Belleville, Scott Field Heritage Park

Illinois Master Listing

Bloomington, Prairie Aviation Museum

Bloomington — McLean County Museum of History
Illinois Aviation Museum Guide

McLean County Museum of History
200 N. Main
Bloomington, Illinois 61701
(309) 827-0428

Museum Overview ^[1,2]

The McLean County Museum of History is an AAM accredited institution located in Bloomington, Illinois. It is the principle program of the McLean County Historical Society, an Illinois nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1892 to study local history. The museum moved into its current location in 1991.

History — The initial purpose of the McLean County Historical Society was to meet and present papers on local history topics. Soon, people in the community began donating historical objects to the society. In 1904, the society opened its first museum and hired a curator. Reinvigorated by a change in leadership and New Deal dollars in the 1930s, the entire collection was re-inventoried and re-cataloged. Additionally, indexes to archival and local periodical collections were developed.

A fire in the museum structure in 1972 forced the society to reevaluate itself, though the fire did not damage the collections. Consequently, a newly organized board made the decision to operate the museum on a professional basis. In 1979. a long-range plan was developed to achieve AAM accreditation, which was realized in 1984. The museum was re-accredited in 1996 and 2008. In 1989-1991 McLean County Courthouse was renovated and converted to a museum.

The museum square is the site of three previous courthouses. The first county courthouse was built in 1831 out of whipsawn cherry and black walnut. In expectation of an economic boom, a new two-story Federal-style courthouse was constructed in 1836. This courthouse served Abraham Lincoln and other attorneys of the Eighth Judicial Circuit. It also was used by religious groups and it housed the county's first newspaper. Alfred Piquenard designed the third courthouse in 1868 in the Italian Renaissance style. On June 19, 1900, a fire in downtown Bloomington destroyed four and a half square blocks and caused major damage to the structure. The Peoria, IL firm Reeves and Baile were commissioned to design and rebuild the courthouse. Reeves designed the new courthouse in the American Renaissance style, which was completed in 1903. The building served as the county courthouse until 1976 when the courts moved to an up-to-date facility. The courthouse continued to be used for administrative purposes until 1988, and then was converted into a museum.

In 2002, the dome and its base were restored. The original copper decorative elements were salvaged and reused, and the limestone drum stone was repaired. The c. 1957 clock mechanism was replaced, and in 2004 the bell, from the 1868 courthouse rung for the first time in nearly half a century. In 2005, Landmarks Illinois presented the Outstanding Restoration award to McLean County for their efforts to restore the dome.

Exhibits — The museum's collection consists of materials that document the growth and development of McLean County from the prehistoric period through the present. The materials in the collection represent McLean County's diverse cultural history, people's relationship to their physical environment, political and economic activity, the history of institutions and organizations, civic culture, and iconography. Exhibitions draw primarily from the museum's own collections, which numbers approximately 18,000 objects.

The Tilbury Flash — One of the museum's permanent exhibits is the “Tilbury Flash” which is on display on the in the lower level of the museum. The “Tilbury Flash ”, is a single-engine single-seat racing monoplane designed by Bloomington resident Owen Tilbury and Cecil Fundy in 1932. The aircraft was entered in the U.S. National Air Races at Cleveland. At that time, it was described as probably the smallest racing aeroplane in the world.

• 1932 Tilbury “Flash” Racer #71 (NR12931)

References

1. Wikipedia. McLean County Museum of History
2. Wikipedia. Tilbury Flash