Jeff Rankin
Monmouth’s newspaper heritage began in 1846
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Until just a few years ago, Monmouth maintained a daily newspaper that originated in 1846 during the Mexican War. The…
The Great Eclipse of 1869, through the eyes of a Monmouth College professor
As anticipation grows over the upcoming solar eclipse, I thought it would be interesting to look back on a similar astronomical event…
Northwestern University founder called Monmouth home
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth’s historic Quinby House was the home of a founder of Monmouth College. What is perhaps less well known is th
Monmouth physician dynasty began in 1837
MONMOUTH, Ill. — “This is a pleasant location and bids fair to be a thriving town.”
Might Edgar Allan Poe have made Oquawka a literary hub?
In the middle of the Bronx in New York City is a bustling neighborhood known as Fordham. In 1848, it was a sleepy rural village without…
Tombstones tell interesting tales
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Walk up the 10 concrete steps to Monmouth’s Pioneer Cemetery at East Archer and 6th Street, and suddenly you
Monmouth’s industrial building boom of 1953
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Our future economic prosperity may lie in the tech and service industries, but 70 years ago manufacturing was still king…
Monmouth pastor provided humanitarian relief during Civil War
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In recent months, we have become all too familiar with the collateral damage that war inflicts on innocent civilians. The…
Remnants of a bygone era
Several of Monmouth’s quirky voting houses still stand
Beloved veterinarian played Santa for decades
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Dr. Vird Odell Cudd had as many vocations as Forrest Gump, working as a circus performer, professor, veterinarian…
Frederick Douglass spoke in Monmouth in 1866
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In his 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Frederick Douglass, David W. Blight says of the renowned abolitionist who…
Once-grand Monmouth church fell victim to wrecking ball
MONMOUTH, Ill. — June 1, 2022, will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of one of the saddest architectural declines in Monmouth history…
Legendary invention was toast, following 1917 Monmouth fire
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth is famous for the manufacture of several successful inventions, but it is infamous for one legendary invention…
Patriarch of ag family dynasty attended seminary in Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Many farmers from this area are familiar with the monthly agricultural publication Wallaces Farmer, which began in 1895…
Apr 14, 2022
Art Institute of Chicago recognized early Warren County folk artist
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Folk artist Grandma Moses became world famous late in life for her primitive paintings portraying the simplicity of rural…
Mar 31, 2022
World billiards champ started in local pool hall
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Many famous celebrities hail from small towns, but few retain their hometown ties once they go on to fame and fortune…
Feb 22, 2022
Caring for Warren County’s destitute evolved over ages
MONMOUTH, Ill. — “You’ll send me to the poorhouse!” is a complaint that parents have voiced to their children for ages, but it wasn’t so…
Feb 11, 2022
Monmouth runaway became vaudeville star
MONMOUTH, Ill. — On September 10, 1902, Monmouth stonecutter Henry T. Wells received a message that no parent would want to hear — that…
Feb 2, 2022
Father of acclaimed playwright had fateful meeting with Monmouth lawyer
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The career of one of America’s greatest playwrights might have taken a completely different path had his father listened…
Jan 12, 2022
Unearthed early portrait shines new light on Monmouth College’s first president
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The name David Alexander Wallace is legendary at Monmouth College, in no small part because its flagship building — now…
Jan 3, 2022
The day the ‘Music Man’ came to Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, Professor Harold Hill recounts to the people of River City the “electric thrill” he…
Dec 1, 2021
Monmouth barber became successful entrepreneur
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If the internet had existed in 1890, Oscar Zimmerman likely would have started the first shave club for men.
