The Hillsboro Mausoleum  at Oak Grove Cemetery was built in 1913 by Cecil E. Bryan. Mr. Bryan worked under Frank Lloyd Wright then Ralph Modjeski. He then went on to build over 80 Mausoleums across the country – more than any other person. He was from Irving Illinois.

Read more: Mr. Bryan’s Bio | Hillsboro Mausoleum Co. | Photos of the Hillsboro Mausoleum

Create an account and join the Historical Society online.

Online members can: upload their family photos, publish their family history, join community groups, view the members only section with historic books and maps from Montgomery County.

Click here to create a free account.

Click here for a birds eye view of Hillsboro from our new water tower.

Photos provided by Jim May.

An honor roll : containing a pictorial record of the gallant and courageous men from Montgomery County, Illinois, U.S.A., who served in the Great War, 1917-1918-1919.

Illinois Traction System : an album (1954) - Provides information on the electric trolley car system running through Hillsboro and Litchfield.

The Interurban Era (c1961) – Page 190 - History of the Illinois Traction System.

Download your own copy in our online books section.

20 New photos from Schram Automatic Sealer Company manufacturer of the Schram Automatic Fruit Jar. Click here to view the photos.

We've added another online book to our collection. "Hillsboro Illinois, U.S.A. - Yours for Business"  From 1913 this book provides detailed information about Hillsboro and our neighboring towns. It features information on all the large businesses in Hillsboro plus takes a look at some of the elegant homes in our community. This book is available for registered members on the members menu. If you aren't an online member - click here to create a free account.

Life size, Abraham Lincoln is an imposing fellow, but a slight smile and hint of amusement in his eyes suggest that he is glad to be back among friends.  Abe’s loosened tie and his coat’s wrinkled collar show that he just arrived at the plaza by buggy from the Hillsboro station, after a long train ride from Shelbyville. Click here to read more.

Dr. Saunders remembers the day well. It was May 6, 1980, when Dr. Leo Carson Davis literally picked up the fossil from a gravel bar he was standing on as they were preparing the site to excavate a mastodon. The partial skeleton of the mastodon that included a knee cap attached to the femur, a tusk and other pieces was exciting. But the piece that they thought could only be a fragment of a plastron or belly plate of a giant tortoise (along with a few other fragments) was record setting in paleontological journals.

Fillmore, Illinois is the farthest north that any signs of Ice Age giant tortoise have been found. The team dated the tortoise to the Sangamon Interglacial Period — approximately 124,000 years ago. The theory is that gulf coast winds converged more northerly to create a microclimate that suited the giant tortoise. A re-creation of the tortoise and its habitat...

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