 The Main Street façade | |
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| Established | 1892 |
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| Location | 200 N. Main St. Bloomington, Illinois 61701 |
| Type | History Museum |
| Public transit access |  Connect Transit |
| Website | http://mchistory.org |
The McLean County Museum of History is an AAM accredited [1] institution located in Bloomington, Illinois. It is the principal asset of the McLean County Historical Society, an Illinois nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1892 to study local history. The Museum moved into its current location in 1991.
The initial purpose of the McLean County Historical Society was to meet and present papers on local history topics. Soon, people in the community began donating historical objects to the society. In 1904, the society opened its first Museum and hired a curator. Reinvigorated by a change in leadership and New Deal dollars in the 1930s, the entire collection was re-inventoried and re-cataloged. Additionally, indexes to archival and local periodical collections were developed.
A fire in the Museum structure in 1972 forced the society to reevaluate itself, though the fire did not damage the collections. Consequently, a newly organized board made the decision to operate the Museum on a professional basis. In 1979, a long-range plan was developed to achieve AAM accreditation, which was realized in 1984. The Museum was reaccredited in 1996 and 2008. In 1989-1991 McLean County Courthouse was renovated and converted to a Museum. [2]
The Museum square is the site of three previous courthouses. The first county courthouse was built in 1831 out of whipsawn cherry and black walnut. In expectation of an economic boom, a new two-story Federal-style courthouse was constructed in 1836. This courthouse served Abraham Lincoln and other attorneys of the Eighth Judicial Circuit. It also was used by religious groups and it housed the county's first newspaper. Alfred Piquenard designed the third courthouse in 1868 in the Italian Renaissance style. On June 19, 1900, a fire in downtown Bloomington destroyed four and a half square blocks and caused major damage to the structure. The Peoria, IL firm Reeves and Baile were commissioned to design and rebuild the courthouse. Reeves designed the new courthouse in the American Renaissance style, which was completed in 1903. The building served as the county courthouse until 1976 when the courts moved to an up-to-date facility. The courthouse continued to be used for administrative purposes until 1988, and then was converted into a Museum. [3]
In 2002, the dome and its base were restored. The original copper decorative elements were salvaged and reused, and the limestone drum stone was repaired. The c. 1957 clock mechanism was replaced, and in 2004 the bell from the 1868 courthouse rung for the first time in nearly half a century. [4] In 2005, Landmarks Illinois presented the Outstanding Restoration award to McLean County for their efforts to restore the dome. [5]
The Museum's collection consists of materials that document the growth and development of McLean County from the prehistoric period through the present. The materials in the collection represent McLean County's diverse cultural history, people's relationship to their physical environment, political and economic activity, the history of institutions and organizations, civic culture, and iconography. Exhibitions draw primarily from the Museum's own collections, which numbers approximately 18,000 objects.
The Museum's permanent exhibit, Challenges, Choices, and Change, explores the lives of the people who settled McLean County. The exhibit is housed in four galleries: [6]
Abraham Lincoln in McLean County is another permanent exhibit that examines Lincoln's work as an attorney in McLean County and on the Illinois Eighth Judicial Circuit. It defines his pivotal role in the anti-slavery movement and the formation of the new Republican Party in Illinois. It makes clear the circumstances of his nomination for president in 1860, and explores the lasting connections Lincoln made with the people of this community.
The Museum also houses three temporary exhibit spaces: The Dolan & Behr Gallery, the Helen Alexander Bender Gallery and the Merwin Gallery. Exhibits are mounted by Museum staff and guest curators with objects and images from the Museum's collection. These galleries feature short term (2-3 year) exhibits that explore local history themes. Past award-winning exhibits include Just Corn: The "Amazing" Story; A Turbulent Time: Perspectives of the Vietnam War; and To Sustain the Union: Central Illinois in the Civil War. [5]
The Museum displays the Tilbury Flash , a racing plane designed by Bloomington resident Owen Tilbury in 1932, at the Central Illinois Regional Airport. It was the smallest plane in the world when it was built, and won many aircraft racing competitions. [7]
In 2015 the Museum opened the Cruisin' With Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center and gift shop on the lower level of the Museum.
A goal of the McLean County Museum of History is to support research in local and family history by operating a publicly accessible library and archive. The Stevenson-Ives Library and Benjamin Hoopes Family Archives contain a wide range of primary and secondary source material relating to Central Illinois history from the early 1800s to present. Types of materials housed in the archives include correspondence, diaries, business and farm ledgers, newspapers, maps, photographs, manuscripts, and oral histories.
