Items | Digital Collections at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library

Flat Bottom Drain Tile
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This drain tile was made of clay and used for drainage of fields. It has a flat bottom and is 2-4 inches in diameter.
Farm 46 in 1997
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This photo of a cornfield on Farm 46 near Heyworth in 1997 shows the difference in crop production today from that in the 1930s.
Corn Crib on Lewis Bohrer Farm
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This drawing of the Lewis Bohrer farm shows a corn crib in the upper right corner.
Nelson Jones Home, South of Towanda, Illinois
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)The Nelson Jones home, south of Towanda, was the first of several large Italianate farmhouses built in McLean County.
J.J. Ham House and Barn
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)An 1887 view of J.J. Ham's 1873 home south of Hudson.
Naffziger Round Tile Barn
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This circular tile sided barn was built by William Naffziger in 1916 in Mount Hope Township, McLean County.
Detasselers During World War II
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)A group of female detasselers during World War II at Funk's farm including Gretchen Gottschalk, Barbara Benjamin, Marcella Pierson, unknown, Bessie Gottschalk, Phyllis Bender, Mary Johnston, Betty Belle Alverson, Isabel Gottschalk, Barbara Zook, Louise Gottschalk, May Johnson, and Alice Johnston.
Corn-Shock Binder
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This illustration shows the tools used in binding corn into shocks.
Beebee's Patent Cure for Balkiness in Horses Advertisement
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This is an ad for a patent to prevent balkiness in horses and mules. Balkiness is an unwillingness of the horse to move forward. Horses sometimes become balky due to physical ailments such as sharp teeth, sore feet, a sore back, badly fitting tack or emotional ailments such as fear or stubbornness.
Worm Fence
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This zigzag, or worm, fence was common for pioneer fields, although such fencing took up valuable land.
Corn Plant Drawing
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Sketch of a corn plant.
Trimmed Hedge in Old Town Township
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This hedge in Old Town Township, McLean County, is one of the few surviving examples of traditional trimming in the county.
Plow, Breaking
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Wood and wrought iron plow. Long, tapered, and slightly curved wooden beam with "V" shaped handles attached to the back of the beam. Long dished iron blade held in place with a forged iron screw and iron straps. The cutting blade is mounted to the beam and extends downwards to the tip of the blade. 132" long.
The Heart of the Cornbelt book cover
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This cover from The Heart of the Cornbelt: An Illustrated History of Corn Farming in McLean County by William D. Walters Jr. covers corn farming from Native Americans to present.
Sanborn Map, Urbana, Illinois
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Sanborn map of Urbana, Illinois. Shows area north of Main and south of with Water.
Sanborn Map, McLean County Court House, Bloomington, Illinois
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Sanborn map of the McLean County, Illinois Court House, 1892.
Projectile Point
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This projectile point is dark in color. It is slightly notched near the base. It was used by Woodland Indians for hunting.
Mussel Shell Hoe
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This mussel shell hoe was used in the cultivation of corn, beans and squash by the Mississippian Indians.
Scissors
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)These iron scissors were manufactured by white settlers and traded with the Kickapoo.
Wooden Pitchfork
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This type of wooden pitchfork was commonly used on farms throughout McLean County, Illinois.
McLean Bicyclists
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Three young women from McLean, Illinois, are shown with their bicycles.
Voyageur holding paddle
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Drawing by Frederic Remington of a voyageur holding his paddle, which is almost as tall as he is. His other hand is hooked onto his braided sash, which typically held pipes, pouches of tobacco, and other supplies. A vest, leather footgear, and a jaunty cap with a tassel complete his outfit.
Sanborn Map, Urbana, Illinois
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Sanborn map of Urbana, Illinois. Shows the area bordered by Broad on the west side and S. Race on the east side. Includes the Columbian Hotel.
Sanborn Map, Urbana, Illinois
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Sanborn map of Urbana, Illinois. Shows area bordered by Broad on the west side and S. Race on the east side. Includes the Columbia Hotel.
C&A Shops, Locomotive
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)A locomotive sits in the C&A shops in Bloomington, Illinois. C&A (Chicago and Alton) shops were the largest employer in McLean County. There, the first Pullman sleeper, the first commerical dining car, and the first reclining chair car were made.
T'day's Farmer
Multi-Page Item | 4 pages | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)T'day's Farmer by Kin Hubbard from Back Country Folks, a year's accumulation of the philosophy and sketches of Abe Martin and others of Brown County, Indiana.
Richard M. Britt
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Richard M. Britt was an early farmer in Mount Hope Township in McLean County.
German Day, Bloomington, Illinois
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)The streets of Bloomington, Illinois, are shown decorated for German Day. By 1870, 13% of the population of Bloomington was of German descent or born in Germany. The Germans in Bloomington held their own cultural events and had their own organizations. The Germans living in Bloomington had their own schools and churches, as well as their own German-language newspaper.
Chert Hoe
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This chert hoe was used by Woodland Indians for farming. Woodland Indians grew corn, beans and squash, and hunted buffalo and deer. Chert is a very fine grained rock which can be shaped into arrowheads and points by chipping.
Pfister Float in 1947 Corn Bowl Parade
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)A Pfister float made of corn cobs travels in the 1947 Corn Bowl parade.
Leo Miller House
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This replacement house on the Leo Miller farm was built around the turn of the 20th century.
A.E. Swap's Residence and Business, Weston, Illinois
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This drawing is of the small store of A.E. Swap in Weston, McLean County.
Picnic at Funk Farms
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)People gather at Funk Farms for a picnic. Cars are seen in the background.
Concrete Block Barn
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This concrete block barn was built around 1900.
Heafer Tile Company in Bloomington
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Edgar Heafer's tile plant, the Heafer Tile Company, produced many tiles for field drainage.
1947 Corn Bowl Parade
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)A float from the City of Bloomington depicting a mill wheel travels in the 1947 Corn Bowl Parade.
Griesheim's Advertisement for Cornfest
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)Griesheim's clothing store runs an ad for the Bloomington Cornfest.
Prairie Breaking
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This drawing shows a yoke of oxen plowing a field.
Illinois Central Railroad, Construction
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)The construction of three railroads in the 1850s, including this picture of the Illinois Central Railroad, altered the relationship of the corn farm with the world outside McLean County, Illinois.
Brown's Corn Planter
Image | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community)This example of a corn planter shows how two people were required to work the machinery.

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