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Illinois Fun Facts

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American Folk Dance: Square Dance
Amphibian: Eastern Tiger Salamander
Animal: White-tailed Deer
Bird: Cardinal
Fish: Bluegill
Flag: The flag consists of a bald eagle that is holding a banner with the state motto “State sovereignty, national union” on it in its beak. The eagle's claws are holding a shield with 13 stars representing the first 13 states, and 13 bars. The two dates listed on the boulder stand for the year Illinois became a State (1818) and when the State Seal was redesigned (1868). The ground around it represents the state's prairie soil.
Flower: Purple Violet
Fossil: Tully Monster

Insect: Monarch Butterfly
Mineral: Fluorite
Motto: State sovereignty, national union
Nickname: Prairie State
Origin of state's name: Algonquin Indian for "tribe of superior men
Prairie Grass: Big Bluestem
Reptile: Eastern Painted Turtle
Seal: The Great Seal
Slogan: "Land of Lincoln"
Snack Food: Popcorn
Soil: Drummer Series
Song: Illinois - lyrics by: Charles H. Chamberlin music by: Archibald Johnston Theatre: The Great American People Show
Tree: White Oak

Did you know that....

  • The famous Lincoln-Douglas debates were hosted by the towns of Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton which created an interest in the slavery issue. In1865, Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery.
  • The Lincoln Home National Historic Site, where President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln lived before he was elected President, is located in Springfield. Prior to his election, Abraham Lincoln served in the Illinois legislature and practiced law in Springfield. He is buried near Springfield at the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site. (Editor's Note: Abraham Lincoln is related to the Folsom's through the Gilman Sisters - Abraham's distant Grandmother was Bridget Gilman who was the sister of Mary Gilman who married our forefather John Folsom).
  • In 1893, the first aquarium opened in Chicago.
  • In 1885, the world's first skyscraper was built in Chicago,.
  • The Sears Tower in Chicago is the tallest building on the North American continent.
  • Superman's hometown of Metropolis exists in southern Illinois.
  • The first McDonald's Restaurant open in Des Plaines.
  • Former President Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico. 
  • The only buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire is the Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station.
  • The round Silo for farm storage of silage was first constructed on a farm in Spring Grove.  
  • The 4 stars on the Chicago flag represent Fort Dearborn, the Chicago Fire, the World's Columbian Exposition, and the Century of Progress Exposition.  
  • The Chicago Public Library is the world's largest public library with a collection of more than 2 million books.  
  • The Chicago Post Office at 433 West Van Buren is the only postal facility in the world you can drive a car through.
  • The world's largest cookie and cracker factory, where Nabisco made 16 billion Oreo cookies in 1995, is located in Chicago.