After spending so much time near Chicago, I thought it would be nice to return to the quiet south of the state of old US Route 66. Just north of the city of Chenoa, Illinois, the historic section of US Route 66 EE. Places ends, but the road continues south towards Bloomington. Coming from Pontiac, we first arrived in Chenoa, in northern McLean County.
Chenoa, Illinois, in northern McLean County
Chenoa is a small town of about 2,000 in the northern reaches of McLean County. The quaint downtown area, practically a ghost town the day I went (St. Patrick’s Day, so the explanation for the deserted feel is obvious), has been lucky enough to have been given some care, note just by looking at it. Some of the buildings exhibit the architectural harmony that we saw in Tampico’s Main Street Historic District.
Chenoa Center
A period advertisement has been repainted on the front edge of one of the structures, which definitely adds character to the area. Absent cars and people, I really felt like I was standing in a small 19th century town; If the roads weren’t paved.
Selz royal blue shoes ad
Although the entire stretch of Old US 66 through Illinois is a declared National Scenic Byway, the only National Register site in Chenoa is an unaffiliated house; the house of Matthew T. Scott.
The Matthew T. Scott House of 1855 and 1863
Scott House was built in two phases and therefore exhibits two distinct architectural styles. The rear of 1855 is a post and beam I-cottage (wiki), something some nut was so completely wrong on Wikipedia that I’m not even going to bother linking to the article here. The front was built in 1863 and is a true globe-framed (wiki) example of an I house.
Matthew T. Scott was an important figure in early McLean County and is known as the founder of Chenoa. He was one of the first settlers and farmers in the area, and actively encouraged settlement in the area. The house appears today, just as he did in a 1910 photograph, you can see the link below. Scott House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in early 1983.
