Pekin riverfront - Lincoln's broken oar

The first time Abraham Lincoln ever came to Tazewell County was in 1832. After the Black Hawk War during which Lincoln served in the Illinois Militia, Lincoln took a canoe down the Illinois River on his way back home to New Salem. As he neared Pekin, Lincoln's oar broke, so he stopped his canoe on the riverbank at Pekin, carved himself a new oar, and then shared a hot meal with some of Pekin's pioneer residents before resuming his trip down the river.

The illustration is a sketch drawn by the late Dale Kuntz, depicting this event.