Homepage of "Mr. Lincoln, Route 66, & Other
Highlights of Lincoln, IL"
Site Map
Testimonials
A Long-Range Plan to Brand the First Lincoln
Namesake City as the Second City of Abraham Lincoln Statues
The Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in Lincoln, Illinois
1.
Abraham Lincoln and the Historic Postville
Courthouse,
including a William Maxwell connection to the Postville Courthouse
2.
About Henry Ford and the Postville Courthouse,
the Story of the Postville Courthouse Replica,
Tantivy, & the Postville Park
Neighborhood in the
Route 66 Era
3.
The Rise of Abraham Lincoln and His History and
Heritage in His First Namesake Town,
also the founding of Lincoln College, the plot to steal Lincoln's
body, and memories of Lincoln College and the Rustic Tavern-Inn
4.
Introduction to the Social & Economic History of
Lincoln, Illinois,
including poetry by William Childress & commentary by Federal Judge
Bob Goebel & Illinois Appellate Court Judge Jim Knecht
5.
"Social Consciousness in William Maxwell's
Writings Based on Lincoln, Illinois" (an article published in the
Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, winter 2005-06)
5.a.
Peeking Behind the Wizard's Screen: William
Maxwell's Literary Art as Revealed by a Study of the Black Characters in
Billie Dyer and Other Stories
6.
Introduction to the Railroad & Route 66 Heritage
of Lincoln, Illinois
7.
The Living Railroad Heritage of Lincoln, Illinois:
on Track as a Symbol of the "Usable Past"
8.
Route 66 Overview Map of Lincoln with 42 Sites,
Descriptions, & Photos
9.
The Hensons of Business Route 66
10.
The Wilsons of Business
Route 66, including the Wilson Grocery & Shell
Station
11.
Route 66 Map & Photos Showing Lincoln Memorial
Park
(former Chautauqua site),
the Historic Cemeteries, & Nearby Sites
12.
Route 66 Map & Photos Showing Salt Creek &
Cemetery Hill,
including
the highway bridges, GM&O bridge, Madigan State Park, the old dam (with
photos & Leigh's memoir of "shooting the rapids" over the old dam), &
the Ernie Edwards' Pig-Hip Restaurant Museum in Broadwell
13.
The Historic Logan County Courthouse, Past &
Present
14.
Route 66 Map with 51 Sites in the Business &
Courthouse Square Historic District,
including locations of historical markers
(on the National Register of Historic Places)
15.
Vintage Scenes of the Business & Courthouse Square
Historic District
16.
The Foley House: A
Monument to Civic Leadership
(on the National Register of
Historic Places)
17.
Agriculture in
the Route 66 Era
18.
Arts & Entertainment Heritage,
including
the Lincoln Theatre Roy Rogers' Riders Club of the
1950s
19.
Business Heritage
20.
Cars, Trucks & Gas Stations of the Route 66 Era
21.
Churches, including the hometown
churches of Author William Maxwell & Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
22.
Factories, Past and Present
23.
Food Stores of
the Route 66 Era
24.
Government
25.
Hospitals, Past and Present
26.
Hotels & Restaurants of the Railroad & Route 66
Eras
27.
Lincoln Developmental Center
(Lincoln State School & Colony in
the Route 66 era), plus
debunking the myth of
Lincoln, Illinois, choosing the Asylum over the University of Illinois
28.
Mining Coal, Limestone, & Sand & Gravel; Lincoln Lakes; & Utilities
29.
Museums & Parks, including the Lincoln College
Museum and its Abraham Lincoln Collection, plus the Heritage-in-Flight
Museum
30.
Neighborhoods
with Distinction
31.
News Media in the Route 66 Era
32.
The Odd Fellows' Children's Home
33.
Schools
34.
Memories of the 1900 Lincoln Community High School,
including Fred Blanford's dramatic account of the lost marble
fountain of youth
35.
A Tribute to the Historians and Advocates of
Lincoln, Illinois
36.
Watering Holes of the Route 66 Era
37.
The Historic 1953 Centennial Celebration of
Lincoln, Illinois
38.
The Festive 2003 Sesqui-centennial Celebration of
Lincoln, Illinois, including photos of LCHS Class of 1960
dignitaries & the Blanfords
39.
Why Did the State Police Raid Lincoln, Illinois,
on October 11, 1950?
40.
The Gambling Raids in Lincoln and Logan County,
Illinois,
During the Late Route 66 Era (1950-1960)
_______
Pages
in this section tell about Leigh Henson's Lincoln years, moving away,
revisits, and career:
About Lincoln, Illinois;
This Web Site; & Me
A Tribute to Lincolnite Edward Darold
Henson: World War II U.S. Army Veteran of the Battles for Normandy and
the Hedgerows; Brittany and Brest; and the Ardennes (Battle of the
Bulge)
For Remembrance, Understanding, & Fun: Lincoln
Community High School Mid-20th-Century Alums' Internet Community
(a Web site and
email exchange devoted to collaborative memoir and the sharing of photos
related to Lincoln, Illinois)
Leigh Henson's Pilgrimage to Lincoln, Illinois, on
July 12, 2001
Leigh Henson's
Review of Dr. Burkhardt's William Maxwell Biography
Leigh Henson's Review of Ernie Edwards' biography,
Pig-Hips on Route 66, by William Kaszynski
Leigh Henson's Review of Jan Schumacher's
Glimpses of Lincoln, Illinois
Teach Local Authors: Considering the Literature of
Lincoln, Illinois
Web Site About
Leigh Henson's Professional Life
__________
Pages
in this section are about the writing, memorabilia, and Web sites of
other Lincolnites:
A Tribute to Bill and Phyllis Stigall:
Exemplary Faculty of Lincoln College at Mid-Twentieth Century
A Tribute to the Krotzes of Lincoln, Illinois
A Tribute to Robert Wilson (LCHS '46): Author of
Young in Illinois, Movies Editor of December Magazine,
Friend and Colleague of December Press Publisher Curt Johnson, and
Correspondent with William Maxwell
Brad Dye (LCHS '60): His Lincoln, Illinois, Web
Site,
including photos of many churches
Dave Armbrust's Memorabilia of Lincoln, Illinois
J. Richard
(JR) Fikuart
(LCHS '65):
The
Fikuarts of Lincoln, Illinois, including their
connections to the William Maxwell family and three generations of
family fun at Lincoln Lakes
Jerry Gibson (LCHS '60): Lincoln, Illinois,
Memoirs & Other Stories
Dave Johnson (LCHS '56): His Web Site for the
Lincoln Community High School Class of 1956
Sportswriter David Kindred: Memoir of His
Grandmother Lena & Her West Side Tavern on Sangamon Street in the Route
66 Era
Judge Jim Knecht
(LCHS '62): Memoir and Short Story, "Other People's Money," Set in
Hickey's Billiards on Chicago Street in the Route 66 Era
William A. "Bill" Krueger (LCHS '52): Information
for His Books About Murders in Lincoln
Norm Schroeder (LCHS '60): Short Stories
Stan Stringer Writes About His Family, Mark
Holland, and Lincoln, Illinois
Thomas Walsh: Anecdotes Relating to This Legendary
Attorney from Lincoln by Attorney Fred Blanford & Judge Jim Knecht
Leon Zeter (LCHS '53): His Web Site for the
Lincoln Community High School Class of 1953,
including announcements of LCHS class reunions
(Post yours there.)
__________
|
Highway Sign of
the Times:
1926-1960
The Route 66
Association of Illinois
The Illinois
State Historical Society
Illinois
Tourism Site:
Enjoy Illinois
|
| |
Marquee Lights
of the Lincoln Theater, est. 1923, Lincoln, Illinois |
1. Abraham Lincoln and the Postville Courthouse,
Including
a William Maxwell Connection to the Postville Courthouse
by Darold Leigh Henson, Ph.D.
|
"Riding
along on my bicycle, I used to send a folded copy of the Lincoln Evening Courier sailing in the general
direction of the front door of an unpainted two-story frame building that I
knew had once been used as a courthouse. A Negro family lived in it,
which seemed only proper since the Great Emancipator had practiced law
there."
William Maxwell, Ancestors
(1971), p. 137.
This Page Is Dedicated to the
Memory of Lincoln Historian James Hickey
1.1: James Thomas Hickey
(1922-1996)
(Photo from The Lincoln Newsletter (fall, 1996), a publication of the
Lincoln College Museum)
James T. Hickey signature is from Leigh Henson's copy of The
Collected Writings of James T. Hickey (Springfield, IL: The Illinois
State Historical Society, 1991).
