Reference Library

Browse books, directories, plat books, published histories, and unpublished research relating to Maroa, Forsyth, local schools, and Central Illinois.

Using the library

Online reading and in-person research

Titles marked “Read online” link to digitized copies. Other materials are available in the Archives Room by appointment. The collection is non-circulating and continues to grow.

Ask about a title

State history

Illinois Books

1958 State Basketball Tournament Championship booklet
Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1998)
Life on the County Line — Charles I. Derr (1987)
Lincoln’s New Salem — Benjamin P. Thomas (1934)
Read online →
The Making of Illinois — Irwin F. Mather (1926)
Read an earlier edition online →
The Old Courthouse — Donald Dosch (1979)
The Prairie State: Civil War to the Present — Robert P. Sutton (1976)
Read online →
The Prairie State: Colonial Years to 1860 — Robert P. Sutton (1976)
This Is Illinois — Jay Monaghan (1949)
Township School Trustees and Treasurers in Illinois, 1819–1980 — Charles W. Clabaugh (1980)
Borrow online →

Regional history

Macon & DeWitt Counties

100 Years from the Decatur Herald and Review and the Decatur Daily Review (1978)
Aerial Illinois — DeWitt County (1955)
Aerial Illinois — Macon County, Books 1 and 2 (1954)
Read online →
City of Decatur and Macon County, Vol. 1 — William E. Nelson (1910)
Combined 1874 Atlas, 1891 Plat Book and 1903 Atlas of Macon County (1996 reprint)
History of DeWitt County, Illustrated, Vols. I–II (1910)
History of Macon County, Illustrated (1880)
Read online →
History of Macon County — O. T. Banton (1976)
Macon County, Images of America — Dan Guillory (2007)
Macon County Memories — Decatur Herald and Review (2015)
Macon County plat books — 1951, 1955(?), 1967, 1972, 1977, 1978–79, 1980, 1981, 1987, and 1997
Rural Schools of Macon County — Florence Scott White (1978)

Community history

Maroa Books & Histories

The Developmental Plan for Maroa Township (1971)
Maroa Centennial Book (1954)
Read online →
Maroa Sesquicentennial Book (2004)
Read online →
Municipal Code of the City of Maroa (1901)
Voices from the Prairie — Martha Bunton Query (2015)

Unpublished Maroa histories

History of Maroa — George Waller
The Maroa Churches — Ethel Longsdorff
Maroa Schools — Margaret Leach
Rural Maroa Schools — Virgil Wikoff and Grace Cornwell Wikoff
Maroa History and Social Life — Louise Gentle

Community history

Forsyth Books

Forsyth and Its People — Mowry, Thrift, and Benton (1910)
Read online →
The History of Forsyth — Howard Walters and Russell Sawyer (1982)
Read online →

Additional Forsyth research

Unpublished histories of Forsyth are available in the Local History Room at the Forsyth Public Library.

Education and athletics

School-Related Books

Sweet Sixteen Basketball Reunion Program
Dream Seasons — Scott Wentworth (2008)
Macon-Piatt School Directory (1998–99)
School Directory, Macon County (1939–1940)
Catalogue and Course of Study of the Public Schools of Maroa (1901)
Read online →

Can’t find the title or subject you need?

This page reflects the established reference list, but uncataloged and newly donated materials may also be available.

Contact the Archives

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