The Illinois State Historical Society recently announced that the Bureau County History Center’s magazine, The Chronicle, and the Henry W. Immke Exhibit have been selected as 2026 ISHS “Best of Illinois History” award recipients.
Henry W. Immke practiced photography in Princeton from 1866 to 1923 and was a well-known photographer and artist nationally.
The collection was donated to the Bureau County History Center and Historical Society in 1957 and contains Immke’s cameras with over 22,000 glass plate negatives, daguerreotypes and tintypes.
“We couldn’t be more honored and prouder to receive this recognition,” executive director of the Bureau County Historical Society and History Center Lex Poppens said in a statement. “We’ve been reimagining our historical society and its three-building campus. Our vision to educate and inspire current and future generations about the rich history of Bureau County.”
Three years ago, the history center staff began scanning and digitizing the images for the future. The restoration of the Henry W. Immke Collection and Exhibit opened in the Fall last year and will continue through 2027.
“These images are an important representation of life in Bureau County and the Midwest in the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s,” Curator for the History Center Jessica Gray said. “The current exhibit focuses on some of the many portraits Mr. Immke photographed between 1866 and 1923.”
Although there are over 500 images on display, it’s only 3 percent of the total collection. Notably, the total weight of all the slides combined is nearly 4 tons.
The Immke Restoration and Exhibit has been generously funded by Tim & Jill Schlindwein and James and Sharon Wilson.
“Revamping our former newsletter into The Chronicle Magazine has been an important part of communicating our collective history in one of the state’s largest counties,” Poppens said. “Jessica Gray and Jim Dunn have been instrumental in finding these incredible stories of the people who have been part of American and county history. We could not be more thrilled at the success of The Chronicle Magazine.”