Military and Police

Articles

20 items

Bloomington inescapably linked to Springfield Race Riot

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

Article

Campaign to aid Britain comes to Bloomington

On Dec. 5, 1940, two of Bloomington’s favorite sons returned home to call upon Americans to sup...

Article

A man kneels, inserting an American flag next to a grave stone in a cemetery.

Central Illinois final resting place for once-enslaved persons

The stain of slavery pervades the American experience, dating well before the nation’s founding...

Article

The fifth jail in McLean County’s history, seen here in this undated postcard, was located at the southwest corner of Madison and Monroe streets. It served as the county’s jail for 95 years — from 1882 to 1977. Today this site is a parking lot.

County jail too often destination for troubled souls

On Sept. 25, 1857, John Houseman, a German immigrant “deranged for some months,” committed suic...

Article

Donated Vrooman letter speaks to wartime loss

Faced with the enormity of the Second World War, it’s often difficult to put a human face on th...

Article

Two light-skinned men stand outside a military vehicle. They are parked on a dirt road with a masonry building with large arched windows behind them.

Dr. E.D. Churchill, savior to wounded GIs

Winning a war is not only about killing—it’s also about saving lives, especially if those lives...

Article

Killed in a P-61 crash, 2nd Lt. Loren Kane was buried in a U.S. military cemetery in the Philippines before his body was returned to Bloomington three years later for reburial.

Fallen sons repatriated after World War II

In the years following World War II, the remains of tens of thousands of American war dead retu...

Article

Four Burger brothers served in World War I

This past week marked the 100th anniversary of the American entry into World War I, though for ...

Article

Halloween 1945 followed world war’s end

World War II still loomed large over American life during the Halloween season of 1945. The sur...

Article

Harvey Hogg early martyr to Union cause

The Civil War was a brutal, decidedly unromantic slog. By its cruel end, as Ulysses S. Grant an...

Article

ISNU welcomed veterans after WWII

After World War II, Illinois State Normal University put out the welcome mat for returning sold...

Article

Julia Vrooman brought jazz to WW I doughboys

“Julia Scott Vrooman has always been in the news,” noted The Pantagraph in early October 1976. ...

Article

color illustration of a very tall and narrow memorial, towering over trees and flowers in the park.

Long-gone Franklin Park monument dedicated 150 years ago

On June 17, 1869—150 years ago this week—area residents packed Bloomington’s Franklin Park to d...

Article

Memorial tablet honors ‘Great War’ dead

One hundred years ago today, November 11, 1918, the guns in Europe fell silent after more than ...

Article

Although of poor quality, this is the only known photograph of the Pullman Strike of 1894 as it unfolded at the Union Depot on Bloomington’s west side. Note all the idle Pullman coaches and sleepers. Marooned passengers found various ways to while away the hours. Riders on a Pullman sleeper attached to a C&A limited spent much of July 3 — “all the afternoon and all the evening till midnight” — singing popular songs of the day, such as “Sweet Marie,” “John Brown’s Body” and “In Old Madrid.”

Pullman Strike left Twin Cities at standstill

On July 3, 1894, area residents flocked to the Chicago & Alton Railroad on Bloomington’s we...

Article

14 light-skinned men stand and sit for a photograph. They all appear to be old, some elderly.

Taps for last Bloomington Civil War veteran in 1940

Today the median age of Korean War veterans is 88 years old, and as the ranks of these old sold...

Article

WW I freighter ‘Evergreen City’ named for Bloomington

At the end of World War I, Bloomington citizens were given the honor of having a freighter name...

Article

a family stands in front of a fireplace, looking at stockings hanging

War’s end makes Christmas ’45 extra special

On Dec. 22, 1945, President Harry Truman switched on the twinkling lights of the nation’s Chris...

Article

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad passenger train rumbling through Bloomington's west side.

West side Subway Club earned notoriety in late ’50s

Try as he might, Bloomington Mayor Robert McGraw could not close the Subway Club, an afterhours...

Article

‘Black Devils’ earned fame in WW I

During World War I, several dozen Bloomington-Normal residents fought in an African-American re...

Article

Biographies

21 items

Blue, Richard

Richard Blue (1842-1921) was born in Ohio and came to Bloomington at age 9 with Judge Rayburn a...

