Belvidere and Boone County

by Boone County Historical Society

Overview

Although Boone County is one of the smallest counties in Illinois, it is rich in larger-than-life stories that grew from its prairies, forests, and streams. Its history includes a king of the hobos, a huge wheel of cheese, and a business leader who manufactured some of the best sewing machines and bicycles ever built in the United States. From the 1830s to the 1940s, Boone County rode booms and busts while steadily growing and attracting new residents with diverse backgrounds. To understand today's Boone County, it is necessary to look to the past. Images of America: Belvidere and Boone County focuses on the first 100 years of the community's history. Readers can learn about how the popular county fair got started, look at historic images of the county's first pioneers, and take a nostalgic trip back to the days of swimming at Marshall Beach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467114189
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/27/2015
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,099,053
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

The Boone County History Project—made up of a diverse group of residents that includes teachers, librarians, historians, and others—searched local archives for images that best describe the county's past. Using resources from the Boone County Historical Society Museum and the Ida Public Library's Local History Room, Images of America: Belvidere and Boone County includes photographs and other visual examples that represent the formative years of Boone County.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

1 Settlement on the Prairie 9

2 Faces of Boone County 19

3 On the Homestead 31

4 Doing Business 43

5 Community Life 63

6 Good Times 77

7 Hard Times 91

8 School Days 101

9 On the Move 113

About the Boone County History Project Committee 127