[Golf Course]...[Parks]...[Places of Worship]... [Courthouse]
[Jail Museum & Genealogical Center]...[Historic Homes]   [Places of Worship]

Golf Course
Scripps Park Golf Course
The Scripps Park Golf Course is a wonderful public 18-hole course. The course is relatively flat making it an easy walking course. The fairways throughout are generally open and flat, the greens vary in size, and water hazards come into play on several holes.
The pro shop has a snack bar and carts are available for rent. For additional information, please call the pro shop at (217) 322-4444.

Parks
Schuy-Rush Park
Schuy-Rush Park is located two miles south-east of Junction 67 and Route 24 in West Central Illinois. The park has 120 acres of park-ground and a 225 acre lake. The campground facilities consist of 77 spaces with electrical hookups.  All spaces have water and there is a modern shower house for your convenience. Schuy-Rush Lake offers a well maintained boat ramp.  There is a generous supply of slips for docking your boat overnight or for the entire camping season. Fishing is by pole and line only and the lake has a large variety of fish. For the adventurous, we have a nature trail for hiking. Come to Schuy-Rush Lake where we supply the water and you supply the fun.

Scripps Park
The land for Scripps Park was donated by the Scripps family. The park was the site of the homestead of the Scripps family, pioneers in journalism. Scripps Park offers a swimming pool, tennis courts, Virginia Community Building, playground, picnic area, baseball diamonds and a two bedroom guesthouse for rent.

The Golf Course is an 18 hole public golf course built in 1923. The greens and fairways are bent grass. There are approximately 9 bunkers strategically placed around the course and water hazards are in play. Please call (217) 322-4444 for more information or to reserve a tee time.

Weinberg-King State Park
Weinberg-King State Fish and Wildlife Area is an area of rolling hills with a meandering creek in western Illinois. The 772-acre State Fish & Wildlife Area, including a 4-acre pond, is in Schuyler County 3 miles east of Augusta north of Route 101. Mrs. Gertrude K. Allen presented a deed for about 500 acres of this land to the State of Illinois in May 1968. An additional 295 acres was purchased by the Department of Natural Resources. The terrain is rolling with steep hillsides. Williams Creek picturesquely meanders through the park for about 2 miles. The average depth of the creek is about 3 feet. The majority of mature trees are locust and osage orange, although pines, autumn olive, honeysuckle, oak and walnut trees have been planted. Many wildflowers are found on the hillsides and
along the creek. Dove, quail, and songbirds familiar to the area may be observed. The fox
squirrel and rabbit are plentiful and a deer and turkey is frequently seen. Picnicking, trails, horseback riding, camping, fishing, and hunting are activities enjoyed by folks of all ages.

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Weinberg-King State Park

Weinberg-King State Park Scripps Unit
Weinberg-King State Park Scripps Unit is located two miles southwest of Rushville off Route 24 in Schuyler County. Weinberg- King State Park Scripps Unit was acquired by the State of Illinois in the Spring of 2002.

The site is characterized by high-quality forest game hunting opportunities. Wildlife habitat enhancement practices such as food plots and rotational mowing improve hunting opportunities. Additional management practices will be implemented in the future.

The area is comprised of a mixture of wooded ravines with crop fields present on the ridges and in the creek bottoms. Many of the crop fields have been idled and established to perennial grasses. In others, natural succession of woody plants is occurring at various stages. The woodlands consist of a relatively young stand of oak- hickory timber with some interspersed brushy fallowed pasture areas.

For more information, please contact:
Weinberg-King State Park at (217) 392-2345

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Weinberg-King State Park Scripps Unit

Anderson Lake
Anderson Lake was once a private shooting grounds for one of the many once-famous duck clubs that dotted the Illinois River valley. Since its purchase by the state in 1947, it has been a public hunting and fishing area , located 11 miles north of Browning on Route 100.

Anderson Lake is a 2,247 acre floodplain lake that frequently receives overflow waters from the Illinois River. It has 1,134 surface acres, a maximum depth of six feet and an average depth of four feet. Carlson Lake, a waterfowl management area of 230 surface acres, has a maximum depth of five feet which is drained in early summer, planted to feed duck and flooded in the fall to attract waterfowl to the area.

The area is a lush, picturesque bottomland, with tall timber dominated by silver maple, cottonwood and willow. A variety of waterfowl abounds in the area, and large numbers of bald eagles can be seen in the winter months and white pelicans during the spring

For more information, please contact:
The Site Superintendent at:
547 N IL 100 Highway, Astoria, IL 61501
(309/759-4484)
visit website

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Anderson Lake

Sanganois State FWA
The Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area (SSFWA) has 10,360 total acres - 7,000 huntable ground and 1,700 water, and lies mostly in Cass and Mason counties. A check station and primary access area is located 8 miles northwest of Chandlerville off Route 78, and an access road and boat ramp is located 1.5 miles northeast of Browning off
Rt. 100. Public access is largely by boat.

The Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area is a refuge for migratory waterfowl and a public duck and goose hunting area. Upland game, forest game, and furbearer hunting is also permitted. The area is typical bottomland - sloughs, backwater lakes, ponds, and timber - primarily willow, maple, and cottonwood.

Waterfowl hunting is restricted to approximately 60 marked blind sites which are drawn for on an annual basis; and approximately 500 acres which are designated as open to walk-in hunting.

