Ashers, Kresge, The Model – the history of the 353 Court St. building

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Program Coordinator

In 2019, Ashley and Russell Spencer opened a bar and grill in Farmington, Illinois, that they named “Ashers,” the restaurant’s name formed from the first half of Ashley’s name and the last two letters of Russell’s surname. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed their restaurant in Nov. 2021, but the following year they reopened in Pekin’s old town in Todd Thompson’s historic 353 Court St. Building, which Thompson had restored and refurbished in 2010. Ashers quickly established itself as one of Pekin’s most popular eateries. (The Spencers’ bar and grill was featured in a restaurant review by William Furry of the Illinois State Historical Society in the March-April 2024 issue of “Illinois Heritage” magazine of which Furry is the editor.)

The historic 353 Court St. building is shown in this photograph taken last month. Ashers Bar & Grill, owned and operated by Ashley and Russell Spencer, opened at 353 Court St. in 2022 and quickly established itself as one of Pekin’s most popular eateries. PHOTO BY PEKIN PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF

Look back at the history of the 353 Court St. Building, it seems to have been in existence since at least the 1880s, and perhaps even the 1870s. As far as we can tell, the first business that may have existed at the present site of Ashers Bar & Grill could have been Schilling & Bohn, a firm owned by Conrad Schilling (1821-1895) and Andrew Bohn (1821-1891) that sold furniture, beds, mattresses, and coffins. The 1871 Sellers & Bates City Directory of Pekin says Schilling & Bohn’s furniture store was on Court Street across from the courthouse, four doors west of Fourth Street. That would place it either at the site of the Hamm’s Building or the site of the 353 Court St. Building. An 1877 aerial view map of Pekin shows a structure in this block of Court St. that may well be the same one that still stands today at 353 Court St.

This advertisement for Schilling & Bohn’s furniture and undertakers business comes from the 1871 Pekin city directory. Schilling & Bohn seems to have been located either at the site today occupied by the Hamm’s Building or by the 353 Court St. Building, but it is unclear whether it was in the same structure that exists today.

At the left of this 1870 photograph is the building the preceded today’s 353 Court St. Building.

In this detail from an 1877 hand-drawn aerial map of Pekin, the black arrow indicates the location that is today the 353 Court St. building, showing a structure that was then a part of Roos’ Block. It is uncertain whether or not the building indicated by the arrow is the same as today’s building at 353 Court.

The history of this part of Court Street becomes clear in the 1880s, when city directories and maps show a hotel called Planter’s House or Planter’s Hotel, with the Irish immigrant Thomas Donegan Conaghan (1847-1922) as its proprietor. Conaghan previously appears in the 1871 and 1876 Pekin city directories as the proprietor of City Hotel at the northeast corner of Ann Eliza and Third streets. Planter’s Hotel is shown in the 1885 and 1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Pekin as well as the 1887 and 1893 Pekin city directories.

An advertisement for Thomas D. Conaghan’s Planters Hotel from the 1893 Pekin city directory. Planters Hotel first appears on record in the 1885 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin. Despite expansion and extensive remodeling over the time of its existence, it seems the Planters Hotel building is the same structure that is still there today at 353-355 Court St.

At the time of the first Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin in May 1885, T. D. Conaghan was operating Planters Hotel at what was then numbered 421-423 1/2 Court St. (today 353-355 Court St.).

The Jan. 1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin again shows T. D. Conaghan’s Planters Hotel at 353-355 Court St.

Depicted in this drawing by Henry Hobart Cole is the Upper 300 block of Court Street — including the old Herget Block, the Odd Fellows Hall, and Planters Hotel — as it appeared during the 1880s and 1890s.

This detail from a Henry Hobart Cole photograph taken in the early 1890s shows 353-355 Court St. Note that the facade is almost identical to what may be seen today, apart from a peak and a pole atop the 353 Court St. structure. In the early 1890s, these adjoining buildings were the Planter’s Hotel, Thomas D. Conaghan, proprietor, but by the mid-1890s a number of businesses were sharing the building, including the Schradzki & Sklarek clothing store, Day Carpet & Furniture, and the Knights of Pythias Hall.

By the time of the 1895 city directory, however, the Planter’s Hotel building had been remodeled into business and office space to become the Kuhn Building. The Kuhn Building’s tenants that year included a clothing store operated by Leopold Schradzki (1833-1902) and Joseph Sklarek (1856-1940) at 353 Court St. (the western half of today’s 353 Court St. building), Day Carpet & Furniture operated by Edward O. Deuermeyer (1860-1931) at 355 Court St. (the eastern half of today’s Court St. building), M. Bayne & Son highway bridge builders operated by Milton Bayne (1830-1910) and his son William M. Bayne (1860-1924), and the insurance agencies of Martin J. Heisel (1857-1909) and Rudolph Velde (1875-1947).

Edward O. Deuermeyer (1860-1931), who operated Day Carpet & Furniture at 355 Court St. during the 1890s. Portrait shared at Ancestry.com.

An 1894 portrait shared at Ancestry.com of Illinois bridge builder Milton Bayne (1830-1910) whose firm’s office was in the 353 Court St. Building during the 1890s.

A group of advertisements from the 1895 Pekin city directory for three businesses then located in the Kuhn Building (353-355 Court St.) The firm of Schradzki & Sklarek at 353 Court (the western half of today’s 353 Court St. Building) was succeeded by Salzenstein & Co. clothing, which was in turn succeeded by The Model clothing store.

A full-page advertisement for the Day Carpet & Furniture Company from the 1895 Pekin city directory. This business occupied 355 Court St., which is today the east half of the 353 Court St. Building.

An advertisement for Rudolph Velde’s insurance agency from the 1895 Pekin city directory. Velde’s office was in the Kuhn Building, 353-355 Court St., the building that is today the home of Ashers Bar & Grill.

At the time of the March 1898 Sanborn Map of Pekin, 353-355 Court St. was known as the Kuhn Building or Kuhn Block, which housed the Knights of Pythias Hall on the third floor, the clothing store of Schradzki & Sklarek and the bridge-building firm of M. Bayne & Son on the first floor, and various other offices.

The 1898 Pekin city directory again shows the clothing store of Schradzki & Sklarek and the bridge-building firm of M. Bayne & Son in the Kuhn Building. According to the directory, by this time Milton Bayne was living in Chicago while his son William ran the firm in Pekin. The Kuhn Building in 1898 was also the home of the Knights of Pythias Hall, and also housed the offices of Charles L. Morgan (1868-1965) and his brother Robert Morgan (1866-1935), real estate and merchandise exchange, Dr. Edward F. Pielemeier (1874-1953), physician, and G. A. Pielemeyer, dentist.

The Model clothing store at 353 Court St. is indicated in this hand-colored photograph by W. Blenkiron taken circa 1900.

Around the time of Nov. 1903 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin, the Schradzki & Sklarek clothing store had been succeeded at 353 Court St. by another clothing store called Salzenstein & Co., owned and operated by Albert Salzenstein (1878-1931). The Kuhn Building also housed several other offices and a third-floor Assembly Hall.

Six years later, the 1904 Pekin city directory shows that the Schradzki & Sklarek clothing store had been succeeded at 353 Court St. by another clothing store called Salzenstein & Co., owned and operated by Albert Salzenstein (1878-1931). Also located at 353 Court St. or 353 1/2 Court St. were Tazewell County judge and attorney Jesse Black Jr. (1870-1935), attorney Edward Reardon (1851-1923), and George W. Seibert (1839-1915), justice of the peace. Meanwhile, at 355 Court St. we find the Smith & Frey five-and-dime store, operated by Thomas B. Smith (1866-1946) and Walter U. Frey (1875-1956), Abraham Lincoln “A. L.” Champion (1860-1945), abstract and real estate, Jacob Rapp (1845-1910), justice of the peace, the Prudential Insurance Co. office with Louis Heimbach as assistant superintendent, and an Assembly Hall on the third floor.

An advertisement for the Smith & Frey five-and-dime store from the 1908 Pekin city directory.

The 1908 Pekin city directory heralded the arrival of The Model Clothing Co. at 353 Court St. The Model was one of the prominent fixtures of downtown Pekin during the first decades of the 20th century, operating from 353 Court St. until the end of the 1920s, when it seems to have fallen as one of the early victims of the Great Depression. Curiously, city directories do not identify The Model’s managers until the 1926 directory, when The Model’s listing showed it with a secondary name of “The Nusbaum Co.,” and the manager was listed as Henry Ehrhardt. Then in the 1928 city directory, The Model, a.k.a. The Nusbaum Co., was listed with M. S. Chamberlain as its manager. The Model went out of business after that, and the 1930 Pekin city directory lists 353 Court St. – that is, the western half of today’s 353 Court St. Building – as “vacant.”

Meanwhile, the 1908 city directory again lists the Smith & Frey five-and-dime store at 355 Court St., with A. L. Champion’s office on the second floor of the Kuhn Building, and the Prudential Insurance Co. office (J. F. Mang, superintendent), over 355 Court. The same directory again lists Jesse Black Jr. and Edward Reardon in their offices in the Kuhn Building, along with Dr. R. C. Horner, dentist. Smith & Frey is again listed at 355 Court St. in the 1909 city directory, but in the 1913 and 1914 directories the store is listed as the Smith Department Store. During these years we continue to find anywhere from four to six offices in the 353-355 Court St. building being occupied by attorneys, dentists, etc., including A. L. Champion and the Prudential Insurance Co. The Modern Woodmen Hall is also listed on the building’s third floor in the 1914 and 1922 Pekin city directories.

