Madison County Archival Library Moves Online

Apr 27, 2020 3:06 PM

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EDWARDSVILLE - Although the Madison County Archival Library is closed until future notice due to COVID-19 and the Museum for renovation, the Madison County Historical Society and museum staff continue to offer access to information about Madison County history through its website (https://madcohistory.org/) and Facebook page.

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Assistant Curator Mary Z. Rose has created two on-line exhibits in recent months. The first was on Edward Coles, an Illinois Governor who once made his home in Madison County. Many credit Coles with assuring that Illinois remained a free state. The second recent exhibit explores the Wood River Refinery that last year celebrated its centennial. Earlier topics covered by online exhibits, and still available for viewing, include Civil War stories of Madison County, music and African-American history. There is a total of ten exhibits currently available.

The website also has archived copies of the Society’s award-winning newsletter, MCHS News. Each issue of the eight-page newsletter focuses on a different aspect of Madison County history. For example, if readers go to the January 2015 issue, they can read about the 1918 Flu Pandemic in Madison County. Other topics include the ethnic neighborhood of Lincoln Place in Granite City, the Wildi Masonic Temple in Highland, the Village of Carpenter and the Civil War Prison in Alton.

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The Society’s Facebook page, “Madison County Historical Society,” offers a variety of posts about Madison County history that usually include photographs. Recent posts that have proved popular were photographs of the historic Nickel Plate Depot in Edwardsville moving to its new location and a story from WW II provided by MCHS member Marilyn Sulc.

MCHS encourages area residents to remember nonprofits. Additional contributions would be appreciated to help with renovation of the Madison County Historical Museum building. For more information visit the Society webpage at https://madcohistory.org/ or call 618-656-1294.