Jersey County Historical Society Jerseyville, Illinois

Mailing Address

601 North State Street
Jerseyville, IL 62052

Street Address

601 North State Street
Jerseyville, IL 62052


Related Links

www.jerseyville2000.com/mcintyre/museum.htm
www.greatriverroad.com/Cities/Jersey/cheneyMansion.htm

Admissions

No charge for the genealogy research center. $5.00 per person to tour the Cheney Mansion, Museum and Lone Star School.

Description

The 'Red House' was the first frame structure in the county area. It was used as a Tavern, Stage Coach and Pony Express stop. The Red House, which was constructed in 1827, is enclosed in the Cheney Mansion. During and before the Civil War it was a station for the Underground Railroad. The Lone Star Country School house was moved to the Cheney site and completly restored in 2002/3. We are in the process of rebuilding a log cabin that was originally built and used for a home at the turn of the 20th century. We have one of the finest genealogical research centers in the area and many historic articles located in our museum.

History

The Jersey County Historical Society was formed in the very early years of the 20th century. The purpose of the Society is to collect, preserve and display articles from the past and to explain the history of the beginnings of our community to children of the local schools and touring visitors. Our Society is operated and maintained by volunteers from the area.

Artifacts Collections

Many articles from the past to include: ladies and gentlemen's clothing, a complete kitchen from the 1800-1900 era. Military articfacts and uniforms from the Civil War thru Desert Storm. A large selection of photographs of the community in early day. The Cheney Mansion is furnished with furniture from the 1800 period. A false cellar where the slaves searching for freedom was hidden during the daytime hours, located beneath the back downstairs room of the 'Red House' portion of the Mansion. A tunnel pasted underground beneath the road to the livery stable, allowing the guide to bring the slaves into the secret hiding place under the 'Red House' without being noticed.

Research Collections

The library is used mostly for genealogy research. We have census records, obituaries, marriage records, family records and booklets, newpapers going back to 1864, many old photos of homes that were built in the late 1800's, atlases from early days. We have a staff that will provide help in finding information about loved ones who lived in the area

Services




Publications

We try to publish a quarterly newsletter, giving members of the society at taste of the past along with queries for research. Our board meets monthly and we have an annual open meeting, on site, where progress is reported and the election of officers takes place

Programs

The teachers of the younger grades like to bring their students on tours of our property. We explain how the community was formed and developed, we allow them to sit at the original school desks at the Lone Star School. We try to instill a little bit of pride towards the early pioneers and their ancestors during our tours. In the month of May we usually have several hundred children touring our facilities to get a touch of history.

Staff

Mr.  Bob French, President
Phone: 618-498-3514
Email:


Museum Type

Art
History
Historical Society
Library


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Museum Info courtesy of Illinois Association of Museums.

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