Illinois

Illinois history exceeds the capacity of the Sears Catalog for categorization and the World’s Fair for spectacle. And no matter what the self-appointed tour guide at the local diner might say, the heritage of the land of Lincoln doesn’t end with Capone’s demise. Like the Chicago Loop, the Prairie State’s past seems to defy straightforward chronology—Cahokia offered a version of urban sprawl more than a thousand years before the first Windy City skyscraper. From Park Forest to Cave-in-Rock, scan our shelf of Illinois history books with the unflagging enthusiasm of a Wrigley Field hot dog vendor. [View all Illinois books]
6 products
Stories of Springfield
Stories of Springfield
$21.99
Remembering Galesburg
Remembering Galesburg
$21.99
Chronicles of Barrington, Illinois
Chronicles of Barrington, Illinois
$21.99
Remembering McDonough County
Remembering McDonough County
$21.99
Remembering Champaign County
Remembering Champaign County
$21.99
Boone County Originals:
Boone County Originals:
$21.99

Stories of Springfield

9781596299320

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
Discover new stories about the famous characters of Springfield, Illinois, and why some of its lesser-known citizens deserve to be famous too. Learn about the first Lincoln museum and its controversial creator, the cholera epidemic that spared the town and the operators of Springfield's Underground Railroad. Unearth the mysteries of a local poet's wrenching death and "airship" sightings from the nineteenth century. From Springfield's fatal pole wars of 1844 to the invention of better dental forceps, local historian Tara McClellan McAndrew's research splices together the comic, the tragic and the completely unexpected in these chronicles from Lincoln's town.
Stories of Springfield

Remembering Galesburg

9781596296732

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Galesburg, Illinois, has made quite a name for itself since the first settlers arrived in 1836. It has witnessed the comings and goings of fifteen United States presidents, listened to Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, seen the birth of an elephant and served as home of the man who brought the dandelion to America. Lifetime resident and city historian Tom Wilson captures the true spirit of the town through this charming collection of articles from his column, "Tracking History." Nuances and details, from the excitement of the Lincoln-Douglas debates to the frustrations of stalemate college basketball, make Remembering Galesburg a sparkling depiction of this town's personality.
Remembering Galesburg

Chronicles of Barrington, Illinois

9781467119177

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Chronicles of Barrington, Illinois

Remembering McDonough County

9781596298385

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Established in 1826, McDonough County, Illinois, has experienced fascinating changes since pioneer days, including the gradual disappearance of some small communities and rural neighborhoods. Remembering McDonough County focuses on the local tradition of notable storytellers and historians as it reflects the county's strange and colorful, poignant and meaningful earlier days--in Macomb, outlying communities, ghost towns, and wild areas. Award-winning author John Hallwas sketches memorable figures like pioneer storyteller Quintus Walker, Macomb newspaper editor W.H. Hainline, and Bushnell poet Marian Stearns Curry, and he depicts beloved, legendary, and sometimes mysterious places like Vishnu Springs, Gin Ridge, Ragtown, and Scott's neighborhood. Along the way, he portrays the racehorse and Civil War hero Chickamauga, the frightening Gooseneck Ghost, and the long-forgotten Crooked Creek Terror.
Remembering McDonough County

Remembering Champaign County

9781596299634

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Champaign County's history is an intriguing mix of hard living and higher learning, with a long tradition of bearing witness to progress. That progress was not without struggle, the arrival of the railroad came at a high cost in human life, and the arrival of racial integration was long overdue. These vignettes by former mayor Dannel McCollum provide a memorable glimpse into the heart of the county's history, uncovering new angles on old stories and preserving the familiar features of beloved characters. Reacquaint yourself with entrepreneur extraordinaire Benjamin Franklin Harris, as well as a promising lawyer by the name of Abraham Lincoln who defended the county's first convicted murderer. Then treat yourself to a brief dip into March Madness history with the Fighting Illini's 1989 surge to the Final Four.
Remembering Champaign County

Boone County Originals:

9781596299382

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Daniel Boone may never have set foot in the Illinois county that bears his name, but his tradition of blazing new trails is certainly honored here. Boone County has been the home of Native American legends, a Major League Baseball player, a Miss America and a cross-dressing Civil War soldier. And don't forget Hairbreadth Harry, King of the Hobos, "? who wrote poetry, walked backward and bathed in gasoline. Enjoy the best of Mike Doyle's historical columns as he introduces the fascinating folk of this "garden on the prairie, "? where some of the tallest tales are true."
Boone County Originals: