Finding Aids

The 4-H Federation is an aggregate of 4-H members from clubs in McLean County, grouped into one representative body. The primary focus of...

The 9/11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic group, al-Quada against the United States on the morning of...

Terry Garbe established “A Touch of Glass” in 1974 in Bloomington. He moved the business to Normal in 1984 and continued in Normal until his...

An abstract of title, or title abstract, briefly summarizes the various activities affecting ownership of a parcel of land. The abstract includes...

Founded in 1926, the American Civil Liberties Union is the largest national voluntary organization committed to the protection and defense of all...

Adlai E. Stevenson, former Illinois Governor and two-time presidential candidate, grew up in Bloomington and is buried at Evergreen Memorial...

The Adult Education program in Bloomington-Normal had its origins in 1935 and the New Deal WPA, though federal support for the program ended in...

While Frank Aldrich was a banker by trade, he was remembered by many, locally and internationally, because of his hobbies. In his obituary,...

The Normal City Council approved creating the “All About Normal” Civic Academy on October 16th, 2006. The academy provided an opportunity for...

Almanacs are annual publications that include information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other tabular data...

The collection consists mainly of correspondence from Almon Morrow, a private in the Union Army, to his wife, Ruth.

The Alton Railroad Community Band was established to boost ticket sales during the Great Depression. The Band performed in and around the...

This collection contains programs (1897-1993), yearbooks (1893-1993), financial records, annual meeting minutes, newsletters, and newspaper...

The Central Illinois Chapter’s mission is to support and promote the protection of civil liberties in McLean, De Witt, and Livingston Counties of...

Soper Foundry (then known as Flagg Foundry) began in Bloomington in 1874, producing gray iron casting on a jobbing basis, cast iron bridge...

This collection includes various Legion programs and publications, plus newspaper articles and research on the origins of McLean County posts.

The American Passion Play, presented by the Scottish Rite Valley of Bloomington, Illinois, has been a tradition since its original production in...

Amtrak schedules for routes around the country, including Illinois and surrounding states.

Perhaps the best local newspaper reporter at the turn of the century wrote for the Bulletin and published a column as simply “Mme. Annette.” ...

The Antique Study Groups were sponsored by the McLean County Cooperative Extension Service.  The groups met regularly to learn about and...

This collection of The Daily Pantagraph covers the Apollo 11 space flight and Moon landing. The daily coverage includes all aspects of the...

Born in Hudson to William Campbell and Alma Belle Cope Blagg, Beatrice “Bea” Armstrong (1915-1993) grew up in Cooksville. She earned a two-year...

The School Band of America – School Chorus of America was founded July 1, 1959 and established itself as an integral part of the American music...

This collection consists of blueprints, floor plans, renderings, photographs and specifications covering the years of Arthur L. Pillsbury’s...

Organized in 1914 with twelve members, this women’s literary group has programs in members’ homes each month. Individual members present programs...

LaRue Augspurger’s diary records her observations, experiences, and adventures at Mennonite Hospital’s nursing school. The entries are of a young...

The Auth family opened a grocery in Bloomington around 1931 and operated it for many years at 1401 W. Market Street, Bloomington. They later added...

Berneice Emma “Bea” Baas began a career at State Farm Insurance in 1952 as a stock clerk in the warehouse on Empire St. She moved to the Illinois...

Nancy and Allen Mason were pioneers in Normal– moving here just after the Civil War. Nancy Mason opened her home to be used by the active and...

William R. Bach, son of William and Sophia (Koehler) Bach, was born December 10, 1871 in Bloomington, Illinois. He was an attorney in McLean...

John Bagosy, Jr (1949-2016) was born in Bloomington, IL. He served from 1966 to 1972 in the U.S. Army, including two tours of duty in Vietnam as a...

The parents of John Baldini emigrated from Italy to the United States during the major influx of Southern and Eastern Europeans.  The family...

The Bloomington Chapter of the SPEBSQSA was originally named the Bloomington Harmony Club.  The Bloomington Chapter held its first meeting...

Barns are the most important structure on a farmstead. The earliest barns in Central Illinois were modest log buildings, but by the mid-1800s...

Pat Barth donated this collection which contains materials from her early school days and other miscellaneous papers from her days growing up in...

Fannie Mae Bartman was born in 1910 on a farm near New Holland, IL, to Koert and Sunkea Janssen Bartman.  She graduated New Holland High...

Milton Barton worked for Jesse Fell (founder and developer of Normal) and reportedly planted many of the trees at ISU. Barton was part Cherokee...

A column in the October 20, 1857, issue of the Pantagraph suggested that it would be a good idea for some of the young men of Bloomington to form...

Floyd Everett Beel was born to Leown Iri and Emma Jane Calvert Beel in Decatur, IL, on February 9, 1922. He joined the United States Army Air...

Lincoln A. Behr was born in Bloomington June 18, 1896.  Behr enjoyed going to the theater as a form of entertainment.  Behr and Lyle...

Born in Wehlau, East Prussia May 22, 1864, Paul Frank Beich received his early education at Culm where his father was headmaster. He was the...

This collection of farm management materials is from Kenneth and Paul Benjamin who farmed in Old Town Township of McLean County and spans the...

Reuben Moore Benjamin was born in June of 1833 in Columbia County, New York.  Benjamin graduated from Amherst in 1853 and attended Harvard...

Horatio C. Bent was born June 24, 1881 to Horatio G. and Adah Crist Bent. Bent Elementary school in Bloomington was named for his father, Horatio...

The collection includes some newspaper clippings from 1996 through 2018 about the organization, and letters to the membership. The work of the BNF...

The Schwiemann family is traced from 1878 to Charles Schwiemann’s death in 1945, and is linked through marriage to the Bieber family in 1916. The...

Originally from Altenberg, Saxony, Germany, (Christian) Philipp Biederman (18 Jan 1814- Apr 1890) immigrated to the United States. But his birth...

Founded on Jan. 17, 1916, at the Blooming Grove Christian Church, the Blooming Grove Ladies Aid Society worked to provide charitable...

Bloomingdale School began in 1856 when a roughly built house was located at the southwest corner of Section 17. This building was moved one-half...

This collection contains correspondence, meeting minutes, membership lists, and legal documents and leases.

During World War I, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker sent out an urgent call to make women

more active in the war effort. The War Work...

The Bloomington Cemetery Association (BCA) was a private stock corporation that operated the Bloomington Cemetery from 1857 through 1963.  A...

The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA) occupies a site built in 1921 to house The American Passion Plan and other arts and...

The Bloomington Chapter of Sweet Adelines joined Sweet Adelines International in 1952 and

were known as Midwest Gateway #5. They...

The Bloomington Club was formed on September 13, 1886. The Club was the idea of a young lawyer, William H. Beaver, who was new to Bloomington and...

The Bloomington Education Association was organized in June 1967 with nearly half of District 87’s 400 teachers joining at its onset.  The...

This collection consists of photocopied newspaper articles, a few original artifacts, and a CD-ROM of digital images of a scrapbook kept by former...

In 1973, the first Bloomington Corvette Corral event took place.  By 1977, the Bloomington Corvette Corral had grown to be the...

This collection contains ephemera, newspaper clippings, course guides, handbooks, and programs from dances, theatrical performances, commencements...

This collection contains reunion programs and alumni lists for classes of 1930, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1959,...

The History Club of Bloomington was founded in 1880 as a group of women who would meet monthly to read papers on an assigned topic.

The...

This collection contains a variety of histories of early Methodism in Bloomington.  The focus is on the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Salem...

The collection includes sorority histories, anniversary programs, bylaws, membership booklets, convention booklets, minutes, etc.

This...

The Bloomington Rotary Club was organized in 1915.  From the beginning, the Rotary Club members played a large role in the...

Bloomington School District began on February 17, 1857, with “An Act to Establish and Regulate a System of Public Schools in the City of...

Bloomington celebrated its 150th birthday with a free, family-friendly downtown festival on Saturday & Sunday, July 1-2, 2000. Activities included...

Bloomington labor unions banded together on October 18, 1891, to establish the Bloomington Trades and Labor Assembly. Union organizations had...

Aviation buff Marion McClure donated these materials which he used in compiling a 1998 book entitled Bloomington, Illinois Aviation 1920, 1930,...

The Adult Education program in Bloomington-Normal had its origins in 1935 and the New Deal WPA, though federal support for the program ended in...

In 1970 Marge Smith and others began to organize local African Americans to discuss their history. This group (Margarite Esposito, Joe Munro,...

The Bloomington-Normal Garden Club was formed in 1931, originally part of the Art Association. Its purpose was to enable members to share their...

The Bloomington-Normal Symphony Orchestra collection consists of six boxes.  The material dates from 1950 to 1997.  The B-N Symphony...

