Illinois Online Historical Photos Research

An old proverb states that “the eyes are the windows into the soul.” A genealogy corollary is that “a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors.”

I love old photos, whether they are portraits of my ancestors or historical photos of the period when they lived. And it is important to a complete research that one attempts to understand the environment that surrounds our ancestors’ lives if one wants to truly appreciate what they went through. 

So where can they be found?  Obviously, the best resource is our own photo albums and those that our relatives possess. But what about other resources? Many archives, historical societies, libraries, and genealogical societies have collections of old photos. And in the past few years, there has been a massive movement towards making these historical photo collections available online. Some have search capabilities where you can actually put in a surname or a location, the name of a building, or a historical event and find what is available.

For the state of Illinois, what collections are available for you to browse and/or search online?  Here is a list of sites to start with. Please feel free to add in the comments other online resources that you might be aware of in the state.

Please be aware that there may be very strict rules regarding downloading or other use of the images that you may find. Copyright and other legal protections may be in force. Make sure that you read the limitations of use for any image that you find in these collections and wish to download and/or copy. It is your responsibility to adhere to the rules for all of these collections.

Please note that links to these sites may change in the future. The author (me) will not constantly be checking and updating these links, so if you find a broken link, please use your favorite search engine to locate the new link.

(Updated April 2023)

Illinois Historical Photo Archives

• Adams County Historical Photos
• African American Cultural Life (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)
• Altona Historical Photos
• American Sokol Organization – Brookfield
• Bartlett History Museum (IL) – Bartlett 
• Belleville Historical Photos
• Benedictine University and Area Photos
• Bloomington-Normal Local History Resources -Photos
• Brookfield Photo Collections
• CCC I & M Canal Photographs (Lewis University)
• Champaign County Historical Society Online Collections
• Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits
• Chicago – In Old Photos
• Chicago – Photographic Images of Change (University of Illinois at Chicago)
• Chicago Field Museum
• Chicago Historical Photographs
• Chicago History Museum Images
• Chicago Image Collections
• Chicago Park District Records, Photographs
• Chicago Public Library Digital Collections Photographs
• Chicago Tribune Vintage Photos
• Chicago Urban League Photos (University of Illinois at Chicago)
• Chronicling Illinois – Illinois Photographic Collection
• Clark County Photo Album
• Clinton County Photo Gallery
• Crawford County Photos
• Daily Life Along the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Newberry Library)
• Decatur Public Library Local History Photos
• DeKalb County History Center – Sycamore 
• Digital Image Collection (Western Illinois University)
• Doc Horrell Southern illinois Mining Photo Collection (Southern Illinois University Carbondale)
• DuPage County Historical Museum – Wheaton 
• Eddie Winfred Doc Helm Photograph Collection
• EFCA Historic Photograph Collection (Trinity International University)
• EIU – Booth Library Digital Photo Archive
• Elgin Area Photos
• Elgin Historical Society – Elgin 
• Encyclopedia of Chicago
• Erikson Institute Historical Photos
• Evansville Historic Photo Collection
• Evergreen Park Public Library – Evergreen Park 
• Explore Chicago Collections
• Galva Old Photos
• Hanover Park Historic Photos
• Hieronymus Mueller Museum – Decatur 
• Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County – Quincy 
• Illinois Ancient Faces
• Illinois Archives – Abandoned Building Photography
• Illinois Cabinet Cards
• Illinois Civil War Photos – Boys in Blue
• Illinois Civil War Soldiers Photo Album
• Illinois Dead Fred
• Illinois Digital Archives
• Illinois Harvest Image Collections
• Illinois Penny Postcards
• Illinois Railway Museum Photo Galleries
• Illinois State University History Photo Collection
• Illinois Wesleyan University Historical Collections
• Illinois, DP.LA Photos
• Illinois, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives
• Images of Chicago Ridge
• Indian Prairie Public Library Photo Albums
• Jefferson County Photo Collections
• Jo Daviess County Photo Gallery
• John Dewey Photograph Collection (Southern Illinois University Carbondale)
• Johnson County Photos
• Joliet Historical Photos
• Kewanee Historical Photographs
• Knox College Photos
• Labor & Industry Museum – Belleville 
• Lake Bluff History Museum – Lake Bluff 
• Lake Forest College Digital Collections
• Lane County History Museum Photos
• Lawrence County Photo Gallery
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs – Illinois
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
• Litchfield Photograph Collection
• Lockport Area Photos
• Lockport Slides, 1966-1995
• Macon County Picture Album
• Macoupin County Photographs
• Madison County Historical Archive
• Marion Photo Albums
• McDonough County Genealogical Society Historic Photos
• McLean County Museum of History – Pantagraph Negatives Collection
• Millikin University Big Blue Photograph Collection
• Monroe County Photos and Pictures
• Morgan County Photos
• Museum of Broadcast Communications – Chicago 
• National Archives – Digital Photograph Collections
• Newberry Library Image Research
• North Park University Historical Photograph Collection
• Northeastern Illinois University Images
• Northern Illinois University Digital Library Photos
• Northwestern University Online Photo Exhibits
• Oak Lawn Public Library – Oak Lawn 
• Peoria Historical Society Image Collection
• Pictures of Early Ogle County Settlers
• Pieces of Parkridge – Photos
• Polish Museum of America – Chicago 
• Poplar Creek Public Library District Digital Collection
• Pullman Museum Photographs
• Quincy Area Historic Photo Collection
• Randolph County Photo Albums
• Raupp Museum Photos
• Riverdale Library Photo Albums
• Riverside Illinois Photo Albums
• Rock Island Photo Gallery
• Rockford Midway Village Museum Image Collection
• Rockford Photo Collections
• Roosevelt University Gage Gallery Photo Exhibits
• Saint Xavier University Historical Photos
• Saline County Photos
• Salvation Army Central Territory History Museum – Hoffman Estates 
• Schuyler County Photo Albums
• Smithsonian Images
• Southern Illinois University Photographic Collections
• Southern Illinois Virtual Museum
• Springfield Vintage Photos
• State Historic Preservation Photo Galleries
• Stephenson County Photos and Postcards
• Swenson Center-Augustana College – Rock Island 
• University of Chicago Photographic Archive
• University of Iillinois Digital Collections
• University of Illinois Archives
• University of Illinois Chicago Images
• University of Illinois Springfield Photos
• University of St. Francis, A Visual History
• Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Archive
• Urbana Free Library Digital Collections
• Urbana Free Library Digital Exhibits
• Vintage Aerial Photos – Illinois
• Vintage Chicago Illinois
• Vintage Chicago Tribune Photos
• Vintage ISU Photos
• Western Illinois University Libraries Digital Image Collection
• Wilmette Library Photos
• Woodridge History Photos
• Woodstock Illinois Historic Photographs
• Woodstock Public Library Historical Photographs

For historical photos from other states and articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.