Historical hotspots to visit in Bureau County

History lovers will find a lot to explore and learn in Bureau County. From its agricultural history to its role in the Underground Railroad, the residents of Bureau County are proud of their county’s past and show that pride with its many historical societies, landmarks, and museums.

Jessica Gray, curator at Bureau County History Center, loves learning fascinating information about the past wherever she goes.

“I am a lover and student of history – every place I visit, I pick up a new piece of information and tuck it away, like a historical magpie,” she said. “My family and I enjoy doing historic home tours and visiting museums on our vacations, but one doesn’t need to go far to experience history. It’s all around us in Bureau County. I particularly enjoy visiting any place where the history comes alive for me – where I feel as if I’m walking in someone else’s footsteps, as if they’re whispering in my ear, ‘I was here. I lived and loved in this place. Remember me.’”

For those who want to explore some historical hotspots in Bureau County, here are a few to check out. This isn’t an inclusive list, though, so keep in mind there are additional places you’ll stumble upon as you learn more about the county’s history.

Bureau County museums

One of the most well-known museums in Bureau County is the Owen Lovejoy Homestead in Princeton.

“The Lovejoy home is a National Historic Landmark and was a stop on the Underground Railroad,” Gray said.

The Lovejoy home is just one of many fascinating Bureau County museums – Gray also recommends visiting the county museums in Cherry, Manlius, Mineral, Neponset, Spring Valley, Sheffield, Tiskilwa and Wyanet. To find addresses for each museum, visit bureauhistory.org.

“All of these locations are chock-full of treasures and memories and stories unique to those communities. The staff at these facilities would love to talk to you and share what they know,” Gray said.

The Tiskilwa Historical Society has recently appointed a new director, Leah Metcalf, who is taking over the duties of Cecille Gerber, who has served as director since 2006.

During her years as director, Gerber learned a lot about Tiskilwa’s history and shared that one of the most interesting eras involves the Potawatomi, the earliest recorded settlers in this small community.

“A large band of indigenous people traveled west from the Wabash River Valley in 1769 and chose this valley for their home. That part of our history is probably the one dearest to the hearts of many Tiskilwa residents as well as the Tiskilwannabes (as we affectionately call our society members who’ve moved to other homes from coast to coast.) Even today, current residents are surprised and delighted to discover arrowheads and other artifacts that work their way to the surface on their farms and in their backyards. Of course, many aboriginal artifacts in our collections date back thousands of years before the Potawatomi made this region their home,” Gerber said.

“Nestled in a lush valley surrounded by wooded bluffs, Tiskilwa was once home to as many as 1,500 to 2,000 who lived in lodges (wigwams) along its two meandering creeks -- Bureau Creek and Rocky Run, originally called the Wapsipinicon. In the poetic language of the Potawatomi, Tiskilwa is said to mean ‘The Gem of the Valley.’ A half-dozen roads lead out of town, but only one can be followed that does not climb a hill,” she added.

Those who visit Tiskilwa Historical Society’s two museums should expect to spend some time there if they want to see everything.

“Tiskilwa Historical Society’s collection includes more than 17,000 artifacts, all donated since its founding in 2006, and displayed to preserve and interpret local history at Museum on Main, 110 East Main Street, and Gallery on Galena, 550 North Galena Street. Assisted access is available in both venues,” Gerber said.

Both museums offer free admission.

“The Museum on Main, housed in an 1855 Illinois Historic Landmark building, is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Displays include clearly marked areas such as ‘Children at Play,’ ‘Making Music in Tiskilwa,’ ‘Living in the Past,’ ‘Best Town by a Dam Site’ (with the history of the 1959 Watershed Project of four land dams), and ‘Tiskilwa Schools’ with more than 100 THS trophies dating from 1925 to 1995, when the high school closed. In all, the museum boasts 19 different display areas,” Gerber said.

“The Gallery on Galena is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every first Saturday of the month as well as during special town-wide events. The former American Legion Hall, renovated by the society in 2019, features military memorabilia from the Civil War to the present day, all connected with local veterans. The south half of the space is arranged as a replica of a country school classroom, chock-full of mementos from school days long gone by, including pull-down maps dated 1942,” she said.

