Marker dedications

Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Sep/Oct 2004

The Illinois State Historical Society will unveil three new historical markers this fall. All commemorate the lives of Illinoisans who made significant contributions in their communities, state, and nation.

The first marker recognizes the life and achievement of John Huston Finley (1863-1940), and will he dedicated in Grand Ridge on October 15. Mr. Finley, who grew up on a farm near Grand Ridge, attended Ottawa High School and went to Knox College going on to graduate school at Johns Hopkins University. He later returned to Galesburg as President of Knox College, and in 1899 accepted the chair of politics at Princeton University. In 1903 he became president of City College of New York and in 1913, Commissioner or Education for New York State. In 1921 Finley became associate editor of the New York Times and later was named editor in chief. He wrote 8 books, received 32 honorary degrees, and is buried in Princeton Cemetery in New Jersey. The marker is co-sponsored by the Citizens of Grand Ridge, the Walgreen Company, and the Illinois State Historical Society.

The second marker commemorates the life and achievement of Florence Fifer Bohrer (1877-1960), the first woman elected to the Illinois Senate. A Republican from McLean County, Ms. Fifer Bohrer served two terms, from 1925 to 1933, in which she led efforts to revamp Illinois' child welfare laws and sponsored legislation creating the state park system. Chair of the Emergency Relief Commission lor McLean County during the Depression, Senator Bohrer was a founder of the League of Women Voters of McLean County, serving on the state and national board. The marker is cosponsored by the League of Women Voters of McLean County, the Franklin Park Association, and the Illinois State Historical Society.

The third marker, scheduled for dedication in early November, is the first in Illinois dedicated to Barton Warren Stone (1772-1844). Stone was a leader of the Stone-Campbell Restoration movement, which advocated the unity of all Christian churches, came to Jacksonville, Illinois, from Kentucky in 1834 to live in a free state. An educator and "church-planter, Stone published 'The Christian Messenger newspaper and lived on a farm just outside of Jacksonville. Several Christian churches around the world trace their origin to the Stone-Campbell movement. The marker is sponsored by Lincoln Christian College and Seminary and the Illinois State Historical Society.

For more information about the Society's marker program, visit our website at wvvw.historyillinois.org.