Decatur has a long history of patriotic service, both on and off the field of battle. Decatur volunteers participated in six major campaigns including the Black Hawk War (1832), the Mexican War (1846-1848), the Civil War (1861-1865), the Spanish-American War (1898), World War I (1917-1918), and World War II (1941-1945). Their record of distinguished service includes the presence of five generals and six Congressional Medal of Honor winners in the Civil War. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the first national veterans' organization, was founded in Decatur immediately after the Civil War....

Macon County occupies nearly 600 square miles of fertile farmland in the geographic center of Illinois. Abraham Lincoln made his first Illinois home here, on a pleasant bluff overlooking the Sangamon River, near presentday Harristown. On May 10, 1860, he was first nominated for the presidency in Decatur, the county seat. During the World War I era, Macon County boasted over a dozen hamlets and villages, including Warrensburg and Maroa, which both enjoyed opera houses and busy train stations. Maroa was home to John Crocker, who became a famous banker, while nearby Forsyth produced Black Bart,...