The Research Library and History Center will be closed the week of December 21-27. Flatboats were used for trips down to New Orleans to sell excess farm products. These trips generally lasted about 90 days, not including the walk back north because the lumber in the flatboats was sold as well. These rectangular flat- bottomed boats had no keels making them more difficult to steer than an ordinary boat. In essence, they were just floating shoeboxes. About 1827, the Dubois Brot

Christmas 1944 George Field: Col Bobzien and 3000 presents for the soldiers The Research Library and History Center will be closed the week of December 21-27.

The Research Library and History Center will be closed the week of December 21-27. December 24 1880 Mr. Day, the editor, advised people to save their loose dimes for the big oyster supper for the benefit of a City Hall to be given in the old Presbyterian Church December 30, 1880. Lawrenceville schools would have a one-week vacation during the holidays. The post office would be closed from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Christmas Day. ( implying that they would be open earlier?) There

The Research Library and History Center will be closed the week of December 21-27. The Kelsey Family of the Bethel Community in Lukin William Stinson Kelsey and Harriet Blanchard Chamberlain were married in Norwich, Vermont. Eight children were born to this marriage: William Henry, George Thomas, Charles Dexter, Francis, Albert Curtis, Harriet Elizabeth, James Edward and John. William Stinson died on August 3, 1849, leaving his widow with eight children between four and e

The Research Library and History Center will be closed the week of December 21-27. The Lawrence County Historical Society received an early Christmas present from two of our favorite English guys, Andrew Hills and Jonathan D Hills, authors of a book titled “Origins of Armour No 2: An Armoured Repeating War Gun: Mark Bowman and William Hughes; Gun Carriage of 1900.” This book examines a design patented in 1900 by two inventors from Pinkstaff, Lawrence County Illinois, Bowman

December 17 1880 The new editor Sam B Day noted that the Rural Republican had the largest circulation of any paper in the county. “Lawrenceville”, he said, “was located one mile north of the crossing of the Ohio and Mississippi and Danville and Southwestern railroads. It was a beautiful little village of about 1000 inhabitants surrounded by some of the finest farms and farming land in the state. It was a strong temperance town and was inhabited by a thrifty and enterprising

Dogs have long been considered "Man's Best Friend," with their partnership with humans dating back thousands of years. The oldest domesticated dog remains in North America, found at the Koster Site in Illinois, were buried alongside humans around 8,500 years ago. Lawrence County's archaeological history stretches from before the Paleoindian era (ca 12,000–10,500 BC) to early nineteenth-century Euro-American settlement. Were there any dogs in OUR early history? Our friends fro

Sumner 1899 Sumner came into existence with the building of the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, the construction of which was first started in March 1853 at Sandoval, Illinois. The railroad was open for operation in 1855 from St Louis, Missouri to Vincennes, Indiana. The road then was later completed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Its name was changed to the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern railroad (B & O SW) in 1890 and again changed in 1916 to the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) railroad omi

According to various internet sources, (and there you have it. . .) Mother Shipton was one of the most famous English seers. She was believed to have successfully predicted the dissolution of the Church in the reign of Henry VIII, the fall of Cardinal Wolsey, as well as the premature death of Henry Edward VI’s son. While most of us are familiar with the prophecies of Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce, those of Mother Shipton are not as well known. Ursula Southeil better known as Mo

The on- line copy of the Rural Republican, Lawrence County’s newspaper, derived from old, microfilmed copies, is too degraded to read easily for Friday, December 10 , 1880. The news in this blog for this time period was reported by the Vincennes Weekly Western Sun. Bridgeport Brevities: John A Bard was officiating in the post office. HK Lanterman was crippled up with rheumatism. Several of the young folks met at the residence of Charles Vanausdel and partook of a most b