Farm Fun at the McLean County History Museum
Looking for a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon? I had a 3–4-hour car repair at Sam Leman Toyota in Bloomington, Illinois where I bought my 2022 Toyota Highlander. A driver gave me a ride downtown to explore while the mechanics performed their magic on my vehicle. I had them drop me off at a museum. I had been to the McLean County History Museum years ago, but when I learned that Country Financial, my insurer was celebrating a 100-year anniversary, I wanted to check out their exhibit.
It had been a long time since I had been to the museum and a lot had changed. With the day I toured being Valentine’s Day, I enjoyed seeing the museum all decked out for the holiday. I even talked one of the volunteers into taking a picture of me in their fun vintage car.
A Courthouse
Before it was ever a museum, this beautiful building was a courthouse. I am always amazed by the beauty found in local courthouses, they are great places to tour!
This building was McLean County’s 4th courthouse. Built according to their brochure, after “the great Bloomington fire of 1900 destroyed most of the downtown.” Builders completed construction on the courthouse in 1903. Designed by architects Reeves and Baile, the 3-story museum has an amazing rotunda so be sure to look up! There is marble, lovely glass and tile, in other words, the building is an architectural beauty. The building was the official courthouse for 70 years and became the McLean County History Museum in 1991.
They were featuring Black history month during February.
Country Financial Turns 100
For years we have been customers of Country Financial, (our agent is Steve O’Dell) and because they are associated with farmers, I was interested in checking out their exhibit. This is a yearlong exhibit, and according to an article put out by Country, “COUNTRY is also sponsoring Free Tuesdays at the museum for the community for the entire year, hosting a lunch n’ learn event on October 9, and offering a free public program with Museum Librarian Bill Kemp on September 16.”
There was a bit of history, and it was fun seeing old signs under the name Country Companies, which I remember! A timeline charts beginning in 1925. The timeline notes the expansion of Country with milestones like the first female agent in June of 1935. They share dates when they responded to natural disasters like a tornado in Allendale, Illinois that destroyed 99% of the 150 homes. My favorite aspect was the old-fashioned parts of the display of this great company that has provided for so many in their times of need, us included.
Farm finds at the museum!
As someone who writes about old iron, and as a farmer’s wife, I am always interested in finding ag connections and at the museum there are many. I found simple tools like a nail nipper used for pulling nails and trimming horse hooves, and hay hook, to a cylinder scale. I love that in many examples they say who used it, and what they used it for like the horse printing blocks created by Lou Burk to promote Henry Abarhams prized Percheron horses.
Some of the farm coverage was on local companies like Funk Bro’s Seed Co. There were pictures of construction workers using tractor and graders to form a road in 1945. Blacksmith Lewis Bunn brought iron to the area, he would set up his forge and pound metal into iron plows, hoes and other agricultural equipment needed by local farmers.
Before Europeans ever set foot in the county, native Americans worked the land. The first settlers didn’t arrive in the area until 1823. In the exhibit, “Challenges, Choices & Changes Farming in the Great Corn Belt” they state, “Farming was the reason the first settlers that came to McLean County in the early 1800’s chose to do so. They arrived after thousands of years of farming by native people.”
There is interesting history like the crowd of 10,000 plus people that came to a tractor demonstration in August of 1916. Cool machinery is on display like the 1913 John Deere two-row corn planter that sold for $107. A horsedrawn McSherry seed drill from 1880 is also on display. It was used for planting wheat, oats, rye and grasses. They share, “This one was unusual in that it was also designed to plant corn.”
These are just a few of the items that made me spend hours perusing the exhibits.
Much more
Some exhibits are just plain fun like the fashion of the pantsuit! Then there is the more serious exhibit like “A Deadly Deception” about asbestos in the workplace that tells the story of workers unaware of what they were being exposed to.
There is a great gift selection in the gift shop and outside Lincoln sits on a bench ready to greet visitors!
After my visit I asked for advice on where to eat. I was directed to Rosie’s Pub. It was wonderful. Good food great service. So, if you are looking for a fun morning or afternoon, dine at Rosie’s, and check out this fun museum!
What museum have you been to that you stayed for hours? I’d love to hear! The museum is a great place to take the kids or grandkids.
Where is the last trip to took the kids along? Chasing Tale took her kids to Sedona read about her fun time! My grandkids enjoy museum outings, last summer my grandson and I went to one if Peoria. I need to take them to McLean County now to enjoy some of this fun as well!
