Discover the History of Monticello, Illinois

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - June 3, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series is Monticello from local author Maureen Holtz. The book showcases more than 200 vintage and modern images chronicling the growth and change of this Illinois city.

Carved out of timber and prairie and surrounded by fields of soybeans and corn, Monticello was founded in 1822 and named after Thomas Jefferson's Virginia estate. Monticello. A National Main Street Community, the city boasts an intriguing history as one of the "patent medicine capitals of the world."

The city features elegant streets full of wide-lawned mansions, such as State Street, nicknamed "Millionaires' Row." The impressive courthouse is ringed with brick buildings from the late 1800s. The Allerton estate, a 32,000-square-foot Georgian mansion on 12,000 acres along the Sangamon River, was donated to the University of Illinois by owner Robert Allerton. Filled with sculptures from around the world, the estate has been designated by the Illinois Bureau of Tourism as one of the "Seven Wonders of Illinois."

Monticello also offers its own unique history. For example in 1858, on the outskirts of Monticello, Abraham Lincoln met Stephen A. Douglas and decided to plan the debates that later won Lincoln the presidency.

With its history, mansions, working railway museum, boutiques and galleries, the community truly deserves the label "Unique Monticello."

Highlights of Monticello include:
•   The Settlement of the City
•   The Courthouse Square and Community
•   Money, Millionaires and Mansions
•   Old Settlers and New Changes

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com/.