At the time of the Dec. 1909 Sanborn Map of Pekin, 353 Court St. housed The Model clothing store, while 355 Court St. housed the Smith & Frey five-and-dime.

An advertisement for The Model clothing store at 353-355 Court St. from about 1910.

Another view of The Model store front at 353 Court St., from a W. Blenkiron photograph taken in 1910.

The Oct. 1916 Sanborn Map of Pekin again shows the storefront space of The Model clothing store at 353 Court St. and the Smith Department Store (formerly known as Smith & Frey) at 355 Court.

The sign of The Model clothing store at 353 Court St. is seen in this Christmas-time photograph from the early 1920s. About this time, the east half of the building — 355 Court St. — housed John Walter, jeweler, Pekin Music House, the Prudential Insurance Co. office, and the Modern Woodmen Hall on the third floor.

A Christmas advertisement from The Model clothing store, from the 25 Dec. 1920 edition of the Pekin Daily Times.

In the 1922 city directory, we find that the Smith Department Store had been replaced by John Walter, jeweler, who along with the Prudential Insurance Co. and four other offices occupied rooms at 355 Court St., while The Model occupied 353 Court. After the departure of The Model from 353 Court at the end of the 1920s, the 1930 city directory again shows John Walter, jeweler, at 355 Court St. However, Walter that year shared 355 Court with the S. S. Kresge Co., a five-and-dime that would soon become a successful downtown department store and ancestor of Kmart.

By the time of the 1925 Sanborn Map of Pekin, the Smith Department Store at 355 Court St. had been replaced by John Walter, jeweler, while The Model Clothing store was still at 353 Court St.

The S. S. Kresge department store at 353 Court St. can be seen in this photograph from the late 1940s.

John Walter, jeweler, continues to be listed at 355 Court St. until the 1939 Pekin city directory, but beginning with the 1932 city directory we find S. S. Kresge Co. occupying both 353 and 355 Court St., and after 1939 Kresge is the sole occupant of the building. The Kresge department store thrived at 353-355 Court St. until the late 1960s. Pekin’s city directories show a succession of 10 managers throughout the store’s existence at 353-355 Court St: Elwood F. Harr (1932), Ernest Arfsten (1934), Leslie L. Jones ( 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1946), Ancil M. Scheiderer ( 1948, 1950), Curtis T. Mullen (1952, 1955, 1956, 1958), Russell Hansen (1959), John E. Curtis (1961), Donald J. Schroeder (1962), Warren Larson (1964, 1965, 1966), and Mark D. Heine (1968, 1969). Heine was Kresge’s last manager in downtown Pekin, and at that time the S. S. Kresge Co. nationwide became Kmart, and built a store at 2901 Court St. Kresge disappears from Pekin directories in 1970, then reappears as Kmart in 1971 with Robert P. Matheny as its manager.

Shown is an S. S. Kresge advertisement from the 19 Dec. 1964 Pekin Daily Times.

After Kresge, the next store to occupy the 353 Court St. Building was a 5-cent-to-1-dollar store, or variety store, called The Jupiter, which is listed at that address in the Pekin city directories from 1970 to 1974, changing managers about once a year. Jupiter’s succession was managers was: Robert Ruhl, Richard Swank, Phillip Brandis, Thomas Hallett, and Larry Rutledge.

353 Court St. is shown toward the left of center in this early 1970s photograph of downtown Pekin. The building then housed the Jupiter variety store.

The storefront 353-355 Court St. is shown in this 1977 Pekin Daily Times photograph. At the time, the building housed the S & H Green Stamp Redemption Center, Joyce Dentinger, manager.

Pekin directories show the 353 Court St. Building as “vacant” in 1975 and 1976, but in 1977 we find the S & H Green Stamp Redemption Center there, managed by Joyce Dentinger. She remained as manager of the Redemption Center for as long as it operated from that storefront, with the Redemption Center and Dentinger last appearing in the 1983 Pekin city directory.

The 1984 directory does not have a listing for 353 Court St., but in 1985 we find a restaurant called Coles Open Hearth, operated by John M. Lawson. Coles Open Heart reappears in the 1986 directory, but with Russell Boger as owner. He changed the restaurant into a night club called Bogey’s Emporium, under which name his business appears in the 1987 directory, but the business quickly failed there.

From 1988 to 1992, Pekin directories list 343 Court St. as “vacant.” In 1993’s directory we find a brief and obscure listing for something called “Visions Onie” — a typographical error for “Visions,” a teen hangout that was not there for very long. In 1994 the building is again listed as “vacant.” Then in 1995, we find Gerald W. Adams’ Bangkok Restaurant, which only lasted about a year.

The 1996 directory lists 353 Court St. as the location of Joseph M. and Penny M. Berardi’s Peek-In Ceramics & Gift Shop. The Berardis continued to operate their business there up to and including the 1998 Pekin city directory. That year we also find Wayne Wilton Thompson Jr., retired, and Ruth P. Thompson, occupying and working out of the building alongside the Berardis. The 1999 city directory again shows Peek-In Ceramics & Gifts, with Joseph Berardi, president, along with a business called Ceramic Treasurers, run by Ruth Thompson; with Wilton W. Thompson Jr. listed there as well.

From the 2000 Pekin city directory until the 2009 directory, we find Ceramic Treasurers, owned by Ruth P. Thompson, as the only business in the building, with Wilton W. Thompson Jr. and Ruth P. Thompson also listed apparently as residents. But Ceramic Treasurers disappears from Pekin city directories after 2009. That is because it was in 2010 that Todd Thompson and his partner Steve Foster refurbished the 353 Court St. building – and it is from this building that Todd Thompson’s 353 Court LLC derives its name.

Ruth P. Thompson’s Ceramic Treasures at 353 Court St. is shown in this Feb. 2002 photograph from the Tazewell County Assessor’s website. Ceramic Treasures operated from that location from the late 1990s until 2010, when Todd Thompson and Steve Foster refurbished the building and brought in the Speakeasy Art Center.

This June 2013 photograph from the Tazewell County Assessor’s website shows the Speakeasy Art Center, which was located in the 353 Court St. building from 2010 to 2016.

After restoring the building, Thompson and Foster turned the building in the Speakeasy Art Center, which from 2010 until Fall 2016 was the home of the Pekin Academy of the Fine Arts, directed by Shannon Cox. The art center’s name harks back to tales that the building had once had a speakeasy hidden there during the Prohibition Era. Curiously, the Speakeasy Art Center never appeared in any Pekin city directories, which instead continued to list only Wilton W. Thompson Jr. and Ruth P. Thompson until 2017’s directory. The 353 Court St. building disappeared from city directories in 2018 and 2019, but the directories from 2020 to 2023 list Kindermusik and Ruth P. Thompson as the only occupants of 353 Court St. The most recent directory listings for this address are probably only “ghost” entries, though.

After the Pekin Academy of Fine Arts moved in late 2016 to the old Rupert Mansion on Walnut, Travis Guthman of Lacon, Illinois, owner of Pizza Peel in Lacon, in late 2019 proposed opening a second Pizza Peel in the 353 Court St. Building. However, Guthman’s plans never came to fruition. But with the arrival of Ashers in 2022, this historic structure has again come to life and does much to to draw customers and community activity to Pekin’s old town.

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Mackinaw, Pekin, Tremont, Pekin: a succession of county courthouses

By Jared L. Olar
Local History Program Coordinator

As we recalled last week, the same year that Pekin voted to incorporate as a city — 175 years ago this coming August — the seat of county government was also returned to Pekin, where it has remained ever since. In this week’s installment in our Pekin Bicentennial series, we will review the history of the movements of the Tazewell County seat and the various structures that have served as county courthouses.

As told in Charles C. Chapman’s 1879 “History of Tazewell County,” the first Tazewell County Courthouse was located in Mackinaw, which was originally the county seat, being located in the county’s center. The first courthouse, a log house 24 feet long and 18 feet wide, was built at a cost of $125 in the summer of 1827 on lot 1 of block 11. Improvements were made to the simple structure in 1830, but on 18 Feb. 1831, the Illinois General Assembly enacted a law that created a special county commission to choose a new county seat. The appointed Commissioners were William Porter, Matthias Chilton, and John T. Stewart. When the 1831 court session convened that summer, the court was located in the old Doolittle School at the corner of Elizabeth and Second streets in Pekin.

Pekin historian William H. Bates drew this representation of the first Tazewell County Courthouse, located in Mackinaw, for the “Historical Souvenir” that Bates published for the dedication of the new courthouse in 1916.

The court was relocated to Pekin partly because in Dec. 1830 the Illinois General Assembly had created McLean County out of the eastern portion of Tazewell County, which originally was much larger than it is today. With the redrawing of the border, Mackinaw was now toward the eastern edge of the county, and many county officials thought the new town of Pekin on the Illinois River would make a better county seat than Mackinaw, which was out in Tazewell County’s back country and then not as accessible as Pekin.

For the next five years Pekin would function as the county seat, but in 1835 the state legislature appointed a commission to permanently fix Tazewell County’s seat, and the commission opted for Tremont rather than Pekin, because Tremont was close to the center of the county and a state road (ancestral to today’s Illinois Route 9) made Tremont more accessible than Mackinaw had been in 1830. The court moved to Tremont on 6 June 1836, and a temporary courthouse was promptly erected there at the cost of $1,150. Then in 1837 construction began on a permanent brick courthouse in Tremont for $14,450. That structure was completed in 1839 – the same year that the residents of Pekin formally began efforts to have the county seat transferred back to their town.

