Decatur, IL Summary

Decatur (population 81,860) is located in central Illinois, east of Springfield and southwest of Champaign-Urbana. The city was founded in 1829 and, one year later, a young Abraham Lincoln settled less than 1 mile from here to begin studying law. Today, tourists can visit the Mt Pulaski Courthouse Site, built in 1848, where Lincoln argued cases.

Decatur has some 80 acres of historic districts within its limits, and several walking tours are available. Millikin Place, a housing development from 1909, was laid out by architect Walter Burley Griffin, the man who designed the master plan for the city of Canberra, Australia’s capital. Griffin’s wife, Marion Mahony, herself an architect, designed two of the houses here, while Frank Lloyd Wright designed another.

Millikin University is the leading school in Decatur. On campus, visitors can find the Birks Museum, with its collection of 1,000 pieces of china, crystal, and pottery, some dating back to the fifteenth century. The Macon County Historical Complex showcases the city’s past, including an 1850s school and log cabin.

I-72 coming out of Springfield runs right through Decatur and later connects with I-57, which leads to Chicago. US-51, US-36, and Hwy 121 also lead into town.