LaSalle County Historical Society Museum

06/02/2026

Our friends at the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum will be hosting this awesome event next Friday June 12. If you love history and music, this one’s for you! Tickets may be purchased at the museum during open hours.

05/31/2026

Final Day of Wild Bill Days! Grab your chairs and come see any of our three live events celebrating the life and times of James Butler Hickok!
Utica: Buffalo Bill’s best of the Wild West Show (1:30pm), Wagon rides (10-4pm), Old West Boom Town (10-4pm, behind Jamie's OutPost Parlor/Mix's Trading Post)
Troy Grove: The Life and Times of James Butler Hickok (1pm)
Mendota: Walt Willie’s End of the Trail (11am & 2pm)
And more! Check out the schedules for each location below.

05/30/2026

Word around town has it we have some ruffians and roustabouts casing the ol’ bank in the Village of Troy Grove. We are hearing they plan to rob the place right around 12:45pm today and tomorrow! Sure would be a shame if Wild Bill Hickok foiled their plan!
Don’t miss the Old West Regulators and their 12 scene re-enactment of the Life and times of James Butler Hickok today and tomorrow at 1pm! Wild Bill Days is in full swing!

05/30/2026

As we head into the big weekend for the Wild Bill Days we wanted to share all of our event information in one spot! Check out below for all pertinent information!

This weekend you will have the chance to see where Wild Bill Hickok was born and raised in the Village of Troy Grove, catch a great re-enactment by the Old West Regulators, see Walt Willey in his one man show at the Mendota Museum & Historical Society, and get to Explore Utica with lots of family fun at the Buffalo Bill’s best of the Wild West Show & Boomtown!
Giddy-up🤠🐴

05/30/2026

Wild Bill Hickok’s killer, Jack McCall (also known as "Crooked Nose" Jack), was eventually hanged for the murder on March 1, 1877. His path to ex*****on was unusual, involving two separate trials for the same crime: First Trial (Acquittal): Immediately after the shooting in Deadwood on August 2, 1876, McCall was tried by an informal "miner’s court". He claimed he killed Hickok in revenge for the death of his brother. The jury found him not guilty after only two hours of deliberation. Boasting & Rearrest: McCall fled to Wyoming Territory, where he frequently bragged in saloons that he had killed Wild Bill in a fair fight. These boasts led to his rearrest in Laramie. Second Trial (Conviction): Authorities ruled that the first trial was invalid because Deadwood was an illegal settlement on Indian Territory and lacked legal jurisdiction. Because the first trial was not legally recognized, the court determined that double jeopardy did not apply. He was retried in Yankton, the capital of the Dakota Territory, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Ex*****on: McCall was the first person legally executed by federal officials in the Dakota Territory. He was buried in an unmarked grave, and when his body was later exhumed in 1881 to move the cemetery, it was discovered he had been buried with the hangman's noose still around his neck. Subsequent investigations revealed that McCall never actually had a brother, debunking his original motive for the killing.
Don’t miss your chance to see Walt Willey today and tomorrow at the Mendota Museum & Historical Society performing “End of the Trail” at 11am & 2pm. While you’re there make sure to check out the Union Depot Railroad Museum too! Welcome to Wild Bill Days🤠🐴

05/30/2026

We have had some inquiries as to tickets and parking. All events are FREE this weekend thanks to our sponsors and donors including Mendota Museum & Historical Society, Village of Troy Grove, and Explore Utica UBA! So come on down to any and all locations for the Wild Bill Days. Parking is readily available at each location. Donations to the LaSalle County Historical Society Museum & Mendota Museum & Historical Society are always welcome to help the efforts of preserving our rich local history!

05/29/2026

***NOTE TO ATTENDEES***
We will have limited seating at all three locations so please bring a blanket or camp chairs with you if you are able too!
The Mendota Museum & Historical Society, Village of Troy Grove, and LaSalle County Historical Society Museum can not wait to see everyone this weekend for the Wild Bill Days🐴🤠

05/29/2026

Commemorate your experience during Wild Bill Days with this one of a kind t-shirt available for purchase at the Mendota Museum & Historical Society as well as our re-enactment in the Village of Troy Grove and our Buffalo Bill’s best of the Wild West Extravaganza behind Jamie's OutPost Parlor/Mix's Trading Post. $20 each with proceeds benefitting both the LaSalle County Historical Society and Mendota Museum & Historical Society🤠🐴❤️

02/27/2026

Two great (and different) programs at two great venues! Mark Walcyznski, Starved Rock historian and author, will be presenting at the Starved Rock State Park Visitors Center on March 14 at 1pm.
He will then hit the road and be presenting with us a separate program on May 3! If you love local park history these programs are a must!

Attention nature lovers, history buffs, and fans of Starved Rock State Park, historian and author Mark Walczynski will be presenting a program at the Starved Rock State Park Visitor Center at 1:00 pm on March 14 entitled Exploring Starved Rock's Past.

This is a different program from the one he will be presenting in May at the LaSalle County Historical Society. Both great programs but different themes, locations, and dates.

C'mon out. We'd love to see you!

Exploring Starved Rock’s Past
Date: March 14, 2026
Start Time: 1:00 PM

Discover the turn of the 20th century events that created the foundation for the second state park in Illinois-Starved Rock State Park, with historian and author Mark Walczynski.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Starved Rock Lodge & Conference Center
Starved Rock Foundation

02/15/2026

Visit the Seneca Historical Guild today to wish them Happy Birthday! They are one of the 13 stops on the LaSalle County Museums' Passport Weekend and will be open today and tomorrow 10-4pm.

Happening 161 years ago in Crotty (Seneca) this week - 1865...

On February 16th, the state legislature in Springfield approved the charter for a new town in Illinois... Crotty. There was an organized government for a few years before this incorporation, but this is the date it was recognized by the state.

Happy Birthday to US!

The Crotty Village Council, with Anthony Mallaney as President (the position was not called a mayor), approved to draw $5.00 from the treasury to send H. Armstrong to Springfield to obtain a copy of the charter.

The Village Council established a committee to determine the possibility of constructing a bridge across the Illinois & Michigan Canal.

We don't have a picture from 1865 Crotty/Seneca, so we will settle for a 50th birthday picture (circa 1915) of downtown Seneca looking north from Armour Street.