Sibley’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Sibley. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The site of Sibley was laid out for Michael L. Sullivant, the namesake of Sullivant Township, in 1877. Sullivant sold the land to Hiram Sibley in 1878. The post office was established in 1873 under the name Burr Oaks, but was renamed Sibley in 1880.
Sibley was once cited on Ripley's Believe It or Not! as the home of the largest corn crib in the World with a capacity of 125,000 bushels. However, it was demolished in 1965.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Sibley’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sibley’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewSteam threshing machines [i.e. tr…, 1936: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Sibley
See all 1 →
Sibley, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Sibley is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Sibley has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Alfred Phillips House in Gibson City, 8.2 miles away.
Sibley and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Steam threshing machines [i.e. traction engines]. Sibley, Illinois (1936) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.