Biography

Butler, James Preston

James Preston Butler was a tinsmith, butcher, grocer, policeman, tax collector, alderman, const...

Biography

Carman, George

“‘To write, or not to write: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to sit and scratch your pate in va...

Biography

Davis, Elmer

Elmer Ray Davis was born in Bement, Piatt County, Illinois, on October 6, 1888. He was the elde...

Biography

Ela, Frances Harriet Rowell

Frances Harriet Rowell was born on November 15, 1835 in Waterford, Vermont. She was one of fou...

Biography

Ela, George Porter

Frances Harriet Rowell was born on November 15, 1835 in Waterford, Vermont. She was one of fou...

Biography

Esque, Eliza (Davis)

Eliza Davis Esque was born around 1845 in St. Charles County, Missouri. Little is known about ...

Biography

Foster, Daniel T.

Captain Daniel T. Foster was born on July 22, 1841 in Waitsfield, Washington County, Vermont. H...

Biography

Frank, Henry “Teddy”

Henry “Teddy” Frank was born in Pennsylvania sometime in 1840 or 1841 and remained there until ...

Biography

Goodheart, James

James Goodheart is recognized in our local history as the son of two “honored pioneers” as well...

Biography

Guthrie, Adam

Adam Guthrie was born on March 10, 1825 in Circleville, Pickaway Co., Ohio. He was one of twelv...

Biography

Haggard, David

David Haggard was proud of his family tree. David was a descendant of Sir Andrew Ogard, a Knigh...

Biography

Hogg, Harvey

The Bloomington lawyer and Civil War cavalry commander, Harvey Hogg (originally from Tennessee)...

Biography

Horine, William H.

William (Bill) Horine was born to Adam and Sallie (Mason) Horine on March 3, 1840 in Jessamine ...

Biography

Kaywood, Florence Stevens

Florence (Stevens) Kaywood was born on October 8, 1864 to William and Sarah (Shields) Stevens i...

Biography

Lott, Harrison Clay

Harrison Clay Lott was born August 16, 1848 in Madison, Indiana. When Lott was fifteen years o...

Biography

McCullough, William

William McCullough was born on September 11, 1811 in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. He was the son of...

Biography

McNulta, John

John McNulta was born on November 9, 1837 in New York City, New York. His father was Irish and...

Biography

Riebsame, Christian

Captain Christian Riebsame (1839-1913) was a German-born citizen who came to the United States ...

Biography

Scott, John Milton

John Milton Scott was born on August 1, 1823 in Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois. His par...

Biography

Witherspoon, Julius

Julius Witherspoon (1859-1906) relocated to Bloomington from Arkansas when he was 24. He worked...

Biography

Blog

18 items

B-29 Bomber Visits Courthouse Square June 13, 1950

Back during the early years of the Cold War the fuselage of a U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress...

Blog Post

Collection Highlight: Trench Art

The Museum owns two unique and personal pieces of history that provide a glimpse of how individ...

Blog Post

Local Guardsmen Head to Chicago June 1938

On June 20, 1938, about 40 members of Bloomington’s 2nd Battalion, 108th Quartermaster Regiment...

Blog Post

McHistory: Bloomington-Normal's legacy of public protest not always civil

Blog Post

McHistory: Newly donated World War II diary shares POW experience of Normal resident

Blog Post

McHistory: Press Butler the great detective

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

Blog Post

McHistory: World War II in McLean County

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

Blog Post

Memorial Day 1960 African-American Legionnaires

The Redd-William American Legion Post color guard heads north on East Street in downtown Bloomi...

Blog Post

Miller Hatchery Supports War Effort

What do a chicken and a high explosive artillery shell have in common? This sounds like the beg...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 119: ‘Tanks’ a lot Legionnaires! WW I relic arrives in Bloomington, 1939

Several pieces of military hardware can be found at Bloomington’s Miller Park, including this W...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 130: Dogs of War, 1946 Bella and Her Two Surprises

U.S. Army veteran Dwight Pierceall of Normal received quite a shock on June 6, 1946, when he op...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 18: 1,000 License Plates Contributed in WW II Drive

During the Second World War, communities such as Bloomington scrounged for scrap metal to boost...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 71: Grim Reapers Pay Respects to Fallen Comrade

On June 16, 1970, about 50 members of the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club led a funeral procession...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 74: Red, White and Blue in Sepia

In the years after the Civil War, Union Army veteran Gilbert Henderson Bates sought, in his own...

