File:Dewenters Building (8655646718).jpg

Dewenters Building in the Bloomington Central Business District (1856). It was built for Dr. Eli Crothers as offices for himself and other medical and legal professionals. Abraham Lincoln defended Crothers in the "Chicken Bone Case". On October 16, 1855, a fire in a stable destroyed most of the commercial block north of the county courthouse. One man was killed, and a second man, Samuel G. Fleming, suffered major burns and two broken thighs. Crothers and two other doctors responded to Flemings injury but, doubting that Fleming would live, set the man's leg in splints. Weeks later, the splints were removed and Fleming's leg was found to be crooked. Crothers and the other doctors began a second operation to correct the leg, but the pain was too unbearable for Fleming, and he stopped the operation. Five months later he file dsuit against the doctors, seeking $10,000 in damages. Lincoln responded to the case by delaying it twice--public sentiment was strongly with Fleming when the case was filed and Lincoln sought to diminish this any way he could. After a week of testimony from doctors and witnesses, the jury was unable to reach a conclusion. Lincoln helped to secure a location change from Bloomington to Logan County, arguing that Fleming had "undue influence" over the local population. The case was never heard. The trial got its name from one of Lincoln's unique turns of rhetoric. Arguing that Fleming's bones were brittle due to age, Lincoln held up a chicken bone as an example.

From 1870 to 1998, the building housed the Dewenter & Co. men's clothing store.

This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 85000363.