Lawrence: Nature, History, and Art

A trip to Lawrence can put nature, history, and art at the center. Its landscapes offer very different natural settings, while the memorial, historic bridge, and art exhibition appeal to other interests. You can shape your plans around your own focus.

Landscapes between hills and wetlands

Red Hills State Park covers 967 acres. Wooded hills, deep ravines, and meadows shape the landscape, complemented by springs that flow year-round. If you are especially interested in terrain, the hills and ravines offer distinctive landmarks, while the meadows and springs add open and water-rich elements to the scenery.

Chauncey Marsh Nature Preserve covers 155 acres of marshland, prairie, bottomland forest, and river-edge habitats. It is a permanent marshland surrounded by remnants of mesic prairie; prairie grass and cattails dominate the vegetation. Comparing the landscapes, marshland and prairie remnants contrast with the wooded hills, ravines, and meadows of Red Hills State Park. The two nature descriptions offer different points of focus for a trip centered on the landscape.

Chauncey Marsh Land and Water Reserve includes wet bottomland forests, ponds, swamps, and stretches of the winding Embarras River. Embarras River Bottoms State Natural Area encompasses approximately 2,300 acres of land in the Embarras River watershed, south of the former Indian Refinery. It provides habitat for songbirds, marsh birds, migratory birds, and other wetland-dependent animals. Species of concern, including several listed as threatened or endangered in Illinois, have also been documented there. Visitors interested in wetlands, birdlife, and conservation will find a clear thematic focus here.

River landscapes, history, and art

The Embarras River flows through Lawrenceville and joins the Wabash River in Lawrence County. At the western end of the Lincoln Memorial Bridge is the Lincoln Trail State Memorial. It marks the site where, according to tradition, Abraham Lincoln arrived in Illinois with his family in early March 1830. A life-size bronze figure of Lincoln stands in a sculpted limestone relief depicting a journey by covered wagon. Access is from U.S. Route 50 via Illinois Route 33 toward Vincennes.

The Bridge at Thirteenth Street in St. Francisville, Lawrence County, also offers a specific architectural point of interest: the bridge is 181 feet long and made of wood. Another cultural highlight is the annual Student Art Show organized by the Lawrence County Arts Council. It is a juried exhibition and competition, open to all high school students who live in Lawrence County. Check current event dates before your trip.

The Research Library of the Lawrence County Historical Society opened on April 17, 2016; the address given in the opening announcement at the time was 1100 Lexington Avenue in Lawrenceville. If you plan to visit, check the library’s current address before you travel.

Planning your trip

Lawrenceville is served by U.S. Route 50 and Illinois Route 1. The city describes its airport as the third largest in the state. Mid-American Air Center is a public general aviation airport at the site of a U.S. Army Air Corps training base from World War II.

That way, your choice of where to stay starts with what you want to experience in Lawrence, rather than with a generic hotel category.

Discover more destinations: St Francisville, Birds, Marshall County, Cass, Pulaski County, Knox County, Livingston County, Cumberland County.

For the broader travel overview: Illinois.