Day Thirty-one – Lincoln Travelled Route 66?

We rolled into Atlanta, Illinois, looking for a historic eight-sided sandstone public library and museum for our evening’s Harvest Host stay. Little did we know, this small town just off of Interstate 55 had quite an interesting history.

As we looked for the address for the library, it surprised us to look up and see several Route 66 historic statues. We hadn’t realized this was a town on that famed driving route.


Around the next block we arrived at the library which was built with sandstone blocks in 1908. In addition to the unique eight-sided design, the library had beautiful woodwork inside. That included one of the most inviting reading rooms we’ve ever seen in a library. 


It turned out that the “museum” part of this library was actually in the old “Judy” grocery store which sat kitty corner to the library. So, off we went to see what exhibits a museum in a tiny Illinois town would hold. 


We were welcomed to the museum by a long-time resident who explained the layout of the items currently on display. As we worked our way through the various exhibits, it became apparent that many were focused on President Abraham Lincoln.

Back at the entrance we questioned the curator about the connection between the town and Lincoln. Her response surprised us. It turns out Lincoln travelled through Atlanta, IL, frequently as a traveling lawyer. As one of the eight founding families of the town, Lincoln would often stay with her family when he came to town.

On one such trip, a member of the town, George Angell, heard Lincoln preparing for his famous Freeport debate with Stephen Douglas. Angell reported, “I distinctly remember that he [Lincoln] was here [Atlanta, IL] the day before he gave his famous Freeport address, which is the most widely known of all the debates between Lincoln and Douglas. Lincoln was at that time councilor for Richard Gill... I had an office on the second floor... Gill took him [Lincoln] to the room back of my office... Of a sudden I heard someone in the back room shout and this was followed by a complete exposition of Douglas’ attitude on leading political questions...”  

What an interesting bit of information about this sleepy little town!



Further conversation with the museum curator revealed that there was such a close connection between Abraham Lincoln and Atlanta’s founding families that after he was assassinated, the train carrying the President’s body stopped in town so that those families could go aboard to pay their respects. Wow!



It’s funny how bits of history like this unexpectedly show up during our travels. Listening to the train whistle blow that evening, we reflected on how this small town in Illinois had such a varied history... from President Lincoln to being a stop on the historic Route 66. 

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