During my freshman year at Lincoln College
(1960-61), I took a course titled Lincoln Literature from Mr. Hickey for two
semesters. He commuted from his home in rural Elkhart and took time from his
job as the curator of the Lincoln Collection at the Illinois State
Historical Library to teach just this one course at Lincoln College. Mr.
Hickey was a protégé of Judge Lawrence B. Stringer, who studied Abraham
Lincoln's life in central Illinois and who wrote the comprehensive
History of Logan County, Illinois, 1911, including a chapter titled
"Abraham Lincoln."
Being a student in Mr. Hickey's class was a
wonderful privilege and pleasure, for he taught with authoritative knowledge
of Abraham Lincoln and enthusiasm for his subject. In addition, he spoke in
the Lincoln tradition of telling humorous stories. He taught with a charming
wit that no words can describe, heightening my interest in Abraham Lincoln, local and
Illinois state history, and the Civil War. Mr. Hickey co-authored one of the key sources used to develop this Web
page: "Courthouse in 1840 Was Most Imposing Building in County," Lincoln Evening Courier.
Centennial Edition, Section Six, August 26, 1953, p. 1.
More information
about James Hickey appears in this Web site on the page titled
"A Tribute to the Historians and
Advocates of Lincoln, Illinois," whose link appears in the Works
Cited below. Since
Mr. Hickey's passing, his wife, Betty, has worked in historic preservation
in Elkhart and Mt. Pulaski and has become a major benefactor of the Abraham
Lincoln Library and Museum. Mr. Hickey rests in Holy Cross Cemetery just
southwest of Lincoln, Illinois.
Lincoln, Illinois, is proud of its several
sites relating to Abraham Lincoln, and the most visible is the
Postville
Courthouse. It is a state historic site located on
Fifth Street, formerly Business Route 66.
Topics covered on this
page are
· The Rise of Mr. Lincoln from
Surveyor to
Legendary Lawyer in Logan County
·
The Deskins Tavern: Site of the First Logan
County Court Sessions
· Preserving the Well of the Deskins
Tavern
· A History of the
First Logan County Courthouse (Postville Courthouse, 1840)
-- The
Construction of the Postville Courthouse Across the Street from the Deskins
Tavern
-- The Construction of the First Logan County Jail Northeast
of the Courthouse
-- Questions Probed About the Postville Courthouse Chimneys
· The Honest Abe
of Postville: Mr. Lincoln Handles Two Cases of Guilty Clients
-- Mr. Lincoln's Client Who Was
Guilty of Deceptive Practice
-- Mr.
Lincoln's Client Who Was Guilty of Stealing a Horse
· Mr.
Lincoln's Legal Service to Help Logan County Retain the Postville Courthouse
(1849)
· The
Postville Courthouse as Private Property
· The D.A.R.
Lincoln Memorial Boulder (1917)
· Postville Grocer H.F. Wilson
Poses on the D.A.R. Lincoln Memorial Boulder (1919)
· Wilson's
Grandson Poses on the D.A.R. Lincoln Memorial Boulder (early 1950s)
· The
Postville Courthouse Replica (1953)
· Portrayal of Abraham Lincoln at the Postville Courthouse
Replica
· Postville
Park
· Memoir of the
Lincoln Tomb (1964)
|
The Rise of
Mr. Lincoln from Surveyor to Legendary Lawyer in Logan County
Before Abraham Lincoln was a
lawyer practicing at the Logan County Courthouse in Postville and Lincoln,
Illinois, he
lived in New Salem (a few miles northwest of Springfield, Illinois) and studied surveying, as he tried various ways to earn a
living. Mentor Graham, Lincoln's teacher in New Salem, describes the context
for this instruction: "In the month of February, 1833, Mr. Lincoln came to
live with me and continued with me about six months. It was here that he
commenced the study of grammar with me. I was then teaching school. I taught
him the rules of surveying. I do not think that Mr. Lincoln was anything of
a mathematician--especially so of geometry and trigonometry--before he came
to my house and I think I may say that he was my scholar and I was his
teacher" (Kunigunde and Nickols, Mentor Graham, p. 128). Note:
"by late 1878 Graham had gone to live with his son, Harry L., at a McLean
Street address in Lincoln [Illinois], 'across from the old Latham place'"
[the Latham house (demolished) was just north of Latham Park, one block north of the Logan County Courthouse square] (Mentor
Graham, p. 231).
In 1836, Abraham Lincoln completed a land surveying project near Rocky Ford on Salt Creek, just a few
miles west of Postville. In this vicinity on June 16, 1836, Lincoln
platted a town to be called Albany. "Salt Creek divided this site and
gave it excellent drainage" ("'Daddy' Rankin and Band Were Popular Here,"
Lincoln Evening Courier, August 26, 1953, p. 14). No community, however, was established there
(Beaver, History of Logan County 1982, p. 56). "So far as is
known, the only building erected was the Rock House (still standing) [in
1953, but since razed] which was to have been the railroad station"
("'Daddy' Rankin. . . ," p. 14).
|
1.2:
Lloyd Ostendorf Drawing of
Lincoln with Surveyor's Compass
(From Adin Baber's
A. Lincoln with Compass and Chain)
|
1.3:
Lloyd Ostendorf Drawing of
Lincoln with Surveyor's Chain
(From Adin Baber's
A. Lincoln with Compass and Chain)
|
Note: Lloyd Ostendorf (1921-2000) was a multi-talented, prolific artist and
scholar. He had a professional background in surveying, and this
expertise enabled him to draw the above images of Lincoln as a surveyor with authenticity. For information about Ostendorf's expertise in surveying, see the link below
in Sources Cited. Also, Lloyd Ostendorf was allegedly the greatest
scholar of Lincoln photographs (Lincoln's Photographs: A Complete
Collection -- the definitive source). A photo of Mr. Ostendorf with
some of his collection of Lincoln photographs appears toward the bottom of
this page. Mr. Ostendorf had received an honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters from Lincoln College some time in the 1950s or 1960s during the
administration of Raymond Dooley.
At Rocky Ford, near the proposed town of Albany, "a giant grist mill became
one of Logan County's first enterprises" (Beaver, p. 56). This
structure was known as Rankin's Mill, and it stood until early in the 20th
Century. Photo 1.5 below shows Lloyd Ostendorf's drawing of Lincoln crossing Rocky Ford on Salt
Creek near this mill. Here, Salt Creek flows across a rich vein of
limestone, and Mr. Rankin is seen standing on the flat limestone rocks that
formed this "rocky ford." Edmund Rankin, a Logan
County pioneer who come from Delaware in 1836, first raised cattle and hogs,
sometimes driving up to 1,000 hogs to market in St. Louis. After he was
married (in the Postville Courthouse), he lived in a log cabin at Rocky
Ford. The Courier article cited above offers this description
of his activity there: "In
1851, Mr. Rankin acquired an unfinished mill at Rocky Ford from Leo W.
Myers. This mill was within a stone's throw of the town site of Albany.
. . . Mr. Rankin made extensive improvements: (1) the stone dam
across Salt Creek was raised and strengthened, thereby sending a great volume
of water against the huge wooden water wheel which generated the power for
grinding the grist; (2) the burrs (commonly called 'lost rocks' or 'niggerheads'),
immense rocks found in the neighborhood and weighing about 2,100 pounds
each, were shaped for the purposes of crushing the grain; (3) the Rankins
introduced the bolting cloth, a great improvement in the art of milling.
The total cost of these improvements was about $20,000. The first
miller was David Haines. The mill was a busy place in its day
and required three millers when run steady day and night. Often times
as many as twelve and fifteen teams were waiting for their grist.
A number of teamsters would bring their lunch baskets and stay all night. Besides furnishing flour and meal, the place was noted for fish, as many as
800 pounds being caught in one night, the largest weighing 92 pounds. For 30 years, the mill ground to its capacity and as the road and ford were
on the main traveled way, it became famed to travelers" ("'Daddy' Rankin and
Band Were Popular Here,"
Lincoln Evening Courier, August 26, 1953, p. 14).
Apparently the Rankin Mill site was a popular gathering place for farming
families throughout this part of Logan County. In her memoirs, Tildy
Kiest Heitmann describes growing up on a farm just west of Lincoln,
Illinois, in the 1800s, and her recollections include the following undated account:
"We were invited to a fish fry at Rocky Ford. Every family brought a
basket dinner. The thing that made a dent in my memory was Daddy
Rankin's mill and the water pouring over the dam; at that time the mill was
still in use. On our way we drove along Mr. James Beaver's pasture and
there were such a lot of horses. Years afterward they had a sale and
it was said that some of the horses were over eight years old and hadn't had
a halter on yet" ("Growing up in Nineteenth Century Logan County."
