Illinois Online Historical Photos Research

An old proverb states that "the eyes are the windows into the soul." A genealogy corollary is that "a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors."

I love old photos, whether they are portraits of my ancestors or historical photos for the period when they lived. And it is important to a complete research that one attempts to understand the environment that surrounds our ancestors' lives if one wants to truly appreciate what they went through. 

So where can they be found?  Obviously the best resource is our own photo albums and those that our relatives possess. But what about other resources? Many archives, historical societies, libraries and genealogical societies have collections of old photos. And in the past few years there has been a massive movement towards making these historical photo collections available online. Some have search capabilities where you can actually put in a surname or a location, name of a building or historical event and find what is available.

For the state of Illinois what collections are available for you to browse and/or search online?  Here is a list of sites to start with. Please feel free to add in the comments other online resources that you might be aware of in the state.

Please be aware that there may be very strict rules regarding downloading or other use of the images that you may find. Copyright and other legal protections may be in force. Make sure that you read the limitations of use for any image that you find in these collections and wish to download and/or copy. It is your responsibility to adhere to the rules for all of these collections.

Please note that links to these sites may change in the future. The author (me) will not be constantly checking and updating these links, so if you find a broken link, please use your favorite search engine to locate the new link.

(Updated May, 2019; recently added links are in BOLD)

• Adams County Historical Photos 
• Altona Historical Photos 
• Bartlett History Museum (IL) - Bartlett  
• Belleville Historical Photos 
• Bloomington-Normal Local History Resources -Photos
• Brookfield Photo Collections 
• Champaign County Historical Society Online Collections
• Chicago - In Old Photos 
• Chicago Field Museum 
• Chicago History Museum Images
• Chicago Image Collections
• Chicago Public Library Digital Collections Photographs
• Chicago Tribune Vintage Photos 
• Clinton County Photo Gallery
• Cook County ILGenWeb Photos
• DeKalb County History Center - Sycamore  
• DeWitt County Photograph Collections
• Digital Image Collection (Western Illinois University) 
• DuPage County Historical Museum - Wheaton  
• EIU - Booth Library Digital Photo Archive 
• Elgin Area Photos 
• Elgin Historical Society - Elgin  
• Elk Grove Park District - Farmhouse Museum - Elk Grove Villiage  
• Encyclopedia of Chicago 
• Evergreen Park Public Library - Evergreen Park  
• Explore Chicago Collections 
• Hanover Park Historic Photos 
• Hieronymus Mueller Museum - Decatur  
• Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County - Quincy  
• Illinois Ancient Faces
• Illinois Civil War Soldiers Photo Album
• Illinois Dead Fred
• Illinois Digital Archives 
• Illinois Harvest Image Collections 
• Illinois Penny Postcards
• Illinois State University History Photo Collection
• Illinois Wesleyan University Historical Collections
• Images of Chicago Ridge 
• Indian Prairie Public Library Photo Albums 
• Joliet Museum Photo Gallery 
• Kewanee Historical Photographs 
• Labor & Industry Museum - Belleville  
• Lake Bluff History Museum - Lake Bluff  
• Lake Forest - Lake Bluff Historical Society - Lake Forest  
• Lake Forest College Digital Collections
• Lane County History Museum Photos 
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog 
• MacMurray College Digital Images
• Marion Photo Albums 
• Millikin University Big Blue Photograph Collection
• Montgomery County Photo Archives 
• Museum of Broadcast Communications - Chicago  
• National Archives - Digital Photograph Collections 
• Newberry Library Image Research
• North Park University Historical Photograph Collection
• Northern Illinois University Digital Library Photos
• Northwestern University Online Photo Exhibits
• Oak Lawn Public Library - Oak Lawn  
• Peoria Historical Society Image Collection 
• Polish Museum of America - Chicago  
• Quincy Area Historic Photo Collection 
• Riverdale Library Photo Albums 
• Rock Island Photo Gallery 
• Rockford Photo Collections 
• Roosevelt University Gage Gallery Photo Exhibits
• Saint Xavier University Historical Photos
• Salvation Army Central Territory History Museum - Hoffman Estates  
• Smithsonian Images 
• Southern Illinois University Photographic Collections
• Springfield Vintage Photos 
• Swenson Center-Augustana College - Rock Island  
• University of Chicago Photographic Archive 
• University of Illinois Archives 
• University of Illinois Chicago Images 
• University of Illinois Springfield Photos
• University of St. Francis, A Visual History
• Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Archive 
• Urbana Free Library Digital Collections 
• Vintage Chicago Tribune Photos 
• Vintage ISU Photos 
• Woodridge History Photos 
• Woodstock Illinois Historic Photographs 

For historic photos from other states as well as articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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Thank you for visiting The Ancestor Hunt!

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