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The quaint town of Woodstock has never been the same since it appeared on film in the comedy hit Groundhog Day. Check out the historic downtown Woodstock Square, bearing a small plaque that marks the spot where the movie's weatherman repeatedly stomps into a puddle. The bell tower that the weatherman leaps from is actually the Woodstock Opera House, which regularly presents concerts and plays. Every winter the town celebrates Groundhog Days with activities that include free screenings of the movie and walking tours of filming sites.
Other times of the year you can take a self-guided tour with a map provided by the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce. Learn about the artist who created one of the world's best-loved comic strip heroes at The Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum, located in Woodstock's historic Old Court House & Sheriff's House complex. Gould's hometown honors him with a museum that showcases much of his original artwork, photographs, memorabilia, and even his own drawing board and chair. Have lunch in the Old Court House at the Courthouse Grill, which has preserved some of the building's former jail cells as dining areas and booths. The restaurant was the film site for the bar scenes in Groundhog Day.
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Head for the town of Union and the Illinois Railway Museum, the film location for all of the scenes on the train and at the railroad depot in A League of Their Own. The museum boasts 56 acres of running room for its more than 250 restored electric, steam and diesel trains. The Nebraska Zephyr passenger train seen in the film is part of the museum's permanent collection. The Illinois Railway Museum was also a shooting site for the Babe Ruth baseball biopic The Babe, with all of the transportation scenes filmed here. Travel on to Rockford and stop at the Burpee Museum of Natural History that's home to Jane, the best-preserved and most complete juvenile T.rex ever discovered. Jane's skeleton was recently unveiled with the launch of the exhibit Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur.
Get back on the road and head west to historic Main Street Galena, featuring charming boutiques, art galleries and a variety of restaurants housed in 19th century storefronts. Get a guided tour of the area with Galena Trolley Tours, which narrates the history of the town as it takes you past landmarks such as the restored Ulysses S. Grant Home (open for tours) and the Old Market House, which showcases President Grant artifacts. You can dine or stay the night at the DeSoto House Hotel, which dates back to 1855 and has hosted such notable guests as Abraham Lincoln and served as the presidential campaign headquarters for Grant. The hotel and Galena's Main Street were used in Field of Dreams to portray Chisholm, Minnesota.
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Next stop is the "Old Main" building at Knox College in Galesburg, the only remaining original site of the Lincoln-Douglas senatorial debates of 1858. Two large bronze plaques with the likenesses of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas grace the wall on the east side of the building, where the outdoor debate was staged. The 1940s romantic comedy Those Were the Days was filmed at Knox College. The school was the alma mater of George Fitch, the Saturday Evening Post writer whose novel inspired the film. Also a must-see in Galesburg is the Carl Sandburg Home. View the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's modest birthplace cottage, where much of the Sandburg family's original furnishings are still intact. Visit the next-door Visitor's Center to see Sandburg mementos and a video about the author-poet's life. Explore a collection of restored railroad cars at the Galesburg Railroad Museum and celebrate the city's proud railroad heritage.
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