#201: Warren County Courthouse

This cake was one of the farthest from me, at nearly 70 miles! But luckily, it was straight-up interstate highway from Glen Carbon. Warrenton was the first stop on my 'Missouri River'-side journey. When my oldest sister attended Mizzou in Columbia several years ago, I knew we were getting closer to home on the way back via I-70 (Warrenton is the midway point between Glen Carbon and Columbia, MO).

The city of Warrenton, named after General Joseph Warren, was founded in 1835. Its nickname is 'City of all seasons'. Despite of its 'far-out' location, it is considered part of the St. Louis Metropolitan area. This cake is the only one located in Warren County, MO. The city makes most of its external revenue from I-70 travelers.

Facts about the Warren County Courthouse:

This historcal Daniel Boone marker is found outside the courthouse

• Its current building was dedicated in 1998. 
• The former building (built in 1870), which was added to the National Register of Historic Places, was demolished in 1995. 
• It was demolished due to years of outdating, starting in the 1960s because of new Missouri laws in courthouses about juries. In addition, the building and its offices were showing signs of wear. 



This veterans memorial marker is found outside the Warren County Courthouse

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  Close look at the Warren County Courthouse sign

  

  Frontal view of the Warren County Courthouse

  

  A street view of downtown Warrenton, MO (taken from across the courthouse)

  The cake, which focuses on 'the four seasons', which is very fitting:

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

Warren County, Missouri's Official website
Official website

104 West Main St., WARRENTON, MO, 63383
Cake artist: Patty Spellman

#200: Historic Woods Fort

One of the last cakes put out was in Troy, Missouri. This is the northernmost Missouri cake, but not the farthest from downtown St. Louis. Hardin, Illinois' cake still has that honor! The cake is also the only one located in Lincoln County, Missouri. The county, by the way, is named for Revolutionary General Benjamin Lincoln. Troy was named after Troy, New York.

So what is Woods Fort? It is reportedly where the city of Troy began...

One of the reconstructed log cabins

One of the reconstructed log cabins

• The land was given to the city of Troy in 1819 by the founding fathers, Deacon Cottle and Zadock Woods (Vermont natives). 
• A natural artesian spring used to run on this lot but blasting stopped the flow at the time Highway 47 was constructed.
• The spring provided many resources to the city during its early years. During wartime, there was a fort. 
• The fort served as protection from the Indians during the War of 1812.
• It was the headquarters of Lieutenant Zachary Taylor, who eventually became the 12th President of the United States.
• The cabins were built by Cottle and Woods near the spring. Cottle operated the area's first business, which was a grain mill.

Top of the cake

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

City of Troy, MO's Official website

Located at the corner of Main and Boone Streets in TROY, MO, 63379
Cake artist: Paul LaFlam

#162: Southwestern High School

My final Illinois cake. Or so I think...that is, assuming that the remaining four cakes are in Missouri. As I write this, on July 15, 2014, there's 4 more cakes that are left to be put out. It's hard to imagine I covered the Illinois side of the 'Cakeway to the West'! I still got a ways to go, as I'm 7/10ths of the way done. I still haven't yet tackled the western Missouri side yet!

Again, by assumption, this was the last Illinois cake put out. This one happens to be in Macoupin County as it was believed that the stl250 team were searching for a location to put one in the big county. I'm not sure why they put it at Southwestern High School, but I can't say it's a bad idea either. I saw on some thread online that they were going to put it somewhere in Carlinville (the county seat), like at some courthouse or government building. I haven't been to Macoupin all that much, but there are several towns, and apparently stuff that is too good to miss.

When I was young, my church group camped at Beaver Dam Park. I'll never forget the time we went paddle boating in the lake and it rained! In fact, it rained so bad we had to go home. I know a lot of people from the southern Macoupin towns, such as Brighton, Bunker Hill and Staunton. I work with a lot of people from Staunton, since...well, there's nothing up there. A lot of people I know from Brighton were in the radio program with me at Lewis & Clark Community College. And yes, they all graduated from Southwestern.

So I was questioning about the whole cake placement thing at Southwestern. I'd say its unique for one reason: it's only a mile from the Jersey County border! Since the town calls itself Piasa, obviously after the Piasa Bird outside Alton, it makes sense to name their mascot The Piasa Birds. I never would have thought they would name their domain address after that too (?). This would make any Missourian's cake-hunting trip quite worth it as they can start in Alton, go the river road to Hardin, then take Route 16 to Jerseyville and end up here. Then go back down to Alton where they started. Just a tip :)

As a friend of mine from Brighton once said, "You can't say Brighton without 'right on'!"

