Plan to attend the program “The Little Town with a Big Heart” on February 21, 2026, at 1:30pm at at Sumner’s new City Hall, 224 S. Christy Ave. Free admittance and refreshment courtesy of the city of Sumner. Presentation by George Zwilling. Black churches in Lawrence County, Illinois formed the spiritual and social backbone of the county’s early African American communities. Congregations such as the AME churches provided far more than Sunday worship—they were places wher

Plan to attend the program “The Little Town with a Big Heart” on February 21, 2026, at 1:30pm at at Sumner’s new City Hall, 224 S. Christy Ave. Free admittance and refreshment courtesy of the city of Sumner. Presentation by George Zwilling. Local Black history in Lawrence County is a source of deep pride: it is the story of resilience, creativity, faith, entrepreneurship, and the leaders, families, churches, schools, and businesses that built and sustained this place agai

Plan to attend the program “The Little Town with a Big Heart” on February 21, 2026, at 1:30pm at at Sumner’s new City Hall, 224 S. Christy Ave. Free admittance and refreshment courtesy of the city of Sumner. Presentation by George Zwilling. Lawrence County’s Black history begins early: free Black settlers arrived before the Civil War, owned land, built churches and schools, and left traces in places like Fort Allison and Portee Cemetery — local records and the Lawrence Co

From our membership committee: It is that time again! Our letters to renew your membership are in the mail! We had a very exciting 2025! We had many successful programs that we are very proud of! Our program on Harold Washington, first black Mayor of Chicago, was very well-received in Pinkstaff. Our program on the Pinkstaff tornado brought in many residents and relatives of residents that had experienced the tornado. The program was a big hit! So much so, that we decid

Sumner’s origins trace back to Benjamin Sumner, one of the first permanent settlers in Christy Township. He arrived in 1817, building a round‑log cabin and establishing the family presence that would later give the town its name. The O & M railroad was built through Lawrence County in 1854-55 running through what would eventually become the town of Sumner. The first lots sold were on February 3, 1854. The town itself was incorporated in 1858- 59 but the state of Illinois did

The capture of Fort Sackville (Vincennes) without loss of life during the conflict between England and the colonies was George Rogers Clark' s most significant military achievement. The decision to assault the Fort presented him with a daunting, almost impossible task. He would have to trek through the wilderness some 200 miles in the dead of winter, through flooded, icy river bottoms, while hoping the British remained unaware of his approach. He and his band of tired, cold,

Th e Rural Republican, published in Lawrenceville, Illinois on Friday, February 11th, 1881 The editor said that while the new bell on the Christian Church rang in soft tones, the weather was still bad. “The Groundhog did it--saw his shadow and now we have cold weather for six more weeks.” Having had three months of regular old- style winter, the streets were muddy, and there were about a dozen cases of measles in town that had already resulted in one death. Will M Garr

Our local researchers like to say that if you look hard enough you will find Lawrence County people playing a role in every part of American history. Here is just one example. Railroads played a pivotal role in shaping settlement across North Dakota, and their land‑selling campaigns were as influential as the tracks themselves. After receiving vast land grants from the federal government, railroad companies marketed these acres aggressively to homesteaders, immigrants, and an

In 1908 Lafayette Perkins laid out Arlington Heights Subdivision located on the west side of town bounded by on the north by Church Street, east by Kenwood Avenue, south by Depot Street, and west by Lexington Avenue, He was known as the Home Seeker’s Friend and had an office across from the First National Bank with Mr. Dickirson and Mr. Milligan. He offered a $1.00 prize to readers who would answer the questions he posed. The answers were published in the newspaper. Why will