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Fire

Articles

5 items

lithograph

Barns fast disappearing from Corn Belt countryside
One would be hard pressed to come up with a more iconic image of the Corn Belt than the old woo...

Article

soldiers standing in smoking rubble

Bloomington inescapably linked to Springfield Race Riot
The Springfield Race Riot of August 14-15, 1908, when thousands of white residents rampaged thr...

Article

This illustration of the new Griesheim Building appeared in a 1901 Bloomington Business Men’s Association promotional piece touting the city’s reconstruction efforts after the Great Fire of June 19, 1900.

Great Fire couldn’t dampen Christmas spirit
The holiday season of 1900 brought more changes than usual for area shoppers flocking to downto...

Article

exterior view of Bloomington Fire Department Engine House No. 4

South side firehouse built after Great Fire of 1900
Although it hasn’t served as a Bloomington Fire Department station for well over seven decades,...

Article

Turbulent times at 19th century Bloomington hotel
The Ashley House, Bloomington’s largest hotel from the Civil War until its fiery end in 1900, h...

Article

Blog

1 item

McHistory: Early Settlers Battled Prairie Fire to Tame the Land
Listen to the audio on WGLT's website hereMcHistory goes back in time to explore big momen...

Blog Post

Farming in the Great Corn Belt

1 item

Nature's Forces
The McLean County farmers’ ability to make good choices drove their success or failure. But wit...

Digital Exhibit

Finding Aids

3 items

Bloomington Fire Collection
Just after midnight on June 19, 1900, a great fire began sweeping through much of the city'...

Finding Aid

Bloomington Fire Department Collection
This collection consists of photocopied newspaper articles, a few original artifacts, and a CD-...

Finding Aid

McLean School (Mount Hope Township)
The village of McLean, IL was platted in 1856.  School District No. 5 was laid out and organize...

Finding Aid