#152: Victorian Home Museum

Belleville, Illinois is the largest Southern Illinois city, surpassing what you'd think would BE the largest: East St. Louis, Effingham and Carbondale. But looking at it from another perspective, I happen to look at Belleville as just another Metro-East city that happens to be near St. Louis. I'm sure many of the locals will argue with me plenty on that one. 'Bellevegas' as it is usually dubbed, is home to the main campus of Southwestern Illinois College, and branches of Lindenwood University and SLU. Famous people include Jeff Tweedy (of the rock band Wilco), numerous athletes and politicians, oh...and this guy named Buddy Ebsen. He played a country-guy named Jed Clampett on TV's Beverly Hillbillies. Yes, the legend about him (the Wizard of Oz one) is true.

Belleville, which translates to 'beautiful city', is also the county seat of the well-populated St. Clair County. So it makes perfect sense for the St. Clair Historical Society to make its home here. The organization bought the Victorian home in 1963, and since 1968 has operated it as a museum. It is mostly decorated with 19th-century artifacts and furnishings. Among one of the things you'll see is a balcony where Abraham Lincoln stood in 1856. This year (2014) is the city's bi-centennial. Plenty of things are going to be celebrated here, and they have been already.

The cake, decorated by Paul LeFlam, I believe is supposed to focus on quilts.

Right side of the cake

St. Clair Historical Society's Official website

701 E. Washington St., BELLEVILLE, IL, 62220
Cake artist: Paul LaFlam

UPDATE (8/24/2016): The cake is still there.