Topics include works on material and popular culture, military history, biographies, religious groups, agriculture, school directories and annuals, and works by local authors. Many of the larger collections in the archives have finding aids, and about 90 of those have been placed on the Museum’s website. [8] A significant part of the library collection relates to the study of genealogy and is provided by the McLean County Genealogical Society and the Letitia Green Stevenson Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. [9]
The Museum provides educational opportunities through hands-on, object based, and interactive learning geared towards all ages. Educational programs contextualize local history within state and national history and promote active, integrative learning using sensory experiences. All programs meet Illinois State Board of Education learning goals and are taught by the Museum’s Director of Education and Education Program Coordinator. The Museum also loans kits (a Museum-in-a-box) to classrooms which provide object-based learning on various topics for students through artifacts, reproductions, and activities. Senior reminiscence programs use objects to elicit memories and stimulate cognition and communication. Additionally, the Museum offers tours, field trips, presentations, and a History Careers Day Camp. [10]
The Museum also features the Harriet Fuller Rust Discovery Room. This space recreates what life was like without modern technology. Children can experience life in the early 19th century by pushing a steel plow, carrying water, gardening, milking a cow, trying on period clothes, and other activities. [11]
Since 1995, the Museum has hosted the Evergreen Cemetery Walk. Each year, local professional actors portray a variety of individuals who lived in McLean County, bringing their diverse stories to life. [12] In addition to actor representations, the tour includes information about cemetery art and architecture, history of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, and the history of burial and funerary practices. [13]
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. The 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the 13th-most populous city in Illinois and the fifth-most populous outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, which has a population of roughly 170,000. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis. Bloomington is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and the headquarters for State Farm and Country Financial.
The Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) is a museum, art gallery, and archives for the Regional Municipality of Peel and are located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Previously, it was the Peel Heritage Complex. Its facilities were originally the Peel County Courthouse, Brampton Jail, a land registry office, and a county administration building. It is opposite Gage Park and Brampton City Hall.
The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923 to preserve and present the history of New York City, and its people. It is located at 1220–1227 Fifth Avenue between East 103rd to 104th Streets, across from Central Park on Manhattan's Upper East Side, at the northern end of the Museum Mile section of Fifth Avenue.
Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the intersection of North Avenue in the Old Town Triangle neighborhood. Long known as the CHS, the society adopted the name, Chicago History Museum, in September 2006 for its public presence.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum documents the life of the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, and the course of the American Civil War. Combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, the museum ranks as one of the most visited presidential libraries. Its library, in addition to housing an extensive collection on Lincoln, also houses the collection of the Illinois State Historical Library, founded by the state in 1889. The library and museum is located in the state capital of Springfield, Illinois, and is overseen as an agency of state government. It is not affiliated with the U.S. National Archives and its system of libraries.
Jesse W. Fell was an American businessman and landowner. He was instrumental in the founding of Illinois State University as well as Normal, Pontiac, Clinton, Towanda, Dwight, DeWitt County and Livingston County in Central Illinois. He was also the founder of the newspaper The Pantagraph. As a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, it was Fell who urged him to challenge his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas, to their famous series of debates.
Evergreen Cemetery, in Bloomington, Illinois, is also known as Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.
Miller Park is a public park in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. It is in the southwest part of the city, on a large block south of Wood Street and east of Morris Avenue.
The William R. and Clarice V. Spurlock Museum, better known as the Spurlock Museum, is an ethnographic museum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Spurlock Museum's permanent collection includes portions of collections from other museums and units on the Urbana-Champaign campus such as cultural artifacts from the Museum of Natural History and Department of Anthropology as well as historic clothing from the Bevier Collection of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The museum also holds objects donated by other institutions and private individuals. With approximately 51,000 objects in its artifact collection, the Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign collects, preserves, documents, exhibits, and studies objects of cultural heritage. The museum's main galleries, highlighting the ancient Mediterranean, modern Africa, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, East Asia, Oceania, Europe, and the Americas, celebrate the diversity of cultures through time and across the globe.
The Indiana State Museum is a museum located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum houses exhibits on the science, art, culture, and history of Indiana from prehistoric times to the present day.
The McLean County Courthouse and Square is located in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and encompasses the old McLean County Courthouse and the courthouse-facing sides of three downtown blocks. All 4 floors of the building are now occupied by the McLean County Museum of History for exhibits, collections storage, and offices. The historic buildings at the other side of the square were destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The Square is bordered by four Bloomington streets: Main Street, Center Street, Jefferson Street and Washington Street. The site was home to three previous courthouses before the current one was completed in 1903. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1831, and the second in 1836. The third was built in 1868, but suffered major damage from fire on June 19, 1900.
Thomas Foster Tipton was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
John Milton Scott was an American attorney, judge, politician and philanthropist from Illinois. Although he did not win election to the Illinois Senate from Bloomington, Illinois, he served on both the Illinois Circuit Courts (1862-1870) and the Supreme Court of Illinois (1870-1888), including three one-year terms as chief justice. The trust he established in his will funded the first hospital in Bloomington and continues to fund local healthcare today.
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Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services are also partners in the work. In the early years of the program, Heritage Preservation and the National Park Foundation were also involved.
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Asahel Gridley was an American politician, lawyer, merchant, and banker. Born in New York, Gridley moved to Bloomington, Illinois, when he was twenty-one. He served as a brigadier general in the Black Hawk War and was elected to three terms in the Illinois General Assembly. There, he lobbied to have the Illinois Central and Chicago and Alton Railroads pass near Bloomington. Abraham Lincoln once defended Gridley during a slander trial and was a frequent collaborator or opponent in the courts. Gridley is also the namesake of Gridley, Illinois, and platted two other McLean County towns.
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