After a hiatus from 1968 to 1974, the Bloomington-Normal Women’s Golf Association returned to play tournaments in the twin-cities’ 5 golf courses....

Before the age of the ballpoint pen, Americans wrote with fountain pens dipped in ink. In the first half of the 20th century, clerks and others...

What first began in 1858 as a class being held in a private residence, expanded into a school house with a mass of students and teachers. In 1860...

This collection contains autographs of members of the Stevenson family, a biography of Adlai E. Stevenson, an appeal bond, correspondence, death...

The items in this collection were presented by Ron and Doris Bogart to the McLean County Historical Society in honor of their family. The...

The Booker T. Washington Home was founded in 1918 by Mr. and Mrs. Alex Barker.  They housed six children in a small house in the 500 block of...

Gail Boysen-Presit and her family moved from Rochester, Minnesota, to Bloomington, Illinois, where they lived during her elementary school years...

William Kerrick Bracken (1865-1947) was a Bloomington lawyer and Lincoln historian. At his death, his collection of Lincoln books was estimated...

Rev. Frank L. Breen (1886- 1967) was a prominent local Protestant minister in Bloomington.  He was responsible for organizing East Bay Camp...

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company became Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire in 1995.  The plant in Normal, Illinois, manufactures...

William Brigham was born in 1874 near Cooksville, IL. He married Emma Wissmiller in 1902, and died in 1959.

Brigham attended Illinois...

This collection contains alumni association directories, newsletters, meeting programs, and information about alumni service in the military.

The Brokaw Hospital Service League was organized in 1925. It was one of the oldest Hospital organizations of its type in the country. In the...

This collection includes written materials concerning three interrelated Bloomington-Normal hospitals: Brokaw Hospital, Mennonite Hospital, and...

The Brown family lived near Yuton Station, in section 14 of Dry Grove Township. S.H. Brown was a farmer and stock raiser.  He was one of the...

The George W. Brown collection is a compilation of personal documents of the Brown family and those of the Society of Friends.  Among its...

James Proctor Brown was born in 1911 in Morristown, Hamblen County, TN, and died in Bloomington, IL in 1989.  He married Lucinda Zelia McAfee...

Brown’s Business College (1893-1972) offered training for young men and women entering the workforce. This chain of schools, established by G.W....

The house at 505 Bowles, Normal, IL was built from 1951 to 1953 by Raymond W. and Evelyn Pauline Esworthy on a lot purchased in 1950. An addition...

Cecil Burleigh was born April 17, 1885 in Wyoming, New York. The family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where at the age of 6 he showed a talent for...

Captain J.H. Burnham came to McLean County in 1858 as a student at the State Normal University.  At the outbreak of the Civil War, he...

The Bloomington-Normal public transit system opened in 1938 under the name “Bloomington-Normal City Lines Inc.” During its early period, the...

Edward C Butler was born on January 1, 1867, the son of Preston and Elizabeth Cavanaugh Butler, and died on December 29, 1952 at the age of 85. He...

This collection includes calendars from 1888 to present, most with connections to McLean County.  Most calendars are promotional from local...

The Camelback Bridge is located in the northeast quarter of Section 33, Township 24 North, Range 2 East, Third Principal Meridian. It is also...

The Capen family emigrated from Dorchester, Dorset, England in 1630 and settled in New England. Henry Capen (1832-1906) was a businessman, born in...

Washington, IL, native, Larry Carius worked for the McLean County Health Department (MCHD) for over forty years from 1968-2008. As food program...

Opening in 1979, the Carlock Public Library, formerly known as the Carey E. Burdette Memorial Library, provides the library needs for the White...

This collection of school records documents the activities of a rural school district. These records were donated by the FDIC upon the closing of...

William B. Carlock was a prominent Bloomington attorney, member of the Free Masons and member of the McLean County Historical Society. He was born...

The Carlock/Denman/Irvin/Porter Collection contains chiefly personal correspondence, but also school records, calling cards, daily calendars, and...

Box 1 includes items from family members including newspaper articles, a Civil War muster roll, G.A.R. booklets and event programs, Carlton livery...

Ruth Talbott was born on August 9, 1909 in the small community of Potomac, Illinois. She was the daughter of Benjamin Alfred and Anna Louvenia...

Twelve members of the Travel Club resigned and formed the Castalian Club at the home of Sara Hart in Bloomington, Illinois, on November 23, 1925....

The Castle Theater opened on Nov. 21^st, 1904 in Bloomington, Illinois. During its initial run, the Castle featured Vaudeville...

This collection relates to Drew W. Castle (1895-1978) and Edward M. Pike (1838-1924). Pike served in the 33rd Illinois Infantry during the Civil...

This is a collection of newspaper articles documenting McLean County residents who lived to be 100+ years old.

The first school in this district was conducted in 1840 at the Stewart home by V. Fell.  John Moore, later lieutenant governor of Illinois,...

The Central Illinois Art Exposition was possibly the most successful diversion in McLean County during the Great Depression. The drive to bring...

The Central Social Club, originally known as the Diamond Grove Club, was a women’s club originally established by Mrs. H. H. Waggoner, Mrs. Henry...

A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as The Chicago World's Fair, was a held in the Chicago from 1933 to 1934. Originally...

Charles (“Old Hoss”) Radbourn was born in Rochester N.Y. December 11, 1854. In 1855, the Radbourn family moved to Bloomington, IL. During his...

David B. Chesebrough was born March 14, 1932 and died April 29, 2004.  Chesebrough was a pastor in the American Baptist Church for 25 years...

The coming of the Illinois Central and the Chicago and Alton Railroads in the 1850s changed Bloomington-Normal forever.  The railroads...

James H. Childers (1903-65) was born in Tennessee and according to the census achieved a fourth grade education.  He joined the GM&O Railroad...

The Children’s Theatre was the brainchild of Martha Mary Vybiral to promote children’s theatre productions with child participants to encourage...

This collection contains record books, meeting minutes, financial information, membership lists, floor plans, correspondence, newspaper...

From 1941 to today women of the Church Women United Movement have held a vision of Christian unity and prayerful action.  The Movement was...

Circuses had been visiting the area for many years when around 1875 a small wagon circus came to Bloomington and inspired two local brothers,...

This collection contains hundreds of letters written during the Civil War by many people including: Reuben M. Benjamin, Joseph Burnett, H. H....

In 1923 a women's club met in Bloomington and discussed creating a group to perform some amateur theatricals. The first production was Overtones...

Constitution Trail is a “linear park” that provides more than 37 miles of trails for biking, hiking, and walking in the greater Bloomington-Normal...

The Corn Belt Bank was organized December 2, 1891 by General John McNulta, J.T. Snell, and

A. S. Eddy. The bank was incorporated in...

This collection includes Corn Belt Philatelic Society Chatter Newsletters for Dec 1965 through March 1989. Many vintage cancelled stamps are on...

Founded in 1981 as the Corn Husking Hook and Peg Collection Association, the group soon realized that corn items in general attracted broader...

Corn-on-the-Curb, inspired by Chicago’s “Cows on Parade” in 1999, was conceived by Mayor Judy Markowitz to showcase Bloomington’s upcoming...

The Normal CornBelters are a professional baseball team. They began play in May 2010 as a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated...

Cornell School (No. 113) was originally built in the 1860s.  Its location was moved and a new building was erected in 1873 which was...

In February 1977, several women in Bloomington-Normal saw the need to assist domestic abuse victims. They developed Countering Domestic Violence...

This collection covers day-to-day events in Warren F. Craig’s life starting in the late 1930s to 2015 documented in ledger books, which include...

Arthur “Elwell” Crissey, sometimes called “Cris,” was born February 1, 1899, in Windsor, Missouri, the son of William Ernest and Dora (Greene)...

Rachel Crothers (1870/78 - 1958) was born in Bloomington to Drs. Eli Kirk Crothers and Marie Louise (DePew) Crothers. Rachel Crothers' birth year...

Robert D. “Bob” Cumpston (1930-2018) was born, lived and died on his family’s farm near Colfax, the son of Virgil and Doris Weeks Cumpston. He...

Milo Custer was born in 1879 to Samuel and Lucinda Parker Custer. Before settling in Bloomington, Custer lived in Heyworth in southern McLean...

The collection includes a wedding planner book complete with notes, orders and receipts, etc. plus ceremony liturgy, and day-of-ceremony...

Dance cards usually listed the specific dances to be performed and provided lines for ladies to fill in the names of their dance partners. In many...

This collection contains photocopies of correspondence from / to David and Sarah Davis from / to many people, including Abraham Lincoln, George...

William Osbourne Davis was the son of a Quaker farmer from Pennsylvania and began his career as a teacher and farmer. Jesse Fell asked Davis to...

Degree of Pocahontas is the ladies auxiliary of the Improved Order of Red Men. The Red Men is a patriotic fraternity to “inspire a greater love...

