Pekin riverfront - Lincoln's broken oar
The first time Abraham Lincoln ever came to Tazewell County was in 1832. After the Black Hawk War during which Lincoln served in the Illinois Militia, Lincoln took a canoe down the Illinois River on his way back home to New Salem. As he neared Pekin, Lincoln's oar broke, so he stopped his canoe on the riverbank at Pekin, carved himself a new oar, and then shared a hot meal with some of Pekin's pioneer residents before resuming his trip down the river.The illustration is a sketch drawn by the late Dale Kuntz, depicting this event.
Seth Kinman's Eagle Hotel
One of Pekin's early hotels was the Eagle Hotel, located on the south side of Court Street at the intersection of Front Street (now within Pekin Riverfront Park). Pekin's pioneer historian William H. Bates confusingly claimed Tazewell House/Bemis House was later located on the same site, but Tazewell House was on the north side of Court Street, across the street from where the Eagle had previously been. The Eagle Hotel first opened its doors in 1848, and it was owned and operated by a Tazewell County pioneer named Seth Kinman (1815-1888), who later headed out West and became a renowned mountain man and hunter in California.Abraham Lincoln is not known to have stayed at the Eagle during his visits to Pekin. Nevertheless, Seth Kinman was a friend and great admirer of Lincoln. On 26 Nov. 1864 during a visit to the White House, Kinman presented the president with a unique chair that he had made out of elk horn and bear claws. As sharp as the antlers and claws were, Lincoln probably would have had to take special care if he'd ever tried to sit in them. Presumably these unusual gifts were meant to be decorative only.The following year, Kinman returned to Washington, D.C. Kinman claimed to have been a witness to Lincoln's assassination, and newspaper reports on Lincoln's funeral mention that Kinman walked in Lincoln's funeral procession.Pioneer historian Bates preserves this colorful anecdote of Seth Kinman from his days as proprietor of the Eagle Hotel in Pekin:"A traveler came off a boat one day, and went to the Eagle Hotel. There had been a little western ‘scrimmage’ at the ‘Eagle’ the night before, and though things had not yet been put in order, the proprietor, Seth Kinman, was sitting in front of the door, playing his favorite tune, the ‘Arkansas Traveler,’ with the greatest self-satisfaction. The stranger, stopping, said to Seth: ‘Are you the proprietor here?’ Seth, without resting his bow, replied, ‘Wall, I reckon I be, stranger.’ ‘Do you keep tavern?’ ‘Of course I do; keep tavern like hell,’ said Seth, fiddling away with all his might. ‘Just pile in; hang your freight up on the floor, and make yourself at home. The boys,’ continued Seth, ‘have been having a little fun, but if there’s a whole table or plate in the house, I’ll get you some cold hash towards night.’ The stranger didn’t like the place, and took his departure, leaving the ‘proprietor’ still enjoying his violin.”
Samuel P. Higginson Home Site
One of Pekin's pioneer settlers was named Samuel P. Higginson, who lived in a house on Lots 16 and 17 of Block 3 of the Original Town of Pekin. Those lots are located on the north side of Susannah Street about midway between Front and Second streets.The image associated with this point of interest is a detail from an 1877 aeriel depiction of Pekin, showing Block 3 of the Original Town of Pekin between Susannah and Sabella streets. Higginson's property (Lots 16 and 17) are just above the center of the image.Higginson was superintendent of a distillery that was on the Pekin riverfront just down the street from Higginson's house.In 1854, Higginson and his business partner Porter were sued by Charles Walker & Sons. Abraham Lincoln was retained by Porter & Higginson.
Joshua Wagenseller's House
Joshua Wagenseller, a prominent Pekin merchant, was a leading member of the local Whig Party (later a Republican) and a good friend of Abraham Lincoln, who several times visited or stayed at the grand and beautiful Wagenseller house during his visits to Pekin. Lincoln is reported to have given at least one speech from the front porch of the Wagenseller house, which was located at a spot that is now the southwest intersection of Second Street and Broadway. Lincoln and William Kellogg, then a U.S. Congressman, visited Joshua Wagenseller's home on 5 Oct. 1858 during the period of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Lincoln and Kellogg then gave speeches at the courthouse square -- Lincoln in the afternoon (introduced by Judge Bush), Kellogg in the evening.Wagenseller, whose dry goods store was located at 48 Court Street, built his house in 1856. This point of interest's associated images include an old photograph of the Wagenseller house (including some of Joshua Wagenseller's grandchildren), and a detail from an 1877 aerial depiction of Pekin showing the Wagenseller house at the corner of Broadway and "Market Street" (now South Second Street).
