The First
Lincoln-Douglas Marker
In 1908 the
State Historical Society started a
movement to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary
of the Lincoln-Douglas speeches throughout
the state. Officers of the Woodford County Historical Society
decided that the logical place for holding the celebration in
Woodford County would be in Metamora where the speeches were
actually made.
A bronze memorial
tablet placed in a concrete base read:
SPOKE HERE
DOUGLAS-LINCOLN
OCT. 2, 1858 OCT. 9,
1858
DEDICATED BY OLD
SETTLERS'
AND HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATIONS
OF WOODFORD COUNTY,
ILLINOIS
AUGUST 27, 1908
This
historic data was dedicated and unveiled during the Old Settlers'
Days celebration on August 27, 1908. A souvenir watch fob was sold
for a dollar to defray the cost of erecting the memorial tablet in
the Village Park. However, many people objected to the price of the
fob not realizing the worthiness of the cause.
The Metamora
Herald reported that beautiful weather, good bands, great speeches
greeted about six thousand visitors on this commemorative day.
It was noted
that the dates on the tablet were incorrect. The dates should have
read Spoke Here--Douglas September 30 and Lincoln October 4, 1858.
The tablet
was torn down in July, 1931 and was placed in the masonry of the new
cobblestone bandstand being erected at the time. The tablet today
can be seen to the right of the steps going up into the bandstand.
The sheet iron box containing records and story of the celebration
were found to be a mass of wet paper pulp. The box had rusted
through.
History and photo submitted by Shirley A. Adams.
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