Bryant Cottage State Historic Site
The Bryant Cottage State Historic Site is a simple four-room house located in Bement, Illinois in the U.S. state of Illinois. It was built in 1856 and is preserved by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as an example of Piatt County, Illinois pioneer architecture and as a key historic site in the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates. Francis E. Bryant Few settlers moved to southern Piatt County, in east-central Illinois, until the 1850s and the coming of the railroad. The ground was flat and open, with few trees to provide firewood for winter. Francis E. Bryant arrived in the young town of Bement in 1856 with a small capital, which he quickly reinvested in general business development as a banker and storekeeper. He bought grain from pioneer farmers, and sold them lumber and coal in return. Bryant was a member of the U.S. Democratic Party and a personal friend of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who was running for re-election in 1858. Bryant played an important role in coordinating Democratic support for Douglas during the race. As a Democrat, Bryant was elected twice to the Illinois Legislature. His first term in 1853 was as the representative of Schuyler County. He served again