In 2015, archivist Rindi Shannon purchased an old postcard with a black & white photograph on it.  It was a rural scene with a dirt road, a fence and an old mill.  It was labeled “Old Horshor Mill 1844, Tazewell Co., Ill.”  She decided to try and find the location of the old mill. Rindi would eventually find the Horshor Mill was actually the Hoshor Mill but was it located in Tazewell County? See how Rindi solved the mystery!

This photo of Morton’s Kiblinger and Merchenthaler Grocery was taken in the spring of 1904. The store was located on the east side of Main Street.

The Holt Manufacturing Company came to East Peoria (Tazewell County) to build earth moving tractors in 1909. Holt Manufacturing was the first company to successfully manufacture a continuous track tractor. Holt changed the name of the company to Holt Caterpillar Company, although he did not trademark the name Caterpillar until 1910. The company would be renamed to the Caterpillar Tractor Company in 1925.

Horse drawn ferry across the Illinois River at Kingston Mines

In 1837, James Pendergast bought a lot in the village of Mackinaw, Illinois, and erected the tavern known as the Pendergast Inn on what would become the corner of Market & Monroe Streets. This inn was used as a regular stop for the stage line between Bloomington and Pekin, Illinois. Many noted people used this inn as a stopover including Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Governor Oglesby, and many generals during the Civil War.