Books about Illinois Agriculture
Ankli, Robert E. Gross Farm Revenue in Pre-Civil War Illinois. Arno Press.
Birkbeck, Morris and Flower, George (1968). History of the English Settlement in Edwards County Illinois, founded in 1817 and 1818, by Morris Birkbeck and George Flower. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
Bogue, Allan G. (1994). From Prairie to Corn Belt: Farming on the Illinois and Iowa Prairies in the nineteenth century. Iowa State University Press.
Buck, Solon J. (1967). Illinois in 1818. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Calkins, Earnest E. (1937, reprint, 1989). They Broke the Prairie: Being some account of the settlement of the upper Mississippi valley by religious and education pioneers, told in terms of Galesburg. University of Illinois Press.
Cobbett, William (1828). A Year’s Residence in the United States of America, part 3. Published by the author in London. Library of Congress, American memory Project, Travels in America.
Cronin, William (1991). Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. W.W. Norton & Co.
Davis, James E. (2000). Frontier Illinois. Indiana University Press,.
Davidson, J. Brownlee, and Chase, Leon Wilson (1999, rev. ed. 1908). Farm Machinery: Practical Hints for Handy-men. The Lyons Press.
Faragher, John Mack (1986). Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie. Yale University Press.
Killey, Myrna M. (1998). Illinois’ Ice Age Legacy. Illinois State Geological Survey.
Meyer, Douglas K. (2000). Making the Heartland Quilt: A Geographical History of Settlement and Migration in Early-Nineteenth-Century Illinois. Southern IllinoisUniversity Press, Carbondale.
Pooley, William V. (1968). Settlement of Illinois, 1830-1850. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
Salamon, Sonya (1992). Prairie Patrimony: Family, Farming, and Community in
the Midwest. The University of North Carolina Press.
Sutton, Robert P., (Ed) (1976). The Prairie State: A Documentary History of
Illinois (Colonial Years to 1860). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Thompson, John (2002). Wetlands Drainage, River Modification, and Sectoral Conflict in the Lower Illinois Valley, 1890-1930. Southern Illinois University Press.
Walker, Juliet E.K. (1983). Free Frank: A Black Pioneer on the Antebellum Frontier. University Press of Kentucky.
Walters, William (1997). The Heart of the Cornbelt: an illustrated history of corn farming in McLean County. McLean County Historical Society.
Woods, John (Paul L. Angle, Ed.) (1968). Two Years’ Residence on the English Prairie of Illinois. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, Chicago. Portions are also online at the Library of Congress’ American Memoroy Project – Travels in America.
Print Resources for More Information on Agricultural History Topics:
Farm-themed Books for Children and Young Adults
Aliki (1996). Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians. Harper Collins Children’s Books. ISBN: 0064450260. Ages 5-9. Tells the cultural importance of corn in Native American cultures.
Artley, Bob (2000). Once Upon a Farm. Pelican Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN: 1565547535. Young Adult. Nostalgic story of farm life by a retired farmer based on his memories of growing up and farming
Brown, Craig McFarland (1995). Tractor, vol. 1. Harper Collins Publishing ISBN: 0688104991. Ages 5-8. Tells about the various steps in farming
Gabbert, Lisa (2003). Midwestern Corn Festival: Ears Everywhere. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN: 0823053416. Ages 5-9
Hall, Margaret (2003), El Maíz. Heinemann Library. ISBN: 1403437351. Ages 4-6, in Spanish
Hunt, Irene (1981 reissue). Across Five Aprils. Berkeley. ISBN: 0425102416. Young adult. A boy is left to run an Illinois farm during the Civil War.
Peck, Richard (2000). Long Way from Chicago. Puffin books. ISBN: 0141303522. Young Adult. In 1929 Chicago kids go to spend time on a small Illinois farm.
