|
| Beatles
Mini Museum |
|
Address:
113 McCann St.
Benton, Illinois 62812
|
|
| Phone:
618/438-2328 |
|
| Summery:
Hard Day's Nite Bed and Breakfast provides
a nostalgic window with a view of 1963,
when George Harrison spent a summer vacation
with his sister, Louise Harrison, in Benton,
Illinois. |
| Frankfort
Area Historical Museum |
|
Address:
2000 E. St. Louis St.
West Frankfort |
Hours:
9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wed and Thur. Open by appointment
at other times. Groups of over 10 should call
first. |
| Phone:
(618) 932-6159 |
Admission:
No Charge |
| Summery:
Shows early Franklin County history, including
a mural which follows the area's history from
1802 to 1976. |
|
Museum
Discription: Located in 'old Frankfort',
the museum is the renovated 3 story Logan
School. The museum offers:
- A
genealogy library
- A
one-room school
- an
arts and tea room
- replica
of an early 1900s five-room home
- quilting
room
- Auditorium
(mural located here)
A
gift shop is available to visitors, and
on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m. lunches are available in the tea
room.
|
| Franklin
County Garage 1910 Museum |
|
Address:
211 N. Main St.
Benton, Illinois |
Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Open on Sat from
11 a.m. - 4 p.m. from May to October. |
| Phone:
438-2121 |
Admission:
No Charge, donations accepted |
| Summery:
The garage was built in 1910 as Franklin County's
first Ford Dealership. The building, which
contains about 90 % of its original equiptment,
has been restored as an automobile showroom
and machine shop of that era. Within walking
distance of the Old Franklin County Jail. |
|
Museum
Discription: Exhibits currently include:
- 5
Ford Model T automobiles, including a
car that belonged to Southern Illinois
gangster Charlie Birger.
- Among
other Birger memorabilia are the handcuffs
Birger was wearing when he was hanged
April 19, 1928 and a bullet-proof vest
that Birger often wore.
|
| Mulkeytown
Grade School |
|
Address:
3120 Schoolhouse Rd.
Mulkeytown |
Hours:
Tue - 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sat - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. |
| Phone:
724-2445, 724-2913, or 724-4252 |
Admission:
None stated |
| Summery:
Exhibits focused on individual communities
and run by the West Franklin Historical District
and Genealogical Society. |
| Museum
Discription: This museum is located in the
former elementary school (currently under
restoration). Exhibits available range coal
to indian artifacts and include exhibits devoted
to Franklin County communities. |
| Old
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Depot |
|
Address:
102 W. Main St. (Illinois 149)
West Frankfort (next to the railroad tracks) |
Hours:
1 -4 p.m. Sun; tours by appointment. |
| Phone:
937-2205, 932-6159, 937-4458 |
Admission:
No Charge |
| Summery:
The old Chicago and Eastern Illinois Depot
has been renovated and is sponsored by the
Franklin Area Historical Society. Depot was
built around the time when West Frankfort
was founded in 1912l the railroad came through
in 1895. |
| Museum
Discription: The museum has veterans' memorabilia
from World Wars I and II and the Korean and
Vietnam wars. There is also memorabilia from
the Civil War and Spanish American War. There
is a coal miner's mermorial wall east of the
museum, and a soldier's mermorial in front
of the depot. |
|
Old
Franklin County Jail |
|
Address:
209 W. Main St.
Benton |
Hours:
Mon - Sat: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; closed Sunday |
| Phone:
800-661-9998 or 439-0608 |
Admission:
No Charge, donations accepted |
|
Exhibits:
The mansion ans adjoining jail have been
restored to their original 1905 condition
by the Society for the Historic Preservation
of Franklin County. The exhibits include:
- Old
radio equiptment from station WFRX that
was used when the Beatles' George Harrison
visited the area in 1963 and the station
played the first Beatle record in the
U.S., "From Me to You."
- Memorbilia
from Prohibition, gangs, and Charlie Birger
in the 1920's.
- room
dedicated to high school, college, and
professional basketball standout Doug
Collins, who spent his childhood in the
area and lived in the mansion while his
father was sheriff. His one-time bedroom
has been converted into a room dedicated
to his basketball career.
- Civil
War Memorbilia and John A. Logan historical
items, and local history items.
- 17-foot
monument to Gen. Logan and the 209 Union
Soldiers from Franklin County who died
to preserve the nation.Home of the Franklin
County Tourism Bureau
|
| Special
Mentions: The jail became a symbol for the
gang era in Southern Illinois during Prohibition,
and became the last stop for Charlie Birger,
the last man publically hanged in Illinois
on April 19, 1928 for the 1926 murder of West
City's mayor, Joe Adams. A new jail was built
in 1991, and the old jail was placed on the
register of Historic Places on Feb. 1, 1999.
It is also the home of the Franklin Tourism
Bureau. |
| Thompsonville
Log Cabin |
|
| Address:
Next to the fire department on South Main
St., Thompsonville |
Hours:
Tours by appointment |
| Phone:
627-2815 or 627-2222 |
Admission:
No Charge |
| Summery:
Two story log cabin dates to 1825 when it
was about three miles east of town and in
1970 is was moved ans reconstructed in 1970.
The cabin is undergoing renovation. |
| Silkwood
Inn Museum |
|
| Address:
one-half mile north of Mulkeytown |
Hours:
Open July 4th, Labor Day and other times by
appointment. |
| Phone:
724-7270 |
Admission:
No Charge |
| Summery:
This inn, built in 1827, has been restored
and furnished by the Mulkeytown Area Historical
Society. It is the only remaining structure
along the old Shawneetown-Kaskaskia Trail
that connected Souther Illinois communities
in the early 1800's. Exhibits depict life
in rural Souther Illinois in the late 1800s.
Read
more here. |
|
Local
Historical Museums
