FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 1:00 p.m.
CONTACT: Norris Porter, Director of Development at or (309) 827-0428 ext. 104
Museum Reinvests in Preservation of Historic Markers,
Set to Honor WWII Veterans in November Celebration
After immortalizing the legacy of 336 McLean County WWII veterans by placing bronze tablets etched with their names atop a once fading memorial on the East side of the Museum Square, the McLean County Museum of History is set to host a memorial rededication ceremony on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 1 pm.
The ceremony will include a military aircraft flyover, Honor Guard presentation, and roll call of the fallen soldiers’ names; twenty-five years after the first memorial dedication, and nearly 77 years since the end of WWII.
This historic preservation initiative was made possible by generous out of state donors, who are now offering up to $25,000 in matching funds for additional refurbishment projects, or new historic markers. Following months of research and planning, the Museum has identified eleven additional projects, with a total estimated cost of over $60,000, including:
Kickapoo Stockade Marker repair (East of LeRoy)
Kickapoo Memorial Boulder relocation (West Park near LeRoy)
Kickapoo Roadside marker (East of LeRoy)
Kickapoo State of Illinois Historic Marker (West Park near LeRoy)
Civil War Memorial Remnant Descriptive Marker (Briarwood subdivision)
Simon Malone Marker (Normal)
Looking for Lincoln Jesse Fell Marker (Normal)
Booker T. Washington Home for Colored Children Marker (Bloomington)
Improvements to McLean County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (Miller Park)
Korea Memorial Bronze Marker (Southeast corner of Museum Square)
Vietnam Memorial Bronze Marker (Southeast corner of Museum Square)
The Museum is launching a fundraising initiative through the end of the year to complete the identified projects.
Contributions may be made online at http://weblink.donorperfect.com/MarkerMatch.
