Submitted story

The Champaign County Historical Society Museum, 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, invites the public to its annual membership meeting and the museum’s monthly history program, beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 28.

Presented by Darrell Heckman, the program will feature Champaign County’s connection to the Aleutian Islands, including the World War II Battle of Attu.

The brief meeting, with election of Historical Society officers and a recap of 2023, will precede the program.

Heckman will focus on the adventures of St. Paris native Charles Foster Jones, who left Champaign County for the Territory of Alaska in 1898.

There he was involved in the Alaska Gold Rush, the Iditarod, teaching rural Alaskan natives, and brutal fighting for the U.S. against Japan in the Battle of Attu, May 11-30, 1943.

The museum’s monthly history programs are free to the public.

About the Champaign County Historical Society

The museum collects, preserves, and interprets artifacts, documents, and other resources from Champaign County to educate current and future generations about our history.

The museum has been located at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, since 1972. Originally established in 1934, the museum first housed its collection at the former location of the Champaign County Library on West Market Street, and then moved to the Nutwood Barn, south of Grimes Field on North Main Street.

The Historical Society is conducting a capital campaign to expand its current facility, which is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Info from event organizers