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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Benld Public Library

Benld, Illinois

Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Benld.

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1Title

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1900Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

178Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Benld, Illinois.

Get to know Benld, Illinois in earlier years through photographs and illustrations shared in the Benld Public Library's digital archive. The archive includes Photos, with material from 1900.

You can open the archive using the link below.
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  • Selected title

    The collection shared by Benld Public Library features “Photos”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • Ways to explore

    Look closely at visible details. Where a caption or date is available, keep it with your notes; an image alone may not establish a person’s identity.

An image can offer another perspective on the past, revealing details of people and places that a written account may describe differently or leave unmentioned. Start with a visible detail or caption that raises a question. Separate what the image shows from what you infer, and compare another source where available. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Explore Photos through 178 digitized pages, with material from 1900. A partnership between Benld Public Library and Advantage Archives makes this collection available.

You may be tracing a family story, exploring a familiar place or simply curious. The source offers a point to begin.

Photos

178 pages in 1900

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About the Archive

About The Benld Public Library’s History Archives

Current collection titles. The collection list currently shows “Photos”. The description below also mentions newspapers, which are not shown in this list. View collection titles.

The Frank Bertetti Benld Public Library provides free and open access to local history through its Community History Archive, allowing residents, researchers, and genealogists to explore primary sources documenting the people, places, and events that shaped Benld and Macoupin County, Illinois. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives , the archive offers practical online access to historical newspapers and community records through a searchable digital platform available at no cost. The archive includes digitized newspapers and local historical materials spanning the late 19th century through the modern era, preserving firsthand accounts and a snapshot of time that reflects “history as it happened” in this coal mining community. These materials serve as an educational resource and engagement tool that supports genealogy, research, and long-term preservation of local cultural assets.

Benld Public Library photo 1

About the Library

About The Benld Public Library

The Frank Bertetti Benld Public Library, located at 308 East Central Avenue in Benld, Illinois, serves as a central educational resource and community hub for residents of Benld and surrounding communities. The library provides access to books, digital resources, public computers, and educational programming that support literacy, lifelong learning, and community engagement. In addition to traditional library services, the library maintains a dedicated Benld History section featuring photographs, military records, business listings, and local historical collections that help preserve the community’s collective history. The library also participates in the Illinois Heartland Library System, expanding accessibility to shared regional resources and research tools.

Library History

The History Of The Benld Public Library

The Frank Bertetti Benld Public Library developed as part of the community’s broader efforts to support education and preserve local heritage within a historic coal mining region. Over time, the library expanded beyond circulating collections to become an important repository for local historical materials, photographs, and genealogy resources connected to Benld’s immigrant and mining communities. Preservation initiatives such as “Sharing Benld’s Memories” encouraged residents to contribute personal stories, photographs, and memorabilia documenting everyday life and community traditions. Through these efforts and ongoing digitization projects, the library continues to strengthen accessibility to historical content while safeguarding local records for future generations.

About the Community

About Benld, Illinois

Benld is a city located in Macoupin County, Illinois, established in the early 20th century as a coal mining community. The city’s name derives from founder Benjamin L. Dorsey, combining portions of his first and middle names. Benld became home to many immigrant families, particularly Eastern European and Carpatho-Rusyn communities who arrived to work in local coal mines. The region’s history reflects the importance of mining, labor, immigration, and railroad transportation in shaping southern Illinois communities. Today, Benld continues to preserve its cultural heritage through libraries, local archives, and historical organizations dedicated to documenting the stories of the area’s residents and industries.

Local History

Did You Know?

Did you know that Benld was the site of one of the most famous meteorite strikes in American history? In 1938, a meteorite crashed through the roof of a garage in Benld and embedded itself in the seat of a parked Pontiac coupe, becoming one of the few recorded meteorites to strike a man-made object. Parts of the vehicle and the meteorite are now preserved at the Field Museum in Chicago.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Record the image's source details

If a family or community story points to an image from Benld, preserve its title and caption from the photographs and illustrations shared by the Benld Public Library. Compare visible details with another source, but leave names and dates unconfirmed when the image does not identify them. Note its title or caption and any date or creator supplied with it. Keep your visual observations separate from information added by another source.

Compare a promising result with the title information and date context available for it. If the details do not fit your question, keep it as a possible lead and look for another account or source where available rather than forcing a connection.

Capture the title, date, and page or item location for a detail you may want to revisit. Label your interpretation as your reading, not the source's own words. Keep enough context with the note that another reader can retrace it.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Benld Public Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.

Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.

Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.

Learn about partnerships
Read All About It

Stories, research tips, and archive news

Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.

Newest published articles

March 18, 2025

It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?

We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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