Edgar County Genealogy Library

09/08/2026

Reprint of an old Paris photo. Southwest corner of the square some time in the 1870s.

08/20/2026

George H. Augustus held his first auction sale in Paris on March 13, 1895, advertised as a combination sale. It and other sales were so successful that he built a sale barn on West Jasper St. It was on the south side of Jasper, east of the old Vandalia railroad, in the area where the old International Harvester building later stood. The first sale in the pictured barn was Sept. 19, 1895. Soon he began selling horses. In October 1897 he added a new cattle barn. The Vandalia Railroad added a siding; more stock pens were added. John C. Risser was cashier, W.T. Blackburn was clerk, H.O. Boyer auctioneer, and Albert Duty superintendent of barns and yards. Augustus died in 1911. The barn burned in 1918, but it was the forerunner of the Illinois Auction Commission and others that continued the tradition of livestock sales on West Jasper. (Sources: Teddy Day's Museum Minutiae and Lee Hamilton's March 1992 Historical Society newsletter article.)

08/15/2026

From the Paris Beacon News, Oct. 27, 1976: Robert and Vera Shephard, with family and staff, celebrate 30 years in the local bakery business. The first 27 years were in the bakery on the southwest corner of the Paris square. From 1973 to the date of this article, they specialized in donuts in a shared space with their Christian Supply bookstore on West Court St.

08/12/2026

Coles County Genealogical Society's September program may interest local researchers. Their online newspaper site includes Kansas IL newspapers.

07/28/2026

Did you miss the Edgar County Historical Society program yesterday? You can view the photos from the program athttps://edgarcountygenealogy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Paris-50-yrs.pdf

07/12/2026

07/02/2026

Coles County Genealogical Society has an event on Saturday, July 18 that may interest you.

06/23/2026

Looking for a non-certified death certificate for an Illinois death between 1916 and 1947? Check Illinois State Genealogical Society website for information about how to order.

06/08/2026

Welcome to the newly reorganized Edgar County Genealogy Library!

06/01/2026

According to the writing on the back of this photo, these are the first two automobiles in Paris, Illinois. Date unknown. One of the boys (in the car on the right) later drove in the Indianapolis 500.