Oct 4, 2021
For Monmouth College community, 9/11 was a ‘coming-of-age moment’
By Jeff Rankin College Historian
Sep 7, 2021
‘Crybaby Bridge’ legend endures
MONMOUTH, Ill. — People love a good ghost story and are seemingly always eager to embrace tales of legendary local hauntings, regardless…
Aug 30, 2021
Remembering ‘Dr. Bob’ Meneilly
Monmouth College alumnus built nation’s second-largest Presbyterian church from scratch
Jul 29, 2021
Berwick farm boy became father of comparative economics
MONMOUTH, Ill. — It seems improbable that a humble farm boy from Berwick, Ill., would become one of the world’s leading economists, help…
Jun 29, 2021
Talented musician started early bus line
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Beginning in 1906, the interurban electric railway allowed Monmouth residents to travel conveniently and inexpensively…
Jun 22, 2021
Monmouth audience learned of prison life in 1886
MONMOUTH, Ill. — I have written previously about Maj. Robert Wilson McClaughry, the pioneer prison reformer who graduated from Monmouth…
Jun 14, 2021
Kirkwood native preserved her father’s banking legacy
MONMOUTH, Ill — Growing up in Monmouth during the 1970s, one of the interesting landmarks I recall was a circular brick fountain in front…
Jun 3, 2021
Historic Monmouth store fell victim to retail trends
MONMOUTH, Ill. — As long ago as the early 1960s, downtown Monmouth merchants were worried about the encroachment of shopping centers and…
May 10, 2021
If a fence could talk
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Sometimes an architectural feature of a residential property can survive long after the residence associated with it is…
Apr 14, 2021
Calvin Orth: Monmouth’s modest millionaire
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In the 19th century, Monmouth boasted a long line of wealthy capitalists. Names like Hardin, Quinby, Hanna, Weir and…
Mar 31, 2021
Dryden left Monmouth plow factory to become ‘Dean of Sports Writers’
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If you’ve ever called someone a “bonehead,” you can thank a Monmouth man for coining that word, along with many of the…
Mar 21, 2021
Unraveling the long and winding legacy of Monmouth fraternity history
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The history of Greek life at Monmouth College is both long and proud, but it is also remarkably complicated, due to a…
Mar 18, 2021
Before automatic washers, steam laundries relieved drudgery
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Throughout much of the 19th century, most laundry was done by hand in a laborious process that often stretched over three…
Mar 17, 2021
Pop was popular in 1890s
MONMOUTH, Ill. — With the sales of bottled water growing steadily in recent years, the long-term future of carbonated beverages is…
Mar 10, 2021
Monmouth area mourned sinking of Titanic
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In isolated, rural western Illinois, in the days before radio and television, one might suppose that an incident that…
Feb 11, 2021
Dryden left Monmouth plow factory to become ‘Dean of Sports Writers’
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If you’ve ever called someone a “bonehead,” you can thank a Monmouth man for coining that word, along with many of the…
Jan 27, 2021
Renowned ‘Farmer Sculptor’ hailed from Berwick
BERWICK, Ill. — Just as the works of Ernest Hemingway and Jack London achieved their power from the writers’ personal experiences, the…
Jan 20, 2021
Methodist Church enters 14th decade with new sanctuary
MONMOUTH, Ill. — When the current reconstruction of the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church is completed, it will be the fourth…
Jan 15, 2021
Last days for Maple City Dairy
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The news that the former Maple City Dairy building is slated for demolition brought back a flood of memories from current…
Dec 29, 2020
Entire community pitched in for Monmouth’s first nativity
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The impressive refurbishing of Monmouth’s Public Square nativity set this year by Eagle Scout Briar Shinn calls to mind…
Dec 15, 2020
Monmouth attorney built legal career in early Idaho
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Prior to the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, New York was on the edge of America’s western frontier. Completion of the…
Dec 15, 2020
The continuing evolution of Monmouth’s city of the dead
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Prior to the 1830s, Americans buried their dead in churchyards and utilitarian “burying grounds.” There was little…
Dec 14, 2020
The decline and fall of Monmouth’s railroad depot
MONMOUTH, Ill. — During the Golden Age of Railroading (roughly 1870–1910), train stations evolved from utilitarian wooden structures to…
Dec 9, 2020
Monmouth physician dynasty began in 1837
MONMOUTH, Ill. — “This is a pleasant location and bids fair to be a thriving town.”