ILLINOIS Magazine, November, 1977, p. 34).
Note: these memoirs were edited by Tildy Kiest Heitmann's
daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Trapp of Lincoln, just before Mrs. Trapp passed away. Also, James Beaver, whose pasture and horses are mentioned, may have been of
the family whose house is pictured below at 1.8 as that property is known as
the old Beaver estate.
The Courier article cited above claims the Rankin Mill was "swept away in the flood of October 1,
1911"; yet that conflicts with 1.6 below. Today Salt Creek still flows across this bed
of limestone rock, as seen in photo 1.7. From World War II to the
present, this limestone has been aggressively quarried. For more information, see
28. Mining Coal, Limestone, & Sand & Gravel; Lincoln Lakes; &
Utilities.
|
1.4:
Lincoln Crossing Salt Creek at
Rocky Ford in Logan County
(Lloyd Ostendorf drawing, from
Beaver, History of Logan County 1982, p. 56)
|
1.5:
Rankin Mill Ruins and
Bridge over Salt Creek at Rocky Ford in 1929
(Gleason, Lincoln: A Pictorial History, p.
13) |
Note: The bridge
in the above photo at right
was familiar to those who roamed Logan County roads in the Route 66 era,
including "ham radio operator at large" Mike Hamilton, LCHS Class of 1958,
and me, his eager passenger-guest. A driver approaching the bridge as
seen in the photo would travel on the Rocky Ford road a few miles east and
then encounter Route 66 just a couple of miles south of the Route 66 Salt
Creek bridge. In the creek photo below, the surface limestone produces white
water (rare in central Illinois) and forms the flat, table-top-like
shoreline seen at the right in the photo.
|
1.6: Salt Creek at
Rocky Ford
South of Bridge Looking North Toward Rankin Mill Site
(Photo by Leigh Henson, 12-02)
|
1.7: 19th Century
Landmark Near Rocky Ford: the Old Beaver Estate
(Photo by Leigh Henson, 12-02) |
The town of Albany, which Lincoln surveyed, was
located on both sides of Salt Creek at Rocky Ford.
Abraham Lincoln's law practice took him to Postville, Illinois, in Logan
County twice a year from 1839 to 1847, when he went to Washington, D.C., as
a congressman. One of the often-overlooked facts about Lincoln's
experience at Postville is that it was a site of his political activity in
addition to his legal and social activity: Biographer Michael Burlingame
writes about Lincoln at Postville during his 1846 congressional campaign as
a Whig: "At Postville, where Cartwright [Lincoln's Democratic opponent] had
accused Lincoln of being a 'skeptic,' the Whig candidate responded by
reading to his audience a passage from the Illinois constitution stipulating
that 'no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any
office or public trust under this state.' Lincoln then added: 'Brother
Cartwright may be well posted in theology but he is not informed as to the
constitution of his own state which he has several times sworn to
maintain.'" Then on July 31 Lincoln distributed his famous handbill
admitting that he belonged to no Christian church but emphatically denying
he was an "open scoffer at Christianity'" (Burlingame, Lincoln, vol.
1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 2008, 238). After Lincoln returned to Springfield from Washington,
he continued to practice law on the circuit through the 1850s. On the vast
450-mile-long Illinois Eighth Judicial
Circuit in the mid 1800s, lawyers and judges typically rode on horseback or
in buggies to go from one village-based court to another, traveling about 35
miles per day through bad weather, swollen streams, and quicksand-like
mud (Thomas, Abraham Lincoln, p. 93).
1.8: Lloyd Ostendorf
Painting of Circuit Rider Lincoln at the Postville Courthouse
Note: The above image appears on a placemat that most likely had been used at the
Rustic Inn in Lincoln, Illinois, when it was operated as a restaurant by Jackie Sheridan in the
1970s. The image was taken from the art work of Lloyd Ostendorf.
The bottom of the placemat says the original was located at the Lincoln
Savings & Loan Association at 111 N. Sangamon Street. My (incomplete)
understanding is that the assets of this institution are currently the
property of the State Bank of Lincoln of the same Sangamon Street address.
My stepmother and collaborator, Judy Henson, acquired this placemat and others in this collection at a yard sale in
the spring of 2003. She was kind enough to let me borrow several placemats
so I could include their images in this Web site.
Lincoln Biographer Benjamin Thomas describes Lincoln's life riding the
Eighth Judicial Circuit: "Traveling the long slow miles on horseback with a volume of the Revised
Statutes. . . along with an extra shirt and a change of underwear,
Lincoln had ample time for contemplation. . . . Frequently he must
rise before dawn and ride all day in order to reach the next court on time.
. . . The blustery winds that swept the open prairie in early spring
and late autumn, sometimes bringing sleet or snow flurries, caused the young
lawyer to hunch his shoulders, lower his heard, and pull his heavy shawl
closer about him. . . . Heavy showers overtook him on the prairie far from
shelter; he might ride all day in drizzling rain. When floods swept
away the bridges, he had to swim his horse across the swollen streams" (Thomas, Abraham Lincoln: A
Biography, p. 93).
Did Lincoln ride horseback in his early years traveling the Eighth Judicial
Circuit (early 1840s) and then use horse and buggy in his more lucrative
later years (mid- to late 1850s)? Were bridges better established in
the late 1850s that would allow more horse and buggy travel? To what
extent did Lincoln travel by train in central Illinois on legal and
political business?
|
1.9: Bronze Statue of Lincoln the Circuit Rider in Lincoln's Tomb,
Springfield, Illinois
(Photo by Pat Hartman,
Leigh Henson's wife, 12-02)
|
1.10:
Lincoln Traveling the Eighth Judicial Circuit
(From The Lincoln Legacy in
Central Illinois, front cover of Illinois Tourism Brochure)
|
The above photo at left
depicts Fred M. Torrey's bronze statue titled Lincoln the Circuit Rider, added to the
tomb in 1930-31. (Toward the bottom of this page is a memoir of the
Lincoln Tomb.) In 1848, the county seat
was moved to Mt. Pulaski and then re-located to Lincoln, Illinois, in 1856.
Throughout this period, except for his time in Washington, D.C. (1847-1849),
Mr. Lincoln continued to visit this area, especially the city to which he
gave his own name, on legal, personal, and political business.
1.11: David McCall Johnston's
Depiction of Storyteller Lincoln at the Postville Courthouse
This wonderful painting was given to
me by my children as part of the generous, multi-day celebration of my 75th
birthday that they had organized in Springfield, Illinois, in 2017. More
about Johnston at
http://www.illustratedgallery.com/artwork/for-sale/artist/david-mccall-johnston.
From 1856 to his
Presidential election in 1860, Mr. Lincoln practiced law at the Logan County
Courthouse in Lincoln, Illinois. During this four-year period, he even
occasionally substituted for Judge David Davis, who became a fellow
Republican and political ally (Davis was a key figure in getting Lincoln the
Republican Presidential nomination in 1860). Today, the
Logan County Courthouse Historic District includes several sites relating to Abraham Lincoln's
various activities in his namesake town. See
3.
The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln and the Founding of Lincoln, Illinois,
Also the Founding of Lincoln College, the Plot to Steal Lincoln's Body,
and Memoirs of Lincoln College and the Rustic Tavern-Inn.
|
The Deskins
Tavern: Site of the First Logan County Court Sessions
In Postville, Logan
County court was first held at the Dr. John Deskins Tavern,
two blocks east of Postville square (then and now Postville Park). Here, in 1836 Deskins,
also the sheriff, had built a one-story residence and tavern, adding a second story in
1837. Then, in 1840, the Logan County Courthouse was built in Postville
across the street from the tavern (Gleason, Lincoln: A
Pictorial History, p. 11).
|
After the Postville
Courthouse was built, Lincoln, other lawyers, litigants, and judges stayed
at the Deskins Tavern, taking meals and socializing. In "off hours"
court participants and observers sought entertainment. "Mostly the attorneys
had to amuse themselves, and according to Herndon [Abraham Lincoln's law
partner], they engaged in
'fights--foot and horse races--knockdown--wrestling--gambling etc.'
Whiskey, he noted, 'was abundant and freely used'" (p. 106). After the
evening meal, a local "circus or lecture" might provide entertainment, but
time for fireplace conversation was abundant. "When that happened,
Lincoln, of course, was a center of attention, and as Herndon remembered,
'Judges--Jurors--Witnesses--Lawyers-merchants, etc etc have laughed at these
jokes. . . till every muscle--nerve and cell of the body in the morning was
sore at the whooping and hurrahing exercise'" (David Herbert Donald,
Lincoln, p. 106).
