Today we begin a new series on Petersburg, the seat of Menard County in central Illinois. This view shows the west facing side of the courthouse from S. Seventh St. The Menard County Courthouse is the anchor of the Petersburg Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. With three full stories and a dome, the courthouse is the tallest building in the district. Constructed in 1897-98, this building replaced the first county courthouse built in 1843.
Petersburg has several ties to Abraham Lincoln. It is the only town known to have been surveyed and platted by Mr. Lincoln. Just south of town is Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. It is at New Salem where Lincoln met and lost his first love, Ann Rutledge, who died of typhoid in 1835 at the age of 22. Rutledge is buried in Petersburg's Oakland Cemetery.
Menard County is primarily an agricultural county in central Illinois. Petersburg, the county seat, is located approximately 23 miles northwest of Springfield. The population of Petersburg at the 2020 census was 2,169.
Tags: Petersburg Seat Menard County Illinois IL Menard County Courthouse Petersburg Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 76000722 Abraham Lincoln Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
A view of the Menard County Courthouse in Petersburg as seen from the War Memorial on the southeast corner of the courthouse grounds. The courthouse is the anchor of the Petersburg Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. With three full stories and a dome, the courthouse is the tallest building in the district. Constructed in 1897-98, this building replaced the first county courthouse built in 1843.
Petersburg has several ties to Abraham Lincoln. It is the only town known to have been surveyed and platted by Mr. Lincoln. Just south of town is Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. It is at New Salem where Lincoln met and lost his first love, Ann Rutledge, who died of typhoid in 1835 at the age of 22. Rutledge is buried in Petersburg's Oakland Cemetery.
Menard County is primarily an agricultural county in central Illinois. Petersburg, the county seat, is located approximately 23 miles northwest of Springfield. The population of Petersburg at the 2020 census was 2,169.
Tags: Petersburg Seat Menard County Illinois IL Menard County Courthouse Petersburg Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 76000722 War Memorial Veterans Memorial Abraham Lincoln Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
A view of the late-19th century commercial buildings on the west side of Petersburg's Courthouse Square. The buildings shown all lie within the Petersburg Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
On the corner is the former Frackelton Bank Building. In 1865, brothers Robert D. and David S. Frackelton organized the privately owned Frackelton Bank. The brick and stone structure shown in this photo, located on the southwest corner of Petersburg's courthouse square, was erected in 1889 to serve as the bank's headquarters.
In 1912, the Frackelton Bank was chartered by the State of Illinois as the Frackelton State Bank. Seventeen years later, in 1929, it consolidated with the First National Bank of Petersburg.
The Menard County Historical Society now maintains a museum and archives in the former Frackelton Bank. The Historical Society’s Museum is home to valuable books, pictures, genealogy materials, historic displays, circus memorabilia, and other artifacts pertaining to Menard County.
The building also houses the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association’s Museum of Land Surveying. The land surveying displays include instruments that tell the early history of land surveying, including instruments similar to those used by Deputy County Surveyor Abraham Lincoln in 1836 when he surveyed the town of Petersburg.
Menard County is primarily an agricultural county in central Illinois. Petersburg, the county seat, is located approximately 23 miles northwest of Springfield. The population of Petersburg at the 2020 census was 2,169.
Tags: Petersburg Seat Menard County Central Illinois IL West Side Courthouse Square Brick-Paved Street 100 Block South 7th Street Commercial Architecture Corner Bank Frackelton Bank Building Menard County Historical Society Petersburg Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 76000722 Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
A view of the late-19th century commercial buildings on the west side of Petersburg's Courthouse Square. The buildings shown all lie within the Petersburg Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Menard County is primarily an agricultural county in central Illinois. Petersburg, the county seat, is located approximately 23 miles northwest of Springfield. The population of Petersburg at the 2020 census was 2,169.
Tags: Petersburg Seat Menard County Illinois IL West Side Courthouse Square Brick-Paved Street 100 Block South 7th Street Commercial Architecture Petersburg Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 76000722 Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Explore #43 on July 11, 2022.
An old-timer driving a vintage Massey Ferguson tractor is given a clear lane at the First Annual New Salem Shrine Club Car Show in Petersburg, Illinois.
Tags: Petersburg County Seat Menard County Illinois IL Americana Old-Timer Parade New Salem Shrine Club Car Show Antique Massey Ferguson Tractor Canon EOS Xsi Explored In Explore Explore