Newly Remodeled Native American Room at Museum

Posted on by October 14, 2018

After a lot of hard work earlier in the year, the Williamson County Historical Society has completed the remodeling of our Native American room at the museum.  All of the artifact display cases were reworked with lighting added and a number of informational displays were added to showcase the presence of natives in our county for the past several thousand years.

The museum has been gifted a couple of large artifact collections over the years and the new displays highlight the significance of these historic items and the Native American connection to the natural world. A multimedia display has been added to illustrate local native history and their daily lifestyles, tools, food, weapons and shelter.

The museum will remain open six days a week from Monday through Saturday from 9:30 till 3 PM until Thanksgiving after which the museum will reduce its hours over the winter to Saturdays only. The public is always welcome to drop by the museum at 105 S. Van Buren Street in Marion and take a walk through local history.

Membership Meeting to be Held on 10/21/2018

Posted on by October 14, 2018

We will be holding a membership meeting at the museum on Sunday, October 21st, 2018, at 2:00 P.M.  We will be discussing society business as well as completed, ongoing and future projects. If you have a show & tell item, feel free to bring it. Elections for 2019 board members will be held. Nominations for new board members may be made up to and including the day of the meeting.

The program will be presented by Steve Schlager, a Carterville business owner and author who enjoys weaving fiction around local history to create tales that could have been true. His program will be based on a fictional train robbery that occurred in the 1920’s.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Seeking Photos of Past Sheriffs

Posted on by September 10, 2018

For decades, the Williamson County Historical Society has been trying to locate photographs of past Williamson County sheriffs and over the years the list has been narrowed down to the following names. If you are related to one of the counties past sheriffs listed below, look through your family photo albums and see if you can help us find photos of these individuals. Photos can be emailed to wchsmail@yahoo.com

Sheriff Year Born Years Served
Caplinger, Wilson J. 1825 1876-78
Goodall, Hardin 1833 1868-70
Goodall, John 1824 1850-52
Gray, Joab 1864 1889-1902
Hendrickson, Richmond R. 1827 1860-62
Huffstutler, Joel 1812 1846-50 & 1854-56
McHaney, Richard T. 1815 1858-60
Norris, Noah E. 1832 1874-76
Parks, Hugh Milo 1846 1894-98
Sanders, Jacob W. 1829 1856-58
Sisney, George W. 1831 1866-68
Spencer, Lewis H. 1830? 1862-64

Pittsburg Illinois Records Published and Indexed

Posted on by August 28, 2018

Since there is little published about the village of Pittsburg, Illinois other than historical notations, we were pleased when Jane Whitehead, granddaughter of James T. Fowler, approached us with a couple of Justice of the Peace Docket books to copy. Fowler resided over local city skirmishes in Pittsburg while serving as Justice of the Peace of the village for at least a couple of decades. Most of the cases involved assault, theft, bad debts, public drunkenness or domestic abuse. Included along with the Justice of the Peace dockets were entries of Chattel Mortgages where those looking to borrow money from someone would officially establish collateral for the loan, usually in the form of livestock or personal property. Continue reading →