Having some cents of Dixon history: Centennial, quasquicentennial, sesquicentennial, dosquicentennial … Dixon can observe them all this year, from the anniversary of an unbeatable high school football team to the establishment of governance in its rural areas.

The Norway Temperance Hall located just down the block from the Norsk Museum at 3656 E. 2631st St. in Norway, has cleared the first hurdle for national recognition.

Obendorf: Up at the Dr. Burns House in the newspaper room is a beautiful antique slanted wooden piece of furniture for reading the big newspaper books. Since the newspaper books are now being brought to the museum, we want to bring this antique down to the museum.

Native Americans from all over the country attended the Starved Rock Pow Wow on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at the Utica Village Hall. The event featured dancers, Native vendors, food and various presentations. This Pow Wow was first held in 1962, started by the Sam Sine family.

Henry Henze, of Rochelle, stood guard over Abraham Lincoln’s casket from Chicago to Springfield on his last ride home. 

Roberts Armory World War II Museum will be open to the public in honor of Veterans Day on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.

“Taste of Norway HostFest” is being held from noon to 3 p.m. on Nov. 2 at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, 1233 Douglas Avenue, Montgomery. The event features speciality foods and desserts, and traditional music and arts.

A dedication ceremony was held for a new memorial in honor of Illinois Gov. Frank O. Lowden on Oct. 14, 2025, on the lawn of the historic Ogle County Courthouse in Oregon.

Polo Historical Society Board Member and Military Liaison Kevin Smoot will host the program “Polo’s Veterans” Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, at the Polo Senior Center, 101 E. Mason St.

DeKalb's Cook Mansion, linked to NIU’s founding president, gains historic designation.

Polo Historical Museum is moving the big newspaper books from the Dr. Burns House to the museum so they will be in a better controlled system.

Record stories that captured people's attention in years passed.

The history of six Mississippi River bridges will be featured in a program Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Fulton (Martin House) Museum in Fulton. The program begins at 2 p.m.

A segment on WTTW's "Chicago Stories" about iconic, defunct department store Marshall Field's features commentary by a McHenry County College instructor.

The Downers Grove Historical Society will again host History on Tap Nov. 13

Chapel on the Green, the oldest church in Kendall County, is celebrating the unveiling of a new Illinois State Historical Marker in a public event at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24 in Yorkville.

Wolter: For centuries, horses served as the primary source of transportation and mechanical power for human civilization. From pulling plows and wagons to powering mills and delivering goods, horses were indispensable partners in daily life.

OBENDORF: While the Waterbury family were here, they had a stone placed in Fairmount Cemetery honoring William Waterbury. It is a beautiful stone and the Polo American Legion honored him with a ceremony.

If you have any questions or comments on the changes since the Dixon Police Department was first founded, join the Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at 113 S. Hennepin Ave., in Dixon.

The first Guest moved to the area of Flagg Township in 1856. Thomas Guest Jr. purchased 160 acres west of today’s Rochelle and began a life in what was then the wild west. 

In order to encourage discussion about the constitutional form of government, the DAR Chapter sponsored a Word Search contest open to all school-age youths.

The Ogle County Historical Society will have its monthly meeting on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, at the carriage house located behind the Nash House Museum at 111 N. Sixth St. in Oregon.

Forty years ago, Interstate 39 opened from Mendota to Rockford. On Friday, Oct. 18, 1985, Former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson stepped out from a stagecoach and was escorted about 100 yards in the coach to speak to a crowd of over 500 people.

On Sunday, a plaque rededication event at the B. Harley Bradley House, Kankakee's Frank Lloyd Wright home, honored the memory of Stephen Small, who was working on converting the home to a bed and breakfast at the time of his death. 

The “Those Were the Days” presenter at the Oregon Illinois Depot on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, will be Highland Community College Lifelong Learning Instructor Mark Peterson. Peterson will speak about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Virtually every day, the effects of the big lake to our east are brought home to us, even though for those of us out here in the Fox River Valley it is often only through news videos and weather maps on our television screens that we realize what’s happening.

Having some cents of Ogle County history: Centennial, quasquicentennial, sesquicentennial, dosquicentennial … Ogle County can observe them all this year, from the anniversary of driving through a cut up rock to blazing trails and rails.

The doll, made in the very early 1900s or late 1800s, is now repaired and is adorned with a 90-year-old baby dress and a tatted baby hat.

The public is invited to a free, live presentation about famous activist and author, Corrie ten Boom, on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 308 E. Brayton Road, Mt. Morris.

The annual Shadows of the Blue and Grey Civil War reenactment was held this weekend at City County Park in Princeton. The two-day event is an annual Civil War living history battle reenactment that is held the second weekend in October. The re-enactment features a medical presentation, artillery drills, the Gettysburg Address and a Civil War battle re-enactment, a dance, and more.

“The Little Guernsey Girls” is the story of three sisters who died at Dixon’s cement plant quarry in 1957. The presentation begins at 2 p.m.

“Connecting Through a Lens” is the current exhibit at the Flagg Township Museum, with the collection of cameras of the late Truman Kester on display through October.

Drag racing and Arnie Beswick were born around the same time – one on the dry lake beds of California and the other in Morrison – and they’ve both found fame through the years, with drag racing attracting legions of fans and “The Farmer” becoming a legend in his field.

Visitors will discover the wildlife that called the area that would become Will County home and view these creatures from the past through their fossils.

Camp Grant had been established in 1917 as a training center for World War I soldiers. By 1918 it was the center of the Spanish Flu outbreak in our area.

You won’t want to miss the Waa Kee Sha History Hike set for Saturday, Oct. 11, starting at 10 a.m. at the park, 4700 Reservation Road, Oswego.

Recently, it was the all-town rummage sale and the chili cook off on the same day. At the museum we had some things out for people just to take, such as old picture frames and some furniture that the Tri-County had left many years ago.

The Fox Valley Native American Artifact Show is returning to Yorkville on Sunday, Oct. 5. The show is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Admission is free and members of the public are encouraged to bring their own Native American artifacts. A food truck will be on-site.

The program will highlight Brig. General Russell Volckmann, a World War II hero.

The annual Living History Tour of the Grayslake Cemetery will be held Oct. 5, with performances at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. in the cemetery on South Lake Street in Grayslake.

After serving as president for nearly four years, Amy Gassen is has stepped down. She will be replaced my Marty Acks.

Village of Channahon employees and trustees gathered with local elected officials Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the official opening of the I&M Canal Gateway at 25450 W. Eames St.

The Oswegoland Park District was created in a March referendum 75 years ago. The landmark Little White School Museum was completed on its present site at Jackson and Polk streets 175 years ago last spring.

The Oswego Cemetery Walk is set for Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Oswego Township Cemetery. This year’s “ghosts” include the “ghosts” of several Oswego historical figures, including Civil War era residents.

What was once a beacon to Sterling's founding Brink now is reminder of local church history and a helping hand to the community he started, and its pastor and congregation are carrying on traditions more than 185 years later.

Influencers from beyond the grave told their tales Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, during the annual Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society’s Cemetery Walk.

A plaque rededication in memory of the late Stephen Small at the B. Harley Bradley House in Kankakee will be held Oct. 12.

The Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society sponsored a cemetery walk at Oakwood Cemetery in Dixon on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.

But while water parks are fun, they don’t offer the thrills of rollercoasters and other rides that people travel some fair distances to enjoy. At the turn of the century, though, Kendall County residents didn’t have to drive for hours to enjoy amusement rides.

Learn about some of Oswego’s early school history and explore the locations and heritage of the community’s old town schools on the “Oswego History Tour – Back to School” on Saturday, Sept. 27.