1. Coal Mining in
========================
John Marsh and his son Henry Marsh dug 180 feet down and
discovered coal about 1 mile west of Fairbury. This discovery set off a coal
mining boom in the entire state of
============================================
Fairbury had a very strong connection with the 1893 Chicago
World's Fair. John Virgin imported large French Percheron horses and sold them
to Fairbury area farmers. John was a big supporter of the Fairbury Fair and the
Illinois State Fair. The Governor of Illinois appointed John Virgin to design
and build the Agricultural Exposition building at the World's Fair. The
Fairbury Fair was cancelled in 1893 so people could take the train to
3. Fairbury History Stories Volume One
===========================
This is a collection of 73 well-researched Fairbury history stories including at least one photograph per story. It covers a very wide range of Fairbury history topics.
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The early geological history of
==================
One of the three primary history books about
========================
Most Fairbury men joined either an infantry unit or a
cavalry unit. The infantry unit was led by A. J. Cropsey. Today,
==========================
This book covers both World War I and World War II. Because
World War I was so relatively short, few Fairbury men actually made it to
8. History of Murders Committed in
====================================
Fortunately, Fairbury has experienced only eight murders since it was founded in 1857. All eight murders are thoroughly investigated and all the newspaper accounts are included in the book. Because Fairbury is a small town, these eight murders impacted many different members of the community.
9. Honegger's & Company of
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Honegger's was formed by two brothers from Forrest. They started out with one small feed mill and ended up with an international operation. They had a fleet of company airplanes, employed almost 500 people at the peak, and were listed on the stock exchange. The book covers the founding of the company through its eventual demise as farming and the feed markets changed over time.
===============================================================
This book was originally published in a small quantity by
Paul Yost of
11. The Great Chatsworth Train Wreck of 1887
===============================
Mrs. Stoutemyer of Chatsworth published her book about the
train wreck in 1970. She is deceased and her book has been out of print for many
years. The new book uses her original research. The new book triples the
content of her book because of the availability of more materials using the
Internet. One new chapter details what happened to all 23 Fairbury passengers
on this ill-fated train. This
12. The Founding of
========================
Alma Lewis James, in her Fairbury history book, Stuffed
Clubs & Antimacassars, focused on the founding of the
13. The Goudy Bros. of
===========================
The Goudy brothers were early motorcycle racers. They grew
up in Fairbury and their father ran a jewelry and watch store for many years.
Both brothers set many world records in motorcycle racing. Unfortunately,
younger brother William was killed at a
14. The Kring Family of
===========================
The Kring family history is deeply intertwined with early
Fairbury history. One family member ran a foundry which made cast iron
products. Some of these Kring foundry cast-iron doorways are still being used
on Fairbury stores on
15. The McDowell Family of
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The second pioneer farming family to settle in the Fairbury
area was the McDowell family. They helped to found the towns of Avoca,
McDowell, Fairbury, and
16. Walton Bros. of
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Isaac and J.W. Walton go clear back to when they opened their first store in 1868 in Fairbury. They experienced three different times. After each fire, they rebuilt bigger and better department stores. Many Fairbury businesses were spawned from the Walton Bros. department store. Walton's would add a new product line, then spin it off to their employees that ran that business.
17. William T. Stackpole of
==============================
Mr. Stackpole was one of early Fairbury's most interesting
characters. During his life, William was a gold prospector, pioneer, farmer,
merchant, grain speculator, oil field worker, real estate sales person,
inventor, writer, publisher, and visionary. His home still exists on
18. William T. Stackpole's 1849 Journey from
========================================================
Before he came to Fairbury, Mr. Stackpole caught the
"gold bug" and headed to
The first 75 Fairbury history stories in the Blade newspaper were combined into a book titled, "Fairbury History Stories Volume 1." The titles of these Blade stories are shown below.
