioned Lincoln to win the Presidency two years later.
Sponsored by the
Coles County Historical Society
and the Illinois State Historical Society
October 2008"
The full text of Lincoln's speech at Charleston is available here: (
visit link)
I found this location serendipitously while looking for a caboose to waymark, which I never did locate. So my trip here ended up being very fruitful!