PANTAGRAPH FILE
The David Davis State Historic Site at 1000 E. Monroe Drive, Bloomington.

•October 17, 2018•

By Julia Evelsizer
Of the (Bloomington) Pantagraph

Grand manors make up the skylines of many Illinois communities, but the history encapsulated at the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington holds it above the rest.
Built in 1872 on Bloomington’s then east side, the mansion was home to Judge David Davis and his wife, Sarah.
Davis served as judge of the state’s Eighth Judicial Circuit Court where he met and befriended an Illinois attorney by the name of Abraham Lincoln.
“Davis and Lincoln rode the entire circuit together,” said Jeff Saulsbery, site manager for the mansion. “Davis had to ride the circuit because he was a judge, but Lincoln only did because he was driven to make something of himself.”
Saulsbery said the duo spent plenty of time together, which led to Davis acting as “one of the biggest political operatives” in Lincoln becoming president.
“What Lincoln did for the Circuit and what the Circuit did for him is a large part of Illinois history. His time in Central Illinois is what led to him becoming the 16th president of the U.S. and saving the Union,” said Guy Fraker, retired Bloomington attorney and Lincoln scholar.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.