Folk Music At The Fort

This September, the Apple River Fort State Historic Site will host "Goin' Down the Road: Folk Songs of Illinois, 1818-1960," presented by folk musician Bucky Halker!

From the beginning of Illinois statehood through the folk revival that swept the nation in the 1950's, the people who made Illinois their home produced historical ballads recounting floods, tornados, murders, and mining disasters.

These ballads allowed communities to remember and pass on their history at a time when newspapers and literacy were less common. They included the protest songs and labor anthems of the miners and millwo...