Dear ILMacoup Rooters, I just want to thank each of you so much for the great instructions you gave me prior to our trip to Carlinville. Mary...thank you for directing me to Marilyn! She was a great help and a very delightful lady. Everyone was so wonderful and so helpful. We had a terrific visit. I have another question. My ggrandfather was a millwright. He came to Carlinville (from Germany) sometime in the 1860's (to the best of my knowledge). My question is...does anyone know if immigrants were sponsored at that time...and if it may have been likely that he came, specifically, to work on the courthouse? I know they stayed until after 1881 when their youngest child was born. They moved to St. Louis after that. Is there any way to find out if that was the situation? I mean...are there any records of who did the fancy carpentry on the courthouse? My husband questioned this possibility. We were so fascinated by the structure and its history. If anyone knows anything about this or where we may secure such information, we would love to know. Again, many thanks to each who responded to my query about how to best utilize our time there. It was delightful! Marianne/VA