Vandalia, Illinois IL94
For twenty years this city on the west bank of the Kaskaskia River was the capital of Illinois. In 1819, a year after Illinois gained statehood, the General Assembly voted to move state offices to Vandalia from Kaskaskia. The Second General Assembly convened at Vandalia, December 4, 1820, in the first state-owned capitol. A second statehouse was used from 1824 to 1836. A third, built by Vandalia citizens in 1836 in an attempt to retain the seat of government at Vandalia, is still standing. Ownership of the building was accepted by the state in February, 1837, only a few weeks before the assembly voted to relocate in Springfield, nearer the center of the state. Officers of the first six administrtions served in Vandalia. Here in 1836 Abraham Lincoln was admitted to the bar of Illinois. Here also he began his political career in 1834 as a member of the General Assembly. Other prominent Illinoisans at Vandalia included legislators Stephen A. Douglas and James Shields, and James Hall, State Treasurer, 1827-1831, and editor of Illinois Monthly Magazine, the first literary magazine in the state. The Illinois artist James W. Berry made his home here. Vandalia was the terminus of the National Road, which began in Cumberland, Maryland. Authorized during Thomas Jefferson's administration, the National Road was the first highway built with Federal funds. Vandalia is today the principal city and county seat of Fayette County. The restored third capitol is owned and maintained by the State of Illinois.

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Third State Capitol IL93
THIRD STATE CAPITOL
Erected in 1836

The third capitol building owned by the State was restored as a memorial in 1933. It was the capitol from December 3, 1836 to July 4, 1839. Abraham Lincoln was a member of the House during the three sessions of the legislature held in this building, and was the leader in the removal of the capital to Springfield. Stephen A. Douglas was a member of the 1836-1837 session. The Fayette County Courthouse occupied this building 1839-1933.

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Second State Capitol IL92
SECOND STATE CAPITOL
1824-1836

The second state capitol owned by the State was a two-story brick building erected here in 1824, using the walls of the first State Bank which burned January 28, 1823. Abraham Lincoln was a member of the House in the 1834-1835 and 1835-1836 sessions . Vandalia paid one-fifth of the total cost of $15,000. Torn down in 1836, the salvage was used in the third capitol building.

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Historic Vandalia IL85
Vandalia was the second capitol of Illinois, 1820-1839. Here met the General Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the Federal Courts. Abraham Lincoln served in the House of Representatives 1834-1839, and Stephen A. Douglas 1836-1837.

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Abraham Lincoln IL78

Spoke in the oak grove of General William Pickering north of here in the presidential campaign of 1840. He was stumping Southern Illinois as a Whig elector for General William Henry Harrison in the Tippecanoe and Tyler Too campaign. In 1861 Lincoln appointed Pickering Governor of Washington Territory.

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Thy Wondrous Story, Illinois IL77
The fertile prairies in 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 she surrendered it to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris. During the American Revolution George Rogers Clark and his small army scored a bloodless victory when they captured Kaskaskia for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Illinois became a county of Virginia. This was ceded to the United States in 1784, and became in turn a part of the Northwest Territory and the Indiana and Illinois Territories. On December 3, 1818, Illinois entered the Union as the twenty-first state. US 36 touches six counties which were part of the Eighth Judicial Circuit. From 1839 to 1860 Abraham Lincoln followed the court as it moved from county seat to county seat within the circuit. Thus, he came to such cities as Paris, Sullivan, Monticello, Decatur, and Springfield for the bi-annual terms. West of Decatur this highway passes near the Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park on the banks of the Sangamon River. This was the site of the first Lincoln home in Illinois when the family came from Indiana in 1830. The following spring Thomas Lincoln moved to Coles County and Abraham moved on to New Salem, 20 miles northwest of Springfield. US 36 passes through Springfield where Lincoln's home and tomb are state memorials. Springfield is also the site of the Old State Capitol where Lincoln delivered his famous 'House Divided' speech.

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United States Land Office IL65

A United States Land Office was located at this site in 1820 and operated until 1855. Settlers from as far as Chicago came here to file on homesteads. Young Abraham Lincoln passing through Palestine in 1830 with his family in emigrant wagons noticed a crowd before this land office.

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Palestine, Illinois IL64
PALESTINE, ILLINOIS

This area reminded Frenchman John LaMotte of the land of milk and honey, Palestine. While a member of the LaSalle exploring party, he became separated from the group, traveled down the Wabash River, and first gazed upon the region in 1678. Other French settlers came during the 18th century. Then, by 1812, the westward moving Americans began constructing Fort LaMotte. As the palisade filled with settlers, those desiring more room moved a few miles to the northwest and established Fort Foot.

The settlers in Fort LaMotte were the core of the town of Palestine. Platted in 1818 by Joseph Kitchell and Edward Cullom, the settlement served until 1843 as the Crawford County seat. The growth of the town lagged until a United States Land Office, opened in 1821, gave new importance to the community. Then, people came to buy land, to attend court, for entertainment, and to have their grain milled. Others, like Abraham Lincoln in 1830, passed through the bustling town on their way to settle in Illinois.

The land office continued to give prominence to Palestine. Robert A. Kinzie came in 1831 to purchase 102 acres for $127.68; an area which became the nucleus of Chicago. Augustus C. French (1808-1864) served as a receiver in the Land Office from 1839 to 1843. A native of New Hampshire, he was the first "Yankee" to be elected Governor of Illinois. Chosen in 1846, French was forced to stand for re-election under the new constitution of 1848 and won.

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DuBois Tavern IL58
DUBOIS TAVERN

Here stood the DuBois Tavern. Jesse K. DuBois, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, was an official in the United States Land Office in Palestine from 1841-1842 and from 1849-1853 and later became the Auditor of Public Accounts for Illinois. His son, Fred T. DuBois, became a Senator from Idaho.

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Shiloh Cemetery IL42
In Shiloh Cemetery are the graves of Thomas and Sarah Lincoln, father and stepmother 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 of his stepmother.

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