Calendar of Events at the Museum

The museum has quite a few upcoming events on the calendar:

Saturday, February 25 is the fourth annual Snowflake Luncheon. This event if not just for the ladies! Chris Delbridge will be the entertainment. The catered luncheon is served on the museum's snowflake china. There are a few tickets left which can be purchased at Princeville State Bank and the museum. This is a fun event that helps to support the museum so call a friend and plan on attending.




Wednesay, March 14 is the next Community Coffee at the museum from 8:00 am to 10:30. We serve coffee, tea, donuts and home baked goodies. This is a popular event and you never know who will be there. It is fun to sit and visit with friends and neighbors. During the coffee, we usually bring out some old pictures and/or artifacts and usually get some great stories from our residents about the items.





This year is the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Village of Princeville. The museum is collecting family favorite recipes to publish a cookbook in honor of the Semidemiseptcentennial Anniversary. Recipe forms are available at the museum, Lillie M. Evans Library and Village Hall. Recipe submissions are due by April 1 at those locations. Please send in your family's favorite recipes. This is a great way to honor your ancestors by sumbitting a recipe in their memory.

In May, the museum will be hosting the annual garage sale fundraiser. Doing some spring cleaning? The museum is taking donations now for the garage sale. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and will provide a receipt for your donation just like Goodwill and Salvation Army. Please consider supporting the museum with your cast offs. If you have an item too big to deliver, please call and we can make arrangements for a pick up.

Lastly, we are planning a beer and wine tasting in April. In the past, we have done this event in February. We will send out more information as soon as the details are finalized.

As always, we are looking for volunteers. Whether you can help weekly, monthly or occasionally, we rely on volunteers. Our volunteers help with artifacts, clerical work,event planning, event set up and much more. Please call the museum and let us know when you can help.

Northwest Corner of Walnut and Evans Streets

Today I want to share with you two pictures of the northwest corner of Walnut and Evans street. The color postcard is from the files at the Lillie M. Evans Library, the other is from a 1942 Peoria Star newspaper. The Lillie M. Evans Library is currently on this corner. The color postcard shows a two story building in the background with a balcony. At that time it was known as the Hitchcock Building and, according to stories, housed a tavern, dance hall, meeting room and was used as a place to meet. The building in the foreground was Village Hall. In the newspaper photo, you can see that the building had been added on to. If you look closely, you can see "Weaver's Hatchery" on the building. From reading papers here at the museum, a person could buy eggs, chickens and other goods at the hatchery. Do you know any more about this building and how it was used?

UPDATE: One of our members just stopped by and says he remembers the second floor of the Hitchcock Building had a wood floor. The wood floor was great for dancing. They even roller skated up there. He also mentioned the second floor of Village Hall had a basketball court. The windows were covered with wire fence. They boy scouts met upstairs as well as other community groups. The first floor had a kitchen. The Princeville Kiwanis Club met on the first floor with the ladies cooking a meal in the kitchen to serve the members. Please share any of your memories of these buildings with us by leaving a comment.

The Thief Detective and Mutual Aid Association of Princeville

Recently, the museum was given the opportunity to view and scan some old photos, booklets, newsletters and papers that have been in storage at the Lillie M. Evans . We will be sharing many of these items with you via the blog. The originals are available by request at the library. One of the first items I want to share with you is from a booklet published by the Princeville Telephone in 1902.

The Thief Detective and Mutual Aid Association (T.D. & M.A.A.) of Princeville was organized during the Civil War in August of 1863. Horses and mules were in great demand during the war which resulted in organized horse theft across the country, reaching the Princeville area in 1863. The purpose of the T.D. & M.A.A. was to recover stolen property and capture the thief. During the years the T.D. & M.A.A. was in existence, they recovered quite a bit of stolen property for its members including horses and clover seed.

The T.D. & M.A.A. was founded by William P. Smith, Solomon Bliss, Charles Beach, Vaughn Williams, and S.S. Slane. William P. Smith was the first captain and was succeeded by Solomon Bliss, H.F. Irwin, John Corbett, J.D. Hammer, and S.S. Slane. Other members named in the booklet include J.T. Slane, T. Moody, Frank Beall, Emmanuel Keller, John Miller, A.B. DeBord, Charles Taylor, M.V. Conklin, Dr. T.E. Alyea, Joseph Friedman and W.H. Wisenberg. Photos of many of these men are in this booklet. The photos are at the bottom of this post. They are a group of serious looking men!

The booklet includes a few stories about how they recovered horses and captured the thieves, including a trip to Cuba, Illinois, to pick up horses that were stolen from Edward Auten. There is another story about the capture of the thief of clover seed and the return of the stolen goods.

Come on out to the museum to see a copy of this booklet and view the other pieces of Princeville history that we have on display. Researching your family history? The museum has numerous resources available to help you research families from Princeville and the surrounding area.

Annual Snowflake Luncheon

Tickets are available now for the Annual Snowflake Luncheon on Saturday, February 25 at the museum. The catered luncheon will be served on the museum's snowflake china. Entertainment will be provided by Mr. Christoper Delbridge. Doors will open at 11:30 am with the meal served at 12:15 pm and the entertainment at 1:00 pm. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members and are available for purchase at the museum and Princeville State Bank. Advance ticket sales only! For more information, please call the museum at (309)385-1916.

Save the date for the following upcoming events at the museum:
Wednesday, February 8: Community Coffee
Wednesday, March 14: Community Coffee
Saturday, April 21: Wine Tasting and Fundraiser
Saturday, July 28: 4th Annual Heritage Harvest