The Mary E. Delbridge Collection is organized into ten folders by date and subject with two scrapbooks, photographs, and yearbook filed...

Founded in 1930 as a business woman’s civic group, the Bloomington Chapter of Delphi was part of a national organization. It pursued both...

The 1984 Democratic National Convention nominated Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro for President and Vice President,...

Born in Illinois on 17 July 1838, Harvey C. DeMotte eventually became a prominent Bloomington resident.  In 1856 he entered school at...

The Denman School Club began in 1921 as a means of communication among teachers, students, and parents. Through the years, the club aided the...

School documents, records, and textbooks belonging to Elmer Detloff

Diaries, information on diarists, and miscellany from 1872 – 1960.

George Dietrich (1816-1900) was born in Bevidere, New Jersey, to Pennsylvania parents of German descent.  The seventh of nine children, he...

Julius Dietrich was a well-liked, prominent resident of Bloomington for almost two decades. He was probably best known for being the owner and...

The Dillingham collection consists both of public and private materials from a multi-generational family that lived much of their lives in the...

In 1992 an ad hoc committee requested a study of the future of education in Bloomington-Normal, beginning what would become a campaign for...

The Dooley genealogy of William M. and Minerva Morris Dooley and their descendants from 1869 through 1957 was compiled by Raymond Nelson Dooley in...

Born in Campbell County, TN, David Dossett moved to Anderson County, TN, with his family when he was about fifteen years old. There he became a...

Emmett Douglass was a country school teacher in Lexington around 1900 who later farmed.  His wife was Ammy Rockel.

The collection...

Joseph Harry Dowell (1940-2016) was born January 23, 1940 in Bloomington, Indiana.  Joe began writing songs at the age of thirteen...

In 1984 Greg Koos and William Walters began the work of obtaining National Historic standing for the Bloomington Downtown Area. Their work...

In 1984 Greg Koos and William Walters began the work of obtaining National Historic standing for the Bloomington Downtown Area. Their work...

The collection deals almost exclusively with the family of Peter C. and Fannie Duff (1865-?), who lived at 107 W. Poplar in Normal.  Peter...

Born in Peoria in 1909, Elizabeth “Betty” Hinckle grew up in Peoria and later in Bloomington. Her mother Imogen “Imo” Evans Hinckle was the only...

Richard Thomas Dunn was born on August 21, 1918 in Normal, IL, to Richard Francis Dunn and Clara Huxtable.  After graduating from University...

The East Bay Camp was formed in 1930, when its Director Reverend Breen, with the Kiwanis Club, developed Camp Limberlost.* The first session was...

Edward C Butler was born on January 1, 1867, the son of Preston and Elizabeth Cavanaugh Butler, and died on December 29, 1952 at the age of 85. He...

(Gustave) Edward Miller was born at Danvers in 1886. He wed Lauraline Neal (1900-1977) in 1918 and the couple raised son Robert F. Miller. The...

This collection contains photocopied letters (and digital documents of transcriptions) from Frances Harriet Rowell Ela (1835-1924) and George...

Since the 1970 Illinois constitution, the State Board of Elections has administered the election laws of the State of Illinois. It oversees the...

The Unitarian Investment Club began in 1990 as managers of a fund of loans and gifts to the Unitarian Church. The original 17 members donated or...

The Engle Family Papers Collection consists of 2 boxes. It contains mostly school notebooks compiled by the sisters presumably at a college...

G.A. Ensenberger and Sons had become a successful retail furniture store in Bloomington.  Although the founder died in 1917, sons Frank, Gus...

The Ensenberger Furniture Store Collection sheds light on the activities of this Bloomington company from its initial founding in 1879 by Gustave...

Preston Ensign, 1912 - 2006, graduated from University High School and Illinois State Normal University. He began his career in 1935 making...

The small, brick building at the northeast corner of Main and Front streets is one of the earliest brick buildings constructed in...

Sisters Eunice Speer and Leona S. Pitzer organized a puppet theatre in the late 1960s and named it “Euleo” from their own first names. ...

Charles U. Williams came to Bloomington in the late nineteenth century. He was an itinerant photographer who decided to relocate to the area. He...

John Harwood Evans (1899-1976) was born in McLean County and grew up in Bloomington.  Born of Welsh immigrants, John W. Evans came to...

Joseph Orme Evans (December 22, 1923-March 5, 2007) was a native of Bloomington, Illinois.  He received a bachelor’s degree from the...

This collection centers around the correspondence of the family of Albert Gallatin Ewing. Along with correspondence regarding the personal affairs...

The Ewing family, headed by Nathaniel Porter Ewing (4 Oct 1812 – 24 Jun 1876) and Nancy Elmira Young (24 Mar 1813 – 18 Mar 1897) came to Mt. Hope...

Thomas Ewing was born in Lincoln, Illinois on September 19, 1935, the son of Samuel and Harriett Ewing in Atlanta, Illinois. He was educated in...

This collection of Medical oral histories was gathered by the McLean County Historical Society in 1994 – 1995 for an exhibit on McLean County...

This collection contains research compiled by Dr. Robert Dirks, guest curator and professor emeritus from Illinois State University as well as...

Staff, interns, and volunteers researched and prepared the temporary exhibit “The Greening of the Prairie: Irish Immigration and Settlement in...

The McLean County Museum of History presented this exhibit in 2001. This collection contains transcripts and releases for the oral histories...

William D. Walters, Jr., served as curator for this exhibit and wrote the 1997 companion book The Heart of the Cornbelt: An Illustrated History of...

The McLean County Museum of History presented this exhibit in 1999. This collection contains the reference materials gathered by the exhibit...

Staff prepared these materials for the short-term 2002 exhibit “9-11: McLean County Responds.” 

This collection includes the exhibit...

Guest curator Ross Kennedy and staff member Susan Hartzold prepared these materials for the 2008-2010 exhibit “A Turbulent Time: Perspectives of...

This collection contains outlines for temporary exhibits featured at the McLean County Museum of History for which no separate boxed collection...

Ezra Prince, a prolific local historian, was born in Maine in 1831. He attended Harvard University and moved to Bloomington in 1856 and set up a...

The organization began in 1961 as the McLean County Home Economists in Homemaking. They became an affiliate of the American Home...

The collection includes both loose and bound copies of the Family Circle, a Pantagraph Employee Newsletter “Issued For and By Members of The Daily...

In February 1903, seventeen farmers’ cooperative grain elevator companies met to form the Farmers Grain Dealers Association of Illinois for their...

Ezra Thomas Farrell (1884-1962) and Sylvia G. Walston Farrell (1882-1964) farmed in Hudson, until about 1918, when they relocated to...

Jesse W. Fell was a Bloomington, IL businessman and landowner. He is also known for founding of Illinois State University as well as many...

Dr. J.H. Fenelon was a physician who practiced for more than 45 years in McLean County. During his time of practice in Bloomington, Dr. Fenelon...

Joseph Fifer was born near Staunton, Virginia, in 1840, and moved with his parents to Danvers, Illinois in 1854.  His wife, Gertrude (Lewis)...

John W. Aldrich founded and became the first president of the First National Bank of Normal in October 1893. The By-Laws were adopted and the...

The Birney-Fleming family, of Scotch-Irish extraction, emigrated from Ulster, Ireland, to Harrison County, Ohio in 1812-14. Members of...

Elizabeth Irons Folsom was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1876.  She moved to Bloomington as a young girl and graduated from Bloomington High...

In October 1888, twelve young women met after school to launch the Four O’ Clock History Club. The object of the Club, according to the...

Franklin Park (also known as Franklin Square) was donated by David Davis, William F. Flagg and William H. Allin, April 26, 1856, and was named...

The Freedom Train began as a concept formulated by government officials in early 1946. Strongly supported by the Archivist of the United States...

Dwight E. Frink was born in Bloomington February 16, 1874.  He was educated in the ward schools of Bloomington and Illinois Wesleyan...

The Collection includes photos and records of the Fuller family, including those relating to

William H. Fuller, Emma Pagel Fuller, Delmar...

The Margaret Fuller Club met for the first time on January 30, 1893, at the home of Emma Brown in Bloomington, Illinois.  A women’s literary...

The Funk family arrived in McLean County from Ohio in 1824.  Over the years Isaac Funk acquired 22,000 acres of farmland and upon his death...

George W. Funk was the firstborn son of the Hon. Isaac Funk, Sr. and Cassandra Sharp, founders and pioneers of Funk’s Grove. He was born May 14,...

The Game Designers' Workshop Collection contains material about the war-games and science fiction games industry, with particular attention to the...

A grocer and amateur historian from Stanford, Elmer Garst compiled information about local births and deaths, ministers of local churches,...

This collection contains papers relating to the details of a Dry Goods business partnership in Hadensville, Ky., Burton & Gaunt (R.W....

