If you weren't able to attend the virtual Juneteenth event hosted by the BN Black History Project, here's the recording!Program:Moderator: Frances Mad...
Join Museum Librarian Bill Kemp for a program celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of COUNTRY Financial. This free public program will be held in-p...
Jamie Mathy, Council Member for the City of Bloomington and former Chief Technology Officer at Mavidea, will present a program on 5G, the hottest new buzzword i...
A Black Woman's Journey from Cotton Picking to College Professor: Lessons about Race, Class, and Gender in America by Dr. Menah Pratt traces the journey an...
The Museum, with financial support from LiUNA! Midwest Region Laborer's International Union of North America, is proud to present A Deadly Deception: The A...
The Museum was pleased to host authors Tom Emery and Carl Kasten for a program about Abraham Lincoln’s close ties to Illinois State University, a topic largely ...
The McLean County Museum of History recently acquired a rare letter written by Abraham Lincoln to Kersey Fell. This footage is from a press conference that was ...
Even though Lincoln’s Festival on Route 66 has been postponed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it does not stop us from learning about one of Bloomingto...
Renewable energy expert Meghan Reha (she/her) will introduce some of the wind turbines that produce electricity around McLean County, sharing stories about what...
Join Nobuko Adachi and James Stanlaw, professors of Sociology and Anthropology at Illinois State University, as they explore the intersection of East Asian and ...
Breaking Bread in McLean County Highlight Reel for AMM award of Best Practices virtual presentation on Thursday, November 3. Motivated by the “poor treatment of...
We apologize for the technical issues within this live stream. We are working to solve them. This video features a presentation given by Museum Librarian Bill K...
Making history has always come naturally to women, and the women of McLean County are no exception. Yet, the stories of these historic women often go untold. (T...
Join the Museum and Illinois Wesleyan University for a bonus Zoom Lunch and Learn this season. It has become a political tradition to take stock of a new presid...
Augusta “Gussie” Becker (1882-1982) was a German immigrant who came to the U.S. with her family when she was only five years old. Her early training as a nurse ...
Join us to explore baseball's growth post-Civil War and Central Illinois' unique contributions to the early game at 1:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, Septemb...
Join the Museum and Illinois Wesleyan University for the first Zoom Lunch and Learn of the 2021-2022 season. Karen Schmidt, local beekeeper, and Patti Koranda, ...
Long before Rivian become one of the hottest electric automakers on the planet, the Twin Cities were center stage for another battery-powered vehicle–the Henney...
Nuestra nueva audioguía narra su experiencia mientras explorar la exhibición, Construyendo un Hogar. Necesitará su propio teléfono inteligente o tableta y auric...
The Bloomington-Normal Black History Project committee hosted a program titled Resistance & Progress: Then & Now 1960 to the Present. This video shows p...
ICYMI, catch this recording of a program Museum staff led at Kingsley Jr. High School exploring of the legacy of local Black leadership in McLean County, the ef...
This Lunch and Learn program features Jamie Mathy, Council Member City of Bloomington, and Kevin McCarthy, Council Member Town of Normal, who will discuss digit...
Panel I Saturday, February 10 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.Neighbors and Friends: The Booker T. Washington Home This discussion will explore and celebrate the stories of ...
Join the Museum and Illinois Wesleyan University as we hear from Franklin Larey, Director and Professor School of Music Illinois Wesleyan University, who will p...
Join the Museum’s Librarian, Bill Kemp, for a free, Zoom webinar that will explore the history of corn and how it has been a staple crop in what is today McLean...
Join Chris Callahan, Professor of French at Illinois Wesleyan University, and Jacques Bisimwa Bufole as they explore the Congolese American experience in McLean...
This video was presented at the History Makers Gala, June 18, 2026 at Bone Student Ballroom....
Captain Christian Riebsame (1839-1913) A barber by trade, Christian enrolled in the 116th Illinois Infantry in 1862 and quickly rose from private to company com...
