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Horses

Articles

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This all-steel “utility” farm building erected near LeRoy in November 1949 speaks to the transformation of Corn Belt barns in the post-World War II years, as the iconic wood-frame “big red barn” of rural Americana gave way to the utilitarian (and far less aesthetically pleasing) machine shed.

End of horse era spurs revolution in barn design
Though it may seem hard to believe, horses remained an integral part of Corn Belt farms well in...

Article

Great Epizootic of 1872 ravaged the horse population
Bloomington’s streets were eerily quiet for several weeks in late November and early December 1...

Article

Blog

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Bloomington Fire Station No. 2 214 W. Washington St., c. 1883
The south side of the 200 block of West Washington Street is seen here about 1883. That’s the t...

Blog Post

McHistory: 33 years on the streetcar
Listen to the audio on WGLT's website hereMcHistory goes back in time to explore big momen...

Blog Post

Shirley by Horseback March 5, 1942
Earlier this week, we ran a photograph illustrating the severe WWII rubber shortage and its imp...

Blog Post

Society Horse Show Fans Field, Bloomington, 1953
Fans Field, an old minor league ballpark once located on Bloomington’s south side, off Main Str...

Blog Post

Farming in the Great Corn Belt

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1822 to 1852
Frontier farmers were faced with the challenge of producing enough livestock and crops to suppo...

Digital Exhibit

1853 to 1899: Feeding and Breeding Livestock
As McLean County farms grew in size, so too did the farmers' ability to raise livestock fo...

Digital Exhibit

1853 to 1899: Labor
The railroad arrived in 1853, bringing with it an influx of immigrants willing to provide labor...

Digital Exhibit

Finding Aids

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Dairies Collection
Bloomington-Normal has been home to family dairies that delivered milk to customers since the m...

Finding Aid

Draft Horses Collection
The history of Norman horses in Normal is closely linked to the Dillon family, first known as E...

Finding Aid