Willits School
MONMOUTH SCHOOL’S NAMESAKE GOT LITTLE RESPECT When Elias Willits died in 1881 at the age of 55, he was a respected Monmouth attorney, who had served as county judge since […]
1953 Building Boom
MONMOUTH’S INDUSTRIAL BUILDING BOOM OF 1953 Our future economic prosperity may lie in the tech and service industries, but 65 years ago manufacturing was still king, and Monmouth was on […]
Ogle Furniture
MONMOUTH ENTREPRENEUR BUILT EARLY FURNITURE EMPIRE Anyone within driving distance of Kewanee, Illinois, is familiar with Good’s Furniture, which through clever marketing has established itself as one of the premier […]
Kirkwood
HOW YOUNG AMERICA BECAME KIRKWOOD Changing one’s name, either through marriage or by personal preference, is a rather straightforward process, but for a municipality to change its name is rare—both […]
Daniel McNeil
BORN ADVENTURER LEFT HIS STAMP ON MONMOUTH From the time he settled in Warren County as a young man in 1830 until he headed west two decades later, Daniel McNeil […]
Woman Photographer
PIONEER WOMAN PHOTOGRAPHER BEGAN IN ROSEVILLE I recently had the pleasure of speaking to the Roseville Women’s Club, an organization still going strong after more than a century in the […]
Queenola Talking Machine
THE QUEENOLA TALKING MACHINE I recently received an inquiry from Monmouth College professor and antiques buff Mike Connell about an item he found on Craigslist. At first glance of photos […]
Idaho Chief Justice
MONMOUTH ATTORNEY BUILT BRILLIANT LEGAL CAREER IN IDAHO Prior to the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, New York stood at the edge of America’s western frontier. Completion of […]
Local Air Mail
THE DAY LOCAL PILOTS DELIVERED AIR MAIL I first heard stories about Monmouth’s remarkable role in the development of aviation from the late Ralph B. Eckley, a pioneer local pilot […]
Knox’s Nude Antics
Knox’s nude antics at Monmouth hotel sparked sensational 1907 trial Memorial Day 1907 was truly a day for remembrance in the longtime rivalry between Monmouth College and Knox College. A wet […]