Illinois Waterway Visitor Center Ever want to see the operation of a lock and dam? The Illinois Waterway Visitor Center offers you that as well as impressive towboats of mammoth proportions navigating through the Starved Rock Lock, which is one of eight on the Illinois Waterway. While there you can see all sorts of cool displays in the visitor center. Displays cover the waterway from the Illinois and Michigan Canal to today's modern lock and dam structures. The visitor center is open 7 days a week with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Lake Shelbyville Sandy beaches, hiking trails, marinas, and popular lakeside campsites combined with the natural beauty of the area provide an ideal vacation spot. Eagle Creek Resort offers rooms, convention facilities and a championship golf course.Lithia Springs Chautauqua was a popular religious retreat from 1890 to1920. Reverend Jasper Douthit built his camp in a secluded valley and offered entertainment, lectures, and nature activities to rural visitors each August. This National Register eligible site is an important part of local history. Living history tours give today's visitors a glimpse of what life was like a century ago.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site At the park's center stands the two-story home of Abraham Lincoln, the only home he ever owned. The house was constructed in 1839 as a 1 1/2-story cottage. Abraham and Mary Lincoln lived here from 1844 until Mr. Lincoln's election to the Presidency in 1861. The home, which has been restored to its 1860s appearance, reveals Lincoln as husband, father, politician, and President-elect. It stands in the midst of a four-block historic neighborhood, which the National Park Service is restoring so that the neighborhood, like the house, will appear much as Lincoln would have remembered it.
We are pleased to have you visit the Lincoln Home website. For in-depth details on Lincoln Home National Historic Site, please go directly to the "In Depth" link, which has complete information on visiting Lincoln Home, as well as virtual tours and photographs, and a variety of Lincoln quotes and related reference materials. We hope you enjoy your visit, either online, or eventually in person.
Mark Twain NWR Located within the Mississippi Flyway, one of the nation's most important flyway routes, Mark Twain NWR provides waterfowl and other migratory birds with food, water and protection during the spring and fall migrations.The Refuge is separated into three Districts and a headquarters in Quincy, Illinois.The Annada District consists of the Clarence Cannon NWR and the Delair, Gardner, Harlow Island and Gregory Landing Divisions of Mark Twain. The District contains some of the last remaining large contiguous stands of bottomland hardwoods in the area. The Brussels District includes the Calhoun, Batchtown, Gilbert Lake, Portage Island and Apple Creek Divisions. The division includes a major archeological site, including two mounds. The Wapelo District includes the Big Timber, Louisa, Keithsburg and Horseshoe Bend divisions. Three Divisions, Big Timber, Louisa and Keithsburg, are located in the floodplains of the Mississippi River, while Horseshoe Bend is in the Iowa River floodplain.
