Durant family manuscripts donated by a direct descendant of the family add more detail to the story of the first Durant family to live in St. Charles.

Kelsey Shipton

November 30, 2025

Life on the prairie, Stories of St. Charles

Primary Sources: The Diaries of Abba and Emma Durant

Kelsey Shipton

November 30, 2025

Life on the prairie, Stories of St. Charles

The diaries of Emma and Abba Durant are now available online at the Illinois Digital Archives.

Kelsey Shipton

October 1, 2025

School-How did we learn?

Memory Gems

Kelsey Shipton

October 1, 2025

School-How did we learn?

Students of the 19th and early 20th century recited short poems called “Memory Gems” to learn lessons of the day.

Kelsey Shipton

August 7, 2025

Historic Preservation

The 1844 Judge Barry House is Saved

Kelsey Shipton

August 7, 2025

Historic Preservation

On August 4, 2025 City Council voted 7-3 to deny the 181-year-old home’s demolition.

Sponsor a plant for a memorial garden in St. Charles

PHOTO ESSAY: Rehabilitation of the 1844 Judge Barry House

Beith House is Getting a Little Brighter

Judge Barry House to be Saved and Rehabilitated

Shape Note Singing Dates Back to the Early 1800s

Next Phase of Fox River Dam Removals About to Begin

Donation from a Descendant of the Durant Family

Primary Sources: The Diaries of Abba and Emma Durant

Memory Gems

The 1844 Judge Barry House is Saved

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