Illinois River Railroad
These railroad tracks along Third Street run along the same rail bed of the railroad company that Abraham Lincoln defended in court even as rails were being laid down. This was the 1857 case of Charles Sprague v. The Illinois River Railroad Company, et. al., which was filed and argued in Cass County Circuit Court, because the suit involved a dispute over whether or not Cass County should issue bonds to the company to help pay for the extension of the railroad there. Lincoln partnered with H. E. Dummer on this case, and they successfully defended the railroad company aginst Sprague's lawsuit.It was on 11 Feb. 1853 that the Illinois River Railroad Co. was chartered. In October 1856, the city of Pekin voted to give $100,000 to the company, and the railroad finally was opened on 4 July 1859, a whole decade after Pekin’s incorporation as a city and more than 20 years after the first attempts to build a railroad in Pekin. This is how “Pekin Centenary 1849-1949” tells the story:“In 1858, Bitzer’s lake was drained to make right-of-way for the new Peoria, Pekin and Jacksonville railroad (later the Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis, and today the Chicago and Illinois Midland). The depot was built up on piling where Bitzer’s lake had been, and much of the track there was trestle. The 16-foot ravine cutting across the river front area was filled, and the bridge over it destroyed. . . . The biggest day in that particular era came on July 4, 1859, when the first train finally pulled into Pekin on the new railroad tracks in the midst of a city-wide celebration complete with flags, bands, and a parade.”The Illinois River Railroad Co. became the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville Railroad in 1863.The picture illustrating this site (taken about 1868 by George Bacon) shows the old Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville Railroad depot, which was built in or around 1859, and stood at the southeast corner of Third and St. Mary streets, now the location of the parking lot behind the Tazewell County Justice Center.
Crain Estate Settlement
In the 1830s this lot was the property of Lewis F. Crain. Benjamin Kellogg Jr. was appointed administrator of the estate of Lewis F. Crain, which included properties scattered all over town. Unfortunately Crain was $21,000 in debt at the time of his death. In 1838 Kellogg hired Stuart and Lincoln to guide the case, called Ex parte Kellogg, through probate court. The estate properties, including this lot, were sold off for only $200. In the accompanying illustration from an 1877 aerial map of Pekin, the triangular Kellogg lot is shown at the center of the image, bounded by Broadway, Capitol, and Sabella ("Isabella") streets.The same Benjamin Kellogg Jr. later was a witness in the 1838-9 case of Cromwell & McNaghton v. Bailey. Kellog also was represented by Abraham Lincoln in an 1854 case in Pekin over stolen gunny sacks, as explained elsewhere in this tour.
Isaac Hawley Home Site
This was the site of the home of Isaac A. Hawley, son of Pekin pioneer settler Gideon Hawley. Abraham Lincoln worked as Isaac Hawley's attorney during the settlement of Gideon Hawley's estate, but Isaac Hawley failed to pay Lincoln's attorney fees. Lincoln then sued the Hawley Estate on 6 Oct. 1853 in the case of Lincoln v. Hawley. Lincoln won and collected the $30 fee that was due him.The site of the Hawley home on Broadway is shown at the center of the accompanying illustration, which is a detail from an 1877 aerial depiction of Pekin.
Original site of First Baptist Church of Pekin
Rev. Gilbert S. Bailey, a friend of Abraham Lincoln, organized First Baptist Church of Pekin in 1850 and initiated a building fund campaign for a church. Bailey wrote to Lincoln asking if he would become a subscriber to the building fund. Lincoln's religious views are hard to pin down (other than being generally Protestant Christian), but in any case Lincoln responded favorably to Bailey's request, donating what was then a liberal sum of $10 toward the construction of the original First Baptist Church of Pekin, which was built at the southwest corner of Elizabeth and Fifth streets. The original church measured 32 ft. by 44 feet. That site is now the parking lot of the Pekin Township offices, and First Baptist Church is now located at 700 S. Capitol St.