General Electric opened in Bloomington in 1955 at 1601 GE Road in then-rural east Bloomington.  The plant, which employed some 1,000 in the...

Carolyn Mabel Schertz was born October 13, 1892 in Hudson, Illinois, the daughter of David Schertz and Carrie Kaufman. The Schertz family moved to...

Alfred and Lena Gentes were born in Illinois, both of German immigrants. Alfred was born around 1882. Lena was born May 22, 1879, and died October...

Born in 1904 to Sarah Myers and George A. Washburn, Gladys moved with her family from the Heyworth area to the Padua area when she was 12 yr old. ...

Kim Goben was born on November 15, 1961 to James and Wini Goben. She attended Bloomington High School and later Lincoln College where she earned...

This collection includes newspaper articles, a few business and professional correspondences, household receipts, World War II ration materials,...

Jonathan (J. C.) Goforth moved his family from Canton, Illinois to Bloomington, Illinois in 1903.  Although he and his four...

The Evergreen Chapter, National Gold Star Mothers, was incorporated on October 14, 1950, by the national organization.

This collection...

Carol Mishler Gose collected this material and wrote:  “I remember being in sixth grade in the coat room at Franklin Grade School when we...

Born in Galesburg in 1949, Steve Gossard moved to Normal to study at Illinois State University where he eventually earned a masters in...

Frederic W. Goudy was born in Bloomington in 1865. Goudy spent his early years in Bloomington where he became interested in the arts, especially...

The Grand Army of the Republic was founded by Benjamin Franklin Stephenson of Springfield, Illinois in 1866.  The first post was in Decatur,...

The Grand Opera House was built 1890-1891 and stood at 106-110 E. Market Street in Bloomington under the management of Charles E. Perry. The...

Harvey Graves was born to Sam S. and Clara May Myers Graves in Randolph in 1911. He wed Lottie Whitenack in 1942 (died 1967); Lavon Elder in 1968...

This photograph collection consists of four box books of gravestone photographs and associated information photographed, written and compiled by...

Vern Gray (December 19, 1897- June 28, 1972) was a former curator of the McLean County Historical Society.  Gray became curator in April,...

The collection includes greeting cards and postcards from 1893 to the present, social calling cards, wedding invitations, and invitations to...

The son of Scottish immigrants, Harold Gregor was born in Detroit, MI, and earned his PhD from Ohio State University. He served as professor of...

Hamilton was an active citizen of Normal and McLean County, where she wrote a Centennial Pageant for the town of Normal in 1965, was a Girl Scout...

The Ruth Bitting Hamm collection contains several folders in four boxes.  The items included are correspondence, maps, posters, photographs,...

Arlene Genevieve Elliott was born July 8, 1919 to William and Ida E. (Ward) Elliott. She had two sisters, Pauline and Margaret. The family resided...

Born in Lawndale, Illinois, in 1882, James “Jimmie” Michael Hart was initially reared in Atlanta, Illinois.  His Irish-born father worked for...

Henry Hartzold was born about 1862 in Lancaster, PA. He moved to McLean County in 1894, becoming a prominent farmer near Danvers. He and his...

This small collection along with a large collection of photographs was found in the attic
of a house in Normal, IL. James C. Harvey was a local...

Ralph Waldo Emerson Hasenwinkle was in the Spanish American War, Philippines, 1898-1899. He graduated from Yale University in 1904, and then...

Delmar Haxel, born in Bloomington in 1920, worked for the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad for thirty eight years.  He served as supervisor of...

The first reunion of the descendants of Jacob Hay (1818-1882) and Sarah Philpps Hay (1818-1897) was held September 19, 1937, at Miller Park,...

Born in 1906, Charlotte Murray wed Bloomington-born Thomas Hayden in 1933, after he had lost his first wife. The couple farmed east of...

This remarkable collection is comprised of postcards sent to and collected by Helen Littleton Burns, or

members of her family, mostly...

This collection consists of a series of scrapbooks put together by Grover C. Helm, who wrote most of the newspaper advertisements and banking...

This collection includes over 600 letters, 160 postcards, a book of nurserymen’s hand-colored plates, circa 1880, and other nursery materials,...

Hamer J. Higgins (1840-1902) began apprenticing as a marble cutter at Haldeman’s Marble Works on East Front Street in downtown Bloomington. By...

The Highland Park Women’s 18 Hole League was started in July of 1932 at the Highland Park Municipal Golf Course in Bloomington. Ann Donovan, the...

Guy Hilton bought a 160-acre tract next to his father’s farm in Section 11 of Dry Grove Township, and established a dairy herd in...

Papers written for Historical Geography classes and Independent Studies by students of William D. Walters at Illinois State University from 1971...

Historical markers such as plaques, cornerstones, and others have been used since at least the early-to-mid 1800s in Illinois. Among the many...

Frederick A. Hitch (1882-1947) resided in Bloomington his entire life. After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1905, he entered...

Most of this collection is correspondence between the Hodges (1830-1880), land and estate documents (1815-1890), and receipts.  There is also...

The Holder collection consists primarily of materials from John’s time of service in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. The collection is in one...

The first time the name "Holy Trinity" appears in the directories for Bloomington was 1880-81, but under the full name of "English Catholic Church...

Billy Shelper founded the Home Sweet Home City Rescue Mission in 1917 after attending a Billy Sunday revival meeting at the McLean County...

Jim Hoppe is an avid lover of history and McLean County. He has written manuscripts about various aspects of WWI, and has discussed and given...

Houghton School received its name because it was situated on the Stephen Houghton farm.  A frame house built one and one quarter miles south...

Elbert Green Hubbard (June 19, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he had...

This collection contains funeral books for various members of the Humphrey family.

The State of Illinois headquarters for IAA & FS Services, Inc. was moved to Bloomington/Normal in the early 1960’s. A packet was given to the...

Most of this collection consists of loose items from a travel scrapbook from Ida Reeder, a long time nurse with State Farm. The scrapbook is...

The Illinois Air Force Mothers Club began in 1970 to support Air Force personnel at bases and hospitals around the world, as well was in Illinois,...

The Illinois Central was a major carrier of passengers on its Chicago to New Orleans line and between Chicago and St. Louis.  The IC reached...

This collection contains rosters, newspaper clippings, command report, narrative, and other materials related to the National Guard in...

In 1978 the Illinois Shakespeare Festival was established. The Festival is held each summer on the grounds of Ewing Manor by the Illinois State...

The Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School Collection is organized into six boxes containing materials dating from 1865 to 2000. ...

Founded in 1857 as Illinois’ first public university, Illinois State Normal University (today known as Illinois State University) celebrated its...

The Illinois Traction Company, later known as the Illinois Terminal Railroad Company, was commonly referred to as the Interurban within...

The Illinois Tractor Company was in business in Bloomington for a brief period, likely between 1913 and 1924.  Super-Drive tractors were...

Illinois Wesleyan University was founded in 1850, with its first building erected in its current campus only a few years later. Starting as a...

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal, service-based organization that had its beginning in Baltimore, Maryland in the early part of...

Formed in 1969 in Bloomington, Illinois the International Tapetronics Corporation (ITC) tasked itself with the: design, production, and resale of...

Clarence Edgar Irvin owned and operated several Bloomington theaters.  He was the founder of Irvin Amusement Inc.  In 1914 he built the...

Lawrence E. Irvin, son of Patrick and Mary Irvin, was born May 27, 1911 at Lake Bloomington, Illinois. He attended Trinity High School and...

The collection includes newspaper articles, receipts, prescriptions, recipes, bank checks, tax bills, legal papers, land deeds, US and Canadian...

Floyd Iseminger (1879-1980) was born and lived his entire life in Bloomington. He quit high school out of lack of interest in what they were...

The collection includes Illinois State University football guides, basketball guides, football programs, basketball programs, and miscellaneous...

Born in Bloomington in 1897, Elizabeth Stevenson “Buffie” Ives was the first of two children born to Lewis Green and Helen Davis Stevenson. She...

Associate Professor of Business Administration Fred Hoyt has long asked his students to each study the marketing of a local business. Each study...

James S. Ewing (1835- 1918) was born in what is today Woodford County. He came to Bloomington as a boy in 1840 and lived here nearly all the...

The collection consists primarily of Jennie’s diaries covering the years of her widowhood (1925-1942) when she was 66-84 years of age. Her days...

This small collections contains the records of the Jones & White family reunions and some history of the Jones family of Towanda, Illinois.

This collection contains the prose, poetry and plays written by Ethel Pearle Smith Jones, and some biographical information. The prose includes...

The Judd Family lived in Colfax, Illinois during the 20th century. The Judd and Lucas families were united when Earl J. Judd, son of Earl A. Judd...

