You will find paintings of men who were most significant to the development of Logan County. They are located in the four uppermost corners of the courthouse on the third floor, below the dome.

Plaques below the paintings provide details of the impact that these men had on Logan County. You can glean many significant points about the formation of Logan County from them.

Tips for educators or parents: Take a trip there first and then take your children on a scavenger-type hunt. Have them look details such as: Who served as a general in the Civil War? Of the three men pictured other than Abraham Lincoln, one served as a major general in the war, and one had a son who was a general. Who was wounded doing that? Where did they each live? What were their contributions?

pictures by Jan Youngquist

Abraham Lincoln:
Established Logan County
Lawyer for the founders of the city of Lincoln
Practiced law at the Logan County courthouses of Postville, Mount Pulaski and the first and second Lincoln sites
Served as a judge at the second Lincoln courthouse
Became an Illinois legislator, U.S. representative and then the most renowned president of the United States

Sen. Stephen Douglas, who ran against Lincoln for a U.S. Senate position and then for president

Dr. John Logan, for whom Lincoln named Logan County

And Gov. Richard J. Oglesby, Illinois' only three-term governor

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