Illinois Heritage

Our July-August issue is full of articles to cool you off, starting with “Mythic Mississippi,” a fascinating look at how the “Father of Waters” has made Illinois a destination for people seeking new beginnings for centuries. In this issue we also continue our commemorative look at Ulysses S. Grant on the 200th anniversary of his birth, showcasing how the general and future 18th president was perceived by Illinois Civil War soldiers in the field. We also include a portrait of Julia Dent Grant, the remarkable and steadfast woman who helped him achieve greatness. Linda Ruholl introduces us to two poets and physicians named James Newton Matthews of Effingham County, who left footprints and verses throughout southeastern Illinois. And Richard Stickann provides us with a portrait of John Locke Scripps, the newspaperman from Rushville who penned the first biography of Abraham Lincoln, a book that helped secure Lincoln’s rise to the presidency. 

This issue of Illinois Heritage offers a snapshot of the “Best of Illinois History” ceremony, where we gave out more than 35 awards, including three Lifetime Achievements awards, the Olive Foster Teacher of the Year award, and the new Russell L. Lewis Jr. Young Museum Professional award. We also take a look at Ulysses S. Grant, the soldier from Galena who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War and became the nation’s 18th President. In this two-part retrospective, we see Grant through the eyes of the soldiers who served under him along the way.

In this issue of Illinois Heritage, our contributors—Kristan McKinsey, John Hallwas, Beth Young, Martin Joyce, Greg Koos, James Cornelius, Cindy Reinhardt, Mark Sorensen, and others—offer a banquet of delights across the Prairie State, a sampling of art and literature, travel and letters, and history in the making.

The Illinois Heritage is just one of the benefits of being member of the Illinois State Historical Society. Members also receive the quarterly Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, a 20% discount on most Society publications, invitations to Society events, tours at a discounted rate, and are eligible to participate in Society elections and serve on the Society Board, Advisory Board, and Committees. 

Become a member today and help preserve and promote Illinois history. 

To our readers:

Traveling around Illinois is my job and my joy. Last month I visited Oregon, Princeton, Carbondale, Ottawa, Downers Grove, East Peoria, Pullman, Decatur, Centralia, and a zillion towns in between.  I chatted with librarians, church organists, receptionists, a couple of cops, and folks on the street and, guess what—the topic wasn’t the pandemic, it was Illinois history. I passed out copies of Illinois Heritage to dozens of potential new ISHS members, handed out business cards, showed off our new flashy holiday ornament, presented the Society’s new Lincoln-Douglass statuette (designed by sculptor John McClarey) to worthy donors, and even delivered poles to communities planning historical marker dedications.

But the thing that gives me more pleasure than traveling the state is sharing the latest issue of Illinois Heritage with you. This modest little magazine, now nearly 25 years old, is written by some of our most dedicated historians who continue to seek out and share new stories from our Prairie State past. Our family of history tellers grows with each issue too. These are extraordinary folks; I hope you’ve come to value them as I do. 

Thank you for being members of the Illinois State Historical Society. Thanks for being part of our history, and for letting us be part of yours.

Share your Heritage, be “Lincoln-hearted,” and have a safe and joyous equinox. 

William Furry
ISHS Executive Director

This issue of Illinois Heritage will fill the hours with Prairie State wonders. New contributor Mark Pohlad, an architectural historian from DePaul University, shares his thoughts on the 100th anniversary of the conveyance of New Salem to the State of Illinois. Kristan McKinsey serves up another out-standing profile in our long-running series on Illinois Women Artists. And Mark Flotow and his camera capture the Lincoln Days festival and Civil War “battle” on Lake Pittsfield, which took place over Memorial Day weekend in Pike County. But that’s not all.

ISHS Director William Shannon IV takes us to East St. Louis to remember a civil rights struggle in 1963, where African-American protestors challenged the community to level the playing field for jobs and to create equitable opportunities previously denied them. Last but never least, John Hallwas presents another “Forgotten Voices from Illinois History,” this time on a little-known publishing house that turned heads around the world toward Prairie City, Illinois.

Thank you for reading Illinois Heritage. Your membership and gifts keep this organization vital and relevant. We cannot serve Illinois history without you.