It’s a far cry from Chicago’s famous State Street, but State Street in the quaint village of Lovington is home to two restaurants, Shooter’s Bar & Restaurant housed in an old bank building and The Lunchbox just down the street.

To reach the village, visitors can take Rt. 32 south from Rt. 36 or Rt. 133 west from Arthur.

Lovington was not incorporated until 1873, but its first building, the Black Horse Tavern, was erected in 1838 and served as a popular stop on the Paris and Decatur stage line.

A coal mine flourished near the village at the turn of the century.

A house, with an American flag painted on its wall, can be seen at the southwest edge of the village. It has also been listed in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.