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The Restoration of the Cattle Bank:

The act of restoration of the Cattle Bank and its return to a productive existence is a lengthy story which we won’t try to tell in full here. Many persons in Champaign County played some role in the process, and we would surely omit too many worthy participants were we to try. Our heartfelt thanks goes to all of them. We note that the Champaign County Historical Museum did play an active role in assembling community support for the effort.

We will acknowledge the efforts of Bruce Hannon, Gregory Hargus, and William Schmidt, who, in 1983, prepared a slide-tape presentation on the history of the Cattle Bank and the restoration progress. It is from this presentation that we have borrowed illustrations and some history to create the brief pictorial display you are about to view. The original presentation was funded by the Illinois Arts Council, whose interest we very much appreciate, for without it we would have lost much of the record of this project. We also thank the Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA), which has maintained the program over the years, and generously made it available to us.

Click Here to see a slide show of the Cattle Bank History

or

click on the dates below to see a specific year

1858 | 1959 | 1970's | 1977 | 1980 | 2001