USA > Illinois > McLean County > History of McLean County, Illinois, Volume I > Part 8
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On Feb. 19, 1850, the legislature had passed a law by which the city of Bloomington should become specially chartered on an affirmative vote of the people. This election was held March 5, and 164 voters favored the act and 26 opposed. Thus the city became legally incorporated under a special charter. A city government was soon afterward elected with Rev. David I. Perry as the first mayor.
The complete list of mayors of Bloomington from its incorporation until the present time with the years of their incumbency are as follows: David I. Perry, 1850; Charles P. Merriman, 1851; John H. Wickizer, 1852; William Wallace, 1853; John W. Ewing, 1854; Franklin Price, 1855-56; Amasa J. Merriman, 1857-58; John M. Stillwell, 1859; H. S. Herr, 1860; George W. Parke, 1861-62; Amasa J. Merriman, 1863; Joel Depew, 1864; E. H. Rood, 1865-67; John M. Stilwell, 1868-69; T. J. Bunn, 1870; B. F. Funk, 1871-75; John Reed, 1876; T. J. Bunn, 1877; E. B. Steere, 1878; John Reed, 1879; E. H. Rood, 1880; John W. Trotter, 1881-83; B. F. Funk, 1884-85; Lewis B. Thomas, 1886-88; J. R. Mason, 1889-1890; C. F. Koch, 1891; D. T. Foster, 1892-94; G. M. Smith, 1895; Edgar M. Heafer, 1896; D. T. Foster, 1897; C. F. Koch, 1898-99; Lewis B. Thomas, 1900-03; George C. Morrison, 1904-05; James Neville, May 1, 1905, to Aug. 17, 1906; A. G. Erickson, Aug. 17, 1906, to May 6, 1907; Edward Holland, 1907-09; Richard L. Carlock, 1909-11; Albert L. Moore, 1911 to Septem- ber, 1913, when he resigned; James Costello, appointed to succeed Moore and elected for term ending 1915; Edward E. Jones, 1915 to 1923 under commission form; Frank E. Shorthose first mayor under restored alder- manic form, 1923.
The list of city clerks of Bloomington has included such well-known names as John M. Scott, afterward judge of the Illinois Supreme Court;
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William M. Orme, famous in Civil War times; Harvey Hogg, who was killed in battle in the Civil War; O. T. Reeves, afterward circuit judge; W. B. Lawrence, afterward many years police magistrate; Samuel W. Waddle, who was later one of the city's well-known bankers; Major Rolla N. Evans, who held the position with distinction for twelve years; C. C. Hassler, well known as soldier and poet.
The list of city attorneys also included many well-known names, among them Judge Scott, William M. Orme, Harvey Hogg; Hudson Burr, afterward a leading financial leader of the community; Joseph W. Fifer, afterward Governor of Illinois; Ira J. Broomfield, well-known veteran of the Civil War; B. D. Lucas, John T. Lillard and T. C. Kerrick, all well- known lawyers; A. E. DeMange, afterward owner of the street railway system; Sain Welty, afterward circuit judge; Jacob P. Lindley, a leading lawyer; Miles K. Young and William R. Bach, both afterward states attor- neys of McLean County ; Ben Goodheart, who afterward became leader in Modern Woodmen affairs; Louis FitzHenry, now Federal judge; Richard M. O'Connell, who served through the entire commission form period and is now corporation counsel.
The men who have served the city as chiefs of police include Orrine Curtis, William McCullough, Allen Withers, Jonathan Glimpse, A. T. Bris- coe, George Bull, W. G. Boyce, Elliott Miller, James Stone, Thomas G. Keogh, J. E. Bentley, E. J. Potts, F. J. Maxwell, R. W. Schroeder, C. W. Hitch, Fred L. Lang, John J. Jones, Paul Gierman.
Bloomington is provided with a fine park system. For many years it fared very poorly, for there were insufficient funds, but with the vote to levy a two-mill park tax in 1899, money to more adequately care for the parks was afterward provided. The parks are under a board of park commissioners, during aldermanic form of city government, but under commission form the commissioner of public property had charge.
