Celebrating local history with Gail Borden Library
During Preservation Month in May learn about fascinating local history with programs offered at Gail Borden Public Library.
• Learn about the Elgin History Museum's Bluff City Cemetery Walk at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23 in the Main Library Meadows Community Rooms.
The presentation will feature the history of the cemetery, which opened in 1889, as well as how you can volunteer for the 2023 walk that will take place in September. A video of the 2022 cemetery walk will be shown at the program.
• Architectural historian Rebecca Hunter and Heritage Commission Chairman John Marston will present Elgin's preservation movement from the first house tour in 1982 to the 2022 Midwest Area Architectural Survey. The program, "History of Preservation in Elgin 1980-2023," will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24 in the Main Library Elgin Room.
• Learn all about hats worn by previous generations during "Hats Off to Elgin!" at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24 at the Rakow Branch. An Elgin Historical Museum volunteer will present a collection of hat styles through the decades and offer some interesting tidbits of Elgin history.
• What was it like to work at the Elgin National Watch Company in Elgin? Elgin historian Bill Briska and Museum Educator Rebecca Miller will take you back in time at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6 at the Main Library Elgin Room. The "Elgin Watch Factory: A Worker's Life" program is provided in partnership with the Elgin History Museum.
Register for any of these programs at gailborden.info/register, by calling (847) 429-4597 or in person at any library location.
The Main Library is at 270 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin and the Rakow Branch is at 2751 W. Bowes Road in Elgin.