 The website is collaboration between Doolin and Geoff Ladd,
executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan
County.
According to Ladd, the new site, ExploreLoganCounty.com, "will
serve as a resource to market Logan County, Illinois to both
residents and visitors showcasing attractions, local businesses,
history, photos, community events and more."
The site serves many interests and provides all kinds of
information. It is well laid out and features a variety of
categories.
While most local residents know that some of our biggest
attractions are connected to either Abraham Lincoln or the historic
Route 66, the website shows that here in Logan County there is
something for nearly everyone.
As an example, there is a category tab called Quirky Attractions.
Included in this category are the Atlanta smiley face water tower,
the phone booth on the roof of City Hall in Lincoln and one big ball
of string, just to name a few.
Under the category of Architecture, the website features some of
Logan County's remarkable buildings, such as the Lincoln Post
Office, the clock tower at the Atlanta Library, St. John the Baptist
Chapel in Elkhart and University Hall at Lincoln College. Also
included in this section is the John P. Gillett Memorial Bridge at
Elkhart.
Moving on to another category, Outdoor Art & Sculpture, visitors
will be introduced to nearly every wall mural in Logan County. From
the Lincoln penny in Lincoln to the airplane and train race in Mount
Pulaski, and the firehouse tribute mural in Atlanta, sightseers who
enjoy this type of attraction will know Logan County has much to
offer.
In the category of Historical Figures, website visitors will come
to realize Logan County has been the home of some exceptional
people, such as Capt. Adam Bogardus, Langston Hughes, Gov. Richard
Oglesby and William Maxwell, just to name a few.
And of course, there are categories for Abraham Lincoln and Route
66 attractions, along with others listed: Agritourism, Local
Landmarks, Looking for Lincoln & Heritage Waysides, Historic Sites,
Museums & Historical Societies, and Parks & Outdoor Activities.
And finally, if people are drawn to Logan County, they'll need a
place to stay. The website offers a Travel & Lodging category that
lists a number of local motels.
In a recent news release from the tourism bureau, Ladd said
Doolin has designed the website to highlight three specific areas of
interest: attractions and tourism, history and photos, and an
interactive calendar of events.
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Excerpt copied from news release:
The Attractions &
Tourism section features better, more comprehensive information
including pictures, text and maps to provide a 24/7 showcase of
Logan County's attractions. Attractions all over Logan County were
re-inventoried and new attraction categories were created to more
effectively capture the interest of visitors to turn their interest
into tourism dollars. Visitor tracking metrics will gauge visitor
patterns, search engine keywords and overall effectiveness. In the
future, stage 2 of this project will include creating a mobile
device friendly version of the website that will utilize the GPS
mapping already incorporated into the website giving visitors
on-the-spot information.
The History &
Photos section will contain information and write-ups on various
topics along with historic photos from various time periods.
Starting out with a handful of photos, this section will grow into
hundreds of historic and present day photos as more are added.
The interactive
event calendar will be an all encompassing event resource utilized
by Logan County communities, tourism, and participating
organizations from all over Logan County.
The new website has been designed to work beside the current
tourism website, and the two sites are linked to each other to
further increase the amount of information visitors can find on
Logan County.
Ladd wrote in his release:
As the Tourism
Bureau celebrates their first 25 years as a certified bureau, their
excitement for the next 25 is high. Merging the websites to offer
visitors a complete and comprehensive resource to better direct them
around the county will be a priceless asset.
The site is an asset to Logan County tourism, and we hope you'll
all take the time to check it out and share it with your friends.
Logan County has much to appreciate from Doolin and Ladd in a
very nice piece of work.
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