Did
Lincoln Sleep Well at the Deskins Tavern?
"An incident connected with Lincoln's stopping at the old Postville tavern,
is thus told: At one time Lincoln came to Postville from Springfield, in
company with Judge Treat, the two riding in Judge Treat's buggy. The
occasion was a special term for the trial of a criminal.
Treat and Lincoln
stopped at the Deskins tavern. After they had gone to bed and everybody
about the hostelry was asleep, there came a terrific pounding at the door.
The landlord got up to let in the energetic assailer of the portal, who
seemed to be assiduously in search of a drink of whisky and was in the
parched condition of the traveler in the Sahara desert, to whom delay is
intolerable.
|
1.12: Deskins Tavern Historical Marker
(Photo by Leigh Henson, 8-7-03)
This marker
is in front of the VFW Building on Fifth Street (Business 55, formerly Business Route 66)
across from the Postville Courthouse Historic Site. |
The landlord explained
that he had no whisky in the house, whereupon his visitor wanted to know if
he couldn't get it at some tavern or store. Wasn't there any place in the
village where a drink of whisky could be had? To all these questions the
landlord returned a negative and as the full horrors of his whiskyless
situation burst upon him, the fellow said with emotion, 'Great Heavens! Give
me an ear of corn and a tin cup and I'll make it myself." Lincoln and
Judge Treat listened to this colloquy with great amusement, and the next
morning Lincoln asked the landlord what had become of his guest. 'Oh,' he
replied, 'the fellow left before daylight.' In after years, Lincoln
frequently told this story to amused auditors and he always laid the scene
of the anecdote at Postville" (Stringer, p. 216).
|
1.13: The Deskins Tavern-Hotel
(Dooley and Welch, p. 6)
|
1.14: Judge
Samuel H. Treat
(Dooley and Welch, p. 9) |
Stringer describes the Deskins Tavern-Hotel:
"The doors, sashes, and stairs of this hotel were made by George W. Edgar
and it was weatherboarded with black walnut from Orendorff's mill." The
building was razed about 1900 (Stringer, p. 563). A VFW post now occupies
the site.
|
Lincoln
gained much professionally and personally from his experiences on the
circuit, which also increased his interest in and talent for politics. Benjamin Thomas writes, "During political campaigns, in the late afternoon
when court had adjourned, or at 'early candle-light,' the lawyers
entertained and edified the citizenry with speeches or debates. A
popular lawyer like Lincoln, bent on a political career, could acquire a
formidable following among acquaintances and admirers on the circuit. . . "
(Thomas, Abraham Lincoln, p. 94). Benjamin Thomas
continues his assessment of the circuit experience in shaping Lincoln's
political abilities: "It was an educational process, too. No
profession offers such insights into human nature as does the law, while in
the give-and-take of discussion in these rural forums Lincoln observed the
development of political issues and the formation of public opinion on men
and measures. Here was a training-ground on which he further developed
his political astuteness, learning the thought-processes of the people and
how they might be guided, when to speak and when to maintain silence, what
to say and how to say it" (Thomas, Abraham Lincoln, p. 94).
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Preserving
the Well of the Deskins Tavern
In front of the Deskins
Tavern and across the street from the Postville Courthouse State Historic
Site is a landmark well, built in the early 1840s. This well was
the only one in the area, and so historians indicate that court
participants, including Abraham Lincoln, obtained water from it. The well is 34 feet deep
and was constructed in three sections. Two sections were lined with
brick, the third lined with curved pieces of cedar.
In the spring of 2003,
restoration was underway,
including a new wooden platform and hand pump replica, to show the way it
appeared for many decades. The dedication of the well is planned for
the first day of the sesquicentennial celebration on August 24, 2003. More information about
the well and its restoration appears in "Well Restoration Brings Back Local
History," an article in lincolndailynews.com, February 21, 2003 (link below
in Sources Cited).
1.15: Restored Pump at
the Historic Well at the Former Deskins Tavern Site
Across the Street from the Postville Courthouse (background), Corner of Fifth and
Madison Streets (Photo by
Leigh Henson, 8-06)
Note: The restored pump is in front of the present VFW Building.
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A History of the
First Logan County Courthouse (Postville Courthouse, 1840)
The Postville Courthouse
of Logan County was built in 1840. It "was one of the most pretentious
centers of county justice in the state. There were few two-story buildings
in Illinois at that time" (Fish, Illustrated
Lincoln, no page numbers used).
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The construction of the Postville Courthouse
resulted from the land speculation activities of several investors,
including Russell Post and Seth Tinsley. "Postville in 1836 was a city
containing over one hundred and fifty blocks--at least, on paper" (Hickey
and Bolt, p. 1). Yet, the depression of 1837 interfered with
development.
Meanwhile, some state
legislators were interested in dividing Sangamon County, which in their
opinion was too large. In the state legislature, Lincoln was chairman
of the committee on counties and favored the formation of Logan County from
the northern section of Sangamon. Tinsley and his partners
saw an opportunity to advance their real estate development and so offered
to provide the land for a county courthouse at Postville and even build
it. Their offer was accepted by the State of Illinois when Logan County was
created in 1839.
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1.16: Early Photo of the
1840
Postville Courthouse
(Photo in Dooley and Welch, p. 6)
What is the
tall white image barely visible at the left? Is the outbuilding in the right background an
outhouse?
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The
Construction of the Postville Courthouse Across the Street from the Deskins
Tavern
Historians James T. Hickey and
Roger Bolt describe
the construction: "Tinsley himself supervised the project. He
hired one Peter J. Cowardin to build the structure. Its dimensions turned
out to be 28 feet by 38 feet. The stone for the foundation had to be
brought from Rocky Ford five miles to the west since the deep prairie sod
had buried rock far below the surface. Walnut siding and oak timbers
were brought to Postville from the mill of the Orendorffs, Germans from
North Carolina who lived on nearby Salt Creek. This part of the county
seat bargain cost the proprietors, according to Tinsley, $1,176.83"
("Courthouse in 1840 Was Most Imposing Building in County," Lincoln Evening Courier,
Centennial Edition,
Section Six, August 26, 1953, p. 1).
Henry Fish in 1916
describes the Postville Courthouse: "The original masonry and walnut timbers
in the building stand today [1916], a monument to the sturdy pioneers who
erected them."
The
Construction of the First Logan County Jail Northeast of the Courthouse
Near the time of the
completion of the courthouse, a jail was also built near it. An account
of this building appears in History of Logan County 1886: (Curiously,
this source describes the construction of the jail but not the courthouse.)
Apparently the jail was not located on the courthouse square, but "some
distance northeast of the court-house square. . . . This jail was about
twelve feet square, and that many feet in height to the first story. The
upper floor was made of logs of the same dimensions as those composing the
sides, securely fastened to the upper tier of logs. The lower floor was
composed of logs hewed about twelve by sixteen inches in thickness, the
greater thickness placed upward. These were laid closely together, and, as
well as the walls and upper floor were covered with heavy oak plank, two
inches in thickness, thoroughly nailed on, within and without. In the center
of the upper floor a small trap door was made, sufficiently large to admit a
man's body. In order to secure light and ventilation, this door was composed
of a crosswork of iron bars, firmly fastened together, and secured with a
good padlock several inches from the floor. Two windows, of similar
material, were also made. over all a good, heavy roof was placed, and in the
end of the upper story a door was made of heavy plank, which in turn could
be securely bolted. When a prisoner was confined within this citadel, he
was, in most cases, safe. he would be taken in at the upper door, the
trap-door of the inner cell raised, a ladder let down, and he was compelled
to descend into the prison. The ladder would then be withdrawn, the
trap-door and outer door bolted, and he was safe. It is confidently affirmed
that criminals could more easily escape from the jails of today than from
this one" (p. 223).
The 1886 History of
Logan County then presents 1 1/2 pages describing the confinement,
escape, and pursuit of a man named Bartlett, who was recaptured when he was
discovered mostly submerged in Salt Creek to conceal himself from his
pursuers.
When the Postville
Courthouse was sold in 1848 to Solomon Kahn, "the jail was also sold, and
the logs comprising its strong floor and sides were used for ties on the
railroad" (early 1850s, when the predecessor of the Chicago and Alton
Railroad brought about the founding of Lincoln, Illinois).