William H. Bates reproduced this photograph of the old Tazewell County Courthouse in Tremont for the 1916 “Historical Souvenir” that he published for the dedication of the new courthouse. For a time criminal and civil cases in Tazewell County were heard in this building, which was built in 1839.

This contentious rivalry between Pekin and Tremont continued throughout the 1840s, and Chapman relates that, in their efforts to retain the county seat and to slow or halt Pekin’s growing prosperity, Tremont is said to have lobbied the General Assembly several times to have portions of Tazewell County sliced off and assigned to neighboring counties. After the election of May 1843, Chapman writes, “a stop [was] made to this dividing up and cutting off of Tazewell’s territory. Had they continued it much longer there would have been nothing left of the county but Pekin and Tremont. Then, we doubt not, a division would have been made and both towns have at least gained a county-seat.”

Further on, Chapman comments, “During these twenty years of local war, of course bitterness of feeling was intense, and great injury was done to all parts of the county. Many of the older citizens attribute very largely the prosperity and commercial advantages by Peoria over Pekin to the bitter feuds engendered during this long and eventful strife.”

The conflict ended in 1849, when the citizens of Tazewell County voted to move the county seat to Pekin, where it has remained ever since. A new courthouse was then built in Pekin in 1850, at the site of the present courthouse. “The question [of the county seat’s location] having been finally and definitely decided the courthouse was immediately erected by the citizens of Pekin, in fulfillment of their promise. The last meeting of the Board of Supervisors . . . that was held at Tremont was Aug. 26, 1850, when it moved in a body to their new and more commodious quarters, and on the same day dedicated the edifice by holding therein their first meeting in Pekin,” Chapman writes.

The old Tremont courthouse remained in use as a high school for several years, later being used as a community center and dance hall, until at last the ground level was used as tenements before the dilapidated structure was razed around 1895. The old county histories note that Abraham Lincoln practiced law in both the Tremont courthouse and the 1850 courthouse in Pekin.

“Pekin: A Pictorial History” notes that for the construction of the Pekin courthouse, “Gideon Rupert [his residence is now known as the Mansion on Walnut] contributed $600 and with others’ generosity, raised the needed funds for the building. The cost was $8,000. Local products of sandstone, quarried five miles northeast of Pekin, and bricks, fired at the Jansen and Zoeller Brickyard on the East Bluff, were used.” The building also had white marble columns.

The old Tazewell County Courthouse, which served the county from 1850 to 1914, when it was demolished to be replaced by the current courthouse.

The layout of the Tazewell County Courthouse Block in November 1903 is shown in this detail from a Sanborn fire insurance map of downtown Pekin. In addition to the courthouse, the block also encompassed a band stand, the county jail and Sheriff’s dwelling, and the county offices building. The courthouse, band stand, and offices building were demolished in 1914 to make way for a larger, even more grand courthouse.

Also helping to defray construction costs were prominent local landowners David and Elijah Mark, who each gave $500. The heirs of the Mark estate would eventually donate the land that would become James Field in Pekin.

The 1974 Pekin Sesquicentennial records the tradition that, “Older Pekinites claim that the columns of the old County Court House were painted black up to the height of the first floor doors because the white marble was marred by the hand and fingerprints of the loungers who leaned against them.”

The 1850 courthouse remained in use until 1914, when it was razed to make way for a new and larger edifice – the current structure, which was built over the next two years at a cost of $212,964.

“Wide marble steps and Italian-imported white marble banisters graced the ‘architecturally noteworthy’ interior of the courthouse dedicated on June 21, 1916,” according to “Pekin: A Pictorial History.”

“Thousands attended the dedication services with Illinois congressman and candidate for governor, W.E. Williams, as the featured speaker. According to the Pekin Daily Times, Congressman Williams, ‘spoke for an hour and fifteen minutes . . . .’”

This vintage photograph shows the laying of the new Tazewell County Courthouse’s cornerstone in 1914. Standing next to scaffolding in the foreground is William H. Bates displaying the time capsule to the crowd before it was sealed in the cornerstone.

Shown is a key to the old 1850 Tazewell County Courthouse that was preserved in the 1902 Pekin Library Cornerstone time capsule. Another key to the old courthouse was included in the 1914 courthouse cornerstone time capsule.

Though the old 1850 courthouse is long gone, some of the marble was claimed by Pekin’s pioneer photographer Henry Hobart Cole for use in the home he built in Tuscarora Heights in Peoria County.

Other surviving mementos of the 1850 structure are two courthouse keys. One was placed in a cornerstone time capsule at the construction the old Pekin Public Library in 1902. That time capsule was opened when the old library was razed in 1972, and that courthouse key and the other contents of the cornerstone, which were found to be in a very good state of preservation, are kept in the library’s historical archives. Another courthouse key was found when the 1916 courthouse time capsule was opened in the summer of 2016.

The layout of the Tazewell County Courthouse Block in September 1925 is shown in this detail of a Sanborn fire insurance map of downtown Pekin. The courthouse’s cornerstone was laid in 1914.

Plans for a new county courthouse are now underway, with a new structure known as a Justice Center Annex to be built on the sites of the historic Arcade and Schipper & Block buildings that were recently demolished by the county. Whether or to what extent the 1916 courthouse will be used after the new courthouse structure is built has not yet been decided.

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The history of the Hamm’s Building: 347-351 Court St. – formerly Steinmetz and McLellan’s

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Program Coordinator

Of Pekin’s remaining historic downtown storefronts, perhaps Hamm’s Furniture’s high-peaked façade at 347-351 Court St. is the most attractive and striking. The Hamm’s Building is about 150 years old, if not older, and Hamm’s Furniture, a second-generation family business owned by Russ Hamm that has occupied this beautiful structure for about 35 years, is a well-known fixture of Pekin’s old town.

Sporting what is perhaps the most striking of the historic storefronts still remaining in Pekin’s old town, Hamm’s Furniture at 347 Court St., a second-generation family business owned and operated by Russ Hamm, is shown in this photograph taken 27 March 2024. PHOTO BY PEKIN PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF.

The first business known to have existed at the present site of Hamm’s Furniture was Schilling & Bohn, a firm owned by Conrad Schilling (1821-1895) and Andrew Bohn (1821-1891) that sold furniture, beds, mattresses, and . . . coffins. Schilling and his partner Bohn were also undertakers, and when they weren’t selling furniture, they were selling plots at Oak Grove Cemetery on Pekin’s north side (the oldest part of today’s Lakeside Cemetery). The 1871 Sellers & Bates City Directory of Pekin says Schilling & Bohn’s furniture store was on Court Street across from the courthouse, four doors west of Fourth Street. That would place it at the site of the Hamm’s Building – and in fact could well be that Schilling & Bohn’s building is the very same structure as the Hamm’s Building. On the other hand, Schilling & Bohn and their building may rather have been on the site of or in the building at 353-355 Court St.

This advertisement for Schilling & Bohn’s furniture and undertakers business comes from the 1871 Pekin city directory. Schilling & Bohn seems to have been located at the site today occupied by the Hamm’s Building, but it is unclear whether it was in the same structure that exists today.

As undertakers, Conrad Schilling and Andrew Bohn also sold cemetery plots at Oak Grove Cemetery, the oldest part of today’s Lakeside Cemetery.

The Schilling & Bohn store does not reappear in Pekin directories after 1871. In the next directory published in 1876, we find several businesses and individuals occupying space in the Roos Block. One of those businesses was the dry goods store of Peter Steinmetz Sr. (1839-1908), whose wife Fredericka (1842-1906) was related to the building’s owner Henry Roos. At one time, the Steinmetz family, who were related by marriage to the Herget family, was one of the most prominent families in Pekin, and they even had a special funeral chapel – the Steinmetz Chapel – built at Lakeside Cemetery. (A bas relief of the Last Supper is now on the site where the Steinmetz Chapel formerly stood.) Peter and Fredericka and most of their children are entombed in Lakeside Mausoleum, while the rest are buried in the Steinmetz burial plot at Lakeside.

The buildings of Roos’ Block in the upper 300 block of Court St. are shown in this detail from an 1877 hand-drawn aerial map of Pekin. The arrow indicates the location of Peter Steinmetz Sr.’s dry goods and clothing store.

From the 1870s on, Peter Steinmetz’s dry goods store was located in a building at 349-351 Court St. (formerly numbered 417-419 Court St.). If it wasn’t the same structure as the Schilling & Bohn store, then it was probably a structure that Henry Roos had built. In any case, the structure in which Steinmetz’s store was located in the 1870s is the same one today known as the Hamm’s Building. The 1885 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin shows Steinmetz’s store at “417-419” Court St.

In the 1887 Pekin city directory, we find the Steinmetz operation under the name of P. Steinmetz & Son, owned by Peter and his son George A. (1864-1915), with George’s younger brother Henry (1868-1930) working as a clerk in the store. The same directory shows Jacob Saal (1860-1895), grocer, at 415 Court St. – that is the address currently known as 347 Court St., and is today included in the Hamm’s Building.

At the time of the first Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin in May 1885, Peter Steinmetz was operating a clothing and dry goods store at what was then numbered 417-419 Court St. (today 349-351 Court, the eastern two thirds of the Hamm’s Building).

An early advertisement for P. Steinmetz & Son, from the 1887 Pekin city directory.

The Steinmetz Building can be seen toward the right in the cropped photograph of downtown Pekin taken during the 1890s.

The Steinmetz Building is indicated in this cropped detail from a hand-colored Blenkiron photograph of downtown Pekin from circa 1900.

The Jan. 1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin shows Jacob Saal’s grocery store at 347 Court St. and P. Steinmetz & Sons dry goods and clothing store at 349-351 Court St.

