Infrastructure

Resources are listed in alphabetical order. More information can always be found by using our website search bar, or contacting a member of our staff.

Articles

A small selection of Pages from our Past articles written by Bill Kemp

6 items

Evergreen Lake groundbreaking 50 years ago

Fifty years ago this week—April 27, 1968—Bloomington officials held a groundbreaking ceremony f...

Article

dozens of people are in this image, all standing looking towards the camera. Dirt is in the foreground, as well as a large steamroller. In the background is a two-story brick building, homes, trees, and utility poles. Many men are holding buckets and shovels.

First brick street in U.S. myth endures in Bloomington

At the southwest corner of the Courthouse Square, near the intersection of Center and Washingto...

Article

Picture postcard speaks to power of donations

As a not-for-profit institution, the McLean County Museum of History relies to a considerable e...

Article

Silos sentinels of Corn Belt since late 19th century

Farm silos, an iconic symbol of the Corn Belt, have long flummoxed city and suburban folk. Frus...

Article

The Bloomington standpipe towered over the city between 1876 and 1912. For 36 years, it was the tallest structure in the Twin Cities.

Standpipe once towered over Twin Cities

For 36 years, from 1876 to 1912, the tallest structure in the Twin Cities wasn’t a downtown Blo...

Article

Water-pumping windmills forerunner to wind turbines

Today’s larger wind farms can include hundreds of 280-feet tall turbines and cover thousands of...

Article

Biographies

6 items

Allin, James

James Allin was born on January 13, 1788 in North Carolina. He was the son of Isaac and Sarah F...

Biography

Funk, Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Funk was born on October 17, 1837 to Isaac and Cassandra Funk. Benjamin was t...

Biography

Heafer, Napoleon B.

Napoleon B. Heafer was born on December 14, 1823 in Charleston, West Virginia. At the age of te...

Biography

McCurdy, Helen Clark

Helen Clark was born in Bloomington, Illinois on February 21, 1866 to James and Anna (Bacon) Cl...

Biography

Scott, Charlotte Ann Perry

Charlotte Ann Perry was born on September 18, 1831 in Athens, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. She ...

Biography

White, Samuel

Prominent contractor and builder Samuel White’s personal and professional “rags to riches” stor...

Biography

Blog

3 items

Big 4 Valley Storm Sewer Project Mid-1930s, Bloomington

During the Great Depression an infusion of federal dollars through New Deal “alphabet” agencies...

Blog Post

McHistory: ‘King of Swedes’ kept Bloomington streets clean

Listen to the audio on WGLT's website hereMcHistory goes back in time to explore big momen...

Blog Post

The Local Road to ADA Accessibility

Blog Post

Finding Aids

2 items

Camelback Bridge

The Camelback Bridge is located in the northeast quarter of Section 33, Township 24 North, Rang...

Finding Aid

Water

The file contains various reports, newspaper clippings, maps, and ephemera regarding the water ...

Finding Aid

Working for a Living

Digital Exhibit

2 items

Building Better Roads

Automotive travel created a demand for better roads, as rural dirt roads could not withstand th...

Digital Exhibit

Powering Rural Communities

Bloomington residents began to electrify their homes in the late 1880s. But rural McLean County...

Digital Exhibit