» 2025 Educational Events Sponsored wholly or in part by the BHHA Bishop Hill Heritage

Gunsmiths of Henry County, IL

On Saturday, May 17, 2025, the Bishop Hill Heritage Association is hosting Gunsmiths of Henry County, IL program by Curt Johnson, author of Gunmakers of Illinois 1683-1900. His presentation will be on the gunsmiths of Illinois, with an emphasis on Henry County gunmakers. Guns made by area gunsmiths will also be on display.

Mr. Johnson’s program will include the gunsmiths that worked on Illinois soil during the French Colonial period. He will then talk about the early Illinois territory gunmakers. His presentation will then conclude with the gunsmiths of Henry County, and the adjoining counties of Whiteside, Bureau, Stark, Knox, Mercer, and Rock Island.

Curt Johnson is a retired tool & die maker with a lifelong interest in antique firearms. His two-volume book set, Gunmakers of Illinois 1683-1900, has information on over 1,500 early Illinois gunsmiths. This free one-hour public program will now start at 1 p.m. on the second floor of the Blacksmith Shop, located at 203 North Bishop Hill Street in Bishop Hill, Illinois. It is sponsored by the Geneseo Foundation and the Galesburg Community Foundation. For more details, please call the BHHA at 309 927-3899 or email bhha@mymctc.net.

August 9, 2025 Bishop Hill Chautauqua

This year is Henry County’s Bicentennial. So, in honor of this occasion, the Bishop Hill Chautauqua will look back at the people who impacted Henry County history. A modern-day Chautauqua is when storytellers, actors, and historians perform first-person portrayals of famous historical figures. This free festival will occur in the village park gazebo on Saturday August 9.

The day begins at 9 a.m. with “A Storyteller’s Tour of Bishop Hill”, a walking tour led by professional storyteller and historian Brian “Fox” Ellis. The tour will last about 90 minutes and circle the town. The tour will include stories of the founding of the town, as well as some of its more colorful recent history.

After the tour, the programs will start in the gazebo. At 10:30 a.m. in the park, Jimmy Lakota Edwards will talk about Native American history in our area. At 1 p.m., Brian “Fox” Ellis will perform as Benjamin Dunn Walsh, the first State Entomologist of Illinois who lived just outside the Bishop Hill Colony. Mr. Ellis will give an outsider’s viewpoint of the Bishop Hill Colony. At 2 p.m., Angie Snook, retired Geneseo Historical Museum director, will portray Harriet Cone Miller, a member of one of the founding families of Geneseo. Mrs. Snook will tell us the inner workings of the Underground Railroad in Henry County. At 3 p.m., singer-songwriter Barry Cloyd will portray Illinois poet laureate and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg. Carl Sandburg’s sister Mary was a teacher at the Bishop Hill Colony School. To conclude the day, at 4:00 p.m., the Bishop Hill Heritage Association is hosting a fika with the performers at the park gazebo. Fika is a Swedish tradition of coffee and conversation; in this instance the audience is invited to ask questions of the performer and about their historical characters.

All the Chautauqua programs will be held at the gazebo in Bishop Hill’s town square, on the corners of Main Street and Bishop Hill Road, in Bishop Hill, IL. Folks are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. This free public event is sponsored by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, Community State Bank, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, Geneseo Foundation, Galesburg Community Foundation, and Fox Tales International. For more information, call 309-927-3899, visit www.bishophillheritage.org or email bhha@mymctc.net .

Enjoy 2025 Jordbruksdagarna (Ag Days) in Historic Bishop Hill!

The annual 19th century harvest festival Jordbruksdagarna (pronounced yord-brooks-DAH-ga-na) will take place Saturday September 27 and Sunday September 28, 2025 in historic Bishop Hill, IL. As always, there will be a variety of traditional craft demonstrations, food, vendors, and hands-on activities for the children during the 53rd Jordbruksdagarna (Swedish for “agricultural days”) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Demonstrations, hands-on activities, music, and the history skit are all free.

In the village park each day, artisans will weave, carve wood, forge metal, make butter, and more. Vendors will also be selling baked goods, crafts, and much more in the park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Musical performances will include Coffee Creek at noon and 2 p.m., and the Nordic Dancers of Chicago at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day at the gazebo. Miller’s Petting Zoo will be located in the northwest corner of the park.

