Echoes of Elgin: Timeless Tales from the Elgin History Museum

Tune in to this echo from October 12, 1997 to learn why Elgin has a Whiskey Point, a Crocker Theater, a Beacon Hill, a Parker Park and a Drake Field.

Not sure what to get that Special Someone on your holiday list?  Tune in to this echo from December 17, 2000 to learn about the hot holiday gifts for Elginites of years past.

Christmas 1903 was as festive as any other in Elgin.  Trees were decorated with newfangled electric lights, popular gifts such as dolls and wood burning sets flew off the shelves and Elginites ate im…

LeeWards craft store was an Elgin institution for many years. Their holiday craft kits, especially the beaded ornaments, still decorate many homes. Tune in to this echo from October 28, 1984 to learn…

The Underground Railroad was a loosely organized, yet effective, system that helped guide formerly enslaved men, women and children to the Northern states and Canada in the years before the Civil War…

All aboard for Clintonville and South Elgin!  That's the same place, right?  Well, it depends. Tune in to this echo from June 25, 1989 to learn why these names caused confusion a century ago.

What's up with that silo downtown by the library? Let E.C. "Mike" Alft tell you all about it in this echo from January 29, 2006.

An echo from November 29, 1992 tells the grim tale of Sara, Orville and Maud Sleep.

A turkey dinner for a family of five for only $5.50?!  Sign me up! An echo from November 3, 1985 will tell you what you missed in Novembers past.

Elgin founder James T. Gifford chose this site to start a town, knowing the Fox River would be important to its success.  He also hoped, in 1835, that the railroad would soon pass through town, bring…

Have you ever had a flat tire?  Wheel-y annoying, even back in 1907.  Two Elgin inventors sought to fix this problem but couldn't get their business rolling.  I'll spare you the puns and just recomme…

Just how well-made were Elgin National Watches? Let this echo from April 13, 1997 give you several examples. 

Elgin residents feared Halloween Night 1898 was going to be a rough one. They feared a rash of vandalism, and they were not wrong. Tune in to this echo from October 25, 1998 to learn more about that …

Vera Ava was a medium who claimed she could raise the spirits of the dead. Her travels took her from New York City to an English jail cell.  In between, she spent time in Elgin with a widow who sough…

Catch up on the October news items from 1897, 1922, 1947, 1972 and 1987 in this echo from October 5, 1997.

Are you planning on driving over the Chicago Street bridge today?  This echo from November 27, 1988 should reassure you that today's bridge is perfectly safe.  It was the 5 previous bridges you had t…

Do you know about the lion who used to live in Elgin?  How about the other lion that used to live in Elgin?  No?  What about the elephant that made a memorable visit to the west side?  No?  Sounds li…

This former depot site near Randall and Big Timber Roads was known for its train wrecks rather than its founder or school.  An echo from November 13, 1988 tells the details. 

Newspapers can't resist writing about colorful politicians.  True today and true from 1874 to 1927 when Mayor Arwin E. Price couldn't seem to stay out of the headlines. Listen to this echo from Novem…