Pic of the Week: Pullman Rail Car at Illinois Railway Museum

I'll have a full post next week, but we paid a visit to the impressive Illinois Railway Museum today for their "Day Out With Thomas" event. Here's a photo I grabbed one of the historic old Pullman rail cars featured at the museum:

Today in History: Illinois Constitution Adopted

Did you know that on this day (August 26) in 1818 the first Illinois Constitution was adopted in downstate Kaskasia, IL?

At the time, Kaskaskia served as capital of the Illinois territory. The Constitution was ratified when Illinois became the 21st state admitted to the Union. Kaskaskia served as the state capital until 1819, when Vandalia became the state capital until 1839.

Today, of course, the state capital lies in Springfield, which we recently visited in this post.

Here is a link to a nice little post about Illinois' state capitols.

The preamble to this Constitution reads:

THE people of the Illinois territory, having the right of admission into the general government as a member of the Union, consistent with the constitution of the United States, the ordinance of congress of 1787, and the law of congress approved April 18th , 1818, entitled "An act to enable the people of the Illinois territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union, on an equal footing with the original states, and for other purposes;" in order to establish justice, promote the welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity, do by their representatives in convention, ordain and establish the following constitution or form of government; and do mutually agree with each other to form themselves into a free and independent state, by the name of the State of Illinois. And they do hereby ratify the boundaries assigned to such state by the act of congress aforesaid, which are as follows, to wit: Beginning at the mouth of the Wabash river, thence up the same, and with the line of Indiana to the northwest corner of said state; then east with the line of the same state, to the middle of Lake Michigan; thence north, along the middle of said lake, to north latitude 42 degrees and 30 minutes; thence west to the middle of the Mississippi river, and thence down, along the middle of that river, to its confluence with the Ohio river; and thence up the latter river, along its northwestern shore, to the beginning.

Succeeding Constitutions were ratified in 1848, 1870 and 1970.

Eureka! It's Reagan Fest!

A few weeks ago, I posted about our visit to the Ronald Reagan Museum and Peace Garden at Eureka College (the president's alma mater) in Eureka, IL.

Well, this weekend, the City of Eureka is celebrating Reagan Fest in honor of the 40th President.

If you live anywhere close to Eureka, you can head down to the small town (not far from Peoria) to enjoy food and art vendors, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, inflatable "rides" for the children, a golf outing, a trail race and a "kid parade."

Eureka, of course, lies on the Ronald Reagan Trail, which was dedicated 11 years ago this week.

I also invite you to check out the full Reagan Trail Series over at Marathon Pundit.

It's nice to see "Dutch" getting his due here in Illinois.

This Day in Illinois History (August 24): Niles, IL Incorporated

On this day in Illinois history (August 24), the city of Niles, IL was incorporated in 1899.

When I think Niles, I think of the replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa that stands tall in the city. Many people recognize this replica, as it appeared in the opening credits of Wayne's World. In a previous career, I used to drive by the tower frequently. Niles is home to the tower because one of its "sister cities" is, in fact, Pisa, Italy.

Others may know of Niles due to the fact that, in 2008, former Mayor Nicholas Blase pleaded guilty to federal charges of mail fraud and tax evasion, and was sentenced in January last year to serve a year and a day in prison.

Many residents of Niles, however, think of their city as a great place to live. In fact, in 2010, BusinessWeek magazine rated Niles as "One of the Best Places to Raise a Family."

Happy Birthday, Niles!

I&M Canal: Replica Canal Boat Rides in La Salle, IL

One of the many reminders of the 19th century ingenuity that led to modern American is the Illinois & Michigan Canal that runs from Chicago to La Salle, IL.

Completed in 1848, the 61-mile canal was created to form a link between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico (connecting Lake Michigan with the Illinois River, which connects to the Mighty Mississippi and, eventually, the Gulf).

Workers came from across the globe to help dig and build the canal. Many towns between Chicago and La Salle (such as my hometown of Morris) owe their very existence to the canal. We will feature a number of these towns here on this blog in the future (we already featured Seneca a few weeks ago), and today we feature the canal's end point in La Salle.

A few years ago, with the help of government funding, a replica canal boat was constructed in La Salle, in conjunction with the Lock 16 visitors center, on which visitors can take a short ride up the canal. The 60-minute ride features narration from a docent in period dress (the entire crew is in costume), as well as the ability to meet Larry and Mo, the two mules responsible for pulling the canal boat.

The Canal Corridor Association hopes to extend the boat rides (pending further funding, I believe), but the short ride is worth it, and perfect for small children. You can event host special events on the boat.

It's a great history lesson, and the docent who hosted our ride provided a great look at the rough-and-tumble experiences of those who worked long days and hours (many died) for very little pay to build the canal.

The canal doesn't look like much today, but it was a huge factor in Chicago becoming a major metropolitan center, and for the growth of much of north Central Illinois.

I feature a few photos from our visit above, and you can view more in the slideshow below:

Pic of the Week: The Berlin Wall at the Reagan Museum in Eureka, IL

In honor of yesterday being the 11th Anniversary of the dedication of Illinois' historic Ronald Reagan Trail, this week's "Pic of the Week" is from my visit to the Reagan Museum at Eureka College, which sits on the trail. Outside that museum is the Reagan Peace Garden, which contains a panel of the Berlin Wall, with a plaque commemorating President Reagan's "Tear Down that Wall" speech:

From Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College

TODAY: 11th Anniversary of the Dedication of Illinois' Ronald Reagan Trail

We posted here previously about our visit to the Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College (Reagan's alma mater) in Eureka, IL.

Eureka sits on the historic Ronald Reagan Trail, which was dedicated on August 25, 2000 — 11 years ago today.

You can click below to watch the C-SPAN video of the dedication of the Reagan Trail. Please also check out Marathon Pundit's series of posts on his trip along the trail.