 "Photo: Emily Sunblade | Daily Egyptian")
More than 12,000 years of history is housed in the one-room Union County Museum in downtown Cobden.
Started by the Union County Historical and Genealogy Society, the museum, which opened in 2006, has found a niche in local history - focusing on life in and around what is now Union County.
Stepping into the two-story brick building, visitors will find orderly rows of historic objects ranging from Native American arrowheads, to an upright Kimball piano to a Nazi flag from WWII.
Society President Patrick Brumleve said the building that houses the museum is unchanged since it was built in 1892.
His great-great grandfather settled in the area after emigrating from France.
“The Indian artifacts in the museum were found by my grandfather,” Brumleve said. His grandfather was also one of the founding members of the society and it was his Native American artifacts that were the first components of the museum.
Society secretary Bonnie Heidinger, a former Anna-Jonesboro history teacher, said one of the museum’s biggest draws is the Anna Pottery made by the Krikpatrick brothers. An Anna Pottery chimney pot from the Riverlore Manison in Cairo greets visitors as they step through the wooden door of the museum.
Treasurer Judy Travelstead said the museum is still growing.
The members are working on a resource room for research of local history and family history.
“It will have historic photos, newspapers, letters and books,” Travelstead said.
Once completed, residents with longstanding ties to the Union County area can come learn more about the lives of those in their genealogical past.
The room will be named after former society president, Jane Clark Brown, who passed away at age 96 just before the museum opened at its new site.
“You would never think she was 96,” Travelstead said, adding that it is the memory of Clark that inspires many society members to keep digging into local history.
To keep the museum growing, the society has multiple fundraisers throughout the year and sells books published by the society about local history that had never before been recorded.
Aside from the friendships and fundraising events that keep Brumleve and other members busy volunteering throughout the year, there is one major component to the museum that keeps them involved more than anything else.
“It’s the history,” Brumleve said. “It’s about understanding where you’re from.”
