Built in 1845 when Metamora was the seat of Woodford County, this former courthouse served as both the county government center and a stop on Illinois’s Eighth Circuit, where traveling judges and lawyers heard cases across central Illinois. It is closely tied to Abraham Lincoln, who, with William Herndon, handled more than 70 Woodford County cases here between 1845 and 1858. After Lincoln’s election in 1860, the building remained in use until the county seat moved to Eureka in 1896, then served as a community center before becoming a museum. It remains one of only two surviving Illinois circuit courthouses where Lincoln practiced on their original foundations.