Lincoln on the Circuit marker - Decatur, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 39° 50.484 W 088° 57.342
16S E 332670 N 4411984
A marker describing the nature of cases that Abe faced as a lawyer on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Another of the Looking for Lincoln series.
Waymark Code: WMCEX9
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 08/30/2011
Views: 3
Summary of the sign text - The first panel describes the old courthouse that used to be located here. The middle panel explains that much of Lincoln's legal career on the circuit concerned routine matters such repayment of debt (which was often difficult out in central Illinois at this time due to the lack of "hard money" or specie for the average citizen to obtain.) The lower panel explains that although we associate Lincoln with the Eighth Circuit, originally he rode the prior First Judicial Circuit also through Macon County.
There is more to read when you visit the marker.
The Looking for Lincoln series comprises a total of 220 of these exhibits in 47 Illinois communities to help them more vividly tell their own unique Lincoln story. There are fifteen of these in Decatur, placed in 2009. See (
visit link) for a map of all of Decatur’s Looking for Lincoln markers.
From a City of Decatur newsrelease at (
visit link)
“Few people know that Decatur has more Lincoln history than any other city in Illinois outside Springfield. Mr. Lincoln lived in Macon County when he first came to Illinois, practiced law, made his first political speech and was first nominated for President in Decatur and the surrounding area, among other things.”
Decatur abounds in Lincoln and other historical markers and monuments.