Jacob Phillip Jung was born in Nauvoo, Illinois, the son of Christian and Elizabeth Brandenburger Jung, natives of Germany.  In 1869 he came...

This small collection consists mainly of copies of letters and accounts between Milo Custer of Heyworth, Illinois, and George J. Remsburg of Oak...

The letters of George R. Kelley relate to the life and times of a McLean County serviceman during World War II.  In 1938 George worked in...

William F. “Bill” Kemp has served as Librarian/Archivist for the McLean County Museum of History since 2003. In December 2005, he began penning a...

The collection includes the personal papers of Mr. Kennedy, and his wife Beulah (1923-2002).  They include documents from his time serving on...

On Memorial Day weekend in 1970 an estimated 60,000 people, mostly hippies and college-age students, descended on the village of Heyworth, south...

Jonathon H. Kirkpatrick was born in North Liberty, Ohio in 1844.  He moved to Bloomington with his widowed mother and seven siblings. ...

This is a collection of Lois Welsh’s (now Klein) books from a one room school in Gridley Township and later a consolidated grade school in...

The C. W. Klemm collection contains a variety of genealogical information about the Klemm, Howard, Gehrmann and Brown Families, newspaper...

C. W. Klemm came to Bloomington in 1873 after having spent five years in Springfield, IL in the employ of the C.A. Gehrman Company, which was...

Knife and Fork Club International is a social dinner club with chapters in cities across the United States.  In Bloomington, members would...

Robert N. Knight, also known as “Mr. Junior High School,” was a much loved and admired prin-cipal at Bloomington Junior High School for much of...

The KodaRoamers was formed organized in September 1944. The aim of this photography group, according to Mike Lux’s Highlights, was “to create...

This collection contains financial, medical, and military information, correspondence, and scrapbooks for the parents, grandparents, siblings,...

The Greg Koos collection contains published and unpublished works by Greg Koos, executive director of the...

Hester Adams Kuerth (1891-1982) was a fifty-year member of the McLean County Home Extension.  She was also a member of the Gridley American...

List of on-the-job fatalities in McLean County

Perry LaBounty was born in Ashkum, Illinois in 1888 and died in Bloomington, Illinois in 1971. LaBounty had a long and successful career in the...

William P. LaBounty was born September 1, 1930, educated in Bloomington schools, and IWU, enlisted in the Air Force in 1953 spending much of his...

This collection includes a selection of materials preserved by Jennie Mae Taylor of Bloomington primarily from the Auxiliary and the Department...

The Lake Bloomington Association formed to improve the Lake Bloomington Area and the surrounding areas.  The Lake Bloomington Association has...

The collection materials consist of Lantz’s memorabilia, photographs and booklets from his Army service in the South Pacific, memorabilia from his...

This collection contains essays by Laura from high school, her high school report cards, biographical information written by Dorothy Bernd,...

The McLean County Latino History Project seeks to research and record the culture and experience of Latinos who have settled in McLean County and...

The Barbara Egger Lennon Collection contains many newspaper clippings, personal and professional correspondence, and certificates of achievement...

The John Brown Lennon collection contains newspaper articles, personal and professional correspondence, certificates of membership and merit, and...

This collection contains genealogical research materials for the Lillard family and a World War I chaplain’s diary.

This collection consists of a series of albums and notebooks relating to Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Bloomington. There are also numerous...

V.L. (“Budd”) Fairfield (1926-2009). Bloomington High School American history teacher, served as a member of the 1976 Bloomington Bicentennial...

This collection consists primarily of newspaper recollections of Abraham Lincoln made by McLean County residents.  Lincoln scholars are...

This collection contains miscellaneous publications about Abraham Lincoln.

The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission of McLean County was formed jointly by Bloomington, Normal and McLean County to celebrate the...

The Marie Litta Collection consists of materials relating to the life, career, and death of the famous Bloomington soprano. The bulk of the...

The Longfellow Club dates to April 6, 1882 when Miss Alice Suddeth, assisted by Miss Mae Sherwin (principal of Franklin School), invited a small...

Loyal Star of America is a women’s auxiliary to the Brotherhood Railway Carmen of America. Their aim was to promote the union, provide support to...

This collection includes Hundreds of letters, genealogical work for the families of Edgar and Rachael Lundeen, newspaper articles, excerpts from...

The Major Collection of Letters from Liberia consists of twelve letters written by formerly enslaved people living in Liberia to...

Lester Eugene Manahan was born to Benton and Lillie Manahan in Arrowsmith, Illinois, August 30, 1919.   Eugene graduated from Saybrook...

This collection covers multiple generations of the Mandel-Cohn family and includes personal correspondence; wills and estate documents; house...

Mark Bruno Hayes (1889-1959) was born in Bloomington, Illinois and earned a pharmacy certificate from the Illinois School of Pharmacy in Chicago....

The Judy Markowitz Collection primarily consists of material from Markowitz’s time as mayor, including campaign materials, emails, letters, her...

This collection includes biographical materials; personal, family and business correspondence; church records; estate documents; real estate deeds...

Helmuth and Augusta Mau came to the United States from Germany in the 1890s.  The Maus settled in Bloomington, and Helmuth worked as a tinner...

Marjorie Wood (1913-2008) was born in Melvin, IL and reared in rural Colfax. She wed Eugene Mayer in August 1968; he died in 1997. She died in...

This collection includes personal letters, diaries, genealogies and other family materials.

According to an article in The Pantagraph of July 17, 1942, John and William McEwen established their blacksmith shop in Chenoa on...

John McFee (1830-1877) was a well-known farmer, who also bred Berkshire swine. He lived four miles west of Bloomington. According to the article...

The collection includes Marguerite McKeon and Geraldine McKeon’s personal correspondence from friends and family, many in Canada. Women’s Trade...

This collection primarily contains letters from sons John and James to their parents especially while the sons were at college or medical training...

This collection contains various titles published and printed by McKnight and McKnight Publishing Company. 

This collection includes exhibition catalogs and promotional materials, a coloring and activity booklet for children, event brochures, letters...

The McLean County Arts Council was incorporated in 1972 and served as a funding organization to local arts organizations through 1984. Its major...

The collection contains documents pertaining to the McLean County Bicentennial Arts Festival and Committee planning. There is a multitude of...

This collection includes newspaper articles referencing the various HCE/HEA members and the projects they are involved in, letters from soldiers...

In 1853 the original McLean County Bank was founded as the first bank in Bloomington. It was eventually dissolved, and the new bank was...

The tradition of the McLean County Bar Association since 1897 has been to memorialize deceased lawyers and explain their contributions to justice...

One of the longest-running tournaments in the state, the McLean County Basketball Tournament is a considered one of the area’s premier sporting...

This collection contains various annual reports, handbooks, and manuals from the McLean County Coroner, Juvenile Detention Center, 21st Century...

This collection contains annual reports; contact lists; work program packets; brochures; pamphlets; documents and correspondence related to parks...

The McLean County Clergy Staff / Ministerial Association Collection was donated on September 1998 by Donald K. Nester, who was a Chaplain...

The largest and most successful coal mine in McLean County was the McLean County Coal Co., located on Bloomington’s west side, north of Washington...

The McLean County Courthouse was built between 1900 and 1903 after the Great Fire of June 1900. In the 1960s the courthouse was not large enough...

A clock was installed in the courthouse tower in 1878, and that year it was decided that the bell would toll on the hour and half hour.  The...

In 1967 with the near completion of Interstate 74 and Interstate 55, Bloomington, Illinois had concerns about increased traffic volume. This...

Illinois State University anthropology professor Dr. Rob Dirks collected essays from his students on an array of ethnographic topics.

The McLean County Home Bureau was first established in 1918 by Mrs. Spencer Ewing, and was called the McLean County Home Improvement Association...

The McLean Home Bureau changed its name to McLean County Homemakers Extension Association on July 1, 1962. The association is for development of...

The McLean County Jail Review Committee is a citizens’ group founded in 1980 at the suggestion of then Sheriff Steve Brienen.  It is a...

Responding to an invitation from Vail Deale of the Withers (Bloomington) Public Library, twenty-two librarians from local public and...

In March 1854, fourteen local physicians met to organize a medical society. The Society was for the mutual improvement of its members.” This...

The McLean County Asian Indian History Project was begun in the early 2000s to research and document the culture and experience of Asian Indians...

For more than 90 years, the McLean County Poor Farm, located south of Bloomington, housed some of the area’s poorest and most unfortunate...

This collection contains school directories, exams, and other miscellaneous documents from various time periods, subjects, and schools

The McLean County Sesquicentennial Celebration commemorated the founding of McLean County 150 years before in 1831. It was held on April 25 and...

The McLean County Telephone Co. was organized in spring 1898 with F.Y. Hamilton as its manager.  The company held its first annual...

The WWII Memorial Committee was formed in the fall of 1994 after Normal Mayor Paul Harmon noticed there was a memorial for local soldiers...

