Wayne County Historical Society

06/19/2026

Thursday, June 25th at 6:00PM Mr. Clifton Jackson will be presenting The Forgotten Eldorado, IL Story: One Town's Journey to "Sundown". A fascinating and well documented history from our own Eldorado, IL.

This presentation is sponsored by a grant from Illinois Humanities through their Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the Illinois General Assembly, through the Illinois Arts Council Agency, as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Thank you Illinois Humanities for making such great programming available!

06/10/2026

Historical society cemetery tour planning meetings.
Thursday June 18. 5:30pm.
Saturday June 27. 10:30am
Fairfield Public Library
Volunteers, actors and members requested to attend. See you there.

06/03/2026

Help us in thanking the Fairfield Public Library for bringing the Mesker Park Zoo educational animal program to Fairfield. The program was enjoyed by over 400 visitors of all ages. Everyone enjoyed the animals, the art activities, the museum exhibits, and the library.

05/27/2026

Thursday, (May 28th) meeting of the Wayne County Historical Society at the Fairfield Public Library meeting room at 6pm.

This will be an important meeting for the Cemetery Tour scheduled for September 2026. Your input is always helpful at these planning meetings and we will be discussing ad sales for the program booklet. Assisting with the event is always fun, but there are also several ways to help leading up to the big event. In addition to securing ad donations, volunteers can also help with research, script writing, props, costumes, narration, and acting. If you, or someone you know would be interested in acting we need to secure their commitment to this fun event. Doug Aman is the chairperson.

05/22/2026

On this day in 1849, Abraham Lincoln received a patent for a method of lifting boats over shoals. He is the only US President to own a patent.

To learn more, visit ilstatehistoricalsociety.substack.com

05/19/2026

The May meeting of the Wayne County Historical Society will be Thursday, May 28th at the Fairfield Public Library meeting room at 6pm.

This will be an important meeting for the Cemetery Tour scheduled for September 2026. Your input is always helpful at these planning meetings and we will be discussing ad sales for the program booklet. Assisting with the event is always fun, but there are also several ways to help leading up to the big event. In addition to securing ad donations, volunteers can also help with research, script writing, props, costumes, narration, and acting. If you, or someone you know would be interested in acting we need to secure their commitment to this fun event. Doug Aman is the chairperson.

05/08/2026

On this day in 1837, 33 year old blacksmith John Deere created a moldboard steel plough and changed farming and agriculture.

To learn more, visit ilstatehistoricalsociety.substack.com

04/20/2026

On this day in 1769, Odawa war Chief Pontiac was assassinated near the French town of Cahokia.

To learn more, visit ilstatehistoricalsociety.substack.com

04/15/2026