Fairbury, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Fairbury is a city in Livingston County
, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 3,968 at the 2000 census.
. Like most Illinois towns of the 1850s, the original town of Fairbury was centered around a depot ground. It consisted of twenty-six blocks, each divided into fourteen to sixteen lots. There was no central public square, but one was later included in Marsh's addition. The plan used was virtually identical to that at Chatsworth Illinois, including the street names, and the plan very similar to that at Gridley
and El Paso
on the same railroad.
Octave Chanute
was a civil engineer employed by the new Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, which is now the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad. Caleb L.Patton was an early settler on the land where the town was built. Chanute, a French native,later famed for publishing Progress in Flying Machines, which helped pioneer aviation
. The Wright brothers
even mentioned Chanute as a mentor to them. Chanute built the railroad that made Fairbury possible, but did so against the will of Patton, Fairbury's first citizen.
It is Caleb Patton who should really be credited for the creation of Fairbury. It was he who owned the land that the original town was built on. And it was he who advertised lots for sale and attracted other people to live there. Today, the original town's area starts at the corner of Maple Street and First Street, and stretches to the corner of Oak Street and Seventh Street. When Patton heard that Chanute wanted to build a railroad in his general direction, he saw it as an opportunity to make use of his otherwise deserted land and struck a deal. If Chanute built his railroad through Fairbury, then Patton would give Chanute half of the town's property.
Patton and Chanute had reached an agreement, and Chanute kept up his end of the deal. Patton gave a small chunk of the land to the Baptist Church, and set aside an area for the railroad and a depot. However, when Chanute reached Fairbury, he was met by a group of armed citizens. The town had passed an ordinance that no railroad would pass through Fairbury, and they advised Chanute to simply build around the town (preferably where the golf course is currently). They had even received an injunction from Pontiac, Illinois
forbidding Chanute from building a railroad through the town. Alma Lewis-James, author of Stuffed Clubs and Antimacassars: Account and Tales of Early Fairbury best describes what Chanute did next:
"...Chanute was clever. He did not use force, but quietly laid his rails to the eastern edge of town, skipped Fairbury, began again at the western edge, and worked straight on until Saturday night. In the darkness and secretly, he moved his crews back; and the next morning, at first dawn; and reinforced by armed guards of his own, he was ready for business. To the consternation of the dumbfounded and helpless villagers, he rushed the track straight through the town and the courthouse was closed. By Monday morning he was well on his way to Peoria."
In 1859 John Marsh bought 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land to the west of Patton's. He donated a section of his property to the town, and it was named Marsh Park. He named another part of his addition to the town Livingston Square. It was to be used for businesses and markets. He built the Arcade Block in another section, which were a series of brick buildings connected to each other. Inside this block were two saddle and harness stores, a gun and sporting goods store, a poultry house, a drug store, Fairbury Marble Works (they made tomb stones for the cemetery), and a bed spring factory. Many more businesses were located here later on. In 1866, the Livingston Hotel was built. It was renowned for being the only hotel in Illinois with running water.
Marsh did not like the east side of Fairbury, and developed his west side vigorously. His addition to the town caused it to split; the east side versus the west side. Each side wanted to have the better houses, the better buildings, the better parks, the better everything. However, no one really knows how this feud started, but the town was clearly divided. After that devastating fire, many of the people on the east side went to work in Marsh's west side because of all of the work opportunities over there. A new railroad was being considered, and Marsh used his power to see that it only pass through the west side of Fairbury, and not through the east.
Patton sold his real estate in Fairbury years prior to this, and Wallace Amsbary was now the most prominent citizen in the east. When the railroad came to the west end of Fairbury, the tracks were laid. Marsh and his friends celebrated that Saturday evening. During the celebration, Amsbary and his friends built the railroad through the east side of Fairbury and then started it southbound towards Strawn. A train passed over the tracks the next day, and they stayed there. Amsbary celebrated his victory by building the Fairbury House, and advertised it as the "Poorest Hotel in Illinois."
After the fire caused by the train, three more subsequent fires succeeded in destroying many parts of the town. All of them were around the railroad, and together they destroyed more than twenty buildings and houses. Additionally, every few nights someone would try to start a fire in a residential area, and sometimes succeeded. Fairbury had somehow managed to become a prime location for pyromaniacs.
Whenever a fire would erupt, the town's fire bell rang. Currently, the bell can be found in front of the fire station on Locust Street. A fire was more of a festival than a tragedy because it seemed like whenever the bell rang, the whole town would show up to watch the fire. Fairbury wasn't necessarily large at the time, so finding the fires were not too difficult. Soon, Fairbury became known as the most flammable town in the Midwest.