The Museum is pleased to present this recorded program featuring Sharon MacDonald and Robert Beckman, authors of the book Carrying the Colors, and Greg Koos, hi...
Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn (1854-1897) Bloomington’s irascible Hall of Fame baseball player who played during an era when ballplayers were rough and uncouth. T...
Hear from a panel of local community educators and administrators as the Central Illinois Community Educators (CICE) reflect on 2021. 0:00 Hannah Johnson (McLea...
The City of Bloomington would like to cordially invite you to the Honorary Street Sign Celebration in honor of local civil rights and social justice leaders Mr....
Clara Louise Kessler (1893-1968) Known for her life-long interest in books, songs, and children, Clara served as the head children’s librarian at Withers Public...
This program is presented by the Central Illinois Chapter of the ACLU and the McLean County Museum of History. Greg Koos will review the story of the diverse pe...
This is conversation took place at the McLean County Museum of History and was in collaboration with Illinois State University and the City of Bloomington Latin...
Join us for this Zoom Lunch & Learn which investigates the past, present, and future of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lessons we have learned. Vickie Folse...
Crafting History: Dyeing with Dinner Scraps will bring the process of solar plant-based dyeing virtually to our participants. Our Curator of Collections, Jackie...
Join us for Crafting History: Embroidering Festive Felt Ornaments on Tuesday, December 19, at 6 p.m. to embroider your own felt ornament and learn more about th...
Join the Museum's Curator of Collections, Jackie Cain, to explore the Wonders of Weaving! This is the third installment of our new series Crafting History ...
After urban sprawl and other contributing factors left Downtown Bloomington with more pigeons and potholes than people, local artists began to occupy the aging,...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about sensory gardens with U of I Extension educator Brittnay Haag on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 12:10 p.m. The Museum&#...
Note, this is audio only.Panel: Ingrid Ramirez- panel moderator, video writer/producer for State Farm. Paul Segobiano- vice chair of the McLean County Board, an...
Join the McLean County Museum of History and Bloomington bread author Jack Keefe for a brief presentation, Q&A, and book signing for his new book, "Ech...
We experienced some audio issues during this video, so we apologize for the distorted audio!EAC Executive Director Michael Brown gives an overview of the rapid ...
Edward (1895-1954) and Lincoln Bynum (1900-1977) Serving alongside one another on the battlefields of France during World War I, Edward and Lincoln Bynum fought...
The Fall 2022 election season is shaping up to be one of the more interesting and complex campaigns in recent history. With just over 3 weeks before the electio...
Bill Kemp and Maria Mears will share insights into exhibit development and more about the long, deep roots baseball and softball have in McLean County....
The Museum is excited to welcome back Dr. Logan Miller, associate professor of anthropology at Illinois State University, to discuss the most recent findings at...
The Museum and Bloomington Public Library are pleased to host Catherine Lambrecht, program director for the Highland Park Historical Society and Illinois Humani...
This video was presented at the History Makers Gala, June 18, 2026 at Bone Student Ballroom....
Florence Mae Risser Funk (1871-1923) was a suffragist and society woman who campaigned for Charles Evans Hughes for U.S. president—a progressive candidate who s...
This video was presented at the History Makers Gala, June 18, 2025 at Bone Student Ballroom. Born and raised in Bloomington, Father Doug’s last pastoral assignm...
“The Flying LaVans” Fred Green (1858-1897) and Harry Green (1867-1952) These brothers formed a trapeze act that had its beginnings using makeshift rigging in th...
The Museum, in partnership with the McLean County Genealogical Society and Bloomington Public Library, are pleased to host author and historian William Iseminge...
In part 8 of our "Breaking Bread in McLean County" series, join Archana Shekara, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Illinois State University an...
Join us online and in person on Saturday, February 24, at 2 p.m. to explore what it meant to grow up as "Gen X" with the Illinois State Museum's ...
Augustus "Gus" Belt (1895-1954) and Edith Pressler Belt (1896 – 1973) successfully grew a single Bloomington restaurant into a nationwide chain. The S...
