WTVP continues its long history of locally-produced documentaries with a look at the history of the county with the largest land area in the state of Illinois. McLean County is known as the Buckle of the Cornbelt because of its rich soil. The land traces its origins back to the Ice Age of nearly 20,000 years ago, which left productive soil in its wake.

McLean County, The Early Days carries the story of the county from the PaleoIndians to the Illiniwek to the Kickapoo, prior to the arrival of European settlers. Many of the early pioneers became corn and wheat farmers. The arrival of the railroads in the early 1850s allowed great economic growth with the export of their grain. And the Chicago and Alton Railroad shop on the west side of Bloomington created a middle class which included major political leaders, including a U. S. Vice-president and an Illinois governor. Several other community leaders helped Abraham Lincoln become president. Education became a focal point in the county with the establishment of two universities.

While much is similar today, much has changed. And the opportunity for that change came with the arrival of the 20th century and a consequential event in 1900. The Great Bloomington fire brought a close to the early days of McLean County but opened the door to growth in a new century.