Filmed on Sunday, May 12 2024, I drive around Lexington, IL to see what's going on.
Lexington was laid out on 4 January 1836 by Asahel Gridley and James Brown. Gridley was a lawyer and banker from Bloomington who would eventually become the richest man in McLean County; Brown was born in Lexington, Kentucky, which is likely the origin of the town's name.
Because Lexington was halfway between the county seats of Pontiac and Bloomington, Lexington provided a convenient stopping place: Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were frequent guests.
In 1854, the Chicago and Alton Railroad reached Lexington, and Lexington boomed. By 1865 the first brick block had been erected. On 21 November 1860, the train brought Abraham Lincoln to Lexington, where he spoke a few words of goodbye to his old friends; on 2 May 1865, just before noon, another train passed through Lexington, this one holding Lincoln's body.
Theodore Roosevelt visited Lexington July 15, 1902. A crowd of twenty thousand people had gathered near the Chicago and Alton tracks. A long grandstand had been erected and covered in red, white and blue. Roosevelt shook hands with the reception committee, but declined to leave the train. Roosevelt gave a brief but rousing talk from the observation platform at the back of the train. The crowd roared its approval. It was the only time a sitting president had visited the town.
After the construction of Route 66, Lexington became a popular stopping point on the famous American road. Near Lexington, much of the old highway can still be driven, as the southbound lanes were retained as a two-lane country road.
#drivingtour #illinois #smalltownlife
23 авг 2024
