Women’s History Month-Why Celebrate It?

Women's History Month, observed annually in March, serves as a dedicated time to reflect upon and celebrate the countless contributions women have made throughout history. From pioneering advancements in science and technology to advocating for social justice and equality, women have played pivotal roles in shaping societies worldwide. This month offers a valuable opportunity to...

Mary Anna (Schalk) Albright

Born in 1844, Mary Anna Schalk would become one of Quincy’s finest milliners. Mary Anna was the daughter of Gerhard and Mary Adelheid (Geers) Schalk, two of Quincy’s first German residents. Mary Anna was the oldest of six children. Little is known about her adolescence, but history finds her marrying a fellow Quincyian, Louise Jacob...

The “largest jobbers and manufacturers of caskets and undertakers’ goods in the West …” The Quincy Casket Company

John Lewis Loring Barlett Born on Sept. 14, 1856, in Edinburgh, Indiana, John Mooney Lewis would become a nationwide casket seller. John was raised in Indiana and remained there until his early 20s. According to his death announcement in the Quincy Whig, John worked in the sale and manufacturing of coffins with the Cincinnati Coffin...

The Woman Who Came Before Hilary Clinton: Victoria Claflin Woodhull, America’s First Female Presidential Candidate

Born on September 23, 1838, in Homer, Ohio, Victoria Claflin would grow up to be America’s first female presidential candidate. She was an unconventional reformer, who spoke openly in support of women’s suffrage, free love, women’s autonomy, the Greenback movement–which was a movement to maintain or increase the amount of paper money in circulation after...

Dorothy Spindler & the Spindler News Company

Dorothy Ritz was born in Germany on Dec. 12, 1853, to Henry and Elizabeth (Schultz) Ritz. Her father owned a wagon factory until his death in 1853. He passed away seven days before Dorothy’s birth. She was one of 10 children — eight boys and two girls. She attended school in Hanover, Germany until she was...

Illinois History Post-World War II: Veterans, Suburbia, and Politics

In the years after World War II, the United States was rocked by immense change. Every aspect of society was altered in some way. There was no one area, geographically or other, left untouched. Illinois, like many other states, both fought against and accepted change after World War II.  Map of Illinois One of the...

Quincy Inventors, Pt. 3

Arthur Pitney Did you know the “father of the postage meter” was born in Quincy, Illinois? Arthur Pitney was born in Quincy in 1871. When he was 19 years old, he moved to Chicago. He attended the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, where he spent days viewing the mechanical inventions exhibited. When he returned to...

A “Post-Pandemic” Takeaway: A Public Historian Working in the Museum Sector

It’s been over two years since the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted humanity and created a world of “unprecedented times”. I’m, like many others, still struggling to find a balance between this new world and the past–or what we know and understand to be normal. In order to keep moving along, I’ve had to find different ways...

A Brief History of the Woodland Home and its Architecture

Born out of the 1850 cholera epidemic, Woodland Home has been functioning since 1853, carrying out its mission “ … to provide comfort, care and shelter to the homeless, the neglected, the orphaned, the abused.” The building known as Woodland Home, which Quanada currently occupies, has been at the corner of 27th and Maine Streets...

Quincy Inventors, Pt. 2

Joseph M. Harrop–Pharmacist Owner and Inventor Fence-making Machine, 1884 Joseph Harrop was born in Pennsylvania in September 1847. He worked as a baker before enlisting in the US Army in May 1870. By the following year, he had deserted the Army. Sometime after he left the Army, he moved to Quincy and married Harriot Webb. ...