October is American Archives Month!
We have some great events and exhibits to celebrate with.
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Saturday, September 28, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
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Green Street in Campustown has been an enduring fascination for generations of Champaign-Urbana residents and students. Join Abby Bobrow as she talks about her
recently published
look at this iconic street and invites those in the audience to share their memories.
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Saturday, October 12, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
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Locating records to prove our genealogy facts can be the most exciting part of compiling family history! In this introductory workshop, you will learn how to begin exploring your family history and how to use sources as evidence to support genealogical research. We will also learn about the local, state, and national resources available to family historians. Notebooks for recording your research will be available to all registrants.
This is a
FREE WORKSHOP
, however, registration
is required.
To register, please call the Champaign County Historical Archives at 217-367-4025, stop by the Archives, or register
online
through the Library’s online calendar.
Registration is limited to 20 participants.
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Saturday, October 26, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
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Discover photographs, documents, films, maps, and more artifacts held in the incredible archival and museum collections right here in Champaign County! Enjoy learning about these fascinating resources in a fun, interactive atmosphere. The Bazaar is
FREE
and features booths where you can chat with your local archivists and curators.
Ask professionals how to best preserve your memories, start researching your family history, record an oral history, or ask about the history of Champaign-Urbana, Chanute Air Force Base, and Champaign County.
Come see all the diverse resources and history Champaign County has to offer.
Featuring:
Champaign County Genealogical Society; Champaign County Historical Archives; Champaign County History Museum; Independent Media Center Zine Library and Archives; Kent Tucker, Lincoln Collector; Museum of the Grand Prairie; Rantoul Historical Society; and University of Illinois Student Life & Culture Archives
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New Exhibit
Early Jewish Life in Champaign-Urbana & History of Jewish Businesses in Champaign-Urbana
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T
he arrival of the railroad to Champaign County in 1854 brought a flourish of growth and new economic opportunities to East Central Illinois. Enterprising Jewish settlers, mainly of German origin, began arriving from Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Indiana establishing dry good stores, groceries, clothing, cigar, and shoe shops.
The exhibits, located on the first and second floor of the Library, identify the early Jewish settlers in Urbana and Champaign, their social and religious clubs, the founding of Sinai Temple, and their businesses including a few that are still in operation today.
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Addie Bernstein Cohen, a locally noted soprano, was the daughter of Solomon and Fannie Bernstein, the first Jewish residents to permanently settle in Urbana in 1854. She married Nathan H. Cohen, former vaudevillian and cigar manufacturer, and had three sons: Sidney, Sol, and Julius. The Cohens were a musical family and were active in the local musical clubs and amateur theater circles entertaining Jewish and Christian groups alike.
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Only one Wittemann-Lewis XNBL-1 “Barling Bomber” was ever built. At the time, the Barling Bomber was the world’s largest plane. According to the November 15, 1923 issue of the
Rantoul Weekly Press
, the plane was powered by six Liberty motor propellers (four tractor types and two puller types), 2,000-gallon gas tank, and had a top speed of 75 mph.
It landed at Chanute Field on October 10, 1923 to be used in the motion picture, “The Making of a Man,” the name was later changed to “The Sky Trailer.”
The plane, created by Walter H. Barling, a British designer and its namesake, was considered largely a failure due to its high cost of manufacturing, slow top speed, and modest range with a full-bomb load. However, aspects of this mammoth plane can be seen in our planes of today. The use of dual wheels under the nose of the plane to keep it from pitching too far forward during take-off, its 10-wheel adjustable landing gear with
oleo struts
used as a shock absorbers, and special materials in the fuselage to help protect the plane and crew from anti-aircraft were quite futuristic and forward-thinking at the time of the plane’s conception.
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Think You Know Champaign-Urbana?
Try our trivia quiz
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Q.
Where did Heath English Toffee find the inspiration for their product?
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Events at the Archives & Beyond
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- Illinois Burials and Cemeteries, Champaign County Genealogical Society, Tuesday, October 8, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm | The Jean Evans Archives Room (Second Floor), The Urbana Free Library
- Research Night with Champaign County Genealogical Society, Wednesday, October 9, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm | The Jean Evans Archives Room (Second Floor), The Urbana Free Library
- Archives Bazaar, Saturday, October 26, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm| MacFarlane-Hood Reading Room (First Floor), The Urbana Free Library
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We Want To Hear From You!
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Put our Archivists to the test. Ask us your questions about local history and genealogy.
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Want to learn about more events at The Urbana Free Library?
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Champaign County Historical Archives | 217-367-4025 |
E-mail
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Website
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