This property is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
by the
United States Department of the Interior
May 11, 2000
Beardstown Grand Opera House
c.1872
Heritage Preservation
Foundation
“Preserving our . . . — — Map (db m229612) HM
Rejecting a treaty, Black Hawk, a leader of the Sauk and Fox, led his hungry people back into Illinois from Iowa in early 1832, intending to plant corn. Black Hawk also hoped to form an alliance with the Winnebago and Pottawatomie. . . . — — Map (db m57691) HM
In memory of
Abraham Lincoln
who, for the sake of a mother in distress, cleared her son Duff Armstrong of the charge of murder in this hall of justice.
May 7 1858 — — Map (db m57862) HM
Abraham Lincoln and his men were among the 1,500 or so volunteers who had poured into Beardstown for basic military drills. These men had answered Gen. John Reynolds' call to drive Black Hawk and his people out of Illinois. The military . . . — — Map (db m57689) HM
When Abraham Lincoln sought election to the Illinois legislature in 1832, his platform focused on his belief that improvements should be made to the Sangamon River, which he said would be "vastly important and highly desirable to the . . . — — Map (db m57856) HM
Abraham Lincoln first saw Beardstown in the Spring of 1831 as he, two friends, and Denton Offutt steered Offutt's flatboat laden with merchandise on their way to New Orleans. He returned in 1832, first in March to help get the steamer . . . — — Map (db m57693) HM
Abraham Lincoln had just won an acquittal for his client William Duff Armstrong in what is now known as the celebrated Almanac Trial of May 7, 1858. At the conclusion of the trial, held on the second floor of the Cass County Courthouse . . . — — Map (db m57858) HM
People in Cass County knew Abraham Lincoln not only as a lawyer but also as a candidate for the Illinois legislature and U.S. Congress. Those earlier campaigns allowed Lincoln to hone his political skills for the 1858 senatorial content . . . — — Map (db m57861) HM
It is the celebrated "Almanac Trial" of May 7, 1858 that has forever linked Abraham Lincoln with Beardstown. On that day, Lincoln defended William Duff Armstrong, the son of Lincoln's closest New Salem friends Jack and Hannah Armstrong. . . . — — Map (db m57859) HM
Travel in Abraham Lincoln's time was time-consuming, dirty, and usually downright uncomfortable. On many of his trips, Lincoln traveled by train to Meredosia. From there he had the choice of a steamboat or a bone-jarring ride in a . . . — — Map (db m57863) HM
Nearby is one of two sites in Illinois that serve as the basis for all land surveys in the state. It is the point just northwest of Beardstown, where the 4th principal meridian intersects its base line.
Originally, land was measured by "metes . . . — — Map (db m24943) HM