Nov 30, 2020
Before the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the universal date on which everyone alive at the time remembered…
Only 11 known faculty and staff members from 1963 are still living, and the youngest former students are now 76 years old. The student…
Nov 19, 2020
Rotary Club helped build Monmouth’s long-forgotten dormitory
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Rotary Clubs have a proud history of contributing to civic projects, such as building parks or planting trees, but the…
Oct 28, 2020
Monmouth College grad was renowned graphic designer
MONMOUTH, Ill. — With the exception of a handful of artists like Milton Glaser, who designed the iconic “I Love New York” logo, graphic…
Oct 15, 2020
Family name inspired long-time Monmouth College landmark
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Woodbine is a fragrant climbing plant with purple-tinged yellow flowers, more commonly known as European honeysuckle…
Sep 30, 2020
Monmouth minister led eventful life
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In my five years of writing this column, I have chronicled the lives of Monmouth manufacturers, bankers, lawyers, judges…
Sep 26, 2020
Lumber baron Sipher helped build Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Although Monmouth recently lost its one remaining lumber company, lumberyards played an important role in the city’s…
Sep 22, 2020
In the days of class warfare at Monmouth College
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The current pandemic has caused many time-honored traditions associated with the opening of the Monmouth College fall…
Sep 16, 2020
‘Late-night pizza call’ devastated downtown Monmouth in 1974
MONMOUTH, Ill. — When an arson fire damaged Monmouth’s Security Savings & Loan building on April 11, 1974, bank president Ralph Whiteman…
Aug 27, 2020
‘Mad Arsonist’ terrorized Monmouth in 1963
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If you’re a Maple City old-timer who remembers exactly where you were when you heard JFK was shot, you almost certainly…
Aug 12, 2020
Innocent fishing trip turned deadly serious
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In the Stephen King novella The Body, a group of young boys goes on a quest to find a corpse, rumored to be lost in a…
Jul 1, 2020
Nichols hatched thriving family business
MONMOUTH, Ill. — For farm families during the first half of the 20th century, Saturday was eagerly anticipated as the day to go to town…
Jun 10, 2020
Mystery solved! Two early photos taken during Monmouth’s 1908 ‘Home Coming’
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Sometimes the solution to an age-old mystery can come unexpectedly, and that was the case recently when a 50-year-old…
Jun 3, 2020
‘Cow barn’ twice answered pressing need for Monmouth College
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Anyone who has only known Monmouth College’s exceptional physical plant during the past 25 years would find it hard to…
May 5, 2020
The Palmers — Monmouth’s remarkable military family
Monmouth, Ill. —One of Monmouth’s prominent early families is largely forgotten today, in part because its imposing home on Broadway no…
May 1, 2020
Monmouth native had distinguished naval career
MONMOUTH, Ill .— When the pop group Looking Glass wrote in the 1972 hit, “Brandy,” that “my life, my lover, my lady is the sea,” they…
Apr 30, 2020
Bubbling business born in college ‘Barracks’
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The success story of an early Procter & Gamble soap product begins with Monmouth College.