By the time of the 1893 directory, the dry goods store is listed as P. Steinmetz & Sons, with Peter’s sons George and Henry in partnership with their father. Jacob Saal, grocer, again appears in the building adjoining the Steinmetz Building on the west. By this time, Saal’s grocery store had been renumbered as 347 Court, while the Steinmetz store had been renumbered 349-351 Court.

With Saal’s death in 1895, his grocery store was not listed in the 1895 city directory, which instead shows Erastus Rhodes (1829-1901), insurance agent and justice of the peace, at 347 Court St. Meanwhile, P. Steinmetz & Sons was still going strong at 349-351 Court St. The 1898 directory’s entries for 347 and 349-351 Court are almost identical to the 1895 directory, except in 1898 Erastus Rhodes shared the building at 347 Court with The Chicago Record’s local newspaper office. The Chicago Record does not reappear at that address in later directories, though. Notably, the Pekin Public Library was located on the second floor of the Steinmetz Building from 1899 to 1903, when Pekin’s Carnegie Library opened at 301 S. Fourth St.

An advertisement for Erastus Rhodes, justice of the peace and insurance agent, from the 1876 Pekin city directory. At that time, Rhodes’ office was in the building that was later numbered 347 Court St.

This advertisement for P. Steinmetz & Sons Co. was published in the 1893 Pekin city directory.

Another P. Steinmetz & Sons Co. advertisement, this one from the 1898 Pekin city directory.

At the time of the March 1898 Sanborn Map of Pekin, 349-351 Court St. was occupied by P. Steinmetz & Sons dry goods and clothing store, while 347 Court St. was shown as vacant.

The 1904 Pekin city directory shows that 347 Court St. then had six different occupants: on the first floor was Zion Tabernacle, A. N. Black, real estate agent, and Orville A. Smith, attorney, and on the second floor was Julius G. Epkens & Co. insurance agency, John C. Hamilton & Co. general collecting agency and city real estate, and W. Fletcher Copes, insurance agent. But even more remarkable, the 1904 directory shows P. Steinmetz & Sons with the address of 347-349-351 Court St, occupying the same buildings that are today the Hamm’s Building – and the Steinmetz dry goods store continued to occupy 347-349-351 Court until the early 1920s. P. Steinmetz & Sons in 1904 was still operated by Peter and his sons George and Henry. In addition, Peter Steinmetz and his son-in-law J. Frederick “Fred” Kaylor (1870-1940) had a jewelry store at 343 Court St.

Peter Steinmetz last appears in city directories in 1908, the year of his death. The directory that year says he and his sons George and Henry were still the co-owners of their business at 347-349-351 Court, while the second floor of 347 Court was also occupied by A. N. Black, real estate agent, and Orville A. Smith, attorney. After 1908, Peter’s son George A. Steinmetz succeeded him as owner of P. Steinmetz & Sons Co., the sole occupant of 347-349-351 Court St.

By Nov. 1903, P. Steinmetz & Sons was the main occupant of 347-349-351 Court St., though there were other offices at 347 Court.

At the time of the Dec. 1909 Sanborn Map of Pekin, all the buildings from 343 to 351 Court were a part of the Steinmetz Block.

The black arrow indicates the Steinmetz Building in from detail from a Blenkiron photograph from 1910.

The storefront of P. Steinmetz & Sons Co. clothing and dry goods store, occupying 347-349-351 Court St., is shown in this July 1912 photograph taken by Pekin pioneer photograph Henry Hobart Cole.

The Oct. 1916 Sanborn Map of Pekin indicates that by then 347 Court St. and 349-351 Court St. were separate business ventures. By 1922 if not earlier, the Steinmetz family had sold their dry goods business at 349-351 St. to William J. Lohnes and his associates, but continued their clothing store at 347 Court.

Following George’s death in 1915, by the early 1920s major occupant changes had come to the buildings at 347-349-351 Court St. The 1922 Pekin city directory shows that the Steinmetz family had sold their dry goods operation to three merchants named William Jacob Lohnes (1867-1951), William P. Merkel (1885-1928), and Otto Conrad Renfer (1871-1935), co-proprietors of the Lohnes, Merkel & Renfer dry goods store at 349-351 Court St. William J. Lohnes should not be confused with William Andrew Lohnes, who operated Central Book & Toy at 345 Court St. with his son Eugene F. Lohnes. William J. Lohnes’ brother-in-law was Philip M. Hoffman, owner of Pekin Hardware Co. at 337-339 Court St.

William Jacob Lohnes (1867-1951) was proprietor of the Lohnes & Merkel dry goods store at 349-351 Court St. during the 1920s. He is not the same person as William Andrew Lohnes (1866-1941), father of Eugene F. Lohnes of Central Book & Toy at 345 Court St.

As for 347 Court St., that address in the 1922 directory is called the Steinmetz Building, which was the home of the P. Steinmetz & Sons Co. Clothing Store, with George Steinmetz’s son-in-law Walter Theodore “W. T.” Conover (1890-1962) as treasurer and manager of the business. In addition to the Steinmetz clothing store, the 1922 city directory says the Steinmetz Building was also occupied by M. R. Huffman’s piano studio, Albert Van Horne’s dentist office, G. L. Junker’s insurance, G. A. Himmel’s real estate agency, A. N. Black’s real estate agency, C. L. Brereton’s tailor shop, Orville A. Smith’s attorney’s office, G. A. Lucas’s insurance, and Dr. W. E. Lanan’s dentist office.

The Steinmetz clothing store can be seen in this detail of a Christmas-time photograph from the early 1920s.

The Steinmetz Building can be seen in this second photograph from the 1920s.

By the time of the 1925 Sanborn Map of Pekin, the former Steinmetz dry goods store had become the Lohnes & Merkel dry goods store, owned and operated by William J. Lohnes and William P. Merkel.

The Steinmetz clothing store, managed by W. T. Conover, remained at 347 Court St. until the late 1920s, along with at least 10 other offices on the first and second floors. As for 349-352 Court St., Renfer soon dropped out as one of the business partners – the city directories in 1924 and 1926 show just Lohnes and Merkel as co-owners of the dry goods store there, and then in the 1928 directory Lohnes is listed as the sole owner due to Merkel’s death that year.

The 1928 directory was the last to list P. Steinmetz & Son’s clothing store and the Lohnes & Merkel dry goods store. In the 1930 directory, The Steinmetz Building at 347 Court St. was occupied by Bowman Bros. Shoe Store, managed by Albert R. Smith, along with 16 other offices on the first and second floors., while 349-351 Court St. was now the home of McLellan Stores Co.’s department store, formerly a well-known and prominent fixture of Pekin’s then-bustling business district. McLellan’s manager in 1930 was Gustave C. Ullmann.

McLellan’s Department Store remained at 349-351 Court St. until the early 1970s, last appearing in Pekin city directories in 1974, Pekin’s Sesquicentennial year. For about three or four years, from 1959 to 1962, the city directories list this business with the name “McCrory-McLellan Store,” but the directories revert to just “McLellan Store” in 1964. Over the years, McLellan’s saw a succession of 12 store managers. After Ullmann, the city directories list the store managers as Roy P. Wiesen (1932), then Homer J. West (1934), then James B. McCoy (1937, 1939), then Peter Freeland (1941, 1943), then Glenn A. Haygreen (1946).

Starting with the 1948 directory, we find Robert Swendsen as McLellan’s manager – Swendsen had the longest tenure of McLellan’s managers, last appearing in city directories in that capacity in 1965. The 1966 directory then lists William B. Detrich as McLellan’s manager. Detrich was succeeded by Rob Schaefer (1968), then Glenn Dials (1969-1971), and then Rick Ashe (1972). McLellan’s last manager was Jerry P. Ray (1973, 1974).

McLellan’s Department Store at 349 Court St. and the Steinmetz Building at 347 Court St. (then the home of the Commonwealth Loan Co.) are shown in this photograph of downtown Pekin from the late 1940s.

Meanwhile in the Steinmetz Building at 347 Court St., we again find Bowman Bros. Shoe Store in the 1932 city directory, with Walter Hurlhey as manager. Also in the Steinmetz Building that year was Russell Reed McClintick (1896-1954), jeweler, along with 17 other offices, including the insurance agency of John Armand Steinmetz (1898-1961), son and successor of George A. Steinmetz. McClintick’s jewelry store remaining at 347 Court St. until the 1939 directory. As for Bowman Bros., the 1934 city directory shows that it had been replaced by a women’s clothing store called The Style Shop, co-owned by Karl A. Kreeb and George J. Krei. Like McClintick’s jewelry store, The Style Shop only lasted until the 1939 directory. The 1941 Pekin city directory shows that The Style Shop and McClintick had relocated to 343 Court St.

The Steinmetz Building continued to host a varying number of insurance agencies, attorneys, and others for the next several decades. One of those offices was always that of John A. Steinmetz himself, who is last listed at 347 Court St. in the 1961 Pekin city directory, the year of his death. His building continued to bear the name “Steinmetz Building” until the 1981 directory, but the building went empty by the time of the 1973 city directory, followed soon after by McLellan’s closing at 349-351 Court St. The directories list the Steinmetz Building “vacant” from 1974 to 1978, and 349-351 Court St. as “vacant” from 1975 to 1980.

McLellan’s at 347-351 Court St. is shown in this detail from an early 1970s photograph. The store closed by 1974, after more than four decades in business at the same location.

Hamm’s Furniture’s customers still step over the name of the former McLellan’s Department Store at both the west and east entrances. Shown here is the McLellan’s logo at the west entrance (347 Court St.). PHOTO BY PEKIN PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF.

