You may have read the Tom Kacich article in the News-Gazette a few weeks ago about the miraculous discovery of early Urbana resident J.O. Cunningham’s journals in Kerrville, Texas. The journals describing Cunningham’s 1853 arrival in Urbana have now themselves returned to the community. The Champaign County Historical Archives is pleased to announce that The Board of Cunningham Children’s Home has approved a resolution to donate the journals to the Archives.
Like the Archives itself, J.O. Cunningham’s life (b. December 12, 1830 – d. April 30, 1917) and words are a gateway to the history of this community. Cunningham author of the 1905, History of Champaign County, was an integral part of Urbana and Champaign County during its early years. He became a resident of Urbana in 1853, soon after purchasing the Urbana Union, the first and only paper published in Champaign County at the time. He was elected county judge in 1861, and in 1867, appointed a member of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Industrial College.
Another little known fact about Cunningham is his close ties to the Archives. The J.O. Cunningham book collection donated to The Urbana Free Library upon his death in 1917 is one of the early foundations of The Historical Room in the Library, the forerunner of The Champaign County Historical Archives. The Archives houses a number of collections preserving the early history of Urbana and the county, including photographs, maps, legal records and manuscripts of numerous residents and prominent families, and the journals are an extraordinary addition and complement to these existing collections.
The journals are currently being stored at an off-site location in preparation for digitization so that they may be preserved and made digitally accessible to the Champaign County community and worldwide. Stay tuned for more information about these wonderful new additions.