Jonathan Haines Home
This is the home of Illinois inventor Jonathan Haines (1808-1868), who was a younger brother of Pekin co-founder William Haines. After Jonathan's death, the home passed to Jonathan's younger brother James Haines. It is thought that this house is the only remaining structure in Pekin dating from the lifetime of Abraham Lincoln. A notable thing about this house is that originally it was situated well back from Sixth Street, about the middle of the block, but later a new basement and foundation were dug close to the street, and the entire house was moved to its present location.Jonathan Haines and his brother Ansel Haines ran a factory located due east from this house, on the far side of James Field, the east side of Ninth Street, approximately where Benson's Maytag is located today. Jonathan Haines was the inventor of the Buckeye Mower and the Haines Harvester (also called the Illinois Harvester), and these and other patented agricultural implements were manufactured and repaired at the Haines' factory in Pekin.In 1857, Jonathan Haines discovered that another company was illegally using Haines' patents on their own products, so he wrote to Lincoln asking for his legal assistance. Under the date of 27 March 1858, Earl Miers' "Lincoln Day by Day" (1960) says, "In Springfield, Lincoln finds among his mail a letter from Jonathan Haines of Pekin, client in repear patent litigation, and one from Alfred Hyde, convict. He writes to Haines about two law suits, one pending, another prospective. 'I really cannot find time to prepare such a suit, until the Spring Courts are over.'" Subsequently, Lincoln filed suit. Haines and Lincoln went to Chicago to bring the case to a resolution, and Lincoln won the case, putting a stop to the patent infringement.The accompanying images show the Haines home in 1873 and 1877, as well as a portrait of Jonathan Haines.
Nathan Cromwell lot
This lot was part of the estate of Pekin co-founder Nathan Cromwell (1784-1836), and Abraham Lincoln was retained as an attorney in the settlement of Cromwell's estate. Pioneer traditions dating from no later than the 1850s relate that Cromwell's wife Ann Eliza (after whom Ann Eliza Street is named) was the one who selected "Pekin" as the name of the new town site in January of 1830, and that Ann Eliza also was behind the decision to name many of the streets in the Original Town of Pekin after the wives and daughters of Pekin's pioneer settlers.Nathan Cromwell was a land speculator who owned many lots in early Pekin. He died in St. Louis, Missouri, while on his way to Texas to start another land speculation scheme there. Cromwell is also known to history as the (purported) owner of an African-American indentured servant named Nance Legins-Costley (1813-1892). Cromwell purchased Nance in Springfield and brought her to Pekin in 1829. Nance, however, insisted that she was free because she had never given her consent to become an indentured servant as Illinois law required of all contracts of indentured servitude. Before leaving for St. Louis, Cromwell sold Nance to another early Pekin settler named David Bailey, who promised to pay Cromwell $376.48 for Nance. However, when he learned Nance insisted she was free, Bailey (of an abolitionist family), let Nance live as a free woman and declined to pay off the promissory note to the Cromwell Estate. The Cromwell Estate then sued Bailey in Tazewell County Circuit Court in the 1838-9 case of Cromwell & McNaghton v. Bailey. The firm of Stuart & Lincoln represented Bailey, and Lincoln presented clear evidence that there was no proof Nance was ever Cromwell's indentured servant, but nevertheless the court ruled in favor of the Cromwell Estate and ordered Bailey to pay $431.97.Bailey then appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court in the 1841 case of Bailey v. Cromwell & McNaghton. During arguments on 23 July 1841, Lincoln pointed out that the Chief Justice had no papers saying he was an indentured servant and therefore he was considered a free man; that several lawyers in the court had no indentured servitude papers and they were free men; and Nance had no such papers either, so the Court must rule that she is a free woman. Justice Sidney Breese therefore ruled that Nance and her three children Amanda, Eliza Jane, and William Henry were free. Thus, Nance and her children were the first African-American slaves to be freed through the direct help of Abraham Lincoln. (Her