I have often thought that
it would be a worthwhile project to build a replica of this jail on the
northeast corner of the present-day Postville Courthouse replica site.
The Postville Courthouse
also served as a community center. "It was a church and public
hall. Peter Cartwright, the circuit evangelist, held a series of
meetings here. Here, too, the Logan
County company which volunteered for service in the Mexican War, met in June
1846 and marched out, with band playing, down Salt Creek Hill [Cemetery
Hill] en route to headquarters at Alton, whence they embarked by water for
Vera Cruz" (Fish, Illustrated Lincoln, no page numbers used).
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1.17:
Picture Postcard of the Original
Postville Courthouse (from the Internet)
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1.18: Undated
Picture Postcard of the
Postville Courthouse Replica
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Picture postcards were commonly used during the Route 66 era before
and after the
Postville Courthouse replica had been constructed.
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Questions Probed About the Postville Courthouse Chimneys
Understanding every aspect of the local Lincoln heritage continues to charm
and challenge us. In
writing this history of the Postville Courthouse and its replica for this
community history Web site of Lincoln, Illinois, I encountered what appeared
to be contradictory information about the number of chimneys on the original
courthouse, constructed in 1840.
In his History of Logan County (1911), Lawrence B. Stringer writes of
the Postville Courthouse that "a fire-place, with its picturesque outside
fireplace chimney, gave heat to the building when required" (p. 154). The
1930 reconstruction of this courthouse in Henry Ford's Greenfield Village
near Dearborn, Michigan, and the courthouse replica in Lincoln, Illinois,
constructed in 1953, both have exterior, two-story stone fireplace chimneys
on their left walls. Yet, all of the several published photos of the
original courthouse, the earliest dating to near the beginning of the 20th
century, clearly show the left wall without such an outside chimney.
Instead, the earliest photos of this building (for example, #1.17 above)
show two brick chimneys, and they are recessed from the ends of the roof
peak on either side. Clearly, those chimneys arise from the interior of the
building.
The
photo below (left) of the Postville Courthouse reconstruction in Greenfield
Village shows a fully exterior fireplace chimney on the left side. Yet,
an undated, early photo of the left side of the original Postville
Courthouse clearly shows a window toward the back of the left side, but no
exterior chimney from the ground up (photo below, right).
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1.19:
Postville Courthouse Reconstruction with Ground-up Fireplace Chimney
Greenfield Village, MI
(undated Courier photo, 8-1953)
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1.20:
Original Postville Courthouse Without
Ground-up Fireplace Chimney
Lincoln, IL
(photo in Gleason, p. 12) |
If
the original Postville Courthouse had an exterior fireplace chimney from the
ground up, what happened to it? (In my various sources of history, I find no
reference to its removal or destruction.) If the original courthouse did not
have a chimney fireplace from the ground-up, was it a revision of history
fabricated when the courthouse was reconstructed in Greenfield Village,
Michigan? Did this fabrication then serve as the model for the design of the
replica that was built in Lincoln, Illinois, in 1953 as seen in 1.18 above?
Or, is there some other answer to the question of the exterior fireplace
chimney?
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The only
image I find that suggests the left chimney might have been on the exterior
from the ground up appears opposite of this passage. That image is from a
painting in the contemporary Logan County Courthouse, completed in 1905
(artist unknown). Did this image give Judge Lawrence Stringer the idea that
there was an exterior chimney, as he reports in his 1911 History of Logan
County? If not, what other evidence is there for Judge Stringer's
reference to an exterior chimney?
The
architectural firm of McGuire Igleski & Associates, Inc., of Evanston, IL,
designed the replica. This firm's Web site has an interior photo of the Postville Courthouse
replica's fireplace constructed of brick:
http://www.miarchitects.com/governmental5.html.
Now was brick the authentic material? If there really had been an exterior
stone chimney, would not the interior fireplace also have been built with
limestone as the foundation and chimney were?
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1.21:
Postville Courthouse with One Chimney,
Apparently Exterior
Photo by Jan Youngquist |
Also,
note the absence of a right-side chimney in the Michigan reconstruction
(1.19) in accordance with the absence of a right-side chimney in the
painting of the 1905 Logan County Courthouse (1.21). The most
convincing evidence to cast doubt on the external, "ground-up" chimney
design is a drawing of the original Postville Courthouse found in History
of Logan County 1886. This drawing could very well be the oldest
representation of this building, capturing its authenticity:
1.22: Unidentified Artist's
1880s Rendering of the
Original Postville Courthouse Without a Chimney from the Ground Up
(drawing in
History of Logan County 1886, p. 222)
In
August of 2009, I wrote to the Benson Ford Research Center of the Henry Ford
Museum because I had reason to believe its archives held photos that could
answer my questions. In an article titled "The Postville Courthouse
Revisited," published Feb. 12, 2002, in LincolnDailyNews.com (see link below
under Sources Cited), Stan Stringer (no relation to Lawrence B. Stringer)
had mentioned that Henry Ford's "conservationist hired my father, Charles M.
Stringer, to photograph the disassembly of the courthouse." Charles
Stringer, a professional photographer, had a studio in downtown Lincoln on
Broadway Street in the 1930s and '40s. The Benson Ford Research Center
informed me that I would need to pay for a minimum of one hour of research
($35.00) for them to see whether the photos in question were in their
archives. I sent the payment and subsequently received a letter and
photocopies of thirty stunning, black-and-white photos. Most of these are
stamped "Stringer Lincoln, Ill." on the back.
Two
of these photocopies show full views of the left (west) side of the original
Postville Courthouse in 1929. They show a chimney above the peak of the
roof, and the chimney was an interior structure. The photos, however, also
prove that the left-side wall once had a large, external two-story chimney
that at some time had been removed and the large hole replaced with boards.
These replacement boards are approximately the same width as the other
siding boards and aligned with them at the edges of the hole. The edges of the abutting replacement boards form a
distinct outline (pattern) of the external chimney that was part of the original 1840
structure. This outline shows the shape and contour of the chimney whose
upward sides gradually narrowed. This outline is reflected in the design of
the external chimney featured in the reconstruction at Greenfield Village
and the replica in Lincoln. The photos also show a window on the left wall
that had been built after the original chimney was removed. The photos show
a door on that wall with a cat sitting on the doorway steps.
The
original limestone fireplace chimney was removed
before publication of the 1886 Logan County History, which has the
drawing of the building without its original chimney. The original fireplace
and chimney were replaced with a brick fireplace and interior chimney.
Fellow history buff and good Cousin Keith Leesman, a volunteer at the
Postville Courthouse Historic Site, found a copy of an undated report
(original at Greenfield Village) that says the building was remodeled as a
residence in 1880. Perhaps that was the approximate time when the building
was moved forward off its original limestone foundation onto a new
foundation composed mostly of brick. Records indicate that the original
stone fireplace chimney was removed when the building was moved forward, and
a brick fireplace replaced it. Whether a second brick fireplace was
constructed on the right side of the building is unclear. It is possible
that the two chimneys on either side of the building in 1929 were connected
from the fireplace on the left wall. My
friend Jesse Hoots has restored historic buildings for forty years, and he
assures me that an interior brick chimney provided a better heat source than
the external stone chimney. Charles M. Stringer's photos show the excavation
of the original stone foundation behind the 1929 building site and the brick
foundation of the building when it was dismantled in 1929. Ford shipped the
original stone foundation to Greenfield Village.
In 2004, my high school classmate and friend Ron Musick and his wife, Sandi, visited Greenfield Village to see the original
Postville Courthouse, and Ron reveals just how thoroughly Henry Ford moved
the Postville Courthouse property: "The docent of the courthouse in the
Henry Ford Museum, Pamela Anderson, told us that the soil surrounding the
original courthouse in Lincoln was removed to the museum and had been placed
around the courthouse at the museum. The 3" binder of
information that is kept in the courthouse at the museum may have some
additional information about the history of the building. Sandi and I
thumbed through it while we were there and noted that it did contain a lot
of material; however, we did not have time to review it in detail." Ron's
email included several mementos and photos from their visit. Access
a PDF of those items.
I speculate the brick used to renovate the Postville Courthouse may have
come from Lincoln's brick factory, which began operation in the 1870s near
the South Coal Mine. I find little
published information about the brick and tile factory.
Lawrence B.
Stringer writes that "connected with the company [South Coal Mine] is an
extensive tile factory, which has been operated since 1878" (p. 542). Access
to clay for the tile and bricks made there resulted from digging mine
shafts. Somewhere I read that this brick and tile factory was begun in order
to provide work for the miners during the winter.