Helen Clark McCurdy was the first woman to run for elected office in Bloomington municipal government. She was one of ten candidates to make it onto the ballot ...
Sigmund and Hilda Livingston performed by Dean and Cyndee Brown, 2021 Sigmund (1872-1946) and Hilda (1892-1962) Livingston were guests voices for the 2021 Everg...
Each year, the History Makers Gala recognizes long-standing residents whose outstanding, life-long contributions of time and talents have helped to make McLean ...
The McLean County Museum of History will reveal the names of six recipients of the 2023 History Makers award at a press conference at the Museum on Thursday, Ma...
Join us on Wednesday, March 27 at 11 a.m. in the Museum's Courtroom, or live online via the Museum's YouTube Channel as we reveal this year's His...
The 2026 Class of History Makers will be announced at a Reveal Press Conference on Wednesday, April 1 at 10:30 am in the Museum's Governor Fifer Courtroom ...
Join Greg Koos, local historian and Executive Director Emeritus of the McLean County Museum of History, as he explores the German-American experience in McLean ...
Join us on Saturday, August 10, at 2 p.m. to learn about Antoinette Concello, a local circus legend often referred to as "the greatest woman flyer of all t...
This video exhibits the Irene Delroy collection in the archives of the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington Illinois. Irene Delroy bio:Josephine Luci...
Join Carolyn Nadeau, Byron S. Tucci Professor of Hispanic Studies at Illinois Wesleyan University, and Constantina Navarrete, owner of Taqueria El Porton in Blo...
The Bloomington-Normal NAACP Youth Council created this documentary film highlighting the legacies and accomplishments of former ISU professors and Museum Histo...
This video was presented at the History Makers Gala, June 18, 2026 at Bone Student Ballroom....
Join Museum Librarian Bill Kemp for an illustrated program about the life and career of John Wesley Powell, an educator and amateur natural scientist who launch...
This program is packed with history, memories, food, and music! Join Greg Koos, local historian and Executive Director Emeritus of the McLean County Museum of H...
Join Hannah Johnson, of the McLean County Museum of History, Edgar Lundeen, Jr., and Gloria (Erickson) McKittrick as they explore the Swedish-American experienc...
The Museum is pleased to present a virtual program with Susan E. Lindsey who will present a webinar on her new book, Liberty Brought Us Here: The True Story of ...
Apologies, our hardware froze midway through Guy's program. You can catch the Q&A here: https://youtube.com/live/WJTZOeUuyvsGrab your lunch and head to...
Strap on your VR headset (optional!) and join Greg Koos on this 45 minute tour of Downtown Bloomington. This is 6-part video compiled into a playlist for easy v...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about Arcadia: America's Playable Arcade Museum, located along historic Route 66.Its founder, Bloomington-Normal nati...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about the history of fairs in McLean County on Thursday, August 14, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. with Don Meyer, ag historian a...
Making history has always come naturally to women, and the women of McLean County are no exception. Yet, the stories of these historic women often go untold. Jo...
Join the McLean County Museum of History for the second Lunch & Learn of 2023 with Jamie Mathy and Kevin McCarthy on February 9th at 12:10 pm in the Courtro...
Did you know trolley cars plied the streets of the Twin Cities from the years after the Civil War into the Great Depression? Prior to the invention of the autom...
Bring your lunch and join us for a look at the Christmas Past and Present at Ewing Manor during our Lunch & Learn on Thursday, December 12, from 12:10 to 1:...
Join the McLean County Museum of History and Illinois Wesleyan University for the final Lunch & Learn of the 2022-2023 season with with Larissa Armstrong, A...
Learn about the ongoing board game renaissance with local game designer Ben Rosset and owner of Red Racoon Games, Jamie Mathy, on Thursday, February 8 at 12:10 ...
Join the McLean County Museum of History for the first Lunch & Learn of the 2023-2024 season with the Museum's Senior Director of Education Candace Sum...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about the story of Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge, the young lady believed by many to have been Lincoln’s first sweethea...
