FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PAXTON, IL

7-22-23, Premier Cooperative SW900 903 Built 4/59 as Rock Island 903. As has been posted about this unit, it appears to have not been moved in awhile. I thought I would post a shot of the other end.
7-22-23, Premier Cooperative SW900 903 Credit: OHFalcon72

The Ford County Historical Society in Paxton, IL is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving local history. The society collects, preserves, and promotes the history of Ford County and its people. The Society was founded in 1967 and is located in the old Ford County Court House built in 1875. The Society's mission is to promote an understanding of Ford County's history and culture through educational programs, tours, and special events.

The Society's collection includes artifacts, photographs, maps, documents, and other significant historical materials related to the area. The Society also publishes a quarterly newsletter and a biennial calendar. They host several events throughout the year, including a Spring Fling and a Fall Festival. They also provide educational programs for school groups and other organizations.

The Society also operates the Ford County Museum, located in the old courthouse. The museum houses artifacts, photographs and other objects that help tell the story of Ford County's past. It also features exhibits exploring the history of the area, including the railroad, agriculture, and the coal mining industry.

The Society also has an online presence with a website, Facebook page, and Twitter account. They are constantly striving to provide more resources and information to help people learn more about the history of Ford County.

FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY is a Historical Societies, Historic Preservation in PAXTON IL. US MID #8401700370

The museum is classed as HSC (Historical Societies, Historic Preservation). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin).

7-22-23, Premier Cooperative SW900 903 Built 4/59 as Rock Island 903. As has been posted about this unit, it appears to have not been moved in awhile. I thought I would post a shot of the other end.
7-22-23, Union Pacific C44AC 6149 Built 4/1995 as Southern Pacific AC4400CW 100. Renumbered from UP 6380 in 12/99. Leading a southbound CN train through Thomasboro, IL.
7-22-23, CN SD70 1026 Still wearing IC colors, or lack thereof, SD70s 1026 and 1027 lead a northbound CN freight through Thomasboro, IL.
The Bloomer Shuffle Genuinely don't know what it is about me never knowing what's going on with the Bloomer, until my wife flies in suddenly we're out shooting the Chinese Red-adorned Geeps together. No luck solo, but when she's in town... I guess so is the Bloomer. Funny how that works. BLOL7591, paired with BLOL7561 and LTEX3801 have just finished shoving a grain train onto the former IC mainline. Their work is nearly done, as they've pulled all the way back out just to head back towards the dominating elevator facility beyond the diamond. There, they'll pick up one car to bring back to their own tracks, the former Wabash Forrest District. Also visible is the Alliance Grain Co Middle Elevator sign on the old scalehouse here. Alliance created and owns the Bloomer Line railroad, making for a nice pairing with the Geeps. The leader, 7591, is a former Northern Pacific GP9 which had its nose chopped by BN. It is, as far as I'm aware, the Bloomer's first locomotive when the railroad was formed in 1985. It once held the number 91 before being renumbered to the 7591.
The Next Chapter A few weeks ago, I got married. It was pretty cool, it's a thing you can even do online now (thanks, Utah). My wife is from England and is planning to immigrate here, and getting married can help do just that. Well, before that, online "proxy" marriages aren't valid for that until the couple is together in person at least once after getting married. So, naturally, we each took a week off work and she came to visit. It was a great week, but we didn't do much railfanning - hey, we just got married! More important things to do. But, the day before she had to return to the UK, we get a message from someone in a local groupchat that had just spotted A407 enter town with two deathstars and a CN cowl unit. It wasn't working the yard, just swapping crews and leaving - and with the clouds to make shooting a northbound possible... well, hell, how could we say no? I guess the better question is, how could *I* say no? Thankfully, my wife enjoys coming with me on railfanning adventures, like a good old fashioned A407 chase. First time I took her out to see what my hobbies are like was with a deathstar-led A407, so it's only fitting, right? Fellas, get you a woman who likes going railfanning with you. It makes it very fun. Even more so, because the elusive IC1000 was our leader! The SD70 class leader looks filthy as ever, still adorned with that goofy little smiley face on the 'i' of the deathstar logo, but it sure sounds good, especially with its semi-recent horn replacement. I just like the 1000, it's a nice unit. Paired with it was the IC1019, the last unit of ICs initial order of 20 SD70s in 1995. As well, CN C40-8M 2441 was trailing last, dead-in-tow and likely bound for the scrap lines. What a fine trio to chase for a little while. It'll be the last chase my wife and I make together for a good while, as getting time off to see each other is no easy feat. It'll all be worth it once the immigration thing is done though. I don't think photos of Illinois Central SD70s in Leverett will really help our case with USCIS approval, but... tl;dr CN A407 @ Leverett, IL w/ IC1000 / IC1019 / CN2441
Lockheed C-130 Hercules Air Show, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter Air Show, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
Lockheed C-5A Galaxy & B-52 Wing Air Show, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
Lockhed C-5A Galaxy Air Show, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
Lockheed C-5A Galaxy Air Show, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
Republic F-105 Thunderchief Air Show, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
McDonnell F-101B Voodoo Air Show, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.

Contact FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
156 N VERMILLION ST
PAXTON
IL
60957

Disclaimer: please note this database is maintained by volunteers and whilst we endeavour to do our best, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the listing.

If you notice any errors or omissions in the listing, please let us know in the comments section below.

< KENDALL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY BLACKHAWK RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY >

Find more PAXTON IL Museums

What 3 Words

///birdcage.tissue.periods. Near Paxton, Illinois

Nearby Museums

FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Map of FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Information

MID # 8401700370
Name FORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Alternate Name
Classification Historical Societies, Historic Preservation, , Midwest
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) 237101769
NTEECC
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM) 201212
INCOME 0
REVENUE 0
LAT/LONG 40.452838, -88.100758
CODES FIPS State Code: 17
FIPS County Code: 053
US Census Tract: 961800
US Census Block: 1044