2024 McConnell Ball

Get ready for this year's hottest event: the 2024 McConnell Ball!

You won't want to miss this elegant evening of music, food, beverages, a silent auction, and an exclusive Eldredge Mystery presentation. Don your swankiest gown, dust off that tux, and take a twirl around the dance floor.


100% of funds raised go to W.A. McConnell Foundation's mission of preserving and protecting the heritage and history of Richmond, Illinois.

Each $50 ticket purchase includes

• Heavy hors d'oeuvres

• Two drink tickets

• LIVE music

• EXCLUSIVE Eldredge Mystery presentation and gallery

• Silent auction

Thank you to all our event sponsors, who make events like this possible:

Richmond-Spring Grove Area Rotary

Hoffman Development Group, LLC

Nature's Feed

Anonymous donor: "Friends of W.A. McConnell Foundation"

Re-max

Country Financial

Click HERE to buy tickets.

Richmond Cemetery Tours

The Richmond Cemetery offers a window into the Village of Richmond’s rich and fascinating history. Follow a docent on a guided tour and take a unique look into the town’s intriguing past. You’ll meet costumed enacters and narrators and learn about influential and notable people who shaped Richmond, Illinois into what it is today. 

All proceeds go towards Richmond’s W.A. McConnell Foundation and their preservation and educational efforts to protect the history of the greater Richmond, Illinois area.

Click HERE to purchase tickets.  

Wooden Bridge Named as Top Endangered Site

On May 4, 2023, Richmond's Wooden Bridge was named as one of the 2023 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois by Landmarks Illinois! This designation is well-deserved and, we hope, will help to secure proper maintenance and preservation of this iconic community landmark.

Find the full info here: www.landmarks.org/preservation-programs/most-endangered-historic-places-in-illinois/

What are some ways you can help?


Thank You

Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to save Richmond's oldest standing building, Old No. 90, built by Charles Cotting around 1844. Initial preservation plans include stabilization of the foundation, as water along the sidewalk has caused detioration and movement. 

Richmond, Illinois

A wooden bridge. A bonafide historic Main Street. An original farmstead. A life-giving creek. Working farms and silos. An oak tree. Centuries-old resting places marking those who have gone before us. 


When pioneer William McConnell set his gaze upon the North branch of the Nippersink Creek after travelling from Pennsyvania, he quickly knew this was the place he wanted to call home and start his family. McConnell slept under an oak tree that first night. A carpenter by trade, he soon built a small log cabin next to the shallow winding creek, laid claim to a plot of land, and shortly thereafter married Elizabeth Bodine. While raising three sons, McConnell acted as postmaster, commissioner, and judge, along with founding the Richmond Bank and several other businesses. William McConnell was a prominent and busy man, but he always found time to give back to his community. 


William McConnell passed away in 1887, but his legacy lives on in our community and in the original mid-19th century relics sprinkled in and around the town. Our quaint, unique village is known throughout the region for its historic buildings, unique character, and quaint charm not found in most other suburban Illinois towns. Mention Richmond to a friend, and you’ll likely hear a story about a special purchase at an antique store, a sweet treat from Anderson’s Candy Shoppe, or the old-timey charm of historic buildings that line Main Street.


The W.A. McConnell Foundation strives to honor the legacy that Richmond was built upon long ago. We invite you to join us in preserving and celebrating Richmond’s unique heritage. 


Because the path to the future is paved by our past.


We're Growing!

Please help us welcome our newest board members:
Kurt Begalka, Charles Eldredge III, and Rommy Lopat.
We're excited to add their passion and expertise to our group. 



Our site is still under construction. We appreciate your patience!