This month I’ve been digging a lot… For treasure… The good kind. Sense of place in a small town comes from knowing where you came from and the currency of memories is something that The H.S.O.M.C. deals heavily in. My prospecting adventures have not yielded any gold doubloons or filthy lucre but it has given me a heavy sense of the colorful past of Montgomery County. If you haven’t guessed it yet, my really lame mining analogy is referring to the deep troves of the new website for The Historical Society of Montgomery County Illinois. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the site has about 5,000 of them. I thought I would share some of my favorites (yes, I looked at all of them!) I hope you enjoy…
Caroline Latham -1942- 533 W. Summer Street.- Marjorie Grotts Collection.
Delsarte Tableaux – At Old Hillsboro Opera House-Given by Hillsboro Methodist Episcopal Church in 1893.
Rosalyn “Girlie” Douglas Helston Paton- Margie Grotts collection.
She gave tap, ballet and toe dancing lessons. Mothers and accomplished seamstresses spent months making costumes for her elaborate and well attended recitals. (Held at the Orpheum Theatre) At one time, Girlie performed on Broadway in chorus lines.
ZONA WAFER- I hope I’m this cool when I’m at this point of my life…
JESS MUSGROVE’S DRUG STORE- Paul Musgrove- in the doorway.
Howell – Dorsey Lumber Company- On West side of Main Street Hillsboro. Bank of America / Napa Auto Parts now occupies this location.
Tap Dance Class- From Left to Right: Betty Dagon, Lena Marcolini, Patty Comstock and Esther Steinsick from Hillsboro Illinois.
George W. Brown Hardware
Jessie Ware- daughter of Frank and Nina Grassel Ware; Carthage College graduation photo 1934
Hillsboro High School Band 1938- On the Presbyterian Church steps.
Hillsboro Old Settlers
Bus to Coffeen- from Hillsboro, every 2 hours
Montgomery County train wreck- Fillmore
Esther Challacombe- wearing a dress she wore to the veiled prophets ball in St. Louis.
Lucius J. Ware
Geraldine Strange- Hillsboro High School Carnival Queen 1936.
Coal Prospecting In Montgomery County- 1908.
Portraying a character from the 1920s movie “The Sheik” an actor advertises in front of Smith’s Drugstore in Hillsboro.
Dunn Brown and Company– 1920.-George Dunn, Everett Brown and Glad Swingle.
The Davis Tobacco Store- was located 1 door North of Sullivan’s Drug Store on Main Street Hillsboro.
Collins & Lang- Taken about 1935 in Hillsboro. Cousins: Don G Collins, Berton Carroll “Shorty” Lang and Paul Leon Collins
Union Block, Main Street Hillsboro- Taken from the 1874 Montgomery County Atlas.
Hillsboro Bottling Works- truck and wooden cases of soda
Wagon Factory of August H. Mey- 1874 Atlas drawing showing Wagon Factory of August H. Mey on Main Street Hillsboro Illinois. This building still stands. It’s the large red brick apartment building across from the Shell station.
Coffeen Goes Dry- “We believe in national liberty free from demons and drink.” April 4, 1911
Rocky Ford-Forty thousand mellons.
Miller House Explodes- From September 1939. This home sat across from the Red Rooster Inn where Lingles car dealership was.
Schram Automatic Fruit Jar Co.
Schram Automatic Fruit Jar Co.
The Hillsboro Journal- This photo was taken around 1911. At this time the Hillsboro Journal was located in the Opera House Building on East Wood Street. (this building is now Jeff Dunns neon sign shop)
The Wreck- Hillsboro Illinois, August 2nd, 1898.
And… Another wreck!-
1910 Hillsboro Trolley Car Accident- From June 20th, 1910. Trolley car wreck on Main Street. This happened right in front of the Orpheum Theater.
Helen Mobley Floyd on Main Street
The Lane Residence Hillsboro IL- This was torn down to make way for the C.V.S. Pharmacy parking lot.
City of Hillsboro Fire Trucks- First City of Hillsboro Fire Trucks!
Night Scene on Main St. with Trolley
Hillsboro Coal Company
Mobley’s Drug Store 1930’s
Hillsboro Hail Storm- Hail as big as eggs on April 15, 1910!
Hillsboro Illinois Hail Storm
Main Street at Night- Polley Lawrence
Main Street Hillsboro – Walker’s 5 and Dime Store.
-Lets keep building on this beautiful history that we have here… And of course check out the thousands of pictures and great info at http://history.montgomeryco.com/
or follow them face Facebook here.
Small Town Cool. 