This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Old-time show business flourished in Du Quoin to Cairo
Peyton Burkitt recalls a vanished entertainment era when Du Quoin Centralia and Cairo drew big stage shows airdomes and tent circuses along the Illinois Central main line. Silent films and traveling bands filled nights as acts moved from town to town before television era changes. Burkitt, a Capitol Theater projectionist since 1923, notes theaters and circuses shaped local culture with figures like Ringling Bros Buffalo Bill and Will Keigley guiding the era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
du Quoin
Centralia
Cairo
Southern Illinois
Dave Hurst
Ilinois
Peyton Burkitt
Capital Theater
Benton
Capitol
Burkitt
Ilinois Central
Chicar
Keigley
Ringling
Bros
Buffalo
Will Keigley