Lincoln Highway

Oregon, located on the Rock River, drew visitors with its beauty, public square, architectural landmarks, and commercial district as motorists traveling in the days of the Lincoln Highway sought weekends and summers in nearby rural areas. Oregon was also home to the Eagle's Nest Art Colony, founded by Lorado Taft and a small group of artists, architects, and art lovers affiliated with Taft at the Chicago Art Institute. Seeking a summer retreat from Chicago heat and a creative refuge, the group accepted Wallace Heckman's offer to lease his forest land for $1 per year on the condition that each colony member give a free lecture or demonstration in the Oregon area. A portion of Oregon's Lowden State Park was given to Northern Illinois Teachers College, now Northern Illinois University, as a field campus, and the sixty-six acres that included the former site of the Eagle's Nest Artist Colony were renamed the Northern Illinois University Lorado Taft Field Campus. The colony took its name from an ancient cedar tree at the edge of the bluff that was a nesting site for eagles, and the stark outline of its curving branches served as a subject for artists and poets for nearly one hundred years.

Oregon, Illinois · United States