Archeological
Commerce and Industry
Communications
Farming
Home and Hearth
Local Artifacts
School Room
Transportation
Local Artifacts
Many of the artifacts on display throughout the museum belonged to or are on loan from local families. The Scott County Historical Society has generously loaned the museum some very rare items from it’s collection which are also on display at the museum. There are items of great personal significance dating back beyond the Civil War to the earliest days of Scott County.
Oscar “Bob” Freesen Jr. was born on September 2nd 1925 and lived on his family’s farm south of Bluffs, Illinois. He attended elementary school in Campbell Hollow, a one-room schoolhouse near Oxville, and graduated from Bluffs High School. Soon after graduating, he was drafted into the Army and fought with the 83rd Infantry Division during World War II. He was wounded in Germany on April 2nd 1945 near Hamm while overtaking a railroad station. After the war’s end, he returned home and founded a dirt-hauling business in 1946 called Freesen Bros. Bob, with his father Oscar, a veteran of WWI, and his brother Roy, started out with one Caterpillar tractor and grew the operation into a multi-million dollar construction company that builds bridges, highways, and many other large projects. Bob retired in 2001 and contributes to many charities and community organizations in the area, and is enjoying his retirement by traveling the country with his wife, Deb.
Margaret Frances O’Donnell of Winchester enlisted in the Marines in October of 1943. Beginning in January of 1943, women were recruited into the Marine Corps to be employed in non-combat positions. Margaret completed her basic training at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. She worked in the Personnel Office keeping track of every Marine’s location and records. When a family needed to contact a soldier, it was Margaret’s job to find the Marine and find a way to contact him.
Margaret was promoted to the position of Corporal, working for the Staff Sergeant, and was honorably discharged on December 14, 1945. She went on to work for the Marine Bank for almost 30 years and was active in the community and the Marine Corps League. Margaret F. O’Donnell past away at the age of 96 on April 1, 2016.
Winchester soda bottle
This soda bottle was created by the Winchester Bottling Works which was located on South Hill street. William I. Woodal, fondly known as “Soda Pop Bill,” produced soda at his factory from 1910 until his death in 1920. The company made sodas flavored with orange, strawberry, grape, creme, and sarsaparilla. Surely the favorite cool drink for a hot summer’s day!
Voting Box
The Illinois Municipal Voting Act was enacted in 1913, granting women partial suffrage. They could vote in presidential elections and for local offices not specifically named in the Illinois constitution, but were excluded from voting for state representative, congressman, or governor. The ballot box is designated for men because the ballots were kept separate. Women were granted the right to vote when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was created in 1920.