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Buck Mann Park hidden west side gem
Tucked away on Bloomington’s far west side, Buck Mann Park is one of the lovelier, out-of-the-w...

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Even Mr. Lincoln played marbles! This water color illustration by Rick Tuma appears in the video short “Lincoln: Recollections and Reminiscences,” featured in the McLean County Museum of History exhibit, “Abraham Lincoln in McLean County.”

Marbles popular with young and old alike of 19th century
Dr. Edwin M. Colburn, an early Bloomington physician, recalled the popularity of marbles and ot...

Article

Museum collections window to East Bay’s early years
The COVID-19 crisis has taken many things from us—above all, the lives of 125,000 Americans. We...

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11 items

Depression-Era Skaters Bloomington, Circa 1930s
This lovely photo is a mystery. The year, location, and those pictured are unknown.If you can h...

Blog Post

Free-range Kids April 1938
This mystery photograph comes from the Museum’s collection of Pantagraph negatives. We don’t kn...

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Freitag children, rural Stanford February 1959
Jane and Doug Freitag horse around with a canine friend at their family farm outside of Stanfor...

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Independence Day 1964 Miller Park, Bloomington
For well over a century, Miller Park on Bloomington’s west side has served as home to many the ...

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Mississippi Orphans Go Sledding Highland Park, Bloomington, 1963
Pastor J.H. Yohe of First Pentecostal Church of Bloomington gives a sled a push at Highland Par...

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On Parade Elementary Rhythm Band, July 1951
On Tuesday we posted another photograph featuring this neighborhood music class. These children...

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Photo of the Week: Dolls On Parade O’Neil Park, July 1939
The once-annual O’Neil Park doll parade on Bloomington’s west side prepares to get underway, Fr...

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Soap Box Derby Saybrook, July 14, 1937
That’s Bob Butler on the white pony towing Eugene Stauffer, third-place soap box derby finisher...

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Tot Tries Tiny Tractor August 1947
Three-year-old Janet Schultze gets comfortable on her father Floyd Schultze’s two-cylinder, nin...

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Whites-only beach Miller Park, Bloomington, July 1940
From the 1910s into the 1950s, there were racially segregated beaches at Miller Park. The much ...

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“A-One, and a-Two, and a-Three …” Elementary Rhythm Band, July 1951
Tammi Orendorff conducts Kay Baylor’s elementary rhythm band during the summer of 1951. Baylor,...

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Finding Aids

1 item

East Bay Camp
The collection includes correspondence involving camp founders, newspaper clippings, camp newsl...

Finding Aid

Speakers Bureau

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To Be a Writer, One Has To Be a Reader: the Life and Work of Clara Louise Kessler

Speakers Bureau