Apr 18, 2020
Reagan’s 1976 Monmouth visit mixed nostalgia with politics
MONMOUTH, Ill. — As campus historian for Monmouth College, I am occasionally asked how many U.S. presidents have visited Monmouth. No…
Apr 15, 2020
Navy’s Blue Angels thrilled Monmouth crowd in 1965
MONMOUTH, Ill. — For years, a traditional part of opening night of Monmouth’s Prime Beef Festival has been the flyover by Stearman…
Apr 8, 2020
Monmouth’s ‘Tin Goose’ carried torpedos, mules, memories
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If you recall the original Monmouth Airport, which operated on North 6th Street between 1922 and 1967, chances are the…
Apr 1, 2020
Party politics plagued Monmouth’s postal plaque
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Everett McKinley Dirksen was the consummate Republican. His middle name honored President McKinley and his brother…
Mar 25, 2020
From railroad reservoir to recreation park: The evolution of Citizens Lake
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Steam locomotives once ruled the rails, but it has been 70 years since they began being phased out by diesel engines…
Mar 18, 2020
Monmouth College campus quarantined during 1918 flu pandemic
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If you think about it, a college campus is not unlike a cruise ship — a diverse population occupying a confined space…
Mar 10, 2020
Monmouth College’s original presidential home twice saw tragedy
MONMOUTH, Ill. — For the first 30 years of its existence, Monmouth College had no home for its presidents, but in August 1885 the College…
Mar 6, 2020
Courthouse tower came down 50 years ago
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Thanks to the cellphone and global positioning satellites, we now take for granted that most everyone is operating on…
Feb 28, 2020
Three generations of tailors kept Monmouth in stitches
MONMOUTH, Ill. — These days, the phrase tailor-made is often used to describe a double play in baseball or a wonderful business…
Feb 18, 2020
Monmouth apartment house has long and colorful history
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Many of Monmouth’s large Victorian homes were converted to apartment houses in the 20th century, when they became too…
Feb 5, 2020
Popular bookstore had Monmouth College ties
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In my years of discussing local history with Monmouth natives, perhaps no single locale has evoked more nostalgia than…
Feb 3, 2020
Fifty years ago today, Monmouth College students moved an entire library in sub-zero temperatures
Monday, January 20, marked the fifth straight year that Monmouth College has cancelled afternoon classes to allow students to participate…
Jan 20, 2020
Post office replaced Monmouth’s longest-operating hotel
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth’s first hotel, built in 1833, was a log tavern with a half-story second floor used for sleeping. Because there…
Jan 15, 2020
Hardin’s East Broadway residence became clubhouse
MONMOUTH, Ill. — During the 1850s, a master carpenter from New York named William Webster built a magnificent Greek Revival-style…
Jan 8, 2020
Monmouth’s newest park was site of early tourist camp
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth’s newest park, at 11th Street and Broadway — developed through the generosity of the Pattee Foundation and the…
Dec 26, 2019
Early railroads brought progress, but also terror and destruction
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In this age of frequent road construction and airport delays, it is tempting to romanticize about the era of steam…
Dec 17, 2019
Twice-broken Monmouth College artifact has fascinating history
MONMOUTH, Ill. — During the 1950s, a Monmouth College custodian showed Bible professor Charles Speel chunks of plaster inscribed with…
Dec 16, 2019
Civil War general’s wife was pillar of Monmouth community
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Much has been written about the life of Gen. Abner Clark Harding, who helped bring the railroad through Monmouth, was a…
Dec 4, 2019
Socialist Party co-founder graduated from Monmouth College
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Today, the terms Socialist and Social Democrat are often associated with far-left political ideology and conjure up…
Nov 29, 2019
The day the ‘Little Giant’ spoke at Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Much has been written about Abraham Lincoln’s speech in Monmouth on Oct. 11, 1858, but Sen. Stephen A. Douglas’s address…
Nov 18, 2019
Alpha Xi Delta’s last living founder called Monmouth home
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Sometimes history is right under our noses and we don’t learn about it until years later.
