The Local History Collection

The Local History Collection is made up of a number of resources helpful to the researcher wanting to know more about Belleville, St. Clair County, and surrounding Illinois Counties.  Some of these resources include:

• Census indexes and records on microfilm for St. Clair and surrounding counties
• County history books for St. Clair and many other counties throughout the state of Illinois
• City and town histories and illustrated books from centennial celebrations
• Church histories and directories from Belleville and surrounding communities
• Belleville and East St. Louis city directories
• Plat Books and Atlases for St. Clair County, surrounding counties, and the state of Illinois
• Newspapers from Belleville and East St. Louis as well as Centralia, Collinsville, Du Quoin, Freeburg, Lebanon, Marissa, Mascoutah, The Messenger, Millstadt, O'Fallon, Nashville, New Athens, New Baden, and Sparta for select years.
• Books on Illinois plants and wildlife
• Books and video casettes on Native American Indians, focusing on the Cahokians
• Biographies and memoirs of famous Illinoisans such as Abraham Lincoln, Adlai Stevenson, Gen. John A. Logan, U. S. Grant, and Paul Simon.
• Historic Preservation Collection which highlights some of the oldest homes in Belleville with guidelines of how to preserve and restore homes.
• Books relating to local military history including books on local Civil War regiments and Scott Air Force Base.
• Periodical Collections including the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society and Journal of Illinois History
• The "Papers of Pierre Menard" and the "Kaskaskia Manuscripts" on microfilm
• City of Belleville City Council Proceedings and Ordinances dating back to the 1850s