Our Rural Heritage
188 stories
Can’t have Prairie Chickens without a prairie
By Sandy Vasko Since the time of the Paleo-hunters, this region has drawn the fisherman and hunter to its abundance. …
Civil War: November, 1862 – of Mules and Men
By Sandy Vasko November of 1862 saw most of the Will County regiments starting for winter camps. The heavy fighting…
Civil War: December 1862, no rest for the 100th
By Sandy Vasko While the other Will County regiments were going into winter camp, the 100th, the latest Will County…
19th century high crimes and misdemeanors
By Sandy Vasko It is not doubt that we, as a society, are fascinated by crime and criminals. Look at…
Civil War: October 1862, Morgan’s Raiders meet Will County
By Sandy Vasko October 1862 saw the Will County boys heavily engaged in battle, especially the 64th and the 100th. …
Living and dying at the county jail
By Sandy Vasko Last time we met, we looked at the earliest county jail. Let’s go back there to see…
The Will County jail, no picnics here
By Sandy Vasko The State Penitentiary gets all the glory. It once housed bad guys from all over the state,…
Our Rural Heritage: Civil War: September 1862, settling in for the duration
By Sandy Vasko On September 5th, 1861, the 100th, temporarily bivouacked at Camp Erwin, made ready to depart. George Woodruff…
The one-legged sheriff of Will County
By Sandy Vasko Hardy is a word that is usually used to describe early settlers in any part of the…
Predicting the future? Not so easy
By Sandy Vasko Every time we turn around, there is someone telling us what will happen in the future. From…
August 1862, there’s a war to be won
By Sandy Vasko When we left the “War Between the States,” the 100th Illinois Voluntary Infantry was being assembled. In…
The Manhattan massacre, early Jackson Township
By Sandy Vasko Today we go back to a time when Native Americans still rode the prairies of what was…