Nov 15, 2019
Gifted inventor established two early Monmouth industries
MONMOUTH, Ill. — We sometimes hear stories about how inventors of hugely profitable products failed to cash in on their success by failing…
Nov 11, 2019
Scottish immigrant helped establish Presbyterian seminary in Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Even before it adopted the nickname “Maple City,” Monmouth had been bestowed with the moniker “U.P. town.” That referred…
Nov 8, 2019
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Monmouth’s first modern architecture grew around abandoned brewery
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Microbreweries are increasingly being welcomed in small towns for their contributions to the local economy. That had been…
Nov 5, 2019
1904 fire prompted Monmouth leaders to pursue modern hotel
MONMOUTH, Ill. — At the turn of the 20th century, Monmouth boasted five hotels, but in fact it didn’t boast too loudly, as all were…
Oct 30, 2019
Outdated jails have plagued Warren County for generations
MONMOUTH, Ill. — History has a way of repeating itself, and that is certainly the case right now in Warren County, as officials struggle…
Oct 29, 2019
When peanuts inspired parades, posh parties at Monmouth College
By Jeff Rankin, Monmouth College Historian
Oct 23, 2019
Barbershops sparked racial controversy in 1963
MONMOUTH, Ill. — An interesting bit of local trivia is that one of Monmouth’s earliest barbers was an African-American who was the son of…
Oct 9, 2019
MONMOUTH COLLEGE’S ‘FATHER’ OF CHEMISTRY
Ten years after his death, Kieft’s legacy remains strong
Sep 27, 2019
From sidewalks to state highways, E.A. Lord paved the way
MONMOUTH, Ill. — From the day he was born on a farm in Hale Township on the eve of the Civil War, Eugene Addison Lord had ambition. A…
Sep 25, 2019
Therapeutic waters drew thousands to Kirkwood
KIRKWOOD, Ill. — In this age of bottled water mania, we tend to think of the public obsession with hydration as a recent phenomenon, but…
Sep 17, 2019
Remembering Review Atlas paper routes
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Like many Monmouth kids, my first job was a paper route, delivering the Daily Review Atlas.
Sep 11, 2019
Ponemah: Ghost town along the Santa Fe
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In 1887, Santa Fe railroad officials planning their new right-of-way through western Illinois faced the task of naming…
Sep 3, 2019
Death of Dutch princess recalls Monmouth College’s royal wedding party
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The death of Princess Christina of the Netherlands at age 72 on Aug. 16, 2019, was noted with sadness by certain Monmouth…
Aug 20, 2019
Garbage disposal was major concern for Monmouth a century ago
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Sanitation is something we take for granted these days. The only time most Monmouth residents give it any extra thought…
Jul 23, 2019
Brothers were partners and next-door neighbors
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In the 19th century, it was a common practice for a prospective lawyer to learn the trade by clerking in a law office…
Jul 16, 2019
Northwestern University founder lived in Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth’s historic Quinby House was the home of a founder of Monmouth College. What is perhaps less well known is that…
Jul 8, 2019
From the Manhattan Project to the nuclear age, Avon native enjoyed front-row seat to history
MONMOUTH, Ill. — When Jack Powell entered Monmouth College in the fall of 1939, the war in Europe seemed very far away. Little did he…
Jul 1, 2019
Monmouth girl fell under spell of ‘Hindoo palmist’
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Near the turn of the 20th century, the occult science of palmistry experienced a renaissance in the Western world through…
Jun 26, 2019
Early Monmouth businessman advocated trade with Mexico
MONMOUTH, Ill. — With Mexican trade and immigration dominating the headlines these days, it’s interesting to look back at how earlier…
Jun 15, 2019
Monmouth College’s tax-exempt status explained
From time to time, I have heard criticism about Monmouth College’s exemption from paying property tax and allegations that it hurts the…
May 30, 2019
Leopards and monkeys create stir at Monmouth depot
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Great Nicola was famous for making an elephant disappear (his dwarf elephant, Nizie, which is buried in Monmouth)…
May 26, 2019
Architect had brief but busy career in the Maple City
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Although Monmouth was founded in 1831, it wasn’t until after the Civil War that the city was finally graced by an…
