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The White County Historical Society
Jennifer Dianne Weiss The White County Historical Society was organized in 1957, although an attempt was made to form this society in October 1950. In 1957 Judge J.C. Kern acted as temporary president at the first meeting, and ten members were present. Until 1957 no official meetings were recorded. The first president was J. Robert Smith. Larry B. Hughes was elected president for 1999. In 1957 the person with the idea to start a restoration committee was James R. Endicott. C.F. Rebstock headed a building committee. This was the formation of the White County Historical Society. The articles of incorporation were filed in the White County Courthouse in June 1958. C.F. Rebstock saw that the Ratcliff Inn, a historical building in Carmi was in bad repair. He believed the building could be saved if it could be purchased from its owner in St. Louis. Through the determination and business sense of the owner and the historical society, the Ratcliff Inn was purchased and restored. Over the years the society has acquired three other museums, the L. Haas Store, the Robinson-Stewart House, and the Matsel Cabin. The Ratcliff Inn was built in 1828. The White County Historical Society bought the property for fifteen thousand dollars and spent sixteen thousand dollars restoring it. In 1973 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Abraham Lincoln stayed in the Ratcliff Inn when he went to southern Illinois to campaign for William Henry Harrison in the presidential campaign of 1840. The society originally rented the first floor as office space, but beginning in 1988 the society used it for a genealogical library. It now serves as the society's office. The upstairs floors, mantels, and fireplaces are original, as is much of the woodwork. The upstairs also houses a small museum. The White County Historical Society Board of Directors eventually approved the library as part of the society. Prior to this, volunteers offered their services and donated supplies and equipment. All of these efforts helped persuade the board to include the library in its organization. Since 1994 the library has operated from a trust fund. The board of directors is now considering moving the library to the
old Carnegie Library building on North Church Street in Carmi. In January 1965 the historical society held a meeting where members decided to begin the Heritage House Award—a program of recognizing historic houses. The award is given to people who own designated historic houses that are well kept and attractive to the public. Recipients have an engraved brass plaque affixed to the front of the house. In 1970 the first Heritage House Award was presented to Harriett Vaught. She owned the Dr. Daniel Berry house, which was built in 1863. The last Heritage House Award was given in 1997 to Mr. and Mrs. John Malnic, owners of the Williams House, also known as the castle. Another house acquired by the White County Historical Society was the Robinson-Stewart House, which was erected in 1814, two years before Carmi was incorporated. United States Senator John M. Robinson moved into this log house in 1835. This home was left to Mary Jane Stewart, the granddaughter of Senator Robinson. When Stewart died in 1966 at the age of 93 she left this house, its furnishings, and five thousand dollars to the White County Historical Society. Stewart did this because the society had saved her great-grandfather's inn— the Ratcliff Inn—from destruction and converted it for use as a museum. In 1992 the society purchased the L. Haas Store for $17, 500. The society began restoring it as a museum and opened it to the public on Corn Day in October 1992. The Matsel Cabin, erected in the 1850s, was the latest purchase of the society. Originally the cabin was going to be demolished to make room for a highway. After extensive research by a young man in Albion, Illinois, it was determined that the cabin was only one of two known nineteenth-century log cabins left in White County. The White County Historical Society purchased the cabin from the State of Illinois for one dollar, and the state agreed to pay the cost of moving it to Carmi. By purchasing the log cabin, the society added a different type of museum to their collection. All of the museums represent different phases of life in the country's history. The cabin showed a unique and different type of family life, that of people who farmed in the 1800s. As with all the other buildings that the society purchased, the Matsel Cabin was in very poor condition. The society applied for and received a twenty-thousand-dollar grant from the State of Illinois. The amount was matched during a fund drive. Throughout the years the White County Historical Society has held fundraisers, sold commemorative plates and coins, collected dues, and taken donations. All of those means have enabled it to preserve the county's heritage and to exhibit local history.—[From student historian's interview with Janet Armstrong (member of the board of directors, White County Historical Society), Oct. 1, 1998; J. Robert Smith, The White County Historian, vol. 1; student historian's interview with David Stanley (former treasurer, White County Historical Society), Oct. 8, 1998; and White County Historical Society's files.]
Carmi resident Mary Jane Stewart bequeathed her home to the White County Historical Society, in part to thank them far saving the
Ratcliff Inn, which had belonged to her great-grandfather.
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