Here are the cake sides, which fully represent Macoupin County and its towns:

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Official website

8226 Highways 111 & 267, PIASA, IL, 62079
Cake artist: Theresa Hopkins

UPDATE (8/24/2016): The cake is still there.

#131: Greenville Public Library

The sole cake of Bond County is here in its county seat, Greenville. The question on a lot of people's minds in the cake-hunters: Why is there a cake here? Yes, this is a question by those Missourian cake-hunters. As an Illinoisan, I ask the same question about some of their other far-away towns. See, a lot of people don't really get the point of making the drive all the way to Greenville. It is about 50 miles from downtown St. Louis.

While I'm at it, I'll share what I know about Bond County. First, it was named after an Illinois' first governor, Shadrach Bond. Several ordinary small towns are located in Bond County. Country superstar Gretchen Wilson grew up in Pocahontas (or 'Pokey'), as she has made several references to the village in her songs and interviews. Sorento, surrounded by cornfields, was once the home to In-N-Out Burger co-founder, Esther Snyder (Say....when is St. Louis going to get an In-N-Out Burger???). Keyesport is a popular boating place for people who love to chill at Carlyle Lake. The list goes on and on.

As for Greenville, the city was founded in 1815 (remember, that was 3 years before Illinois became a state). It is the home of Greenville College, a popular religious educational institution. Christian rock band Jars of Clay recorded most of their first album there.

The library

The library was built in 1904, and opened in 1905. At the request of then-Illinois lieutenant governor W.A. Northcott, it received massive funding from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. It is one of the few Carnegie libraries that is still being used as a hometown library.

Looks like next year (2015) will be Greenville's bi-centennial! Missed with the coincide of this cake by a hair....

NOW: The cake was removed in mid-January 2015. According to a caker (from Greenville), library workers said that the cake may be re-painted for the city's bi-centennial celebration in 2015. The festivities will take place in September. We shall see....

Greenville, IL's Official website

415 W. Main St., GREENVILLE, IL, 62246
Cake artist: Linda Thompson

#86: Clinton County Courthouse

To most Missourians, this would be the 'holy grail' or the farthest one of them all for them. It's far for me too, but since I made trips to Southern Illinois this year, this cake happened to be along the way there. The cake is approximately 50 miles east of St. Louis.

Clinton County is one of the farthest eastern parts of the St. Louis Metro area. It was formed in 1824 by refitting Bond, Fayette and Washington counties. Carlyle, formed in 1818, became its county seat. It nearly became Illinois' second state capital in 1824, but lost to one vote to Vandalia (it eventually became Springfield). Carlyle was settled on the Kaskaskia River. It is home of Illinois' largest man-made lake, Carlyle Lake, which is very popular for fisherman and for people who just love to hang out on the boat. The lake, which started out as a dam in 1958, was dedicated in 1967.

Front of the courthouse

Behind the courthouse is Clinton County's memorial for war veterans

Cake sides, here we go:

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

Official website for Clinton County, IL
Official website for Clinton County's County Clerk

850 Fairfax Street, CARLYLE, IL, 62231
Cake artist: Paul LaFlam

#13: Calhoun County Community Foundation

The northernmost cake in the 'Cakeway to the West' lies in the sleepy Illinois River town of Hardin. It's probably known for its drawbridge, if anything. Hardin is one of the smallest populated county seats in Illinois (it actually wouldn't surprise me if it was THE smallest). Calhoun County itself claims to be 'the least crowded county' in Illinois. That could be true as well.

Despite of what it says in the title, Calhoun County Community Foundation, the cake is actually located at Horman Memorial Park, which faces the Illinois River.

The Joe Page Bridge, the only bridge linking to Calhoun County

And I figured since I drove that far, I might as well take a few pictures of the town:

Hardin, IL Wikipedia link
Calhoun County, IL Wikipedia link

100 Main Street, HARDIN, IL, 62047
Cake artist: Lindsay Harmon

UPDATE (9/4/2016): The cake is still in Hardin, but it is now placed outside the new Calhoun Historical Society building there (by a 4-way stop)