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Union County Historical and Genealogy Society to hold museum ribbon cutting, grand opening

BY CALEB HALE, THE SOUTHERN

Friday, June 2, 2006 6:49 AM CDT

COBDEN - If you're one who thinks there is no value in local history, consider this - the Union County Historical and Genealogy Society has a few artifacts members say would make the Smithsonian green with envy.

"We probably have the most nationally-acclaimed artifacts in all of Southern Illinois," said society treasurer Judy Travelstead of Cobden.

Between Kirkpatrick pottery pieces, old storefront signs, machines and devices that were invented in Union County, historic photos and Native American tools, the hodge-podge of history is being kept in a new museum ready to open to the public Saturday.

The Union County Museum, located in downtown Cobden at 117 Appleknocker St., next to the post office, will have a grand opening at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for people to view the very first display of historical items from all over the county.

Housed in the H.A. DuBois building, which dates back to 1892, the museum holds thousands of artifacts, ranging from World War I-era guns all the way back to Paleolithic arrowheads. Travelstead, who serves as one of the museum's coordinators, said the society believes it has something more than just the typical museum.

Several historical society members worked Thursday morning to prepare the museum for its public unveiling.

Yvonne Alderman said working in a museum setting is new for her, but she has volunteered her time setting up window displays at the front of the building, which has already gained some attention from pedestrians.

"About a day ago a grandmother and a little boy were walking by and she was explaining how the old Daisy churn in the window was used," Alderman said.

She said she expects the museum will get older generations telling their young about what life was like in the past once they see all the artifacts on display.

Bart Smith, a retired field excavator who is overseeing the Native American display at the museum, said the artifact collection alone is almost 3,000-strong. "It's a fairly large collection," he said. "I've seen bigger but there are certainly smaller."

Some of the items in his care date back more than 12,000 years.

"It's hard to believe, but man was acting in family units 12,000 to 15,000 years ago in Union County," Smith said.

Travelstead said while all of the items originated in the Union-Jackson county area, some pieces ended up in other parts of the country before being returned to Southern Illinois to be part of the museum display. She said the building should be a major attraction to tourists and locals in every season, as the displays will change more than once each year and the museum will eventually open up a resource center for genealogical study.

The museum will hold regular hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and by special arrangement through the week. For more information about the museum or this weekend's grand opening, call (618) 893-2865.

caleb.hale@thesouthern.com

(618) 529-5454 ext. 5090