PRINCETON - The Bureau County Historical Society will host a new series of Illinois history lectures beginning on Tuesday, March 31. The lectures will be presented by members of the Princeton Friends in Council organization.

Friends in Council was established in 1880 by Miss Eliza J. Warfield “for the mutual improvement of women by means of reading and studying” through the presentation of reports on a different cultural, historical or scientific topic each year. 

The Council’s topic last year was “Downstate: The Power of Place,” which dealt with the history of downstate Illinois. Now for the first time, those presentations will be available to the public. The first program “Illinois Poets: Edgar Lee Masters and Carl Sandburg” will be presented by Sarah Brooks on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bureau County Historical Society, 109 Park Ave. W., Princeton.  

The series will continue with Jessica Gray presenting “New Philadelphia to Sundown Towns” on Tuesday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. and Dana Collins presenting “Lincoln in Illinois” on Tuesday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m.

These programs will be presented in memory of long-time Friends in Council member, Electra Tarsinos.

For more information, contact Bureau County Historical Society Curator David Gugerty at (815) 875-2184.

CLOSING - The Bureau County Historical Society Library and Museum will be closed to the public and all special events have been canceled to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. The BCHS library and museum plan to reopen on Tuesday, March 31.