Clayville Historical Site

The Broadwell Inn

This drawing illustrates what the Inn likely looked like during the time that it was an operating Stagecoach stop.

In the summer of 2012 the repointing and chimney repair was completed and the balcony porches on the north and south sides of the Inn were rebuilt.

CLAYVILLE HISTORIC SITE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR FREE TOURS  TUESDAY THRU SATURDAYSpring to Fall10:00AM  TO 4:00PM

CLAYVILLE TRADING POST    10:00--4:00 

TUESDAY THRU SATURDAY

April through September

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photo by T.J.Salsman/The State Journal- Register

Clayville Building on Endangered Historic Sites List

During the mid-19th century, the Broadwell Tavern and Inn was a frequent stop for travelers on the bustling stagecoach route from Beardstown to Springfield. A century later, it was part of the Clayville Rural Life Center, a rural history center run by what was then Sangamon State University. But today, raccoons are the only occupants of the oldest brick building in Sangamon County. Thick vines of ivy cover almost an entire side of the structure, which is surrounded by empty liquor bottles and large downed tree branches. The condition of the building has deteriorated to the point that the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois named it one of the state's 10 most endangered historic places for 2007. LPCI president David Bahlman said "the former tavern is an extraordinarily important structure.""The building marks a turning point in the state's early architecture, when rugged pioneer dwellings began evolving into more comfortable and sophisticated residences."The tavern was built in 1834 by John Broadwell, whose family came to Illinois in the 1820's from New Jersey. The Broadwells were wealthy entrepreneurs who bucked the stereotypical image of the hardscrabble frontier prairie farmer. The two-story tavern Broadwell built closely resembled a country inn in England, where his ancestors had come from.  Downstairs was a kitchen, a commons area, and a bar; upstairs were rooms for travelers to rest. Through the 1860s, the tavern thrived on a steady influx of cattle drivers, merchants, and stagecoach passengers. But as railroads rerouted traffic away from the stagecoach road, business went into an irrevocable decline, according to Ed Hawes who ran SSU's rural history center on the site from 1979 to 1981.In 1961 Springfield physician Emmet Pearson bought the site and built other period buildings around the old tavern to form a sort of pseudo-frontier village. In 1973 Pearson gave the property to SSU, which turned it into the Clayville Rural Life Center and Museum. The University discontinued operating the site in 1992 due to the cost of operating.  It was then leased  to a private party and later sold.

reprinted from an article in the Illinois State Journal, written by Jeremy Pelzer.

The Pleasant Plains Historical Society

In May, 2009, volunteers, led by Jim Verkuilen, formed the Pleasant Plains Historical Society. Soon after, they began raising funds to acquire and restore the Clayville Historic Site. In June of 2009 a purchase agreement was reached and on July 11, 2009, work at the site began. Over 50 volunteers came and by lunch time, for the first time in over 10 years, the Broadwell Tavern was visible from the road. Over the next several weeks over a thousand scrub trees and shrubs were cleared away. Dumpster loads of trash were picked up and hauled away, buildings were secured, and new electic panels replaced old unsafe panels. On September 5th Clayville once again hosted an event open to the public, the 1st Annual Clayville Cruise-in. In spite of a light rain the car show attracted over 40 entries of classic cars, trucks, motorcyles, and antique tractors. For two weekends before Halloween the Historical Society hosted a haunted house that was attended by over 1500 guests. On December 12th the Pleasant Plains Historical Society, Pleasant Plains Schools, and the Pleasant Plains Community Club hosted "A Clayville Christmas."  Over 1000 people turned out on a cold rainy day to enjoy a wonderful Christmas celebration.

Volunteers turned out not just one at a time but whole families came to be a part of the effort to reclaim our history.