DECATUR / FORSYTH
Decatur Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
800-331-4479
www.decaturcvb.com
The African-American Cultural & Genealogical Society of Illinois Museum
314 N. Main Street
Genealogy workshops, museum displays, storytelling.
217-429-7458
www.aacgs.org
Anne Lloyd Gallery – Madden Arts Center
125 N. Water Street
Showcasing local exhibits & traveling collections, spotlighting an International Arts Experience exhibition over an 8-week period each summer.
217-423-3189
www.decaturarts.org
Blue Connection Gallery
117 N. Water Street, Millikin University
Students market their own artwork here. A promising student’s work purchased today, could turn out to be a valuable masterpiece tomorrow!
217-428-011
www.millikinblueconnection.com
Chevrolet Hall of Fame Museum
3635 US Route 36 E.
Classic autos combining race cars, Indy 500 Pacecars, original examples of some of their finest automobiles built. Also an extensive Chevrolet memorabilia collection.
217-454-4583
www.chevrolethalloffamemuseum.com
Children’s Museum of Illinois
55 S. Country Club Rd.
A hands-on, interactive museum for children ages three to twelve! The museum offers over 10,000 square feet of exhibit space for children and families to discover.
217-423-5437
www.cmofil.com
David Erlanson Gallery
One College Park
Located at Richland Community College and displays artwork of students, faculty and professional artists.
217-875-7211
www.richland.edu
Decatur Park District
Boasts 3 award-winning golf courses. Golf Digest ranked Decatur Park District courses 18th in the nation for accessibility and affordability.
Red Tail Run Golf Club
520 W. Grove Road
217-422-2211
Hickory Point Golf Club
727 Weaver Road
217-421-7444
Scovill Golf Club
3909 W. Main Street
217-429-6243
D-town Skatepark
Located in Fairview Park, has great features to interest the extreme sport athlete, including half pipes, banked wedges, a one-quarter pipe, a ramp with a double kinked grind rail and a rectangle grind rail. Open year round, 8:00 a.m. to dusk. The facility is not supervised, and individuals use it at their own risk. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday Skateboards & Inline Skates Only. Tuesday & Thursday – Bicycles Only (No Pegs & No Mountain Bikes)
Gallery 510 Arts Guild
160 East Main Street
Cooperative venue for professional and emerging artists, displaying paintings, sculptures, glass, textiles, pottery & fiber art.
217-422-1509
www.gallery510.org
Hieronymous Mueller Museum
420 W. Eldorado Street
Decatur’s “unsung genius” held over 500 patents. Visit this interesting and award-winning museum showcasing all the amazing inventions by Hieronymus Mueller. See such treasures as the seventh of only eight cars manufactured by Mueller.
217-423-6161,
www.cityofdecatur.com/mueller.htm
Kirkland Fine Arts Center & Galleries – Millikin University
1184 W. Main Street
Three galleries in one location! The Perkinson Gallery shows work by nationally known artists. The Lower Gallery focuses on photographic works. Student artists display their works in the Studio Gallery.
217-424-6318
www.millikin.edu/art
Macon County History Museum and Prairie Village
5580 N. Fork Road
The Prairie Village on the museum grounds is home to such historic buildings as the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced in the 1830’s, a log house, a one-room school, a circa-1880 railroad depot, a smithy and a print shop.
217-422-4919
www.mchsdecatur.org
Madden Arts Center
125 N. Water Street
Home to the Decatur Arts Council. The building houses galleries, classrooms, an art shop, photo lab and rehearsal space.
217-423-3189
www.decaturarts.org
Mari Mann Herb Farm
1405 Mari-Mann Lane
One of the largest herb gardens in the Midwest. You can book a tour of the gardens, make reservations for high tea, brunch and other individual or group excursions at Mari-Mann. Or, just show up and browse through the marvelous gardens, and explore the gift shop brimming with fragrant oils, herbal sauces and seasonings, decorative wreaths and the largest selection of homeopathic products and herbal supplements found anywhere.
217-429-1404
www.marimann.com
Oglesby Mansion
421 West William Street
An 1870’s Italianate style home of three time Illinois Governor, U.S. Senator and Civil War General Richard J. Oglesby.
217-429-9422
www.oglesbymansion.org
Play-Mor Pla-Land
2135 N 22nd Street
An 18-hole miniature golf course and Go Karts.
217-233-6814
www.decaturcvb.com
Rock Springs Conservation Area and Nature Center
3939 Nearing Lane
Fishing, biking, cross-country skiing, lookout tower, prairie farm and restored wetlands.
217-423-4913
www.maconcountyconservation.org
Scovill Family Park Complex
55 & 71 S. Country Club Road
Includes the Children’s Museum of Illinois, Scovill Zoo, Project Playground, and Scovill Oriental Gardens.
