Six Illinois communities have been chosen to host a new exhibit developed by the Smithsonian Institution. It's part of the group's "Museum on Main Street" series. The communities selected include Atlanta in Logan County, Marshall in Clark County, Shelbyville in Shelby County, Sycamore in DeKalb County, Winchester in Scott County, and Chester in Randolph County where it will begin first, shortly after Labor Day. Tammy Grah (Gr-AH) leads the effort to host the exhibit in Chester;

 

 

 

The federal and state-funded Illinois Humanities, the entity which selected the host-communities, says the exhibit will aim to examine the impact of rural American culture on the identity of the U-S. Each Illinois community selected must create a local exhibit as well, and Chester plans to focus on the first capital of Illinois, Kaskaskia, local industry and farms;

 

 

 

The exhibit entitled, "Crossroads: Change in Rural America," will start in the southwest Illinois town of Chester on September 8th. The five other Illinois communities chosen will each host it for about two months, all the way through next June.