May 24, 2019
Despite primitive conditions, country schools educated students well
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Today, Warren County schools are overseen by a regional superintendent who is also responsible for schools in Knox…
May 21, 2019
‘Great Monmouth Fire’ preceded Chicago blaze by months
Monmouth, Ill. — On Oct. 8, 1871, a devastating fire destroyed more than three square miles of the city of Chicago, leveling 17,500…
May 7, 2019
Monmouth’s William Young adapted ‘Ben-Hur’ for the stage
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Author and literary critic William Dean Howells was nicknamed “The Dean of American Letters,” but for a few months…
Apr 29, 2019
Forgotten Monmouth chemistry professor left scientific legacy
MONMOUTH, Ill — Monmouth College’s chemistry department is the stuff of legend, thanks largely to three legendary chemistry professors who…
Apr 10, 2019
From the NFL to the record industry, Monmouth’s Mayo Williams broke racial barriers
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth’s rich African American heritage dates to 1834, when a Kentucky slave named Henry Haley was liberated by his…
Feb 19, 2019
When wolves roamed wild near Monmouth
By Jeff Rankin
Feb 13, 2019
Monmouth College cancelled classes during frigid January of 1970, but not because of weather
By Jeff Rankin
Jan 29, 2019
‘Jack the Hugger’ terrorized Monmouth in 1913
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Fads come and go. Those who were alive during the 1970s, for example, remember the national obsessions with streaking, CB…
Dec 26, 2018
President Bush’s 2000 visit still resonates with Monmouth College alumni
By Jeff Rankin
Dec 1, 2018
Monmouth’s 1958 post-Thanksgiving retail promotion was a real turkey
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Marking its 40th anniversary in 2018, one of the most memorable Thanksgiving-themed television sitcom episodes closely…
Nov 27, 2018
Traveling Turkey Tradition Turns 90
By Jeff Rankin, campus historian
Oct 31, 2018
From Midwest to Middle East — Adventures of a missionary professor
MONMOUTH, Ill — Early in the screenplay of George Lucas’s 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, the scene suddenly shifts from a remote…
Oct 17, 2018
Noted actor sought milk and a bath before Monmouth performance
On a cold, winter night in 1948, a 27-year-old music scout was sitting in a tavern in New York City. All eyes at the bar were turned toward…
Sep 25, 2018
A forgotten relic from a forgotten war
MONMOUTH, Ill. — World War I has often been called the forgotten war. Although the centennial of the first Armistice Day will be celebrated…
Sep 11, 2018
Festival pays homage to days when Illinois prime beef was king
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Most lifelong Warren County residents do not recall a Labor Day week that did not include the Prime Beef Festival. That’s…
Sep 4, 2018
Monmouth College Freshman Walkout: Century-old Tradition Still Has Legs
Monmouth College’s new student orientation in late August is a robust four-day event that includes discussions, lectures, service…
Aug 29, 2018
Historic Monmouth house was home to Civil War widow
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If only this house could speak. It’s a sentiment I often express when researching Monmouth’s historic homes. A house may…
Jun 26, 2018
When May Day had its heyday
MONMOUTH, Ill. — As the calendar turns to May, I am reminded of the great significance that May 1 formerly held in history. It is little…
May 1, 2018
College professor provided boost to struggling church
MONMOUTH, Ill. — As we observe the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it’s a fitting time to recall a…
Apr 25, 2018
When the Maple City almost became the Music City
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Having been an active researcher of local history for more than three decades, I am regularly amazed at how often an…
Apr 24, 2018
Visionary pilot’s dreams dashed, but aviation took hold in Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — On Thursday, Sept. 1, 1921, a large crowd was gathered at the baseball park on South 11th Street to watch a Twilight…
Apr 11, 2018
Turkey trivia — Celebrating the Knox-Monmouth rivalry
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In 1872, Ulysses Grant defeated Horace Greeley for president, Yellowstone National Park was founded and Monmouth College’s…
Apr 5, 2018
Knox’s nude antics at Monmouth hotel sparked sensational 1907 trial
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Memorial Day 1907 was truly a day for remembrance in the longtime rivalry between Monmouth College and Knox College. A wet…
Mar 27, 2018
