Famous for being one of the venues of the Lincoln-Douglass debates, Metamorah is also a quaint, if relatively small town.

Dominated by the original courthouse, where Lincoln practiced law, it looks almost a little like New England; most courthouses in Illinois that I’ve seen are in the middle of the town square, not facing it.

I was also impressed to see that most, if not all of the square’s storefronts are filled–a welcome sight when so many town centers have been devastated by Wal-Mart or that ugly, ubiquitous strip of stores along the nearby highway.

Adlai Stevenson’s house is in town as well; it is actually quite old and indicative of architecture of the early town.