What to See in Freeport - Top Sights and Attractions

The Freeport City Hall, located at 230 West Stephenson Street, was the historic city hall of Freeport, Illinois. The city hall was built in 1899 to replace the previous city hall, which the city built in 1868 and had outgrown. Architect David S. Schureman designed the Richardsonian Romanesque building; his design included a red stone exterior, a barrel ceiling decorated with frescoes, and a main staircase with an iron balustrade. The building's frieze lists the names of important figures in science and literature; the first letters of each name spell out Schureman's name, a loophole he exploited when city leaders denied his request to put his name on the cornerstone. The city hall served the city continuously from its opening until 2011, when city government moved elsewhere due to safety issues; it also held the city's police and fire departments for a time. It was also the site of several civil rights milestones for the city, as its first African-American alderman was elected and its first African-American police officer hired during the building's tenure.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 2016.

After moving out of the city hall the local government attempted to sell the property but, was unsuccessful and in December, 2018 demolished the building. It was delisted from the National Register in 2020.^[1]

The Soldiers' Monument is an American Civil War memorial located at the northern corner of Galena Avenue and Stephenson Street in Freeport, Illinois. General Smith D. Atkins designed the monument, which was erected in 1871. The limestone obelisk monument is 83 feet tall; a statue of Victory originally topped the monument, but it was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1960. Marble tablets at the base of the memorial listed the names of Stephenson County's Civil War casualties; these were reversed and covered by bronze plaques in 1924 to allow space to list all of the county's Civil War veterans. Four 7-foot statues were located at the corners of the base, which were replaced by identical replicas in 1924. The statues represent soldiers from each major branch of the Union military: the Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Navy.

The monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 1, 1998.^[3]

Courthouse. The Stephenson County Courthouse, located on Courthouse Square in Freeport, is the county courthouse serving Stephenson County, Illinois. The present courthouse was built in 1975, replacing a historic courthouse built on the site in 1870. Elijah E. Myers, who went on to design three state capitols, designed the 1870 courthouse in the Second Empire style; the building, which featured a mansard roof and a projecting entrance pavilion, was Myers' only Second Empire work. The 1870 courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, but it was demolished later that year as insufficient for the county's needs; despite its demolition, it remains listed on the National Register. The present courthouse was completed the following year, though by 2008, it was also reported to have insufficient space for the county's needs.^[4]