The fire era of Fairbury came to an end after the Livingston Hotel burned. Marsh blamed Amsbary for the fire, and Amsbary blamed Marsh. Both of the men filed suits against each other for arson, and then for slander. Marsh was indicted, but was found not guilty. The power that the two men held in the town quickly died down, as did the feud between the east and west sides of Fairbury. The town ceased its civil quarrel, and agreed to work with each other instead of against each other. With that, Fairbury was to become just another small town along the Toledo, Peoria, and Western Railroad.
A resident and restaurant owner named Ronald McDonald
was in a 26-year legal battle with McDonald's
over the name of his restaurant. He ultimately prevailed, and continued using his name on his restaurant despite objections by the franchise.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 3,968 people, 1,544 households, and 1,053 families residing in the city. The population density
was 3,060.1 people per square mile (1,178.5/km²). There were 1,623 housing units at an average density of 1,251.7 per square mile (482.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.80% White, 0.40% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 1.66% from other races
, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.60% of the population.
There were 1,544 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,298, and the median income for a family was $51,117. Males had a median income of $33,507 versus $24,188 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,145. About 3.3% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
. High school graduates who attend community college
do so at Heartland Community College
, either in Pontiac
or Normal
.
Livingston County, Illinois
Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 38,950, which is a decrease of 1.8% from 39,678 in 2000. Its county seat is Pontiac....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 3,968 at the 2000 census.
We Hear You America
In November 2010, the fundraising committee for Dominy Memorial Library began encouraging Fairbury citizens to visit the Reader's Digest web site and "Cheer" for the library's expansion and renovation project by cheering for Fairbury in the "We Hear You America" contest sponsored by the Reader's Digest. The contest allows visitors to the contest web site to "Cheer" for their favorite town in order to win cash prizes and recognition in the May 2011 issue of Reader's Digest magazine. Visitors can also post information about their choices for the prize money. Due to the initiation and the publicity efforts of the fundraising committee to use this contest as a fundraising effort on behalf of Dominy Memorial Library's renovation to provide access to those with disabilities, a better children's room, a meeting area, and more, Dominy Memorial Library was overwhelmingly mentioned as the project of choice for prize winnings. Fairbury citizens responded to this challenge for fundraising, and asked friends and family all across the nation and world to log on daily and vote for Fairbury, and Fairbury has held the #2 ranking for much of the contest. Contest voting ends on February 7, 2011, with the final winners to be announced at a later date.History
Fairbury was laid out on November 10, 1857 by Caleb L. Patton and Octave ChanuteOctave Chanute
Octave Chanute was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided the Wright brothers with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine...
. Like most Illinois towns of the 1850s, the original town of Fairbury was centered around a depot ground. It consisted of twenty-six blocks, each divided into fourteen to sixteen lots. There was no central public square, but one was later included in Marsh's addition. The plan used was virtually identical to that at Chatsworth Illinois, including the street names, and the plan very similar to that at Gridley
Gridley
Gridley may refer to:Places in the United States* Gridley, California* Gridley, Illinois* Gridley, Kansas* Gridley Mountain, a peak in Connecticut* The Gridley River in New HampshireOther uses...
and El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
on the same railroad.
Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided the Wright brothers with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine...
was a civil engineer employed by the new Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, which is now the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad. Caleb L.Patton was an early settler on the land where the town was built. Chanute, a French native,later famed for publishing Progress in Flying Machines, which helped pioneer aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
. The Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
even mentioned Chanute as a mentor to them. Chanute built the railroad that made Fairbury possible, but did so against the will of Patton, Fairbury's first citizen.
It is Caleb Patton who should really be credited for the creation of Fairbury. It was he who owned the land that the original town was built on. And it was he who advertised lots for sale and attracted other people to live there. Today, the original town's area starts at the corner of Maple Street and First Street, and stretches to the corner of Oak Street and Seventh Street. When Patton heard that Chanute wanted to build a railroad in his general direction, he saw it as an opportunity to make use of his otherwise deserted land and struck a deal. If Chanute built his railroad through Fairbury, then Patton would give Chanute half of the town's property.
Patton and Chanute had reached an agreement, and Chanute kept up his end of the deal. Patton gave a small chunk of the land to the Baptist Church, and set aside an area for the railroad and a depot. However, when Chanute reached Fairbury, he was met by a group of armed citizens. The town had passed an ordinance that no railroad would pass through Fairbury, and they advised Chanute to simply build around the town (preferably where the golf course is currently). They had even received an injunction from Pontiac, Illinois
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
forbidding Chanute from building a railroad through the town. Alma Lewis-James, author of Stuffed Clubs and Antimacassars: Account and Tales of Early Fairbury best describes what Chanute did next:
In 1859 John Marsh bought 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land to the west of Patton's. He donated a section of his property to the town, and it was named Marsh Park. He named another part of his addition to the town Livingston Square. It was to be used for businesses and markets. He built the Arcade Block in another section, which were a series of brick buildings connected to each other. Inside this block were two saddle and harness stores, a gun and sporting goods store, a poultry house, a drug store, Fairbury Marble Works (they made tomb stones for the cemetery), and a bed spring factory. Many more businesses were located here later on. In 1866, the Livingston Hotel was built. It was renowned for being the only hotel in Illinois with running water.
