The Backyard Tourist

Metamora, IL
While visiting Eureka, IL on the Reagan Trail, I read a story. It was about President Reagan hitch hiking back and forth from college. He passed through Metamora on his way back north. So, I took the back roads instead of the interstate. I drove through Metamora on my way home.

I found a preservationist/history geek’s paradise!

The Metamora Courthouse was built in 1845. It served as the center of county government until the county seat was moved to Eureka in 1896. It is one of two surviving courthouses on the historic Eighth Judicial Circuit traveled by Abraham Lincoln and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Metamora was the county seat of Woodford County from 1843 until 1896. The Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site, a courthouse from this period, is preserved as an Illinois state historic site. Future President Abraham Lincoln and future Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson I practiced law here.  The Adlai Stevenson Home, just a few blocks away is being preserved and restored for use as a museum.

The town square in front of the courthouse is a nice park with statues of Lincoln and Melissa Goings.   The Looking for Lincoln wayside station tells the story of the well known case of  Lincoln and Melissa Goings.  It reads:

Melissa Goings a 70 year old woman accused of killing her abusive husband, 77 year old Roswell, earlier that spring. 

Roswell  died from a blow to the back of his head, which Melissa was alleged to have inflected with a piece of firewood. 

Town legend claims that many felt sorry for Melissa and did not want to prosecute her.  While in the custody of the sheriff  though she somehow was able to escape. 

A bailiff accused Lincoln of chasing her off, but in one version of the story, he told the Judge, “YOUR HONOR, I DID NOT RUN HER OFF.  SHE WANTED TO KNOW WHERE SHE COULD GET A GOOD DRINK OF WATER, AND I TOLD HER THERE WAS MIGHTY GOOD WATER IN “TENNESSEE”. 

No effort was made to bring her back.

This was the last case Lincoln tried on October 10, 1857 at the Metamora Courthouse.