Postville Courthouse State Historic Site

What is Postville Courthouse State Historic Site?

The building on the site is a replica, and a close one. The first Postville courthouse was a frame structure put up in 1840. It was later moved away to Greenfield Village, a museum in Michigan, and the copy was built here in 1953. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency runs it as a state historic site.

The replica shows how plain a county courthouse of that period could be: a modest frame building rather than a grand stone landmark like the courthouses built later in many county seats.

History of Postville Courthouse State Historic Site

Lincoln practiced law on a circuit, traveling between courtrooms across central Illinois, and the Postville courthouse was one of the places where he worked. That connection explains the building's unusual story: a museum in another state kept the original, and the replica keeps the memory in its first location. Seeing it on its original ground links the stories told in Springfield about Lincoln's legal career with the small towns where much of that work took place.

Visiting Postville Courthouse State Historic Site: tips

Allow 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time you spend inside. Restrooms and parking are on site, the building is wheelchair accessible, and the site suits a visit with kids.

Downtown Lincoln is close: the Lincoln Courthouse Square Historic District and the Stephan A. Foley House are each about 0.9 mile away, and the Hoblit House about 1 mile. If you want to stay the night, a hotel is about 0.4 mile off, and there is fast food about 0.8 mile away.