Our Association dates back to the early part of 1900 when Tazewell County, as well as most of the surrounding counties in Central Illinois, had a local beekeepers' group. Since the order of that era was to name the various groups by the county in which they were organized, our Association started as the Tazewell County Beekeepers' Association. Meetings were held during the season at the homes of the members throughout the county.
In the late '30's and early '40's as membership in the various county groups dwindled, many county associations ceased to exist. But the Tazewell County group remained viable and became "home" for beekeepers outside of Tazewell County who no longer had their own local county organizations. As an example, during this period Peoria County Beekeepers' Association disbanded and gave the remains of their treasury to the Tazewell County association. And with the donation came a few beekeepers from the west side of the Illinois River into the Tazewell County group. In order to "welcome" these and other out-of-county members, the group changed its name in 1943 from the single county designation to the name of Tazewell Beekeepers' Association.
Membership in the Tazewell Beekeepers', although composed of many die-hard dedicated and loyal beekeepers who were determined not to allow the group to vanish from existence, did not develop into a strong body until around the mid '1900's. At this time a concentrated effort was made to increase interest in beekeeping, increase attendance, and thereby increase support in the beekeeping industry. Because of these efforts, new members were drawn from numerous counties throughout the Central Illinois area. In 1982 it was decided to rename the Association in order to better reflect this multi-county membership and to get away from the image that it was only a Tazewell (County) group. At this time, the Heart of Illinois Beekeepers' Association name was born.