Located at the heart of Bureau County, Princeton, the county seat, is an active and growing community of 7600. A visit to historic Princeton offers something for everyone. Map of Princeton.

Take a leisurely stroll down the many tree-lined brick streets and enjoy the rich architectural heritage. See beautiful homes in the Prairie, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and other styles, several of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. A self-guided tour brochure is available from the Chamber of Commerce.

Princeton's rich historic legacy is further revealed by touring the Bureau County Historical Society Museum and the Lovejoy Homestead, the latter of which is a National Historic Landmark due to its importance as a station on the Underground Railroad network to freedom. Rev. Lovejoy became a congressman and helped in the preparation of the famous Emancipation Proclamation.

Check the Calendar for city-wide events like Beef & Ag Days and Festival 9-3/4 in July, Homestead Festival in September, as well as the Shadows of the Blue and Gray civil war re-enactment and Harvest Fest, both in October. If you're a fan of theater, plan on being in Princeton in late June thru early August for Festival 56, Illinois' largest summer theater festival. For five weeks, the Festival 56 company of professional actors will offer six main stage productions: Broadway musicals, contemporary drama, American literary classics and FREE Shakespeare in Soldiers and Sailors Park. Oakland Speaks is in Oakland Cemetery with period dressed speakers relating stories about those interred there.

Princeton also has the Prairie Arts Council located in the Prairie Arts Center building on the south end of Courthouse Square near the Soldiers and Sailors monument. Numerous shows related to the performing arts and art shows are ongoing throughout the year.

The Quad Cities Rocketry Society (QCRS) together with other Midwest regional rocket clubs sponsor the annual Midwest Power rocket launch near Princeton in late October. This launch features hundreds of high power rocket flights over a three day weekend. Flyers come from all over the Midwest and beyond. Families and the general public are welcome to attend. Detailed information and launch dates are available at www.tripoliquadcities39.com.

New this year is the Art . . .Well Groomed summer event. An unusual "open-air" public art exhibit along Main Street, it will showcase large sculptures of cats and dogs, painted and embellished by talented artists. The project is to aid Friends of Strays no-kill shelter and will run for 10 weeks beginning in July. At the end of the exhibition the art will be auctioned off withe proceeds going to Friends of Strays.

Princeton is ideally located along the I-80 corridor through north central Illinois between the Quad-Cities, Rockford, and Peoria. Amtrak train service makes several stops thruout the day with trains heading west and through Chicago. Added new last year was the Carl Sandburg train. Amtrak ridership has increased steadily from the Princeton depot (which has been restored and is worth a visit whether you take the train or not). If you come from Chicago or other points and need service to one of the local motels, call On-The-Go Taxi. They'll pick you up at the station and transport you to wherever your destination is in Bureau County.

Princeton is also a business friendly community that has an equalized assessed valuation of approximately $120 million. It operates its own thirty-six megawatt power plant with an electric distribution system, a 2.5 million/gallon/day water treatment plant, and a new wastewater treatment facility. Princeton also operates its own solid waste collection program as well as paid full time fire and ambulance department. The city of Princeton offers a full range of economic incentives to attract and retain business. Property and sales tax rebates and low interest revolving loans are just a few of these incentives available to qualifying businesses. Princeton's new Technology Park has a number of desirable lots to build or relocate a company.