Join the Museum and Illinois Wesleyan University for the second Zoom Lunch and Learn of the season. Dan Roberts, Associate Professor of Math, and Zahia Drici, C...
Grab your lunch and join us to learn about how historic preservation is an important tool for any community on Thursday, May 8, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. with Daw...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about conducting oral histories from the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project on Thursday, February 13, from 12:10 to ...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about how the Illinois Stewardship Alliance has been working to organize farmers and eaters to foster a more just and rege...
Grab your lunch and join us to learn about COUNTRY Financial!This program, presented by Andy Bender, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for COUNTR...
Join the McLean County Museum of History and Illinois Wesleyan University for the eighth Lunch & Learn of the 2023 season with Robert and Reenie Bradley . T...
Bring your lunch and head over to the Museum (or to youtube.com/@mchistorymuseum) to learn from Illinois Wesleyan professor of Music History and Theory, Dr. Adr...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about the history of the American Giants and their significance in Route 66 history on Thursday, July 17, from 12:10 to 1:...
Join the Museum and Illinois Wesleyan University for the sixth Zoom Lunch & Learn of the season. Local leaders of the Adult Branch and the Youth Council Pre...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn about the Wizard of Oz's connection to McLean County and Illinois on Thursday, November 13, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. w...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn to about death cafes and what a End-of-Life Doula is, on Thursday, September 11, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. with Carley Cotne...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn what's new at Miller Park Zoo on Thursday, October 10, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. with Director Jay Pratte. He will shar...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn more about air from Dr. Alicia Wodika, Associate Professor of Health Sciences at Illinois State University, and the Bloomi...
Join the Museum and Illinois Wesleyan University for the second Lunch and Learn of the 2022-2023 season, which will explore the wastewater treatment process in ...
Join us as we hear from Michael Seeborg, Retired Eckley Professor of Economics, who will talk about how the Covid recession has impacted the Bloomington/Normal ...
During the presentation Hossein will play videos from this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilphr-Ux3Yg&list=PLNxi6rU0rnG_xvS5UwYYrDSchcNKpSFer we ...
Bring your lunch and join us for never before heard stories about State Farm history on Thursday, June 5, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. with State Farm Archivist Buck...
The Museum, in partnership with the League of Women Voters of McLean County, are pleased to present this virtual program with musician Phil Passen, who performe...
McLean County Museum of History Librarian Bill Kemp instructs on the history of Quakers in nineteenth century McLean County by request of the Vladimir-Canterbur...
In this talk Bill Kemp, the Museum’s Librarian, shared stories and images about how local residents celebrated the holidays from the pioneer era into the mid-20...
This video was presented at the History Makers Gala, June 18, 2026 at Bone Student Ballroom....
Established in 1887, Miller Park speaks to both the triumphs and travails of Bloomington and the wider community. The municipal park and its landscaped grounds ...
Death is one of the only guarantees in life.In early U.S. history, death was a more frequent occurrence, arriving through disease, starvation, violence, and con...
Napoleon Calimese (1890-1972) and Louise Calimese (1895-1985) Following in his father and older brother’s footsteps, Napoleon first worked as a barber on Beaufo...
The Museum is pleased welcome author Terri Ryburn, who will present a program on her book No Crybabies Allowed: The Past as Told by Me. This free, hybrid progra...
This session focuses on the What and the Why of cultural designation. Focus here is really looking at what cultural designation is and why it’s important to lev...
The Museum is pleased to welcome Felix Fiedler, art historian and psychologist from Germany, who presents a program that builds off of a presentation from this ...
In this talk, Museum Librarian Bill Kemp shares a lavishly illustrated program that includes historic and contemporary images. This program–at turns light-heart...
Panel Discussion begins at the 5 minute mark. We had a few technical issues at the beginning, but the audio for the rest of the panel is clear.This panel discus...
Richard Blue (1842-1921) was born in Ohio and came to Bloomington at age 9 with Judge Rayburn and his family. Blue joined the Union Army in 1865, serving as a m...
