The Williamson County Historical Society held a membership meeting on Sunday, July 26th at the museum/library at 105 S. Van Buren St. Society president, Sam Lattuca, brought the membership and guests up to speed on the society’s past and upcoming projects, in addition to showing them the latest accessions that were brought into the museum. Lattuca stated that the photo database in use at the museum now sits at 12,372 photos in the collection and the index of names used for research at the museum has risen to 625,967 entries.
The program for the meeting was conducted by Mark Motsinger, President of the Saline County Historical Society and was entitled “Old Soldier’s Reservation and Earl Migration Patterns in Southern Illinois.” Motsinger recounted how an act of congress enacted by our government after the Revolutionary War designated Southern Illinois as an area of land to be reserved as a potential site for Revolutionary War soldiers and Indian War veterans to acquire free land as a bounty for their service in war. Early migration patterns from Southern states crossing the Ohio River determined the temperament of Southern Illinois due to their beliefs, religion and politics that they brought with them which still differentiate the Southern part of the State from the Northen part to this day.