Explore the history and legacy of Illinois State University’s first president, Charles Edward Hovey, and his contributions to Illinois’s first public university.
Building a Legacy tells Hovey’s story of how he became the university’s first president and features original materials from the campus’ first building, Old Main. Using photographs and correspondence, visitors will learn how Hovey launched the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and led university students and faculty onto the battlefields of the Civil War. With the help of Hovey’s original Civil War swords, Building a Legacy also focuses on Founders Day and the story of how these special artifacts made their way back to the institution Hovey helped to create.