Richard Shipley (1903-1973) Stories are often told of restless youths running away to join the circus but, at the age of 16, young Richard Shipley actually did....
This video was presented at the History Makers Gala, June 18, 2025 at Bone Student Ballroom. Rob Fazzini: Making friends to build a community is both the busine...
This video was presented at the History Makers Gala, June 18, 2025 at Bone Student Ballroom.Sally was raised in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and was her high schoo...
Samuel White (1847-1917) traveled from Indiana to Bloomington in 1870 with little intention of remaining here. However, after discovering that the contracting b...
The Illinois Wesleyan University Collegiate Choir presents a brief program of seasonal choral music featuring compositions by Palestrina, Sweelinck, Mendelssohn...
Illinois State University seniors in Dr. Maura Toro-Morn's sociology capstone class conducted oral history interviews with Latinx members of the Bloomingto...
(This was broadcast via Facebook Live in 2018) In honor of the the Bicentennial of Illinois, the Museum is pleased to invite you to join Mike Matejka, labor his...
Join Willie Holton Halbert, author of Cooking with Love and second vice president of the BN NAACP, and Jeff Woodard, Director of Marketing and Community Relatio...
Bring your lunch and join us for a special Election edition Lunch & Learn on Friday, October 18, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. with Dr. Andrew Hartman, professor ...
Join Jack Capodice for an exploration of his Central Illinois family’s Italian American cuisine and culture.The Museum, in partnership with BN Welcoming (a coal...
Have you ever wondered how tattooists learn to do their jobs, how their careers advance, or what they contend with in order to create tattoos? Tattooists have t...
Bring your lunch and join us to learn more about the history of Irish immigration in the Midwest from the Museum's Executive Director Emeritus, Greg Koos! ...
Join Museum Librarian Bill Kemp as he takes us back to November 13, 1833, when the nighttime sky lit up like an Independence Day sparkler in what’s believed to ...
Rochelle Gridley, archival assistant at the Museum, will present a program discussing the philosophy of the early Pantagraph photographers and their methods. Th...
Learn about PRCC’s experience in obtaining the Cultural District Designation for Puerto Rico Town in Chicago, and collaborating with stakeholders to bring about...
The Museum is pleased to host Dr. James Simeone, professor of political science at Illinois Wesleyan University, for an illustrated presentation exploring the 1...
April 28 is Workers' Memorial Day. Join us the following day, Tuesday, April 29, at 6:30 p.m., to honor those who have fallen on the job due to accidents o...
Hear from Susan Hartzold, Curator of Collections and Exhibits at the McLean County Museum of History, in this fascinating, illustrated program about what gets p...
Beginning in 2015, Evergreen Memorial Cemetery began commissioning sculptures carved from trees in the cemetery that were marked for removal. Three freestanding...
The Kickapoo, a fiercely independent people, inhabited this stretch of Central Illinois when the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the early 1820s. Bloomi...
Candace Summers (Archaeology '02), Senior Director of Education, will present an illustrated program about the McLean County Museum of History and the work...
A seemingly ordinary vacant brick building with shuttered windows sits on South 12th Street in Springfield. This building once served as the first orphanage in ...
As countries urbanized and industrialized, a dilemma arose—how to move about efficiently. Transit systems were the solution, evolving from horse drawn omnibuses...
Volunteer Appreciation Video...
This video focuses on the integral part volunteers play in our organization. Thank you, volunteers!...
This panel discussion will explore and celebrate the stories of local African Americans in McLean County, as we hear from local musicians and owners of safe spa...
In case you missed it, here's the recording from the January Lunch and Learn! The Museum and Illinois Wesleyan University are pleased to present Ellen Furl...
Join the McLean County Museum of History and Illinois Wesleyan University for the seventh Lunch & Learn of the 2022-2023 season with Greg Koos, Emeritus Exe...
This voice recording was donated to the McLean County Museum of History by Lynne Fazzini. Her father, Willard Johnson, recorded it at Camp Plauche, Louisiana, d...