To begin, we are celebrating the 150th birthday of the 1866 Iroquois County Courthouse, now a museum housing the Historical and Genealogical Societies of Iroquois County. Since 1975 it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We started the parade season with our Birthday Cake float at the Milford Fun Days, June 25th, whose theme was "Under Construction." This is such a fitting theme for family history and genealogy, don't you think. Seems like there is always more to learn in our family history search.But we found more parades with great themes for genealogy and family history.
- Onarga, IL Independence Day Celebration, July 2, 11 a.m. Theme: "A Time to Remember"
- Watseka, IL Fourth of July Celebration, July 4, 11 a.m. Theme: "Pride in our Past, Faith in our Future"
- and more to follow in Iroquois County communities,
- ending with (we think) the Hoopeston (Illinois) Sweet Corn Festival parade in September.
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| Remembering items and people of our past |
The Historical Society collection includes items showing the history of Iroquois County, from the lives of its people, to the life of its land. Visit the Victorian Parlor, old Bedrooms, Veterinarian and Doctor Rooms, One Room School, Animal and Rock rooms. You can see the building's original Courtroom where county cases were argued for a century.
Located in the several old county vaults are our Genealogical Society treasures, original record books of the county, probates, estate records, land records, tax records, military and education records. If that's not enough for you, we also have newspaper microfilms, maps, atlases, cemetery records, church records, and the list goes on.
Next year, 2017 will be the 50th anniversary of the Historical Society and 2020 brings in the 50th anniversary of the Genealogical Society. Lots to celebrate around here.
Happy Independence Day, USA.
