What to See in Oregon - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Oregon, Illinois. Chana School is a Registered Historic Place in Ogle County, Illinois, in the county seat of Oregon, Illinois. One of six Oregon sites listed on the Register, the school is an oddly shaped, two-room schoolhouse which has been moved from its original location. Chana School joined the Register in 2005 as an education museum.

The schoolhouse was built in 1883, in the village of Chana, Illinois. Due to the elimination of the Chana School District, the school was abandoned by the 1960s. A restoration effort was undertaken in the late 1990s, ending with a move and refurbishment in 2002 and 2003. The building now stands in a public park along the Rock River in Oregon, Illinois. Its interior also features architectural elements which set it apart from the typical 19th-century schoolhouse. From a distance, the building is dominated by its bell tower.^[1]

Building. The Ogle County Courthouse is a National Register of Historic Places listing in the Ogle County, Illinois, county seat of Oregon. The building stands on a public square in the city's downtown commercial district. The current structure was completed in 1891 and was preceded by two other buildings, one of which was destroyed by a group of outlaws. Following the destruction of the courthouse, the county was without a judicial building for a period during the 1840s. The Ogle County Courthouse was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture. The ridged roof is dominated by its wooden cupola which stands out at a distance.

In addition to the courthouse building, the public square contains several outbuildings and sites that are also historic in nature and considered contributing properties to the Oregon Commercial Historic District, including a sculpture by Lorado Taft and a cast-iron fountain. The courthouse joined the Register in 1981 and was included as a contributing property to the historic district in 2006. After initially joining the Register the structure underwent a careful restoration. The courthouse no longer serves as the primary judiciary center for the county; its successor is located directly across the street.^[4]

Building in Oregon, Illinois. The Oregon Public Library is located in Oregon, Illinois, United States, the county seat of Ogle County. The building is a public library that was constructed in 1909. Prior to 1909, Oregon's library was housed in different buildings, none of which were designed to house a library. The library was built using a grant from wealthy philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The grant was obtained after Oregon's citizens voted to change Oregon's library from a city library to a township library. The building was completed by 1908 but the library did not begin operation until 1909.

The Oregon Library was designed by Chicago architects Pond and Pond. The Ponds were members of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony, founded by Lorado Taft, and their association with Taft and the colony led them to design the library. Their design was influenced by the colony, and a combination of two architectural styles, Classical Revival and the Arts and Crafts movement. The completed library included a second floor art gallery to which members of Eagle's Nest donated works for a permanent collection. The gallery's collection includes 64 paintings and sculptures as well as a Currier and Ives lithograph collection appraised at US$700,000. The Oregon Public Library was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2003, three years later it was included as a contributing property in a historic district that received the National Register designation.^[6]

Iron Mike is an 1896 cast-iron fountain in the 400 Block of Washington Street in the city of Oregon, Illinois. It is located at the site of the Ogle County Courthouse, at the intersection of Illinois Route 2 and Route 64. Iron Mike is four feet tall and three feet wide, at its widest point. The fountain's lowest tier is a pool for pets and reads "Illinois Humane Society." There is a step for children on the south side of the fountain and on the north, street, side, the largest middle tier was made to be accessible to horses. On the rear side of the horse basin is a "bubbler" for adults, it is also reachable by children via the iron step. The multi-tier fountain was originally set into a concrete base which was immediately adjacent to the curb of Route 64. In 2021 Iron Mike was relocated 15 feet away from the road unto the property of the Ogle County Courthouse.^[10]