Route 66
Cruise the Mother Road and get your kicks on the original Route 66! From 1926 through 1930, Route 66 followed State Road 4, the first fully paved highway in Illinois. The historic route stretched from Chicago to East St. Louis, passing through the heart of Carlinville. In 1927, Route 66 signs were posted across the eight states between Chicago and Santa Monica, California. However, by 1930, Illinois and Kansas, with their 12-mile stretch of the framed road, were the only states that could boast of having a paved highway. During the 30s and 40s, the section of Route 66 between Springfield and Staunton was relocated twice.
Although Route 66 was decommissioned nationally in 1985 (due to the Interstate Highway System), its popularity and mystique never died. Ten years later, the Illinois Department of Transportation officially recognized the Route 66 revival movement and posted historic markers along its length of the "Main Street of America". Visitors of Carlinville will find it easy to retrace the original Route 66 pathway.
Founded in 1837, Blackburn College is one of the oldest colleges in the state. A four-year liberal arts college with a strong academic background, Blackburn is also one of seven work colleges in the nation, the only one with a student-managed Work Program. In exchange for tuition credit, all resident students are required to work in jobs essential to the college's daily operation. The work program has received widespread recognition in higher education and helps to keep Blackburn's tuition among the lowest of all private colleges in the United States.
Macoupin County Courthouse
The first courthouse was built of logs on property that is now the City Square. Seth Hodges won the contract for the structure. The record shows that construction cost $128.66
Ten years later, the county had outgrown this 18' x 24' log structure and made plans for a larger one on the same site. The new brick building measured 50' x 50' and - costing roughly $15,000 - was considerably more expensive than the first. The contractors were Harbird Weatherford and Jefferson Weatherford.
Abraham Lincoln frequently represented his clients in this courthouse. In fact, when the State Preservation Agency examined the Courthouse records in the 1990's, they found over 3,000 documents with the signature of A. Lincoln. Those original documents are now in
The courthouse that
Four prominent citizens were commissioned to erect a new courthouse: A McKim Dubois, George H. Holliday, T.L. Loomis and Isham J. Peebles. They selected E.E. Meyers as architect and determined that the construction not
The court also ordered that a property tax of 50¢ per $100 be assessed in
Bonds totaling $50,000 were issued for ten-year terms and bore interest at 10 percent. By September, over $13,000 had been spent and in October the cornerstone was set in place. The cost escalated dramatically from then on. By January 1869 nearly $500,000 had been spent and building was still not complete. The great dome and roof would cost an additional $125,115. More bonds were issued, and by the time the courthouse was officially completed in 1870, the project had cost a staggering $1,342,226.31. Thus evolved the nickname, the "Million Dollar Courthouse."
Not only was the courthouse an exorbitant expense to the taxpayers, rumors of a scandal involving misused appropriations also tarnished the project. Initially, the blame was laid on Judge Thaddeus Loomis and George H. Holliday, county clerk. Judge Loomis was apparently innocent of any wrongdoing. (We may never know the truth about Mr. Holliday, however, because one night in 1870, he boarded a train out of town and simply disappeared.)
Upon completion, this courthouse became the largest county courthouse in the
Despite the scandal and the expense, citizens supported this project with amazing dedication. In 1910, a mere 40 years after the cornerstone had been set in place, the last bond was burned and the
Macoupin County Jail
The historic 1869 Macoupin County Jail was also designed by E.E. Meyers. It was built using the "cannon ball" method which prevented jail breaks by making it nearly impossible to remove the blocks. This unique medieval-inspired fortress housed many lawbreakers during its 119 years of use, but only one prisoner escaped. He was soon apprehended a few blocks from the jail.
The interior is designed in the "jailer residence" style, a popular 19th century prison design, requiring the jailer and his family to reside in an apartment above the jail. The cell block ceiling, walls and floor are constructed of one-inch iron plates with 20 inches of solid stone above and below. The jail was built to house 16 male prisoners and one female, but at one time it held 33 prisoners, four of whom were accused murderers. This historic structure was finally retired when the new county jail was built and dedicated in 1988.
The Macoupin County Historical Society was organized in March 1970 and is dedicated to the study of the area’s history and the collecting and preserving of memorabilia of its people. In 1973, members purchased the house know locally as
In 1883, the original residence, built by John Anderson, was a one-story structure, but as the
elaborate bay windows, eight fireplaces, a large stained glass window purchased at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and unique folding window shutters. Throughout the house, beautifully restored solid oak staircases, woodwork and pocket doors illustrate the craftsmanship of that era.
The main house has become a museum with exhibits that chronicle the development of
Macoupin County Historical Society / Anderson Mansion
Standard Addition is the largest, concentrated collection of Sears homes in the
of Indiana opened two new mines. Due to an energy shortage caused by WWI and a severe winter, the company desperately needed a dependable supply of coal for its refineries, which it found in the mines South of the city.
For more information contact Laurie Flori: 217-854-9327
The Macoupin County War Memorial is a permanent reminder of county men and women who served in World War I,
The memorial project was spearheaded by Martin Rogers, a Carlinville native and WWII veteran. Completed in 1996, the Macoupin County War Memorial stands in the southeast corner of the Macoupin County Courthouse grounds.
Although the square has many wonderful buildings, probably the most significant is the Loomis House. Build by Judge Thadeus L. Loomis, it was designed by architect E.E. Meyers who also designed the Macoupin County Courthouse and 1869 Jail. When it was completed in 1870, the Loomis House was opened as a hotel with fifty rooms on three floors and a large dining area. Eight years after it opened,
The Loomis House
Blackburn College
In 1844, six local citizens set aside a sizeable parcel of land near the center of town for an Episcopal church, but it took more than two decades to raise the funds to build it. Since its dedication in 1867,
Historic Marker
This large stone commemorates the spot where Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech on August 31, 1858, when he ran against Stephen A. Douglas for U.S. Senate. Visitors can find the stone in front of the
Sears Homes / Standard Addition