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Bishop Hill Museum

Metzger Johnson was the architect. Bishop Hill Colony, a settlement for Swedish religious immigrants, was founded in 1846. This communal village thrived for 15 years and was the major center of commerce between Rock Island and Peoria between 1848 and 1861. The civil war and charges of financial mismanagement caused the colony to dismember and property was divided between its members.

The village was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984. Fifteen of the original 18 hand-made brick buildings still stand and many of the artifacts have survived the years. This new two-story Museum and Visitors Center was built to house treasures from the past as well as a collection of paintings by Olof Krans. His paintings provide a unique record of communal life on the prairie. His primitive style and attention to detail make these paintings valuable historic documents.

Features of the museum include a multifunctional gallery which houses the Krans collection, as well as rotating exhibits. A second floor artifact storage area and curration space houses artwork, textiles, furniture and other artifacts from the Bishop Hill Colony.