Blog Post

Saybrook’s last Civil War widow Emma Cook, May 1938

In May 1938, the Village of Saybrook prepared to celebrate its first Decoration Day (now known ...

Blog Post

Two Pieces of World War II Accessioned into the Museum's Library and Archives

In the last week, the Museum has accessioned two unique pieces of World War II history: a P.O.W...

Blog Post

U.S. Declares War The Pantagraph, December 8, 1941

The U.S. Congress declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, in response to the attack on Pearl...

Blog Post

WW II Rubber Shortage Shirley Farm, March 1942

Arnold Beatty (left) and Colman Hicks, at the O.V. Douglass farm outside of Shirley, demonstrat...

Blog Post

Finding Aids

75 items

9/11 Collection

The 9/11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic group, al-Q...

Finding Aid

Abraham, Paul J. Collection

Paul J. Abraham (1909-1989) was born in Flint, Michigan to Gregory and Elizabeth Nameth Abraham...

Finding Aid

Almon Morrow

The collection consists mainly of correspondence from Almon Morrow, a private in the Union Army...

Finding Aid

American Legion

This collection includes various Legion programs and publications, plus newspaper articles and ...

Finding Aid

Augsperger, LaRue

LaRue Augspurger’s diary records her observations, experiences, and adventures at Mennonite Hos...

Finding Aid

Bagosy, John Jr.

John Bagosy, Jr (1949-2016) was born in Bloomington, IL. He served from 1966 to 1972 in the U.S...

Finding Aid

Beel, Floyd E.—World War II Army Air Force Service

Floyd Everett Beel was born to Leown Iri and Emma Jane Calvert Beel in Decatur, IL, on February...

Finding Aid

Blair Family WWII Letters

This collection primarily consists of letters written by Blair family members and friends of th...

Finding Aid

Blan Collection

Born in Kentucky, William R. “Russ” Blan (1918-1977), Blan worked 22 years in warehouse divisio...

Finding Aid

Bloomington-Normal Black History Project

Finding aid for the 6-box archival collection ...

Finding Aid

Carlton Collection

Box 1 includes items from family members including newspaper articles, a Civil War muster roll,...

Finding Aid

Castle, Drew/E. M. Pike

This collection relates to Drew W. Castle (1895-1978) and Edward M. Pike (1838-1924). Pike serv...

Finding Aid

Civil War

When war was declared in April 1861, Richard Yates, Governor of the State of Illinois and Comma...

Finding Aid

Civil War Era Correspondence

This collection contains hundreds of letters written during the Civil War by many people includ...

Finding Aid

Corn Belt Bank

The Corn Belt Bank was organized December 2, 1891 by General John McNulta, J.T. Snell, and A. S...

Finding Aid

Cotner, Ronald E.

Ronald E. Cotner (1929-2009) was born and raised in Bloomington, graduating from Bloomington Hi...

Finding Aid

Craig Family

This collection covers day-to-day events in Warren F. Craig’s life starting in the late 1930s t...

Finding Aid

Daughters of the American Revolution

In the Fall of 1893, Letitia Green Stevenson, wife of the U.S. Vice President Adlai Stevenson, ...

Finding Aid

Delbridge, Mary E.

The Mary E. Delbridge Collection is organized into ten folders by date and subject with two scr...

Finding Aid

Dossett, David C.

Born in Campbell County, TN, David Dossett moved to Anderson County, TN, with his family when h...

Finding Aid

Dunn, Richard T.

Richard Thomas Dunn was born on August 21, 1918 in Normal, IL, to Richard Francis Dunn and Clar...

Finding Aid

Ela, George and Frances

This collection contains photocopied letters (and digital documents of transcriptions) from Fra...

Finding Aid

Exhibit: A Turbulent Time: Perspectives of the Vietnam War

Guest curator Ross Kennedy and staff member Susan Hartzold prepared these materials for the 200...

Finding Aid

Geneva, William B. & Carolyn Schertz

Carolyn Mabel Schertz was born October 13, 1892 in Hudson, Illinois, the daughter of David Sche...