Marsh did not like the east side of Fairbury, and developed his west side vigorously. His addition to the town caused it to split; the east side versus the west side. Each side wanted to have the better houses, the better buildings, the better parks, the better everything. However, no one really knows how this feud started, but the town was clearly divided. After that devastating fire, many of the people on the east side went to work in Marsh's west side because of all of the work opportunities over there. A new railroad was being considered, and Marsh used his power to see that it only pass through the west side of Fairbury, and not through the east.
Patton sold his real estate in Fairbury years prior to this, and Wallace Amsbary was now the most prominent citizen in the east. When the railroad came to the west end of Fairbury, the tracks were laid. Marsh and his friends celebrated that Saturday evening. During the celebration, Amsbary and his friends built the railroad through the east side of Fairbury and then started it southbound towards Strawn. A train passed over the tracks the next day, and they stayed there. Amsbary celebrated his victory by building the Fairbury House, and advertised it as the "Poorest Hotel in Illinois."
After the fire caused by the train, three more subsequent fires succeeded in destroying many parts of the town. All of them were around the railroad, and together they destroyed more than twenty buildings and houses. Additionally, every few nights someone would try to start a fire in a residential area, and sometimes succeeded. Fairbury had somehow managed to become a prime location for pyromaniacs.
Whenever a fire would erupt, the town's fire bell rang. Currently, the bell can be found in front of the fire station on Locust Street. A fire was more of a festival than a tragedy because it seemed like whenever the bell rang, the whole town would show up to watch the fire. Fairbury wasn't necessarily large at the time, so finding the fires were not too difficult. Soon, Fairbury became known as the most flammable town in the Midwest.
A resident and restaurant owner named Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In television commercials, the clown inhabits a fantasy world called McDonaldland, and has adventures with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and...
was in a 26-year legal battle with McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
over the name of his restaurant. He ultimately prevailed, and continued using his name on his restaurant despite objections by the franchise.
Geography
Fairbury is located at 40.746103°N 88.514092°W.According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,968 people, 1,544 households, and 1,053 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,060.1 people per square mile (1,178.5/km²). There were 1,623 housing units at an average density of 1,251.7 per square mile (482.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.80% White, 0.40% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 1.66% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.60% of the population.
There were 1,544 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,298, and the median income for a family was $51,117. Males had a median income of $33,507 versus $24,188 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $19,145. About 3.3% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The offices of the Prairie Central Consolidated School District are located in Fairbury, as is the district's only high school, Prairie Central High SchoolPrairie Central High School
Prairie Central High School is the high school for the Prairie Central Consolidated School District in central Illinois. It is located in Fairbury, Illinois.The current principal is Dan Casillas.-History:...
. High school graduates who attend community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
do so at Heartland Community College
Heartland Community College
Heartland Community College is a community college located in Illinois. Founded in 1991, Heartland Community College is a fully accredited institution with campuses located in Normal, Lincoln, and Pontiac.-History:...
, either in Pontiac
Pontiac, Illinois
Pontiac is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,931 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Livingston County...
or Normal
Normal, Illinois
Normal is an incorporated town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 52,497 as of the 2010 census. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
.
Sources
- Much of the information about Fairbury found here came from Stuffed Clubs and Antimacassars: Accounts and Tales of Early Fairbury, Illinois (Fairbury, IL: Record Print. Co., 1967) by Alma Lewis James. This book can be checked out from the Dominy Memorial Library in Fairbury, IL. Several parts of the book were also published in the Fairbury Blade on April 3, 1958, and was dubbed The Buckle on the Cornbelt.
- Dale Albee published a number of stories of Fairbury life in The Blade entitled Fairbury Glimpses.
- K.A. Strickland wrote an essay about Fairbury's saloonkeepers for a History 402 class. She provided insight on the daily life of Fairbury's citizens in the 1800s.
- The 60 Years Ago section of The Blade reported on July 26, 2006, that Francis Townsend returned to Fairbury around August 9, 1946.
- John T. Flynn's 1948 book The Roosevelt Myth contains several references to Francis Townsend.
- The 70 Years Ago section of The Blade reported on August 5, 2009, that Francis Townsend returned to Fairbury around August 4, 1939.
- The August 24, 2007 edition of The Pantagraph carried the story about renaming the Fairbury Post Office after Francis Townsend.
- The September 8, 2010 edition of The Blade carried the story of Francis Townsend's death in the 50 years ago section.