Morton History Project

The Morton History Project launched in 2018 to document people and places from Morton's history. Made possible by a grant from the Morton Community Foundation, the Morton Chamber of Commerce collected oral and written histories of Morton community members to catalog and share in partnership with the Morton Public Library.

This collection is a sampling of the stories that could be told. We know there are countless others with stories to tell. We hope this project will inspire any and all to document, record and tell your stories for future generations to see. The stories matter. The resources developed for this project are below, should you want to continue recording Morton stories long into the future. We look forward to it!

Morton History Story Map

A digital Story Map was developed that residents can use to explore places from the community's past. A special thanks to Mary Lynn with the Morton Public Library for gathering the photos shown on the storymap and providing historical information from the Local History Collection Archives. 

Use this map to travel to a location, read about that address' history, and see a photo of what it looked like in the past! For instance, did you know that Morton had 7 grocery stores, several hotels, and a bakery downtown? It did, and you'll learn about that here. The map shows best on a phone and can be used to explore the community in a whole new way! Click on the image below to explore!

Morton Oral Histories

Enjoy stories about Morton, IL from residents including memories of the community, where their families came from, how many generations of their family lived in Morton, and their favorite people, places and things! A special thanks to Steve Newhouse who spent an incredible amount of time assisting with this project. Anything from advising, coordinating and recording several of the interviews you see here. He was integral to this project and a wealth of information. Thanks also to Susan Pyles and Linda Yoder, who also helped organize and record a few of the stories gathered here. Community Members were invited to participate through e-mail newsletters, newspaper articles, posters, info sessions, personal invites and more! An additional thanks goes to those who participated below!
A charity born in Morton in 1976 to assist patients of chronic kidney disease throughout Central Illinois. Visit CIMKF.org to learn more!

Story sharing with Baum, Mel; Getz, Henry; Hirstein, Sam; Honegger, Gordon; Knapp, Bill; Roth, Herb; Wanner, Louise (1, 2, 3) Video credit to Rudy Heusuk.

Morton Written Histories

A range of items and items were shared with us through the mail and we are delighted to share several of the submissions here. We've left them just as we received them because we enjoyed seeing handwriting as opposed to another typed word. We hope you enjoy them too!
  • Jacob, Eleanor who turned 90 in 2018.
  • Zobrist, Noah who captured Morton history for the Morton Times. His stories are published online here.  
  • Mason, Craig shared the tribute her wrote about his father, Ramon Mason and references many wonderful memories of Morton's people & places.
  • Kutcat, Gary remembers coming to Morton for dances at the Village Hall.
 
Additional Submissions from the Community

Morton District 709 Journalism Class, Fall 2018 Class

A special thanks goes to our Morton District 709 Journalism Class and their teacher Kristina Koehler for their participation in the project too. We were delighted to incorporate stories from multiple generations of Mortonites. This section will highlight some of the questions students asked interviewees and their subjects' responses.
  • Where were you born? Tell us a little about your family history and origins.
  • Where did your family vacation?
  • What are some of the popular sports?
  • Who were legendary characters that you remember?
  • How Has Morton Changed over the years?
  • Interviews covering the gambit.
    • Answer 1
    • Answer 2 
    • Answer 3 - Morton Tunnels, Music Therapy, Morton Cinema, La Fiesta
    • Answer 4 - 4th Generation in Morton, Kennel Lake, Downtown, Lincoln School
    • Answer 5 - Attending ICC, Accounting Major, Sports Involvement, Welcoming new families to the community
  • Parent Interviews
    • ​Answer 1 - Overview of Morton and living here
    • Answer 2 - Family History, Caterpillar Employment, Vacations

Morton History Project Resources

Morton stories were collected via a questionnaire that all current and former community members were invited to complete. Anyone interested in continuing the project are invited to utilize these resources and make them their own!  

    Online Questionnaire: Complete the online questionnaire here.
    Printed versions: of the questionnaire are available for pick up at the Morton Chamber of Commerce or you can print your own! Download a printable version of the questionnaire here.
    Oral Histories: Those interested in capturing oral histories can use the attached interview questionnaire form here. To schedule an audio or video recording at the Morton Chamber of Commerce or the Morton Library, please call 309-263-2491.
    Be sure to obtain your narrator's consent using this form too. This form will be required for inclusion in the project.  
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