New markers dedicated

Two new historical markers were dedicated in September, commemorating Illinois' first woman senator and the first building and store in

Members of the Franklin Park Association help dedicate the Florence Fifer Bohrer marker in Bloomington.             photos William Furry

Forreston. On Labor Day, September 5, the McLean County League of Women Voters and invited guests assembled in Bloomington's Franklin Park, outside the home of former Illinois governor Joseph Wilson Fifer, to dedicate a marker to Florence Fifer Bohrer, Illinois' first female senator. Florence Fifer Bohrer, daughter of the former governor, served in the Illinois Senate from 1925 to 1933, and was a founder of the League of Women Voters in McLean County. On September 17, the community of Forreston in Ogle County unveiled an historic marker celebrating the 1854 founding of their community. The marker was funded by the Forreston Sesquicentennial Committee, and was erected on the site of the first building and store, presently the frontlawn of the public grade school.

Two more ISHS historical markers will be dedicated in 2005: The Mormontown Marker, which commemorates the Mormon refugees who settled in Pike County in the 1840s, will be dedicated on November 5. A marker celebrating the history of LeClair, a small planned community near Edwardsville, will be dedicated sometime in December.

For more information about the Illinois State Historical Society's historical markers program, visit our website at www.historyillinois.org

The Forreston Sesquicentennial Committee unveil its historical marker.

Society receives grant

In October the Illinois Humanities Council awarded The Illinois State Historical Society a grant for $8,500.00 to exhibit the historic Block Documents collection around the state. The two-year grant will send the collection of 45 presidential letters and autographs, including eight by Abraham Lincoln, to museums and historical societies around the state.

The Block Documents, donated in 2002 to the Society by the family of the late Joseph and Lucille Block of Chicago, features signatures and letters from American presidents from Madison to Hoover, as well as several original Currier and Ives lithographs from the Lincoln era. Beginning in January 2006, the Block Documents will be featured at special exhibitions in Bloomington, Danville, Decatur, Oak Park-River Forest, Wheaton, and three locations still to be determined. Each exhibit opening will feature a free public lecture about the documents, as well as a discussion of the American presidency as well.

"This is an excellent opportunity for the Society to work with Illinois historical societies and museums that don't have the funds to showcase a collection like this," said Society President Marvin W. Ehlers. "As we get closer to the Lincoln bicentennial, we hope to have more opportunities to share our resources in underserved communities around the state."

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