Carlinville

Readers are invited to travel back in time and explore Carlinville through more than 200 images from the Macoupin County Historical Society and Carlinville Public Library archives. From the Million Dollar Courthouse to the City Free School, this collection of photographs brings local history home for the approximately 6,000 people who live in the city. Carlinville’s past includes tales of Abraham Lincoln, who once represented clients at the Macoupin County Courthouse, and W.B. Otwell, who brought thousands here with his Farmer Boys Round Ups and colorful iris fields. Just as Carlinville is the seat of Macoupin County, the Carlinville Square is the heart of Carlinville. An entire chapter, which includes photographs from a fire that devastated the west side of the square in 1941, is devoted to this city’s epicenter. Additional chapters feature the MCHS Museum and prominent businesses, places, and people of the area.