Shown here is the McLellan’s Department Store logo at Hamm’s Furniture’s east entrance (349-351 Court St.). PHOTO BY PEKIN PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF.

In 1979, the Steinmetz Building’s sole occupant was Pekin Players Inc., quickly succeeded in the 1980 directory by Wilma Thomas’ Capitol Used Furniture (which was also located at 320 S. Capitol St. that year). The 1981 directory lists not only Capitol Used Furniture at 347 Court, but also Doris Windle’s Teller Training Center, while the former McLellan’s building was used by Capitol Used Furniture as additional space. However, both 347 and 349-351 Court were again listed as vacant in the 1982 directory.

In the 1983 city directory, we find Gil’s T.V. Furniture & Appliances sales and service at 347 Court St., while 349-351 Court is not even listed that year. Gil’s business was ephemeral, though – the 1984 directory lists all the store fronts from 347 to 353 Court as vacant, and 347 Court St. continues to be listed as vacant until 1988. That year, at 347 Court St. we find Sue Z’s cocktail lounge, owned and operated by R. James Evans, president, and Susan E. Evans, secretary-treasurer, with 349-351 Court used by Sue Z’s as additional space. But again, that business did not last long, and the 1989 city directory again listed all the store fronts from 347 to 353 Court as vacant.

At last, with the 1990 directory, we see the debut at 347-351 Court St. of Trade Mart Furniture & Appliances, with the proprietors Alvin Hamm (1923-1994) and his wife Edith Ruth (Smith) Hamm (1927-2021), and their son Russell A. “Russ” Hamm as deliveryman and salesman. The Hamms had moved their furniture business to the former Steinmetz and McLellan’s buildings from 328 Court St. Soon after moving to 347 Court St., the Hamms placed their focus on furniture and bedding.

City directories continue to list the business as “Trade Mart Furniture & Bedding” until 2001, which marks the first appearance of the new name “Hamm’s Furniture.” After Alvin’s passing in 1994, Edith briefly continued as sole owner in the mid-1990s before retiring and handing the business over to her son Russ, who has carried on the family business ever since.

Hamm’s Furniture, 347 Court St., is shown in this photograph from the Tazewell County Assessor’s website, taken 7 Feb. 2002.

Another view of Hamm’s Furniture from the Tazewell County Assessor’s website, in a photograph taken 5 June 2013.

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Tazewell County’s ‘Historical Hall’

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Specialist

The late Christal Dagit (1943-2019) was long-time president of the Tazewell County Historic Places Society, and also served as long-time director of the Tazewell County Museum and Education Center. In the four years since her passing, however, the museum to which she devoted so many years has had to close and its collection be placed in storage, with the Tazewell County Board now making plans to demolish the historic Arcade Building where the museum had been housed.

Many years before the Tazewell County Museum and Education Center was established, however, artifacts and mementos of the history and heritage of Pekin and Tazewell County were displayed in a “Historical Hall” within the Tazewell County Courthouse. A part of this old collection is displayed at the courthouse still today, even as monuments on the grounds outside the courthouse help to commemorate the county’s military veterans and the numerous visits that Abraham Lincoln to Pekin and Tremont.

In the years from 1914 to 1916, when plans were made for a larger and grander Neo-Classical edifice to replace the 1850 county courthouse, the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors made provisions to establish and maintain what it said would be a permanent museum in a room of the new courthouse.

The Historical Hall’s collection was under the care of the long-defunct Tazewell County Historical Society, which was among other things a museum board appointed by the Tazewell County Board. In the 1950s, however, the collection was moved to rooms in the courthouse basement and the former Historical Hall room became the County Assessor’s Office.

In the latest issue of the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society “Monthly” (March 2023), page 555-557, are presented the Tazewell County Board’s proceedings related to the courthouse Historical Hall, from 1914 to 1968. Since these proceedings are sure to be of interest to many in our area who wish to learn more of our local history, I will transcribe them here:

12 Sept. 1914 – The permanent building committee would recommend that the historical step formerly at the entrance of the Bemis House, but now at the north-west corner of the Court House block be placed in the historical room of the new Court House in a place to be selected by the Architects.

This early 20th century Pekin postcard shows the threshold of the former Tazewell House hotel displayed at the northwest corner of the Tazewell County Courthouse grounds. The threshold was moved inside the new courthouse during construction from 1914 to 1916. PHOTO COURTESY OF KIP SNYDER

Bemis House, at one time Pekin’s preeminent hotel, is shown in this early 20th-century photograph. Under its original name of Tazewell House, the hotel once hosted Abraham Lincoln and other notable local attorneys when they came to Pekin on legal business at the Tazewell County Courthouse. The site at the corner of Court and Front streets is now a part of Gene Miller Park, adjacent to Pekin’s Riverfront Park. PHOTO COURTESY THE TAZEWELL COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE

14 March 1916 – On motion of Supervisor Strubhar the rules were suspended and . . .  Mr. Allensworth, Miss Gaither and Mr. Prettyman addressed the Board in reference to having an historical association in Tazewell County; and Mr. Cole in reference to preserving the photographs of deceased and old residents of Tazewell County; and Mr. Bates in reference to issuing a souvenir containing historical facts of Tazewell County and distributing same when court house is dedicated and urged the appointment of a committee to confer with him in regard to the matter.

16 March 1916 – Supervisor Quigg suggested that the Board take up the matter of what the Historical room is to contain, Mr. H. H. Cole addressed the Board in reference to the matter. Resolution offered by Supervisor Birkenbusch was read. Supervisor Gulon moved as an amendment to the resolution that Mr. H. H. Cole be granted the privilege of using the North, East and part of the South wall of the historical room for placing photographs of deceased and old residents of Tazewell County. The amendment was carried.

Resolved, That the Public Printing Committee be authorized to confer with W. H. Bates in reference to souvenir issue in connection with the dedication of the Tazewell County Court House, also to take up the matter with H. H. Cole of placing our Art Gallery in the Tazewell County Court House. Offered by Henry Birkenbusch, Supervisor Quigg moved that the first room, opening on the East and West Corridor and East of the South entrance be designated as the historical room; Supervisor Porter moved as an amendment that the room be designated as the Historical and Soldiers Rest Room of Tazewell County. Supervisor Quigg accepted the amendment, and the motion as amended was on vote declared carried. On motion of Supervisor Reardon each Member of the Board was urged to present the names of at least three persons residing in their township, who would interest themselves in reference to historical matters pertaining to Tazewell County not later than the next adjourned meeting.

Communication from Joe Hanna Post No. 1176 G.A.R. of Pekin, Illinois in reference to Historical Room was read.

Mr. H. H. Cole stated that he desired to have a group photograph of the Members of the Board, the same to be placed in the historical room.

29 March 1916 – Supervisor Gulon inquired whether or not the Spanish American War Veterans would be permitted to hold their meetings in the Historical Room. On motion of Supervisor Reardon, the Spanish American War Veterans were granted permission to use the Historical Room for their meetings.

26 April 1916 – Resolution offered by the Permanent Building Committee, in reference to the Historical and G.A.R. rooms was read. On motion of Supervisor Nixon the resolution was adopted. Be it resolved by the Building Committee of the Board of Supervisors of Tazewell County, that the two rooms situated in the southeast corner on the first floor of the court house shall be designated “Historical Hall” and that there shall be placed therein the photographic exhibits heretofore made and now being made by H. H. Cole and that the placing of said exhibits shall be under the personal supervision of H. H. Cole and the Public Building Committee of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors. Resolved, that the room on the first floor of the court house on the south side and immediately west of Historical Hall shall be designated Grand Army Hall; that it shall be used and occupied by the Grand Army of the Republic, The Sons of Veterans, The Spanish-American War Veterans and the Women’s Relief Corps, and all similar organizations of Tazewell County that may hereafter be organized. Resolved, that the three rooms designated in the preceding sections of this resolution as a whole shall be known as the Memorial Section of the court house in the County of Tazewell and State of Illinois. Peter Sweitzer, C. C. Reardon, B. F. Quigg, J. S. Nixon.

15 Sept. 1916 – Mr. W. H. Bates addressed the Board in reference to having cases made of the walnut benches which were in the Old Court House, for the G.A.R. and Historical room. On motion of Supervisor Porter the matter was referred to the Committee on Public Buildings.

13 June 1916 – Order #26338 to H. H. Cole for labor and materials furnished for Historical Photograph Room.

10 June 1918 – The report of the committee on the claim of H. H. Cole was read. Your committee to whom was referred the adjustment of the claim of H. H. Cole for portraits, cases etc. placed in Historical Room in Court House . . .  . we allow H. H. Cole the sum of $450 in full payment for same and it is further agreed that any more work done, for which he expects payments from the County, must be authorized by someone with authority before proceeding.

7 Dec. 1920 – Judge W. R. Curran was granted permission to address the Board in reference to the memorial services of the Tazewell County Historical Society, commemorating the organization of the Union League of America, to be held in the Circuit Court room at 2 P.M. December 7th, 1920.

13 June 1949 – Mr. Canaday, Representative from State Historical Society, Springfield, was introduced by Chairman McClarence, who stated that he had been sent to Pekin in regard to the matter of transferring original records signed by Abraham Lincoln, now in Tazewell County files to Springfield Library. Chairman McClarence appointed Supervisors J. A. Henderson of Little Mackinaw, D. H. Snell of Washington and Clark Barton of Tremont to serve on the Lincoln Records Special Committee.

