Historic Belleville

Belleville Historical Society
The mission of the Belleville Historical Society is to promote awareness and appreciation of the history, customs, artifacts, architecture, and people of the City of Belleville, Illinois. It strives to acquire, manage, and preserve artifacts, documents, and real property significant to Belleville and to encourage preservation of the City's culture, history, and architecture.

For more information on this organization, visit bellevillehistoricalsociety.com.
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St. Clair County Historical Society
The mission of the St. Clair County Historical Society is to inspire people by making the vibrant history of St. Clair County tangible, relevant and meaningful for today’s diverse communities and for future generations to come.

For more information on this society, visit the St. Clair County Historical Society website.
Labor & Industry Museum
Belleville was one of the most significant centers for the growth of Illinois industry, which ranked third in the nation in the late 19th century, contributing significantly to the industrial movement by establishing some of the earliest and largest manufacturing establishments in the burgeoning United States.

Belleville's Labor & Industry Museum is the only public institution devoted to the history of the labor and industry of Belleville and southwestern Illinois. The museum is located at 123 N. Church St. 

The mission of the Labor & Industry Museum is to chronicle and interpret the area's rich cultural heritage of labor and industry. 

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Gustave Koerner House
The restoration of Belleville’s Gustave Koerner home, on Mascoutah Avenue at Abend Street, will stand as a testament to one of Belleville’s most illustrious citizens. 

Koerner joined Abraham Lincoln, Horace Greeley and others who, fired by the passions of the times, came together to create the Republican Party in 1856. Koerner became a close Lincoln confidant, helped write the 1860 Republican Party platform, and managed Lincoln’s drive to the presidential nomination at the party’s convention. Koerner was an ardent anti-slavery proponent and, as a German emigre, played a key role in allying western America’s German population with the Union cause.

Visit the Gustave Koerner House Restoration website for more information.