Scovill Zoo
71 S. Country Club Road
See over 100 Species of animals, birds and reptiles. Be sure to ride the Endangered Species Carousel & ZO & O Express Train.
217-421-7435
www.decatur-parks.org/zoo
Wabash Depot Antique Centre
710 E. Cerro Gordo
In its heyday, all tracks led to the Depot, the longtime headquarters for the Wabash Railroad Company. Military personnel passed through by the thousands; President Teddy Roosevelt disembarked in 1903 to dedicate Millikin University; and, Dwight Eisenhower addressed a crowd of more than 20,000 from his observation car in 1952. Now restored to its early 20th century rail depot grandeur, this awesome 10,000 square foot building is filled with antique dealers and treasures unique to Decatur.
217-233-0800
MACON
Macon Speedway
205 Wiles Street
This track is open for racing every Saturday night from April-September. Be sure to check out NASCAR Nights and UMP Summer Nationals.
217-764-3000, Hotline 217-764-3220
www.maconracing.com
MOWEAQUA
Moweaqua Coal Mine Museum
129 S. Main
This museum houses several coal mining artifacts from the Moweaqua Coal Mine. The coal mine, which ceased operation in 1935, is most well-known for the 1932 gas explosion that killed 54 workers. Pictures, newspaper clippings, coal mining tools and other mine related material are on display. Donations accepted.
217-768-3019
MT. ZION
Spitler Woods State Natural Area
705 Spitler Park Drive
A 202.5 acre area offering hiking trails, picnicking, horseshoe pits, enclosed shelters and more.
217-864-3121
PANA
Anderson Prairie
9th and Chestnut Streets
A 25-acre prairie remnant that is being restored to its pre-settlement condition. Over 300 species of plants and over 50 species of butterflies have been counted and catalogued on the prairie.
217-562-4240
www.andersonprairie.org
Chautauqua Pavilion
Kitchell Park
Located in the 40-acre Kitchell Park. Built in 1911, it is one of few remaining buildings of its kind. The facility finished a two year renovation in 2010.
217-562-4240
Lincoln Prairie Trail
Beginning at the west edge of Pana, following Route 29 to Taylorville, this 15 mile, asphalt paved trail, is built on an old rail road bed with the four original bridges still intact. The trail is one of the longest paved trails south of the Chicagoland area, and will eventually run over 45 miles from Pana to Springfield. View Illinois prairie plants and wildlife as you bike, hike, roller blade, walk or run the old rail bed.
217-562-4240
www.panaillinois.com/trail.htm
Oak Terrace Golf Course
South Route 51
An 18-hole course with wooded terrain, rolling hills and prairie lands. Home to the Shotmaker’s Mile. Open to the public.
217-539-4477
www.oakterraceresort.com
Rosamond Grove Cemetery
3.5 miles west of Pana, the resting place for Civil War Captain Kitchell and his family. Before his death, Kitchell commissioned artist J. Mulligan to cast a statue of his leader, Abraham Lincoln. This statue, known as “Lincoln the Orator,” now rises 18 feet above the highest point of the moraine, and is the only known depiction of Lincoln with his hand raised. Beneath the statue are two canons, the smaller of which, was named and christened by Lincoln himself as “Mary Lincoln.”
217-562-4240
www.panaillinois.com/rosamond.htm
Walking Tours
Quality Hill and South Locust both offer many places of architectural points of interest. www.panaillinois.com/walking.htm
TAYLORVILLE
Christian County Coal Mine Museum
118 S Main Street
The museum is filled with objects, tools, pictures and documents relating to the 133-year history of mining in Christian County, which ended in 1994. Also be sure to visit the coal miner monument on the Courthouse Lawn.
217-823-1819
Christian County Historical Society Museum
East Route 29
Walk through an 1820s log house, the 1839 Christian County Courthouse (where Lincoln argued cases), an 1854 farmhouse, and an 1856 one-room school. Also, view the antique and military weapon collections, plus much more.
217-824-6922
Lake Shore Golf Course
1460 E 1000 N Road
An 18-hole, par 72 public golf course located on 160 acres and surrounded by Lake Taylorville.
217-824-5521
www.golflakeshore.com
Taylorville Chautauqua Auditorium
Manners Park, 4 blocks south of Taylorville square, noted for its umbrella-style canopy, the open air structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places opened on Aug. 23, 1914. Chautauqua assemblies were educational and cultural retreats in the early part of the 20th Century.
217-824-3110
www.taylorvilleparkdistrict.com
“The Last Stop”
Northwest corner of Taylorville square, this life-size bronze statue celebrates Taylorville’s unique story of Lincoln’s request for a “writ of quietus” to calm squealing village pigs that gathered under the 1839 courthouse during a trial. “The Last Stop” refers to Taylorville’s location on the old 8th Judicial Circuit.
217-824-2194
