Isabella Garnett was born in Evanston in 1872 and received a nursing degree from Provident Hospital and Nurses Training School in 1895. She later graduated with a medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (now the University of Illinois College of Medicine) in 1901, making her one of the first female African American physicians in Illinois.

The Illinois Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA) was founded in 1869 and in the early 20th century changed its name to Illinois Equal Suffrage Association (IESA). After more than 40 years of active campaigning, Illinois women gained the right to vote in many statewide races in 1913.

This 1909 Economy Motor Buggy, Model E, was manufactured by the Economy Motor Buggy Company in Joliet, Illinois. It is one of the three known surviving Economy Motor Buggies and the only one that has been fully restored to operating condition.

At the age of 21, Joliet native Ray Keenan was drafted into WWII. He was a nose gunner and bombardier in the 9th Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Group, 10th Air Force, flying bombing missions out of India in a B-24 Bomber.

The Nina Chesebro photo scrapbook includes highlights from a road trip on September 17, 1916, to Starved Rock State Park near Oglesby, Illinois. This page shows a group of friends in a 1914 Model T Touring Car overlooking the Illinois River. The scrapbook holds over 110 images from 1914 through 1918.

On July 18, 1917, flight training began at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois. For the next 76 years, Chanute was a fixture in Champaign County, trading in flight training to become a major technical training installation for the United States Air Force. This image shows a Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplane just over the open expanse of Chanute's flying field.

A.G. Little began to record the daily events of his farm and family in 1888, when he was 21 years old. He continued until 1917, filling eight journals.

A whistle post was installed along a railroad line about a quarter mile before a road crossing. It signaled the engineer to sound the train locomotive's horn, or whistle, as a warning that the train was approaching the crossing.

This Kellogg 500 model gold-colored telephone commemorated the 1000th telephone of this type sold by the Champaign Telephone Company in 1968. The Kellogg 500 model first sold in the 1940s and remained popular for nearly half a century. Its unique features are the square body and placement of the numbers and letters outside the dial.

Over 100 years ago, Marguerite Aubrey drew this calendar and rendering of a pussy willow plant for her teacher, Katharine Kyser. Katharine was required by the State of Illinois to submit a portfolio of her students’ best work at the end of each school year, and Marguerite’s pussy willow made the cut.