Iroquois County Historical Society Old Courthouse Museum
(815) 432-2215
  • ICHS Home
  • About ICHS and Old Courthouse Museum
    • Our Building
    • Memberships
  • ICHS Board and Committees
    • Accessions
  • 2019 Christmas Tree Lane Winners
    • 2019 Christmas Tree People's Choice WINNERS
    • 2019 Christmas Tree Lane Judges' Awards
    • 2019 Christmas Tree Lane Houses Judges' Awards
    • 2019 Christmas Tree Lane WANDA, THE WONDER DOG
    • 2019 Trees - 1 - 22
    • 2019 Trees 23 - 43
  • 2019 HARVEST DAZE - 40th Annual Festival
    • 2019 Harvest Daze Vendors
    • Harvest Daze Donors and Volunteers
    • Harvest Daze Lucky Draws and Silent Auction
    • Harvest Daze Shows and Entertainment
    • Harvest Daze Food
  • Upcoming Events
  • Past Events
  • I'm Planning A...
    • Personal Tour
    • Group Tour
    • Field Trip
    • Event
  • Exhibits and Art Gallery
    • Art Gallery
    • Art 2019 -- March-April -- Watseka Art Students
    • Art 2019 - February - Maureen Ziemer
    • Illinois Bicentennial-Iroquois County Style
    • Art 2018 - Mar-Apr GRMS Art Students
    • Art 2018 - Jan-Feb WCHS Art Students
    • Art 2017 Nov-Dec
    • Art 2017 March-April
  • Memorials
  • ICHS Catalog
  • 2018 Christmas Tree Lane
    • 2018 Christmas Tree People's Choice WINNERS
    • 2018 Christmas Tree Lane Judges' Awards TASTE OF CHRISTMAS
    • 2018 Christmas Tree Lane Judges' Awards - Illinois Bicentennial
    • 2018 Christmas Houses
    • 2018 Christmas Tree Lane WANDA, THE WONDER DOG
    • 2018 Trees - 1 - 20
    • 2018 Trees 21 - 40
  • 50th Anniversary DVD
  • Genealogy - ICGS

Old Courthouse Museum

A true historical gem located in Watseka, Illinois.

Visitor Information:
Hours: Monday-Friday
10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
First Sunday of the Month
​1:00 P.M to 4:00 P.M.
Address: 103 West Cherry, Watseka, IL 60970
Phone: 815-432-2215
Email: ichs221567@yahoo.com

Upcoming events
The Old Courthouse Museum is closed through the end of March or until further notice. Please check back or follow us on Facebook @oldcourthousemusem .

Picture
Christmas Tree Lane 2020
​will not take place this year.

Sadly another popular Old Courthouse Museum activity is cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
We are looking forward to having Christmas Tree Lane return with beautiful trees in 2021.


Picture
Our October 2, 2020 drive-thru Fish Fry was very successful thanks to awesome community support and great-tasting fish by Dave Shippert and his crew!
​
We are hoping this can be part of a full Harvest Daze festival in 2021!


HARVEST DAZE 2019 WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!
Mark your calendars for next year - October 3-4, 2020
Harvest Daze 2020 has been cancelled
​due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

​
Fish Fry will still be held with drive-through donation only.
Woodworth Style FISH FRY, Friday, October 2, 2020


Picture
Winners of the 
​2019 Christmas Tree Lane and
Christmas "Gingerbread" House Gallery
voting.

The THEME for 2019 was
"Angels We Have Heard
On High
."





Picture
We have retired the W W I Special Exhibit, but many of these items can still be viewed in our Military Room. Come visit us.


Today, a visit to the Old Courthouse is a step back in time where you can visit the old County Jail, see recreations of an old-time back porch, a Victorian parlor, old time general store, post office, one-room schoolhouse, and much more.

It is a place where you can stroll past showcase after showcase featuring one-of-a-kind treasures of a bygone era, with something to interest nearly everyone: fossil and mineral collections, Indian artifacts, the latest fashions of the Victoria era, a collection of over a hundred antique dolls, medical instruments from the pioneer days, and much more.

The highly-regarded genealogical archives of the Iroquois County Genealogical Society are housed in the original vaults of the records of Iroquois County, dating back to 1860.

Even though the Old Courthouse is a storehouse of things past, the present is well represented also. Renowned for its wonderful acoustics, the Old Courtroom now resounds with applause at the concerts, presentations and recitals held there each year.


We invite you to visit our art exhibitions featuring talented local artists, or attend one of our Spotlights, featuring communities, organizations, occupations or hobbies. Our natural history area displays animals of our area in a lifelike setting. The Museum Office stocks books and maps about Iroquois County, as well as local area souvenirs.


Your generous donations are greatly appreciated.  We would like to thank everyone for their support in the past and hope you can continue to support this beautiful old building.  If you have not been to the Museum for a while, please take time to stop in and view our new displays.

Other Ways to Give:

Donate up to 30% of your purchase price to Iroquois County Historical Society when you shop at 2300+ popular online retailers using Giving Assistant! It’s easy. Giving Assistant pays you cash back, and you choose how much of it you’d like to donate to us. Try it now and find great deals like exclusive Hobby Lobby coupons, as well as savings at great places like Aliexpress (6%) and Home Depot (3%)!

Online Fundraising
Use Giving Assistant to save money and support Iroquois County Historical Society

Sign up and shop with Giving Assistant to start donating 3-30% of purchases from your favorite online stores like Michaels (3%), Sears (7%), and Office Depot (6%).


Picture
We have a shopfunding campaign! Did you know that you can now support the Iroquois County Historical Society as you shop. Not only that, you will save money too! Here’s how it works, simply add our Goodshop Gumdrop browser plugin , and then two things will happen - you will love it! First, all the best coupons and deals will automatically activate on your screen when you visit an online store. That means Gap Coupons when you shop for your kids or Patagonia deals or dollars off on Apple discounts when you want a new computer. Second, a portion of what you spend will automatically be donated to us from participating stores. It’s the easiest way to support us!
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.