Book Design
A Truly Larger than Life Figure
Fairbury, Illinois in 1888
1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition
Fairbury Murder Book
Fairbury Book Authors
Sanborn Insurance Maps
WJEZ Radio History Segments
Fairbury Coal Mining Book
William T. Stackpole Book
Archer House Sign
Lough & Ellis Drum
McDowell Book
Kring Family Book
Founding of Fairbury Book
The Goudy Brothers
History of Fairbury Waste Treatment
The Las Vegas Connection
Joseph Slagel
Fairbury Swimming Pool History
Civil War
World War I
World War II
Fairbury Banks
Fairbury School History
Fairbury Country Schools
Bat Masterson Working in Fairbury Coal Mine
Conerus Cigars
The Dangers of Coal Mining
Fairbury Movie Star
Levi Judson Odell
Old City Hall
Mapel Brothers
The Mapel Brother’s Horse
Native American Artifacts
Fairbury’s Most Famous Drug Store
Shedd Aquarium
Kuenzi Dairy
Little Joe’s Grocery Store
Don Karnes
Underground Fairbury
Dominy Memorial Library
Ziegenhorn’s
Carl Eilers
Early Health Challenges
Horse Palace
Dr. C. B. Ostrander
Dick McAllister
1887 Chatsworth Train Wreck
George A. Decker
U.S. Patents
Alma Lewis James
Fairbury Hospitals
Knights of Pythias
Post Office History
1849 California Gold Rush
Mausoleum
Ghost Towns
The Pontiac Boys
Veterans Memorial Park Historic Murals
Old Business Advertising Signs
The First Murder
Livingston County Nurse
Francis Townsend
1918 Spanish Flu
World War II Rationing
Fairbury Ice Businesses
Temperance and Women’s Voting Rights
Golf Course History
Cigar Store Indians
Locust Street Opera House
Third Street Opera House
Polio
Gypsies
Book Design
Fairbury Household Life in the 1880s
Prominent Businessman Frank Churchill
Fairbury's Zouave Cadets
Fairbury Historian and Native American Artifact Collector
Water Fluoridation Was a Controversial Issue
Tractor Ownership in Early Fairbury
Fairbury Photographer Ferguson Had Interesting Family Story
Corn Pickers a Blessing and a Curse for Fairbury Farmers
Cropsey Farmer Manages Technological Change
Fairbury Woman Pioneer Film Producer
Largest Farm in the United States
Fires from Feud Terrorized Early Fairbury Citizens
Fairbury Pool a Public Safety Improvement
One of Fairbury's Greatest Volunteers
Fairbury Factory Nearing 60 Years in Business
Tractor Was 30 Years Ahead of It's Time
What Happened to the Route 24 Deer?
David versus Goliath in Fairbury
Dave's Supermarket Still Going Strong at 70 Years
First Fairbury Area Family Arrived 190 Years Ago
Disc Sharpening One of Fairbury's Longest Lasting Businesses
1933 Tragic Murder Still Unsolved
Kay Spence Nationally Famous Horse Trainer
Unique Homes Outlasted Their Creator
Wonderful Transition from City Dump to Beautiful Subdivision
Fairbury History Mysteries #1
Langstaff Family Met Area Medical Needs for Three Generations
Cropsey Native Was Rhodes Scholar and World-Class Historian
Fairbury Bottling Company a Family Affair
Lodemia History
President Reagan Courted Cropsey School Teacher
History of Fairbury's Graceland Cemetery
Tales from Graceland Cemetery
The Hard Road in Fairbury
Interesting Century-Long Transition from Lumberyard to Medical Facility
Bach Lumber Yard In Business for 72 Years
Traffic Signal in Center of Main Street
The Jerking Phenomena at the Methodist Avoca Church
Fairbury's African American History 1857-1922
Fairbury's African American History 1923-2021
Two Fairbury Citizens Reaching 117 Years of Age Created National News
Interesting Fairbury Civil War Veteran
Area Woman Served as Soldier in Civil War
Fairbury Nursing Hero Part of Bob Hope Show
Unlucky at Love
Fairbury Man was Trapeze Artist and World-Class Model Builder
Fairbury’s Wealthiest Citizen
Judge McDowell One of Franklin Oliver's Lawyers
Ford & Harrington Horse Importing Firm
Early Businessman and Opera House Manager J. E. Eddy
Cropsey Played an Important Role in the World War II Effort
The G.A.R. Was One of Fairbury's First Social Clubs
These can all be accessed from this web site.
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