son William Henry Costley later served in the 29th U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War, and was present in Galveston, Texas, at the first Juneteenth.)Of this case, John J. Duff in his book, "A. Lincoln, Prairie Lawyer" (1960), pages 86-87, wrote:"One of the memorable cases which commanded Lincoln's attention during the court's summer term of 1841 was that of Bailey v. Cromwell, argued July twenty-third, and involving his first encounter with the legal aspects of slavery. Early in 1839 an action was brought by the administrators of Nathan Cromwell against David Bailey in the Circuit Court of Tazewell County, then held at Tremont, upon a promissory note made by Bailey and given to Cromwell in payment for a Negro girl named Nance. The seller, who represented that the subject of the sale was indentured to him and still had about seven years to serve, agreed to furnish the purchaser with proof that the girl was in fact a slave and bound to servitude. This Cromwell failed to do and, the girl having left Bailey's service in the meantime, when the note matured the latter refused to pay."Upon the trial, the defendant showed by the testimony of the girl and one Benjamin Kellogg that Nance had repeatedly stated that she would not work without pay, and had received from Cromwell, who operated a store, both goods and money in return for services rendered."Judgment was rendered by Judge William Thomas in favor of the plaintiff for $431.97. An appeak was taken to the Supreme Court, where Lincoln, representing the defendant, argued that the note was without consideration and hence void, inasmuch as it was given, in a free state, as the purchase price of a human being who was not legally the subject of sale. He maintained that the girl was free by virtue of both the Ordinance of 1787 and the constitution of the state prohibiting slavery. The Court, in an opinion by Judge Breese, reversed the lower court. The case, in which Lincoln was opposed by Logan, established the broad principle that 'the presumption of the law in Illinois is that every person is free without regard to color,' and 'the sale of a free person is illegal.'"Lincoln and his law partner Stuart both participated in this case.The accompanying illustrations include a drawing by the late Dale Kuntz depicting what Nance Legins-Costley may have looked like during the course of the trials that confirmed that she and her children were free. The other illustration is a detail from an 1877 aerial map of Pekin showing what this particular lot, formerly the possession of Nathan Cromwell, looked like at that time.
John J. Spillman's Blacksmith and Pattern Shop
During the mid-1800s, John J. Spillman ran a blacksmith and pattern shop on the south side of Court Street, the second door west of Fifth Street. Spillman and David Lawler made an agreement concerning a plow. Lawler gave Spillman a promissory note for $30, apparently for the plow. Lawler failed to pay, so in August of 1851 Spillman sued Lawler in the Justice-of-the-Peace court. Lawler filed a set-off of $15, but the Justice of the Peace ruled for Spillman and awarded $30.65. Lawler then retained Abraham Lincoln as his attorney and in September of 1851 appealed the ruling to the Tazewell County Circuit Court. A jury ruled that Spillman was to give $20 to Lawler and that Lawler must return the plow to Spillman. The parties then agreed on a judgment in Lawler's favor.The accompanying illustration is a detail from an 1877 aerial map of Pekin, showing what the lot where Spillman's shop was located looked like at the time. The buildings shown may once have housed Spillman's business.
Site of the N. H. Wilson Grocery Store
N. H. Wilson ran a grocery store at this location in the 1830s, and Seth Wilson worked as a clerk in the store. Seth was called as a witness in the Sept. 1838 case of Crain v. Crain et al., a dispute over a land sale in which Abraham Lincoln was an attorney.James Crain bought some land from Lewis F. Crain and fully paid him for the land. Lewis Crain died before conveying a deed to James Crain for the land. James Crain then retained Lincoln and sued the heirs of Lewis Crain in an action of specific performance to compel them to convey a deed for the land. James Crain agreed to pay the firm of Stuart & Lincoln $500 if the court granted his claim to possession of the land or $300 if the court granted every claim but the possession of the land. James Crain later dismissed his case.
