On April 26, 1856, David Davis, William F. Flagg, and William H. Allin donated a 590-by-330-foot parcel of land to the city of Bloomington, asking that the park be “...used as a place of public resort, pastime and recreation, for citizens and strangers forever.” The original agreement called for the city to improve and ornament the park, and prohibited the city from erecting any buildings on the square. In 1869, a monument was erected in the center of Franklin Square to commemorate the 700 McLean County citizens who died in the Civil War. Commissioned to Haldeman Marble Works of Bloomington, Illinois, for $15,000, the monument stood 49 feet high with a Lemont limestone base. An inscription read, “McLean County’s Honored Sons: Fallen—but not Forgotten” with engravings of the names of the 700 soldiers that died in service. The structure featured four statues of soldiers and a life-size figure of a colonel atop an 18-foot shaft. Over the next few years, the monument began to disintegrate. A committee organized to resolve the situation stated, “Unfortunately, the material of which the monument was constructed has proved to be so perishable that the names of the county’s heroes have been nearly obliterated and the entire monument is in danger of falling.” Former Governor Joseph Fifer lobbied for the city to tear down the monument and build a new one in Miller Park in Bloomington. The lower half of the monument was saved and is currently located in the Bloomington neighborhood of Briarwood.
Burr House This house was built for Luman Burr at 210 E. Chestnut in 1864 by the Hayes & Evans Contracting Company. It was constructed in the Italianate style and a Queen Anne style; gabled roof, left wing, and back wing were added in the early 20th century. It now operates as a bed and breakfast.
Dodson-Stevenson House - This 1869 home was built at 903 N. McLean St. in the Italianate style for William K. Dodson. The home's second owner was Adlai E. Stevenson I who became vice president under the administration of Grover Cleveland.
McClure House Marion Lee McClure, a farmer, landowner, and land speculator commissioned architect George Miller to build a Romanesque style house in 1906 that resembled one he saw in Chicago. The house is known as "The Castle" and features a third-floor ballroom.
Lillard House This house at 302 Walnut St. was built in 1882 in the Victorian-era Queen Anne style. The first owner of the home, John T. Lillard, was a prominent attorney in Bloomington, Illinois, and married Sarah Davis, daughter of Judge David Davis.
