News Archive

The May-June 2018 issue of Illinois Heritage is in mail!

In this issue of the Heritage we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial, meet forgotten playwright Charles Dazey, learn how amateur historians and genealogists can change history, and sit down to lunch with Sesquicentennial Church congregations.

If you are an ISHS member, watch your mailbox for this exciting issue. If not a member, consider becoming a member and receive your very own copy of the Illinois Heritage. Visit our Membership Section for membership options and information.

For a preview of this May-June 2018 issue, click here. 

Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients for the 2018 ISHS Annual Awards. Every one of these projects reflects great credit on the individuals, historical societies or museums, presses, and communities from which they spring. They also showcase the varied and impressive breadth of our Prairie State history. As we move through and beyond our state’s bicentennial year, we appreciate this opportunity to thank the scholars, curators, and public historians who choose to commemorate Illinois’s past through their creative efforts, thereby encouraging further research and understanding of our state’s history.

Is your Illinois-based business a century or more older?

Since 1984, the ISHS has presented Centennial Awards to Illinois businesses and not-for-profit organizations that have operated continuously in the state for 100 years or more. Previous ISHS Centennial honorees number more than 1,400 and include banks, businesses, manufacturers, cemetery associations, libraries, private utility companies, country clubs, funeral homes, newspapers, union organizations, “mom and pop” general stores, and municipalities.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has designated the Chad Ebers farm near Chester as a Centennial Farm. To qualify as a Centennial Farm, a straight or collateral line of descendants must have owned the property for at least 100 years. The Centennial Farm program helps to reinforce that family farming remains a viable entity in Illinois agriculture. The Illinois Centennial Farms program has recognized more than 9,000 farms since its inception in the early 1970s.

This year marks the bicentennial of the state of Illinois.  Illinois became the 21st state on December 3, 1818 when President James Monroe signed the legislation admitting us to the Union. In honor of this occasion, Governor Bruce Rauner in 2016 issued Executive Order 2016-11, which created the state’s Bicentennial Commission. The commission consists of a diverse group of Illinois residents who have a passion and love for this state. David Scott serves as the ISHS representative on the commission. The purpose of the commission is to develop and implement a statewide program to celebrate the bicentennial. The slogan of the commission is Born, Built, and Grown in Illinois. Using almost entirely private money (with the exception of staff support) and working with partners and generous donors, the commission is moving forward with statewide bicentennial celebration plans.

The St. Clair County Genealogical Society's newest book on cemeteries in Prairie Du Long and Smithton Townships is now available. More than 3,100 burials in 31 cemeteries are included, from as early as 1815 through 2016. The book is $15.00 including shipping. The order form is on the Society's website at www.stclair-ilgs.org.

Job Opening-Director of Development
Illinois State Historical Society
Full-time position

Position Description

The Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) seeks a new, full-time Director of Development. Reporting to the Executive Director of the ISHS and working closely with members of the Board of Directors and its Development Committee, this person will be engaged with:

• Board Development
• Individual Giving – donor development
• Corporate Giving -- donor development
• Foundation Giving – grants searches and writing
• Special events for fund-raising

This will involve fund-raising research and advice for the staff and Board; database development on members and potential donors/sponsors; fostering of donor and sponsor relations; and grants development.

This twelve-month reading list includes novels, nonfictional works, and poetry – all by Illinois authors and expressive of the Illinois experience. Along with the twelve-month schedule are some alternative book titles, in case a library wants to customize the 2018 reading list by substituting another notable work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

The Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board (ISHRAB) is pleased to announce the 2018 Historical Records Preservation Grant Program. Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to Illinois historical records repositories with funds provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).