Archeological
A large collection of Native American stone arrowheads and tools are now on display at the Old School Museum in Winchester. Mary and Kent Coultas of Winchester, loaned 296 stone tools, including arrowheads, axes, hammerstones, drills, knives, and spear points. The pre-historic tools were found by farmers in an area near the Illinois River, just north of Highway 106. The tools represent some of the material culture of almost 12,000 years of people inhabiting this region. The collection is in the process of being identified by Dr. Claire Dappert and her associates.
Also on display is a Mastodon tooth, on loan from Roberta Ryder, which was found near Glasgow almost 100 years ago. Mastodons were large mammals distantly related to the Elephant. They inhabited North and Central American until their extinction about 11,000 years ago, presumably because of pressures from hunting and environmental changes.
Artifacts
In the summer of 2010, the City of Winchester was widening a ditch along Maple Street. The workers found a large deposit of pottery sherds, or broken pieces of pottery. The city contacted the staff of the Old School Museum and Archeologist Dr. Claire Dappert was given permission to conduct a dig in order to assess the significance of the site.
The 1 by 2 meter excavation produced almost 50 buckets of material and the careful process of matching the pieces began. The museum displays the most complete pottery from the excavation, including one of the oldest known stamped pieces of pottery in Illinois.
The pottery kiln was associated with four potters: Robert Harrison from 1830 to 1834, George Ebey from 1834 to 1836, Thomas Killpatrick from 1834 to 1845, and Francis Nash from 1850 to 1860. During the 19th century, 19 known potteries were operating in Scott County, and at least 13 potteries were operating in Winchester.
Many of the artifacts on display throughout the museum belonged to or are on loan from local families. The Scott County Historical Society has generously loaned the museum some very rare items from it’s collection which are also on display at the museum. There are items of great personal significance dating back beyond the Civil War to the earliest days of Scott County.
Communications
The communications area of the museum houses a large collection of early cameras, recording devises, phonographs, televisions, telephones and early electronics. This large private collection is on loan to the museum and includes numerous rare examples of the recording and television industry technology dating from it’s inception up to modern times. There are fine examples of simple cameras, both still and movie, as well as telephones from many eras. The continuum of this collection provides the museum visitor with a real sense of how far we have come and how fast.
Farming
Scott County’s agricultural history is as rich as its alluvial soil. Thousands of years of glaciation scoured the limestone bedrock and deposited an average of 100 feet of fertile soil. The great prairies of Illinois created dark, rich soil called mollisol, formed by the decomposition of prairie plants. The land and climate of Illinois has supported agriculture for over 7000 years and still does today. Come see our collection of farm tools, wagons, and machinery that helped shape our agricultural heritage.
Home and Hearth
Many of the items in the museum’s collection come from homes in the county. There are pieces that represent various aspects of day to day life.
School Room
The school room area contains items associated with public education in Scott County throughout history. In addition to vintage school furniture, books and supplies, there are many photos and personal items once belonging to students. From varsity jackets and band pictures, to graduation invitations dated 1909, there is a wonderful collection of items that will bring back nostalgic school day memories.
Among the many photographs we have collected are those of the one room country schools that once dotted the county. While many of these buildings are gone, we have pictures a good number of them and have located each of them on a map. We continue to search for pictures of these old school buildings.
Transportation
Among the museum’s collection are some great examples of early transportation. On display are wagons, carriages, sleighs, and early automobiles. There is also an antique fire truck and even a barnstorming bi-plane. These items have been very popular with museum visitors and are always fun to see.