Beardstown Courthouse

Our trip home took us through Beardstown, Illinois, the home of the only courthouse in which Abraham Lincoln practiced law that is still used to try cases.  The building was erected in 1844.

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I knew that no tours were being given on this day, and I figured the building would be locked, but I thought an outside photo would be fun. The building currently serves as the Beardstown Chamber of Commerce, and there was an “open” sign on the front door — along with a sign saying that no tours were available. Still, to get inside would be fun. We walked into the main hallway and a woman came out of an office and greeted us. She told us there were no tours, but then she pulled out a set of keys and opened the door to the museum and told us to enjoy it at our leisure.

Fun.

For the next hour, we wandered about the building. The courtroom fills the front half of the second floor. The other rooms on that floor and most of the first floor contain a typical small town historical museum.

One of Lincoln’s most famous cases was held in this room. He was defending Duff Armstrong, the son of Jack and Hannah Armstrong, who were good friends with Lincoln. Duff was charged with murdering James Metzker. The state’s chief witness was Charles Allen, who claimed to have seen Duff killing Metzker by the light of the moon. Lincoln produced an almanac that proved the moon would not have been shining at the time Allen claimed to have seen the attack. Lincoln also called a doctor to testify that Metzker’s wounds could have been caused by the single blow struck by another man who had already been convicted of murder in the case. Duff was acquitted after an emotional appeal by Lincoln that had the jury in tears.

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I asked the woman who let us in if trials were indeed still held in the courtroom. She said they were, occasionally, but not usually since Beardstown was no longer the county seat.

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The jail is on the first floor of the Beardstown Courthouse. Duff Armstrong, whom Lincoln defended in the famous “Almanac Trial” in 1858, was housed in one of these cells prior to his acquittal.

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This plywood statue of Lincoln stood inside the jail.

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Moments after we left the building, the woman who had allowed us free reign of the place locked up and went home. It was as if they’d opened it just for us.

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