The
centennial edition of the Lincoln Evening Courier contains an undated
photo of men and boys employed at the brick yard (August 26, 1953, p. 10).
The caption of the photo identifies the location of the brick yard as the
site of the house provided for the superintendent of the Lincoln State
School. During some years of the Route 66 era, that house was the home of
the Dr. William Fox family, whose son, Bradley, was my classmate at
Jefferson School, Central School, and Lincoln High. Gleason's Lincoln,
Illinois: A Pictorial History has a picture captioned "The 1870s
brickyard crew of the old South Mine" (p. 33), and this photo is different
from the one in the Courier. Into his 90s, Willie Aughton gardened in
the south Lincoln area just a couple blocks north of the site of the former
brick factory, and he says he finds a lot of broken bricks in the surface
soil there. The area was probably a dumping ground for broken brick.
My father, Darold Henson,
many years ago when I was growing up in Lincoln in the 1950s had told me of
an area called "the clay banks," just south of the Lincoln State School
(later named the Lincoln Developmental Center) and just east of New Union
Cemetery. That area is a depression in the surface where the factory must
have dug to obtain its clay. Both Dad and I played in "the clay banks" as
kids, and that depression still exits today, overgrown with scrub trees.
Conclusions: On the matter of
fireplaces and chimneys of the Postville Courthouse, neither the present-day
replica in Lincoln nor the reconstruction at Greenfield Village appears to
be completely accurate to the 1840 original. The external stone fireplace
chimney on the replica is accurate, but the chimney on the right side is
not. And the brick fireplace in the replica should actually be constructed
of stone, as the original was. The Greenfield reconstruction has two brick
fireplaces and a cast-iron stove with stovepipe running to the top of
window, but the 1840 construction did not have those features.
Thanks, Keith, Ron, Sandi, and Jesse for your interest and contributions to
this project. The following photo is published
here after I paid a user fee of $30.00
to the Benson Ford Research Center.
1.23: 1929 Photo by Charles
M. Stringer
Showing the Left (west) Side of the Postville Courthouse in Lincoln,
Illinois
Photo #973 from the collections of The Henry Ford
Museum; use restrictions apply.
At the time this photo (previously unpublished) was
taken, the property had been occupied by tenants using the building as a
residence. Notice the cat sitting on the top step. In his online article
titled "Postville Courthouse Revisited" (link below under Sources Cited),
Stan Stringer writes, "As my father told me, when Ford bought the
courthouse, it was rented to a poor family. Ford generously brought the
family to Detroit, and Ford Motor Company hired the father at the wage of $5
a day. While this now seems pitifully small, in 1929 and during the
Depression it was top dollar for factory workers. As a postscript, Dad later
told me the family that Ford moved to Detroit returned to Lincoln a few
years later. They missed the rest of their extended family in Lincoln, and
$5 a day was just not reason enough for continuing the separation."
[Editorial note:
I wanted to create a PDF file of the 30 wonderful photos of the Postville
Courthouse taken by Charles M. Stringer at the time of its removal and
publish a link to that file in this account, but the fees required by the
Benson Ford Research Center to do that would be $900.00 (30 photos x $30.00
each). That seems rather a bit much for a non-commercial, public service
site whose purpose is educational. It seems as if the ghost of Mr. Ford
continues to want to profit from the Lincoln name.]
[Note:
After LincolnDailyNews.com published my article about the Postville
Courthouse chimneys on 10-23-09, I received the following email message from
Christel Huff in Lincoln. The family history she relates is anecdotal, but
does raise the question of whether the present-day replica, constructed in
1953, was located over the original foundation or that of the building after
it was moved forward: "Leigh:
I was so glad to read your article on the Postville Court House
inaccuracies. My husband Bob’s great-uncle lived his whole life on 6th
Street directly behind Postville Courthouse and often talked about the
moving of the original building and the inaccurate reconstruction. He went
over to tell the construction crew doing the work about the mistakes being
made so often, that they refused to let him on the property. His main
complaint was that they put the building too close to 5th Street
– the original was closer to 6th Street. He said he showed them
where the original stood – but they wouldn’t listen to him. I wish Bob was
still here to know your research backs up Uncle Ed’s claim. Bob always
believed him to be correct, and often walked over the ground where his uncle
had pointed out where the original stood, thinking he might see fragments of
the old foundation as the ground eroded." As is often the case with history,
answering some questions gives rise to others. I will post the answer here
if/when I get it.]
Note: Early in August 2016, local historian
Bill Donath kindly emailed me to report that Gary Freese, a researcher at
the Logan County Genealogical and Historical Society, had rediscovered
information about the large, exterior chimney featured in the original
construction of the Postville Courthouse. The rediscovered information
appeared in "A Semi-Centennial, 'Twas 50 Years Ago--Postville in the Days
Before Railroads" by F.B. Mills in the December 10, 1885, issue of the
Lincoln Herald of Lincoln, Illinois. The article reports that according
to the testimony of C.A. Huff, by March 1882 the original stone chimney
became so unstable that it was removed and a brick, "new chimney was built
inside." Apparently another brick chimney was also built on the east side,
as indicated in 1.21 above. Mr. Huff noted that Middletown and the Riggs
settlement had brickyards. The article reports that "C.A. Huff, now blind,
lived in the old courthouse for the past four years." He says he worked on
the courthouse renovations, "having carried the brick and mortar" for the
replacement chimneys.
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The Honest Abe of Postville: Mr. Lincoln Handles
Two Cases of Guilty Clients
Lincoln's professional and social activities in
Postville and later in the town named by and for him established the
foundation for the Lincoln legend in this community. The following two
cases at Postville in which Mr. Lincoln's clients were guilty show his moral
compass.
Mr. Lincoln's Client Who Was
Guilty of Deceptive Practice
One case, first described by Judge Parks and later verified by "other old
settlers," supposedly happened in the Postville court in 1843. In a
trial, evidence was produced that showed Lincoln's client "had deceived him
and was in reality trying to collect the note a second time." After recess,
Lincoln was not in court and was discovered by Sheriff Deskins in Postville
Park playing ball with the boys.
Lincoln reportedly said he had left to clean his
hands. When Judge Treat heard this, he supposedly said, "Honest Abe." Judge Stringer then concludes, "It is more than likely that the later term,
"Honest Old Abe," originated here (Stringer, p. 217).
Judge Stringer undoubtedly was sincere and hopeful that the slogan of
"Honest Old Abe" had originated from this episode, but most likely Judge
Treat was merely repeating a description of Lincoln's reputation. Benjamin Thomas,
acclaimed to be the most authoritative Lincoln biographer of mid-Twentieth
Century, attributes the origin of the "Honest Abe" nickname to Lincoln's
experiences in New Salem in the 1830s, several years before Lincoln
practiced law on the Eighth Circuit:
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"People [in the New Salem area] recollected his honesty and kindness. In
making change for a woman, while working in Offutt's store, he took out six
and a quarter cents too much and at closing time, discovering his error,
walked six miles to return the money.
On another occasion, after weighing out some tea, he found a four-ounce
weight on the scales, and again walked several miles to correct his
mistake. Such acts as these won him the nickname "Honest Abe" (Benjamin
Thomas, Lincoln's New Salem,
p. 145).
These are the kinds of stories I remember Logan
County Superintendent of Schools E.H. Lukenbill telling when he visited
Bernadine Jones's classes at Jefferson School in the early 1950s.
During the Lincoln, Illinois, Centennial Celebration, Lincoln College
awarded Lincoln Biographer Benjamin Thomas an honorary degree of Doctor of
Literature. A
Courier photo of this ceremony shows a large sign in the background
indicating that WBBM (CBS) had broadcast this event ("Receive Degrees. . ," Lincoln Evening Courier, September 2, 1953, p.
9). WBBM
had its beginning in Lincoln, Illinois, before moving to Chicago (for more
information about WBBM, see
31.
News Media in the Route 66 Era).
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1.24: Alleged First
Photo of
Abraham Lincoln (1846-47)
(Showing him as he looked in the early years of his business in
Lincoln, Illinois. Photo in Benjamin Thomas, Abraham Lincoln: A
Biography, 1952. Known as Meserve #1, this photo dates to 1846-47,
according to the Lincoln Research Web site: address below.)
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Mr.
Lincoln's Client Who Was Guilty of Stealing a Horse
The following story is
attributed to Mrs. P.H. Peifer, who says her Grandfather John Jenkins had
told it to her: "In the
early days when traveling was done mostly on horse back, horse stealing was
considered almost as great a crime as murder.
Court was in session in the then new court house in Postville where Mr.
