Macoupin & Chestnut Streets

At Macoupin and Chestnut Streets in Gillespie, from 1926 to 1930, the corner was home to the thriving Dippold Drug Store while Route 66 ran through town. Prominent resident Lincoln Loveless and his wife Flora posed there with their new 1926 Franklin automobile. A 1919 World War I soldier statue originally stood at the intersection to honor fallen soldiers and sailors of the First World War, but it was later removed because of traffic safety concerns. Its original base remains a few blocks north near the Gillespie Fire Station, and the lost statue was replaced with an eagle.

Gillespie, Illinois · United States