Early Science in Illinois

1877 sees the creation of the State Laboratory of Natural History in Normal with Stephen Forbes as the first Director. Forbes begins an array of programs that leads to the systematic collection of environmental data and to an examination of the effects of water pollution. The creation of the State Laboratory is a significant step toward establishing an environmental science program within Illinois, but it’s not the first scientific organization in the state.

  The Evolution of Illinois Science

Prior to 1812, there is little public or private support in the United States for scientific endeavors. Americans interested in science look to Europe for direction and training until the decade after the War of 1812 when a group of professional scientists emerges from a “disorganized group of amateurs” (Hays 1980). By the 1820s there are a number of scientific societies and scientific journals in the country; these influence the expansion of science in Illinois.

Natural history exploration is of great interest to early scientists. Such scientific exploration fits the traditional Baconian principles of collecting, describing, and classifying, which are the basis for science.

What is driving this interest in science? In Illinois, science is perceived as one of the “keys” needed to unlock the treasures that lie in the land. These treasures are noted by early travelers in the Illinois River valley. In the 1760s, Thomas Hutchinson notes: “In short, every thing that a reasonable mind can desire, is to be found, or may, with little pains, be produced here.” (Hays 1980)

In 1810, a British officer, Jervis Cutler, traveling in southern Illinois, cites the “abundance of timber and stone materials, the salt springs, and the excellent pottery clays along the Wabash River.” He writes that the Illinois River valley “is said not to be exceeded in beauty, levelness, richness and fertility of soil, by any tract of land, of equal extent, in the United States.” What is needed is greater exploration.