The village of McLean, IL was platted in 1856.  School District No. 5 was laid out and organized in 1858.  The present site for the...

This collection includes a minimum of one page on each property in the Village of McLean. Information typically includes photograph(s) taken by...

This collection includes an array of family correspondence, business receipts, legal documents including land deeds, newspaper clippings, local...

Contents of glass time capsule, originally compiled by members of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).

Labeled “Souvenirs of the meeting...

John Rocke had the idea to build a grain elevator to improve the slow and laborious method of scooping grain and corn into bins. Thus, Meadows...

A Bloomington native, Loring C. Merwin served as publisher of the Pantagraph for over three decades.  He worked at the family-owned newspaper...

This collection contains newspaper clippings, genealogical research, annual reports, WWII forms, ID cards, correspondence (WWII and Civil War), a...

This collection consists of materials collected by Helen Millard, mother of Mark Millard. The materials consist of letters, photos (not in the...

This collection contains various newspaper articles associated with Miller Park, programs from the outdoor summer theater performances,...

George H. Miller (1856 - 1927) was one of eight children born to German immigrants in Bloomington; he grew up on the family farm near Bloomington,...

The collection contains single volumes of minutes of various local organizations including: Washingtonian Society, Nineteenth Century Club,...

This collection contains material related to the Mitsubishi Motors Company as well as the Diamond Star Motors joint venture that was founded in...

Alfred Montgomery (1858-1922) was born in Logan County, Illinois, and moved to Bloomington in 1893 from Mason City, Iowa. He was known as...

The Moon family collection contains a diverse amount of material, ranging from correspondence to autograph books to diaries. The collection...

This collection includes newspaper clippings from 1941 through 1985, plus manuscript histories of Dawson Lake and of the LeRoy Sportsmen’s...

This collection contains a miscellany of items, such as newspaper articles, building specifications, correspondence, Paul Moratz publications,...

Charles Morgan, a carpenter by trade, started his diaries in 1896.  In his earliest days he was an itinerant farm worker and wanderer. ...

“He was a humble person, a fine golfer and a great gentleman.” So opined Bloomington Country Club’s John Brokaw in 1952 after losing the Municipal...

The collection includes correspondence (mostly personal), will and probate documents, financial records, newspaper articles, college notebooks,...

John O’Connell Morrissey was born April 13, 1896.  He was educated in Bloomington schools, and attended University of Illinois but...

On May 14, 1882, a group of men of the Jewish faith met in Bloomington “for the purpose of forming a Congregation.” One week later it was decided...

The Mount Prospect School started as a small frame house built around 1855.  The School was situated to be convenient for the pupils, however...

Multiple listing service (MLS) is a set of services that real estate brokers use determine how their fees are split among brokers and share...

The collection includes a number of CAR materials from the local chapter and from Mary Jeannette Munce’s service as state CAR president. ...

Frederick E. Murray, undertaker, opened his funeral or memorial home at 914 N. Main Street, Bloomington, Illinois, in 1932. According to...

Born in 1834 in Kentucky, John Frances Myers came to McLean County as an infant and grew up on a farm.  He attended Illinois Wesleyan...

Nancy Jane Peairs documented her years at Unit 5 in two scrapbooks. They mainly included Junior High and Senior High school. There was some...

This collection contains documents, both official and personal, related to the Ninety-Fourth Illinois Infantry Regiment. Mustered into service the...

In November 1866, a petition for an ordinance prohibiting the sale of liquor in the town of Normal was circulated. The petition was signed by...

The Normal Avenue Neighborhood Club was formed in the Spring of 1931 by Irene Buzzard and Elsie Popejoy.  Limited to women in the...

In the summer of 1939 nine women were invited to meet at the home of Mrs. Wm. (Hattie) Dickey to organize a Normal Garden Club. The purpose was to...

This collection contains course catalogs, PTA booklets, school publications, programs from plays and concerts, commencement programs, and alumni...

In the late 1800s, life in a small university town did not offer many opportunities for artistic and cultural pursuits. In winter 1894, two women,...

The Normal Theater was built by Sylvan and Ruth Kupfer, who owned the 209 North Street lot where the movie house went up. The grand opening was...

The Old House Society is a nonprofit organization in McLean County devoted to the preservation and celebration of architecture of the past in...

Old North Normal is the oldest intact area of continuous residential development north of Illinois State University and Uptown Normal. The...

From 1885 to 1915, self-described “old settlers” of eastern McLean County held an annual picnic celebrating the bygone pioneer era. At its...

The Olde Towne Neighborhood Association was formed in 1997 as a non-profit organization. The general purpose of the association was to instill...

This collection covers the Brenneman ancestry as well as Sandra Brenneman Oldendorf’s personal interests. A handwritten family history of births,...

The One O’Clock Schoolers Club is a social club whose members reside in or resided in the 500-600 block of North School Street in Normal,...

The collection focuses upon William Orendorff (March 26, 1792 – May 12, 1869), one of the first settlers of Blooming Grove, Illinois (1823). ...

The Ella Orendorff Collection consists primarily of newspaper clippings about the Orendorff family who were among the first settlers in this area,...

The collection includes correspondence; land deeds; and assorted documents from Orme’s legal practice and his Treasury Department assignment at...

Damon Garst Outlaw was born April 26, 1912 in Stanford, Illinois to Roy Orville and Alpha Blanch Garst Outlaw.  He attended Center School...

William J. O’Hara (1896-1986) was born in the Hudson area, the son of Owen and Johanna O’Neil O’Hara. A lifelong farmer, he also served in the...

Joseph Paddock was born in Pana, Illinois, the family moved to Evanston where Joseph went to grade school and high school. He enrolled in...

The first newspaper in the area was the weekly Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate begun by Jesse Fell in 1837.  The...

The Pantagraph added a locally developed "Wilson and Phyllis" cartoon to their Sunday comics section in 1984. These child-oriented safety tips...

The Pantagraph Printing and Stationery Company originated as the printing department of the Daily Pantagraph, which was founded in 1846. Some...

Founded in Bloomington in 1868, Parker Brothers continued under Parker family ownership for over one hundred years. Although the family sold the...

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

The Patton Cabin was built by John Patton in 1829, making it the oldest extant building in McLean County today. It was built near a...

The Peoples Bank was first incorporated in March 22, 1869, with George W. Parks as President and had its operations at Center and Washington...

Catherine Anne Perkins Martin (1900-1885) was born in Stanstead, Canada October 15, 1800 and married Eleazar Martin in 1826. Eleazar Martin (1796...

Materials in the Phoenix collection cover the history of the Phoenix family and its nurseries in Bloomington-Normal.  The collection contains...

The history of McLean County has been recorded and captured on vinyl covering a variety of subjects in a variety of ways. From the...

Richard “Dick” Pistole was born in Heyworth, IL. After graduating from Heyworth High School, Pistole became instrumental in spreading the...

This collection includes an array of ballots, flyers, pamphlets, and correspondences regarding election and candidate information for...

The company was started in 1898, located at the corner of Grove and McClun streets in Bloomington. The White-Evans Manufacturing Company...

Ida Porter was a soprano who could sing in English, German, French, and Italian; both classical and modern concert songs, cavatinas, and arias. ...

Awadagin Pratt was born in Pittsburgh in 1966.  He began studying piano at the age of six.  When he was nine, his family moved...

The Price School Social Club was a group of women associated with Price School, which was located on Old Ireland Grove Road in...

The Mclean County Courthouse, located in the main square (200 N. Main Street) of downtown Bloomington, Illinois, was completed in 1903....

This collection contains documents, newspaper clippings, and other two-dimensional objects that Mr. Purnell compiled throughout his lifetime. All...

Pleasant Hill was founded in the 1840s by Isaac Smalley.  He held aspirations that Pleasant Hill would grow due to the Chicago and Alton...

A local literary organization affiliated with the State and National American Pen Women’s Organization, the Quill Club met monthly with special...

The J. R. Quinton Collection consists of one box with thirty-eight folders. It primarily contains letters written by J. Richard Quinton to his...

The collection includes assorted books of labor agreements, wage schedules, rules books, manuals for operators and engineers, and...

The collection includes copies of newspaper articles and obituaries of individuals killed in railway accidents. These include individuals...

Railroad foremen used time books to record workers’ names, hours, wages and specifics of projects undertaken.  Train engineers and firemen...

Nancy Jane Peairs documented her years at Unit 5 in two scrapbooks. They mainly included Junior High and Senior High school. There was some...

Although the collection donated to the Museum provides limited information, the Ramsey family lived in Hudson and its surrounding rural...

This collection holds the educational materials used by Stella Bennett, a certified Red Cross Instructor. The materials include class...

Most of this collection consists of loose items from a travel scrapbook from Ida Reeder, a long time nurse with State Farm. The scrapbook is...