Tazewell County Courthouse and Lincoln Courthouse Marker
The current Tazewell County Courthouse was built in 1914-1916. It replaced a somewhat smaller courthouse located on the same site, which stood from 1850 to 1914. Prior to 1850, Tremont was the county seat and the location of a domed Neo-Classical county courthouse. Before Tremont became the county seat in 1836, Pekin was briefly the de facto county seat, but there was not a specially-built courthouse structure in Pekin in the early 1830s. Tazewell County's original county seat was Mackinaw, where a log cabin was built in 1827 to serve as a courthouse -- but the place smelled like a pig pen because pigs would wallow under the building and would squeal when court was in session.Abraham Lincoln lawyered in both the Tremont county courthouse as well as the new Pekin county courthouse that opened in 1850. Lincoln's time spent in the Tazewell County Courthouse is commemorated by a Lincoln County Courthouse Marker outside the entrance. The marker was placed in 1922 by the Daughters of the American Revolution as one of the historical markers along the route of the old Eighth Judicial Circuit which Abraham Lincoln would ride when he was an attorney in Illinois. It was rededicated in a ceremony on George Washington's Birthday, 21 Feb. 2022. It is traditional for new lawyers in Tazewell County to rub Lincoln's nose on the marker "for good luck" before entering the courthouse.Some of the court records that document Lincoln's presence in the Tremont and Pekin courthouses are still kept in the archives of the Tazewell County Courthouse or are displayed inside, but many others have been transferred to Springfield for safe keeping. The courthouse also has the threshold stone of Pekin's old Tazewell House hotel, where Lincoln and other notable attorneys often stayed during their visits to Pekin. On the west lawn of the courthouse is the Tazewell County War Memorial, which displays a complete list of all of Tazewell County's war dead from every war that America has fought. That includes the list of the county's fallen Civil War soldiers who fought when Lincoln was Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces. A humorous episode involving Lincoln occurred during the early days of the 1850 courthouse in Pekin: one day when court was in session, a bat got into the court room and disrupted court proceedings. First the witness testifying on the stand began watching the bat fly back and forth. Then the judge's attention was diverted to the bat. Then everyone in the courthouse began watching the bat, and a lawyer even jumped up and, taking a bullwhip from his saddlebag, he began snapping his whip at the bat. Finally the judge asked the tall and lanky Lincoln to try to get the bat out of the courtroom. As the judge tried to resume court proceedings and laughter filled the courtroom, Lincoln first tried chasing the bat as he twirled his coat, using it like a net, but when that didn't work, he grabbed a broomstick and flailed it about, chasing the bat around the courtroom until he finally managed to drive the bat out the window.Another colorful tale from one of Lincoln's visits to Pekin is recorded by Eugenia Jones-Hunt (1846-1947) in her book, "My Personal Recollections of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln." Jones-Hunt includes a story from a man named Seth Thandler, who attended a Republic Party picnic on the Tazewell County Courthouse lawn around 1855. According to Thandler, Lincoln was there, along with Judge Lyman Trumbull (who later co-authored the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in the U.S.) as well as abolitionist political leaders Isaac Newton Arnold and Rev. Owen Lovejoy. Thandler says that during the picnic, somehow his hat was placed in the coffee boiler -- but everyone at the picnic seemed to enjoy the unusual "hat" flavored blend of coffee, for they all said the coffee that day was delicious.On a few occasions, Lincoln was called upon to serve temporarily as Acting State's Attorney of Tazewell County, working as the county's prosecutor instead of as a defense attorney. One such case was in 1853, when Thomas Delny raped a 7-year-old girl named Jane Ann Rupert, pointing a gun at her head to force her to comply. Just before this case was tried, the State's Attorney had left on a vacation, so the presiding judge appointed Lincoln as Acting State's Attorney. The jury found Delny guilty, and the judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison. However, after serving only six years of his sentence, Illinois Gov. William Henry Bissell pardoned Delny and set him free.