Miller Park, formerly known as Miller's pasture, was purchased in 1887 from W. T. Miller for $17,000, of which sum $5,000 was raised by private subscriptions. It originally consisted of 39 acres, but later the addition of a wooded tract called Stein's Grove, and now known as For- est Park, has added much to its beauty and spaciousness. A lake com- prising 18 acres was created by building of two dams across the natural ravine which ran through the park from northeast to southwest. The first dam in 1896 created only a small pond of water. Then about 1903
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the contract was let for another dam, 1,800 feet in length, 200 feet in width at the base and 30 feet wide at the top. A core of yellow brick clay extends down through the center of the dam, 24 feet wide at the top, 14 at the bottom. It makes the dam impervious to leakage. The top of the dam forms a driveway all around the west side of the lake. Bathing houses and beaches were built, and thousands enjoy swimming in the lake during the summer. Certain fish days are permitted, and boating is allowed. A handsome pavilion and animal house, the latter being a good- sized zoo, add to the attractiveness of the park. The county erected a $50,000 granite monument to the soldiers of the wars up to the World War, which was dedicated in 1913. It contains the names of all soldiers and sailors of the wars from this county up to that time.
The park area of the city was doubled by the purchase in 1922 of 90 acres of land lying west of Main Street and east of Miller Park. The land had belonged to the Meyer family, having been the former site of the Meyer brewery. It cost $48,000, payable in installments. Under Mayor Jones, last mayor of the commission form, and Mayor Shorthose, first mayor of restored aldermanic form, the new park was named High- land Park, and was much improved. A free municipal golf links was laid out and many other changes for the good of the public were made.
The city owns many smaller parks. One is Franklin Park, given to the city in 1856 by David Davis, William F. Flagg and William H. Allin and named in honor of Mayor Franklin Price. Today it is a handsomely wooded plot in the midst of a fine residential district. Trotter Park is adjoining the city water works and was named for Mayor John Trotter. Withers Park, or Library Park, is just east of the public library, and is a playground for children. A handsome marble piece of statuary by Lorado Taft is erected there, having been paid for by money left for that pur- pose by Georgina Trotter. It represents Indian children at play with animals.
O'Neil Park, a comparatively large tract of land, lies north of Chest- nut Street and west of Hinshaw Avenue. It has never been improved to any great extent, but serves as playground for amateur baseball clubs and other sorts of sport for people in that vicinity. It was bought for $7,200 under Mayor Carlock, and contains twelve acres.
From its very early years, Bloomington had had a volunteer fire de- partment, the first apparatus being the famous Prairie Bird fire engine,
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bought in 1855. Cisterns located at convenient points furnished the water supply at first. The first engine house was built at 104 North East Street, and in 1857 the site of old engine house No. 1 was purchased, and an engine house and calaboose combined were erected. The second com- pany was organizd in 1858 and another hand engine was bought. Com- pany No. 2 occupied rooms at the corner of Front and Madison, then in the 200 block West Washington, then in the 100 block North Madison. Various other changes in the hand apparatus took place until April, 1867, when the first steam engine was purchased and the first paid firemen were employed, a driver and engineer. The apparatus and personnel of the department continued to expand until along in the '90's, when there were three engine houses and two steam engines and many hose and ladder trucks. After the disastrous fire of June 19, 1900, the fire department was further expanded, until five houses were in use: One on East Front in the 200 block; one on North East, 100 block; one in 100 block on North Madison; one at Center and Walnut, one in the 900 block on South Main; one on West Chestnut near the C. & A.
During the commission form of government, the whole apparatus was changed to motor vehicles and concentrated in the one engine house, on East Front Street. Henry Mayer was chief of the fire department for twenty-seven years, retiring in 1923, and being succeeded by Rolla Neal, the present chief. The apparatus is now thoroughly up to date.
The superintendent of water works and fire chief were filled jointly from the construction of the water works until 1887, and from then to 1890 were separate. In 1890 the superintendency of the electric light plant was joined to that of water superintendent. The following men have held the position: M. X. Chuse, E. J. Rowley, M. H. Eldridge, H. W. Schmidt, Seth Noble, Chester C. Williams.
After floundering the black mud of Illinois for many years, Bloom- ington undertook in 1869 to do its first paving. Grove Street from Main to the Illinois Central was paved with macadam, then Chestnut Street from the Alton depot to Center. Pine block pavement was put down on Jefferson Street in 1870 under Mayor T. J. Bunn. In 1877 the first brick pavement in this city or in the United States was laid by Napoleon B. Heafer on the west side of the public square. From that time brick pave- ment became standard, and at present there are many miles of brick pave-
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MAIN STREET, BLOOMINGTON.
