Media Library
Johnny Cakes to Paddy Cakes: Irish Cookery
This program is packed with history, memories, food, and music! Join Greg Koos, local historian and Executive Director Emeritus of the McLean County Museum of History, as he explores the Irish-American immigrant experience in McLean County.
Rob Girardi On “General John E. Smith, Galena’s Forgotten General”
Galena, Illinois sent nine generals to the Civil War, including Ulysses S. Grant. This talk highlights the lesser-known John Eugene Smith, a Galena silversmith who befriended Grant and helped return Grant to the army, influencing key moments of the war. Presented by public historian Robert I. Girardi, author and editor of several Civil War works.
History Of Early Baseball With Robert Sampson
Learn about the history of early baseball, how the game differs from the game we know today, the organizations that existed locally and even where the game was banned!
Stories In Stone: Decoding The Sentiment Behind Cemetery Symbolism
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.
Nance: Trials Of The First Slave Freed By Abraham Lincoln
This is the true story of Lincoln’s first freed slave, Mrs. Nance Legins-Costley (1813-1873) in Illinois Supreme Court in 1841; beginning of the end of slavery in Illinois and the United States. Nance’s master, state senator Thomas Cox, wanted to make slavery legal by constitutional amendment in Illinois. Forty years later, Lincoln reversed that and made slavery unconstitutional by the 13th Amendment.
Carl Adam’s book about this fascinating topic may be purchase at www.nancebook.com.
Illinois History Forum With Dr. Mark Depue And Mark Flotow At The Alplm
This program is part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s Illinois History Forum series. ALPLM Oral History Director Dr. Mark DePue talks with Springfield author Mark Flotow about his book, “In Their Letters, in Their Words: Illinois Civil War Soldiers Write Home.”
“I Think That We Will Soon Be In Springfield”
Sangamon County Historical Society presents Mark Flotow’s “I think that we will Soon Be in Springfield” which focuses on Illinois Civil War soldiers’ quotations about Sangamon County from their personal letters.
Native Americans Of The Illinois Country
The November ISHS History Happy Hour program is entitled Native Americans of the Illinois Country and is presented by Mark Walczynski. Mark is the Park Historian for the Starved Rock Foundation located at Starved Rock State Park, Utica, Illinois. Mark’s studies focus on the Franco-Amerindian history of the Western Great Lakes and the Illinois Country during the last 40 years of the 1600s. He is also an affiliate with the Illinois Archaeological Survey.
Pandemic 1918! Battling Influenza During The Great War
Join us for a new ISHS History Happy Hour – January 2021 Edition with Tina Beaird and her lecture ‘Pandemic 1918! Battling Influenza During the Great War.’ Tina Beaird, owner of Tamarack Genealogy, is a genealogy & local history librarian at the Plainfield Public Library. She lectures nationally on topics including genealogical methodology, military records, Scottish research and photo and archival preservation. ISHS History Happy Hour events and webinars are free and open to everyone.
2021 ISHS History Symposium: “Considering Monuments” (Part 1)
Sherry Williams, President, Bronzeville Historical Society Andrea Aggert, Architect of the Capitol Walt Williams, Economic/Community Development Director, City of Edwardsville Dr. David Joens, Director, Illinois State Archives (Moderator)
2021 ISHS History Symposium: Plenary Panel “Considering Monuments” (Part 2)
Sherry Williams, President, Bronzeville Historical Society Walt Williams, Economic/Community Development Director, City of Edwardsville Moderator: Dr. David Joens, Director, Illinois State Archives
2021 ISHS History Symposium: “Decolonizing And Indigenizing Museum Programming”
Jenn Edginton, Director of Interpretation, Illinois State Museum Heather Bruegl (Oneida/Stockbridge Munsee), Director of Cultural Affairs at Stockbridge-Munsee, Wisconsin, Community David O’Connor (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Hot Dog! It Could be Wurst: German Cookery
Join Greg Koos, local historian and Executive Director Emeritus of the McLean County Museum of History, as he explores the German-American experience in McLean County. Greg's brother Chris also makes an appearance in a pre-recorded video making bratwurst in his kitchen with Greg.
In this talk you will also hear from Terra Brockman, speaker and author of "The Seasons on Henry’s Farm", which takes the reader through the many “micro-seasons” on her brother Henry’s sustainable, biodiverse vegetable farm in Central Illinois.
Contested Civil Liberties in 19th Century McLean County, with Greg Koos
This program is presented by the Central Illinois Chapter of the ACLU and the McLean County Museum of History. Greg Koos will review the story of the diverse peoples and events of McLean County by presenting the struggle to build community and secure freedom as these many communities defined it. Native peoples, women, men, African Americans, Irish, and German immigrants all sought and contested for their freedom.
The Night the Stars Fell
Join Museum Librarian Bill Kemp as he takes us back to November 13, 1833, when the nighttime sky lit up like an Independence Day sparkler in what’s believed to be the most intense meteor shower in recorded human history.
At this time, Central Illinois was still the frontier, and meteor showers were mysterious and misunderstood phenomena. What did early settlers make of this spectacular–and for some, spectacularly terrifying–event? Where, in fact, did these meteors come from? And what’s the connection between the “Night the Stars Fell” and the Lenoids, the annual meteor shower that visits Earth every November?
Lunch & Learn: The Wizard of Oz in Illinois and Beyond
Sorensen will give an illustrated presentation about how L. Frank Baum came to Chicago in 1891 and 125 years ago wrote the children’s Book-of-the-Year, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Thinking it a one-time effort, demands from children across the country convinced him and later “Royal Historians of Oz” to keep writing until there eventually were officially 40 Oz-related books.
He will also highlight Bloomington’s connection to the “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” as being the final resting place of Dorothy Gage, whom Baum family lore states is the namesake of the character “Dorothy” in the book.