October 2010: Three new markers to be dedicated

Three new historic markers will be erected in October:

Click on the links above to read the history behind the markers!

September 30, 2010: Deadline to get donation acknowledgment in commemorative program for Robert Stuart Fitzgerald Boyhood Home Marker

The late Robert Stuart Fitzgerald, although a virtual unknown in most Illinois circles, is a giant of American letters and an internationally renowned poet and translator. On Tuesday, October 12, the Illinois State Historical Society, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Vachel Lindsay Association, and Springfield High School will unveil the Robert Stuart Fitzgerald Boyhood Home historical marker at the present-day site of the Illinois State Bar Association at 2nd and Jackson streets. Fitzgerald (1910-1985) was born in New York but was raised in Springfield, growing up in his grandmother's home at 215 East Jackson Street (site of the present-day Illinois State Bar Association property). He attended Springfield High School from 1924-1928, where he was a star quarterback and played on the tennis team, was a member of the debate and Latin clubs, and "editor-in-chief" of the 1928 SHS Capitoline yearbook. Fitzgerald, whose family included Springfield merchants and lawyers, also contributed to the school's literary journal, "The Venture," which attracted the attention of Springfield poet and writer Vachel Lindsay. Lindsay and his wife, Elizabeth, befriended the young scholar, who was a frequent visitor to their home at 603 S. 5th Street. After high school, Fitzgerald attended and later graduated from Harvard University in 1933. He continued to write poetry, and became an editor and translator, and wrote several books. He became friends with and a trusted advisor to Flannery O'Connor (who made him executor of her estate), James Agee, William Maxwell (who dedicated his novel "So Long, See You Tomorrow" to Fitzgerald), and many others. His translations of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid remain standard reference works for scholars and students. He was elected to the American Institute of Arts and Letters in 1962. That following year he was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 1965 to 1981, Fitzgerald was the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard, and in his last year was named consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now equivalent to the National Poet Laureate.

Here's how you can help. The cost of the 250+ word historical marker is $3,000, and we are seeking a few more donors. Any amount will be appreciated; all contributions will be recognized, if not on the marker itself then in the official program for the dedication. We have received endorsements and contributions for this project from the Vachel Lindsay Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and from several Springfield High School students, alums, and teachers. Won't you please help out? To donate, send a check or money order to: Robert Stuart Fitzgerald Boyhood Home historical marker Illinois State Historical Society P.O. Box 1800 Springfield, IL 62705-1800 or call the Society office at 217-525-2781. Thanks much. We hope to see you at the marker dedication.

May 1, 2009: Lincoln Funeral Train Marker to be Dedicated May 31 at Calumet City

Calument City is celebrating Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial with the dedication of an ISHS historical marker where Lincoln's Funeral Train passed through the city. The dedication is scheduled for 1 pm on Sunday, May 31, at the corner of State and State Line Streets. A reception will follow at 760 Wentworth Avenue, Calumet City.

In addition to costumes, food, museum displays and Lincoln-era entertainment, the event offers appearances by the 9th Indiana Civil War Honor Guard, Battlefield Balladeers, the TFN Band and Chorus, Boy Scout Troop 268, Essay Content Winners, and dignitaries.

Admission is free, although donations will be gladly accepted.

The historical marker is sponsored by the Calumet City Historical Society, the Illinois State Historical Society, and the City of Calumet City.

August 26, 2007:  Marker Dedicated at Cardiff

Approximately 300 people attended the dedication of the Cardiff marker on August 26. Honored guests were two 95-year-olds born in Cardiff who spent their early years there, when it was still a town. John Weck, president of the Illinois State Historical Society, Representative Careen Gordon of Coal City, and local officials also attended. Cardiff's origins began in 1899, when engineers discovered coal deposits and dug the first Cardiff mine. Within a very short time, Cardiff was a bustling town of 2,000 people, with a busy downtown and hundreds of homes. When the mine closed in 1912, the town disappeared within a few years. Acres and acres that were once houses and streets are now cornfields, and Cardiff has gained a reputation as a "ghost town." Sidewalks still line parts of Cardiff, including sidewalks that had been between buildings that now lead into the woods.

Many individuals contributed to the marker dedication, including Jim Ridings, of Herscher, who researched the area for a book published in 2006; Rodney Hogan and his son Dan, who own the farms surrounding the site where Cardiff once existed and who donated time and equipment to clear a former city block for the memorial site, as well as the flagpole for the site; Gary Romanetto, who donated the memorial site; Chuck Fieldman, who installed the memorial; Grieff's Monuments in Dwight, who carved the blocks and donated the black marble tablets, Paul Juricic, Jr., who provided original sidewalk pieces in glass and wood cases to the two former Cardiff residents, and many other dedicated people who donated time and services to make this project happen. A reception followed at the Herscher Museum.

September 9, 2006:  Marker Dedicated at Old Pioneer Cemetery
(near Quincy)

On Saturday, September 9, an ISHS Historic Marker Dedication was held in the Old Pioneer Cemetery (Intersection of IL 96 and Hancock County Road 600 -- 9 miles south of Hamilton; 7 miles north of Lima).  Co-sponsored by the Illinois State Historical Society www.historyillinois.org, Descendants of William Warren Taylor www.taylorassociation.org, and Mormon Historic Sites Foundation www.mormonhistoricsitesfoundation.org. Documentation of Green Plains, Levi Williams, William Warren Taylor, and the Old Pioneer Cemetery, including aerial photographs taken before and after the cemetery was plowed under, at http://webpub.byu.net/kvc

May 21, 2006:  Marker Dedicated to Fort Dearborn Survivor

On Sunday, May 21, 2006, the village of Franklin Park unveiled a new Illinois State Historical Society marker at the gravesite of Josette Beaubien, a survivor of the 1812 Fort Dearborn massacre. Beaubien, who was of Pottawatomi and French heritage, was the wife of Jean Baptiste Beaubien, one of Chicago's earliest settlers.  Her brother was Claude LaFramboise, a chief of the Pottawatomi tribe who was given land that later comprised much of present-day Franklin Park and Schiller Park.  Those in attendance at the marker dedication included Illinois State Representative Mark Beaubien (R-Wauconda), a distant relative of Josette Beaubien; Franklin Park Mayor Dan Pritchett; ISHS President Marvin W. Ehlers; ISHS Director Redd Griffin; and Robert Schultz, whose family helped discover the gravesite.

Cub Scout Troop 158 performed color guard duties at the dedication.