The Pullman Porters Exhibit
The The Pullman train cars at the museum opened to the public in 2022 after many years of restoration. In following with the Pullman theme, new in 2024 is the Pullman Porters Exhibit.
The first black labor union was founded in 1925, known as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, it was organized by the African – American employees of the Pullman Company (Pullman Porters).
While life on the rails was filled with adversity, Pullman Porters helped fuel the Great Migration, shaped the black middle class, and laid groundwork for the Civil Rights movement.
A special talk about the Pullman Porters will be offered on August 25th in collaboration with the Bradley Department of African American Studies.
The Averyville Experience
In 2023 the museum acquired an Avery Tractor Model 5-10 made in Peoria in 1916. The tractor represents the culmination of an ongoing effort to emphasize Peoria’s local history to our visitors. “Averyville” is a new concept at the museum: Artifacts locally made are prominently marked and identified as part of a unified visitor experience. The “local artifact” is a way to acknowledge and recognize the merits of Peoria’s past.