Lincoln from Springfield, just admitted to the bar, was to defend a young
man arrested for horse stealing.
The day was exceedingly hot and, after court had been called to order and
the preliminaries were over, Mr. Lincoln said, 'Boys, let's go out under the
shade of that apple tree and try this case if your Honor, the Judge, will
allow.' So each took his chair and the clerk his book and they went out.
It was not hard to prove that the young man took the horse. He did not deny
it. Everything pointed plainly to a long term in the penitentiary. There was
silence when Mr. Lincoln got up to present his case.
'Your Honor,' he said. 'Will you permit me to change the usual order a
little?' Then to the prisoner he said, 'Young man, you did take the horse,
you know. Now stand up and tell the Judge how you came to do it. Tell him
just as you told me.'
Rising, the prisoner said, 'Your honor, I am not a thief, nor did I intend
to steal the horse, but I had just received word that my wife was very sick
and my little baby, whom I had never seen was dead. The only way for me to
reach them was to get a fast horse and ride to Springfield in time to get on
the train to go down to the Illinois River. I had very little money because
I was earning only $12.00 per month. The man I was working for I knew would
not lend me the horse and I didn't know what to do!' But your Honor, I had
to get home. So after dark I put a bridle on the horse and started for the
Springfield railroad office. When I got nearly there, I took the bridle off
the horse, fed and watered him and started him back to his home. I felt sure
he would go home and I had not hurt him a bit. I then took the train and got
home in time to bury my little boy and take care of my wife who I believe
would surely have died if I had not been there. When she got better, we
intended to come back here and try to get some land, but before we got
started I was arrested and brought back. You see, Judge, the horse did not
go back home but was taken up by some one and I was charged with stealing
him.' He sat down. Mr.
Lincoln arose and pleaded his case. He begged Judge Lacy to fine the man and
give him a chance to pay for the horse.
My grandfather, who was clerk of the court, said that no man with a heart
could have refused Mr. Lincoln's appeal and the Judge did not.
Years afterwards when Mr. Lincoln was running for President this man, who
was among the rich and influential farmers of Illinois, worked for him as he
would for a brother and helped to make him President of the United States"
(Dooley and Welch, The Namesake Town, p. 10).
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Mr.
Lincoln's Legal Service to Help Logan County Retain the Postville Courthouse
Lincoln went to
Washington, D.C., in 1847 as a member of Congress, and so did not ride the
circuit for his two-year term. In 1848, the Logan
County court was shifted to Mt. Pulaski, the new county seat. "But
[Abraham] Lincoln was to have one
more opportunity to become involved with the courthouse. In 1849, the
proprietors of the town of Camden and or Postville [Postville had been
temporarily renamed] sought to recover the building and the land which they
had given to the county in 1839, since the building and the landed property
were no longer being used as a the seat of justice. Abraham Lincoln,
again on the circuit after his single term in Congress, defended Logan
County. After a long litigation, the State Supreme Court ruled against
the proprietors" (Hickey and Bolt, p. 1.)
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The
Postville Courthouse as Private Property
From the time of its
discontinuation as a courthouse in 1848 to its purchase by Henry Ford in
1929, the Postville Courthouse was used "for other purposes, including a
grocery store, post office, and residence. . . " (Gleason, p. 12).
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"The county commissioners sold the courthouse
to Solomon Kahn on July 1, 1848, for $300 and he moved a general stock of
dry goods and groceries into the same, continuing business as a retailer in
the old court house until 1856, when he went into business in Lincoln"
(Stringer, p. 565). One report says a George Sanders bought the property
from Kahn.
Kahn was the patriarch of the Landauer family and
the founder of a family clothing business that served Lincoln for
generations. According to the Landauer family history, the Solomon Kahn family lived on
the second floor of the Postville Courthouse.
"It is a matter of
family history that when Solomon Kahn was cleaning out the attic of the
courthouse, he found many legal papers and letters written by Abraham
Lincoln. Considering the documents worthless, he burned them as trash"
(Beaver, History of Logan County 1982, p. 386).
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1.25:
Solomon Kahn
(Photo in Dooley and Welch, Ad for Landauer's Clothing
Store in The Namesake Town, p. 56)
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1903: Postville
Courthouse Owned and Occupied by John Schoof and His Family
1.26: Photo of the Schoofs
in Front of Their Postville Courthouse Home
from the Lincoln Evening Courier, Centennial Edition, August 26,
1953, p. 10.
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1.27:
Photo Better Showing the Front Porch Added by the Schoofs to the Postville
Courthouse
(Photo from Paul Gleason, Lincoln: A Pictorial
History, p. 12) The following photo is published
here after I paid a user fee of $30.00
to the Benson Ford Research Center.
1.28: 1929 Photo of the
Postville Courthouse Block from the Corner of Fifth and Monroe Streets
This previously unpublished photo was taken by Charles M. Stringer. The photo shows
an Illinois Route 4 sign on the far side (looking northwest) of the
brick-paved Fifth Street in the year just before Route 4 changed to U.S.
Route 66. The brick pavement appears
wet, and a puddle of water appears in the left foreground. Also note that
Monroe Street was not paved in 1929. Note the D.A.R. Lincoln Memorial
Boulder, dedicated July 4, 1917. The pole behind the bolder was probably a
flag pole, not a utility pole, which in those days had crosstrees. A news
report of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial Boulder said that there was
a flagpole nearby.
Photo #983 from the collections of The Henry Ford; copy and reuse
restriction apply. Ref:
http://www.TheHenryFord.org/copyright.html.
http://www.thehenryford.org/imagesourceterms.aspx.
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Postville Courthouse Ownership from
1910 to the Present
As a result of seeing
this page soon after its publication on July 4, 2003, life-long Lincolnite and Civic Leader Les Van Bibber
(also one of my good childhood playmates) emailed
me that his maternal grandparents had once owned the Postville Courthouse. Les had researched the deeds of this period and emailed the following
information of the next two paragraphs on July 9, 2003. Wanting to know more
about the Kirks, who were my parents' neighbors from my childhood on Seventh
and Monroe Streets, I requested it in early 2007; and Les kindly responded
with photos of his Kirk grandparents, the Postville Courthouse in the early
20th century, and of his uncles who were born in the original Postville
Courthouse. That material appears below.
"Leigh, I dropped off four items at your dad's house yesterday, that I had
previously promised you. I delivered a copy of the original or first plot of
Postville and three copies of warranty deeds of the Postville Courthouse
property. Please note that the plot contains 39 blocks including Postville
Park referred to as the "public square" [access
the original plat of Postville]. I am mentioning this because you
will also note from copies of the three warranty deeds that they also refer
to block 61, the lot where the Postville Courthouse was located, as the
"public square." The differences, of course, are the different block
numbers. The Postville Courthouse, located on block 61, would have probably
appeared on the second plot of Postville. You will also note that some of
the street names are shown on the plot now have different names."
"The three warranty deeds cover all the years from August 11, 1910, when my
grandfather purchased it from David and Rachel Andrew for $1,350 to January
21, 1913, when my grandparents, John H. Kirk and Ruby C. Kirk, sold it to
Timothy T. Beach, a former judge, and Grace A. Beach for $2,000. Mr. and
Mrs. Beach owned the old courthouse until they sold it to Henry Ford and
Clara J. Ford, founders of the Ford Motor Company, for $8,500 on September
6, 1929. I believe it is
proper to mention that my grandparents used the old Postville Courthouse as
a residence and that their two oldest children, William and Travis Kirk,
were born at home in the upstairs room now used to represent the courtroom."
Note: Les Van Bibber has also worked as a volunteer tour guide
at the Postville Courthouse Historic Site.
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Below is the wedding photo of the John Henry Kirks kindly provided by Nancy Kirk Wiggers:
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1.29: 1910
Kirk Wedding Photo
1.30:
Kirks' Photo of the Original Postville Courthouse When They Lived There
(early 1900s)
Photo is courtesy of Les Van Bibber. Fifth Street was unpaved. Also note the deck of the porch and
outbuildings. According to the Courier photo earlier on this page, the porch was added by the Schoof family in approximately the first
two years of the twentieth century. Also note the outbuildings.
Below are photos of William and Travis Kirk, who were born in the original
Postville Courthouse, as reported above by Les Van Bibber and Nancy Kirk Wiggers.
