Williamson County Illinois Historical Society

Preserving Williamson County History – A 501(C)3 Organization

Category: WCHS

Posts related to the WCHS

  • Second Annual Southern Illinois Quilt Show

    Quilt Show flyer 3

  • History Page Additions

    Numerous additions to the History Page have been recently added:

    • Histories of communities: Alleghany, Big Muddy (a.k.a. White Row), Burns Settlement, Carterville District Mine, Cedar Grove, Cowthon, Downey, Droit City, Grays, Halfway II, Jeffrey Mine, Malcomville, Moake Crossing, Nixville, Number Seven Row, Paineville, Pinch Off, Prosperity, Rogerville, Vicksburg, and Other Communities.
    • Plat Maps (1908) added to histories: Alleghany, Blairsville, Canaville, Corinth PO, Crab Orchard, Fordville, Hudgens, Malcomville, New Denison, New Virginia, Jeffersonville, Pittsburg, Pope’s Highland, Reeves, Spillertown, Stonefort and Whiteash. Oraville and Stern’s Outlots were added to Other Communities.
    • Railroad Maps: Maps from 1876 and 1908 covering the state and Southern Illinois.
    • 1822 Illinois State Map
    • 1876 Williamson County Map showing the names of all the old precincts 

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  • 1908 County and Township Map Set Added

    A new page had been added to the History Page on this site that includes a 1908 Williamson County map and maps of each of the twelve county townships. These maps can be invaluable when trying to determine the location of old lost sites or property ownership locations.

    The page can be found under Williamson County on the History Page or you can jump straight to the link by clicking here.

  • Carbondale New School Students Tour Museum

    Carbondale New School 4/2/2014
    Carbondale New School 4/2/2014
    Carbondale New School 4/2/2014
    Carbondale New School 4/2/2014
    Carbondale New School 4/2/2014
    Carbondale New School 4/2/2014

    Show Slideshow
    The Williamson County Museum was host to the Carbondale New School’s fifth through eighth grade class members on April 2, 2014. The students were accompanied by parents and teachers on a tour of the old county jail where they got to pour over our Native American artifact collection and spend some time in the slammer. (more…)

  • Williamson County’s Early Settlers & Mills

    New postings related to our counties first settlers and early mills have been added to the History Page. They were extracted from Goodspeed’s History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois published in 1887. (more…)

  • New WCHS Brochures Printed

    2014 WCHS BrochureWe have thousands of newly printed brochures ready for distribution reflecting our new hours of operation. The brochures were printed courtesy of the Williamson County Tourism Bureau and encapsulate descriptions of the museum and its exhibits.

    In addition, the brochure contains information related to membership, our research library, hours of operation and the internet addresses of not only the county website but the Marion History Preservation site as well.

    The brochures will be distributed to public locations so they can be accessed by those who may be unfamiliar with the historical society and the museum and library.

  • 2014 Quarterlies in the Mail and Member Dues Due

    Thanks to the efforts of Helen Sutt Lind, the first installment of the 2014 quarterly publication “Footprints in Williamson County” are in the mail and members should receive theirs soon. If you haven’t received yours yet, you can get a preview of what’s inside by checking the Quarterlies Footprints Index in the Records Tab of the menu or just Click Here. (more…)

  • Motsinger School Photo Added

    For those of you who may have had ancestors from southern Crab Orchard Township, a photo was just added with the class of students who were attending Motsinger School on January 16, 1893. This photo contained some Carters that were related to our own member Violet Grisham who has done a vast amount of research on the county. To see the photo look in the History Tab on the menu or Click Here. (more…)

  • History Page Updated

    The History Page on this site containing the early histories of all of the counties cities, ghost towns, villages, post offices and points of interest has been updated. We recently added 58 new entries and indexed the page. There are now over 100 histories listed. The last entries ranged from Hurst-Bush School to Zion Church. (more…)

  • WCHS Member Benefits Added

    Recent board action has enhanced the benefits of being a member of the Williamson County Historical Society. In addition to helping support the expense of operating the museum, your membership fees will now entitle you to a 10% discount on any materials that we offer for sale in our Book Store.

    Additionally, we are working on giving society members access to unprecedented historical records. (more…)