Echoes of Elgin: Timeless Tales from the Elgin History Museum

Middle-aged widow, good-looking, wealthy, tired of single life, would correspond with gentlemen; object, matrimony. Address Box 104, Elgin, IL. 

Dating was no easier back in 1907, especially when scammers were involved. Learn from someone else's mistakes in this echo from April 20, 1986.

Are you planning on driving over the Chicago Street bridge today?  This echo from November 27, 1988 should reassure you that today's bridge is perfectly safe.  It was the 5 previous bridges you had to worry about. 

Do you know about the lion who used to live in Elgin?  How about the other lion that used to live in Elgin?  No?  What about the elephant that made a memorable visit to the west side?  No?  Sounds like you had better listen to this echo from February 26, 1984 and get caught up.

This former depot site near Randall and Big Timber Roads was known for its train wrecks rather than its founder or school.  An echo from November 13, 1988 tells the details. 

Newspapers can't resist writing about colorful politicians.  True today and true from 1874 to 1927 when Mayor Arwin E. Price couldn't seem to stay out of the headlines. Listen to this echo from November 15, 1998 for the details.

Elgin's Bluff City Cemetery holds the remains of two individuals who had only a fleeting connection to Elgin, but whose stories are of interest to fans of the American West.  Tune in to this echo from September 10, 1989 to learn more about Dan DeMarbelle and Annie Tallent as we complete our mini series on Elgin’s municipal cemetery and its stories.

Oscar Hammerstein once said "a bell's not a bell until you ring it".  An echo from February 28, 1999, tells the story of Elgin's noteworthy bells.  

Learn about some of the unique markers in Bluff City Cemetery in this echo from August 14, 2003.

This echo from September 16, 1990 details the lives of all the Elgin High School graduates of '77.  Class of 1877, that is.  If you are attending the 2024 Bluff City Cemetery Walk on September 21/22 you will learn about Cecil Harvey, but what adventures did her sister Illione have after graduation?

Illinois Park is the only Elgin School that was once independent.  Learn more about the Little Red Brick School in this echo from May 31, 1998.  To learn more about its teacher, Abbie C. Saunders Wing, consider attending the 37th annual Bluff City Cemetery Walk on September 21/22, 2024.  Tickets are available on the Elgin History Museum website.