Amish Country Tours

A step on guide will accompany your tour of the Amish countryside. The tours will also include meals in Amish homes, and Amish home, buggy shop, dairy farm and woodworking tours. Additional highlights include an Amish museum, local attractions, restaurants, and accommodations.

CITY: Arcola

Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site

The last home of Thomas and Sarah Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's parents. It shares the site with the Sargent farm, an 1840's living history farm.

CITY: Lerna

Illinois Amish Center

Recently relocated to Rockome Gardens in the countryside near a prominent community of Old Order Amish, the largest in Illinois. The museum originally opened in 1996 and features exhibits on most aspects of Amish life, as well as an introductory video about the Central Illinois Amish. Through the museum, tours can be scheduled of the Amish countryside, Amish homes, farms, businesses and meals in Amish homes.

CITY: Arcola

Moore Home

This is the preserved home of Reuben Moore and his wife Matilda, who was a daughter of Sarah Bush Lincoln and stepsister of Abraham Lincoln. The frame Moore Home dates back to the late 1850s.

CITY: Lerna

Clark County Museum

The Clark County Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation and education of all things pertaining to the people and places of Clark County, Illinois. Learn about the Lincoln-Douglas debates and unique area country architecture here.

CITY: Marshall

Thomas Lincoln Cemetery and Shiloh Church

This cemetery is the final resting place for many Civil War veterans, as well as Thomas and Sarah Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's father and stepmother.

CITY: Charleston

Lincoln Trail State Park

Whether you are looking for history, unusual plant life or recreation, Lincoln Trail State Park has something to interest you. The area is named after the Lincoln Heritage Trail where Abraham Lincoln's family followed en route from Indiana to Illinois in 1831. Lincoln Trail State Park offers American beech woods and a nature preserve with hiking trails, boat rentals, camping, biking, bird watching, fishing, ice fishing and ice skating. Restaurant open seasonally.

CITY: Marshall

Grave Of Sarah Hanks Varnell

Abraham Lincoln's aunt was buried in the Ogden County cemetery in 1876 after living a long life in Edgar County.

CITY: Paris

Arcola Historic Train Depot & Information Center

This 1885 train depot displays Illinois Central Railroad memorabilia, the largest Louis Klein collection of antique brooms and brushes in the United States, and interesting Arcola relics and keepsakes. Because Arcola is the birthplace of Raggedy Ann creator Johnny Gruelle, Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls and collectibles are also on display.

CITY: Arcola

National Road Covered Bridge

The Embarras River, near Greenup, was the site of a covered bridge built by Abe and Thomas Lincoln and Dennis Hanks. The original bridge was 200 feet long. The reconstructed bridge was dedicated in 2000.

CITY: Greenup

Lincoln Douglas Debate Museum

Charleston's newest heritage tourism attraction. Learn more about the 1858 political debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. This site is a designated, "Looking for Lincoln" site.

CITY: Charleston

Independence Pioneer Village

Visit this log home village from the early 1800s, including a blacksmith shop, church and schoolhouse.

CITY: Oakland

Mattoon Welcome Center/Peterson House

The historic Peterson House serves as the Mattoon Welcome Center, offering information about area events and attractions.

CITY: Mattoon

Charleston Historic District

Downtown Charleston includes a historic courthouse and many historic homes listed on both the Coles County Register for Significant Places and the National Register of Historic Places.

CITY: Charleston

Historic Charleston Courthouse Square

See the majestic Coles County courthouse and discover historic murals in Charleston's Courthouse Square.

CITY: Charleston

Hiram Rutherford Home

Home of Oakland's first physician, the restored 1850s Dr. Hiram Rutherford Home features a summer kitchen, doctor's office and a museum of agricultural history.

CITY: Oakland

Lincoln School Museum

The Lincoln School Museum is a restored 1880’s one-room brick school located one mile north of Martinsville, Clark County, Illinois on a spur of the National Road. The Lincoln School is representative of the brick construction of one-room schools built during the 1880’s, representing the typical one-room school of the era, and the education available of that time. The Lincoln School Museum is open to the public on weekends from June through August and any time by appointment.

CITY: Martinsville

Dennis Hanks Gravesite

View the burial site of Abraham Lincoln's tutor in the Old City Cemetery.

CITY: Charleston

Eastern Illinois University

This campus consists of 316 acres. German Gothic architecture of Old Main towers above the campus.

CITY: Charleston

Douglas County Museum

The award-winning museum features short-term exhibits about a wide range of topics pertinent to the history of Douglas County and East Central Illinois. The museum’s collections include clothing and textiles, military and medical equipment, decorative arts, archives and more! Plus, it’s also host to the Rural Life Antique Show held in March and November of each year

CITY: Tuscola

Andrew Carnegie Library - The Arcola Public Library

An original Andrew Carnegie built in 1905. The library boasts all of its original classic revival architecture and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

CITY: Arcola

Allis Chalmers Tractor Musuem

Come visit this private collection of Allis Chalmers tractor models made from 1914-1957. Open for free by appointment or chance.

CITY: Paris

Indian Treaty Site

A marker commemorates the point where two important trails intersected on the prairie: Detroit to St. Louis and Peoria to Terre Haute. In 1765, the British and the Illinois Indians signed a peace treaty here.

CITY: Paris

Heartland Antique Auto Museum

Walk among early cars from the turn-of-the-century through the early 1950s. This museum is also the site of a restoration shop for classic V12 and V16 Cadillacs and Duesenbergs, as well as custom-built vintage Indy cars.

CITY: Paris

Edgar County Historical Society

Compare pioneer and Victorian lifestyles when you visit the log cabin and brick Italianate home. An exhibition gallery in an adjacent building features rotating exhibits of the historical society's collection.

CITY: Paris

Edgar County Courthouse

This elegant 1893 brick and stone building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

CITY: Paris

Clark County Genealogical Library

You'll find census records, newspaper clippings, birth and marriage records, and other files of interest helpful to geneological research.

CITY: Marshall

Syngenta Seeds

Take one-hour seasonal tours through Syngenta Seeds, a soybean processing plant.

CITY: Tuscola

Edgar County Genealogical Library

Trace your Edgar County roots at this library that has genealogical tools, manuscripts, books, filmed records, micro-fiche, and computerized data based on Edgar County families.

CITY: Paris