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Visitors Guide to
the
The Bethalto Historical Museum is housed in the former Village Hall. This building was erected around 1873 and enlarged in 1885. Long the center of community activity it once housed the police, fire and water departments and later the public library. The city’s tiny one room jail can still be seen today. The Museum contains exhibits on Bethalto’s past including the role of its citizens in World Wars I and II. Other exhibits include the founding of the town, the annual Homecoming Celebration, and a recreated classroom from the past.
In 1998, a fire at a local home revealed a perfectly protected log cabin within the structure. State historical preservationists estimate that the cabin was built in the mid-1800s. Bethalto's school children were asked by the Bethalto Rotary Club to help raise the funds needed to move and restore the cabin to its present site next to the Museum. The "History Makes Cents" campaign raised over one million pennies ($10,000.) The Bethalto Log Cabin stands as a symbol of the village’s pioneer past as well as the resourcefulness of its present youth. The interior of the cabin is furnished in the pioneer style. Visitors will need to ask Museum volunteers to let them into the cabin. The Museum in conjunction with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Illinois State Library hosts a series of changing exhibits of historical interest. Visiting the Bethalto Historical Museum
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