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ment in Bloomington. Many blocks of asphalt and one street of concrete road are also laid.
Bloomington possesses a great system of sewers. The first sewers were built to take care of flood waters in the sloughs on West Market and North Mason Streets. From 1876 to 1880 sewers were constructed to take care of the drainage of the south slough. The great valley sewer, taking care of the whole north and northeast sections, was put down in 1900.
Before the digging of the first coal shaft, known as the north shaft, Bloomington had relied on wells for a water supply. The coal mine was flooded with water, which eventually proved the wrecking of the mine for fuel purposes. However, it discovered the underground lake or river which since that time has been the reliance of the city for water supply.
Tests having failed to exhaust the flow of the underground stream, the city bought land in the vicinity of the coal shaft and sank a well and constructed a standpipe for pressure purposes. This was in 1874. The first plant was completed in 1875 under Mayor Ben F. Funx. The one large well supplied the city for 28 years, and then a number of small tube wells were sunk as a substitute for the big well. Under Mayor James S. Neville a 10,000,000 gallon concrete reservoir was built, into which the streams from the wells were pumped. This cost about $30,000, and more than justified its cost.
But in spite of all, occasional dry seasons would bring the visible supply so near to exhaustion that the city was constantly threatened with water famine in summer or autumn. In 1909, R. L. Carlock was elected mayor on a platform of a more suitable water supply. On his accession, the council submitted to the people a vote on a bond issue of $150,000 for water works extension. The bonds were voted, and the money was wisely spent in complete rejuvenation of the water works. Five circular well pits were dug, and below them large pipes were sunk into the depths of the gravel beds, through which fed the stream. Centrifugal pumps were put at work in the bottom of each well pit, thus raising the water into pipes, thence emptied into the reservoir. This system was a great im- provement over the old one, and justified the expenditures.
But when the commission form of government was on, the commis- sioner of water works, John G. Welch, advocated a new and supplemental supply aside from the one from which the city had drawn its supply for (7)
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30 years. Accordingly a tract of 10 acres was bought a mile west of the present plant and located on another lay of ground. Here test wells were sunk, showing a remarkable supply of water from an entirely different vein. Three wells were then sunk and a covered reservoir built. Pump- ing machinery was added, and from the start the plant produced a daily supply almost as large as at the old plant. The city now has practically two independent sources of supply, with machinery to work either or both as occasion requires. The daily capacity of the two plants is about three times the requirements of the whole city in ordinary circumstances.
Since 1890, the city of Bloomington has owned and operated its own electric light plant. Prior to that a private corporation, the Blooming- ton Electric Light Company, had sold the city its current for lights. The electric light plant is in the same building as the parent water works, thus inducing economy of operation. The equipment of the plant has cost upward of $150,000 in its various stages. The city supplies light for streets and public buildings, but does not sell current on a commercial basis. Some years ago, William R. Bach, then city attorney, estimated the yearly cost to the city at $65.37 for each street light, which had been reduced from $103 per light when the plant was made a municipal plant.
A modern experiment in an improved form of municipal government was carried on in Bloomington between the years 1915 and 1923. It was the adoption of what was called commission form of city government, to replace the older form of management by a board of aldermen, which had been in vogue since the organization of the city under the general law in 1897. The agitation for the adoption of the commission form was carried on during the year 1913-14, it being claimed by its advocates that a gov- ernment composed of five commissioners would be more efficient than the larger body of fourteen aldermen which up to that time had had control of the city.
The election to determine whether the citizens desired the new form of government was held on April 6, 1914, at which time the vote for and against the proposed change stood as follows: For commission form, 8,970; against, 3,974. Majority for change, 4,996. It required a year to work out the details of the change. In the spring of the year 1915, the primaries were held to choose eight nominees for commissioners and two nominees for mayor. These ten names were then placed on a ballot for the election, and from them was elected one mayor and four commission-
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ers. At the primaries there were 49 candidates for nomination, and from these the following were chosen for mayor: Edward E. Jones and John W. Rodgers; and for commissioners the following eight names: Edward R. Morgan, R. L. Carlock, John F. Anderson, Mrs. Helen Clarke McCurdy, George W. Monroe, Alex G. Erickson, Louis F. Rittmiller and W. H. Ker- rick. The election was held on April 6, and E. E. Jones was chosen mayor and the four commissioners were E. R. Morgan, R. L. Carlock, John F. Anderson and A. G. Erickson.