Jordbruksdagarna is not just in the park but all over Bishop Hill. Uncle Bud’s Apple Cider Slushie and Pop of the Morning will be next to the Carpenter Building serving food and drinks. Nature’s Creations will be selling pumpkins, gourds, and more by the Colony Store. Behind the Bjorklund Hotel from noon to 4 p.m. each day, visitors, especially children, can try their hand at shelling corn, making bricks, pressing apples into cider, and creating a cornhusk doll. You can view sorghum pressing and cooking. Visitors can explore Henry County’s agricultural heritage at the Henry County Historical Museum, where a variety of antique tractors and implements will be on display outdoors. Each day at the Henry County Historical Museum and by the Krans Livery Stable, the Bishop Hill Agricultural Association will be conducting 19th century harvest activities. The Colony School will be hosting “Meet the Colonists” display. Author Mary Davidsaver will be doing a book signing at the Prairie Arts Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tractor people movers will also be available to transport people around town to experience many of the activities, museums, and stores that Bishop Hill has to offer. All the previously mentioned activities will be occurring both days.

On Saturday September 27 only, at the Colony School, the Old Settlers’ Association will be selling their famous Colony Stew from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. At the Steeple Building Museum, the BHHA Acting Troupe will perform their Bishop Hill Colony history skit On the Road Again! starting at 11 a.m. In the southwest corner of the park, TriCo Equestrian Center will have pony rides from noon to 3 p.m. for a fee. The traditional Irish music duo “The Ammonites” will be busking outside the Bishop Hill Creative Commons from noon to 2 p.m. Author Jannifer Powelson will be doing a book signing at the Prairie Arts Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the Henry County Museum, there will be a special Native American program. Finally, the Bishop Hill Methodist Church will be having a bake sale and Operation Christmas Child will be having a pulled ham lunch by the Steeple Building.

On Sunday September 28 only, there will be a Community Church Service in the park at 10 a.m. open to all.

For more details about Jordbruksdagarna activities, call 309 927-3899, email bhha@mymctc.net, or view www.visitbishophill.com. Jordbruksdagarna is organized by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association and supported by the Bishop Hill State Historic Site, Bishop Hill Agricultural Association, and VASA National Archives. The event is also partly funded by the Illinois Art Council, Nature’s Creations, State Bank of Toulon, Terra Form Power, Wilbur and Marilyn Nelson, River Valley Cooperative, Gold Star FS, Peck Farms, and Henry County Independent Insurance Agents Association. WJRE is our major media sponsor. The Cambridge FFA, Galva FFA, and Galva Boy Scouts provided special assistance, along with many other volunteers.

BASIC WOOD CARVING WORKSHOP WITH DENNIS CARLSON
Learn basic woodcarving skills and take home your very own snowman on October 18, 2025! Students will be provided a wood roughcut, along with a quality carving knife, protective Kevlar glove and thumb guard. This class is designed as a beginner’s class but some experience handling a knife and working with wood will be helpful. The participants will learn proper carving techniques with emphasis on safety. They will also leave with an understanding of the nature of wood and various finishing options. The class will be taught at the Dairy Building from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunch will be on your own. The cost is $30 per student. Class size is limited to 10 students. Register by calling 309 927-3899 or emailing bhha@mymctc.net Sponsored by the BHHA, Geneseo Foundation, Galesburg Community Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council. Snowman pictured is one that you will carved but will have to paint at home.

Mike Anderson, the Dulcimer Guy, will be teaching a mountain dulcimer workshop starting at 1 p.m. in the Dairy Building on Saturday November 15. Mike Anderson is one of the premier Mountain Dulcimer Players in the country with six instrumental dulcimer recordings to his credit. From North Carolina to Louisiana to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Mike makes traditional and modern music come alive on this mountain instrument. The mountain dulcimer workshop will include basics like strumming and reading tablature. It will also contain advanced skills like chording and decorating songs with “tricks.” Please bring your own dulcimer but there will be a couple of instruments to play. The main focus will be being able to play and to enhance the skills you already have. No reservations are necessary. For more information, please email bhha@mymctc.net or call 309 927-3899. The Dairy Building is located at 410 North Erickson Street. Sponsored by the BHHA, Geneseo Foundation, Galesburg Community Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council.

Renowned Swedish vocal ensemble, Kongero, will teach a variety of Swedish folk songs and tunes in 2- to 4-part harmony – all by ear, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Dairy Building on Saturday December 6. Kongero works and experiments with genre specific sounds, grooves, articulation, improvisation, and ornaments, in what they term folk’apella. The participants will get tips and feed-back on vocal technique, intonation, tools for improving their singing together, basic arranging ideas, and we always have a lovely and fun time singing. The four Kongero singers are all skilled and experienced workshop leaders. Kongero has released two Song Books with the songs and arrangements they teach in workshop settings. All levels and ages of singers are welcome! Kongero teaches elementary school children all the way up to mixed age choirs and look forward to singing with you! Song books will be available for sale at the workshop, but are not necessary for participation. Reservations are not required. For more information about this workshop, please call 309-927-3899 or email bhha@mymctc.net. Sponsored by the BHHA, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, and SWEA-Chicago.