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.

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

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.

As part of its sesquicentennial celebration, the village of Bourbonnais will host a French Heritage Day this Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at The Grove.

Guests can tour the cemetery in small groups and meet costumed interpreters portraying early pioneers and other historical figures from Montgomery’s past.

From information gathering to catching up, many visitors walked into the Polo museum on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025.

The Lombard Historical Society’s new exhibition, “Breaking the Mold: Lives Beyond Convention,” is on display until June 6, 2006.

Join the DeKalb County History Center on Sept. 25 to explore the special relationship between people, animals and the land.

The McHenry VFW and the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum joined up to host a Victory Dance to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the WWII and revisit the sounds and steps of the era.

“The History of the Nachusa Grasslands and Bison Returning to Illinois” will be given by Mark Herman at 7 p.m. in Dixon.

Developer Shodeen Group sued the city of Geneva over its insistence that a tarp be placed over the top of a circa-1843 limestone structure officials deemed historic. A judge will issue a decision Oct. 2.

McDermott: It is not possible to tell the complete life story of anyone in 1,000 words, much less two life stories. But let’s take a glimpse into two amazing people that not only were artists but spent much of their lives creating more artists.

The featured speaker for this month’s Oregon Depot Museum “Those Were The Days” program on Saturday, Sept. 27, will be Jim Owens of Pecatonica.

Voices from the Dixon Mausoleum will rise to observe the structure's 100th anniversary during the annual Oakwood Cemetery Walk. Five volunteers will portray historically significant people buried in the mausoleum during the cemetery walk from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 28, 2025.

The Ogle County Historical Society will have its monthly meeting Monday, Sept. 29, in Oregon.

City officials said the site is already part of Oregon's riverfront district.

Columnist: The picnic at Henry School was a festive evening and the school was all dressed up in fall by Ted and Joanne. They had cleaned and decorated for the event so the school was sparkling.

What is typically one of the biggest parades in Joliet coincides with the start of a big federal crackdown on illegal immigration coming to Chicago and aimed primarily at Mexicans and other Hispanics.

Little White School Museum in Oswego hosts “The Fox River Trolleys” at 11 a.m. this Saturday, Sept. 13. Register in advance – $5 fee – by calling the Oswegoland Park District at 630-554-1010 or pay at the door.

A wood relief mural celebrating the history of Oswego and Montgomery was recently installed near the entrance doors to the campus, located at 32 W. Jefferson St. in downtown Oswego.

OBENDORF: We seem to have an early fall and the migration of the birds has begun.

MCDERMOTT: The story of Rochelle cannot be told without a mention of the taverns and Cherry Avenue.

The Elmhurst History Museum has opened “World of Tomorrow: A Century of Progress,” an exhibit celebrating the 1933-34 Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago.