History

Despite the reputation of Bloomington-Normal as a staid, quiet community with nicknames such as "Borington" and "Insuranceville," the Twin Cities has a long history of protests. While there have been a lot of non-violent political protests around Bloomington-Normal lately, some past actions were not so civil.

There's a measure before the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee to name the VA outpatient clinic in Bloomington for Andrew Jackson Smith, a Civil War soldier awarded the Medal of Honor.

The Bloomington Public Library got the idea to create a 2025 time capsule after finding one from 1977 during the library's renovation project.

The average corn yield last year in McLean County was nearly 247 bushels per acre. That's enough to blow the minds of the grandfathers of today's farmers. Agriculture has changed nearly beyond recognition in less than a century.

WGLT talks to Raymond McKoski, the author of a new biography of David Davis, whose mansion and historic site in Bloomington attracts thousands of visitors visit each year. "David Davis: Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Judge" will be out next month from the University of Illinois Press.

Illinois organizations dedicated to the humanities and the arts are asking state lawmakers for help as they scramble to make up for federal funding cuts. One of them is the McLean County Museum of History.

A noted historian says it's fair to compare President Trump and Adolf Hitler, at least in one respect.

The spirit of Karl Marx is alive and well and living in America. That's according to Illinois State University history professor Andrew Hartman, whose new book is "Karl Marx in America."

Superfans and scholars of Abraham Lincoln are getting access to a new online research tool.

Happy birthday Abraham Lincoln. He’s 216. The McLean County Museum of History is hallmarking Lincoln’s Feb. 12 birthday with the start of a coloring contest to celebrate Lincoln and work on a mural showing a famous speech he made in Bloomington.