02/12/2026
On Tuesday, October 5th, 1858, Abraham Lincoln walked onto the 2nd floor balcony of his close friend Joshua Wagonseller’s home at the intersection of 2nd Street and Broadway near downtown Pekin to greet the crowd that had gathered to es**rt him to the Tazewell County Courthouse. Following a steady parade, the estimated crowd of 6 to 8 thousand arrived along Capital Street in front of the Tazewell County Courthouse to listen to Abraham Lincoln deliver his remarks concerning the ongoing Lincoln/Douglas debates taking place throughout Illinois.
A crowd of 6 to 8 thousand would be impressive anytime, but especially when you consider the population of Tazewell County then was less than 20,000.
According to the Peoria Transcript Newspaper “Mr. Lincoln was welcomed to Tazewell County and introduced to the audience by Tazewell County Circuit Judge John Bush in a short and eloquently delivered speech, full of good sense and good taste; and when he came forward was greeted with hearty applaused. He commenced by alluding to the many years in which he had been intimately acquainted with most of the citizens of old Tazewell County, and expressed the pleasure which it gave him to see so many of them present.”
As indicated in the remarks, Abraham Lincoln was deeply familiar with the citizens of Tazewell County. As an attorney, Lincoln took more legal cases to the Tazewell County Courthouse than any other county except Sangamon and Menard, nearly 240 in total between 1836 to 1861. By contrast, Lincoln only took 7 during that timeframe to the Peoria County Courthouse, while neighboring Woodford County is 6th in Lincoln Legal Activity with 101 cases and McLean County is 8th with 86 cases.
While Peoria proudly celebrates one Lincoln Political Speech, Tazewell County is blessed with documented political speeches of high attendance in Washington, Mackinaw, Tremont, Morton, and as outlined here in Pekin at the Tazewell County Courthouse. But of more importance is the quiet one-on-one conversations, the small intimate gatherings of close friends, the casual conversations that took place along a walk amongst the citizens of Tazewell County.
Abraham Lincoln was not a stranger to the citizens of Tazewell County; rather he was active member of our communities surrounded by many lifelong friends and supporters.
As we today celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, we are blessed here in Tazewell County not to look at him as someone far removed from our homes but rather as an individual who enriched our communities and whom was himself enriched by our citizens he came to know.
Tazewell County Clerk & Recorder of Deeds Office
