On December 25, 1830, the Illinois General Assembly created Coles County. At this time, Charleston became the county seat and was just a hamlet called "Coles Courthouse." In 1831, a log-cabin courthouse was constructed. About four years later, a . . . — — Map (db m188293) HM
Side One
Top Section
Nineteenth-century Illinois political campaigns and rallies were raucous affairs, part entertainment and part serious politics. The candidates were often accompanied or preceded by marchers, fireworks, flag . . . — — Map (db m30866) HM
On March 28, 1864, a gunfight erupted here between Union soldiers and Civil War opponents known as "copperheads." In eastern Illinois the Republicans were uniformly pro-Union, but many Democrats were pro-Southern.
Disturbances had occurred . . . — — Map (db m188295) HM
On September 18, 1858, Springfield attorney and former U.S. Congressman Abraham Lincoln debated U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Coles County Fairgrounds during the senatorial campaign of that year. The Charleston debate was the fourth of . . . — — Map (db m184632) HM
(Upper Portion):Tribute of Coles County
in Honor of her Sons who fought for
The Union 1775 - - 1781 1812 - - 1815
1846 - - 1848 1861 - - 1865 1898 - - 1898 (Lower Portion):A house divided against its self cannot stand. I believe . . . — — Map (db m11122) HM
Left Section
Abraham Lincoln was a frequent visitor to Cole County in the 1840's, traveling on the judicial circuit. In Charleston, according to Amanda Hanks Poorman (the daughter of Dennis Hanks), Lincoln would use the Hanks’s horse . . . — — Map (db m30847) HM
Here on January 31, 1861, President-Elect Abraham Lincoln visited his stepmother, Mrs. Sarah Bush Lincoln and her daughter Mrs. Reuben Moore (Matilda Johnston). This was his last visit to Coles County before leaving Illinois for his inauguration. . . . — — Map (db m30888) HM
In Shiloh Cemetery are the graves of Thomas and Sarah Lincoln, father and step-mother of Abraham Lincoln. On January 31, 1861, shortly before assuming the presidency, Lincoln came here from Springfield to visit his father's grave in company with his . . . — — Map (db m188284) HM
In 1837 Thomas Lincoln erected a cabin on a tract of land situated one-half mile to the east. Here he resided until his death in 1851. Abraham Lincoln visited here frequently, and after 1841 held title to forty acres of land on which his parents . . . — — Map (db m30933) HM
Left Panel: “This will certify that the foregoing plot of the town of Farmington laid by me as proprietor is correct.
Witness my hand and seal this 30th day of April 1852.”
J. J. . . . — — Map (db m30979) HM
Thomas Lincoln, like most adult white men in the United States, was obliged to serve in his state's militia. In 1795, at the age of seventeen, he served a few months "for the defense of the frontiers of Washington County" Kentucky against Indian . . . — — Map (db m188286) HM
Thomas Lincoln, father of the sixteenth President, died in 1851. He was buried in what was then called the Gordon Burial Ground, which today is known as the Thomas Lincoln Cemetery. As was common in many rural cemeteries, Thomas Lincoln's marker . . . — — Map (db m188289) HM
Members of Civilian Conservation Corps Co. V-2657 SP-52 built their barracks on this site in August 1935. The WWI veterans who comprised this CCC encampment named it Camp Shiloh after the burial place of Thomas and Sarah Lincoln. Like all CCC camps . . . — — Map (db m229793) HM
Perryville, KY
Middle Tennesse Campaign
Hoover's Gap, TN
Chickamauga Creek, GA
Farmington, TN
Atlanta Campaign
Resaca, GA
Kennesaw Mountain, GA
Selma, Al
Columbus, GA — — Map (db m188557) WM
Growth of a Railroad Town
"Where a great way from the northern plain
Meets one from the deltas of cotton and cane;
…
Where the steeds of those great iron highways meet
To unload the wealth of the world at her feet,
The Queen of . . . — — Map (db m189025) HM
The Big Dig and Beyond
In 1914, to eliminate congestion and travel delays, the Illinois Central Railroad began construction of the subway. ICRR demolished several buildings, including the landmark Essex House and Union Depot. They laid the . . . — — Map (db m189034) HM
