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Featured image for “Hope – the Sims family, Sycamore”

Hope – the Sims family, Sycamore

The Sims family is another example of a Sycamore Great Migration story. The story starts...

Featured image for “Hope: Frederick Douglass comes to Sycamore”

Hope: Frederick Douglass comes to Sycamore

Frederick Douglass came to Sycamore in 1870 and spoke at Wilkin’s Hall. The New York...

Featured image for “Community: Samuel Crosswell, Buffalo Soldier”

Community: Samuel Crosswell, Buffalo Soldier

While not a lot of information is known about Samuel Crosswell, research shows that he...

Featured image for “Community: North Avenue Neighborhood and Mildred Poole Stewart”

Community: North Avenue Neighborhood and Mildred Poole Stewart

Mildred Poole Stewart, who was born and grew up in Sycamore, graduated from Sycamore High...

Featured image for “Community: Caldwell family, Shabbona”

Community: Caldwell family, Shabbona

Above image: Shabbona Grove School, 1921. Photo courtesy Shabbona-Lee-Rollo Historical Society. The Caldwell family story...

Featured image for “Hope: Black Resort Community in Kirkland”

Hope: Black Resort Community in Kirkland

Three newspaper articles cover a story about how a group of wealthy Blacks from St....

Featured image for “Hope: Securing a Bank Loan”

Hope: Securing a Bank Loan

There are two examples of the local bank, The National Bank & Trust Company, working...

Featured image for “Exclusion: Racial Covenants, Sycamore”

Exclusion: Racial Covenants, Sycamore

There is evidence of racial covenants in Sycamore. The Fox Subdivision was created in 1927....

Featured image for “Hope: Mexicans at Sycamore Preserve Works”

Hope: Mexicans at Sycamore Preserve Works

There are a few articles from the 1940s and 1950s about people from Mexico coming...