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For if i1 y r f 1 \BSt, Itsa / f N pWPrigin|And Ii + inir«I U \T liftAM I t L/ \[ J I • • a4P;Pl9|®'Q C ilijlfOi *! n 0 illlini Irid i an *11 m i1 By Sixth Grade Students Mm |How many of you really know what Forrest was like in its early years? The sixth grade at Meadowbrook decided one day that it would be interesting to find out some information on the town. W6 cannot be positive that all the ^Information is correct, because some of our information cannot be certified. However, we did our best to find accurate material. |The first thing we did was to divide the class into groups, each taking some important idea about Forrest. After dividing into groups with topics, we spent about a week collecting data and calling people. The people \qe called were very helpful and kind. We would like to thank each and everyone who helped.The first place to start is the original people who lived in Forrest. Most of you would say it might be Charles Jones, 1836. But it was really the lllini Indians. Although their main camp was set up in Chatsworth, they had scattered tribes around this area. They were replaced by the Pottawatomies and later by the Kickapoo Indians. Charles Jones was one of the first white people to settle in Forrest. Some more familiar names are the Jennings, Krack.Judd, etc. These were some of the first people to settle in Forrest.Now that we have the people in town, let’s see what happens to the town buildings. The main reason Forrest was built where it is now is because of the T.P. and W. Railroad. It was built through Forrest in 1857. In 1858 a Township Act was voted on and in 1861 Forrest Township was founded. Although we are not sure when the first school was organized, we have found several letters and articles that say 1855 is the correct date. It stood where the cemetery now stands. The first train depot was built in the late 1850’s. It stood across the street from where the elevators now stand. A hotel was located right next to the depot. It was called the St. Elmo Hotel. The St. Elmo was torn down in the late 1890’s by a Mr. Geiger. He used the site to build his home on.What we feel to be the first church in Forrest was the Methodist Episcopal church. It was built in 1867. Some sources say that the Congregational church was built sometimebefore 1868, but we could find no data to prove it. The third church was St. James Catholic church, built in 1891. The next church was the German Lutheran, which was built in 1894. Another was built in 1905, and it was the Christian church. In 1923 the Church of God was started and held its meetings in the Township Hall. j;fj ftjJf.' I' l!f t In 1880 a new railroad was added to Forrest. It was called the Wabash and it goes in a north-south direction through Forrest. This railroad helped the growth of Forrest by a few families, jThere | have (been gjseveral! newspapers located in| Forrest. The first |one was la hand-written newspaper published by Joe Francis and Mrs. Phillips. This paper was started in 1873 and was called the Lyceum. Thenext in a series of newspapers was called the Forrest Rambler. It was started in 1880 and later changed to the Corn Belt News in 1924. We now read the Forrest News. I § ;Jj§ The next thing to describe would be the downtown area of Forrest and what it has looked like since its beginning. Although we cannot tell exactly where all the stores were located, we have found out when they were built. To our knowledge, there are no stores over 100 years old in the business district. Before we start with the buildings now standing, let’s go back to the original buildings. The first hotel was built in 1870 by William Umberfield and was called the Forrest House. The first elevator was constructed in 1861-62 by a Stephen Hoyt, two hotels, one owned by the Carmon Brothers, and the other by Umberfield, one soda pop factory run by the Carmon Brothers, a tile and brick factory, a cob pipe factory, a bakery, a drug store, a general store, and a depot. Most of the stores were burnt down in a fire in early 1890. The pop factory soon closed and the depotburnt down in 1893. The depot was rebuilt, but burnt down again in 1894. The one now standing is the one built in 1894.After the fire in 1890 the business district was rebuilt with basically the buildings that are now standing. Most of the buildings in the business district of Forrest today were built in the very late 1890’s or early 1900's. The oldest building of business in Forrest today is the Hotel (Forrest) built in 1885 by the Cannon Brothers. Did you know there was an opera house in Forrest? Yes, but it was burnt in the 1890 fire. It was located in the upper floor of a two-story building on the comer of Center andMain. 1f 1 llfil | ■ |j jj 0 $%: If j .The present First State Bank of Forrest was founded in 1914. It is still located on the original building site. The first postmaster received his appointment in 1860. The first post office built in Forrest was located next to the bank. That building is now occupied by an insurance company. It has been said that I. J. Krack used his hat for a post office. He would carry the mail in his hat and hand it out to the people as he saw them in town.Probably the greatest tragedy of Forrest would have to be the train wreck of 1880. The T.P. and W. ran a trip from Peoria to Niagara Falls, N.Y. The train was composed of seventeen cars and two engines. A culvert burnt out just east of Forrest and when the train hit it the first engine made it but the rest of the train did not. The train went straight up into the air and two hundred people were killed. The railroad had just been sold, and when this happened it became bankrupt and was again sold to Pennsyvania Railroad System.Since the sixth grade was interested in the school system, let’s go into a little detail aboutPlease Turn to Page 7
Newspaper Details
Forrest News
Forrest, Illinois, US
Fri, Mar 08, 1974
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Alan P.
FL, USA 20 Feb 2020
Other Publications Near Forrest, Illinois
Forrest News
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Corn Belt News
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