The Museums of Montgomery County

[e-Mail this Article]     [Print this Article]

Montgomery County communities express their pride through museums, small collections of memorabilia and photos of the past. They range from the Harkey House Museum maintained in Hillsboro by the Historical Society of Montgomery County, to the small Panama Community museum, a labor of love put together by Norman Compton, a lifelong resident of that community. What follows is a list of the museums and contact persons, where possible, to visit these collections. They are wonderful for former residents to renew their memories of their homes, for young people to become acquainted with their heritage, and for residents of all ages to begin to understand what we have here and what we owe to those who came before us. The museums include: The Harkey House in Hillsboro Meeting place of the Historical Society of Montgomery County. Meetings are 2 p.m. first Sunday of the month April through November. Call Hillsboro City Hall, 532-5566 for information. Witt Area Historical Museum 26 West Broadway Witt, IL 62094 Witt Historical Museum Irving Area Historical Museum Open 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays from May through September. Irving Historical Museum Panama Community Museum Contact Norman Compton, (217) 537-3334, or Village of Panama. Usually open for Memorial Day and Labor Day activities. Fillmore Community Museum In the process of being organized. Call Fillmore Village Hall for information (217) 538-2470 B-R-S Baseball Museum in Nokomis This is dedicated to the "boys of summer" and features memorabilia from three Hall of Fame baseball players from the county, "Sunny" Jim Bottomley, Charles "Red" Ruffing and Ray Schalk. There's also a salute to the Nokomis High School Girls Basketball team which won the State Class A championship in 1998 and 1999. B-R-S Baseball Museum