8 March 1955 – It is recommended after a special meeting between the Building Committee and representative of the Women’s Relief Corps and the Grand Army of the Republic that the Building Committee be authorized to obtain the services of an architect and lay plans for the creation of a suitable room in the basement to be occupied by the Women’s Relief Corps, Grand Army of the Republic and Historical Society. The room on the main floor which presently is occupied by the Women’s Relief Corps and Grand Army of the Republic will be taken over by the Supervisor of Assessments after the establishment of the basement quarters.

25 April 1955 – Supervisor Condon of Pekin moved that the Chairman appoint a committee of six to confer with the Fair and Park Boards in regard to having Historical Rooms, Veteran Rooms and Museum in the Fair Buildings.

13 June 1955 – Chairman Mooberry stated there was a delegation present representing the Womens Relief Corps and the Spanish American War Veterans. Mrs. Minnie Stockert was their spokesman and addressed the Board in respect to the Historical or G.A.R. room, and brought up the question of what would become of the war relics as the law stated that, if they were moved from their present location, they would have to be returned to the State Museum.

Motion was made by Supervisor Lowry of Spring Lake, seconded by Supervisor McKenzie of Fondulac that letters received by the Board in regard to the G.A.R. and Historical Room be read. Motion carried.

Twelve letters from individuals and organizations of Tazewell and Peoria Counties were read by the Clerk. Motion was made by Supervisor Robins of Washington, seconded by Supervisor Schilling of Pekin that the letters be received and placed on file. Motion carried.

8 Sept. 1959 – A letter from George H. Iftner in regard to Items of Historical Value now in the Historical Room in the basement. Motion was made by Supervisor Snell of Washington that the Chair appoint three to act as Trustees of the Historical Society . . . to take care of the items of Historical Value.

8 Dec. 1959 – Motion was made by Supervisor Snell of Washington that the Chair appoint a nine member committee to act as Trustees for the Tazewell County Historical Society. Motion was seconded by Supervisor VanderHeyden of Pekin. Motion carried and Chairman Schilling of Pekin appointed the following Committee:

TAZEWELL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Vera Dille, Gary Planck, Dale Sarver, William Hoffman, Dr. R. K. Taubert and Gene Sangalli all of Pekin, Thomas Pinkham of East Peoria, Forrest Altine of Morton, and Howard Simpson of Mackinaw.

21 Feb. 1968 – Moved by Supervisor Urish of Malone, seconded by Supervisor Hoffman of Mackinaw, that the Building Committee investigate the Historical items in the basement of the Court House. The Committee is to make plans of what to do with said items.

15 Aug. 1968 – Be it resolved by the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors that, whereas, the Tazewell County Historical Society, the G.A.R.’s and D.A.R.’s have for past years held their meetings in rooms provided them in the Court House and, Whereas, a great collection of articles, antique furniture, relics, documents, pictures, etc. have been housed in these rooms, and Whereas, during the past few years these items have not had proper care and protection in the present basement room, with the end result that valuable pieces have been removed and other articles have been broken, damaged or defaced and Whereas, each item in this collection is of great value as such and can never be replaced, but should be preserved for the benefit of future generations, now therefore BE IT Resolved, by the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors that the Building Committee be authorized to have the contents of this room sorted, packed, and stored in a bonded warehouse, at County expense, until such time as arrangements can be made to have this collection placed where it can be properly displayed and protected.

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Assorted scenes from Pekin’s past

This is a reprint of a “From the Local History Room” column that first appeared in June 2014, before the launch of this weblog.

Assorted scenes from Pekin’s past

By Jared Olar

Local History Specialist

Among the items, articles and relics preserved in the Pekin Public Library’s Local History Room is a file containing an assortment of old photographs from Pekin’s past.

Many of the photos were clipped from old newspapers, while many others are old prints, postcards and portraits that over the years were donated to the library for preservation. Some of them evidently came from old scrapbooks.

Together these images almost form a photo album of miscellaneous pictures from the community’s history. Following is a sample of the photos from this file.

One photo, dated Aug. 7, 1927, shows two children sitting in a toy wagon – Ann Crumbaker of Abingdon and James Unland. The photo, which was clipped from an old newspaper, was taken at the Unland home at 807 Bacon Street. The caption says Ann Crumbaker was a granddaughter of the late Rev. M. V. Crumbaker, a former pastor in Pekin.

Turning that clipping over, one finds a group photo of “Pekin City Mail Carriers 26 Years Ago,” dated April 20, 1930. The caption identifies the men as Frank E. Hatcher, Peter Trimpi, W. Y. Franks, Charles Cohenour, C. F. Dittmer and Henry Mohr. Unfortunately part of the photo was cropped, so Franks and Mohr have been cut off. The caption says C. A. Kuhl was then the postmaster, and adds that the photo had been supplied by Mrs. Peter Trimpi of 709 S. Seventh St.

The file also contains two larger photos showing industrial plants, including an aerial view of the old Standard Brands plant which formerly employed many residents of Pekin.

Two other photos – one of a husband and wife, and the other of a baby girl – bear the official business logo of Coles Studies of Pekin and Delavan, the business of Pekin’s pioneer photographer Henry Hobart Cole (1833-1925), who was responsible for creating many historical photographs of Pekin and other parts of Tazewell County. The writing on these two photos identifies the persons in the photos as “Mr & Mrs Green; Mrs Piles youngest sister” and “Ester Green, daughter of Mr. and Mrs Green.”

Another more recent photo is dated Feb. 1982 and was taken by Frank Mackaman. The black-and-white image shows an unidentified man driving a small single-rider snow plow and clearing a parking lot following a snow storm that winter.

For our final sample from the file, there are two photos from Aug. 7, 1927 of “Pekin’s Lady Lindbergh – Miss Anna Behrens, head bookkeeper of the American National bank, who leaves for Chicago soon to complete her flying course, started at Varney field. She had already had several flattering offers for demonstration work,” the caption says.

Anna M. Behrens (born 18 March 1898 in Pekin, died 29 May 1967 in Los Angeles County, Calif.) was the second daughter and fifth child of Henry D. and Catherine A. (Dircks) Behrens. Her father Henry (1863-1934), a son of German immigrants from Hesse-Darmstadt, was a painter at the Smith Wagon Co. in Pekin. Her mother Catherine was a descendant of Germans of Ostfriesland. Anna is buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, Calif.

Anna M. Behrens’ day job was head bookkeeper at American National Bank in Pekin, but her interest in flying led her to be dubbed Pekin’s “Lady Lindbergh.”

Anna M. Behrens of Pekin learned to fly at Varney field in Idaho. She later moved to California,

#ann-crumbaker, #anna-m-behrens, #annie-behrens, #c-a-kuhl, #c-f-dittmer, #catherine-a-dircks, #charles-cohenour, #ester-green, #frank-e-hatcher, #frank-mackaman, #henry-d-behrens, #henry-hobart-cole, #henry-mohr, #james-unland, #peter-trimpi, #preblog-columns, #rev-m-v-crumbaker, #smith-wagon-company, #w-y-franks

The changing face of Pekin

This is a reprint of a “From the Local History Room” column that first appeared in Oct. 2013, before the launch of this weblog.

The changing face of Pekin

By Jared Olar

Library Assistant

Changes and developments come to a community day by day, week by week. New buildings and homes are erected, old ones are demolished, new businesses come to town while older ones expand or close their doors.

Sometimes changes can come rapidly and dramatically, but usually they are gradual and often not noticed at first – and before we know it, years have gone by and a city’s or town’s appearance bears little or no resemblance to the way it looked in the past.

To help Pekin residents remember or discover what their city used to look like, various publications compilations of photographs are available in the Pekin Public Library’s Local History Room for study, musing and reminiscing. One of them, often quoted in this column, is “Pekin: A Pictorial History,” first published in 1998 and updated in 2004. The 1949 “Pekin Centenary” and 1974 “Pekin Sesquicentennial” volumes are also filled with old photographs.

The compilation of old Pekin photos that perhaps is the most effective way of showing the ways Pekin has changed is Rob Clifton’s “Pekin History Then and Now,” which, as the title indicates, reprints a vintage photo of Pekin on one page and then displays a contemporary photo of the same location on the opposite page. Sometimes the same structures still exist in the contemporary photos, but usually something new has taken their place.

Among Clifton’s sources or guides for finding old photos is a publication that was prepared and issued in July 1912 by The Commercial Club of Pekin (ancestral to the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce), having the length title, “Pekin, Illinois – Interesting Views of Public Buildings, Churches, Schools, Clubs, Office Buildings, Residences, Parks, Street Scenes and the Industries of the City.”

The book was arranged and compiled by Albert Walter Lewis, and almost all of its photographs and images were the work of Pekin’s pioneer photographer Henry Hobart Cole. As mentioned in previous Local History Room column, Cole also produced a small booklet of engravings and photographs, “Cole’s Souvenir of Pekin,” as a way to advertise Pekin to businessmen and to give visitors and tourists a handy memento of their stay.

Lewis’s publication from July 1912 is something like Cole’s “Souvenir,” only on a larger scale. It is mostly a collection of photographs, with a few drawing or engravings, but it also has a few pages of text that describe and promote Pekin as an ideal place to live, work and worship.

Those pages include section headings such as: “Pekin’s Progressiveness,” “Reasons Why Manufacturers Seeking Locations Should Come to Pekin,” “Pekin’s Manufacturing Interests,” “The Near-By Coal Mines Mean Cheap Fuel for Industries,” “Excellent Railroad Advantages and Transportation,” and, “Pekin’s Beautiful Homes, Parks, Drives, etc.”