This mural embraces the landscape, history and people of Mattoon. For years after the completion of the rail, many trains a day would meet at the intersection of the tracks at the center of town and determine right of way in polite fashion. This . . . — — Map (db m188431) HM
With the fortunes of conventional warfare turning rapidly against the Confederate States of America in early 1864, the Confederate government chose to embark on a formal campaign of behind-the-lines insurrection, subversion and sabotage in the . . . — — Map (db m188422) HM
Bagelfest
After Kraft purchased the Lender's Bagel Company in 1984, the local plant shifted production. Not only did Mattoon become one of the world's leading producers, but bagels became an important part of the City's national identity. . . . — — Map (db m189056) HM
May 1861 - Captain, Illinois Adjutant General's office
April 1865 - General-in-chief armies of the United States
"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike as hard as you can . . . — — Map (db m188543) HM WM
From 1831 to 1834 Thomas and Sarah Lincoln, father and stepmother of Abraham Lincoln, lived in a cabin which stood a short distance to the north. It was their first home in Coles County, and their second home in Illinois. — — Map (db m188282) HM
Side OneTop Section
Abraham Lincoln’s last visit to Cole County was indeed of a personal nature. Lincoln was described as he left Springfield by Henry C. Whitney, who accompanied him part of the way on the train: “. . . . . . — — Map (db m30840) HM
In 1859 the Mattoon Union Agricultural Fairgrounds, encompassing a 90-acre rectangle north and west of this location, was established by the Union Agricultural Fair Association, an organization of Mattoon men. The Union Fairgrounds consisted of . . . — — Map (db m188562) HM
Oil Boom
In the 1940s, Mattoon became a hub for the oil industry. Companies large and small opened offices here, attracted by the developing oil fields, the business environment, and the quality of life. The oil business brought new people . . . — — Map (db m189055) HM
Site of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
constructed 1859, reconstructed 1895 with elements of the old building included.
In 1863, the church basement was used as a Civil War hospital. Mattoon served as an exchange point for soldiers on . . . — — Map (db m188425) HM
On this spot stood the Clapboard Inn, General Store, and Post Office of the early settlers, including the Lincoln family.
The survey of the Village shows thirty-seven lots. Main Street, sixty feet wide, ran immediately with the State Road and . . . — — Map (db m10991) HM
The Buckle on the Corn Belt
In the early 1920s Mattoon was proclaimed "The Buckle on the Corn Belt." This slogan was used to encourage people and businesses to settle here. Like any developing city, Mattoon met its share of challenges, . . . — — Map (db m189054) HM
A Prairie Landscape Heritage
Tribes of Pottawatomie, Kickapoo, and Winnebago were known to have inhabited the region, but the first settlers of Mattoon found mostly open prairie. Timber was scarce and early settlers could see for miles, . . . — — Map (db m188951) HM
For those who fought & died in Vietnam
Van Gundy, Nelson Earl - USMC
Rathe, Philip Henry -USMC
Shields, Gary Don - USMC
Butler, Benny Lee - USMC
Overmyer, Robert Joe - USMC
Shumbarger, Dale Earl - USMC
Hutchison, Stanley Robert - . . . — — Map (db m188949) WM
Gristmill Stone Recovered from the
Little Embarras River South of Oakland
about 1936. Donated to the City of Oakland
by the Curtis Family in memory of Walter A. and
Georgia (Swinford) Curtis.
Mill was in use about 1850. — — Map (db m30885) HM
This was the home of Dr. Hiram Rutherford, who was involved in 1847 in a case in which Abraham Lincoln represented a slaveholder. Rutherford and Gideon Ashmore harbored a family of slaves who had sought their help. The slaves belonged to Robert . . . — — Map (db m30877) HM
Front Section
Lucy M. Reeds Red Cross Nurse Overseas
Soldiers Overseas
Column One
George L. Adams • Samuel Adams • Floyd Annin • Harry Annin • Archie Ashmore • Frank Ashmore • Logan W. Blevins, Sergt. • Frank . . . — — Map (db m30995) WM
Top Section
Dr. Hiram Rutherford was a key person involved in Abraham Lincoln’s famous slave case, the only instance in his career where Lincoln represented the rights of a slave owner. Robert Matson brought slaves from Kentucky to work his . . . — — Map (db m30867) HM
