A history of Benton,
since 1841
Postcards, papers and photographs of Benton from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗On April 19, 1928, Benton was the site of the next-to-last public hanging in Illinois, when local gangster Charles Birger was executed on the gallows next to the county jail for the December 12, 1926 murder of Joe Adams, mayor of nearby West City. A replica of the gallows and hangman's noose were built by the late retired Old Ben Coal miner, businessman & carpenter, Birchard L. Wampler (March 9, 1938 – June 29, 2010) and his son Birchard Neil Wampler. They remain standing today next to the old Franklin County Jail turned Museum.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Benton’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
3 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewGeneral and Mrs. Logan's first co…, 1885: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Benton
See all 12 →
Benton, decade by decade
1980s
CommonsEastern view from the Franklin County Courthouse in Illinoi…2022
CommonsEastern view from the Franklin County Courthouse in Illinoi…2022
CommonsEastern view from the Franklin County Courthouse in Illinoi…2022
CommonsWestern side of Courthouse Square in2012
CommonsOld Franklin County Jail in2012
CommonsFranklin County Courthouse in2012
Book2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20101 historic place in Benton
1 place in Benton is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as General and Mrs. Logan's first cottage at Benton, Illinois and the house in which their daughter Mrs. Mary Logan Tucker… (1885) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (10) and the Library of Congress (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.