Category: Illinois
Aledo, Illinois’ Famous Connections
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0408-Aledo-Famous.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Judson Welliver is just one of the famous folks from this small town. If you’ve not heard of Judson, he…
The Rhubarb Capitol of the World
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0407-Aledo-Rhubarb.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If you drive into Aledo, Illinois you will notice that it is the world’s capital for this particular item. That…
Composing Music for Walt Disney
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0406-Disney-Composer-Ed-Plumb-.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)You’ve most likely never heard his name, but you’ve likely heard his music. His family tried to dissuade him from…
The Small Town that Served 1.5 Million Troops
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0402-Streator-Illinois-Troop-LIne.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Many people like to be patriotic and support our troops. This small town went well above and beyond, helping over…
Discovering Pluto
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0401-Pluto-Discoverer-Clyde-Tombuagh.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)He was a farm kid who discovered one of the most distant objects in our solar system. And recently, his…
The Home of Generals
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0316-Galena-Illinois-History-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Some call this place the home of the generals. It’s a fitting title because during the U.S. Civil War, nine…
When the Citizens Purchased a Home
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0313-Galena-Illinois-History-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)When this man left town, to most, he was just a man who just rented a home and worked in…
A Town With the Right Name
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2026/03/2026-0312-Galena-Illinois-History-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)The name of a town can sometimes tell you a lot about its history. That’s the case for a place…
The Giant Museum
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2025/07/05Aug25-Giants-Museum-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)A stop in Atlanta, Illinois holds a lot to see and do in a place that isn’t very large. They’ve…
Some Very Unique Giants
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2025/07/04Aug25-Giants-Museum-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)You probably would not think a company making fiberglass boats would have a big impact on a major highway. But…
Mastadon Park
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2025/07/30Jul25-Mastodon-Park.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Imagine you unearthed the bones of an animal and had little idea of what you found. Now imagine making up…
The Story of the Spencer Rifle at the Illinois Military Museum
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2025/06/20Jun25-Illinois-Military-Museum-Spencer-Rifle.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Imagine you had invented a new type of rifle that could be helpful to the U.S. military. How would you…
Named for Lincoln Before He was President
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2025/05/06May25-Named-for-LIncoln-Before-He-Was-President.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It’s common that towns, school and other sites are named in honor of U.S. Presidents. So it’s natural that most…
The Phone Booth on Top of City Hall
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2025/05/05May25-Phone-Booth-on-City-Hall.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Today technology can help us predict and spot several storms that may be headed our way. Of course, there was…
Cahokia Mounds
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/10/05Nov24-Cahokia-Mounds-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)We’ve probably all heard of Native American mounds scattered throughout parts of North America. Here just east of present day…
The Largest City in North America
https://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/10/04Nov24-Cahokia-Mounds-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Before there was a United States of America, this was the largest city within its modern boundaries. In fact, its…
The Perfector of the Plow
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/08/09Sep24-John-Deere.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Although you may associate his name with tractors…he never saw one…yet his name is synonymous with the equipment used in…
Housing the Purple Martin
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/07/18Jul24-Purple-Martins-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)On the surface, it may seem like an odd pairing–a man who manufactured television antennas became the champion for a…
America’s Most Wanted Bird
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/07/17Jul24-Purple-Martins-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It’s been called America’s most wanted bird. Not wanted in the sense that it has committed a crime, but rather…
John Phillp Sousa
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/06/04Jul24-John-Phillip-Sousa.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Today we look back to a story who’s music captures the spirit of the fourth of July…
