•February 1, 2017•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

February is the month we celebrate our presidents and Illinois has sent four favorite sons to the White House - Lincoln, Grant, Reagan and Obama. By far, Lincoln is the most popular and most revered. His early law career started when he was a circuit rider in middle Illinois, and his travels brought him to Sullivan.

The first courthouse in Sullivan was built in 1848, and Moultrie County was served by the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court. Abraham Lincoln passed through these doors many times while he traveled the circuit court system from 1849-1852. The circuit riding lawyers came to Sullivan twice a year and stayed for two days. The monument on the northeast corner of the present courthouse commemorates Lincoln’s circuit riding days here.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.