Featured
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 and ...
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 under ...
ParkLands Foundation
ParkLands Foundation was chartered in 1967 as a private, non-profit corporation under Illinois law. The Foundation had two goals, accordi...
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.
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 Count...
City Directories
Thanks to a partnership with Bloomington Public Library and intern Noah Tang, local directories from 1855-1920 have been digitized, and a...
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
Maps
1867 Bloomington, Illinois (Bird's-eye view)
Library of Congress
1886 Map Of McLean County, Ill.
David Rumsey Map Collection
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. Today,...
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 lif...
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 Center.” ...
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. Jewett. ...
Crothers, Dr. Marie Louise
Dr. Mrs. Marie Louise (DePew) Crothers (1833-1920), wife of well-respected physician and druggist Dr. Eli Kirk Crothers, was one of the f...
Kennedy, Merlin Robert
The local story of the American Civil Rights Movement, especially in McLean County, cannot be told without a chapter on Merlin Kennedy. H...
Featured Collections
Black History Project
The Bloomington-Normal Black History Project (BNBHP) was founded in 1982 and its collections span the 19th and 20th centuries. The collec...
Latino History Project
The McLean County Latino History Project is a cooperative endeavor between the McLean County Museum of History and the Illinois State Uni...
LGBTQ+ History Project
The LGBTQ+ History Project is a collaborative effort of the McLean County Museum of History and Prairie Pride Coalition aiming to right ...
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...
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...
Archives
The Museum's Archive features a wide-range of primary and secondary source material relating to the history of McLean County, from t...
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
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.