A Brief History of Barbershop Chapters in Illinois
John Hanson directs the Illinois Cornbelt Chorus, 325 men from central Illinois barbershop chapters, in Peoria May 6, 1946 (click to enlarge).
The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. was created in 1938. However long before that official meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, “Harmony Clubs” were known to have been organized in Illinois and elsewhere around the turn of the 1900’s. Specifically, these Harmony Clubs were known to have flourished in various cities in central Illinois, most notably Springfield and Peoria.
Thanks to the efforts of early pioneers such as John Hanson and Glenn Howard, the style of singing we now know as “barbershop” was spread throughout central Illinois and eventually to almost every large city and hamlet in our state by those “harmony men.” At one time in 1951, 65 chapters were chartered and active within the district.
What follows is a collection of Illinois cities that were known to have supported groups of barbershop singers in chapters that were part of the larger SPEBSQSA organization. This information has been gathered through district and Society records.
| Chapter | Chartered | History |
| Alton (Greater Alton) | 1/17/50 | Lost in 2009 |
| Arlington Heights | 4/12/51 | Remains chartered |
| Aurora | 4/29/46 | Remains chartered |
| Barrington | 7/14/46 | Lost in 1952 |
| Beardstown | 7/24/46 | Lost in 1954 |
| Belleville | 8/26/48 | Remains chartered |
| Belvidere | 10/25/46 | Lost in 1953 |
| Beverly Hills | 1/1/64 | 1978 merged with Southwest Suburban chapter to form the Oak Lawn chapter |
| Blackhawk (Oregon) | 1952 | Lost in 1963 |
| Bloomington | 12/31/42 | Remains chartered |
| Bureau Co. (Princeton) | 8/1945 | Became inactive from 1969 through 1976 Re-chartered in 1976 |
| Cairo | 5/20/46 | Lost in 1949 |
| Cambridge | 7/29/46 | Lost in 1951 |
| Canton | 1/1/41 | Lost in 1956 |
| Carbondale (Herrin) | 1968 | Became Carbondale in 1976 Lost in 1993 Re-chartered in 2004 |
| Centralia | 9/7/45 | Lost in 1947 – Re-chartered in 1950 |
| Champaign/Urbana | 1/28/47 | Remains chartered |
| Charleston | 5/27/46 | Lost in 1965 |
| Chicago #1 | 6/1/39 | Remains chartered |
| Chicago Firefighters | 1/1/60 | Lost in 1963 |
| Chicago Metro (Northwest) | March 1984 | Created by a merger of the Pioneer, Skokie Valley and Town & Country chapters |
| Cicero/Berwyn | 1/1/40 | Lost in 1945 |
| Chillicothe | 8/31/48 | Lost in 1957 |
| Cissna Park | 10/25/46 | Lost in 1950 |
| Clinton | 4/14/48 | Lost in 1950 |
| Coles County | 7/12/70 | Remains chartered |
| Collinsville | 1/1/70 | Remains chartered |
| County Line | 1/1/58 | Lost in 1972 |
| Danville | 6/3/46 | Lost in 1952 Re-chartered in 1968 |
| Decatur | 8/1/45 | Remains chartered |
| DeKalb | 1/3/48 | Lost in 1951 |
| Dixon | 2/27/46 | Lost in 1956 |
| Downers Grove | 3/21/49 | Lost in 1954 |
| Dundee | 2/12/48 | Lost in 1953 |
| DuPage Valley | 1/1/62 | Remains chartered |
| Dwight | 12/1/48 | Lost in 1958 |
| Effingham | 8/8/47 | Lost in 1950 |
| Elgin | 9/30/46 | Remains chartered |
| Elmhurst | August, 1945 | Lost in 1947 |
| Fairfield | 7/5/49 | Lost in 1957 |
| Farmer City | 5/31/05 | Lost in 1949 |
| Flora | 1978 | Lost in 1979 |
| Fox River Valley (Geneva) | 1/1/44 | Lost in 1989 |
| Freeport | 10/11/50 | Lost in 1967 |
| Galesburg | 1/1/43 | Lost in 1954 Re-chartered in 1967 Lost in 1975 |
| Gibson City | 1/1/53 | Lost in 1962 |
| Greenville | 1/1/64 | Lost in 1970 |
| Harrisburg | 1974 | Lost in 2013 |
| Havana | 6/7/49 | Lost in 1952 |
| Heart of Illinois (Peoria) | 5/17/51 | Lost in 1956 |
| Highland Park | 8/4/48 | Lost in 1953 |
| Ill. Valley/LaSalle Peru | 5/5/47 | Lost in 1957 Re-chartered in 1960 Lost in 1972 |
