The Busey Family
Contributions made to the Development
of the City of Champaign Urbana
Patricia Plaut
Summer Fellowship 2009
To download this lesson in PDF format, click here.
Lesson 6:
(1-2 days)
The Busey
family contributed land to Urbana Country Club and Woodlawn Cemetery land. The Busey family plot is located in what is now Woodlawn
Cemetery.
Procedures:
á
Have students
listen to a portion of audiotape, UrbanaCntryClubBusey [Annual Meeting of the Urbana Half-Century Club,
October 22, 1987.]
á
Ask them what
part of the country club was Busey land [show map of
Urbana] and how did Urbana Country Club eventually get this land.
á
Hand out WoodlawnCemetery.
á
Ask, why is
Woodlawn Cemetery not named the Busey Cemetery? What
was in the land that was donated by the Busey family?
á
Have students
look at the Google map or a city map of Urbana and have them find Busey Woods, Urbana Country Club, and Woodlawn Cemetery.
Ask them to approximate the number of city blocks this land amounts to.
á
Show students
the picture of the Busey tombstones located in Busey Woods, BuseyTombstones, and the Memorial to Lit. Charles Bowen Busey, LitBuseyMemorial, also
located in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Attachment: none
Analysis of Local Primary Sources:
á
The audiotape on
the History of Urbana Country Club contains a portion that explains the
contribution of the Busey family to this institution.
Source: Annual Meeting of the Urbana Half-Century Club, October 22, 1987
available from the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library,
210 West Green St. Urbana, Il.
á
Google map of
Urbana focusing on the area that lays East of Lincoln Ave., North of University
Ave., West of Cunningham Ave., and South of Highway 74.
á
Photographs
taken by Patricia Plaut in July 2009: BuseyTombstones, and LitBuseyMemorial,
at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Analysis of Local Secondary Sources:
á
The article, Add 75 Acres to Woodlawn points out that
the Busey family laid Woodlawn and the Busey added adjoining land later. Source available from the
Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210
West Green St. Urbana, Il.
Ties to a National Primary Source: none.