Danville, Illinois
Danville Illinois started out as a hub for 3 Native American Tribes – Kickapoo, Miami, and Potawatomi. In 1827, 80 acres of land was donated and lots sold which started Danville.
In 1838, the Potawatomi Trail of Death camped and passed through Danville.
Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer with the 8th Judicial Court. As a result, Lincoln passed through Danville for greater than 18 years and his law partner lived in Danville. Because of the Lincoln connection… Danville is part of the “Looking for Lincoln” National Program (more about the program later :-)).
In the 19th and early 20th century, Danville was a major industrial city with coal strip mining. The mines have closed and most transitioned to recreational area such as Kickapoo State Park. Most of the major manufacturing closed shop which has resulted in a population decline. In 1970, the city population was and has decreased to 29,203 people.
In the 21st century, Danville is focusing on expanding healthcare, Fischer Theatre and education expansion to reduce population decline.
Vermillion County Museum & Looking for Lincoln.
I am obsessed with getting National Park Service (NPS) cancel stamps. My booklet has a bunch of locations to visit for cancel stamps. The book is not all encompassing for cancel stamp locations and mostly lists the major spots. I rely on publications, master list (even though it doesn’t list all the locations), word of mouth, etc. In the Danville Visitor Pamphlet, I learned about “Looking for Lincoln”..
Throughout Ilinois you can get cancel stamps as part of Looking for Lincoln. Even though Lincoln was not born in Illinois — he was born in Kentucky. Lincoln did live, practice law and was a US House Representative for Illinois. This led to the “Looking for Lincoln” locations throughout the state.
The Vermillion County Museum is situated next to “The Fithian House”. Where Lincoln gave a speech and slept. The museum houses information specific to Vermillion County Heritage and Lincoln’s activities while in Danville.
I think my favorite part other than the cancel stamp was the Lincoln Bust made out of pennies. Based on the placard donation date (September 2021)… I think the bust was covid project.
You’ll notice I’m holding a paper Lincoln called Flat Lincoln. Visitors are encouraged to take pictures with Flat Lincoln as they visit the various “Looking for Lincoln” sites.
Vermillion County at one point had 49 operating coal mines. The Museum had displays on tools used. Of course I couldn’t resist putting on the helmit light. The helmet was a HEAVY metal and too large for my head.
Quaker Oats manufacturing plant existed in Danville for 55 years until 2024. In 2023, the plant had its first recall for salmonella. Additional recalls were announced in 2024 along with the FDA determining one of the salmonella strains was also found in the facility in 2020 (to me indicating salmonella was resident microbe vs. transient). Quaker Oats determined that it wasn’t cost effective to update the facility and decide to permanently close it. The facility was officially closed on June 8, 2024. >500 employees lost their jobs.
The museum had a display recounting the Quaker Oats history along with the Quaker man. The museum did not have a commentary about the plant closure in 2024.
“Help pull Vermillion County out of the Mud” became a slogan due to the dirt roads back in the early 1900s. The muddy roads caused issues with transporting goods, day to day life, etc. This resulted in Illinois being the first in the nation to create its own Highway System.
John was excited to see that the museum had a Liberty Tree Knife from the last Liberty Tree located in Annapolis Maryland. The Liberty Trees came about due to England forbidding colonist from holding private meetings. So, the 13 colonies had a designated a tree for the secret meeting locations.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures.