Did you know that when Madison County celebrated its centennial in 1912, a temporary arch was built in front of the 1857 courthouse, located where the current courthouse is. The arch was designed by Michael B. Kane and contained two large plaques in the interior of the arch. On the plaques were images of Illinois territorial governor Ninian Edwards, who created Madison County by proclamation, and Charles Deneen, the Illinois governor at the time of the centennial. These images are large reliefs, measuring over 3.5 feet tall by nearly 3 feet wide and weighing over 200 pounds each. After the Centennial, they were displayed in the office of Kane Architects in the Bohm building. When the Kane family closed the office in 2011, they were donated to the Madison County Historical Society and are displayed in the foyer of the Madison County Archival Library, at 801 North Main Street in Edwardsville.
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