New Online Exhibit: One Hundred Years of Cooking

Madison County Historical Society

A new online exhibit by the staff of the Madison County Historical Museum explores One Hundred Years of Cooking. Assistant curator, Mary Z. Rose, under the direction of curator Jennifer Van Bibber, has assembled another interesting and timely exhibit. With so many people at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a resurgence in the interests of cooking and baking. The new exhibit is one of a dozen topics that can be explored at https://madcohistory.org/online-exhibits/.

One Hundred Years of Cooking focuses on cooking-related items in the MCHS collection, describing what the items were used for and sometimes telling the stories of the owners of the artifacts. One section focuses on Graniteware, manufactured locally at the NESCO plant in Granite City. A century ago, almost every homemaker had one or more pieces of Graniteware, no matter where they lived in the country. The exhibit includes a combination of recipes and trivia in addition to history for an interesting read.

Although closed to the public due to COVID-19, the staff of both the museum and archival library are available to help patrons with research projects. Telephone inquiries can be made Wednesday-Friday, 9-4 and Sunday 1-4 at 618-656-7569. Enquiries can also be made by e-mail to jlparkin@co.madison.il.us. Unfortunately, the Madison County Historical Museum remains closed for renovation. For information about the Madison County Historical Society, call 618-656-1294.