14 May 2025 - Last Day at Hickory Grove Campground; Tampico IL & Ronald Reagan's Birthplace

 

Today is our last day at Hickory Grove Campground near Sheffield IL.  Although a relatively short three-night stop, we've had a good time and enjoyed this quiet campground.  We decided to explore some of the local area today and drove north about 20 miles to Tampico IL, the birthplace of President Ronald W. Reagan, our 40th President.  He was born here 6 Feb 1911  and moved 6 Dec 1920.  Tampico is a fairly small town with many Amish-Mennonite families that have settled in the area.  A couple bars, one where we had lunch;  a Casey's General Store, a fire department and of course the Ronald W. Reagan Birthplace & Museum and also his boyhood home.  

We started out at the museum and we were greeted by a very nice lady who proceeded to give us a complete guided tour.  The museum is located in what was a grocery store when Ronald Reagan was born here.  It was full of pictures and other memorabilia and I thought that was it, but that was just the beginning!  Over the years the Reagan's made several visits back here.  A few pictures:

Next door to the grocery store was originally a bakery/restaurant which then became the First National Bank that over the years has also served as the city hall but luckily they removed all the beautiful wood counters, teller cages, etc from when it was a bank, and stored them in the basement.  Since then the bank has been completely restored including all the furnishings from the basement and it is GORGEOUS!  Well that was awesome, but wait, there is more!  A few more pictures:

The original safe

Upstairs above what was the bank is the apartment including the bedroom where Ronald W. Reagan was born to Jack and Nellie Reagan.  It also has been completely restored.  The furnishings are not Reagan's but they are all period-correct and accurately represent what the apartment would have looked like when he was born and for the first few years of his life.  More pictures:

The apartment is up about 25 flights of stairs above the bank, which has a very tall ceiling.

The parlor has door so it could be shut off to conserve heat

The bedroom when Ronald W. Reagan was born.

The dining room where we first entered the apartment.  

The stove in the corner provided their heat.

Another bedroom for the older brother Neil

The kitchen area

The summer kitchen including a window that opens into the adjacent apartment. The window used to be on the outside of the building until the bank building was added.

We went back downstairs to the museum and finished up our conversations with our tour guide, and then headed across the street for lunch.  On the side of the building is a mural honoring Ronald W, Reagan.  

We had lunch at the Pitney Store Building, now called the Break Room Pub n' Grub.  Portion sizes were huge and we took half of it back to the RV for supper.  

On the way back we fueled the truck in preparation for our departure tomorrow.  Back at the RV we dumped tanks, flushed, stowed hoses, etc like we have done 12 times so far this trip!

Tomorrow we will make our way east on I-80 then south on I-39 to El Paso IL then further east on IL 24 to our next stop #13, the Caboose Lake Campground near Remington IN (eastern time zone).  I did find a telephone museum in-route in a small town called Gridley IL, so if we can find a route in town that is clear of low-hanging tree limbs and a place to park the big ol' brown truck towing our "tenement on wheels", we might stop.   Gotta love a good telephone museum!

Next report from Remington IN.  Thanks for tagging along!