Macon County Museum - Decatur, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 39° 50.742 W 088° 52.212
16S E 339996 N 4412305
Marker denoting the location of the Macon County Museum, which has preserved the first county courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. Another of the Looking for Lincoln series.
Waymark Code: WMCF7F
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 08/31/2011
Views: 1
Summary of the sign text - In 1838, Abraham Lincoln had the opportunity to practice law in Macon County's first courthouse. He took part in five court cases. According to Lincoln biographer Ida Tarbell, the first Macon County Courthouse was probably the only log courthouse that Lincoln ever practice law in. The log courthouse was later replace by a brick courthouse. After several subsequent owners, it was obtained by the Macon County Historical Society and moved to its current location just to the north of this exhibit in 1992.
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. For example, this waymark (
visit link) features a sculpture of the original courthouse at its original location.
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