Woman physician built Broadway mansion
MONMOUTH, Ill. —In 2017, Kappa Kappa Gamma, the pioneering fraternity for women that was founded by Monmouth College students in 1870…
Mar 21, 2018
Gone with the Wind: Death and Destruction in Ellison
SMITHSHIRE, Ill. — Near the western edge of Warren County, between Smithshire and Roseville, lies a quiet rural cemetery. Visitors are few…
Mar 20, 2018
Monmouth drag queen toured world as exotic dancer and clairvoyant
MONMOUTH, Ill. — If asked to name a 19th-century Monmouth native who performed in Paris as a renowned serpentine dancer, one might answer…
Mar 17, 2018
Monmouth’s Fred Allen: The ultimate outdoorsman
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Over the years, Monmouth has had its share of avid sportsmen, but none could equal the passion of Fred A. Allen, who…
Mar 15, 2018
Illinois legislature prevented 1847 Monmouth hanging
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Illinois is sometimes lampooned for the injudicious actions of its legislature or governor, but a man who was sentenced to…
Mar 13, 2018
The continuing evolution of Monmouth’s city of the dead
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Prior to the 1830s, Americans buried their dead in churchyards and utilitarian “burying grounds.” There was little romance…
Mar 4, 2018
Monmouth’s wealthy Brown family was not unsinkable
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Within the annals of Monmouth history are several rags-to-riches stories, sprinkled with an occasional riches-to-rags…
Mar 3, 2018
When Horace Greeley went west, to Monmouth, Illinois
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Although Horace Greeley probably did not coin the slogan “Go West, young man,” he was a vocal advocate for western…
Feb 23, 2018
Wet and wild: the colorful history of Monmouth municipal water
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In today’s world, trying to attract new residents or businesses to a city that did not have running water would be a…
Feb 20, 2018
Delivering election results to the masses — 1912 style
MONMOUTH, Ill. — It was November 5 — the night of the hotly contested presidential election — and hundreds of Monmouth residents were…
Feb 16, 2018
Grim anniversary of Monmouth triple-murder trial
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Feb. 2, 2018, marked the 100th anniversary of the end of a sensational Monmouth trial that may have sent an innocent man…
Feb 6, 2018
The night Mark Twain ‘vandalized’ Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Living in a college town like Monmouth has its perks — among them the opportunity to hear an impressive array of…
Jan 23, 2018
Monmouth entrepreneur built early furniture empire
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Anyone within driving distance of Kewanee, Illinois, is familiar with Good’s Furniture, which through clever marketing has…
Jan 17, 2018
Aerialist wowed audiences at Monmouth’s 1922 Fall Festival
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The 1920s were the heyday for daredevils, stunt artists and magicians. It is small surprise, then, that when the Monmouth…
Jan 3, 2018
Monmouth school’s namesake got little respect
MONMOUTH, Ill. — When Elias Willits died in 1881 at the age of 55, he was a respected Monmouth attorney, who had served as county judge…
Jan 2, 2018
Eckley speaks again through 1986 audio recording
MONMOUTH, Ill. — One of my greatest joys in writing this column is hearing from old timers, who tell me they look forward to reading it…
Dec 12, 2017
Monmouth College classics professor was real-life Fighting Scot
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Born in Scotland and orphaned in Ireland, Edward Fortescue Reid became an itinerant sailor before making his way to…
Nov 21, 2017
Sensational child custody case involved daughter of Monmouth banker
MONMOUTH, Ill. — On the morning of Wednesday, April 19, 1905, 76-year-old retired Monmouth banker Harrison Frantz was returning from the…
Oct 26, 2017
Monmouth’s 1917 YMCA building campaign completed in six days
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In a recent column, I wrote about how the Monmouth Commercial Club in 1912 borrowed an idea from the international YMCA…
Oct 26, 2017
‘Developing’ the history of Monmouth’s Lincoln photograph
MONMOUTH, Ill. —On Oct. 11, 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered a senatorial campaign speech in Monmouth, following which a local photographer…
Oct 19, 2017
Monmouth’s Commercial Club preceded Chamber of Commerce
MONMOUTH, Ill. — At dawn on Aug. 26, 1912, the Rice & Dore shows started unloading their special train of 20 circus cars to transform…
Oct 3, 2017
Oldest house in Monmouth?
