Old photos have a way of transporting us to the past, allowing us to look at what life was like way back when. If you’ve ever been curious to see what life was like in Illinois a century ago, here are 11 historic photos just to give you a small glimpse.

1. Once upon a time, when this photo was taken in 1905, this 12th Street Bridge was a bascule bridge. It is now the location of the Roosevelt Road Bridge.
trialsanderrors/Detroit Publishing Co.
2. This is a 1907 photograph of the girls' Championship Basketball Team of Batavia.
Batavia Public Library Illinois/Swan Studios/Flickr
3. Here is a 1909 photograph of a trolley on Main Street in Princeton. This mode of transportation was quite common back then.
Grant/Flickr
4. September 4, 1911, was the first Labor Day Parade in Granite City. Here you can see the horse-drawn parade float of NESCO Graniteware and Granite Ironware showing off some of their products.
Six Miles of Local History/Wm. Niepert/Flickr
5. Theodore Roosevelt made a stop in Chicago to speak to a crowd during his presidential campaign in 1912.
Theodore Roosevelt Collection/Pictorial News/Flickr
6. This photo, taken circa 1913-1914, shows a boys' high school basketball team in Arthur.
IMLS Digital Collections & Content/Flickr
7. This family reunion photo of the Allens and Swails was taken at Archie Swail's farm in Belvidere circa 1916.
Richard Hurd/Flickr
8. This 1925 photo was taken of the first stone structure built in Granite City on Cleveland Boulevard. It was built and owned by a stonemason named Louis Mehl.
Six Miles of Local History/Flickr
9. This photo, taken in 1936, shows a farmhand dumping corn into a grain elevator near Gibson City. The agricultural industry in rural Illinois is still going strong today.
Carl Mydans/Photogrammar
10. In 1936 in the small town of Aledo, men get to work at a volunteer fire department.
Russell Lee/Photogrammar
11. Taken in 1938, this photo shows both an old grocery building and the Posey Building in Shawneetown where Abraham Lincoln once had his law office.
Russell Lee/Photogrammar

Photographs are one of the best ways of preserving the past and we are lucky to see what life was like so long ago in the Prairie State. Do you enjoy looking at historic photos of Illinois? Step even further back in time by looking at some of the very first photos taken of Illinois.

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