Author: Sasha

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#SmallTownSaturday – Farmer City, Illinois

Population-1815

Welcome back to Small Town Saturday! This week, we’ll be looking at Farmer City Illinois.

Farmer City, a small town in DeWitt County Illinois, had a complicated early life. The first town in the area was founded by a man by the name of Dennis Hurley, who arrived in 1830. He named the area “Hurley’s Grove,” though this name would not last long. Hurley would severely injure himself with the ramrod of his gun shortly after settling in the region. He was followed by Nathan Clearwater and Richard Kirby, with 9 families living in the area by 1835.

The image is a map of the triangular Santa Anna township in 1875, with Farmer City at the center of the township.
Map of Santa Anna Township in 1875, Image 27

By 1837, 19 families lived in Hurley’s Grove.… Read More

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From Free Soil to Free Silver: US Political Parties of the 19th Century

The exhibit, as displayed in the IHLC Reading Room, Main Library 324.

The 19th century was a period of substantial party instability in American politics. New parties emerged, vanished, merged, and succeeded, altering the shape of the American political discourse. The Illinois Historical and Lincoln Collections has a special pop-up exhibit on display that highlights some of these political parties. Drawing on several of our archival collections and cataloged material, the exhibit contains pamphlets, election tickets, broadsides and other items produced by the parties of the 19th century, their partisans, and their opponents. The exhibit will be on display for the remainder of the Fall 2022 semester.… Read More