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Bill Post
shares stories of Middletown with historical
society
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[July 17, 2012]
Monday
evening, Bill Post of the Middletown
Historical Society gave an interesting talk
about Middletown and its connection with
Abraham Lincoln. The occasion was a meeting
of the Logan County Genealogical and
Historical Society at the group's building
on Chicago Street, across from the Lincoln
Depot. |
 Post
said Middletown was founded in 1832, making
it the oldest existing town in Logan County.
He spoke of Logan County's oldest brick
building (circa 1840), which has been
restored and now houses the Middletown
Historical Society.
He reported that Logan County surveyor
John Calhoun asked Abraham Lincoln to be the
county's deputy surveyor for the Musick
Ferry crossing project, one mile north of
Middletown.
Middletown, as its name suggests, lies
halfway between Springfield and Peoria and
is reported to have once been considered as
a place for the capital of Illinois. Post
read from documents indicating that Abraham
Lincoln traveled the road from Springfield
to Peoria many times and would stay over at
the Middletown Stage Coach Inn, which also
has been restored and is open for visits.
Both the Middletown Historical Society and
Stage Coach Inn buildings are Illinois State
Historic Sites.
Post mentioned several additional events
that have occurred over the years in and
around Middletown -- one being the
unexpected landing of the Vin Fiz, a
privately purchased Wright Brothers biplane,
in 1911, during a transcontinental flight
from New York to Long Beach, Calif.
Although the Vin Fiz failed to win the
$50,000 prize offered by publisher William
Randolph Hearst for accomplishing the feat
in 30 days or less, it nevertheless set
several records.
Another record-setting event in
Middletown occurred with hot-air balloons.
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top of second column] |
Following the program, refreshments were
served.
At the group's next meeting, on Aug. 20,
a speaker from Beardstown will talk about
the Beardstown Courthouse, which is the
oldest still-existing courthouse in which
Abraham Lincoln practiced law and was the
site of Lincoln's "Almanac Trial."
The Logan County Genealogical &
Historical Society has a new website, now
available at
www.logancoil-genhist.org.
[By PHIL BERTONI]
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