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1.31: Kirk
Infants Who Were Born in the Original Postville Courthouse
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Les Van Bibber provided the photo below of his Kirk
grandparents:
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1.32: Ruby C. (1895--1958)
and John Henry Kirk (1867--1956)
Les Van Bibber reports that his Grandfather J.H. Kirk had
built several hundred houses in Lincoln. In an email of 1-30-2007, Les
remembers his Grandfather J.H. Kirk: "My grandfather was very bright and
very honest. His father was a minister with the Christian Church. My Uncle
Ezra Kirk, my grandfather's half brother, told me that their father, my
grandfather and my Uncle Ezra's father, carried a Bible with him every hour
he was awake. He also said that my grandfather had the best builder's eye of
any builder he ever came across. The next time that you return to Lincoln
please check out the first home east of the Postville Courthouse on Fifth
Street and the same side of street; it is the home my mother Katherine Kirk
Van Bibber Orr was born in and where my grandparents had built and moved
into after they sold the original courthouse. Then compare how similar but
smaller it looks to their final home he built across from your parents' home.
He built dormers on both of these homes." [Leigh's note: I remember both
houses well, and their extended, notched rafters are a characteristic of the
Craftsman school of architecture popular in the 1920s.]
Ruby and J.H. Kirk's third child,
Henry, became a builder also. Henry Kirk was a project manager of more than
a hundred buildings from Paris (Orley Airport) to Casablanca to Chicago and
Milwaukee.
Perry Harris is a great grandson of Ruby and John Henry Kirk. Perry's
mother, Mary Kay, was a daughter of Evie and Henry Austin Kirk, the third
son of Ruby and John Henry. Perry provides the following oral family history
regarding the Kirks and the Postville Courthouse.
Note: Les Van Bibber, a grandson of J.H. Kirk, and someone with a strong
interest in Kirk family history, says he has never heard about anything in
this anecdote before seeing it here:
"Grandpa Kirk sold
the courthouse to Judge Beach. He then bought a row of houses in the 400
block of 9th street with the proceeds. The Kirk family tells the story of
Henry Ford hiring John Henry Kirk as a consultant when the replica
courthouse was erected. Henry Ford supposedly wrote out a check for $700 or
$900, drawn on Henry Ford's personal account. Grandpa Kirk (my great
grandfather) called members of his family over to his house to show off the
check. It's been said that Grandpa Kirk got into an argument about the
placement of the courthouse in its present location. The story is that it
was originally facing Monroe street, to the immediate east."
Leigh's comment:
Family oral history is interesting but may not be supported by published, verified
sources. As a result, family oral history may be subject to fact error. For
example, even the idea that there may have been some debate over what street
the Postville Courthouse may have faced is probably erroneous. The earliest published account of the construction of the
Postville Courthouse says that it "was built in the center of the square,
faced the south, and was two stories high" (History of Logan County, 1886,
p. 223). Because the Courthouse faced south, it faced Fifth Street, not
Monroe Street. Subsequent histories do not suggest otherwise, so it is
highly unlikely that anyone would have debated which street the Courthouse
faced. On the other
hand, the first Logan County jail was constructed northeast of the
Courthouse (as described above) and could very well have faced Monroe
Street, which runs north/south on the east side of the Courthouse. Thus,
there could very well have been a debate as to which street the jail faced;
and if indeed J.H. Kirk argued that the jail faced Monroe Street, his
position made very good sense.
In
material provided by Les Van Bibber there is a 1953 Courier photo of
several men looking at the site of the Postville Courthouse shortly before
its replica was constructed. The men are Logan County Judge William S. Ellis,
secretary of the (newly formed) Logan County Historical Society; John Henry
Kirk, former owner of the original Postville Courthouse; Alfred G. Lindblad,
an architect with the state division of architecture and engineering who
conducted a survey of the site; E.H. Lukenbill, president of the Logan
County Historical Society; and Lincoln scholar James Hickey, vice president
of the Society.
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Leigh Henson's remembrance of the John Henry Kirk
family: When I grew up in Lincoln, one block away from the Postville
Courthouse site, Ruby and John Henry Kirk lived across Monroe Street from my
parents' home on Seventh and Monroe. As a carpenter, Mr. Kirk had built his
home there. Les's family lived on Seventh Street, one house west of
his Kirk grandparents.
I often visited the Kirks' yard in order to taste
the mulberries and the leaves of peppermint plants that grew along their
driveway. The Kirks' backyard was interesting for its rabbit hutches, sheds
with tools, and piles of boards. As I rode my bike on Monroe Street, I was
challenged to avoid falling on the slimy mess in the street made by the
mulberry trees (and the noxious residue from the blackbirds that feasted on
the seedy fruit). The youngest Kirk son, Patrick "Pat" James; Les; his
brother, Larry; their cousin Augie; and others in their family
often played on the Hensons' backyard basketball court, along with other
neighborhood stars, including Karl and Leonard Newton. I recall that when
Pat Kirk got out of the Air Force in the1950s, he did tricks on his motorcycle as he rode up and down
Monroe Street, including standing with one foot on the seat. John Henry Kirk made wooden stilts for the countless
neighborhood children. He also made toy guns that shot giant "rubber bands"
that were crosscut sections of car tire inner tubes. I recall that as a kid
I tried to duplicate Mr. Kirk's handiwork, and I discovered that I had very
limited
talent for measuring, sawing, and driving nails into wood.
The Kirks and
their colorful grandchildren, including Howard and Huck Kirk, along with the Newton neighbors, added much fun and excitement to my experience of
growing up in west Lincoln in the 1950s. Ruby and John Henry Kirk and others
in their family
rest in Old Union Cemetery.
For additional information about my
childhood experiences with the Kirks and the Postville Courthouse site, including my
debates about the old Postville Courthouse with Les's younger brother, Larry, see "Memoir
of the 1953 Construction & Dedication of the Postville Courthouse Replica"
in the Works Cited below.
Below is a photo of Judge Beach. He and his wife bought the
Postville Courthouse from the Kirks.
1.33: Judge Timothy T. Beach,
Co-Owner (with His Wife)
of the Postville Courthouse, 1913-1929
(Photo in Dooley and Welch, The Namesake Town, p. 24.)
Timothy Tildson Beach was born at Rosendale, New York, in 1843. He served in
the Union Army during the Civil War and saw action in the battles of
Gettysburg, Rocky Ford, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie,
Peach Tree Creek, and the sieges of Savannah and Bentonville. He "was never
off duty from sickness, and was never wounded, although he had some narrow
escapes" (History of Logan County 1886, p. 305). After his honorable
discharge, he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, where he graduated from Lincoln
University in 1870. He then studied law with Stephen A. Foley and was
admitted to the bar in 1871. He was city attorney for one year and was
elected Logan County State's Attorney for four years. He was also appointed
by the Logan County Circuit Court to Master in Chancery, an office he held
for six years. In 1874 he became a member of the board of trustees of
Lincoln University and served in that role for many years. Also in 1874 he
joined Joseph Hodnett to form the law partnership of Beach & Hodnett (p.
305). Mr. Beach served as chairman of the Logan County Democratic Party. Mr.
and Mrs. Beach rest in Old Union Cemetery, not very far from the J.H. Kirks
and the Foleys and the Blinns and the Robert Creighton Maxwells and the
Jewish section and the black section, etc. In 1916, Henry Fish
writes that "the county authorities have been urged to
purchase the old Postville courthouse and preserve for its historic value. No better way, certainly, of contributing to the Illinois Historical
Centennial [1918] could be conceived" (Fish, Illustrated
Lincoln, no page numbers). Henry Ford purchased the Postville
Courthouse in 1929 from T.T. Beach, had it dismantled, and reconstructed it in Greenfield
Village, Michigan, and that re-construction appears on the picture postcard
below:
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1.34: 1930s Picture
Postcard of the Postville Courthouse Re-Assembled in Michigan
On December 31, 1932, Lincolnites Jesse E. Ranney and his wife, Helen J. Ranney, purchased
the original Postville Courthouse block, then vacant, from Henry Ford. Mr. Ranney's intention
was to hold this property "until he [Mr. Ranney] was assured it would not be
used for commercial purposes" ("Postville Court House Being Restored
Following Years of Patient, Hopeful Waiting," The Lincoln Evening Courier,
p. 2).
In 1946, the Ranneys sold
this property to a group of Lincolnites who wanted to build a replica of the
Postville Courthouse. In 1953, the deed was transferred to the State of
Illinois, which built the present replica in that year and maintains this
property as an official historic site open to the public.
Detailed information about Henry Ford's purchase of the Postville Courthouse
and the construction of its replica in 1953 appears at
2.
The Story of
the Postville Courthouse Replica,
Tantivy, & Memoir of the Postville Park
Neighborhood in the
Route 66 Era.
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