Cattle Bank

Cattle Bank
The Cattle Bank, 2016
Alternative names	Champaign County History Museum
General information
Type	Commercial bank
Architectural style	Italianate
Address	102 E. University Ave.
Town or city	Champaign, Illinois
Construction started	1856
Completed	1858
Renovated	1982–83
Owner	Champaign County History Museum
Cattle Bank
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates	40°06′59.4″N 88°14′18.9″W / 40.116500°N 88.238583°W / 40.116500; -88.238583
Area	0.8 acres (0.32 ha)
NRHP reference No.	75000642[1]
Added to NRHP	August 19, 1975

The Cattle Bank is a historic bank building located at 102 E. University Ave. in Champaign, Illinois. Built in 1858, it is the oldest documented commercial structure in Champaign.^[1] It opened as a branch of the Grand Prairie Bank of Urbana, Illinois. Champaign was the southern terminus of a railroad line to Chicago, so cattle raisers from the surrounding area drove their cattle to Champaign to ship them to the Chicago market. The Cattle Bank provided banking and loan services to these cattlemen.^[2] The building housed a bank for only three years. During that time, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is known to have cashed a check there.^[2] From 1861 to 1971, the building housed several commercial tenants. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975^[1] and renovated in 1983. Since 2001, the Cattle Bank has been home to the Champaign County History Museum.