The Annex building was designed to be similar to a 19th century mechanical shop
Our Annex is now open to the public. It is located on East ‘B’ Street immediately behind the museum at 123 North Church Street.
The 12 horsepower Harrison Jumbo steam traction engine, built in Belleville in 1895, found a home in our Annex building. Jumbo was acquired from the Henry Ford Museum and lovingly restored by museum volunteers. It is on permanent display accompanied by numerous artifacts fabricated and/or used by Southwestern Illinois industries. A recent artifact donated by the Harrison family is Jumbo’s “little brother”, a model steam engine, built by Harrison Machine Work’s shop in 1925.
Visitors can view a variety of displays. Displays focus on the area’s early German language newspapers and printing, women’s roles in local work, our Knepper Racing collection, historical agriculture equipment, Gundlach coal handling equipment and asbestos shingle cutters, the Born single cylinder vertical steam engine used in Imb’s Mill, and more. We proudly display a large in-depth history honoring early labor organizer Mother Mary Jones
The 12 horsepower Harrison Jumbo steam traction engine, built in Belleville in 1895, found a home in our Annex building. Jumbo was acquired from the Henry Ford Museum and lovingly restored by museum volunteers. It is on permanent display accompanied by numerous artifacts fabricated and/or used by Southwestern Illinois industries. A recent artifact donated by the Harrison family is Jumbo’s “little brother”, a model steam engine, built by Harrison Machine Work’s shop in 1925.
Visitors can view a variety of displays. Displays focus on the area’s early German language newspapers and printing, women’s roles in local work, our Knepper Racing collection, historical agriculture equipment, Gundlach coal handling equipment and asbestos shingle cutters, the Born single cylinder vertical steam engine used in Imb’s Mill, and more. We proudly display a large in-depth history honoring early labor organizer Mother Mary Jones
Peering through the large display windows at night one can see the colorful Harrison Jumbo Traction Engine