Celebrating 125 Years of the Champaign County Courthouse

Help celebrate the legacy of this historic community space and eat some birthday cake!

The Champaign County Courthouse turns 125 years old in 2026, and you're invited to help celebrate!

To mark the day, 100 years after the first dedication, the courthouse and the Lincoln Legacy Committee of Champaign County will host a varied program including the reading of a special proclamation, a panel discussion, musical entertainment, and, finally, a birthday cake. The proclamation signed by the Champaign County Board will remind us of the importance of justice for all. Students from University High School will play music appropriate to the era. The panel, made up of Justice Rita Garman, lawyer and historian Steve Beckett, and archaeologist, historian, and author Brian Adams, will be moderated by Pat Cain, Manager of the Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library.

Justice Rita Garman was a judge in Illinois for 49 years. She began in nearby Vermilion County and became the first female Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Justice Garman will speak briefly about the importance of courts, courtrooms, and courthouses to the American way of life.

Urbana-based attorney and retired University of Illinois College of Law Trial Advocacy director Steve Beckett has studied Abraham Lincoln since childhood. His dedication to local history led him to take the lead in the effort to restore the 1901 courthouse, especially its clock tower. He will speak about the restoration process.

Brian Adams has comprehensively studied the architect of the 1901 courthouse in his book, Joseph William Royer, Urbana’s Architect. Not only did Royer design the courthouse, but he also helped build many Urbana landmarks during his long career, including Urbana High School, The Urbana Free Library, the Urbana Lincoln Hotel (now Hotel Royer), and Leal Elementary School. Adams will reflect on the design of the 1901 courthouse.  

This program is co-sponsored by the Lincoln Legacy Committee of Champaign County.