The Miller-Davis Buildings provided offices for attorneys on the Old Eighth Circuit Court from 1844 into the 1850's. As attorneys traveling the circuit, they would borrow desks while in the hometowns of their colleagues. Lincoln, according to Gov. Joseph Fifer, described such an office: "He has his law library consisting of the statues of Indiana for the year 1833. He has his office furniture, consisting of a rocking chair with one rocker, and a center table with three legs....In addition to this he has a rat hole in the corner of his office that might be worth looking into." This office was recreated with David Davis's c.1845 office furniture.
An 1844 letter, from Wells Colton to friends in Massachusetts, provided a glimpse into the life of a junior partner in a law firm. Colton was partner to Davis and made his home in the law office. he learned that the job also involved fire-fighting and restoring the office afterwards. He wrote: "The office which serves as well for my domicil (sic) and dormitory was sacked to the walls. My slender housekeeping was thrown into mortal disarray-curtains-bed&tc moved too fast for much precaution. To our astonishment the fire was stopped after burning two homes and the office was saved. The refitting was a work of toil &—-I think exceeded by a half a springs whitewashing and adorning." Colton's portrait is on the left, and the 1981 reconstruction of Davis' office, where Colton fought the fire, on the right.
HM Number | HM12YF |
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Series | This marker is part of the Illinois: Looking for Lincoln series |
Tags | |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Saturday, September 27th, 2014 at 1:41pm PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16T E 331028 N 4482806 |
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Decimal Degrees | 40.47876667, -88.99345000 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 40° 28.726', W 88° 59.607' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 40° 28' 43.56" N, 88° 59' 36.42" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 309 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 106 E Front St, Bloomington IL 61701, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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