You Never Know What You Will Find…

Our last stop in our trek through a small portion of Illinois was Taylorville.   Yes, I am still cleaning house and playing catch up.  This occurred a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway back to Taylorville….

I wanted to go to Taylorville because there is a statue of Abraham Lincoln with a pig.  Which I thought was unusual.  I also thought that maybe the town couldn’t afford a horse and had to go with a pig.  Come to find out there is a story about Lincoln and the pigs….

Abraham Lincoln practiced law throughout Central Illinois on the 8th Judicial Circuit from 1839 - 1853. He traveled 450 miles by horseback or horse-drawn buggy. Taylorville was considered his last stop on the circuit prior to heading home to Springfield.
As was the practice in farm communities in those days, farmers allowed their pigs to suffer through the summer heat wherever they could find shade. In Taylorville, a prime spot for shade was underneath the old courthouse in downtown Taylorville.
Lincoln would become annoyed as the noisy pigs made it difficult to hear the proceedings in the courtroom. During the trial, and in humorous attempt to have the pigs removed from under the courthouse, Lincoln asked Judge David Davis if he would issue the sheriff a Writ of Quietus to expedite their removal.

I can now understand Lincoln and the pig statue.

Afterwards I drove to the cemetery and I found John F. Kennedy.  When he was assassinated the town hired a sculptor and had his likeness carved.  The statue is in the cemetery.  As far as I know there is no ties between Taylorsville Illinois and Kennedy.

Click here for pictures.
I was tired and just lumped everything together.

The pig is cute	Lincoln looks a little rough.