Notable Cities and Towns in Illinois

Beyond Chicago and its suburbs, Illinois has cities of genuine historical and cultural significance scattered along its river corridors and across the prairie.

Springfield
The capital city and Lincoln's city — the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Lincoln's Home, Lincoln's Tomb, the Old State Capitol, the Illinois Governor's Mansion, and the Dana-Thomas House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1902) concentrate a remarkable density of American historical significance in a mid-sized prairie city of 114,000.

Galena
Jo Daviess County's perfectly preserved 1850s lead mining city — 85% of buildings predate 1870, making it the most intact 19th-century city in the Midwest. The setting in a valley of the Driftless Area (the region missed by glaciation) gives Galena's hills-and-hollows terrain unlike any other Illinois town.

Peoria
The Illinois River city midway between Chicago and St. Louis — long associated with the phrase "Will it play in Peoria?" (meaning: will middle America accept this?). Peoria's Caterpillar Global Visitor Experience, the Riverfront Museum (with an extraordinary space science exhibit), and Bradley University give it more cultural depth than its industrial past suggests.

Bloomington-Normal
Twin cities in central Illinois — home to Illinois Wesleyan University, Illinois State University (one of the largest teacher training institutions in the US), and the headquarters of State Farm Insurance (the largest home and auto insurer in the US). The Funk's Grove Pure Maple Sirup operation and the Route 66 connection give it character.

Quincy
A Mississippi River city of well-preserved Victorian architecture — Quincy was a major stop on the Underground Railroad (its anti-slavery residents helped hundreds of freedom seekers cross the Mississippi). The Lincoln-Douglas debate at Washington Square (1858) is commemorated.