Came here on my way back from Casey and thought that this wasn't too far out of my way. Google said…read moreit was closed on Monday but it was indeed open. This place is free and you get to learn great history especially if you're not interested in driving out to Springfield. Staff here is absolutely friendly and knowledgeable. There's plenty of parking but I will say the upkeep of all the buildings isn't the best either, some things are rotted down horribly. There's plenty of cute animals as well to see as well. Great place to picnic at too. Please look out for ticks!

This is not "Abe Lincoln", but his father "Thomas Lincoln". They were owned by Abraham Lincoln and…read moredeeded to his father Thomas. There's a museum which talks about the time/place when Thomas Lincoln lived here - takes about 45 minutes. There are groups where it is set up with buildings and farm animals of the Thomas' Lincoln's time. His grave is just down the road. A key part compares two farmers of the time period. One is a farmer from the area that was interested in farming for profit with the latest technology and Thomas Lincoln, who farmed for the purpose of being a self-sufficient farm owner. There is an example of the homes of each type of farmer. We went in March; apparently there are tours during the summer. Ours was self-guided.

I recommend checking this out if you are ever here it is the home of William Henry Harrison it is…read morepretty and if you are a history buff check this place out

I am a self proclaimed presidential history "nerd". I've read a biography on each president in…read moreorder (currently reading F.D.R.), and my bucket list includes visiting all their birth and burial places. I also make it a point to visit presidential libraries, national historic sites, etc. I've seen DOZENS of locations now, and I can honestly say Grouseland is - by far - one of the most impressive locations I've visited. The amount of authentic items dating back to William Henry Harrison is jaw dropping! Additionally, the collection of items not necessarily related to Harrison are breathtaking. For example, they own an impressive collection of real signatures as far back as Adams, Madison, and John Quincy Adams (to name just a few). The staff was fantastic. The day I visited, their computer system was down and they were unable to run my card for the entry fee. No matter, they let me get back with them later. Their volunteers are knowledgeable about their collections and items within the home. Can't say enough about this "diamond in the rough" presidential history site. I was truly blown away...

Great 3-story children's museum. It has a lot of quality interactive fun exhibits. Some need…read moremaintenance or updates but overall it was a great time. We especially loved the construction section. It had great hands on tasks dedicated to the trades- electrical, plumbing, tile laying, painting, wall framing, and brick laying. It was really cool. There is a nice farming section. A really big water table. Also a large tree house climbing structure and for the bigger kids a harnessed rope course. It was easy to spend 2 hours here. Great resource for the Terre Haute area.

We stopped here after Indianapolis children's museum day 2. It was worth the hour drive to see…read morethis unique museum with rope challenge. It is an hour drive from Indianapolis and recognize ASTC reciprocal membership. Plus it has a great science store with cool toys for kids. There are 3 levels inside and plenty of activities to enjoy. My son and I tried the ropes challenge before 3:30pm which is last slot before closing. We wore harness and attached lanyard attached to above track. It is probably a little more advanced for him but he did just fine. Afterwards, we checked out the large water table and special exhibit on butterflies with sand table. There is street parking which is free and they remind you not to park in lot owned by hotel.

I originally rented the Penske moving truck in Aurora in order to clean out a storage locker,…read morebrought it back to Mattoon where we were living. We were in the process of closing on a home and loaded up the truck. Our new home was in Decatur so when the loan officer called to say the closing had been delayed, I was at a loss. We had no idea when we'd close plus the Penske truck was already loaded up. I called both the district office and the returning place for the truck which is Chevrolet Hall of Fame, and they understood it was out of my hands and worked with me until I was able to return it after a delayed closing. Brad at Chevy Hall of Fame truly went above and beyond. If we need to rent a truck for any reason, it'll be from here.

Absolutely worth the money! If u like Chey's, this is a very fun place.Make sure u take the time to…read morego. You won't be disappointed!!!

Who doesn't love trains? Static displays, trains running through model layouts and even a train…read morecircling the room, inches from the ceiling, will grab your attention. The Historic Greenup Depot, built through community effort in 1870, is currently in the museum complex on the Historic National Road. The Depot building has served the St. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Penn-Central Railroad, and the Illinois Central Railroad. In its current location, the Depot brings to mind a bygone era when railroads brought Greenup many freight shipments and travelers. The main floor boasts the original waiting room, office fixtures and a model railroad depicting major periods of American Railroading. This depot is one of few constructed with second-story living quarters, currently beautifully restored in 1930's era decor.

There were several aspects of this tour that I really enjoyed. It was super cool to get to see the…read morecouch on which Abe courted Mary Todd! The servant's quarters in the attic were absolutely fascinating. The recreation of the wallpaper was a super cool story. The tour guide James was a bit odd but very knowledgeable. His jokes felt somewhat canned rather than organic, but that's probably just one of the hazards of the job. My main issue was that, as we were touring the house, there were random kids hanging out in various rooms doing art projects. This somehow felt strange, given the reverence with which James was suggesting we should treat the house. And then you turn the corner and there are a bunch of 8 year olds sitting in the floor of the main room. There's also one room upstairs that hasn't really been restored to the same period as the rest of the house. The guide had a reason for that, but it didn't make total sense to me. Not sure I'd make a second trip, but I certainly don't regret the hour or so I spent touring it!

A beautifully restored historical home-a treasure for Springfield IL. If you love history and…read morecraftsmanship you will enjoy the Edwards Place. Hand sewn wool carpets, silk screen wallpaper, walnut and oak wood graining by artisans, custom made draperies, make this a unique home. The original home was build in 1830's. Multiple additions to the home are apparent by examining the trim and woodworking changes. This house is a living museum.

