Lincoln's Last Visit / The Debaters in Mattoon
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Abraham Lincoln’s last visit to Cole County was indeed of a personal nature. Lincoln was described as he left Springfield by Henry C. Whitney, who accompanied him part of the way on the train: “. . . [Lincoln wore] a faded hat, innocent of nap; and his coat was extremely short, more like a sailors pea-jacket than any other describable garment. It was the same outer garment that he wore from Harrisburg to Washington when he went to be inaugurated. A well worn carpet-bag, quite collapsed, comprised his baggage.”
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Lincoln’s visit on January 30, 1861, was noted in the “Mattoon Gazette” under the title “‘Old Abe’ Loose,” by the editor, W. P. Harding: “Mr. Lincoln seems to have made a temporary escape from the office seeking host at Springfield, passed through this place last Wednesday evening. He came on the regular evening train from Chicago, and went on the freight to Charleston, from which we understand from Hon. T. A. Marshall, who accompanied him, he will soon return to Springfield. Thinking it none of our business what Mr. Lincoln’s business in Charleston was, we made no inquiries; and having seen him frequently, we concluded that as we wanted no office and could get none even if we did, we would not impose our presence upon him during his short stay at the Essex House. The large crowd, of all parties, which collected on the platform, were evidently delighted to see him, and he greeted his old friends cordially as though he were simple friend Lincoln and not the most noted personage in the civilized world.”
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Railroads, while greatly shortening travel time in Abraham Lincoln’s day, pale in comparison to today’s modes of high-speed transportation. While the journey from Springfield to Mattoon today can be accomplished in less than two hours, Lincoln’s journey from Springfield, through Mattoon, and on to Charleston took him over eight hours. Lincoln’s January 30, 1861, itinerary from Springfield to Coles County was as follows: 9:50 A.M., Lincoln left Springfield on the Great Western Railroad; 2:50 P.M., he arrives in Tolono, in Champaign County, to switch trains; 3:50 P.M., Lincoln departs Tolono for Mattoon on the Illinois Central line; 5:15 P.M., the train carrying the President-elect arrives in Mattoon; 5:40 P.M., Lincoln rides in the caboose of an east-bound freight train to Charleston; 6:15 P.M., Abraham Lincoln finally arrives in Charleston.
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An early Mattoon hotel, the Essex House originally stood about 200 feet north of the current depot on the west side of the tracks. It served not only as a hotel but also as the depot for the Illinois Central Railroad (for whom Lincoln acted as a lawyer in the 1850's), and the Terre Haute and Alton Railroad. Originally, the two rail lines ran right down the center of the streets and crossed at the intersection where the Essex House stood. The Essex House would continue to serve the community as a rail depot until it was replaced with the present structure in 1918.
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In 1855, the construction of the Illinois Central and Alton and the Terre Haute Railroads reached what would be the site of Mattoon, Illinois, ushering in the era of rail travel for Coles County. The town sprang up around the rail crossing with many businesses catering to the railroad. One such establishment was the Essex House, which functioned as a hotel and restaurant- -and as the depot and ticket office for the Illinois Central and the Terre Haute and Alton Railroads. Another prominent hotel, which also catered to rail traffic near the junction, was the Pennsylvania House. These two establishments would serve as local headquarters for Lincoln and Douglas when they arrived in Mattoon on September 17, 1858, in preparation for the next day’s debate in Charleston. Stephen A. Douglas arrived on a private train, which also carried a small cannon used to signal his arrival, while Abraham Lincoln arrived from Centralia, Illinois, on a regular passenger train. Douglas’ party took over the Essex house as their headquarters, while Lincoln and his party set up at the Pennsylvania House.
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The candidates entertained their political friends and supporters at their headquarters while they planned the following day’s parades into Charleston, where the fourth of their historic seven debates was to be held. Lincoln would spend the night at the Pennsylvania House, while Stephen A. Douglas and his wife traveled by carriage north of town to stay with friends. A boy standing outside the Pennsylvania House at that time was Jasper Miller, who, in 1930, recalled his encounter with Lincoln, saying that there were ten or twelve lads lined up on the porch to see Abraham Lincoln, and that he shook each boy’s hand. To miller, who was barefooted, Lincoln said, “Young man, I wish I could go barefooted.”
Marker is at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and South 17th Street, on the left when traveling west on Broadway Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