As a sample of these promotional essays, the latter section says:

“Few cities of our size present as attractive an appearance as is given Pekin by its many handsome residences, its neatly kept broad lawns, its magnificent shade tree, clean streets and drives. Every street and avenue in each direction is adorned with great shade trees, which throw out their massive branches until they meet in the center of the streets.

“There are five public parks, and it is the aim to make them as popular as possible, and that the public should be invited to them. The largest of the parks is Mineral Springs Park, which contains a large pavilion, children’s play grounds, base ball diamond, swimming pools and natural mineral springs, whose waters have a curative power of a high value. These parks mean a healthy city for any one to live in, and is the best evidence of a spirit of progress, and among the first things that a thoughtful manufacturer looks for today in seeking a factory location.

“There are many fine drives about the city, which give to the visitor many visions of the beauties of the city.”

This vintage photograph by Pekin photographer William Blenkiron shows the old Pekin plank bridge that spanned the Illinois River from 1885 to 1930, when it was replaced by a lift bridge.

Shown is the old Pekin High School that stood at the present site of Washington Intermediate School on Washington Street. Built in 1891, this school served as the high school until a new high school was built in 1916. The old high school remained in use as an intermediate or junior high school until 1930, when it was replaced by the current Washington Intermediate School.

This old postcard shows the old Tazewell County Courthouse that served the county from 1850 to 1914, when it was razed to make way for the current, larger county courthouse that opened in 1916. Note the front columns — the bottom half of the columns were painted black to hide the stains from the hands of people leaning on the columns.

In this William Blenkiron photograph we see the old St., Paul’s Evangelical Church on Seventh Street in Pekin.

This Konisek photograph shows the gymnasium and stage in the old parish house of St. Paul’s Evangelical Church in Pekin.

#albert-walter-lewis, #coles-souvenir-of-pekin, #commercial-club-of-pekin, #courthouses, #henry-hobart-cole, #konisek, #old-plank-bridge, #pekin-a-pictorial-history, #pekin-centenary, #pekin-high-schools, #pekin-history, #pekin-history-then-and-now, #pekin-sesquicentennial, #preblog-columns, #rob-clifton, #st-pauls-german-evangelical-church, #tazewell-county-courthouse, #washington-intermediate-school, #william-blenkiron

The Central House of Nello and Isolina Rossi

This is a reprint of a “From the Local History Room” column that first appeared in March 2015, before the launch of this weblog.

The Central House of Nello and Isolina Rossi

By Jared Olar
Library Assistant

In March 2019, we took a closer look at one of the tribute advertisements in the 1949 Pekin Centenary volume, which featured the image of the Ehrlicher Brothers’ first pharmacy prescription from 1865. This week we’ll look at another of the tribute ads in the 1949 Centenary – the ad for Central House, one of Pekin’s former restaurants and hotels which was owned and operated in the 1930s and 1940s by the Italian immigrants Nello Rossi and his wife Isolina.

This detail from an old photograph reprinted in “Pekin: A Pictorial History” shows the Central House hotel in the background.

As mentioned before, often the Centenary’s ads not only trumpeted the qualities and virtues of the featured businesses, but also provided historical details of the businesses. That is especially true of the Central House ad, which takes up the whole of page 56 and provides a colorful glimpse at life and dining in Pekin during the early and mid-20th century.

The ad also includes a drawing of “The Original Central House,” which those who are familiar with the early published sources on Pekin history will immediately recognize as a reproduction of the Central House drawing from Cole’s Souvenir of Pekin, a collection of miniature drawings or engravings of Pekin’s prominent buildings that was produced and sold by Henry Hobart Cole, Pekin’s pioneer photographer.

A drawing of the old Central House hotel from Henry Hobart Cole’s “Souvenir of Pekin.”

Here’s is the text of the Centenary’s ad for Central House, which was located at 333 Margaret St. in downtown Pekin:

“Established on the principle that the laboring class in Pekin should be served with the best in quality at the lowest prices, the Central House at Margaret and Capitol streets was purchased in 1932 by Nello Rossi.

“In a building 100 years old – as old as Pekin itself – the Central House soon established a reputation for excellent food, superior service and honest dealing.

“Since the Central House was established by Mr. Rossi as the finest Italian restaurant in the community, his family has maintained it in the traditions in which early business was transacted.

“Under the supervision of Nello Rossi, with Mrs. Rossi preparing the food, the Central House became the unofficial meeting place for the laboring men of Pekin as well as the farmers who had regarded the Central House as a gathering place even before it was taken over by the Rossis.

“After the death of Mr. Rossi in 1943 his wife and three sons, Lawrence, Al and Italo, continued operation of the Central House. Today, however, Italo and Al are engaged in the management of the hotel, having taken the reins upon their return from military service. Both of them were in the uniform of the United States navy.

“During recent years the Central House has grown in size as well as clientele. In 1940 a new dining room, The Blue Room, was added to the original structure and rapidly earned a reputation for its excellent Italian and American cuisine. Specialties, of course, are the Italian dishes – spaghetti, ravioli, salads and anti pastos. Also on the menu are fried milk-fed chicken, steaks and fish.

“Popularity of Rossi-prepared foods has resulted in the establishment of Rossi Food Products, Inc., which went into business on January 1, 1949. The new company has constructed a processing and canning plant adjacent to the Central House on N. Capitol street and the Rossi Food Products label is already visible in most of the grocery stores in Central Illinois.

“On the growing list of Rossi Food Products are canned chili, spaghetti sauce, beef barbecue, beef stew, and the only green salad dressing on the market today.

“Actual ownership of the Central House is still in the hands of Mrs. Rossi who actively supervises the preparation of its tasty dishes and, as has been her practice for many years, she examines each day’s menu for, ‘Quality, price and appearance.’

“Concerning the future, the Rossis are looking forward to continued expansion of their Central House services and their Rossi Food Products production. They plan to do so by maintaining, to the best of their ability, their present high standards of food production and dining room management.”

Central House last appears in the Pekin City Directories in 1958, so must have closed about then. By the 1970s, 333 Margaret Street was the site of Pekin Downtown Motel and Coffee Shop, owned and operated by the late Larry L. Noreuil.

#al-rossi, #central-house, #coles-souvenir-of-pekin, #henry-hobart-cole, #isolina-rossi, #italo-rossi, #lawrence-rossi, #nello-rossi, #pekin-centenary, #preblog-columns

A closer look at Mineral Springs Park’s first artesian well

By Jared Olar
Library assistant

About a month ago we recalled the drilling of the artesian well in the early 1880s that gave Mineral Springs Park its name. This week we’ll take a closer look at the park’s first well and its location.

As we learned previously, following the drilling of the well in 1882, a bath house was built in 1883, and in succeeding years roads, a swimming pool, fountains and a large pagoda were added. The bath house enabled people to bathe in the artesian well’s mineral waters, which were believed to have medicinal properties.

The 1974 Pekin Sesquicentennial (page 138) reveals that, “The old park swimming pool was located across from the 14th Street side of the park lagoon in the area now occupied by the horseshoe pits to the south (sic – north) of the Methodist Church.” This is precisely where the Miller Senior Center is today, to the west of the lagoon. The Sesquicentennial adds that the park’s original artesian well was located near the old swimming pool, but does not locate it any more precisely than that.

A man collects water from the original artesian well and fountain of Mineral Springs Park in this old photograph that was reproduced in the 1974 Pekin Sesquicentennial volume.

This 1890s photograph of the Mineral Springs Park lagoon shows the park pool and bath house on the west side of the lagoon. A tall pole next to the pool facility marks the site of the park’s original artesian well. In the distance on the right side of the picture is the factory of Cummings Harvester Works, formerly located at the corner of Christopher Street and Highland Avenue.

The original Mineral Springs Park pool and bath house are shown in this photograph taken by Henry Hobart Cole in the 1890s.

However, using reference materials such as old maps and photographs in the Pekin Public Library’s Local History Room, it is possible to determine exactly where the original well, fountain, and bath house were.

In the library’s collection of old atlases and maps, Mineral Springs Park makes its first appearance on the 1891 Tazewell County Atlas’ map of Pekin. In those days the eastern border of the park was just past Coal Car Drive, and the park roads and paths (unpaved back then) formed loops around and to the east the lagoon.

On the west side of the lagoon, though, the map shows a prominent structure that, by a comparison with two photographs of the lagoon and the original park swimming pool from Henry Hobart Cole’s 1890s compilation of vintage photographs entitled “Pekin and Environs,” can confidently be identified as the park’s pool and bathhouse.

The map also shows a simple circle on the north side of the pool and bathhouse, and on the south side of the park’s western entrance off 14th Street, but does not identify what the circle represents. However, the maps of Pekin in the 1910 and 1929 Tazewell County atlases label that circle with the word “fountain.” It is also very significant that these early maps show Spring Street extending all the way east to an intersection with 14th Street. Although Spring Street now dead-ends at the Miller Center parking lot, its name is a clue to the location of the original well, because “Spring” Street got its name from the fact that it led up to Mineral Springs Park’s western entrance, which was adjacent to the park’s original mineral spring.

This map from the 1891 Tazewell County atlas shows Mineral Springs Park, then only in existence for nine years. A simple circle to the west of the lagoon (“Artesian Lake”) and on the east side of 14th Street, marks the site of the park’s mineral spring and fountain.

Old streets and several other details from the 1891 map of Mineral Springs Park have been added to this current Google Maps satellite image. The site of the original park pool and bath house are indicated in yellow and hatching. The site of the original artesian well and fountain is marked with a black circle near the center of the map.

