Campaign celebrating Abraham Lincoln's Illinois roots goes from Freeport to Jonesboro

Pontiac, Illinois, could be getting its 10th Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibit with some recently announced grant funding, but did you know there already are 260 exhibits across the state? Many of them are in a community near you.

Wayside exhibits are essentially storyboards that serve as historic markers. The exhibits help residents and visitors learn more about Abraham Lincoln, the nation's 16th president and the Lincoln from which the Land of Lincoln gets its name.

All across the state in cities big and small, the state has placed storyboards at the places where Lincoln studied, worked, campaigned, debated, gave speeches and attended events during the 30 years he called Illinois home.

More: Born a woman, fought as a man: Looking for Lincoln campaign to share Albert Cashier story

Many of the exhibits are located in central Illinois but some are as far north as Freeport and as far south as Jonesboro.

Here are just some of the exhibits Illinois already has installed to help residents and visitors learn more about Illinois' Lincoln history.

Alton

Lincoln and Civil War Legacy Trail is a self-guided tour that includes stops at the Lincoln-Shields Duel site and the final Lincoln-Douglas Debate. There are also two cemeteries of interest, Alton’s National Cemetery, and the Confederate Cemetery and Memorial.

Beardstown

This community on the Illinois River is the site of a court case Lincoln won with the help of the Farmer’s Almanac. It was made famous in the movie “Young Mr. Lincoln,” starring Henry Fonda. The Old Lincoln Courtroom and Museum houses the courtroom of that trial and is still used today. There are seven other wayside exhibits in town.

Bloomington-Normal

According to the Looking for Lincoln website , visitors can explore Lincoln sites in Bloomington-Normal by using the McLean County Museum of History narrated tour. This is available on the Museum’s iOS and Android app at the Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 website – cruisinwithlincolnon66.org/explore/looking-for-lincoln

Carthage

Although famous for being the home of the Historic Carthage Jail, the place where Mormon founder Joseph Smith was murdered, Carthage has a number of wayside exhibits regarding Abraham Lincoln’s connection to the western Illinois Community.

Champaign-Urbana

According to the Looking for Lincoln website, the “Illinois History and Lincoln Collections preserves and provides access to both print and manuscript materials documenting the history of Illinois as well as Abraham Lincoln’s life and legacy. Approximately 35,000 printed volumes and 1,000 manuscript collections as well as numerous maps, photographs, ephemera, and other materials provide rich resources for researchers in a many fields.” A little west is Mahomet, which is home to a number of wayside exhibits.

Charleston

The Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum is located here. It focuses on the entire series of debates between the two 1858 senatorial candidates. There are also quite a few other Lincoln sites in the area, including the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site in nearby Lerna. This is the preserved home of Thomas Lincoln and Sara Bush Lincoln, the 16 ^th president’s father and step-mother, who lived there in the 1840s.

Decatur

Decatur is home to quite a few Lincoln-related wayside exhibits. These include information on Lincoln being selected at the Illinois Republican Convention, held in Decatur, as the state’s preferred nominee for president.

Freeport

The second of the Lincoln-Douglas debates was held in Freeport. This event introduced the Freeport Doctrine, which revolved around the question of slavery and popular sovereignty regarding its legal status in the individual states. The Lincoln Douglas Debate Square is one of two points of interest. The other deals with Lincoln and the final battle of the Black Hawk War, which took place in 1832, in nearby Kent.

Galesburg

Knox College hosted the fifth of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and Old Main, which still stands. There is a wayside exhibit located at the site. Another site related to Lincoln in Galesburg is the Carl Sandburg Home. Sandburg wrote a two-volume biography on Lincoln in 1926.

Jacksonville

A Looking for Lincoln audio tour takes the visitor around Jacksonville with an auditory history lesson of the 16 ^th president. Another destination is Central Park, where Lincoln gave a speech during his statewide campaign for U.S. Senate in 1858.

Jonesboro

In deep southern Illinois, Jonesboro was the site of the third Lincoln-Douglas debate. Information from the debate is available at P.A.S.T of Union County Heritage House Museum. There is also a wayside exhibit of “Where Lincoln Walked.”

Lincoln

The town was named after Lincoln before he became president. There is a wayside exhibit explaining the christening of the city. Postville Courthouse Historic Site is a reproduction of the original courthouse in the former county seat of Logan County. It was part of the Eighth Circuit, which Lincoln rode as an attorney.

Macomb

The home of Western Illinois University, Macomb offers a Looking for Lincoln self-guided tour and a living Lincoln topiary monument.

Ottawa

The first of the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates took place here on Aug. 21, 1858. Held at Washington Square, the debate is remembered by a wayside exhibit, as well as a boulder and plaque marking the spot of the debate. There is also a fountain that includes bronze statues of Lincoln and Douglas.

Petersburg

Located south of Petersburg is Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site. Lincoln lived here as a young adult before eventually moving to Springfield. Other wayside exhibits include Lincoln as a surveyor, as well as his time in Petersburg.

Pontiac

Civil War veteran Albert Cashier will soon receive a Looking for Lincoln historic marker in Pontiac. The marker will share the story of Cashier, who was born a women but took on the identity of a man and fought alongside men in the 95th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. Cashier lived in Belvidere, Illinois, before the war and Saunemin after.

Quincy

The next-to-last Lincoln-Douglas debate was held in Quincy. The Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum was opened in 2023. It sits across the street from where the debate was held on Oct. 13, 1858. Quincy is home to many Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibits, as well as other Lincoln-related points of interest.

Springfield

The center of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois, Springfield is home to Lincoln’s home, his grave at Oak Ridge Cemetery, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and many wayside exhibits marking Lincoln's life in Springfield.

Vandalia

Vandalia is the second state capital for Illinois. The fourth state house (1836-39) is now a state historic site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was still the capital when Lincoln first served in government as a state representative.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Campaign celebrating Abraham Lincoln's Illinois roots goes from Freeport to Jonesboro