Marshall County Courthouse - Lacon, IL
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NorStar
N 41° 01.493 W 089° 24.484
16T E 297545 N 4544312
The Marshall County Courthouse - complete with a military tank on the side - dates back to 1853 and was supposed to be one of the stops for the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Waymark Code: WMJCX8
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/31/2013
Views: 1
In Lacon, at the intersection of IL Route 17 and IL Route 26, is the Marshall County Courthouse.
The courthouse is on the northeast corner of that intersection, which is also 5th Street and Prairie Street. On the 5th Street side, is a war memorial with a large military tank.
The building is a red brick structure that is 2 1/2 stories tall. The old entrance is on Prairie Street (entrance is now on the other end at the rear of the building). Large pane windows are on both floors, with carved sandstone blocks over the tops. The bricks have designs at the corners and around the central door and 2nd floor window. A dormer sits over these. A yellow brick addition unfortunately was added to the red brick structure, detracting from the main building.
The web site for Marshall County has a good history page for the courthouse. The present structure was built in 1853, after a fire destroyed the original structure on the same located. The designs were based probably on the first courthouse and are similar to another courthouse from that age at Metamora, though removal of columns and subsequent additions have change the appearance.
Abraham Lincoln appeared in Lacon on a few occasions. He appeared in the previous courthouse in 1846, to speak about tariffs, and on November 1, 1848 to urge people to vote for Zachary Taylor for US President. In 1854, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were scheduled to debate there, but ended up not doing so. Lincoln made another trip in 1856 to address county Republicans. Other prominent lawyers came through this courthouse, including founders of the Illinois Bar Association.
Year Built: 1/1/1853
Current Use of Building: Courthouse
Level of Courts: County
Dates this building was used to house judicial proceedings: 1853 - present
Physical Address:
Marshall County Courthouse
122 North Prairie Street
P.O. Box 328
Lacon, IL 61540
Hours:
Not found
Related Website: [Web Link]
Architect: Not listed
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