Beecher Hall, Illinois College - Jacksonville, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 43.869 W 090° 14.904
15S E 735811 N 4401539
William Jennings Bryan attended classes here, now Sigma PI (upper floor) and Phi Alpha (lower floor) use the building as the literary societies meeting place.
Waymark Code: WM4MFX
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 09/07/2008
Views: 4
Designer: James Kerr.
Date Built: 1830.
Material: Brick.
Style: Late Georgian.
Some History: "Tear down the place where ... Bryan learned to enrapture thousands?" This question posed by Ensley Moore -- an 1868 alumnus of Illinois College -- was part of an early 20th-century booklet compiled to raise funds for Beecher Hall's restoration. The "Bryan" in Moore's query is William Jennings Bryan, former secretary of state, three-time Democratic candidate for U.S. president and successful prosecutor of the 1925 Scopes trial -- the highly-publicized case regarding the teaching of evolution in Tennessee's state-supported schools. An 1881 graduate and valedictorian of Illinois College, Bryan is one of many prominent individuals associated with the historic institution, among them Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Webster and Frederick Douglass. In 1843, 150 years ago, Beecher Hall housed Illinois' first medical school. The building was also the permanent home of two literary societies -- Sigma Pi and Phi Alpha. In 1856, the structure was given the name of the college's first president, Edward Beecher -- brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Today, after a major restoration in 1991, Beecher Hall continues to be the heart of Illinois College, as it has been for more than 160 years.
Text of Three Markers on Building:
In this building Illinois College established the first medical school in Illinois in 1841; opened to students November 1843; closed 1848.
Illinois College
BEECHER HALL
Built 1829.
First College Building in Illinois.
Named for Edward Beecher
First President, 1839-1844.
Illinois College
Beecher Hall 1829.
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITE
The National Park Service has evaluated this site as making a significant contribution to the understanding of the Underground Railroad in American history and it meets the requirements for inclusion in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.