Tag: Macomb IL

Wikipedia says: Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States.[3] It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Peoria and 77 miles (124 km) south of the Quad Cities.

First settled in 1829 on a site tentatively named Washington, the town was officially founded in 1830 as the county seat of McDonough County and given the name Macomb 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 1855 the Northern Cross Railroad, a predecessor to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, was constructed through Macomb, leading to a rise in the town’s population.

Macomb has been visited by several US Presidents over the years. Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt have all made short addresses in Macomb. On two occasions, Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama addressed large audiences prior to their election as president.