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A pleasant afternoon at the
National Railsplitting Festival
[September 02, 2026]
Beautiful weather on Saturday
made for a lovely day to explore all that the Balloons Over 66
weekend had to offer including the Abraham Lincoln National
Railsplitting Festival held on the grounds of Postville Courthouse.
The Railsplitting Festival commemorates Abraham Lincoln’s job as a
young man on the Illinois prairie. Along with various competitions
on Saturday and Sunday, the courthouse lawn was full of music,
vendors, and old-time demonstrations.
On the front lawn of the Postville Courthouse, the welcome tent
greeted visitors with information about activities all around town,
as well as raffle tickets for sale to help support the Railsplitting
festival. Craft vendors also had tents along the front walkway and
volunteers manned a popcorn booth next to the welcome tent. Local
musician Silas Tockey provided music on both Saturday and Sunday
afternoons in front of the courthouse with bales of straw for some
classic country seating.
Old-timey games were set up around the property, as well as
challenges like guessing how many pennies were in a jar and a
contest to see who could peel the longest continuous apple peel with
a knife. Norah Vannoy won the challenge with an apple peel measuring
162 inches long. One of the prizes was an original brochure and
envelope from the National Railsplitting Festival of 1972, which was
four days long and culminated on the 4th of July.
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Local Boy Scout troop 102 had a
tent with a variety of scrumptious-looking food for sale: biscuits
and gravy, street tacos, cobbler, pulled pork, cowboy stew, potatoes
on a stick, loaded potato soup, and other goodies. Around back of
the courthouse, a field was set up with targets for guests to try
their hand at ax throwing. Another music venue with straw bale
seating was set up at the back of the courthouse, and Postville
Courthouse itself was open for tours.
Demonstrations such as making apple
butter over an open fire, treadle wood lathing, and washing clothes
in a metal washtub fit the pioneer atmosphere of the railsplitting
contests. Many demonstrators wore period clothing around their
homestead stations on the shaded lawn. The National Railsplitting
Festival at Postville Courthouse was well worth a visit for a
peaceful wander and a tiny glimpse into young Abe Lincoln’s time.
National Railsplitting Festival Postville Courthouse walkabout photo
slideshow
[Stephanie Hall]
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