Standish Park Arboretum

During the first weekend of the drive, a scarecrow festival will be held in Standish Park Arboretum, which covers more than 3 acres in downtown Galesburg. Nearby is Old Main (on the Knox College campus), the site of a Lincoln-Douglas debate, the Knox County Courthouse, built in 1886, and Central Congregational Church. The park, founded in 1873 by Dr. John Van Ness Standish, has over 100 assorted trees, many native to the area, recently identified and marked by Master Gardeners.

Handcrafted Scarecrows Live Musical Entertainment Craft Show Family and Children's Activities Food Vendors

The scarecrows will be on display both days and will be judged by popular vote of festival visitors. Winners will be awarded cash prizes.

There were 79 scarecrows entered in the contest the first year, some traditional, some unusual, and some with familiar faces:

Entertain the kids with face painting, a pumpkin toss and pumpkin painting. Or the whole family can join in to build your own scarecrow.

The winners of the 2007 Scarecrow contest are:

Best of Show - favorite overall and 1st Place Whimiscal
Nathan Mead and Juliet Hunt - Moline, IL

Traditional
1st - American Legion Auxillary

Youth Clubs & Organizations
1st - Knox College Circle 'K'

Children's
1st - Bright Future's Preschool

Knox County Business
1st - Kleine Equipment Inc.

Old Main

Old Main, located just south of the park on the Knox College campus, was completed in 1857 and is the only Lincoln-Douglas debate site that remains as it was in 1858. The debate, which took place on Oct. 7, 1858, was for the race for the U. S. Senate seat from Illinois. It took place on the east side of the building and a crowd of more than 10,000 people attended. The building was registered as a National Historic Landmark on Oct. 15, 1966. Large bronze tablets with the image of the debaters now are on each side of the east door of Old Main. Another bronze tablet near the north door quotes one of Lincoln's remarks during the debate.

Knox County Courthouse

Built in 1886 at a cost of $150,000, the ornate details on the Knox County Courthouse, located west of Standish Park Arboretum, are typical of the Romanesque period. A monument honoring Mary Ann "Mother" Bickerdyke, who spent four years during the Civil War caring for wounded soldiers, is on the lawn of the Courthouse. On the monument is a phrase indicating her importance in the war, General Sherman's quote claiming: "She outranks me."

Central Congregational Church

Built in 1898 of Michigan red sandstone in the Richardson Romanesque style, Central Congregational Church, located one block north of Standish Park Arboretum, was placed on the National Register on Sept. 30, 1976. The church covers nearly a quarter of the block and its bell tower rises to 137 feet. It has 75 stained glass windows ranging in size from 3 square feet to 1,080 square feet, made by the Luminous Prism Co. of Chicago. The largest window has three sections and fills the north wall of the auditorium.

scenicdrive@gallatinriver.net