Madison County history and Living History Days with Cindy and Mark
EDWARDSVILLE/GLEN CARBON - The Madison County Historical Society will host their annual Living History Days festival this weekend.
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From Friday, Oct. 2, to Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, community members can visit different historical sites in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon to learn more about local history. With events planned at the 1820 Benjamin Stephenson House, the Wildey Theatre, Yanda Log Cabin, Edwardsville Children's Museum, Chautauqua and more, the weekend promises to be a fun opportunity to learn about and connect with the community.
“The Historical Society’s mission is not only to remind people about our history, but to preserve history for our generations going forward,” said Mark Von Nida with the organization. “That’s one of the reasons why we have a very active program.”
The Living History Days weekend is part of this. On Friday, Oct. 2, the fun runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Col. Benjamin Stephenson House, where you can enjoy free outdoor activities. Entrance to the house costs $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 6–12. The house will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday as well.
On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Edwardsville Public Library Book Fair will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at City Park alongside the Goshen Community Market, which runs from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Yanda Log Cabin Day runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with demonstrations, music, house tours, festival food, and craft vendors.
The Edwardsville Children’s Museum is also open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with free activities and access to the Nickel Plate Station. Admission to the main museum costs $8.
At 8 p.m. on Oct. 2, YesSongs (The Return of) will perform at the Wildey Theatre for $25 per person. On Saturday, Oct. 3, you can enjoy Black Magic: The Santana Experience at 8 p.m. for $25.
On Sunday, Oct. 4, the fun hits Chautauqua with a performance by Dolley Madison and Friends at City Park. From 1–4 p.m., you can enjoy reenactors playing Ellijah Lovejoy, Dolley Madison and Hooper Warren.
There will be music by Edwardsville High School students and the Municipal Band Quintet. From 1–4 p.m. at City Park, you can also check out an Early American Crafters fair and the MCHS Used Book Sale.
All of these events promise to be fun, engaging ways to connect with local history. Cindy Reinhardt and Von Nida agree that Madison County has impressive historical significance, and they believe in the importance of preserving and sharing these legacies. The Living History Days weekend allows them to do so.
“You step back in time,” Reinhardt said. “You’re driving by history every day.”
The Madison County Historical Society will continue this work. They have several programs and initiatives through which they preserve artifacts; you can visit their official website to learn more. They hope that by saving history, we can learn from it and go on to teach our own lessons.
“That’s the most important mission of the historical society, to remind people, not only do we have great history here, but we’re living history,” Von Nida added. “That’s something that people don’t really think about. These things that happen that impact us nationally occur here in our lifetimes. We don’t think about it as history, but in fact, as our generation goes forward, as our kids and our grandkids and our great-grandkids go forward, they’re going to be looking back on this time and asking, ‘Did you preserve that?’”
For more information about the Madison County Historical Society’s Living History Days weekend, including a full schedule, visit the official webpage.
