Looking For Lincoln Self-Guided Tour
Through the Looking For Lincoln offices in Springfield, IL and the U.S. National Parks Service, Macomb celebrates it’s designation as an Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area by way of it’s Looking For Lincoln Self-Guided Tour. This unique attraction allows users to experience 11 significant sites throughout Macomb and McDonough County directly related and pertaining to Abraham Lincoln…
Read MoreBushnell Historical Society
Housed in the Bushnell Recreational Center facilities, the Bushnell Historical Society displays many photographs and artifacts pertaining to the Bushnell, IL area.
Read MoreMcDonough County’s Largest Mural
At nearly 15 feet high and stretching over 60 feet long, McDonough County’s Largest Mural stands in a whimsy of colorful display on the north side of The Old Dairy just off Macomb’s Historic Courthouse Square. Working in conjunction with the Macomb Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Old Dairy and the Macomb office of…
Read MoreLiving Lincoln Topiary Monument
The Living Lincoln Topiary Monument is a 15 feet high and 8 feet wide bust of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. It’s mixed media construction of durable cast stone and steel features a unique topiary aspect in which the 16th president’s beard consist of real living flowering plants and greenery, making it the only sculpture of…
Read MoreMcDonough County Historical Society
Since 1969, the McDonough County Historical Society, a not-for-profit organization, has been an important force for promoting historical understanding and preserving materials that reflect the county’s heritage. Their mission supports the preservation of McDonough County, Illinois heritage. The organization also offers free historical programs at their meetings five times a year (September, November, January, March and May),…
Read MoreU.S. Presidential Visits to Macomb & McDonough County
Macomb has been visited by several US Presidents over the years. Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon have all made short addresses in Macomb and McDonough County. Additionally, on two separate occasions, both Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama addressed large audiences prior to their elections as…
Read MoreNagel Brothers – Inventors of Rolled Oats
The Nagel Brothers of Bushnell, IL were the first to invent a process of making rolled oats without having to steam the oats. Until that time, the oats were first steamed to separate the groat from the hull. The brothers patented the new process and later sold it to the Quaker Company, who in turned changed…
Read MoreSwearingen’s Old Mill Tourist Camp Windmill
In 1927, Ralph Swearingen’s Old Mill Tourist Camp opened in McDonough County‘s village of Industry, IL. It was an oasis for tourists featuring cabins, a restaurant, a gas station, and this windmill. After the business closed in 1960, all of the structures were torn down except for the iconic Windmill which still stands today.
Read MoreShoeless Joe Jackson & Baseball’s "Black Sox" in McDonough County
“Shoeless” Joe Jackson, the man Babe Ruth said he modeled his hitting style after, played at the Macomb fairgrounds in 1921. Considered one of the best players to ever play the game, Joe Jackson was known for his ability to catch impossible fly balls, throw the ball from the outfield on the fly around 400…
Read More“Kelly” Wagle – The Bootlegger
During Prohibition of the 1920s and ’30s, Chicago was the headquarters for the illicit bootlegger activity of mob boss Al Capone and his syndicate. Capone held a tight rein on any buying, selling or transporting of alcohol in a territory that reached south of Peoria and further. “Kelly” Wagle of Colchester, known as the most…
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