Bloomington-born William C. Reiner (1882-1945) worked as an upholsterer for the Alton Railroad for 40 years, also running his own upholstery...

Evelyn Reis, also known as Evy, was born on September 17, 1918 in Chenoa, Illinois.  She is a writer and poet.  She is also known for...

This collection includes a selection of materials donated by Carol A. Reitan largely involving her civic life as mayor and her two senatorial...

This collection includes menus, placemats, and materials relating to the history of many current and former restaurants in Bloomington/Normal and...

Vic and Sade was a radio show (1932 – 1945) and short lived television show (1957) created by Paul Rhymer (1905 – 1964) in 1932 while working at...

Charles Edward Rice (October 5, 1949-October 17, 2008) was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a talented musician, and a close friend of Greg...

Claude Ringo (1911-2005) was born in Saybrook, IL, to Atlee and Belva Pearle Swaim Ringo. In 1933, he married Marjorie I. Ringo (1911-2004), who...

Michael Louanna Casey-Beich organized the Rock of Praisers in 1990 from her home at 1107 E Jefferson Street. Michael Louanna Casey-Beich is the...

Elias William Rolley was drafted into the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC), became a commissioned officer, and was stationed throughout the...

Gordon L. Ropp was born in Normal on April 5, 1933. He served as State Representative from 1979-1993 representing the 44th and later the 88th...

David Claypool Ross (1851-1938) was a teacher, lawyer, lecturer and businessman, living in Bloomington during much of his adult life. At times he...

The Rowlands family collection contains letters, music writing booklets, hand drawn maps, school papers, and teaching certificates. 

The Runge Collection consists both of public and private materials primarily from the 1930s and 40s related to their running of a farm near...

Rutledge School District was laid out in 1862, but not organized until 1867. The school was named after Charles Rutledge, who had donated some...

This one box collection holds a variety of items including: family correspondences from the Ryburn family to the Orendorffs, a collection of...

This collection includes consists of two separate subjects. Box 1: Harold K. Sage’s files of correspondence related to his Abraham Lincoln...

David Salch was an insurance salesman who grew up in Bloomington, Illinois. His parents were helped establish the western branch of State Farm in...

This collection includes scrapbooks, posters, and photographs from Irene Delroy’s career.  It also includes correspondence,...

William Franklin Satterfield, called Frank, was born on October 3, 1890 at Marion, Illinois and died September 16, 1967 in Bloomington. In 1910,...

Emmett – Scharf Electric Co. opened for business on April 20, 1922 with Fred Emmett as the electrical manager and Ed Scharf the bookkeeper. They...

This collection contains student school books from 1850 – 1860

In 1992 an ad hoc committee requested a study of the future of education in Bloomington-Normal, beginning what would become a campaign for...

This collection contains miscellaneous school records 1873-1948

Herman C. Schultz (1912-1995) was born in McLean County, Illinois.  He was inducted into the United States Army on April 23, 1941 in...

The Garrett Scott 2003 Re-Election Campaign Collection primarily consists of material around the time of the Town of Normal’s primary and regular...

John Milton Scott was born on August 1, 1823 in Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois. In 1

The starting point for this collection is Donna Sebastian, who donated the materials and who completed a significant amount of genealogical...

Frank See was born in Virginia to Nimrod See and Margaret Sherman. He was a 34-year-old farmer at Stanford, Illinois, on July 2, 1900, when he...

This small collection contains photos, a scrapbook, programs, newspaper clippings and an ID card, mostly relating to plays that Dorothy...

This collection includes approximately 750 individual pieces of sheet music, booklets and books copyrighted from 1870 through 1968. A few are...

Shirley Schools (No. 73) and its district was organized in 1854 with John Foster, Hiram Quinn, and James Boulware as directors. Cordon Weed...

The Silverleaf Club Collection materials range from 1924 to 1962. The club's minutes make up the bulk of the materials. The Collection consists of...

Simmons was built in 1856 when Joel Simmons sold the district the site at the southeast corner of the N.W. ¼ of Section 8 for $20.  It was...

During his life, Sinclair published a trilogy—American Years (1938), Years of Growth (1940), and Years of Illusion (1941)—which is a partly...

This collection contains correspondence, budgets, fundraiser information, newspaper clippings, 20^th and 25^th anniversary...

Kent Slack was an intern at the McLean County Museum of History in 1981.  His project included researching Company C of the 33rd Illinois...

Robert Sidney "Sid" Smith (1873-1935) was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on February 13, 1873. His father Thomas H. Smith was one of the city's...

Helen Smitson (1898-1978) was the daughter of David C. Smitson (1860-1940) and Mary Elizabeth Brown Smitson (1859-1925). Helen had two...

This collection contains biographical material, newspaper articles, bibliographies, examples of Sohl fiction. Gerald Allan “Jerry” Sohl was born...

William Edison Moulic Sr. and his two sons founded Moulic Specialties in 1945, a company that produced gadgets such as an alarm attached to a...

The Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Collection consists of personal and form letters, membership lists, check receipts,...

George Soule came to America on the Mayflower in 1620 a servant to Edward Winslow’s family. Descendant Lafayette Soule (1823-1918) wed Amelia...

Includes rosters, newspaper articles, burial records, programs and proceedings from annual veterans’ encampment meetings, war history and...

The collection holds commercially printed sports (or trading) cards featuring individuals associated with McLean County, either having lived here...

This collection contains biographical information, historical information, directories, bulletins, annual reports, photographs of members,...

St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing was a Catholic institution conducted by the Sisters of The Third Order of St. Francis, under the direction...

St. Mary’s Catholic Church also known as the German Catholic Church was founded in 1867 by the German Catholics of Bloomington, Illinois. The...

The State Farm Building in downtown Bloomington, the tallest building in the downtown area, has long been a local landmark. Designed in 1928 by...

One of the largest co-ed holiday basketball tournaments in the nation, the State Farm Classic began in 1975 as a boys’ high school competition and...

Steak n Shake was founded by Gus Belt in Normal in 1934.  He converted a gas station / chicken restaurant into the first Steak n Shake with...

Nelle Hefner Steele (1902-1985) was born in Lexington and began teaching in 1933 in rural schools with 8-15 students. Later she taught in Unit 5,...

The Ruth Steele Teaching Collection includes the patterns for various holiday displays and posters: Easter, Christmas, Valentine,...

Born in Spring Valley, IL, in 1951, Girard C. Steichen earned a BA in philosophy at University of Wisconsin in 1974 and an MA in German and...

The Stern family moved to Bloomington in 1905, where Jacob Stern opened Stern’s Furniture Co. The firm was located at 504-06 North Main Street in...

This collection holds the correspondence between Robert Sterzbach and Alyne Tracy from January 1944 to June 1945.

Julia Parnelle Palmer Stevens was born January 3, 1835, in Madison County, Illinois, the daughter of Louis Palmer. She died on September 9, 1909,...

The Minnie Saltzman Stevens Papers consists of personal and legal papers belonging to the noted Bloomington-born Wagnerian soprano.  The bulk...

Adlai E. Stevenson II (1900-1965) was Governor of Illinois 1949-1953, and the Democratic Party Nominee for U. S. President in 1952 and 1956. ...

This collection contains newspaper articles, correspondence, campaign materials, political cartoons, FBI memos, play scripts, and other materials...

The collection includes primarily newspaper articles from a number of years of Adlai Stevenson II’s life (1943-1970) from a variety of different...

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II was born in Los Angeles, California on February 5, 1900.  He is the grandson of Adlai E. Stevenson I who served as...

The collection includes primarily newspaper articles from a number of years of Adlai Stevenson II’s life (1943-1970) from a variety of different...

J.B. (James Bell) Stevenson (1838-1890) was the third of at least seven children of John Turner Stevenson (1808-1857) and Eliza Ann Ewing...

This collection contains correspondence to Archibald Stewart from May 1858 to 1894.  Correspondence is from his mother, Jane Stewart, his...

According to Bloomington-Normal city directory listings, Elmer H. Stickrod established a drug store at 213 W. Washington St. sometime in...

Robert Eugene Streid, born July 28, 1916, was a lifetime Chenoa resident farmer educated in the Chenoa schools and at Illinois State...

Robert Stubblefield and Isaac Funk were very early settlers of McLean County in what is today Funks Grove Township. The Stubblefield - Funk...

Michael D. Sublett, born 1943 in Kansas City, Missouri, received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Missouri in 1966.  He...

A professor of music at Illinois State University starting in 1969, Frank Suggs promoted African American music both on campus and in the broader...

The collection includes copies of newspaper articles and obituaries where the cause of death is listed as suicide. Articles are about suicides...

“Building a Better Home Town,” by H. Clay Tate was published in 1954. He wrote from his experiences as editor of The Daily Pantagraph and also as...

