Illinois Hwy's 67 - 125 - 127 - 64 - 14 - 45 - 145

Wadcutter wrote:
"Illinois Hwy's 67 - 125 - 127 - 64 - 14 - 45 - 145"

I'm very familiar with 67, 125, and 127 having lived and worked along those routes my entire life. 64, 14, 45, and 145 I travel quite a bit.
They're all pretty good roads. 67 is partially 4 lane. The 2 lanes are good but you might find farm traffic/implements so be alert for slow vehicles.
US 67:
Monmouth is the birthplace of Wyatt Earp. Not much there to mark it. Very small sign, nothing to tour.
US 67 Beardstown - If you're in to Lincoln history there are several historical markers for Lincoln. If you're familiar with Lincoln there's the case where he represented Duff Armstrong in a murder case. A witness named Allen testified he saw Armstrong kill Metzker from 150 feet away by the light of the moon. Lincoln introduced the Farmer's Almanac which showed there was no moon on the night of the murder so Allen could not have seen anything from 150 feet. The courthouse is still used today. Just signs to read really. Duff is buried north of Virginia IL. Small stone in a small cemetery. I wouldn't do the detour to see it but some might find it interesting.
IL 125.
New Salem State Historic Site, Petersburg. This is about 15 minute drive north of IL 125. Well worth the detour and visit. They have a nice shaded campground, electric only hook up but water available, shower/restroom facilities, sewer dump. New Salem is where Lincoln grew up as a young man. There's the reconstructed village of New Salem that is free to visit. The campground and village are open all week but the visitor center is closed on Mondays. Their website will fill you in. Lincoln's New Salem link
In Petersburg there are several Lincoln historical sites. They claim the grave of Ann Rutledge who was Lincoln's first love and some historians claim Lincoln never got over after she died at an early age. Even tho Lincoln later married Mary Todd many believe it was the sorrow of losing Ann that shaped Lincoln's life. Actually Ann was not buried in the grave in Petersburg. Her actual grave is in a very small cemetery in the middle of a farm field north of Petersburg a few miles. It can be visited and it is maintained but parking is just along the side of a one lane country road and then walking about 1/4 mile back thru a field to the cemetery. Many years after Ann died the people in Petersburg decided to dig up poor Ann and move her to Petersburg. Many think the move was to promote tourism by moving her to town where people could come to visit her. All that they were able to recover was things like buttons from her shoes and dress which is what was buried at the "new" grave.
IL 97 into Springfield.
Springfield is full of Lincoln history. I won't list it all as that would take volumes. There are books full. It's worth a couple of days visit. Here are some highlights.
Lincoln Presidential Museum. Well worth the stop. Plan for the better part of the day to see it all. It's not like any other presidential museum. Disney had input in some of the design and displays. Do not miss the 2 "shows". Very well done.
Just a couple of blocks from the museum is the old state capital building. Lots of Lincoln history. Also, if it's your thing, it's where Obama first announced he was running for president.
Just south a few more blocks is Lincoln's Home National Historic Site. There are tours of the only home that Lincoln owned and the restored neighborhood. Very nice tour.
At Oak Ridge Cemetery is Lincoln's Tomb. There are tours inside the tomb. Do not miss going inside to see where Lincoln and his family are buried. The tour is interesting. They tell about the plot to steal Lincoln's body which might have succeeded had the plotters had a combined IQ greater than 100, weren't drunk, and had kept their mouths shut instead of telling too many what they were going to do. At the time of the plot Lincoln was buried in a small unguarded grave.
There are several museums of various flavors around town. GAR, telephone, etc. The Illinois State Museum is interesting with lots of native American exhibits. Also, one that is often missed and rarely visited is the State Military Museum at Camp Lincoln. Several very historical pieces on display. If they have it out, as it has been in storage for a while, is Santa Anna's wooden leg. The same Santa Anna who led the Mexican Army at the Battle of the Alamo fame. The IL Militia captured the leg during a raid on Santa Anna's camp. Santa Anna barely escaped leaving so quickly that he did not have time to put on his leg. So now we have his leg.
If you're into US 66 Mother Road. US 66 runs thru the heart of Springfield. Several displays around town.
Just of note - Most people have heard of the Donner party that were stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1846-47. It was actually the Donner-Reed Party. They were from Springfield and this is where their journey started. There's a small plaque at 2nd and Jefferson marking where the party left from.
Food in Springfield - 2 food items you will only get in Springfield. One is the Cozy Dog which the owner claims to have originated the hot dog on a stick. It's not a corn dog. It's a Cozy Dog. The other Springfield original is the Horseshoe, or Ponyshoe if you're not extremely hungry. Just about every restaurant serves their own variation of the Horseshoe. It's generally Texas toast, a meat of choice or some offer vegetables for those who don't eat meat, covered with French fries, and all of that covered with cheese sauce. The type of cheese sauce varies. Check this link. Horseshoe
IL 127 - each little town has something or someone they claim to. Nothing I would recommend particularly if you're passing thru. Personally, if I were traveling thru and going to I-64 after leaving Springfield I'd stay on I-55 to IL 4 at milepost 33, take IL 4 to I-64. I take IL 127 and IL 185 to US 51 then 50 if going towards the SE but it's slow and several small towns. It's all mostly farm ground and small towns. Vandalia is probably the most historically significant town. It's the 2nd state capital for IL. The capital building is still there for tours. Nice to visit but I personally wouldn't drive out of my way to just see that.
If you decide to stay on I-55 to IL 4 and if you're into history at Mt Olive Exit 44 is the grave of Mother Jones. From the late 1800s into the 1940s this area into southern IL was in constant battles with what was known as the Mine Wars. Coal miners, coal companies, the United Mine Workers, the Progressive Mine Workers, and non-union miners brought in from southern states (usually African Americans) all fighting each other. These were open gun battles some times lasting for days. And not talking random shots fired. Actual war type battles. Bombings, people rounded up and executed. Many people were killed. The National Guard was called out many times. It was quite a bloody piece of IL history that few outside of historians and locals know about. Hollywood hasn't covered it so few know about it. Mother Jones was an activist, some say Socialist or Communist, who helped the miners organize. She died in Washington DC but is buried in Mt Olive near the graves of the miners from the 1898 Battle of Virden mine war.
On the way out of IL if taking US 45 is Metropolis. Home of Superman. It's just another "OK we've been there" places.
If you're looking for more to do along route let me know. There are books on the area which I don't want this post to become another book.
One note on mleekamp's post concerning Moonshine. It's off the beaten path and can be hard to find. What signage there is is small and very few. GPS helps. And correction on the closing time. The grill closes at 12:30 PM, not when they run out of meat. If you're not there by 12:30 then you're out of luck for that day. We do a motorcycle ride there at least once a year, usually more often. Just a place to ride to, get a moonburger, and ride home. Big motorcycle ride destination on the weekends. There's nothing else around Moonshine. No restrooms, no running water, just an outhouse across the road. Parking is very limited. Fun to do but after doing it the usual response is "Is that all there is?"