Medallions Commemorate Debates

Knox College's Old Main, the only building that remains from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, is featured in a set of commemorative medallions released this year to mark the 150th anniversary of the debates.

The set of seven medallions commemorates the anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, each medallion representing one of the sites where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated during the summer and fall of 1858.

The deadline for ordering is March 1, 2008.

The medallion sets are being offered in conjunction with the Lincoln-Douglas Society and the Illinois Lincoln-Douglas Debates Sesquicentennial Committee. Proceeds from the sales will benefit local Lincoln-Douglas Debate projects, which are coordinated through the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition.

Sets may be ordered from local non-profit tourism and historical groups in each of the debate site cities:

• Ottawa: Ottawa Visitors Center, 100 W. Lafayette Street, Ottawa, IL  61350.  Make check payable to Ottawa Visitors Center.
• Freeport: Diane DeWitt, 2975 W. Forrest Drive, Freeport, IL  61032.  Make check payable to Lincoln-Douglas Society.
• Jonesboro: Anna-Jonesboro National Bank, c/o PAST Lincoln-Douglas, 201 S. Main Street, Anna, IL  62906.  Make check payable to PAST Lincoln-Douglas.
• Charleston: Charleston Tourism Office, 520 Jackson Avenue, Charleston, IL  61920.  Make check payable to Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum.
• Galesburg: Galesburg Area CVB, P.O. Box 60, Galesburg, IL  61401.  Make check payable to Galesburg Area CVB.
• Quincy: Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, 706 Maine Street ? Third Floor, Quincy, IL  62301.  Make check payable to Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
• Alton: Alton Regional CVB, 200 Piasa Street, Alton, IL  62002.  Make check payable to Alton CVB.

Medallions also may be ordered from two other locations:

• Bement:  Bryant Cottage State Historic Site, P.O. Box 41, Bement, IL  61813.  Make check payable to Bement Community Council.
• Springfield:  Old Capitol Foundation, 209 S. Sixth Street, Springfield, IL  62701.  Make check payable to Old Capitol Foundation.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 44 nations. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates. Knox is a member of the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition and has placed a Looking for Lincoln wayside marker near Old Main. The campus also is the headquarters for the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College, which has produced several award-winning books on Lincoln; and the Underground Railroad Freedom Center at Knox College, which studies the history of pre-Civil War anti-slavery activism in Western Illinois.