Finding Aids about Places
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Angler’s Lake
The citizen effort to preserve Angler’s Lake, located in southeast Bloomington, began in 1979. Bloomington residents recognized the val...
Arthur Pillsbury Collection
Arthur L. Pillsbury designed schools, churches, businesses, and homes, in the early 20th century. His buildings represent some of the ...
Baby Fold
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 a...
Beich Collection
Born in Wehlau, East Prussia in 1864, Paul Frank Beich received his early education at Culm where his father was headm...
Bloomingdale School (Randolph Township)
Bloomingdale School began in 1856 when a roughly built house was located at the southwest corner of Section 17. This building was moved...
Bloomington Cemetery Association
The Bloomington Cemetery Association (BCA) was a private stock corporation that operated the Bloomington Cemetery from 1857 through 196...
Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA)
The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA) occupies a site built in 1921 to house The American Passion Plan and other arts a...
Bloomington Fire Collection
Just after midnight on June 19, 1900, a great fire began sweeping through much of the city's downtown. By 8 a.m. the next morning,...
Bloomington High School
This collection contains ephemera, newspaper clippings, course guides, handbooks, and programs from dances, theatrical performances, co...
Bloomington Public Library Time Capsule 1977
In August 1977, Withers / Bloomington Public Library staff sealed a time capsule at the new library. The contents were opened on Novemb...
Bloomington Public Schools
The collection includes sorority histories, anniversary programs, bylaws, membership booklets, convention booklets, minutes, etc....
Blue Mound School
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 teacher...
Booker T. Washington Home
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 bl...
Bridgestone Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company became Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire in 1995. The plant in Normal, Illinois, manufacture...
Brokaw Hospital Newsletter
The establishment of Brokaw Hospital in Normal, IL dates to 1896. In 1981, Brokaw Hospital merged with Mennonite Hospital in Bloomingto...
Brokaw/Mennonite/BroMenn Hospitals
This collection includes written materials concerning three interrelated Bloomington-Normal hospitals: Brokaw Hospital, Mennonite Hospi...
Building a Home 505 Bowles
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. A...
Camelback Bridge
The Camelback Bridge is located in the northeast quarter of Section 33, Township 24 North, Range 2 East, Third Principal Meridian. It i...
Capen Insurance / Capen Family
The Capen family emigrated from Dorchester, Dorset, England in 1630 and settled in New England. Henry Capen (1832-1906) was a businessm...
Carius, Larry
Washington, IL, native, Larry Carius worked for the McLean County Health Department (MCHD) for over forty years from 1968-2008. As food...
Carlock Public Library
Opening in 1979, the Carlock Public Library, formerly known as the Carey E. Burdette Memorial Library, provides the library needs for t...
Carlock Schools
This collection of school records documents the activities of a rural school district. These records were donated by the FDIC upon the ...
Castle Theater
The Castle Theater opened on Nov. 21st, 1904 in Bloomington, Illinois. During its initial run, the Castle featured Vaudeville shows and...
Cemeteries in McLean County Collection
The collection includes a listing of cemeteries in McLean County, as well as specific information on individual cemeteries, such as new...
Century of Progress Collection
A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as The Chicago World's Fair, was a held in the Chicago from 1933 to 193...
Children’s Theater Association of Bloomington-Normal
The Children’s Theatre was the brainchild of Martha Mary Vybiral to promote children’s theatre productions with child participants to e...
Community Players
In 1923 a women's club met in Bloomington and discussed creating a group to perform some amateur theatricals. The first production...
Constitution Trail
Constitution Trail is a “linear park” that provides more than 37 miles of trails for biking, hiking, and walking in the greater Bloomin...
Corn Belt Bank
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 189...
Corn Bowl
A true “Middle West” tradition: college football on Thanksgiving Day. The Corn Bowl was sponsored by the Louis E. Davis Post No. 56 of ...
Dimmitts Grove Neighborhood Association
Dimmitt’s Grove is one of Bloomington’s oldest neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Association, formed in 1987, covers a geographical area ...
Downtown Bloomington Historical Survey
In 1984 Greg Koos and William Walters began the work of obtaining National Historic standing for the Bloomington Downtown Area. Their w...