What was shown as an unmarked circle on the 1891 map of Mineral Springs Park is identified as the park fountain in this 1910 map of the park.

The boundaries of Mineral Springs Park are shown to have expanded significantly in this 1929 map of the park. But the old fountain, park pool, and bath house still remain on the west side of the park lagoon.

Old photographs of the spring and fountain in the Local History Room collection show what the well and fountain looked like – it was wide, encircled by a paved concrete walkway, with two drinking fountains at the north and south ends.

What became of the original well? On that point, all that the 1974 Sesquicentennial volume says is that the spring-fed fountain “has long since been removed,” and that, “The initial well for the park is long since inoperative.”

The photograph, which was reproduced on a postcard from about 1916, shows the old spring-fed fountain that once existed on the west side of the Mineral Springs Park lagoon. The site is today marked by a sculpted metal planter in front of the Miller Senior Center.

Water sprays up in the old Mineral Springs Park fountain in this vintage photograph that was reproduced July 13, 2002, in the Pekin Daily Times’ special section on the Pekin Park District’s 100th anniversary.

By the 1930s the Pekin Park District saw the need to build a new swimming pool and bath house, so a new well was drilled off east of the lagoon in 1935, and a new pool was built in the vicinity of the new well. That pool remained in use, with occasional modifications and repairs, from 1937 to 1992, when it was replaced by the DragonLand water park.

When the new well was dug and the new pool built, the old well was no longer situated in a good location and was not adequate for the park’s needs, so it was sealed off and covered over. Today the former site of the old fountain and well in front of the Miller Center’s entrance is occupied by an old sculpted and decorative metal planter, and, probably not coincidentally, the planter looks more like a miniature fountain or fancy bird bath than a planter. Most Pekinites who drive by the lagoon on 14th Street every day probably pass the Miller Center without noticing the planter that marks the site of Mineral Springs Park’s original spring.

As for the 1935 bath house, on page 5 of the “Pekin Park District Centennial” special section that was published in the July 16, 2002 Pekin Daily Times, a photo caption says, “The Mineral Springs Bath House operated in 1935 for mineral tub baths, steam baths, massages and other health treatments. The bath house artesian well water was believed to contain minerals beneficial to health, but the bath’s popularity waned as the public changed its attitude about the curative powers of mineral water.”

Out in front of the Miller Senior Center is this decorative metal fountain, used as a planter, marking the site of the former Mineral Springs Park fountain and artesian well.

#artesian-well, #cummings-harvester-works, #drilling-of-mineral-springs-park-spring, #henry-hobart-cole, #miller-senior-center, #mineral-springs-park, #mineral-springs-park-bath-house, #mineral-springs-park-fountain, #mineral-springs-park-pavilion, #pekin-pool

A brief history of Pekin’s street fairs

This is a revised and expanded version of a “From the Local History Room” column that first appeared in June 2011 before the launch of this weblog.

A brief history of Pekin’s street fairs

By Linda Mace, Library assistant (retired),
and Jared Olar, Library assistant

This photograph from the Pekin Public Library’s Local History Room collection shows the booth of Central Book & Toy Store at the 1935 Pekin Street Fair.

Once upon a time, or beginning in 1898 and apparently ending in the mid-1930’s, Pekin would put on vibrant, very popular street fairs, hosted in the city’s downtown.

In 1902, on the day of the parade, 18,000 people attended this event. Two railroad companies from Peoria brought 2,800 people into our fair town. This was quite the event, with officers and committees and a whole list of rules and regulations.

This is from the official brochure and program for the 1902 fair:

“The many favorable comments upon the originality and beauty of the FREE STREET FAIRS given by Pekin during the years 1898 and 1899, and the clean and praiseworthy manner in which they were conducted, has resulted in a unanimous desire on the part of our wide-awake business men and citizens to out-do all previous Street Fairs, therefore the Association has selected October 15, 16, 17 & 18, 1902, as the dates on which Pekin will again offer free entertainment to the assemble multitudes. THE MOST FASTIDIOUS TASTES of the visitor and his family will find only pleasure and instruction in the beautiful array of VARIEGATED BOOTHS and MUSICAL and DESCRIPTIVE ENTERTAINMENTS WHICH WILL BE GIVEN DAY AND NIGHT! THE FACT THAT PEKIN, in her former exhibits, MORE THAN FILLED HER PROMISES to the public, should, and we believe will, be encouraged in giving her third street fair, by an almost universal visit from the citizens of Central Illinois.”

The brochure went on to describe the “great parade” and emphasized “new features every day.” The fair of 1898 had contained 80 booths, running down the middle of the street and on either side, corresponding to the front footage of the stores erecting them. Downtown Pekin was the place to be in those days!

Shown here is the front cover of the 1899 Pekin Street Fair official program and souvenir. The Pekin Public Library’s copy of the program was preserved in the 1902 library cornerstone time capsule.

This page from the 1899 Pekin Street Fair official program and souvenir features a photograph of the Cole’s Studio booth. Cole’s Studio was the photography business of Pekin’s pioneer photographer Henry Hobart Cole.

The old tradition of Pekin’s street fairs continues in new forms even today, with the popular annual Marigold Festival and downtown events organized and promoted by Pekin Main Street. Pekin also put on an old-fashioned street fair on and near the premises of the Tazewell County Courthouse on Aug. 7, 1999, as part of the major celebrations of the 175th anniversary of Pekin’s settlement and the 150th anniversary of Pekin’s incorporation as a city.

Festivities at the 1999 street fair were literally dampened by a summer thunderstorm, but the celebrations went on as planned. “As black clouds poured rain and thunder bellowed, Mayor Dave Tebben and pioneering Tharp family descendant Norman Tharp led about 100 people as they sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Pekin,” the Pekin Daily Times reported.

Shown are a commemorative plate and a special section of the Pekin Daily Times marking the celebration of Pekin’s 175th birthday. Both items are in the Pekin Public Library’s Local History Room collection.

Hopefully the city’s bicentennial celebrations five years from now also won’t be rained out, even if rained on.

Included in the Pekin Public Library’s Local History Room archives are copies of the 1899 and 1902 Pekin Street Fair brochure and a 1999 Pekin Terquasquicentennial commemorative plat embossed with the official logo of the 1999 Pekin 175th Anniversary.

#1898-pekin-street-fair, #1899-pekin-street-fair, #1902-pekin-street-fair, #1935-pekin-street-fair, #central-book-toy-store, #coles-studio, #dave-tebben, #henry-hobart-cole, #norman-tharp, #pekin-175th-anniversary, #pekin-library-cornerstone-time-capsule, #pekin-street-fairs, #pekin-terquasquicentennial, #preblog-columns

Steamboat deck hands run riot in early Pekin

By Jared Olar
Library assistant

Earlier this month, we reviewed “Early Times in Pekin and Tazewell County,” an essay written by Pekin’s pioneer historian William H. Bates and published in Shade’s Monthly, May 1913 (reprinted in the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society Monthly, June 2017, page 1945).

We also recalled the Little Mine Riot of 1894, the most serious civil disturbance in Tazewell County history. That, of course, wasn’t the first time public safety and order were disrupted in our area. As it happens, Bates’ essay from May 1913 also tells of the first riot in Pekin’s history, which took place about a year after Pekin became established as a city under Illinois law:

“The first riot took place in Pekin, July 4th, 1851, when the deck hands of one of over one hundred steamboats plying the waters of the Illinois, under the influence of too much ‘fire water,’ nearly terrorized the inhabitants of the young city. The citizens rallied to the support of the marshal, and after a hard fight, the rioters were arrested and fined. The boat officials would not pay their fines, so with a ball and chain locked to a leg of each rioter, they had to work out their fines by repairing the steamboat levees.”

Pekin’s first riot in 1851 is said to have been the fault of about 30 or 40 drunken deckhands of a steamboat. Shown here at Pekin in this photograph that Henry H. Cole took circa 1890 is another later Illinois River steamboat, the Mazileon, whose deckhands were not, as far as we know, responsible for any riots.

Bates does not identify the city marshal who suppressed the riot. He refers to the same riot in the historical essay he wrote for the old Pekin City Directories, but neither does he name the city marshal in his city directories. That and one or two other details of that incident may be found in a 12-page history of the Pekin Police Department prepared in 1942 as part of an annual report for the city government. We reviewed that 12-page history in this column in March 2013, in which we told of the appointment of Pekin’s first city marshal, Thomas Cloudas, by Pekin’s first mayor, Bernard Bailey. The March 2013 column summarized the incident in these words:

“In those days, Pekin had very much the character of a rough frontier town, and the city marshall had much more to do besides rounding up stray hogs and cattle. Perhaps most of the criminal offenses in Pekin from the 1850s through the 1870s involved alcohol-fueled violence. One such incident was Pekin’s first riot on July 4, 1851, when a steamboat’s drunken deck hands ran wild throughout the city. Cloudas rapidly collected a force of Pekin citizens who engaged in a battle with the deck hands in the city streets and finally, after a hard fight, managed to subdue and arrest the offenders.”

It apparently was the same riot that Pekin old-timer Emil Schilling remembered in a newspaper article published in the July 24, 1933 Pekin Daily Times. In June 2013, this column discussed that article and Schilling’s 1933 recollections of the riot and the punishment that the court imposed on the rioters, whom Schilling said were black (a detail not mentioned by Bates). Schilling believed (whether rightly or not) helped to foster Pekin’s reputation as a place where blacks were unwelcome.

#henry-hobart-cole, #mazileon, #pekin-history, #pekins-first-riot, #thomas-cloudas, #william-h-bates