The Miller–Davis Law Buildings, known commonly as the Miller Davis Building, are located on Main and Front Street in the

McLean County, Illinois McLean County is the largest county by land area in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 169,572. Its county seat is Bloomington. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, IL Metropolita ...

city of Bloomington. The law offices served future Supreme Court Justice David Davis and future Illinois State Senator

Asahel Gridley Asahel Gridley (April 21, 1810 – January 25, 1881) was an American politician, lawyer, merchant, and banker. Born in New York, Gridley moved to Bloomington, Illinois, when he was twenty-one. He served as a brigadier general in the Black Hawk Wa ...

. The buildings became a gathering place for local lawyers such as Abraham Lincoln and

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

History

Even before the construction of the Miller–Davis Law Buildings in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

, the street corner of Main and Front Streets were a popular political rallying point.

and David Davis debated Congressional elections here in 1840. The Miller–Davis Law Buildings were the second and third brick buildings in Bloomington, completed in 1843. Future

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head t ...

James T. Miller, a local businessman and land speculator, financed their construction. James Goodheart, William T. H. Miller and Squire Lawrence were tasked with its construction. They are the oldest buildings in the

Bloomington Central Business District The Bloomington Central Business District is a historic district in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The district includes roughly twelve square blocks of the city and encompasses 140 buildings, 118 of which are contributing buildings to the di ...

and the only examples of non-residential 1840s architecture in McLean County.Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
/ref> The offices buildings were used by some the state's most prominent lawyers. The first floor of the Miller building was used as a pharmacy while the second floor was used as law offices. David Davis financed an addition to this building for his own purposes. He practiced law here until he was named to the

Illinois Circuit Courts The Illinois circuit courts are state courts of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 24 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. The jurisdiction of s ...

in 1848.

and

John M. Scott John Milton Scott (August 1, 1824 – January 21, 1898) was an American attorney, judge, politician and philanthropist from Illinois. Although he did not win election to the Illinois Senate from Bloomington, Illinois, he served on both the Illin ...

practiced in the Miller offices starting in 1848. Among the lawyers known to have met with Davis, Scott, and Gridley are Joshua R. and Jesse W. Fell,

William W. Orme Brigadier General William Ward Orme was born in Washington, D.C. in 1832. He moved to Bloomington, Illinois, in McLean County, prior to 1860 where he practiced law in the law firm of Swett & Orme. His partner was Leonard Swett. While practicing ...

, Ward Hill Lamon, James T. Miller,

Leonard Swett Leonard Swett (August 11, 1825 – June 8, 1889) was a civil and criminal lawyer who advised and assisted Abraham Lincoln throughout the president's political career. Early life Swett was born in 1825 near Turner, Maine and educated at North Ya ...

, Stephen A. Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller-Davis Law Buildings Buildings and structures in Bloomington–Normal National Register of Historic Places in McLean County, Illinois Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Law offices Legal history of Illinois