Downtown Bloomington Redevelopment Collection
The downtown Bloomington Redevelopment Collection contains various plans and miscellaneous information. Newspaper clippings, independen...
Ensenberger Building
G.A. Ensenberger and Sons had become a successful retail furniture store in Bloomington. Although the founder died in 1917, sons Frank...
Ensenberger Furniture Store
The Ensenberger Furniture Store Collection sheds light on the activities of this Bloomington company from its initial founding in 1879 ...
Espey (Pharmacy)
The small, brick building at the northeast corner of Main and Front streets is one of the earliest brick buildings constructed in Bloom...
Eureka Williams Electrolux
Charles U. Williams came to Bloomington in the late nineteenth century. He was an itinerant photographer who decided to relocate to the...
Franklin Park
Franklin Park (also known as Franklin Square) was donated by David Davis, William F. Flagg and William H. Allin, April 26, 1856, and wa...
Garst, Elmer Record Book
A grocer and amateur historian from Stanford, Elmer Garst compiled information about local births and deaths, ministers of local church...
General Electric
General Electric opened in Bloomington in 1955 at 1601 GE Road in then-rural east Bloomington. The plant, which employed some 1,000 in...
German Evangelical Church
This collection includes newsletters, bulletins, anniversary booklets with church histories, newspaper articles, budgets and annual mee...
Grand Opera House
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...
Gravestone Photographs
This photograph collection consists of four box books of gravestone photographs and associated information photographed, written and co...
Helen Littleton Burns Postcard Collection
This remarkable collection is comprised of postcards sent to and collected by Helen Littleton Burns, or members of her family, mostly b...
Historical Markers
Historical markers such as plaques, cornerstones, and others have been used since at least the early-to-mid 1800s in Illinois. Among th...
Holy Trinity Church and Schools
The first time the name "Holy Trinity" appears in the directories for Bloomington was 1880-81, but under the full name of &qu...
Home Sweet Home Mission
Billy Shelper founded the Home Sweet Home City Rescue Mission in 1917 after attending a Billy Sunday revival meeting at the McLean Coun...
Houghton School
Houghton School received its name because it was situated on the Stephen Houghton farm. A frame house built one and one quarter miles ...
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central was a major carrier of passengers on its Chicago to New Orleans line and between Chicago and St. Louis. The IC re...
Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School (ISSCS)
The Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School Collection is organized into six boxes containing materials dating from 1865 to 2...
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University was founded in 1850, with its first building erected in its current campus only a few years later. Startin...
Klemm’s Department Store
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, whi...
Lake Bloomington Association
The Lake Bloomington Association formed to improve the Lake Bloomington Area and the surrounding areas. The Lake Bloomington Associati...
Lincoln School
This collection consists of a series of albums and notebooks relating to Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Bloomington. There are al...
McLean County Bank Building
In 1853 the original McLean County Bank was founded as the first bank in Bloomington. It was eventually dissolved, and the new bank was...
McLean County Courthouse Clock
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....
McLean County Courthouses
Documents include general histories, newspaper articles, architects’ specifications, cornerstone and dedication ceremony programs, time...
McLean County Ethnographies
Illinois State University anthropology professor Dr. Rob Dirks collected essays from his students on an array of ethnographic topics....
McLean County WWII Memorial
The WWII Memorial Committee was formed in the fall of 1994 after Normal Mayor Paul Harmon noticed there was a memorial for local soldie...
Mennonite Hospital Newsletter
The establishment of Bloomington's Mennonite Hospital dates to 1919. By 1940, the hospital operated a nursing home and a nursing c...
Mennonite Hospital Nursing
The Mennonite School of Nursing was established as the Mennonite Sanitarium Training School in 1919, with the first commencement in 192...
Miller Park
This collection contains various newspaper articles associated with Miller Park, programs from the outdoor summer theater performances,...
Money Creek Municipal
Money Creek Township included six square miles of land used for agriculture. The present-day Village of Towanda is where Money Creek To...
Moraine View State Recreation Area
This collection includes newspaper clippings from 1941 through 1985, plus manuscript histories of Dawson Lake and of the LeRoy Sportsme...
