Event

• Fundraising/Not for Profit

Lincoln Practiced Law Here: Summary of the Archaeological findings of the Lincoln Era Courthouse presented by Floyd Mansberger

Join the Museum for an afternoon exploring the archaeological findings unearthed about the Lincoln era courthouse, McLean County’s second courthouse (1836-1868).  Floyd Mansberger, Director of Fever River Research and one of the archaeologists who helped unearth the “footprint” of the Lincoln era courthouse, will present a program on his team’s findings on Saturday, February 28 at 1:00 p.m. in the Governor Fifer Courtroom.  This program is free and open to the public.

Archaeological excavations were performed in July of last year in order to mitigate the adverse affects that construction for Bloomington-Normal’s new visitors center, Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66, would have on the historic landscape on the south side of the Museum.   The Visitors Center will be located in the ground floor of the Museum with entry through a broad plaza, located on Washington Street.   For more information about the Visitors Center project, please visit the Museum’s website www.mchistory.org/visitor-center-updates.php.archaeological excavations not only uncovered portions of the foundation of the Second Courthouse, (which Abraham Lincoln practiced law in during his time as a lawyer on the Eighth Judicial Circuit from 1837-1861) but also exposed several artifacts from the same time period.  The team’s findings will allow the Museum plot out the exact location of the Lincoln era courthouse and to provide more complete interpretation of the site during that time period.

Floyd Mansberger received his bachelor’s degree in Archaeology from the University of Illinois and his master’s degree in History from Illinois State University.  He started Fever River Research in 1984 as a part-time business conducting archaeological and architectural surveys.   Today, the full-time firm (based out of Springfield) specializes in cultural resource management projects concerning historical properties.  For over the past 20 years, Mansberger has participated in a variety of cultural resource management projects such as archaeological and architectural surveys, archaeological excavations, and archival research, as well as preparing historic structure reports for historic buildings.   Mansberger has published articles on his research in such journals as Illinois Archaeology, Transactions of the Pioneer America Society, Historic Illinois, Wisconsin Archaeologist, Agricultural History, Journal of the Illinois Geographical Society, and Western Illinois Regional Studies.

Free parking will be available for attendees at the Lincoln Parking Deck located one block south of the Museum on Front Street.The Museum can also be accessed through ground level entry located on the south side of the building on Washington Street. For more information contact education@mchistory.org or call 309.827.0428.

Date/Time

Saturday, February 28, 2015
1:00 pm

Cost:

Location

McLean County Museum of History 200 North Main Bloomington IL 61701 (309) 827-0428
www.mchistory.org

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