This city was first settled in 1829 and took its name after General Alexander Macomb, a general in the War of 1812. War veterans were given land grants in the Macomb area, which was part of the "Military Tract" set aside by Congress. In 1899 the Western Illinois State Normal School, later Western Illinois University, was founded in Macomb. The Western Illinois Museum has been preserving and protecting local history since 1973. Its exhibits collect a wide swath of artifacts from panoramic photographs to antique dolls plus a selection of Western Illinois University ground breaking shovels!
Macomb hosts an annual Hot Air Balloon Rally the weekend after Labor Day. Macomb is just a short drive from many historic spots including restored Nauvoo where Joseph Smith and his followers, the Mormons, settled in 1839 after being forced out of Missouri by religious persecution. Nauvoo was famous for its beautiful homes, its many fine shops and its magnificent Temple on the bluff overlooking the city and the river. Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site is about two miles south of Petersburg and about 20 miles northwest of Springfield. It is a reconstruction of the village where Abraham Lincoln spent his early adulthood.
You are also near Bishop Hill Colony, a historic district that was the site of a utopian religious commune founded in 1846 by Swedish pietist Eric Janson. The community didn’t last very long, but a National Historic Landmark listing survives it. A brick museum building on this site now houses a valuable collection of folk art paintings by colonist Olof Krans. When you start planning your visit to the area, you’ll have a convenient location to rest and recharge when you stay at one of our Choice Hotels in Macomb, IL. Book a room online now!