Clayville, Illinois, Sangamon County is a ghost town with a rich history waiting to be discovered by those intrigued by the past. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: Sangamon County
Zip Code: Not available
Latitude / Longitude: 39.8570° N, 89.9765° W
Elevation: Approximately 620 feet (189 meters) above sea level
Time Zone: Central Time Zone (CT)
Established: Around the early 19th century, Clayville was established as a small community in Illinois.
Disestablished: Gradually declined in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to its status as a ghost town.
Comments: Clayville was a significant hub for travelers and traders during its heyday. It was home to the Broadwell Inn, a major stop along the stagecoach route between Springfield and Beardstown.
The town thrived during the 1830s and 1840s but eventually diminished as transportation patterns changed and railroads bypassed the area.
Remains: The most notable remaining structure is the Broadwell Inn, partially restored and recognized for its historical significance. Other town remnants are scarce, with only a few foundations and artifacts scattered throughout the area.
Current Status: Clayville is considered a ghost town, with limited activities focused on historical preservation and education. The site attracts history enthusiasts and visitors interested in exploring Illinois’s past.
Residents of Sangamon County took steps, starting in the late 1900s, to preserve Broadwell Tavern and reconstruct adjacent wooden structures as a combined work of historic preservation and a local open-air museum.
After an effort to operate the tavern and museum under the auspices of Sangamon State University (a predecessor of the University of Illinois at Springfield) failed in 1992, the tavern was again abandoned and allowed to deteriorate.
Preservation efforts, led by Pleasant Plains neighbors, resumed in 2009. “Clayville Historic Site,” a purpose-organized nonprofit closely affiliated with the Pleasant Plains Historical Society, acquired the abandoned tavern and adjacent land parcels in 2010.
Clayville Historic Site, as of 2015, operates an annual spring festival, summer folk music meets, fall festival, several car cruise-ins, and haunted house festival at the ghost townsite, and has refitted the tavern to restore the exterior and partly restored the interior to its operational appearance in the 1840s.
Remarks: The restoration efforts at Clayville, particularly the Broadwell Inn, offer a glimpse into early Illinois’s architectural and cultural history. The site is occasionally used for educational tours, reenactments, and events that celebrate the area’s rich heritage.
As a ghost town, Clayville invites exploration and reflection on the evolution of communities and the forces that shape their destinies.
The Broadwell Tavern was built in 1824 by innkeeper and land developer John Broadwell as an investment in the Springfield area. The businessman sensed that the nearby county seat of Springfield would grow and its residents would need to travel in and out.
On the American frontier in the 1830s, a tavern typically doubled as a logistics center. The drivers of slow-moving, horse-drawn drays needed a place to spend the night where their horses could be fed and watered.
Illinois law required taverns to provide these services as a condition of receiving a license to serve alcohol by the drink. Although the hospitality of the Broadwell Tavern was never luxurious, the tavern’s fireplaces kept the brick tavern warm, and glass windows helped encourage the guests to get up early and resume their journeys.
The tavern was built in a vernacular Federal style. Clayville Tavern was added to the National Register of Historic Places in May 1973.
