Honoring the rich history of rural western Illinois, and examining the problems we currently face
"We live in an unprecedented era, when community is under siege from a variety of forces, & the negative ramifications of that are continually mounting." John Hallwas, On Community: A Crucial Issue, a Small Town, and a Writer's Experience ON THIS EPISODE We begin our series on the book "On Community: A Crucial Issue, a …
On this episode, we’re thrilled to share an update about New Philadelphia with Marynel Corton, the executive director of the New Philadelphia Museum. Last year we interviewed Marynel about New Philadelphia, one of the most important historical communities in the U.S. and located right here in rural Forgottonia (Pike County to be exact; Marynel lives …
Continue reading "New Philadelphia Earns National Park Status: An Update with Marynel Corton"
On this episode of the Forgottonia Project, we summarize what the 2020 census reveals about Forgottonia. This episode serves as the podcast edition of our previous post analyzing census data: Forgottonia Profile: The 2020 Census. CHS students helped create a mega document that summarizes important demographic, social, and economic patterns that persist throughout Forgottonia (check …
In this episode, we’re thrilled to share our conversation with Marynel Corton, the executive director of the New Philadelphia Museum. New Philadelphia is one of the most important historical communities in the U.S. and it’s located right here in rural Forgottonia! Although rural, western IL is sometimes known for being…well FORGOTTEN… there are a …
Continue reading "S4, E2 – The New Philadelphia Story, with Marynel Corton"
On this episode, Chris Merrett from the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs responds to questions formed from students at Cuba High School in Cuba, IL. These questions reflect a range of challenges facing small towns, not only in Cuba, but throughout Forgottonia. The essential questions our students asked Chris include the following:
It is time for all Americans to confront the ideas of segregation and racism today and all over and remember that this is not an issue constrained to a specific time or a specific geographic location. This is not a southern problem, this is an American problem and this is not just in the past, the legacy of housing discrimination and segregation is still present in many American neighborhoods and schools.
One of the things we enjoyed most about Dr. James Loewen book Sundown Towns, is how he encourages readers to do their own research. This is also an outstanding opportunity to put into practice that history is something you do, not simply something you remember. Gather what evidence you can and determine for yourself if …
Continue reading "S2 – Blog 04: Sundown Towns: How to Research Your Town’s Sundown History"
These past few weeks, we’ve been learning about sundown towns and the impact they’ve had on rural America today (Check out the links below to other blog and podcast topics around this topic). We were stunned to learn that our informed expert Dr. James Loewen (author of Sundown Towns & Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong”) spent many hours conducting research for his book right here in our own neck of the woods. Although Dr. Loewen lives on the east coast and conducted research throughout the country, a large portion of his work focused on his home state of Illinois; including the communities of western Illinois, collectively known as Forgottonia. Dr. Loewen poured over census records, studied maps, and visited with local historians, librarians, and anyone else willing to speak to him. We recommend you get a hold of the book to read for yourself. We’d also encourage you to check out the sundown town database on Loewen’s own website linked here - Loewen’s website - Sundown Towns Database.
On this episode, we conclude our interview with Dr. James Loewen about his book "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism." We asked 2 essential questions: What is the legacy of Sundown Towns? Plus, how do you conduct research in your own town? Dr. Loewen is a talented author, historian, and sociologist. He is …
As mentioned in our podcast interview, Dr. James Loewen didn’t just write a book about sundown towns, he wrote THE book. He did a lot of research in small towns--especially in Illinois--which has enabled us to learn a lot about our own communities. (By the way, if you haven't already, Loewen has a massive database …
Continue reading "S2 – Blog 02: Sundown Towns: Why Studying Sundown Towns Matters"
The Forgottonia Project 