Preserving Williamson County History – A 501(C)3 Organization
Posts related to the WCHS
Thanks to a friend of Helen Sutt Lind, a new map has been added to the Williamson County Museum library. The 1869 map illustrates the counties of Jefferson, Franklin and Williamson as they existed in 1869 and reflect changes to the townships on the west side of the county when compared with the 1876 county map.
The map has been added to the Williamson County section of the History page or you can jump to the post with this link:
Two Williamson County Illinois maps have been added to the Williamson County Maps section of the History page. One map shows all of the towns, ghost towns, villages and railroad stations that have existed in the county and the other map was put together by Nannie Gray Parks for the 1939 County Centennial event marking the 100th anniversary of the county. The Nannie Gray map shows all of the early trapper and pioneer trails in the county as well as historic points of interest. (more…)
Thanks to the book “Cross Roads School’ published in 1984 by Bob Jackson, President of the Williamson County Historical Society, new histories have been added to the Cross Roads section of the History Page. Bob, himself, was a graduate of the Cross Roads School.
Cross Roads was a community of folks who lived at the crossroads of two old county trails which is located at the intersection of Khoury League and Songbird Roads just northeast of Marion, Illinois. The community had a church, cemetery and old country school, although all that remains today is the cemetery. (more…)
Eighty seven students and several adult chaperones from the Marion Washington School’s fourth and fifth grade classes toured the Williamson County Historical Society museum Thursday, May 22, 2014. The students were broken up into eight tour groups accompanied by volunteers of the county museum and teachers from the Washington School. (more…)
The Williamson County Illinois Historical Society hosted an open house on May 17th, 2014 to celebrate the museum’s extended hours of operation and also the 175th Williamson County Anniversary. The event was held from noon till just after 3 P.M. and was attended by approximately 90 people.
Coverage was provided by the Southern Illinoisan and WSIL Channel 3 television. Dr. Courtney Kisat distributed educational information and several board and society members served as hosts for visiting patrons. (more…)
Over thirty students of the Jefferson School from Marion toured the Williamson County Historical Society Friday, May 16th, 2014. The students, all fifth graders, were part of a tour arranged by teacher, Wendy Goodman, who schedules her students on tours each year at the museum. (more…)
Steven Seim, a resident of Wisconsin, recently contacted us to make us aware of some work he has taken on. Steven is attempting to catalog all of the cemeteries throughout the Midwest established for residents of asylums, poorhouses, poor farms, prisons, orphanages, and similar institutions – in other words, cemeteries for the unclaimed. Most of the individuals laid to rest in these cemeteries were forgotten in their own lifetimes. It is my hope that they will not be forgotten to history. (more…)
The Special Collections Research Center at Morris Library (SIU) is celebrating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War by hosting a national exhibit and three speakers.
Civil War 150, a national traveling exhibit, will be on display at Morris Library’s Special Collections Hall of Presidents from April 28 to May 16. This exhibit traces major events during the Civil War through the eyes of soldiers, presidents, freedmen, and families. A companion display highlights the impact of the war on Southern Illinois, showcasing the letters of local soldiers and their wives. To celebrate this exhibit, the Special Collections Research Center welcomes three guest speakers to the Hall of Presidents and Chancellors. (more…)
An interesting book was published in 1977 by Glenn J. Sneed called “Ghost Towns of Southern Illinois.” A copy of it can be found in the Williamson County Historical Society’s museum research library. I have recently used this book to add about 45 new histories related to the ghost towns of Williamson County to our History Page. (more…)
