Illinois Humanities Grantee Partner Spotlight - Mendota Museum & Historical Society

In the north-central region of Illinois, the city of Mendota celebrates its history and embraces the stories of all its residents. Located in LaSalle County, Mendota was established in 1853 as a railroad town and has an extensive history in commerce, industry, and agriculture.  

With a population of just over 7000, Mendota has a family-oriented, small-town feel that residents describe as warm, inviting, and especially peaceful, or in Spanish, ‘tranquilo.’     

The city thrives through the efforts of its dedicated residents, with many volunteering and collaborating with local organizations. Spaces like the Mendota Museum & Historical Society (MMHS) help teach the area’s rich history and provide opportunities for the community to learn, celebrate, and gather. 

Founded in 1993, MMHS’s mission is to educate, preserve, and interpret the history of the Mendota area. Visitors can explore three different museums: Union Depot Railroad Museum, Hume-Carnegie Museum, and Breaking the Prairie Museum, all touching on various periods in the city’s history. 

With only 2 part-time staff, the local historical society relies heavily on 15-20 volunteers and partnerships with organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and Graves-Hume Public Library. MMHS Executive Director, Alex Revzan, volunteered at the organization during graduate school after switching careers from financial services to public history and museum consulting.  

In 2025, MMHS received an Illinois Humanities Project Grant to fund a documentary showcasing the migration stories of five individuals who first moved to Mendota in the 60s and 70s from the same small town in Mexico.  

Where Our Paths Meet: Journeys to Mendota came about when Revzan was approached with an oral history project idea by community volunteer Amy Brewer. After Brewer’s family moved to Mendota in 1973, she grew up in the city and taught there for 33 years.  

“It’s changed a lot over that time and yet it hasn’t. It’s one of those kinds of places if you leave and come back, it’s still here for you,” said Brewer.  

Following two fires in the city’s historic downtown in 2022, Brewer was one of several volunteers with Reimagine Mendota who kickstarted Mendota’s path towards revitalization. They used a Seed Grant from Community Heart & Soul to survey 25% of the population on what they love about Mendota and want to see next. The data inspired Brewer to pursue the history project and led to more events dedicated to celebrating Mendota’s rich cultural history. 

After hearing that residents value history and want to see more events for the entire community, Reimagine Mendota held the first annual Amigo Fest in 2024. The street festival brought everyone together by showcasing entertainment in both English and Spanish. Two bands took turns playing in both languages and a flag procession included both U.S. and Mexican national anthems.  

It was at this festival that Brewer saw local business owner and community volunteer, Eddie Diaz, interviewing Elida Artega, a well-known Mendota resident and longtime educator. Afterwards, Brewer spoke to Diaz about how great the interview was. “We’ve got to get that on video,” said Brewer. “We can’t let that be a one-time event. People have to remember that.”

Diaz noticed a large percentage of Hispanic residents in Mendota moved there from the same small Mexican town of Atolinga, Zacatecas, including Artega who he interviewed.  

“I found that Elida and her husband were the first ones to come here and then invited other families,” said Diaz. 

Born and raised in Mendota, Diaz owns a Hispanic grocery store and banquet hall. With the same vision and curiosity, it only made sense for Revzan and Brewer to include Diaz as the interviewer and narrator to help make these unique local stories accessible. 

“We thought we could do that pretty easily, but with some funding, we could do it a lot bigger and a lot better,” said Revzan. The Illinois Humanities Project Grant allowed Executive Producers Revzan, Brewer, and Diaz to hire a professional videographer and film and archive interviews.  

Over two days, Diaz conducted interviews in Spanish with the five individuals. Having known the participants his whole life, they felt comfortable opening up about their experience and struggles when first arriving to Mendota. Families were surprised but excited to see their moms and aunts telling their immigration stories and thoughts on the town.  

The interviews are archived at Northern Illinois University’s Midwest Latinx Oral History Digital Library. Once processed, the stories will be available as primary sources for researchers and scholars to access, so these legacies can be carried on for generations to come. 

In September of 2025, a great turnout of over 200 people attended a free opening event for the documentary at Diaz Banquet Hall. Besides the archived raw footage, the grant made it possible to create an accessible film for the Mendota community. For many residents, it was eye opening to hear their neighbors’ stories and how much they also enjoy living there. 

 “As a community, when you know more about other people, you feel more welcome and more neighborly with them,” said Diaz.  

MMHS has the documentary available on their website and a temporary accompanying exhibit at the Hume-Carnegie Museum featuring the documentary, oral history interviews, and photos and objects loaned from community members. 

This was the first time Mendota’s Hispanic community, about 40% of the population, saw their stories reflected in the museum.  “I had so many people contact me and say thank you for doing this. We really appreciate being heard and somebody honoring our stories was really important,” said Brewer.  

Mendota Museum & Historical Society (MMHS) continues to be an important hub bringing rich history to life for the city and all of LaSalle County. With such a small team, community support is crucial to making this work a reality.  

Curious to learn more about this resilient, close-knit community? Watch the full documentary online and visit MMHS’s website or Facebook page to learn more about their upcoming programs and collaborations.