10 Stunning Small Towns In Illinois
As the sixth-largest state by population, Illinois often brings to mind Chicago and all its lavish attractions. But Wrigley Field and Millennium Park, though undeniably stunning, don't represent the wonderland that is the rest of Illinois. In super-small towns many miles from the Windy City, one can find a road paved with syrup money; five-story-tall household items; arguably the world's only memorial to hippies; and even a wildlife park with creatures from six continents. Get stunned by Illinois sights you weren't expecting to see in towns you weren't expecting to visit—till now.
Monticello
Be a bigshot on "Millionaire's Row," a historic street lined with mansions in majestic Monticello. Funded in large part by the Pepsin Syrup Company, which prospered in town for almost a century, North State Street, as it's officially called, was said to have the "highest per capita income of any place in the United States." Though North State Street's Marquiss House, Moore-Hott House, and other enduring edifices are truly elegant, they pale in comparison to the Allerton Park and Retreat Center. Designed by the titular artist Robert Allerton at the turn of the 20th century, the property sits just outside of town and contains a 40-room redbrick mansion enmeshed in over 1,500 acres of woodlands, waterways, gardens, plains, and sculptures.
Casey
Casey stuns with its grandiosity. As host of the "Big Things in a Small Town" art project, this undersized settlement has dozens of supersized attractions, including several that hold Guinness world records. A tourist can easily stroll from the 56-foot World's Largest Rocking Chair to the 54-foot World's Largest Wind Chime to the 82-foot World's Largest Teeter Totter to the rest of the big things. They can rest up at the Big Softball Bat, which fronts the USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame Museum. Casey is also home to the USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame Museum that showcases the rich history of softball associated with the town.
Mount Carroll
Mount Carroll has only around 1,400 residents but an expansive, vibrant neighborhood called the Mount Carroll Historic District. When it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, it held 272 structures, 81 of which had architectural or historical significance. Many of those illustrious buildings remain on the former campus of Shimer College, which relocated to Waukegan and later Chicago. Now part of a redevelopment initiative called Shimer Square, campus relics like McKee/Hostetter Hall, Dezendorf Hall, Hathaway Hall, and the Sawyer House are being revitalized as apartment buildings and/or community centers.
Makanda
Considered the "most hippie town in Illinois," Makanda is a collection of quirky shops and cabins nestled in not one but two nature preserves. Visitors can wander the Makanda Boardwalk, stopping for trippy trinkets at the Makanda Trading Company and trippier sights at the Rainmaker Art Studio and Sculpture Garden, before penetrating the dense Southern Illinois jungles of the Shawnee National Forest and Giant City State Park. The latter was named for its towering sandstone bluffs that seem carved by giants. With so many natural and artificial wonders to explore, you might stay in Makanda forever.
Nauvoo
Radical 19th-century groups left strange but stunning marks on Nauvoo, Illinois. The Icarians took inspiration from a utopian novel called The Voyage to Icaria and built a commune in Nauvoo in the 1850s. But before they erected their highly specialized stores and workshops, the Latter-day Saints made Nauvoo in their image, turning the one-horse town into a Mormon mecca until their leader was killed and the rest fled to Utah. Both groups were largely gone by the late 1800s, but returning Mormons managed to save certain buildings (e.g. Joseph Smith Homestead and Joseph Smith Mansion House) and rebuild destroyed ones (e.g. Nauvoo Temple) to the delight of modern tourists.
Arcola
Arcola is also marvelously marked by offbeat groups. Smack-dab in Amish Country, this small Illinois community charms with Anabaptist attractions like the Kauffman Amish Furniture Outlet, Broomtown Cafe, Yoder's Homestead Shop, and Tri-County Auctions, the last of which is advertised as an "authentic, mix-with-the Amish experience." Beyond Amish fare, Arcola has what is considered the world's only hippie memorial and what is probably the only place in Amish Country to find hyenas, camels, lemurs, zebras, and kangaroos. Animals from six continents inhabit Aikman Wildlife Adventure just west of town.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth is a cute little time capsule in Northern Illinois. About 700 people wake up every day in a less violent 1832, thanks to the Apple River Fort State Historic Site. A reconstructed fort used during the Black Hawk War, it hosts tours and reenactments all year long. Elizabethans are also lucky to live near the Chicago Great Western Railway Depot Museum, which features a full-size Milwaukee Road caboose and thousands of railroad artifacts. Other historic sights in this village are Elizabeth's Grand Antique Company, which is housed in a circa 1900 school building, and the Highway 20 Brewing Company, which is housed in a circa 1875 Presbyterian church.
Elsah
Located on the mighty Mississippi River, Elsah provides spectacular views of nature from spectacular retreats. Get lost in the bygone beauty of the Village of Elsah Museum, Christian Science Reading Room, Farley Music Hall, and the ruins of the Ice House, a big stone relic from a pre-electric era. As the "village where time stood still," Elsah is vintage Americana, especially when a certain "bald" bird arrives each winter. Migrating bald eagles are so prodigious in the region that January to March has been dubbed "Eagle Watching Season." Elsah's Green Tree Inn even offers an eagle-watching discount.
Oregon
Like its Pacific Northwestern name twin, Oregon, Illinois, has celebrated scenery. Surrounding the town are the 2,000ish-acre Castle Rock State Park with its giant sandstone bluff; the 70-acre Pine Rock Nature Preserve with its sprawling black oak forest; and the 207-acre Lowden State Park with its 48-foot Black Hawk Statue. If looking for more humanmade attractions, look no further than downtown Oregon, where you'll be compelled to ogle the Ogle County Courthouse and the adjoining Soldiers' Monument. Finish your foray with a bite and drink at the Cork & Tap.
Galena
Named for the natural mineral form of lead, one that long enriched the area, Galena is a true gem on the banks of the Mississippi River. Historic buildings straddle rolling hills and winding roads, which, in tandem with vibrant shops, provide a walkable wonderland for residents and tourists alike. Among the finest stops on a Galena tour are the Ulysses S. Grant Home, DeSoto House Hotel, and Blaum Bros. Distilling Co. You don't have to visit such sites on foot, of course. To take perhaps the most whimsical tour of Galena, hop on one of its charming trolleys. As you can probably guess, Galena is ranked as not just one of the best small towns in Illinois, but in the entire United States of America.
Reroute your Illinois trip to see small wonders. We don't mean wonders that are small in size but those that are located in small communities. Many small-town attractions are actually gigantic, like Casey's "Big Things" and Oregon's big parks, but because they have been blown far from the Windy City, they don't get the same attention as big city wonders. Give them the attention they deserve and prepare to be stunned by their surprising grandeur.
