O"Fallon Historical Society Museum

Constructed in 1905, this brick building in O'Fallon housed the First National Bank within the east end of the structure on the first floor. The second floor above the bank originally held a telephone exchange. The rest of the building was originally one story and housed a barber's office in the center and a Post Office on the west end of the building. The rest of the second floor, and a new front facade were added around 1922, and that addition to the second story of the building held professional offices. The O'Fallon Public Library occupied the second floor from 1930 to 1945 and once again from 1962 to 1995. Since 1996, the building has contained the museum of the O'Fallon Historical Society and there is no admission charge for the museum in the city-owned building.

First National Bank of O'Fallon was organized in 1903. The only bank in town had been a private bank which failed in the 1890s. Some of the original stockholders in the new bank were members of the Schalter, Taylor, Schwarz, Peach, and Reiss families. When the bank opened for business on September 1st, 1903, the bank's president was E.H. Smiley. George W. Tiedemann and Dr. H.T. Bechtold were the first vice-presidents, and W.R. Dorris was the first cashier. Since Mr. Smiley operated a drugstore in town, the bank began within the drugstore. In 1905, the bank moved to the new building on State St. across the street from the drugstore. Telephone exchange equipment also moved from the drugstore to the new building. Mr. Smiley served as bank president for thirty-nine years and Chairman of the Board for eleven years until his death in 1953. In 1943 and into the 1950s, the bank's new president was Mr. W.R. Dorris.

The oldest two-story part of the brick building was at the street corner of State St. and Depot St. (now S. Lincoln Ave.), in the eastern third of the building. In the basement is an inscription on the wall reading "L. S. Moore Sept. 30, 1904" from the day the concrete foundation was poured. The eastern third contained the First National Bank on the ground floor and a telephone exchange on the second story.

In 1921, the center of the building was a barber shop, and the west end was a jewelry store; the two-story east end was unchanged. The exterior of the building was modified to the present detailing in 1922. The interior was renovated in 1945. The O'Fallon Historical Society, founded in 1988, has been in this building since 1996. The museum takes up two floors of the building and part of the basement; the society also has storage space. There are permanent museums on the two most famous people to come from O'Fallon, Academy Award-winning actor William Holden (his birthplace house is also a Clio entry) and illustrator Bernie Fuchs. Other exhibits tell the stories of local industry including coal mining, railroads, local schools, sports, and the military. The Coal Exhibit room was new in 2017 and was the work of Tommy Fulford, a local Boy Scout, as his Eagle Scout project. The exhibit, in the basement in an old coal-burning furnace room, displays artifacts related to coal mining, one of the most important local industries, and gives visitors a feel for what it's like to be inside a mine.

The society operates a satellite museum at 214 E. First St., the Scale House. They also oversee maintenance of Rock Spring Cemetery. There is parking in front of the museum on W. State St. and in the city lot south of the building on the opposite side of the railroad tracks.

City of O'Fallon. Landmark Designations - Photos & Descriptions, Historic Preservation Commission. Accessed December 12th, 2022. https://www.ofallon.org/historic-preservation-committee/pages/historical-landmark-designation-photos.

O'Fallon Centennial Committee. O'Fallon Centennial Celebration, 1854 - 1954, Souvenir Program and History of O"Fallon. O'Fallon, IL. City of O'Fallon, 1954.

O'Fallon Historical Society. Home, O'Fallon Historical Society. January 1st, 2018. Accessed December 9th, 2022. https://www.ofallonhistory.net/homepage2.html.

O'Fallon Historical Society. Home 2, O'Fallon Historical Society. December 27th, 2017. Accessed December 9th, 2022. https://www.ofallonhistory.net/homepage2.html

O'Fallon Historical Society. Coal Exhibit, O'Fallon Historical Society. January 1st, 2018. Accessed December 9th, 2022. https://www.ofallonhistory.net/coalroom.html.

Prairie Farmer. Prairie Farmer's Reliable Directory of Farmers and Breeders, St. Clair and Monroe Counties, Illinois. Chicago, IL. Prairie Farmer, 1919.