Mercer County Illinois Living History Community

Welcome to my Mercer County Living History website.  This site was primarily intended to assist in my research of the physical and geographic history of Mercer County Illinois.  As I collected more and more information, it occurred to me, to open a real site for anyone interested in the history of this area. continue reading…

Over the last few months there have been some personal changes that required a good deal of time and attention.   Due to the fact my historic research of Mercer County is more of a hobby than something that must be taken care of such as work and daily living responsibilities, this website fell by the wayside a bit.

That does not mean I have not been studying.  For the last month or so I have been reading Jack Page’s great book, In the Hands of the Great Spirit.  It is a historical review of Native American presence over the last 20,000 years.  In this book are hints as to cultural activities, some directly referencing the Native Americans within the area of Mercer County.  When I am through with this book, I will be sure to post my footnotes of items directly related to my research.

This is an artist rendering of the new (1909) railroad bridge across the Mississippi River at Keithsburg, Illinois.  The exact date of this rendering is unknown.  The foreground of the image is Black Hawk Island in the river.  The distant side of the image is Keithsburg.  This image is from the Vern Wingfield collection and was located on the RR Picture Archives website.

Iowa Central Railroad Bridge at Keithsburg Illinois 1889

This is a photo from a Wikipedia photo collection is of the original railroad bridge across the Mississippi at Keithsburg, Illinois in 1889.  Many of the stone pillars from this bridge still stand in the river.  It was replaced in 1909 with a new bridge.  Recent photos of the area and more information can be found on this page by John Weeks.