For private or group tours, visitors may call Ed Waca at 815-646-4016, she added.

Bureau County cemeteries

Visiting cemeteries isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they are an essential local history source.

“Don’t disregard cemeteries; they’re quiet, beautiful, tucked-away places where stories still linger,” Gray said.

Bureau County has several cemeteries that are worth the drive.

“I love Oakland Cemetery in Princeton with all of its stately trees and ornate monuments. Did you know it contains the remains of at least 225 of the 3,708 Civil War veterans who served from Bureau County? It’s a beautiful place for a walk and to while away an afternoon studying the variety of stones,” Gray said. “It is here where Owen Lovejoy, senator, abolitionist, and close friend to Abraham Lincoln, is buried, as well as two Titanic survivors, and over 15,000 others across its 80 acres.”

But Oakland isn’t the only cemetery that should be visited by local historians.

“My family and I have enjoyed visiting other cemeteries throughout the county as well. I love taking the time to drive past Searl’s Ridge, located between Princeton and DePue. Nearly 20 years ago, I helped descendants restore the earliest portions of the cemetery and occasionally, I like to stop by for a visit to see how the old stones are holding up,” she said.

“We also enjoy visiting Prairie Repose, one of the oldest cemeteries in the county, located just outside Dover, where five of the six children of Sam and Ann Clark are buried. The Clarks built the Clark-Norris home, which the History Center has maintained since 1948,” Gray added.

The Red Covered Bridge

Whenever visitors come to Bureau County, the Red Covered Bridge, located approximately one and one-half miles north of Princeton, is one of the first spots that locals tell them to visit. It’s an immense source of pride for the county, and the 1863 structure is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only five covered bridges remaining in the state of Illinois, according to Gray.

Until recently, Bureau County’s Red Covered Bridge was the sole covered bridge in Illinois that remained open to traffic.

“That last distinction was put on pause last November when a truck driver drove through it at a high rate of speed and nearly tore the roof off. If you listened very closely that November morning, you would have heard the sound of thousands of hearts breaking at once, mourning over the wreckage of this extraordinary landmark,” Gray said.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is planning its restoration.

“All indications are it will take years to bring it back to its former glory,” Gray said. “In the 161 years since it was built, it has been witness to thousands of big and little memories playing out in its shadow: wedding and homecoming photos, family reunions, and mischievous youths jumping from the gap in its wood boards into the cooling waters of Bureau Creek below. Its 149-foot span has borne the weight of the changing forms of transportation, from horse and buggy to car, as time marched ever onward. It is beloved county-wide, and even in its current state, still worth a visit. When one looks at it from a certain angle, out of view of any modern technology, it’s like stepping back in time.”

The Bureau County History Center

“Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the History Center. Yes, I work there, but I also genuinely love the place. We maintain three historic buildings, the oldest turned 171 years old this spring,” Gray said.

“We are caretakers for the beautiful 11,000 square foot Clark-Norris Colonial Revival home built in 1899-1900 by Samuel and Ann Clark, whose parents were some of the earliest settlers to Dover. We also oversee the Newell-Bryant Home, built in the Greek Revival style in 1853 by Benjamin and Harriet Newell. The home now serves as a rotational exhibit space. Finally, we also oversee the former Matson Public Library, now known as the Sash Stalter Matson Building, originally constructed in 1913 by the Chicago firm Patton & Miller, who built dozens of Carnegie Libraries across the country,” she said.

While the historic buildings are fascinating in their own right, the contents stored in the buildings are treasures as well.

“We maintain the estimated 26,000 glass slide collection of Henry W. Immke, who operated in Princeton from the mid-1860s to 1924. I love any opportunity to look at these old photographs. They are vivid representations of our past,” Gray said.

“Sometimes, while driving down the historic streets of our communities, I envision these pictures in my mind, how things used to be, and the images come alive. It is as if the photograph is briefly in motion and, just for a second, I can hear the clop of hooves, the cacophony of wagon wheels, and the yells of street merchants. We have thousands of images and artifacts bequeathed to us and held in our care from members and donors across the county and country. It is Bureau County’s history we hold.”