Randolph Hotel House

The Randolph House building was, in earlier times, the finest hotel in Illinois between Chicago and Quincy. During the campaign of 1858 Abraham Lincoln was a guest here on at least two separate occasions, August 25 and October 25.

The Randolph House was built on the southeast corner of Macomb’s Square in 1857 by William H. Randolph, a prominent Macomb businessman. The hotel was known for its unrivaled elegance. Guests were met at the curb and their horses were taken to a nearby stable, bellhops carried their luggage and ran errands for them, and transportation was provided to and from the newly built train station.

William Randolph was the county’s leading Republican, giving him the opportunity to entertain and meet with Lincoln during his visits to Macomb in 1858. Lincoln stayed in the Randolph House during those visits. After the president’s assassination the room became a local Lincoln shrine.

The Randolph House Hotel building is one of 10 sites that gave McDonough County Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area status and can be visited as part of Macomb‘s Looking For Lincoln Self-Guided Tour.