H. I. Lincoln Building

05/30/2026

The Lincoln Building will be open 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2nd as the steam train Big Boy No. 4014 is expected to pass through Franklin Grove on its way from a whistle stop in Sterling to Rochelle for a second whistle stop:

Union Pacific connects 23 western U.S. states, providing safe and efficient railroad transportation, freight shipping and logistics.

05/16/2026

We had visitors from France and others in town for the WWII reenactment at Chaplin Creek today!

05/15/2026

In time for the 250th celebration, the Lincoln Building has the board game America-opoly. Stop in sometime on any weekend and try it out!

04/29/2026

Big Boy will be parallel to the Lincoln Highway in a couple of states again in a few short weeks: https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/schedule Big Boy will go through Franklin Grove on June 2nd, as it travels from Sterling to Rochelle.

Union Pacific connects 23 western U.S. states, providing safe and efficient railroad transportation, freight shipping and logistics.

04/09/2026

The Lincoln Building in Franklin Grove will be open tomorrow, April 10th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as the final preparation day before opening up for the regular season. There will be a very small group in early in the morning on Monday, and a bus tour in the afternoon on Tuesday, April 14th.

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03/20/2026

Decent weather is finally here! There will be a clean up day at the Lincoln Building in Franklin Grove on Sunday, March 22nd, from around 11 a.m. to around 4 p.m. The driving season will be here really soon! There is a bus tour of around 40 people taking a trip on the Lincoln Highway on April 14th and a family looking to stop in on April 13th.

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12/20/2025

The Lincoln Building has a newly restored window thanks to a grant from the Lincoln Highway Association. Photo provided by Steve Bingham, President of the Illinois Chapter.

12/17/2025

Congratulations to Marty in an 815 area code for winning the Farming Heritage raffle for the 1947 Ford!!

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12/11/2025

Santa is coming! Santa is coming! Friday, December 12th, Santa arrives after the parade at 5:15 p.m. and will hear what everyone wants for Christmas! Santa will also pick the winning antique car raffle ticket!

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10/09/2025

There will be another rock painting day at the Lincoln Building beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 18th. Supplies will be provided, including rocks. This may be the last rock painting event before attention turns toward decorating and getting the building ready for Santa.