Lawyer Harriot's home and office site
This was the location of the home and law office of James Harriott, who came to Pekin in 1849 from Jersey County, Illinois. Harriott later was elected a judge of the 21st Judicial Circuit in 1857 and was reelected judge in 1861. As a Pekin attorney and Justice of the Peace, Harriott had dealing with Abraham Lincoln. For example, Harriott was Justice of the Peace in the 1853 case of People v. Thomas Delny, which Lincoln prosecuted as Tazewell County State's Attorney pro tempore.The accompanying illustration, from an 1877 aerial depiction of Pekin, shows the building (at the center of the image) in which Harriott had his home and office.
William B. Parker, attorney partner
William B. Parker was a Tazewell County attorney in Abraham Lincoln's day who had his law office at this site. Lincoln partnered with Parker in many cases.The accompanying image is of an early 1870s business card showing the location of the law office. By that time, the law practice had passed to William B. Parker's son William E. Parker. A second image is from an 1877 aerial view of Pekin, looking toward the south. The building where Parker had his law office was located on the south side of Court Street -- at about the center of this image.
Flint & Co. Pork House Site
In Abraham Lincoln's day, the spot now occupied by the Court Place Apartments high rise was the site of the Flint & Co. Pork House, which was owned and operated by Thompson J. S. Flint and Watson Matthews. Flint and Matthews sold the pork house to Benjamin Kellogg Jr., but in the process of the sale Flint and Matthews lost track of 2,000 gunny sacks. Kellogg found them and converted them for his own use, and refused to return them to Flint and Matthews.In October 1854, Flint and Matthews sued Kellogg in Tazewell County Circuit Court in an action of trover, seeking $200. Kellogg retained Lincoln as his attorney and argued that the gunny sacks were part of his purchase of Flint's and Matthew's pork house. A jury found Kellogg guilty and awarded Flint and Matthews $54.05 in damages.The site of the Flint & Co. Pork House is shown at the center of the accompanying image, which comes from an 1877 aerial depiction of Pekin.
Site of the Gill, Rupert & Co. Bank
The 1852 case of Gill & Rupert v. Webster was a Tazewell County case in which Abraham Lincoln was involved, and the settlement of the case included 20 gallons of peach liquor. "Webster" was Remington K. Webster, whom Lincoln represented. "Gill" was Thomas Nelson Gill of Pekin (later of Atlanta, Illinois), a produce merchant whose business was at the southeast corner of Second Street and Elizabeth Street. "Rupert" was Columbus J. D. Rupert. Their attorney in this case was James Haines, younger brother of William, Jonathan, and Ansel Haines.Gill and Rupert were bankers in the firm of G. H. Rupert & Co., founded by Gideon H. Rupert, a wealthy pioneer settler of Pekin who had suggested that our county be named "Tazewell" (after Virginia Gov. Littleton W. Tazewell) instead of "Mackinaw." The G. H. Rupert & Co. Bank was located on the north side of Court Street, four doors east of Front Street -- more or less where the north parking lot of Pekin Riverfront Park is today. That site is shown at about the center of the accompanying image, which comes from an 1877 aerial depiction of Pekin.On 10 April 1852 the court heard arguments in this case. Lincoln and Haines signed an agreement for Webster to pay the money he owed to the plaintiffs. As part of the agreement, the attorneys also signed an award to credit Webster $4 for 20 gallons of peach liquor that Gill and Rupert had in their possession. Judge David Davis then entered the judgment against Webster for the agreed amount of $437.55 and court costs.
Tazewell House Hotel
This was the location of the Tazewell House hotel (later called Bemis House). Abraham Lincoln and other attorneys often stayed here when court was in session in Pekin. It was probably in the lobby of Tazewell House where Lincoln first encountered a new invention called the telegraph.Under the name of Tazewell House, this hotel was owned and operated by "Uncle" Bill Tinney, a veteran of the Mexican War who also served as Tazewell County Sheriff. Tinney and his deputies personally escorted Pekin's black men to the polling place after their right to vote was secured by the 15th Amendment to the Constitution following the Civil War.Bemis House/Tazewell House was razed in the early 20th century, but the old stone threshold of Tazewell House was salvaged and moved to the Tazewell County Courthouse. There it is displayed with the inscription, “Hereon trod the great Abraham Lincoln – Stephen A. Douglas – John A. Logan – Robert G. Ingersoll – David Davis – Edward D. Baker and others.”
