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Online Object Database

The Museum is excited to launch our online database, which allows viewers to browse through over 800 object records that had previously been for internal use only. The object records list information such as the object’s name, description, period of creation, associated people, images, and more.

Finding Aids

Detailed inventories of archival collections housed in our onsite archives.

Brokaw Hospital

In 1894 five physicians made pledges of $500 each toward the creation of a hospital that would be located midway between Bloomington...

Susie’s Cafe

The Susie in Susie’s Cafe was Elizabeth “Susie” Swearingen. The cafe was first located at 108 E. Front St. in downtown Bloomington...

ParkLands Foundation

ParkLands Foundation was chartered in 1967 as a private, non-profit corporation under Illinois law. The Foundation had two goals,...

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Photos

Architecture of McLean County
Thousands of images of the built environment, from the earliest cabins to construction of homes in the 21st century.

Work in McLean County
Thousands of images showing hundreds of occupations that helped build McLean County, and the people who labored within them. 

Public Life in McLean County
Images in this collection include clubs, schools, parades, sports, service organizations, government, and medicine in McLean County.

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Publications

Links to dozens of publications about McLean County history, digitized by the Museum and other institutions

Black History
Publications include History of the Illinois Association of Club Women and Girls, 1901-1975, History of African Americans in McLean County, Wayman AME 175 Year Anniversary, and more!

City Directories
Thanks to a partnership with Bloomington Public Library and intern Noah Tang, local directories from 1855-1920 have been digitized, and are available on the Internet Archive.
34 items

General Reference
Good Old Times in McLean County, The Biographical Record of McLean County, Illustrated History of McLean County, and much more.
17 items

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Maps

Schoolhouses in McLean County

Bloomington, Illinois 1867 (Bird's-eye view)
Library of Congress

Map Of McLean County, Ill. 1886.
David Rumsey Map Collection

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Pages from our Past Articles

Articles on various topics, written by Museum Librarian Bill Kemp for the Pantagraph

‘Pop’ Horton organized campus circus fraternity in 1929

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the death of Dr. Clifford E. Horton, one of the titans of Illinois State University athletics....

Bloomington inescapably linked to Springfield Race Riot

The Springfield Race Riot of August 14-15, 1908, when thousands of white residents rampaged through the city’s black areas destroying...

Eastland Mall transformed Twin Cities

“A shopping trip takes on all of the glamour and excitement of the space age when you visit the beautiful new Eastland Shopping...

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Biographies

We will continue to add biographies as we write them. We hope you will enjoy exploring these stories and find them a useful resource.

Austin, Grace Jewett

Grace Merrill Jewett Austin was born on January 12, 1872 in Laconia, New Hampshire.  She was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. A.H.C....

Crothers, Dr. Marie Louise

Dr. Mrs. Marie Louise (DePew) Crothers (1833-1920), wife of well-respected physician and druggist Dr. Eli Kirk...

Kennedy, Merlin Robert

The local story of the American Civil Rights Movement, especially in McLean County, cannot be told without a chapter on Merlin...

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Featured Collections

Online Object Database
The Museum is excited to launch our online database, which allows viewers to browse through over 800 object records that had previously been for internal use only. The object records list information such as the object’s name, description, period of creation, associated people, images, and more.

Black History Project
The Bloomington-Normal Black History Project (BNBHP) was founded in 1982 and its collections span the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection contains photographs, portraits, booklets, articles, and photocopies related to club organizations and churches of the local Black community. In 1989, the Black History Project was affiliated with the McLean County Historical Society, which now serves as a repository for the project's collections.

Latino History Project
The McLean County Latino History Project is a cooperative endeavor between the McLean County Museum of History and the Illinois State University Latin American and Latino Studies Program. The project's purpose is to research and record the culture and experience of Latinos who have settled in McLean County and to identify and collect artifacts associated with their culture and lives. 

Onsite Resources

Stevenson-Ives Library
The Stevenson-Ives Library contains more than 16,000 books and periodicals with a focus on McLean County and Central Illinois history and genealogy.

Object Collection
Our object collection of more than 18,000 artifacts preserved at the Museum document the growth and development of McLean County from the prehistoric period through the present.

Archives
The Museum's Archive features a wide-range of primary and secondary source material relating to the history of McLean County, from the 1820s to the present.

Websites

Links to even more McLean County history online!

Social Justice Walking Tour
Explore how 19th and 20th century Bloomington dealt with immigration, labor rights, gender equity, and racial justice.

Digital Exhibits
Read the rich histories featured in our Challenges, Choices, and Change as well as Abraham Lincoln in McLean County exhibits from anywhere!

Internet Archive
Browse hundreds of resources we have uploaded over the years

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Use Policies

Fees for Scans of Archival Images for Commercial Use If you want our staff to scan an image from our Archives for commercial use, see this document.

Fees for Personal Scans of Archival Images If you want our staff to scan an image from our Archives for personal use, see this document.

Digital Reproduction Policy Addresses use of digital cameras and personal scanners in Library/Archives.