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Finding Aids

Detailed inventories of archival collections in the Museum, organized alphabetically and able to be filtered by topic, from the 1820s to the present.

Show all 728 items

Waddell, Jack
Collection contains newspaper clippings, performance programs, photos, and ephemera tracin...
Walker School (Bloomington Township)
Located in Blooming Grove (Bloomington Township section 22), Walker School is generally re...
Walker, Frank Albert
In the mid-1850s, the Joseph Walker family established a farm on the northern edge of Norm...
Wallace, Glen / Diamond-Star Motors / Mitsubishi Motors
Glen Wallace was an employee of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) for more than...
Wantling, William
This four-box collection contains correspondence, professional work, academic work, and no...
Washburn, Dorothy M.
Born in 1904, Dorothy M. Washburn was a daughter of M/M George Washburn of Bloomington.  G...
Water
The file contains various reports, newspaper clippings, maps, and ephemera regarding the w...
Wayman AME Church Archaeology
In the summer of 1992, an archeological excavation was conducted at the Wayman A.M.E. (Afr...
Webb, Sidney
Sidney Webb was born on December 28, 1899 in Leicester, England. He came to America with h...
Wellmerling, Louis F.
This collection spans from 1927-1941 and contains many photocopied and original newspaper ...
West Twin Grove Christian Church
The first meeting of what would eventually be West Twin Grove Christian Church was organiz...
Western Avenue Community Center
Western Avenue Community Center (WACC) opened in 1926 when Reverend Frank Breen and a grou...
WGLT Program Guides and Annual Reports
...
Wheeler Family
The Wheeler family papers were given to the McLean County Historical Society by Harriet W....
Whelan Irish Correspondence Collection
Between 1985 and 2022, Bloomington resident, Michael (Mike) Whelan corresponded with his I...
Whitmer, Peter
...
Whittaker Family
Reginald Whittaker, born April 23, 1925, lived all his life in Normal. His parents were Wa...
WIHN
This collection spans from 1970 to 1977.  The collection contains balance sheets, newspape...
Wilcox Tile Factory
An Ohio native, John Wilcox (1858-1920) came to McLean County as a child.  During adulthoo...
William B. Price—McLean County Courthouse
The Mclean County Courthouse, located in the main square (200 N. Main Street) of downtown ...
William D. Walters, Jr.
Professor Emeritus of Geography, Walters taught at Illinois State University for many year...
Williams Oil-o-Matic
Charles U. Williams came to Bloomington in the late nineteenth century.  He was an itinera...
Williamson, Doug WJBC Forum
Doug Williamson, born in Bloomington 8-8-1943, lived in Bloomington-Normal most of his lif...
Wilson, Edith
Goldie Edith Peyton Wilson was a resident of Gridley, where she farmed with her husband Ly...
Wilson, Edward M.
Edward Mayne Wilson was born August 16, 1866, in Dale Township, McLean County. His parents...
Wilson, Harrold B. Collection
Harrold Braden Wilson was born June 13, 1904, in Weldon, Illinois, and died June 3, 1991, ...
Winklepleck Family
The Winklepleck family included mostly farmers and teachers in and around Bloomington, IL....
Withers Home
When Sarah B. Withers died in 1897, she left her home at 305 West Locust Street in Bloomin...
WJBC Radio
The WJBC Radio Collection consists of eight boxes and 41 folders containing materials rang...
WLS Barn Dance
WLS Radio’s National Barn Dance was one of the most popular and longest running programs o...
Wolcott, J.L.
The J.L. Wolcott Collection contains photocopies of newspaper articles and advertisements ...
Woman's Club of Bloomington-Normal
The Woman’s Club of Bloomington-Normal collection consists of two boxes.  The dates of the...
Wood, Lois Postcard
This is a collection of over 250 postcards collected by Lois Wood over the years to show l...
Woodward, Horace E.
Woodward, known by his friends as “Hod,” was born on August 21, 1878 to Walter M. and Elle...
World War I Collection
The World War I Collection is divided into five sections, organized from general to specif...
World War I: State Council of Defense
During the summer of 1918, the State Council of Defense of Illinois organized local commit...
World War II Collection
World War II erupted in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and ended with J...
World War II Home Front Oral Histories
The Interviewers were senior students of W. Michael Weis, Ph.D., Professor of History at I...
World War II Interview Papers Collection
World War II erupted in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and ended with J...
World War II Magazine Collection
The World War II Magazine Collection contains publications that were kept or found by resi...