Batterton Cabin, 2026. The older of the two signs mentioned is on a post in front of the cabin. The 2017 anniversary sign is attached to the cabin. (SCHS)
The Batterton Cabin at the Clayville Historic Site, probably built in the late 18-teens, is thought to be the oldest structure in Sangamon County.
The cabin is part of a complex of relocated and/or reconstructed historic buildings at Clayville, which is near Pleasant Plains 15 miles west of Springfield.
The heart of the site is the Broadwell Inn, one of the oldest brick structures in Illinois. Moses Broadwell built the inn/stagecoach stop in 1824; it was rebuilt after a fire in the early 1830s. Springfield physician/historian Dr. Emmet Pearson (1906-96) bought the site in 1961, restored the inn, and had several historic buildings, including the Batterton Cabin, moved to Clayville.
Amor Batterton (1772-1835) built the cabin in the process of emigrating to central Illinois from Kentucky. As of 2026, two signs at the cabin differ slightly on details, and an entry in a local historical journal adds to the confusion.
The older of the two signs (the marker is undated but was significantly deteriorated in 2026) says Batterton built the cabin “about 1818” in the Rock Creek area northeast of Clayville. A second sign, erected in 2017 for the cabin’s putative 200th anniversary, says the cabin dates from “the fall of 1817.” (The two signs also differ somewhat on the cabin’s precise original location. The older one says it was five miles northeast of Clayville. The newer one says eight miles.)
Meanwhile, the History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County by John Carroll and Sarah Power (1876) doesn’t contradict the 1817-18 cabin timetable. But it also can be read to suggest the building might be slightly younger. According to the History, the Battertons (Amor, his wife Nancy and their nine children):
… moved to Madison county, Ill., in 1818, and from there to Rock creek, in what is now Menard county, in 1820, thence to what is now Salisbury township, Sangamon county, in the spring of 1822, and settled one and a quarter miles northwest of where Salisbury now stands.”
Whatever the cabin’s exact age, the two markers add other details about its construction. According to the 2017 sign, Amor’s brothers Samuel and James helped build the structure, which “is cut from White Oak and Black Walnut trees found in the Rock Creek area.”
The earlier marker calls the cabin “a fine example of a first generation log cabin on the Illinois prairie.”
“First generation cabin” Refers to a hastily built structure that might have been built with the intent to relocate it at a later date. This cabin was discovered in the interior of the home of Howard and Mary Willis in 1964 when their home was being demolished to make way for a new residence. The Willis’ (sic) donated it to Clayville that same year and Dr. Pearson had the cabin moved to this site. This cabin is believed to be the oldest surviving structure in Sangamon County. The Batterton family has flourished and descendants from all over the United States have come to visit their early pioneer roots.
After buying Clayville, the all-volunteer Pleasant Plains Historical Society re-restored the once-again-dilapidated property. The site, known in the Springfield area for festivals, reenactments and historic presentations, remained a historical society project in 2026.
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