The Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) revealed the 2022 “Best of Illinois History” award winners on Saturday, April 9, at 11:30 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield. This year’s award recipients traveled across the state and the nation to accept their awards, which celebrate the best Illinois history books and authors, exhibits and exhibitors, filmmakers, playwrights, and over-achievers who make the Prairie State an outstanding place “to foster awareness, understanding, research, preservation, and recognition of history in Illinois.”

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Mary Barringer, has been a genealogist, cemetery plotter and researcher for most of her adult life, seeking out and identifying the graves of central Illinois veterans who fought in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Black Hawk War.

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Dr. Mark Wyman, taught history at Illinois State University to hundreds of students, served on numerous local history boards and citizens advisory panels and, since retiring has found new ways to raise community awareness about the twin cities and their Jim Crow past. His work sets a standard for other communities to come to terms with their segregation history.

Olive Foster Teacher of the Year Award. Lincoln Magnet School, Springfield.

Russell L. Lewis Jr. Young Museum Professional Award. Kankakee County Museum

Verna Ross Orndorff Scholarship Award for her essay, “Battle of Antietam: How the Single Bloodiest Day in American History Paved the Way for Public Support for the Union”

Russell P. Strange Memorial Book of the Year Award for "Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland," by Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett.

Certificate of Excellence for "The Bonds of War: A Study of Immigrants and Esprit de Corps in Company C, 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry."

Superior Achievement Award for "Dangerous Ideas on Campus: Sex, Conspiracy, and Academic Freedom in the Age of JFK."

Superior Achievement Award for "The Irish in Illinois" by Mathieu Billing and Sean Farrell.

Certificate of Excellence for "Stephen A Douglas, Western Man: The Early Years in Congress, 1844-1850."

Award of Merit for "Abraham Lincoln and the Heritage of Illinois State University," by Tom Emery. Foreword and Afterword by Carl Kasten.

Superior Achievement Award for "Exploring the Land of Lincoln: The Essential Guide to Illinois Historic Sites."

Certificate of Excellence for "Literary Ladies: The First 130 Years of the Wednesday Class."

Award of Merit for "Western Kankakee County" an Arcadia Images of America series. Award of Merit for "The Illustrated History of the Ottawa Tent Colony."

Award of Merit for "A Backyard Prairie: The Hidden World of Tallgrass and Wildflowers," by Fred Delcomyn and James L. Ells.

Award of Merit for "A Deeper Dive into the Good Government Council of Logan County 1950s Lincoln, Illinois."

Certificate of Excellence for "Lincoln in Springfield."

Certificate of Excellence for "Have Violin, Will Travel: The Louis Persinger Story."

Superior Achievement Award for "Richard Haas Murals in Homewood, Illinois."