Finding Aid

George Weldon Funk Collection

George Weldon Funk was born to a prominent family in McLean, Illinois on October 30, 1895. His ...

Finding Aid

Gold Star Mothers

The Evergreen Chapter, National Gold Star Mothers, was incorporated on October 14, 1950, by the...

Finding Aid

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

The Grand Army of the Republic was founded by Benjamin Franklin Stephenson of Springfield, Illi...

Finding Aid

Hall, Robert S. Diary

Normal native and lifelong resident Robert S. “Bob” Hall (1915-1976) graduated University High ...

Finding Aid

Hartzold Family

Henry Hartzold was born about 1862 in Lancaster, PA. He moved to McLean County in 1894, becomin...

Finding Aid

Holder, John

The Holder collection consists primarily of materials from John’s time of service in the U.S. N...

Finding Aid

Hoppe, Jim

Jim Hoppe is an avid lover of history and McLean County. He has written manuscripts about vario...

Finding Aid

Illinois Air Force Mothers

The Illinois Air Force Mothers Club began in 1970 to support Air Force personnel at bases and h...

Finding Aid

Illinois National Guard

This collection contains rosters, newspaper clippings, command report, narrative, and other mat...

Finding Aid

John Howard Burnham Collection

Captain J.H. Burnham came to McLean County in 1858 as a student at the State Normal University....

Finding Aid

Johnston, George W. and Alice M. Collection

George W. (1901-1988) and Alice M. (1905-1991) Johnston were both active in the American Legion...

Finding Aid

Kelley, George R.

The letters of George R. Kelley relate to the life and times of a McLean County serviceman duri...

Finding Aid

LaBounty, William P.

William P. LaBounty was born September 1, 1930, educated in Bloomington schools, and IWU, enlis...

Finding Aid

Ladies Auxiliary of WWI Veterans

This collection includes a selection of materials preserved by Jennie Mae Taylor of Bloomington...

Finding Aid

Lillard Collection

This collection contains genealogical research materials for the Lillard family and a World War...

Finding Aid

Manahan, Eugene

Lester Eugene Manahan was born to Benton and Lillie Manahan in Arrowsmith, Illinois, August 30,...

Finding Aid

McLean County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument

The McLean County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, dedicated in 1913, is located at Miller Park...

Finding Aid

McLean County WWII Memorial

The WWII Memorial Committee was formed in the fall of 1994 after Normal Mayor Paul Harmon notic...

Finding Aid

McNulta, John Collection

The collection includes a photocopy of the Appointment to Captain document from the Illinois St...

Finding Aid

Middleton, Richard & James Gill

This collection contains newspaper clippings, genealogical research, annual reports, WWII forms...

Finding Aid

Millard, Lt. Mark

This collection consists of materials collected by Helen Millard, mother of Mark Millard. The m...

Finding Aid

Morgan, Raymond “Doc”

“He was a humble person, a fine golfer and a great gentleman.” So opined Bloomington Country Cl...

Finding Aid

Morrissey, John O.

John O’Connell Morrissey was born April 13, 1896. He was educated in Bloomington schools, and ...

Finding Aid

Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

This collection contains documents, both official and personal, related to the Ninety-Fourth Il...

Finding Aid

O’Hara, William J.

William J. O’Hara (1896-1986) was born in the Hudson area, the son of Owen and Johanna O’Neil O...

Finding Aid

Ploense, Gary

Gary Ploense served two tours in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, 1967-1968. In 1988, he organized ...

Finding Aid

Purnell, Paul

This collection contains documents, newspaper clippings, and other two-dimensional objects that...

Finding Aid

Quinton

The J. R. Quinton Collection consists of one box with thirty-eight folders. It primarily contai...

Finding Aid

Rice, Charles Edward

Charles Edward Rice (October 5, 1949-October 17, 2008) was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, ...

Finding Aid

Rolley, Elias W.

Elias William Rolley was drafted into the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC), became a commi...

Finding Aid

Schultz, Herman C.

Herman C. Schultz (1912-1995) was born in McLean County, Illinois. He was inducted into the Un...

Finding Aid

Slack, Kent Collection 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Research

Kent Slack was an intern at the McLean County Museum of History in 1981. His project included ...

