I guess it’s possible that Only in Your State has some centenarians as readers, but for most of us, we have no idea what Illinois looked like 100 years ago. But thanks to people who kept these photos in moderately good condition and shared them, we have a better idea. Here are some great pictures of Illinois as it once was.

  1. These kids INVENTED mean mugging!

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. This was the Fort Sheridan water tower circa 1900.

armyarchAdam/Flickr

  1. This Ferris wheel was nothing like the one you see at Navy Pier.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. There was no TLC show to capture the lives of this Illinois family in 1900.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. You weren’t buying a car on credit, you were buying a wagon with cash.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. In 1908, this car was SWEEEEEET!

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. None of these football players was making $100 million a year.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. This is what a hardware store looked like in Illinois in 1905.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. I’m still not sure what the point of this picture is.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. Check out this 1910 traffic jam!

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. Much different feel at this barbershop than Supercuts or something.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. Fewer offerings than CVS at this early 1900s drugstore.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. Well-behaved Illinois schoolchildren in the early 1900s.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. Man and wife enjoying life in Arthur, IL circa 1905.

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

  1. Real Housewives of Moultrie County, circa 1905?

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

Hey, do you have some old pictures of Illinois as it once was? Be sure to share them on the Only in Illinois Facebook page!

IMLS Digital Collections/Flickr

armyarchAdam/Flickr

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