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History · Bement

A history of Bement,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Bement from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

13old images & papers
6need a date
From Bement’s archive · credits on each photo

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Bement is a village in Piatt County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,484 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,893 to 1,657 (-12%). Half of its homes were built before 1961.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bement yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1930s6 items · HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - B…Commons
1966N&W E8A 3815 with Train 121, the domeliner Blue…Commons
1970–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Bement’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo6 archive items have no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewHABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 0 of 2)…, 1933: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Bement

See all 2 →
LHLenny HighSportsRARoy AdkinsSports
By decade

Bement, decade by decade

1930s6 items
HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilson StreetCommonsHABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilso…1933HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilson StreetCommonsHABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilso…1933HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilson StreetCommonsHABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilso…1933HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilson StreetCommonsHABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilso…1933HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilson StreetCommonsHABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilso…1933HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilson StreetCommonsHABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilso…1933
1960s1 item
N&W E8A 3815 with Train 121, the domeliner Blue Bird, at speed north of Bement, Illinois at sunset on May 1, 1966CommonsN&W E8A 3815 with Train 121, the domeliner Blue Bird, at sp…1966
1970s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Date
unknown6 items
HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY E.E. LUNDEEN, PHOTOGRAPHER JULY 10,1935. LINCOLN - DOUGLAS ROAD MARKER - VIEW FROM W…CommonsDate?HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY E.E. LUNDEEN, PHOTOGRAPH…HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY E.E. LUNDEEN, PHOTOGRAPHER JULY 10,1935. VIEW FROM NORTHEAST - Bryant House, 116 Wil…CommonsDate?HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY E.E. LUNDEEN, PHOTOGRAPH…HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY PRINT BY HAWKIN'S STUDIO - PHOTOGRAPHERS - PHOTO TAKEN ABOUT JULY 1925. VIEW FROM SO…CommonsDate?HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY PRINT BY HAWKIN'S STUDIO…HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY PRINT BY HAWKIN'S STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHERS. PHOTO TAKEN ABOUT JULY 1925. LINCOLN - DOUGL…CommonsDate?HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY PRINT BY HAWKIN'S STUDIO…Lincoln-Douglas Road MarkerLOCDate?Lincoln-Douglas Road MarkerBryant House, 146 Wilson StreetLOCDate?Bryant House, 146 Wilson Street
Today5 photos
Bement, Illinois post officeCommonsBement, Illinois post office2023Bement, Illinois municipal center 01CommonsBement, Illinois municipal center 012023Bement First Presbyterian ChurchCommonsBement First Presbyterian Church2014Bement Illinois Post OfficeCommonsBement Illinois Post Office2007Bement Illinois High SchoolCommonsBement Illinois High School2007
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Bement is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Bement has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Francis E. Bryant House in Bement, 2.1 miles away.

Bement and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Bement. Tap a dot.
Francis E. Bryant HouseVoorhies CastleSouth Charter Street Historic DistrictMonticello Courthouse Square Historic DistrictNorth State Street Historic DistrictRobert Allerton Estate

Closest to Bement

Francis E. Bryant HouseBement · Building2.1miVoorhies CastleUnity · Building4.8miSouth Charter Street Historic DistrictMonticello · Queen Anne6.9miMonticello Courthouse Square Historic DistrictMonticello · Brown, Seeley7.1miNorth State Street Historic DistrictMonticello · District7.5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Francis E. Bryant House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Bement?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Bement’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as HABS ILL,74-BEM,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Bryant House, 116 Wilson Street (1933) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Bement📜 Ivesdale📜 Monticello📜 Unity

From Wikimedia Commons (16) and the Library of Congress (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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