Moses Montefiore Temple
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 w...
Multiple Listing Service
Multiple listing service (MLS) is a set of services that real estate brokers use determine how their fees are split among brokers and s...
Murray & Carmody Funeral Home
Frederick E. Murray, undertaker, opened his funeral or memorial home at 914 N. Main Street, Bloomington, Illinois, in 1932. According t...
Normal Avenue Neighborhood Club
The Normal Avenue Neighborhood Club was formed in the Spring of 1931 by Irene Buzzard and Elsie Popejoy. Limited to women in the neigh...
Normal Community High School
This collection contains course catalogs, PTA booklets, school publications, programs from plays and concerts, commencement programs, a...
Normal Theater
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 ope...
Old House Society
The Old House Society is a nonprofit organization in McLean County devoted to the preservation and celebration of architecture of the p...
Old North Normal Historic District Association
Old North Normal is the oldest intact area of continuous residential development north of Illinois State University and Uptown Normal. ...
Old Settlers Association of Eastern McLean County
From 1885 to 1915, self-described “old settlers” of eastern McLean County held an annual picnic celebrating the bygone pioneer era. At ...
Olde Towne Neighborhood Association
The Olde Towne Neighborhood Association was formed in 1997 as a non-profit organization. The general purpose of the association was to ...
One O’Clock Schoolers Club
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 Norma...
Patton Cabin
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 Kic...
People’s Bank
The Peoples Bank was first incorporated in March 22, 1869, with George W. Parks as President and had its operations at Center and Washi...
Phoenix Family and Nursery
Materials in the Phoenix collection cover the history of the Phoenix family and its nurseries in Bloomington-Normal. The collection co...
Putman, Dale and Ruth of Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill was founded in the 1840s by Isaac Smalley. He held aspirations that Pleasant Hill would grow due to the Chicago and Alto...
Restaurant Menu
This collection includes menus, placemats, and materials relating to the history of many current and former restaurants in Bloomington/...
Rutledge School (Downs Township)
Rutledge School District was laid out in 1862, but not organized until 1867. The school was named after Charles Rutledge, who had donat...
Sister City Asahikawa
This collection contains correspondence, budgets, fundraiser information, newspaper clippings, 20th and 25th anniversary celebratory ma...
St. John’s Lutheran Church
This collection contains biographical information, historical information, directories, bulletins, annual reports, photographs of membe...
State Farm Building
The State Farm Building in downtown Bloomington, the tallest building in the downtown area, has long been a local landmark. Desi...
Steak N Shake
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 ...
Stevenson Boyhood Home
Adlai E. Stevenson II (1900-1965) was Governor of Illinois 1949-1953, and the Democratic Party Nominee for U. S. President in 1952 and ...
Stickrod’s Drug Store
According to Bloomington-Normal city directory listings, Elmer H. Stickrod established a drug store at 213 W. Washington St. sometime i...
Uniquely Bloomington
In May 1999, the City of Bloomington created a semi-independent commission with city funding. The group secured a director and began wo...
Village of McLean (Crain Research Project)
This collection includes a minimum of one page on each property in the Village of McLean. Information typically includes photograph(s) ...
Vladimir/Canterbury Sister City Committee
Local citizen visits to the Soviet Union, the Portland-based Ground Zero Pairing Project and the Northwestern University 1986 conferenc...
Vrooman
Carl Schurz Vrooman, son of Hiram and Sarah Buffington Vrooman, was born in Macon, Missouri, October 25, 1872. When Carl was three year...
Vrooman Mansion - Theora Stark
The collection includes an array of materials relating to Mansion and to the Vrooman family. It is organized according to the history o...
Wayman AME Church Archaeology
In the summer of 1992, an archeological excavation was conducted at the Wayman A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Church at 806 N. Ce...
William B. Price—McLean County Courthouse
The Mclean County Courthouse, located in the main square (200 N. Main Street) of downtown Bloomington, Illinois, was completed in 1903....
Withers Home
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 ...
Wood, Lois Postcard
This is a collection of over 250 postcards collected by Lois Wood over the years to show life in Bloomington-Normal and surrounding com...
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher...