The Kammeyer Collection

The Washington Historical Society was created in 1980. Prior to that, one couple made a hobby of creating their own museum of both Washington history and history in general.

Carl Kammeyer became the minister at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in 1940. The parsonage for the Church was at 136 South Main Street, a house which was razed for the construction of the First National Bank in 1969.

Carl and his wife Julia spent their free time acquiring items at auctions and sales, restoring them, and creating wondrous displays in the basement of their home.

Some of the items that were part of the Kammeyer museum collection that were specific to Washington include:

· A spice mill used in Benford Grocery

· An herb mill used in Alphono’s Drug Store

· A coffee grinder used in the Model Grocery Store & Bakery

· An apple butter kettle from Model Grocery Store & Bakery

· A paint mill used by Onno Habben

· A flax wheel used by Anna Nafziger, who came to Washington in 1838

· Hitching posts from the original St. Mark’s Church

Beyond the Washington-specific items were hundreds of items that told the story of most aspects of early American living.

The photos above were taken right before Carl and Julia’s collection was boxed up in 1964, as they were moving to Moline, Illinois. Except for a very few items that they took with them, the museum’s items went to a warehouse in Peoria, until the proper time to display them.

In 1962, the Heart of Illinois Fair constructed a special exhibit featuring items used on the farm over 100 years ago. The popularity of the exhibit led to plans for a permanent museum. In 1965 an architect was hired to design a permanent structure on the grounds of Exposition Gardens for the museum, and the local Grange organizations helped to secure donations of items to be featured in the collection. The largest of which, by far, was the collection of Carl and Julia Kammeyer.

The Museum of Central Illinois Agriculture opened on July 16, 1966 at the Heart of Illinois Fair, and the vast majority of items in the museum were from the Kammeyer collection. Central Illinois was finally able to see the fruits of Carl & Julia’s labor of love.

The museum continued at the Fair until 1988, then due to low numbers of visitors it was decided to close the exhibit. In early 1989 the controversial decision was made to auction off the donated items housed in the collection. Many people spoke out in the media against the auction, some people trying to claim items as theirs, while others questioning the morality of auctioning off donated items altogether. On March 29, 1989, the auction was held, and the museum’s contents including the vast Kammeyer collection was scattered to the winds to various highest bidders.