Honoring the rich history of rural western Illinois, and examining the problems we currently face
The Forgottonia Project is pleased to announce our local history podcast book review series. Our first book study will feature an analysis of Dr. John Hallwas’s 2011 book “Dime Novel Desperados: The Notorious Maxwell Brothers.” Dr. Hallwas visited our class at Cuba High School to discuss his book Dime Novel Desperados ABOUT THE BOOK Dime …
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To gain a better idea of what the 16 county region known as Forgottonia actually looks like, we compiled some data from the 2010 census. What follows is an overview of each county's demographics. Click here for a profile of each county's presidential election results, and a brief overview about the history of each county.
To gain a better idea of what the 16 county region known as Forgottonia actually looks like, we compiled election data by county over the past 20 years. Please note, the purpose of this examination is to not endorse one political party or policy over another, but to gain a better understanding of this place we call Forgottonia. Although political party affiliation in Forgottonia over the past 20 years is complex and ever-changing, our study reveals that there has been and continues to be growing support for the Republican Party throughout Forgottonia. This trend occurred even before the presidential election of 2016, which subsequently sparked greater national interest in all things rural.
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 …
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Pleased to share this blog post from Cuba High School student contributors Gavin Johnson and Lexi Leonard. This post was part of a unit of research students did about Indigenous Americans in Illinois (See links below). Introduction The Dickson Mounds Museum, located near Lewistown, IL, harbor a collection of Indian burial mounds that were discovered …
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Please enjoy this blog post contribution from Cuba High School student Audrey Cozart. Audrey's post is in partnership with our previous podcast episode featuring Cahokia Mound's archaeologist, Bill Iseminger (You can listen to that episode by clicking here). If you have any questions or comments let us know on our webpage or our Facebook page. …
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Have you ever wondered who lived a long time ago in the very place you’re living right now? Did you know there are incredible ancient cities that existed right here in IL? And that people have been trying to find out for years what happened to these cities. On this episode of the Forgottonia Project, …
Continue reading "S4, E1 – The Mystery of Cahokia Mounds with Archaeologist Bill Iseminger"
We are pleased to share our latest podcast interview with local musician, Chris Vallillo. Chris is a singer/songwriter & folk musician who makes the people & places of “unmetropolitan” America come to life in song. Chris is also a fantastic local historian as many of his songs reflect the unique rural Midwestern culture that we've …
On this edition of the Forgottonia Project, we had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Matt Meacham, program manager and director of statewide engagement at the IL Humanities. We asked Matt what the humanities are and how they can help bridge our rural-urban divide. We hope you enjoy our conversation
On this episode of the Forgottonia Project, we conclude our conversation with Marion Cornelius about the incredible history of Camp Ellis, a massive WW2 Army camp that was located right here in rural Forgottonia.
The Forgottonia Project 