The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Livingston County Historical Society in 1924.
The primary impetus for the Society's formation was a moving speech Henry J. Mies (1869-1932) gave to the Kiwanis Club of Pontiac.
Mr. Mies was a farmer in the Saunemin area. His many interests included history, geology, glass plate photography, and collecting Native American artifacts in Livingston County.
The father of Mr. Mies was Joseph Mies (1834-1900). Although Joseph Mies' family was impoverished in Germany, his father supported Joseph's two and half years of schooling as a master carpenter. Joseph emigrated from Germany to America and led a fascinating life. Joseph worked as a Michigan pine forest lumberjack, a South African copper miner, a gold miner in Australia, served in the Civil War, helped build the Transcontinental Railroad, and became a pioneer farmer in Livingston County.
In 1924, Mr. Mies gave a 3,123-word fascinating speech about Native American history and artifacts. A copy of his speech to the Kiwanis Club still exists, and it is still a fascinating speech 100 years after he first wrote it.
One of the Society's first significant accomplishments was designing, creating, and placing a memorial dedicated to honoring the City of Pontiac's namesake. On Saturday, September 29, 1936, an arrowhead-shaped monument was unveiled on the Livingston County Court House grounds. The memorial is dedicated to the famous Ottawa war chief, Pontiac. The stones used in the edifice were gathered locally, and the bronze plaques were cast at the Pontiac Reformatory. This memorial still exists and is located on the southeast corner of the old courthouse.
1930 marked the 100th anniversary of Valentine and Rachel Darnall being the first white settlers in Livingston County. The Historical Society organized a significant celebration event at the Spence Farm south of Fairbury. Henry Mies took glass plate photographs of this event.
1937 marked the 100th anniversary of Livingston County's formation. The Historical Society played a very active role in helping to celebrate this milestone. Unfortunately, after 12 years of existence, the Historical Society went dormant after the celebrations for this event were concluded.
In 1963, after being dormant for 26 years, Mr. Tuesburg and Mr. J. Paul Yost revived the Society. The recruitment of two key county historians also helped revive the Society.
Mrs. Louise Stoutemyer (1905-1993) was a Chatsworth school teacher who was interested in Chatsworth area history. She helped save a Chatsworth country school, and the Chatsworth Little School Museum is now in downtown Chatsworth. Louise also wrote The Train that Never Arrived, a book about the famous 1887 Chatsworth train wreck.
Mrs. Alma Lewis James (1899-1979) was a Fairbury historian. Her most famous book about Fairbury history was Stuffed Clubs & Antimacassars, first published in 1967.
Through the efforts of Mrs. Stoutemyer, Mrs. Alma Lewis James, various Pontiac people, and other key people throughout the County, the Historical Society was revived in 1963 and has been very active over the following 60 years.
Over the years, many Livingston County residents have graciously donated historical artifacts to the Society. Some of these artifacts are on permanent display in a 420-square-foot room on the first floor of the Old Courthouse in Pontiac. Approximately 500 other artifacts are carefully preserved in the Society's archive collection.
In the late 1970s, the Jones House at 314 E. Madison Street in Pontiac became the first house owned and refurbished by the Society. It is the oldest brick home in Pontiac and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Two prominent families, the Dehner and Jones families, lived in this house.
For many decades, the Yost House at 298 W. Water Street was the art and cultural center of Pontiac and Livingston County. The three Yost children who lived in the home were involved in plays, painting, book reviews, and music. The last surviving Yost child, J. Paul Yost, died in 1988. Mr. Yost bequeathed the Yost House to the City of Pontiac. The Historical Society provides docents and tours of this historic home.
The Historical Society's last major property acquisition was the Strevell House in 2008. In January 1860, Abraham Lincoln spent an afternoon and evening at this home at 401 W. Livingston Street. While he was visiting, his height of 6 feet 4 inches was measured with a ruler and marked on a doorway. Many individuals and businesses completed the renovation of this historic home in 2018. The Strevell House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.
The Historical Society provides free public tours of the three historic homes monthly, usually on the third Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. Highly trained docents conduct the tours and provide detailed information about each home.
The Livingston County Historical Society currently has about 70 members, who live in various communities in Livingston County. The Society meets eight times a year, usually on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Strevell House. At each meeting, a guest speaker provides a presentation about a local history-related topic. The meetings are free of charge and open to the general public. You do not have to be a member to attend a meeting and listen to the guest presenter.
If you have a Livingston County-related item you would like to donate to the Historical Society, call 815-692-6633 to discuss it. You may also contact the same number if you would like to volunteer or join the Historical Society. House tours and other information are posted on the Historical Society's Facebook page.
In this digital age, over 200 rare documents have been scanned and uploaded to the Archive.Org website. Anyone can search for these documents for free and find them to view or download.
The year 2037 will mark the next major milestone in Livingston County history: the 200th anniversary of its founding in 1837. The Livingston County Historical Society plans to continue to be active and participate in the 2037 celebrations.
(Dale Maley's weekly history article on Fairbury News is sponsored by Dr. Charlene Aaron and Antiques & Uniques of Fairbury)
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