Beecher Hall is the first college building erected in the state of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. It housed Illinois' first medical school in 1843. It is named after the first president of Illinois College

Illinois College

Illinois College is a private, liberal arts college, affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church , and located in Jacksonville, Illinois. It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree . It was founded in 1829 by the Illinois Band,...

, Edward Beecher

Edward Beecher

Edward Beecher was a noted theologian, the son of Lyman Beecher and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher. He was born August 27, 1803 in East Hampton, New York. He graduated from Yale College in 1822. After this he studied theology at Andover. In 1826, he became the pastor...

. Beecher Hall is recognized by the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

 as being a stop on the Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

. The U.S. Postal Service released a 19 cent postage paid post card featuring Beecher in 1993.