Reddick Mansion to host events on Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Radium Dial Girls

With summer ending, the Reddick Mansion reported that since January, 898 visitors from 27 states as well as Canada, Spain, Australia and South Africa visited, with 784 coming from over 50 miles away.

“We do everything we can to support the local businesses and restaurants in Ottawa by bringing people here to share in its rich history,” Reddick Mansion Association president Lorraine McCallister said in a news release.

Additionally, 991 individuals attended varied events and rentals sponsored by the association, according to the release.

The mansion will host a variety of fall events, including a “Three Blocks in Time” class, taking place on Wednesday, Sept. 11. It is a part of Illinois Valley Community College’s La Salle County History Series and will cover information about the Lincoln-Douglas Debate, the Reddick Mansion and the Radium Dial Girls.

The class will be available via Zoom or in-person. More information is available at ivcc.edu/communityeducation/lasallecountyhistory.php.

A view of the The Reddick Mansion in Ottawa. Built between 1855 and 1858 by businessman and politician William Reddick, the 22-room Italianate mansion was the most expensive and ornate private home built in Illinois before the Civil War. Located at 100 West Lafayette Street, at Columbus Street, the historically important and architecturally unique house anchors Washington Square, the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas Debate. — Reddick Mansion, at 100 W. Lafayette St., Ottawa, will host its 10th annual Ghosts of Ottawa Past event at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12, among other fall festivities. (Tom Sistak)

Other upcoming events include high school homecoming photos set for Saturday, Oct. 5 and 12, and the association’s 10th annual “Ghosts of Ottawa Past” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12.

The mansion will be participating in the “Victorian Haunting: A Taste of Ottawa and Its Spirits,” sponsored by the Ottawa Downtown Association, which will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19.

“Participants will see the Mansion as she has never appeared before,” McCallister said in the release.

For information, call 815-433-6100 or visit reddickmansion.org.

The Reddick Mansion, located at 100 W. Lafayette St., Ottawa, anchors the Washington Square Historic District, the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas Debate in 1858. It is open for tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday through Monday.