The council was organized the first of May, with the following assign- ment of departments: E. E. Jones, mayor and commissioner of public affairs; Edward R. Morgan, commissioner of accounts and finances; A. G. Erickson, commissioner of public health and safety; John F. Anderson, commissioner of streets and public improvements; R. L. Carlock, commis- sioner of public property.
The above five members composed the city council for the four years from 1915 to 1919, inclusive. In the latter year the second election was held. There were 17 candidates in the primaries for the 10 positions on the ticket. E. E. Jones was again nominated for mayor, and his opponent was John B. Lennon. The men nominated for commissioners were J. J. Nevin, L. J. Salch, A. G. Erickson, E. R. Morgan, John F. Anderson, John G. Welch, Frank J. Morgan, and George J. Meyers. All the sitting mem- bers of the council were renominated except R. L. Carlock, whose place on the ballot was taken by John G. Welch. In the succeeding campaign, Lennon for mayor and the following candidates for commissioner: Nevin, Salch, Meyers and Frank Morgan, ran as a Labor ticket, working as a whole against the other candidates known as the administration ticket. In the election, Jones was elected mayor by 286 majority over Lennon, and the whole "administration ticket" for commissioners were elected, E. R. Morgan, Welch, Anderson and Erickson.
This form of administration continued for another four years from from 1919, and in the summer of 1922 a petition was circulated for call- ing an election to revert back to the aldermanic form of government. R. M. O'Connell served as corporation counsel during the entire commis- sion form period.
The commission form went out of existence in the spring of 1923, when the first mayor and board of aldermen under the returned alder- manic form were elected. The commission form had existed for eight
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years, during which conditions in general were much disturbed owing to the World War and its resultant upheavals. However, it was generally considered that much progress was accomplished during the eight years of commission form. In the second term of four years, the only change in departments was that in the public property department, where John G. Welch succeeded R. L. Carlock, retired.
In the summer of 1922 an agitation was started for the purpose of returning to the former aldermanic form of government, abolishing the city commission. This was brought to a head in a petition signed by vot- ers which was submitted to the city council asking that an election on this question be held. Corporation counsel having examined the petition the number of signatures was found to be sufficient and the election was held July 11. It was at the period of the great railroad shop strike, and many working men of the city were unemployed. This in turn gave rise to much general discontent with existing conditions. The vote cast at the election was small, only 5,000 of the 14,000 qualified voters of the city having cast their ballot. The verdict, however, was for abolishing the commission form, the vote standing as follows: For aldermanic form, 2,846; for commission form, 2,149. Majority for change, 697. The total vote cast in the election was very light, being less than 5,000 out of the total number of 14,000 registered voters.
The actual change in the form of the city government did not take place until the following spring, in April, 1923. The candidates for mayor under the new regime were Frank E. Shorthose, a veteran Alton engi- neer, and Emerson J. Gilmore, a business man. Shorthose ran on the Republican ticket, Gilmore on the Democratic. Shorthose was elected by a vote of 5,222 to 1,800 for Gilmore.
The aldermen elected in the several wards of the city at this first election were as follows: First ward, DeWitt G. Gray and Ralph B. Greene; second ward, Val Simshauser and Paul Sholz; third ward, M. B. Hayes and Frank H. Blose; fourth ward, G. Noble Paxton and Charles H. Kurtz; fifth ward, Richard Barry and Frank J. Donovan; sixth ward, I. C. Ryburn and Fred Beckman; seventh ward, Charles H. Lawyer and John G. Larson. At the same election, Charles T. Evans was elected su- perintendent of streets and James H. Kimes, city treasurer.
The new city administration met and organized in May, 1923, and was running along smoothly and with general satisfaction, when Mayor
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Shorthose was taken sick and died on the night of Jan. 4, 1924. His fu- neral at the Consistory on Jan. 7 was one of the largest ever held in the city. Frank H. Blouse, who had been elected acting mayor by the council, took charge of the executive office and carried on the work of mayor until a successor was elected for Mayor Shorthose.
CHAPTER VII.
GREAT FIRE OF 1900.
ORIGIN IN B. S. GREEN BUILDING-RAPID SPREAD-SCOPE OF DESTRUCTION- COURTHOUSE-FIRE FIGHTERS FROM PEORIA AND SPRINGFIELD-BUILD- INGS BURNED-LOSS-REBUILDING.