| Jacksonville | 1/1/45 | Lost in 1956 |
| Jerseyville | 9/27/48 | Lost in 1959 |
| Joliet | 11/7/45 | Lost in 1953 Re-chartered in 1955 Merged with South Cook in 2014 |
| Kankakee | 4/12/51 | Lost in 1970 Re-chartered in 1978 Lost in 1998 Re-chartered in 2006 |
| Kewanee | 1/1/44 | Lost in 1945 Re-chartered in 1969 Lost in 1979 |
| Kishwaukee Valley | 1/1/62 | Remains chartered |
| LaGrange (Q-Suburban) | 4/14/47 | Lost in 1998 |
| Lake County | 1/1/74 | Lost in 1989 Re-chartered in 1998 |
| Lena | 1/1/68 | Lost in1973 |
| Lincoln (Logan County) | 10/24/45 | Lost in 1953 |
| Little Fort (Waukegan) | 172/18/48 | Lost in 1958 |
| Lombard (Chicagoland West Suburban) | 6/4/48 | Remains chartered |
| Macomb | 1/1/44 | Lost in 1956 Re-chartered in 1969 |
| Mattoon | 5/1/45 | Lost in 1953 |
| Monmouth | 5/1/45 | Lost in 1956 |
| Morris | 1/1/59 | Lost in 1966 |
| Morrison | 3/19/47 | Lost in 1953 |
| Morton | ? | ? |
| Mt. Sterling | 1/1/52 | Lost in 1958 |
| Mount Vernon (King City) | 1/1/57 | Lost in 1961 Re-chartered in 1985 Lost in 2007 |
| Newman | 8/31/45 | Lost in 1947 |
| Northwest Suburban | 1947 | Lost in 1948 |
| North Shore (North Wave) (Winnetka) | 8/1/45 | Lost in 2010 |
| Northbrook | 3/20/50 | Lost in 1958 Re-chartered in 1983 |
| Norwood | 10/11/49 | Lost in 1957 |
| Oak Lawn | Created in 1978 | Merger of the Beverly Hills and Southwest Suburban chapters Lost in 2007 |
| Oak Park | 1/1/94 | Lost in 2001 |
| O’Fallon | September, 1943 | Lost in 1949 |
| Okaw Valley (Sandoval) | 1988 | Remains chartered |
| Old Mill (Savanna) | 3/29/50 | Lost in 1953 |
| Olney | 1973 | Lost in 1976 |
| Oregon (Blackhawk) | 1/1/52 | Lost in 1963 |
| Ottawa | 2/3/48 | Lost in 1981 |
| Palos Heights | 5/5/48 | Lost in 1957 |
| Park Ridge | 10/25/45 | Name changed to Town & Country in 1956 Lost charter in 1983 in merger with Pioneer and Skokie Valley to form Northwest Chicago Metro chapter |
| Paxton | May, 1945 | Lost in 1948 |
| Pekin | 5/29/50 | Lost in 1995 |
| Peoria | 1/1/40 | Remains chartered |
| Pioneer | 11/17/45 | Lost charter in 1984 in merger with Town & Country and Skokie Valley to form Northwest Chicago Metro chapter |
| Pontiac | 10/3/46 | Lost in 1948 Re-chartered in 1969 Lost in 1985 |
| Pottawatomie Territory | 1/1/89 | Lost in 2001 |
| Quincy | 11/30/45 | Remains chartered |
| Randolph-Perry | 1976 | Lost in 1977 |
| Roanoke | 7/7/45 | Lost in 1950 |
| Rock Island | 1/1/45 | Remains chartered |
| Rockford (Greater) | 11/17/48 | Remains chartered |
| Rockford (Metro) | 1/1/97 | Remains chartered |
| Roodhouse | 4/18/46 | Lost in 1949 |
| Rushville | 1947 | Lost in 1950 |
| Salem | 1976 | Lost in 1977 |
| Sandoval | See Okaw Valley | |
| Sandwich | 1/1/83 | Lost in 1998 |
| Skokie Valley | 1/17/50 | Lost charter in merger with Pioneer and Town & Country to form Northwest Chicago Metro |
| South Cook (Homewood) | 1952 | Retained charter and changed name to Will-Cook in merger with Joliet chapter in 2014 |
| Southtown | 2/11/47 | Lost in 1970 |
| Southwest Suburban | 1/1/57 | Lost charter in merger with Beverly Hills to form Oak Lawn chapter in 1978 |
| Springfield | 1/1/42 | Remains chartered |
| Sterling-Rock Falls | 6/18/51 | Remains chartered |
| Streator | 1947 | Lost in 1958 Re-chartered in 1962 Lost in 1965 |
| Tuscola | 6/11/47 | Lost in 1954 |
| Washburn | 3/25/48 | Lost in 1952 |
| Waterloo | 1967 | Remains chartered |
| Waukegan Little Fort | 2/18/48 | Lost 1958 – re-chartered 1960 Lost in 1965 |
| West Frankfort | 9/25/46 | Lost in 1948 |
| West Peoria Metro | 2/2001 | Lost in 2006 |
| Wheaton-Glen Ellyn | 1947 | Lost in 1954 |
| Winnetka | See North Shore | |
| Wood Dale (Countryside) | 1963 | Lost in 1972 |
| Woodstock | 11/17/48 | Lost in 1954 Re-chartered in 1969 Lost in 1974 |