MONMOUTH, Ill. — For years, I had believed that the old Webster home at the southwest corner of West Broadway and E Street was the oldest…
Sep 26, 2017
British mine sank Monmouth magician’s career
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The devastation of war can be far-reaching, and for Monmouth magician Will Nicol — the Great Nicola — it brought his…
Sep 26, 2017
Nicola’s brother had close calls as suspected German spy
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Legendary Monmouth magician Will Nicol — “The Great Nicola” — has been compared to Thurston and Blackstone for his grand…
Sep 22, 2017
Pioneer prison reformer had Monmouth roots
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Fingerprinting of criminals was developed by Scotland Yard, but brought to the United States by a one-time Monmouth…
Sep 19, 2017
Monmouth city fountain was source of community pride, controversy
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Everyone loves a beautiful fountain. Unless perhaps you’ve installed one in your garden and had to maintain it.
Sep 12, 2017
Memories of 9/11 at Monmouth College
By Jeff Rankin, College Historian
Sep 11, 2017
Recording preserves memories of family life in Monmouth College’s Quinby House
MONMOUTH, Ill. — One of my greatest pleasures working at Monmouth College is developing friendships with alumni and getting to hear their…
Sep 5, 2017
Monmouth College’s fabled cannon spent half a century in local creek
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In the spring of 1903, a war that would last 50 years began — with no volleys being fired. Perhaps that was because the…
Aug 31, 2017
The historic Monmouth schoolhouse they couldn’t tear down
MONMOUTH, Ill. — When I was helping to assemble a sesquicentennial history of Monmouth back in 1981, I had essentially one source for…
Aug 23, 2017
The day the ‘Little Giant’ spoke at Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Much has been written about Abraham Lincoln’s speech in Monmouth on Oct. 11, 1858, but Sen. Stephen A. Douglas’s address…
Aug 22, 2017
Double homicide stunned citizens of early Monmouth
Just after lunch on Thursday, Dec. 11, 1856, Monmouth College sophomore Matthew Jamison was walking on East Broadway toward the Square…
Aug 21, 2017
Monmouth College remembers Dick Gregory
Activist spoke to large Monmouth audience 49 years ago
Aug 20, 2017
Iconic comic strip had Monmouth roots
It may seem improbable, but one of America’s first major pop culture icons was created in 1924 by the son of a Monmouth College biology…
Aug 19, 2017
The day Coxey’s Army invaded Monmouth
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Decades ago, a common expression at many a Thanksgiving dinner was “Enough food to feed Coxey’s Army.” In June of 1894, it…
Aug 18, 2017
Monmouth photographer founded family of magicians
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Many Monmouth residents are familiar with the exploits of Will Nicol, the Maple City magician who became internationally…
Aug 18, 2017
Monmouth’s picnic scandal of 1886
MONMOUTH, Ill. — I first heard about the Cedar Creek Picnic Scandal when I was conducting research for a commemorative Monmouth…
Aug 17, 2017
The Great Eclipse of 1869, through the eyes of a Monmouth College professor
As anticipation grows over the upcoming solar eclipse, we thought it would be interesting to look back on a similar astronomical event…
Aug 17, 2017
Magician’s disappearing elephant shrouded in mystery
MONMOUTH, Ill. — It has been said that an elephant never forgets, but the true details concerning a celebrated elephant buried in Monmouth…
Aug 15, 2017