There is no doubt that the dividing line between the Bloomington of the olden days and the Bloomington of the modern era was that night and day in June, 1900, when fire swept away the heart of the business section of the city and gave room and occasion for the rebuilding of a retail dis- trict which has no parallels in the country for a city of the size.
It was 20 minutes past midnight on June 19, 1900, that an alarm of fire was turned in from box 31, located in front of the city hall, at the corner of Monroe and East Streets. The fire was located in the basement of the B. S. Green building, at that time occupied by the Model Laundry. The fire apparently originated in this part of the building. Officer Bren- nan first noticed the flames and rang in the alarm. Within a few min- utes after the alarm the whole fire fighting force was on the scene, but in spite of their efforts the flames spread from the laundry quarters to the main portion of the B. S. Green building, and within 20 minutes that structure was clearly doomed.
Fanned by a strong northeast wind, the fire threatened to clear the alley to the west and take in the George Brand furniture store and other structures facing on Main Street in the 300 block. Efforts of the fire- men were confined at this time to trying to check the advance of flames westward, but without avail. With the many streams of water drawing from the mains and lessening the pressure, and with the strong wind
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fanning the flame the fire got beyond control, and soon the whole block bounded by Main, East, Jefferson and Monroe was in flame, except the postoffice, which was saved by its isolated position.
Terrible as was the destruction up to this time, the story was but half told. The fire leaped across Main Street to the west and across Jef- ferson Street to the south, and before the dawning of daylight these two more blocks were in flames at several points. The tall cupola of the Gries- heim Building was first to ignite to the south, and to the west the R. C. Rogers Building, the old Ark, the Corn Belt Drug Store, C. W. Klemm's Store, The McLean County Coal Company offices, the Stephen Smith's Store, New York Store, Wilcox Bros., and other occupants of stores and offices rapidly in succession yielded up to the onrushing conflagration. To the south, the Griesheim Building, the Cole Bros. Building, the Metro- pole, the G. H. Read, and the State National Bank in turn fell victims of the devouring flames.
Can the Court House be saved? This question was upon the lips of the watching crowds as the fire leaped from two sides of the county building. Apparently the heat was too great for even the stone walls, and in time the fire ignited the dome and then ate its way down into the upper stories. North and east the fire seemed to be definitely checked at Monroe and East Streets, but it was uncertain how far it might spread to the south and west. The clock in the dome struck four o'clock, and soon afterward the hands stopped moving, the heat having disorganized the machinery and put an end to the clock's career. Down into the body of the Court House crept the fire, and soon the law library with its 10,000 volumes, worth $50,000, was ruined. Some of the records of the circuit clerk's office on the second floor were damaged, but luckily the fire stopped before it got down to the first floor, with its valuable records in the county clerk's recorder's and county treasurer's office.
The open space around the Court House impeded the spread of the flames in that direction, but the fire leaped across Center Street and took the Windsor Hotel and part of the Fervert Building. It also got over Jefferson west of the Court House and attacked the Braley Building.
It was shortly after two o'clock in the morning that Mayor Thomas, Chief Henry Mayer and other city officials came to the conclusion that a hurry call for help must be sent out to other cities if any of the business district of Bloomington was to be saved. Peoria and Springfield answered
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this call. A detachment of the Peoria fire department, with engine and several firemen, made the run by special train to this city in 58 minutes, arriving in Bloomington at 5:10. Peoria was stationed at Jefferson and Center Streets, and the Springfield detachment of firemen, who arrived soon afterward, were stationed at Washington and Madison, the fire hav- ing by that time eaten well into the middle of the block west of the Court House.
That these timely arrivals of additional fighting forces had their effect in stopping the fire, there is no doubt. It was about seven o'clock in the morning that the fire was definitely under control. At that time it had burned most of the block bounded by Center, Jefferson, Monroe and Madison, and had eaten out a jagged corner of the block bounded by Center, Washington, Madison and Jefferson. The upper part of the Court House was in ruins, and the fire had been stopped at Washington Street south of the Odd Fellows Building, although the heat had damaged the First National Bank, on the south side of Washington Street. All the burned over district was a chaos of broken walls, smouldering piles, tan- gled wires and blockaded streets. Such a spectacle had never before greeted the dawn of a morning in the history of Bloomington. Follow- ing is the complete list of the buildings and the total losses on buildings and contents :
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