The Industrial Revolution: Transforming Industry and Society The Industrial Revolution, spanning from the late 18th to the 19th century, marked a significant shift in manufacturing… Read More »The Little Brown Jug: A Reflection of Industrial Evolution and Community Impact
The skates are from the museum’s collection of items that were donated by the Mercer family. Eph Mercer lived in Vermont, Illinois, and owned and… Read More »Pair of Antique Ice Skates
This wooden wall telephone was manufactured in 1910 by Stromberg-Carlson Company of Chicago, Illinois. Alfred Stromberg and Androv Carlson, both employees of the Chicago Bell… Read More »Stromberg-Carlson Telephone
These two discs were acquired to be part of a display about the poet and historian Carl Sandburg, at the museum when it was formerly… Read More »Sandburg Recordings on Aluminum Discs
Ice Cream History The desire for a cold treat on a hot day is nothing new—throughout history, frozen delicacies like flavored ice and chilled drinks… Read More »Ira Taylor Babbitt’s Ice Cream Freezer and Churn
On display at the Western Illinois Museum is a framed collection of Civil War-era items. These items pertain to Henry Heltzel, a Union soldier, who… Read More »Henry Heltzel’s Civil War-Era Artifacts
By Chance Waddell Don’t touch that dial! While this item looks like an ordinary microphone, it is actually a working radio. When it is plugged… Read More »WKAI 1510 Microphone-Shaped Radio
By Marla Vizdal and Carmen Keist, Quilts of all different patterns and colors have been found in the home for centuries. Sewn from any fabrics… Read More »Peck Family Quilt
By Marla Vizdal, The St. Francis Hospital memorabilia in the Museum’s collection includes a number of items: postcards of the hospital (showing the building with… Read More »St. Francis Hospital Memorabilia