Browse Items (333 total)

The Monticello Female Seminary, later named Monticello College, was established in 1838 by Captain Benjamin Godfrey, a native of Massachusetts and a successful businessman. The village of Godfrey, located north of Alton, was named for the captain. On…

Several Sandwich Township firemen pose for a group photo with their helmets and gear lying in front of them.

Two ladies sit in a motorized carriage flanked on either side by two gentlemen in a rural community. On verso: "Merritt-June, Brice W. and Bertha Clayton."

Men of Stephenson Post No. 30, Grand Army of the Republic, stand ready as a "Guard of Honor" at the Lincoln Monument in Springfield on the first Lincoln Centennial Day, February 12th, 1909.

The Villa Kathrine in Quincy was built by George Metz in 1900 and was modeled after the Villa ben Ahben in Morocco. The castle, which overlooks the Mississippi River, was acquired by the Quincy Parks Department in 1955.

Warfboat docked at Golconda on the Ohio River.

Several men inspect a Ford Model T after an accident near a bridge. Ford produced the first production Model T in 1908.

Horses and pedestrians cross the public square in Belleville while a street car sits on the southern side. The image's vantage point is looking east at the public square.

Members of the Machine Gun Platoon, 1st Infantry, Illinois National Guard, pose for a picture on horseback and with mules.

Champion judges of the 1913 Bushnell Horse Show congregate on a busy street.

Ella Park Lawrence, of Galesburg, proudly displays the First State Flag of Illinois. Elected Illinois State Regent in 1911, Lawrence was instrumental in her campaign to have the "First State Flag" adopted. In 1914, she offered twenty-five dollars for…

Several people partake in the "Japanese Sun Festival" held at Illinois Field on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana.

Several ladies enjoy Fox River Park in Aurora, the "City of Lights."

Edwin Markham, an American poet and Poet Laureate of Oregon (1923-1931), poses for a portrait. The personalized message and signature at the bottom of the photograph reads, "My dear Carl Vrooman: Here I am - yours with the secret word and the…

A large delegation of women standing in front of the Chicago & Alton train, "The Daylight Flyer," ready for a trip to Springfield for the formal seating of Florence Fifer Bohrer in the Senate. A Republican from Bloomington, Bohrer was Illinois's…

Illinois state legislators Katherine Hancock Goode, Florence Fifer Bohrer, Rena Elrod, and Lottie Holman O'Neill are pictured (right to left) in Springfield. Bohrer was the first woman to serve in the Illinois Senate. In 1921, O'Neill was the first…

A photograph of Carl Sandburg, poet and Lincoln biographer, signed to "Henry Horner with all good wishes." Henry Horner was the twenty-eighth Governor of Illinois (1933-1940).

A horse-drawn wagon, a man, a woman, and two dogs stand outside the Shelby County Courthouse. Photo caption: "Old Shelbyville court house where the Lincoln-Thornton debate was held in 1856 (a painting by Robert Root)." On verso: "Shelby Co. C, House…

Production on small machines in the Shunt Magnet Department, possibly at Springfield's Sangamo Electric Company.

Political satire titled, "Public Sale! Closing Out Sale of the Grand Old Party," which includes several humorous references related to the 1932 Presidential Election.

A large delegation from the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) gather at the 1933 World's Fair "Century of Progress," Chicago. The NACW was formed in Washington, D.C. in 1896 as a response to the disfranchisement and poor treatment of…

Lieutenant Thomas G. W. Settle, U.S.N. (center) stands in front of stratosphere balloon, A Century of Progress, while reporters and military members ask questions. Settle and Army Major Chester L. Fordney set a world altitude record during their…

An etching from James Swann, a Midwest printmaker.

Members of the Peoria County Chapter load a boat with food to be delivered to feeding stations along with Illinois River levee during the Ohio River Flood of 1937.

John Stelle sits on a white mule while surrounded by veterans.On verso: "Stelle rides mule presented by Sam Plant, Murphysboro who allegedly stole a mule from Stelle in France in first world war. Plant is holding mule."