This is a sub-group of markers erected by the Illinois State Historical Society and typically either the Illinois Department of Transportation of the Illinois Division of Highways. Most were put up in 1964-5 and feature a blue design (although a few deviate from this pattern). However, all of them feature the slogan: "See Historic Illinois". These historical markers are distinct compared to other markers put up by the Illinois State Historical Society and showcase the changes that the historical marker program has gone through since its inception in 1932. The most common of these markers are titled "Thy Wondrous/Wonderous Story, Illinois", but many of them have become missing over the years.
On Highway 24 (U.S. 24) west of County Road 1250 E (County Route 1250), on the left when traveling west.
In 1824 Cornelius Vandeventer a native of Ohio, became the first permanent settler in this area. Additional pioneers came over the next few years from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. In 1829 Alexander Curry purchased a claim on . . . — — Map (db m149875) HM
On Circle Drive south of North Shore Drive, on the right when traveling south.
Paris lies in the heart of a rich farming area. Most of the land embraced in Edgar County, including Paris, remained Kickapoo hunting grounds until 1819, but the eastern quarter of the county was part of a tract ceded by the Indians in 1809 and . . . — — Map (db m188363) HM
On U.S. 36 west of 2250 E, on the right when traveling west.
The fertile prairies in Illinois attracted the attention of French fur trader Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette as they explored the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in 1673. France claimed this region until 1763 when she surrendered it to . . . — — Map (db m131294) HM
On Illinois Route 96 at milepost 20, 0.1 miles south of County Road 1720, on the left when traveling north.
The fertile prairies of Illinois attracted the attention of French trader Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette as they explored the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in 1673. France claimed this region until 1763 when he surrendered it to Great . . . — — Map (db m55419) HM
On Illinois Route 96 0.1 miles south of Water Street, on the right when traveling south.
Nauvoo was once the site of a Sauk and Fox village. After the Indians moved west of the Mississippi, promoters attempted to develop town sites here but the marshy bottom lands attracted few settlers.
In 1839, the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith . . . — — Map (db m55432) HM
Near Interstate 74 at milepost 30 when traveling west.
Benjamin Dann Walsh, Illinois state entomologist from 1867 to 1869, was a pioneer in
the application of insect study to agriculture. Born in England in 1808, he earned his
master's degree from Trinity College, Cambridge, England in 1833. Though . . . — — Map (db m230168) HM
Near Interstate 74 at milepost 28 when traveling east.
Benjamin Dann Walsh, Illinois state entomologist from 1867 to 1869, was a pioneer in
the application of insect study to agriculture. Born in England in 1808, he earned his
master's degree from Trinity College, Cambridge, England in 1833. Though . . . — — Map (db m230180) HM
On Kennedy Road (County Route 10) 0.2 miles east of Interstate 55, on the right when traveling east.
Elkhart City in Logan County is typical of the many Illinois villages whose growth was spurred by the arrival of the railroad. Founded by John Shockey in 1855, two years after the coming the Alton and Sangamon Railroad, now the Gulf Mobile and Ohio. . . . — — Map (db m159582) HM
On Lewis and Clark Boulevard (Illinois Route 3) 0.2 miles north of West Madison Avenue ( Route 143), on the right when traveling south. Reported missing.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark originally planned to camp west of the Mississippi River during the winter of 1803-04. Carlos Dehault Delassus, the Spanish commandant at St. Louis, however, had not received formal notification from his government . . . — — Map (db m141787) HM
Near West Morton Avenue (Illinois Route 104) east of South West Street.
Stephen A. Douglas was born in Brandon, Vermont, in 1813. He attended schools there and in New York state. In 1833, he settled in Winchester, Illinois, five miles southwest, where he taught school. In 1834 he moved to Jacksonville, eight miles . . . — — Map (db m182098) HM
Near Illinois Route 150 0.2 miles south of Briarhill Road.
Shadrach Bond, first Governor of Illinois (1818-1822), is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Chester. The first recorded settler in the area was John McFerron who purchased land in 1817 but Samuel Smith, who settled here in 1830, is considered the . . . — — Map (db m161446) HM
On Illinois Route 125 west of Clayville Road, on the right when traveling east.
This building, one of the first brick buildings in Sangamon County, was built in the spring of 1834 by John Broadwell. His father, Moses Broadwell, a native of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, came to Illinois in 1820. He and his son John built a brick . . . — — Map (db m129230) HM
Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, February 12, 1809. He moved with his family to Indiana in 1816 and to Illinois in 1830. His first home in Illinois was 8 miles southwest of Decatur. In 1831 he later moved along to New Salem, . . . — — Map (db m157150) HM
Near Interstate 55 4 miles north of Sangamon Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
Prior to the coming of the railroads, Springfield was handicapped by inadequate transportation facilities. Early in 1832, Vincent A. Bogue, Springfield businessman and promoter, planned to supply the Sangamon River region with steamboat service. He . . . — — Map (db m54765) HM
