May - 2026

TELLING OUR STORY

The museum's primary educational mission is to tell the stories of Champaign County. We strive to tell those stories in various ways, including monthly articles curated by our volunteers and staff, our monthly recorded "History Talks," and our oral history collection that allows residents to tell their own stories. These resources are available to the public below.

The Grentz Sage: A Golden Age for Women's Basketball at UIUC

By Isabella Cook At the end of the 1994-1995 season, the Fighting Illini Women’s Basketball Team was close to a crisis. In twenty years of the program, they had achieved a 264-298 losing overall record and were used to sitting at the bottom of the Big 10 conference rankings(1). In a time when collegiate women’s basketball dynasties were emerging at schools like Tennessee, Stanford, and Connecticut, the Fighting Illini couldn’t even buy a tournament bid. And with the WNBA st

Isabella Cook

2 hours ago12 min read

The Grentz Sage: A Golden Age for Women's Basketball at UIUC

2 hours ago12 min read

More than Temperance: The CU Woman's Christian Temperance Union

Apr 110 min read

Prairie Prisons

Mar 111 min read

Flatville: Where they've come from and where they're going

Jan 18 min read

Giving Tuesday: Support CCHM & CCNDI

Dec 2, 20252 min read

An Introduction to the EI League

Nov 23, 20256 min read

A New Digital Exhibition!

Sep 22, 20251 min read

Voices from the Past - Cliff Delong

Aug 1, 20254 min read

A Tale of Two Cities-of-the-Dead

Jun 1, 202512 min read

Oral Histories

Our local history is best told by those who lived through it. To that end, the museum has in its collections a series of recorded oral histories told by residents. These recordings were made by museum staff and volunteers and have been digitized from audio cassette recordings. The opinions expressed by the interviewee are those of the subject and are intended for personal or educational purposes. All oral histories include full transcriptions that can be accessed by clicking the music note on the right of each recording.

These recordings are presented in an unedited format and are the copyright of the Champaign County History Museum. Duplication and use without the museum's expressed written permission are prohibited.

History Talks

Each month, we welcome a topical expert to speak on various topics of Champaign County History. These talks are recorded and viewable here.

History of Bicycling in Illinois: 160 Years of Booms and Busts