Abraham Lincoln practiced law in Urbana from 1841 to 1860, appearing in the courthouse on this city block in cases ranging from murder, larceny, and rape to divorces, land title disputes, and contested debts. He unsuccessfully defended William Weaver, the first man accused of murder in Champaign County, worked with local attorneys such as J. O. Cunningham and Henry Clay Whitney, and sometimes served as judge pro tem when David Davis could not be present. During each court visit, the entire docket of cases was worked through until matters were settled, tried, or continued, and Lincoln might serve as counsel for either plaintiff or defendant, including in a case in which he signed with William Coler for Vannata, who was being sued for improper care of Burgess’ sheep. Lincoln also advanced his political career in Urbana: on May 31, 1854, he learned there of the adoption of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its potential to spread slavery into U. S. Territories, and on October 14, 1854, he delivered in the circuit courtroom on this site one of a group of speeches against the expansion of slavery. Reputed never to touch whiskey or play cards, Lincoln also said during an 1848 court session that he had never played billiards; in a match with fellow young attorney J. C. Sheldon that lasted well into the night, observers remembered Lincoln stretching his long frame across the table, but no one remembered who won.