League of Women Voters and Housing in Champaign-Urbana
The League of Women Voters of Champaign County is a nonpartisan grassroots organization. Nationally, the group was formed in 1920, months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.
"The City Beyond"
In the summer of 1923, Chanute Air Force Base was turned into a movie production site. The News-Gazette spent that summer producing “The City Beyond,” a film that showcased the twin cities. The film was shot around Champaign, Urbana, and Chanute Air Force Base.
Happy Fourth of July!
Take a look back at previous Fourth of July celebrations with photographs from the Champaign County Historical Archives!
FamilySearch Microfilm Loans Will Stop September 2017
FamilySearch, a genealogy organization operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has recently announced that its microfilm distribution services which provided convenient access to billions of birth, marriage, death, census, land, and court records from over 130 countries, wil
Recently Processed: Champaign County Extension Services Collection
Last weekend was the University of Illinois Extension’s Garden Walk, an event which showcases local private and public gardening spaces. Cooperative Extension Services have a rich history, dating back nearly 100 years in Champaign County. I recently finished processing the records of the Champaign County Homemakers’ Extension Association, known at various times as Champaign County Home Bureau (1924-1945), Champaign County Home Economics Extension Services (1946-1989), and Champaign County Homemakers’ Extension Association (1991-1994).Start Your Engines
Louis Brown circa 1930
Urbana had its own Memorial Day dirt track races at the Crystal Lake Park dirt track, also known as the Champaign County Fair Grounds. Louis Brown, of Speedway Garage, Champaign, was one of the Memorial Day racers in 1930. According to articles found in the Daily Illini, Brown raced at various state fairs and other events all over the county. It was reported that his car had a top speed of around 110 miles per hour.
"More and More, War is Using the Telephone..."
Sometimes, little treasures from the past show up in entirely different places than imagined.
Chanute's Golden Anniversary
This May marks the 100th anniversary of the former Chanute Air Force Base. The Champaign County Historical Archives is celebrating Chanute's history by hosting an exhibit and a Town & Gown event.
In 1967, Chanute observed another anniversary. Chanute’s 50th Anniversary kicked-off a summer of celebrations at the base. The festivities included:
This May marks 100 years for the former Chanute Air Force Base, 1917 - 1993
This year the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois celebrates its 100th anniversary. The base was established May 1917, following the United States’ entry into WWI and trained over 2 million servicemen and women during its 76 years of operation.
Recently Processed: PRC Records and Race Inn Collection
Two collections have recently been processed by Archives staff and are now available for researchers.
RKO Virginia Blueprint
As Ebertfest 2017 wraps up, it seems an appropriate time to share this schematic of the Virginia Theater projection booth from 1967.
A Mother's Obituary
I have been indexing obituaries for the past 5 years from the News-Gazette into Local History Online, the online catalog for the holdings of the Champaign County Historical Archives.
Photographs from Chanute’s Annual Open House
Chanute Air Force Base held Open Houses for the citizens of Champaign County from 1926 until the base closed in 1993. Thousands of people attended the Open House celebrations to watch air shows, see airplane exhibits, and meet the Air Force soldiers.
Sometimes April Showers bring April Flowers…
It is spring wildflower season in east central Illinois. Time to take yourself to the woods to see Jack-in-the-pulpit, dutchman’s breeches, toothwort, trillium, dog tooth violet, blue-eye Mary, and Virginia bluebells.