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The May 2025 Logan County
Genealogical and Historical Society monthly meeting was held at
Union Hall’s Atlanta Museum, which has recently been updated.
After a short business meeting, LCGHS program chair Marla Blair
introduced Atlanta Museum Director Amy Wertheim.
Wertheim described what is
displayed in the various rooms of the museum. She then let everyone
tour the museum and was there to answer questions about items
someone might want to know more about.
Since Wertheim has lived in the area all her life and Wertheim’s
family was one of the families who helped found the town of Atlanta,
she has fairly extensive knowledge of the town.
Union Hall was part of Union block, but in 1865, the entire block
across the street [from Union Hall] burnt to the ground. At the
time, Wertheim said there were no brick buildings in Atlanta.
Because everything was wood, it went up like a tinderbox.
In 1867, Union Hall was built with
brick, becoming the first building in town to use brick. The Downey
building that was next door is now part of Union Hall. A wall
separates it from the main area downstairs. Next to the Downey
Building was Palms Grill. Wertheim said those three buildings made
up the Union Hall building.
Wertheim said Union Hall was made using the soil outside of town
along the Kickapoo Creek. The soil had the right clay based mixture
for the building.
The building was originally 75 feet long and had a ballroom upstairs
where people used to have weddings. Wertheim said Union Hall was
originally built because the Masonic Lodge lost their building and
teamed up with Oddfellows.
In the ballroom upstairs, Wertheim said there is a slant in the
middle of the floor. This slant is where a wall used to be
separating the two spaces. In 1878, 24 feet were added to the
building.
In 1990, the man who bought the building gutted the upstairs took
out the ceiling and the wall. Wertheim said a large framed painting
upstairs was part of that wall.
The painted walls are from 1867 and are Masonic walls, which are
worth between $60,000 and $100,000. Wertheim said a Chicago group is
working on trying to save these walls. When large trucks drive by
and shake the building, sprinkles of brick come down.
Over the years, Wertheim said the building has housed a furniture
store, Judy’s grocers and then a dress shop in the 1960s, 1970s and
1980s.
For ten to twelve years, the building sat empty. Wertheim said the
company who bought the building in the 1990s wrote software for the
government.
The building was turned into a museum in 2017. Wertheim said the
museum is made up of three different buildings on two floors.
A recent museum director did not know a lot about museums and was
not from Atlanta, so Wertheim said that person did not know much
about its history. Wertheim was put on the museum’s advisory board
because of her knowledge of the town. Her father’s side of the
family was one of the five founding families of Atlanta.
Everything that had been in the museum previously had been taken
down by the previous director. Wertheim said the Abraham Lincoln
exhibit and Atlanta High School information was all the director
left up.
Many items had been put in a storage closet, so Wertheim and others
on the board spent a few months trying to figure out what had
happened. Another two months were spent trying to get the museum
opened.
The museum was closed for six
months last year. Wertheim said they spent $40,000 to $50,000 fixing
structural, electrical and cosmetic issues to make the museum safe.
The museum was also painted and new carpet and tile was put in. She
said about 80 percent of the museum has been put back together.
Downstairs, the museum has an Armed
Forces memorial hall. One side has many photos of Atlanta citizens
who have served in the military. Wertheim said they need 67 more
photos to complete the group [of people from Atlanta] who have
served in the past or present.
Photos include a Colonel, General and Lieutenant Colonel. Wertheim
said the Lieutenant Colonel was hit in the air with a live bomb
during World War II. There is a photo of his plane.
The other side of the Armed Forces Memorial Hall has uniforms and a
civil war rifle on display.
There is a patch on one uniform, and Wertheim said someone offered
the man who had the patch a significant amount of money for it. It
was a coveted patch, and the soldier donated it to the museum.
The man was part of a platoon that would go in and get items behind
the enemy line in Vietnam. He had to get in and out quickly.
Wertheim said the man and his platoon members were on “wanted”
posters.
Wertheim said the man who donated the rifle didn’t want his children
to fight over who got the rifle.
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The next two rooms downstairs used
to house the Atlanta Bank before it moved to a different building. A
photo on one wall shows the judge who took over the bank.
The other room downstairs is the
depot room, which has many historical photos. Wertheim said in this
room you can see photos of the building when it was Judy’s Grocers,
and of the library built in 1909. There are also miniature trains
and photos of the railroad that goes through Atlanta.
Upstairs, there are several more displays. On either side of the
stairway are displays representing schools in Atlanta and nearby
areas.
One side has a chalkboard display
and desks, plus photos showing schools in Atlanta and nearby towns
that are now part of Olympia School District. Of the school
buildings in the photos, Wertheim said the only buildings still
standing are in Stanford, Waynesville and Minier, which are all part
of the Olympia School District.
A display in the middle of this area has photos of classes at the
Atlanta School between 1915 and 1972. In 1972, the Atlanta School
became part of the Olympia School District.
The other side of the school
displays has some history of the Atlanta schools, several yearbooks,
a letterman’s jacket, a cheerleading uniform, band uniforms and
school banners.
Another section upstairs is the
Lincoln room, which has Abraham Lincoln memorabilia and history.
Wertheim said the statue of Lincoln depicts him stressing over
writing his speech.
Some of the Lincoln memorabilia comes from Wertheim’s great great
grandmother’s house where Lincoln used to spend time. The rocking
chair in that area comes from her great great grandmother’s house.
A small section also has a display
honoring museum founder Lucille Pech. Pech started the museum in
1973 in the basement of the Atlanta Public Library.
The back corner of the room houses
Palace Theater memorabilia including an old projector and popcorn
machine.
One cabinet in that section has information about the Murphy
Temperance Movement and Murphy Hall. Murphy Hall was on what used to
be Railroad Street. This street is now First Street between Vine and
Elm.
Another cabinet has a display with Atlanta’s Eminence Christian
Church history, photos and a miniature church building.
A third cabinet has photos and history of Atlanta’s founding and the
Atlanta Fair.
A fourth cabinet has information and memorabilia connected to Harold
“Tubby” Mason, who was born in Atlanta November 1, 1898, and was a
big part of the town’s history.
Wertheim said the part of the room with the cabinets will eventually
be the agriculture and Native American room. In their storage area,
they already have many artifacts that will be displayed.
The ballroom upstairs currently
displays many of the 75 quilts on exhibit for May. Wertheim invited
people to buy raffle tickets and vote for their favorite quilt. The
people’s choice quilt winner will be announced soon and will get the
money from the sale of the raffle tickets.
An old coffin that was found in the
attic is in one corner of the ballroom. Wertheim said the coffin
dates back to the 1880s and has sterling silver handles.
The Masonic room just past the
ballroom has history and photos from Atlanta Masonic Lodge 165. One
piece of memorabilia in there is a sword from a gentleman who served
as one Abraham Lincoln’s pallbearers. Wertheim said the man was a
Mason.
Other items in the Masonic room include high backed velvet chairs
and a display of a stereopticon projector, which was used to show
images associated with Masonic rituals.
In June, the large room upstairs will have a wedding display.
Wertheim is working on borrowing wedding dresses from various eras
and also hopes to have photos of the people who wore the dresses.
The Atlanta Museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10-4.
Next month’s Logan County Genealogical and Historical Society
meeting will be held Monday, June 16 at the LCGHS building on
Chicago Street in Lincoln, IL.
[Angela Reiners] |