For more information contact:
Doug Jallas, Site Superintendent
3594 CR 200 N., Chandlerville, IL 62627
(309) 546-2628
visit website

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Sanganois State FWA

Jail Museum & Genealogical Center

No visit to Rushville is complete without a visit to the Schuyler Jail Museum, a fascinating showcase of pioneer life on the Illinois frontier.

Work began in 1968 on the arduous task of transforming a tiny, crumbling limestone jail building into the impressive structure which houses the Jail Museum today. Threatened with destruction, the 1858 structure was saved from demolition by a dedicated group who took the title “Historic Conscience” and signed a lease with the city which required a fee of $1 per year and continuous upkeep.

A great deal more than “upkeep” has been accomplished. The original building now displays an original jail cell, currently inhabited by a “jail bird” (thankfully, a “dummy”) who is properly chained to a ring in the floor, as was the custom. This area also exhibits artifacts and clothing from the earliest days of the county.

A special section displays memorabilia from the Scripps family, early Rushville citizens who became nationally known in the worlds of newspapers and philanthropy, and who in 1926 donated their family farm to the city for use as a park.

Later additions to the building showcase displays from area schools, soldier’s uniforms of many wars, Indian relics, pioneer furniture, farming implements, an early barber shop – the list goes on and on.

But perhaps the most widely known and frequently visited area of the Museum is the Genealogical Center. Here persons researching their genealogy can examine early marriage and birth records, obituaries, tax, school, military and census records. There are also cemetery records and histories of Schuyler and surrounding counties, published genealogies, research and record books from many other states, and microfilm copies of the Rushville TIMES dating from 1869.

From the beginning, the Schuyler Jail Museum has been entirely supported by private donations and staffed by volunteers. In 1997 they were awarded the Governor’s Home Town Award for historic preservation. Their countless hours of work have created a facility of which we are very proud – and which we are certain you will enjoy.

Located on U.S. 24
200 South Congress
217-322-6975

Museum Hours
April 1st - November 1st
1:00 - 5:00 pm

Genealogical Center Hours
April 1st - November 1st
1:00 - 5:00 pm weekdays
November 1st to April 1st
Saturday and Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 pm

Schuyler County Courthouse

The present courthouse is the third such structure, the first being made of logs and located on the north side of the square, with the second being constructed in Central Park in 1831 and was used until 1881 when this building was constructed. The land upon which this structure rests was purchased at a cost of $3,600, and the building was constructed at a cost of $36,000. The county board sent a delegation to Monroe, Michigan in 1880 to inspect that county's new courthouse, and the committee was so impressed that the contractor was subsequently hired and an exact copy was built here in Schuyler County.

The renovation of our courthouse was initially started quite by accident as the one primarily responsible for the restoration, namely Marty Trinkle, was a talented roofer by trade who found himself unemployed during the winter months. He and Judge Carson Klitz struck up an agreement whereby Mr. Trinkle would work on the building in the winter months. It was intended that the courtroom look as close to what the room looked like in 1881 as possible.

The Schuyler County Courthouse is located on the southwest corner of the Rushville square. The hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday. For more information, contact the County Clerk at 217-322-4734.
Excerpt from narrative by Carson Klitz, former Circuit Judge

For Information
Please Contact:
Carol Montague
Executive Director

114 N Congress, Suite C
Rushville, IL 62681
217-322-3003

Historic Homes
As you drive down the picturesque brick streets of Rushville or explore the scenic country roads of Schuyler County, you will see a wide variety of homes. They range from newly built modern houses, often in attractive subdivisions, to beautiful historic homes which have been lovingly maintained or restored. In both cases, the neighborhoods are friendly, comfortable, safe and well maintained.

Rushville and Schuyler county offer a visitor the simplicity of small town life, complimented with excellent medical, educational, and cultural facilities. Progressive businesses and thriving industry make this an ideal place to visit - or to work, to raise a family, and to retire. Our county has an outgoing community spirit and a friendly, small town ambience.

Vincent Home
Built in 1914 by Mr. and Mrs. A.P. Rodewald, this large brick home on West Lafayette Street has quite a history. After a fire in 1945 destroyed the Schuyler Hotel located on the east side of the town square, the owners bought the Rodewald home and converted it into a hotel.

For nearly twenty years the structure served as the Schuyler Hotel and its Canary Room restaurant was very popular with local residents. After its life as a hotel/restaurant, the house was converted into an apartment house until the early 1990s when its current owner began an extensive restoration to return the home to its original condition. The home is currently the residence and law offices of Mark L. Vincent.

Worthington
One of the oldest homes in Rushville has been the Worthington Funeral Home since 1953. It was originally constructed in 1835 and was occupied by the Hinmann family and their descendants for nearly a century. Legend has it that Abraham Lincoln stopped to visit with the children of the family as he walked from the home of his friend William Ray to the Old Courthouse on the square. The Federal-Style house is of post-and-beam construction, and is notable for the fanlight over the entryway. Several windowpanes are the originals, as indicated by their greenish tint and irregularities in the surface of the glass. The house was purchased and renovated by O.D. Arnold in 1935. In 1937, Luther Gordon purchased the building for a funeral home. After Luther Gordon's death, Ed Worthington assisted Mrs. Gordon in keeping her business going until he purchased it in 1953. The Worthington Funeral Home has operated under this roof since that time.