We reserved a free tour at Eventbrite. Jennifer brought 15 of us through this massive, historic…read morehome. She pointed out specific pieces, told stories about the owners & was very knowledgeable about Frank Lloyd Wrights work. We started our tour with a brief video about the glass work. We went into several sitting areas, Dana's bedroom, nursery, dining room, pantry & kitchen.library, bowling alley & billiards room. The 3rd largest home Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed. this remarkably preserve Prairie School icon dates from 1902 until 1904. It's more interesting than his home in Oak Park. The 16 floor home was considered experimental with a duckpin bowling alley & 2 barrel vaulted ceiling's. There is exquisite color shifting art glass & 90% of the furniture is original. Susan Lawrence Dana (1862-1946) was an heiress to a silver mines fortune . She was widow in 1900 & had complete control over her household & fortune. She was a leading philanthropic figure in Springfield. Dana decided to completely remodeled her home commissioning Frank Lloyd Wright. Her new home reflected her flamboyant personality & was designed for display & entertainment. The concept of "expanding space" was evident throughout the house with windows placed to continually draw the attention to the outside. Wright designed approximately 450 art glass windows, skylights, door panels, sconces & light fixtures for the house. The interior Torii gates are magnificent.hallway into two of the largest rooms in the house. The musical gallery for entertaining and the library contains special easels. Wright designed white oak furniture for Dana to display Japanese prints. In1928, Dana had dementia & financial constraints. In1944, the home and its contents were sold to Charles C. Thomas, a medical publisher. Thomas lived here & used this home as his publishing company. He sold the house to the state for a million dollars. It became a historic site. Jennifer shared that the house is still being utilized for social community events.

This was so cool! What an amazing experience! This was my first Wright house, and I'm not sure it…read morecan be topped! I understand why photos aren't allowed inside, but I was expecting more postcards depicting the various rooms to be available in the gift shop. There was cool stuff, for sure, but more postcards of the interior would be great since photos aren't allowed. My tour guide was Allicent and she did a great job talking about all the artistic and architectural features of the home. There was also a video at the beginning about the manufacture of some of the glass. I was sorry that the intro video didn't tell us more about the historical and social context of Mrs Dana, but I imagine most visitors would be more interested in the architectural technique. My only complaint with my tour is that there were two little kids on it. They were like 3 and 5. They were totally distracting the whole time--talking, whining, trying to grab at things. I'm not sure why the museum has such strict rules about other things but also allows in kids under 12. There's nothing they could possibly glean from the tour. It's really not designed for kids. Nor should it be!

Larger than the cross in Groom Texas that is 190 feet tall…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/largest-cross-in-the-western-hemisphere-groom?hrid=PtUjy_khtTSLjRfFYcssMA on Interstate 40, this is truly the Largest Cross at 195 feet. The land here isn't as flat as it is in Texas, so you don't have 20 miles of driving up to it to have some building Cross tension. This cross is at the intersection of the two major highways, Interstate 70 (between Indianapolis and Saint Louis) and Interstate 57 (between Champaign and Sikeston). It is only visible from the near vicinity and it is accessed through an industrial office park with good signage. At the base of the cross is a gravel parking lot that is big enough for the largest of vehicles. There are plaques for each of the Ten Commandments and a donation box next to the visitor's center. Interesting? Yes. Detour? Maybe not. [Review 19684 overall - 139 in Illinois - 656 of 2023.]

I'm not a religious person but I haven't been this far south in Illinois in many years and I wanted…read moreto do some sightseeing while on my way to Casey. This cross is absolutely beautiful and gigantic though the pictures I've seen at night are more impressive. I've driven through many states and they don't compare this much to the cross. It's free to walk around, there's plenty to read about it's history and observe in it's glory

The museum is 20 years old & is being renovated. The theater was closed…read more We started by walking through Lincoln's early years starting in his log cabin. We saw his law office. We moved through his campaign & debate. We visited his White House & we were in the midst of the turbulent times he faced. We ended in Ford's Theater, his funeral & tomb. I didn't realize that the funeral train took 15 days and more people saw him as a dead president then as a live candidate. We spent time admiring Lincoln's 40,000 artifacts. Here we saw his personal items, Mary's clothes, the Emancipation Proclamation, correspondences, The New hologram film from the library was beautifully done. The gift shop was enormous and fabulous.

This museum is AMAZING! The highlight for any trip to Springfield. You can start anywhere in the…read moremuseum but make sure to hit every single thing. I saw the theatre shows about 10 years ago and they're still just as good, maybe even better. And only $8 for teachers and $12 for students?! So worth it.

Out in Rural Illinois, I came upon this lovely looking home and while it was all locked up, it was…read morestill super interesting and thankfully, they have brochures in the front that provide some interesting details about the history of Charles M. Wright (the First, Second and Third) and their home. The first Dr. Wright collected architectural journals and suppliers' catalogs that he used in planning his 18-room home. The 6,000 square foot home has 7 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. It was the first home in Altamont with indoor plumbing. If you're passing through, stop in. I'm hoping that in the ten years since Deb's review, they now allow non-flash photography. [Review 1281 of 2024 - 208 in Illinois - 22304 overall]

The tour is lackluster. The best thing about Wright Mansion is the period details but there are no…read morephotos allowed. Period. There's no book of photos to buy. Many museums don't allow flash photos and want that the sound settings on the cameras to be set to silent but that makes sense. We won't visit again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.