Newsroom

We are looking for photos taken at the Edgewater Beach Hotel that include people in various locations. There are plenty of photos of the building both inside and outside. We are hoping to find more of people enjoying the hotel.

Just in time for Halloween, the Illinois State Historical Society is proud to present its very first program of the ISHS History Happy Hour. This first presentation, "Stories in Stone: Decoding the Sentiment Behind Cemetery Symbolism," is presented by our very own board member Debra Dudek.

The Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) welcomes the ongoing public discussion about monuments and commemoration in the Prairie State. Communities across Illinois face decisions about the presence of commemorative statues, monuments, and memorials and the naming of public spaces and buildings.

The Illinois State Historical Society seeks a few good people to serve on its  Board of Directors and Advisory Board.

Do you know someone who has:

• enthusiasm for promoting Illinois history through the Illinois State Historical Society’s educational, commemorative, research and publishing activities?
• experience as a lay-person or professional in the field of local, state, regional and/or national history?
• concern for connecting the Society with local organizations and communities and expanding the Society’s membership, and ideas for ways of accomplishing these goals?
• an understanding that Board service involves some personal expense as well as a commitment of time, as the Society holds its Board meetings (usually four per year) and its committee meetings in locations around the State.

Prairie State history is seldom as pristine as our cover might suggest.

Sometimes it is downright gritty…and then there are the horseflies and gnats. But it is always interesting and sometimes downright fascinating. The September-October issue offers so many examples, from the profiles of Ethel Mars, John Dos Passos, Harriett Rendall, and Ada Miser Kepley to the fascinating essay on Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, author of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which propelled Abraham Lincoln into the White House, provoked a Civil War, and led to the Emancipation Proclamation. Douglas biographer Reg Ankrom opens a window to our past, where we can reflect on the unresolved conflicts that have contributed to our social unrest today. It’s all good reading in your Illinois Heritage.

Thanks again, to all of you who contributed to our COVID 19 appeal, which helped get us through a difficult summer. May you all stay well, and may the autumn fall colorfully, and gently, in Illinois.