Finding Aid

Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War

The Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Collection consists of personal and for...

Finding Aid

Spanish-American War Veterans

Includes rosters, newspaper articles, burial records, programs and proceedings from annual vete...

Finding Aid

Sterzbach, Robert WWII

This collection holds the correspondence between Robert Sterzbach and Alyne Tracy from January ...

Finding Aid

Streid, Robert

Robert Eugene Streid, born July 28, 1916, was a lifetime Chenoa resident farmer educated in the...

Finding Aid

The Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (ASUVCW)

The ASUVCW Collection consists of encampment proceedings (1933-40), constitutions and by-laws, ...

Finding Aid

Thirty-third Illinois Infantry Regiment of Volunteers Company C.

This collection contains clerical records including: muster in and out rolls; inventory of supp...

Finding Aid

Veterans of World War 1 Barracks

The Veterans of World War 1 organization was created in 1949, first in Ohio, and then, in 1954,...

Finding Aid

Vietnam Moving Wall

Several organizations present a "Moving Wall" -- a scaled down replica of the Vietnam...

Finding Aid

Vietnam War

This collection contains letters, newspaper articles, and various manuscripts relating to and c...

Finding Aid

Washburn, Dorothy M.

Born in 1904, Dorothy M. Washburn was a daughter of M/M George Washburn of Bloomington. George...

Finding Aid

Webb, Sidney

Sidney Webb was born on December 28, 1899 in Leicester, England. He came to America with his pa...

Finding Aid

Woodward, Horace E.

Woodward, known by his friends as “Hod,” was born on August 21, 1878 to Walter M. and Ellen N. ...

Finding Aid

World War I Collection

The World War I Collection is divided into five sections, organized from general to specific as...

Finding Aid

World War I: State Council of Defense

During the summer of 1918, the State Council of Defense of Illinois organized local committees ...

Finding Aid

World War II Collection

World War II erupted in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and ended with Japan’...

Finding Aid

World War II Home Front Oral Histories

The Interviewers were senior students of W. Michael Weis, Ph.D., Professor of History at Illino...

Finding Aid

World War II Interview Papers Collection

World War II erupted in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and ended with Japan’...

Finding Aid

World War II Magazine Collection

The World War II Magazine Collection contains publications that were kept or found by residents...

Finding Aid

Zobrist, Charles J.

This collection contains material relating to the life and career of World War I veteran Charle...

Finding Aid

Oral Histories

6 items

Howard and Elaine Bell

Early Bloomington family, WWII veteran, Depression era history, Elaine was active in community ...

Oral History

John Barrientes

Oral History

Kathyrn Dean

State Farm employee, civic & social clubs, grandfather was Civil War veteran....

Oral History

Oscar and Ruth Waddell

WWII veteran, skilled employment at GE, breaking employment barriers, home ownership, Willis St...

Oral History

Robert Gaston

Barber, WWII veteran, Chamber of Commerce Board member....

Oral History

Wilbur Barton

Early Normal family, ISNU grad & athlete, WWII veteran, teacher/principal....

Oral History

Learn

1 item

World War II in McLean County

Through the objects, activities, primary sources, and inquiry-based lessons in this kit, studen...

Educational Program

Publications

6 items

Civil War Diaries of James W. Jessee 1861-1865

James joined the 8th Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry in July of 1861. He began keep...

Publication

Historic McLean

This book includes an alphabetical list of places to see (points of historic interest), notable...

Publication

It Is Begun: The Pantagraph Reports the Civil War

Here is a week-by-week sampling of America's most turbulent years, written as it happened,...

Publication

McLean County Blacks in the Civil War

Examines the extent of involvement of Black people from McLean County, Illinois in the Civil Wa...

Publication

McLean County, Illinois, in the World War, 1917-1918

Publication

Soldiers of the war of 1812 whose bounty land grants were located in McLean County, Illinois

Publication

Research

1 item

Post Amerikan

Held by the MCMH and digitized by Eastern Illinois University. The Post Amerikan began publicat...

Article

Speakers Bureau

2 items

From Jenny to Albert: Pvt. Cashier and the Civil War

Speakers Bureau

Women Called to Action: Women in World War II

Speakers Bureau