In January 1931, Louise Muxfeld organized a group of Bloomington High School girls into the Gamma chapter of Tau Epsilon Delta. (The original...

The ASUVCW Collection consists of encampment proceedings (1933-40), constitutions and by-laws, rituals and other assorted materials (1918-43). ...

The McLean County Clergy Staff / Ministerial Association Collection was donated on September 1998 by Donald K. Nester, who was a Chaplain...

This collection contains clerical records including: muster in and out rolls; inventory of supplies and clothes; casualty reports; orders received...

The collection contents indicate the Thoms family lived in the area as early as 1883, with Carl and Augusta Glawe Thoms having migrated...

Irving Stanton Tick (1928-2011) was born in Bloomington, Illinois and was a 1951 graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles. Mr....

Irving “Irv” Tick (1928-2011) and Joan “Jobie” Marie (Sayler) Tick (1929-2021) were both longtime residents of Bloomington, engaged in...

The Tilbury Flash is a single-seat American racing monoplane designed and built in the 1930s by Owen Tilbury and Cecil Fundy. The aircraft was...

Born in Waverly IL in 1878, Ralph C. Smedley graduated Illinois Wesleyan University in 1903 and a year later became educational director of the...

This collection contains program booklets (1906-2009), meeting minutes, treasurers documents, club history, and more from the Travel Club.

The Joan M. Travis Spiritualism Collection consists of items about the concept of spiritualism and some of its organizations in the United States...

This collection contains biographical material, newspaper articles, bibliographies, several science fiction periodicals featuring Tucker fiction...

William “Bill” Adams (1927-2013) grew up in a family which participated in the Turner organization in Bloomington.  In the early 1980s,...

This collection contains documents relating to the Stubblefield and Tyner families as well as the Tyner family farm.

The Archives at McLean County Museum of History has six folders concerning the Underground Railroad in McLean County. This document...

The Justice Robert C. Underwood collection contains newspaper articles, correspondence, speeches, campaign and election materials, and personal...

In 1950, Chicago-based Union Asbestos & Rubber Company (UNARCO) established a manufacturing plant on Bloomington’s west side, on the grounds of...

Originally laid out with three sections in this county and about the same number in Tazewell County, this district, composed entirely of low...

In May 1999, the City of Bloomington created a semi-independent commission with city funding. The group secured a director and began work in...

In 1935, local community leaders founded the Community Chest of McLean County that later became United Way of McLean County. During this time,...

The collection contains booklets produced by the University Christian Church, directories, outreach materials, Prayer and Social Meeting topic...

This collection covers the lab school beginning as part of ISNU through its success today as part of ISU. The twenty-one folders contain: history,...

In 1976, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency formed a Task Force on urban stormwater as a source of water pollution. This Urban...

Leon “Vandy” Vanderwater (1898-1998) was raised in Kankakee, IL and moved to Bloomington, IL in 1921 to work for the Cable Piano...

Vera Pearl Kemp was born December 19, 1895 at London, Kentucky, daughter of James and

Cora Pearl. She attended Nazareth Music College in...

The Veterans of World War 1 organization was created in 1949, first in Ohio, and then, in 1954, in Illinois. In 1958, the 85th Congress of the...

Several organizations present a "Moving Wall" -- a scaled down replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The purpose is to...

This collection includes a minimum of one page on each property in the Village of McLean. Information typically includes photograph(s) taken by H....

Citizen visits to the Soviet Union, the Portland-based Ground Zero Pairing Project and the Northwestern University 1986 conference on...

In many ways, the 1930s, 1940s, and into the 1950s represented the golden age of local baseball in Bloomington-Normal and the surrounding area,...

Steve Vogel worked at WJBC/WBNQ Radio in Bloomington beginning in 1972 in the news department, eventually becoming News Director. He hosted a...

Founded in mid-1989, Voice for Choice was a local organization “devoted to ensuring the right to safe and legal abortion and the continued...

Carl Schurz Vrooman, son of Hiram and Sarah Buffington Vrooman, was born in Macon, Missouri, October 25, 1872. When Carl was three years of age,...

The collection includes an array of materials relating to Mansion and to the Vrooman family. It is organized according to the history of the...

William Osbourne Davis was the son of a Quaker farmer from Pennsylvania and began his career as a teacher and farmer. Jesse Fell asked Davis to...

Collection contains newspaper clippings, performance programs, photos, and ephemera tracing Jack Waddell’s operatic career (mostly in Germany),...

Located in Blooming Grove (Bloomington Township section 22), Walker School is generally recognized as the first school in McLean County. Residents...

In the mid-1850s, the Joseph Walker family established a farm on the northern edge of Normal. Frank Albert Walker (d. 1939) was about six-months...

Glen Wallace was an employee of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) for more than twenty-five years. Wallace moved to Normal in...

This four-box collection contains correspondence, professional work, academic work, and notes of William Wantling as well as material collected...

Born in 1904, Dorothy M. Washburn was a daughter of M/M George Washburn of Bloomington.  George was a principal in the family’s flower and...

In the summer of 1992, an archeological excavation was conducted at the Wayman A.M.E. Church at 806 N. Center Street in Bloomington. The...

Sidney Webb was born on December 28, 1899 in Leicester, England. He came to America with his parents in 1904. He served in World War I as...

This collection spans from 1927-1941 and contains many photocopied and original newspaper clippings relevant to the activities of Mayor...

The Wheeler family papers were given to the McLean County Historical Society by Harriet W. Hoffman of Pontiac, Illinois. The documents are largely...

Reginald Whittaker, born April 23, 1925, lived all his life in Normal. His parents were Walter and Caddie Whittaker. He attended Normal Central...

This collection spans from 1970 to 1977.  The collection contains balance sheets, newspaper clippings, correspondence, FCC applications,...

An Ohio native, John Wilcox (1858-1920) came to McLean County as a child.  During adulthood he ran a sawmill and later a successful tile...

Carolyn Mabel Schertz was born October 13, 1892 in Hudson, Illinois, the daughter of David Schertz and Carrie Kaufman. The Schertz family moved to...

Professor Emeritus of Geography, Walters taught at Illinois State University for many years. His research explores diverse aspects of Central...

Charles U. Williams came to Bloomington in the late nineteenth century.  He was an itinerant photographer who decided to relocate to the...

Doug Williamson, born in Bloomington 8-8-1943, lived in Bloomington-Normal most of his life and taught in District 87 for 30 years. ...

Edward Mayne Wilson was born August 16, 1866, in Dale Township, McLean County.

From an early age, Wilson showed great interest in writing...

When Sarah B. Withers died in 1897, she left her home at 305 West Locust Street in Bloomington, Illinois to the trustees of the Second...

The WJBC Radio Collection consists of eight boxes and 41 folders containing materials ranging from 1924 to 2000. Items in the collection include...

WLS Radio’s National Barn Dance was one of the most popular and longest running programs on radio. The show blended music, comedy, and down-home...

The J.L. Wolcott Collection contains photocopies of newspaper articles and advertisements for Wolcott’s undertaking business, his diaries from...

The Woman’s Club of Bloomington-Normal collection consists of two boxes.  The dates of the material range from 1897 to 1997, and the club is...

This is a collection of over 250 postcards collected by Lois Wood over the years to show life in Bloomington-Normal and surrounding communities in...

Woodward, known by his friends as “Hod,” was born on August 21, 1878 to Walter M. and Ellen N. Woodward in Franklin, New Hampshire. At the time...

During the summer of 1918, the State Council of Defense of Illinois organized local committees to collect “World War”-related documents...

The World War II Collection contains papers, diaries, personal and military correspondence, photocopies of articles, and official documents that...

The Interviewers were senior students of W. Michael Weis, Ph.D., Professor of History at Illinois Wesleyan University.  Interviewees...

World War II erupted in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and ended with Japan’s surrender in September 1945. The US, still...

The World War II Magazine Collection contains publications that were kept or found by residents of McLean County, many of whom participated in the...

The World's Columbian Exposition was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival...

Martin Anders Wyckoff was born in Normal, Illinois April 20, 1950, to Delmar and Elizabeth Anders Wyckoff. He is a graduate of Normal Community...

Laurence (Larry) Yeast was born in McLean County June 11, 1915.  Yeast was a Bloomington High School graduate and served in the Civilian...

Wallace Yoder’s mother was Harriett Katherine Ayers, daughter of Luther and Ida Ayers. She was born about 1913-15, married Lester Yoder, Wallace’s...

Fred H. Young (1892-1980) was born September 21, 1892, in Normal, and graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1915.  He...

The YWCA organization was founded in England in 1855, but women were active in the organization in McLean County as early as 1889, when the Second...

This collection contains material relating to the life and career of World War I veteran Charles J. Zobrist. Born February 16, 1895, in...