–
August 25, 2026
In this semiquincentennial year, the focus has naturally been on
those brave patriots who founded our country. Fifty years later,
descendants of those same patriots fed by their “hunger for
land and an irresistible wanderlust,” came west to Illinois and
founded what became LaSalle County. Hear the stories of these
brave pioneers who settled our county, township by township.
Presented by Lorraine McCallister, president of the Reddick
Mansion Association in Ottawa, Illinois, this presentation will
also include the story of pioneer Elsie Strawn Armstrong, told
in the first-person. Leaving her husband behind in Ohio, Elsie
came to LaSalle County in 1831 with her seven sons. In her
later years, she recorded her memories in verse, several of
which Elsie will share as she tells her story.
