e-mail: wcilhs@gmail.com

Wayne County Historical Society

Wayne County Historical SocietyWayne County Historical SocietyWayne County Historical Society

Wayne County Historical Society

Wayne County Historical SocietyWayne County Historical SocietyWayne County Historical Society
  • Home
  • Society
  • Museums
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • More
    • Home
    • Society
    • Museums
    • History
    • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Society
  • Museums
  • History
  • Contact Us

Welcome to the Timeline Page

Wayne County, Illinois   Historical Society Archives

Century Pages contain summaries

1800s

1800s

1800s

1800s Page

Wayne County .....


1900s

1800s

1800s

1900s Page

The years of growth......

2000s

1800s

2000s

2000s Page

Can you believe we have been in this millennium for 20 years already?

Timeline and brief description

  •   1800s   1900s


1818 - 1839

to be added........

1840 - 1859

 

1837  Two story courthouse built 

desc

 

1853 The Hanging of Henry Voltz

 Henry Voltz, an immigrant peddler, was arrested when the body of his partner, named Lawler, was found murdered. 

1860 - 1879

 

1870s The Arrival of the Railroad

  Local leaders lobbied hard to bring the southern extension of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad through Wayne County in the early 1870s to insure an economic growth.  They succeeded in a route that was ten blocks west of the Fairfield business district.  Small depot towns expanded or sprang up along the route countywide; villages too distant from the railroad began a slow fade.



1880 - 1899

 

1882 Jackson House Fire

  Built about 1840 on the east side of the courthouse square, the Jackson House was an elegant hotel.  Abraham Lincoln may have stayed there . 


1800s Lang Hotel

  Built about 1840 on the east side of the courthouse square, the Lang Hotel was an elegant hotel.  Abraham Lincoln may have stayed there .   Lang Hotel Page 




 

1886 The Courthouse "Fir e Proof" Fire

  Wayne County’s first log courthouse was replaced by a substantial two-story brick structure about 1837. Scarcely thirty years later the second courthouse was deteriorating.  A two-story, brick, “fire proof” building was erected on the southwest corner of the courthouse yard to insure the safety of the county records. That “fire proof” burned in 1886; arson was suspected.

 

1890s The Arrival of Electricity

 The Fairfield Woolen Mills installed its own engine for the first electrical service in the mid-1890s.  Between 1895 and 1898, electric lines were spreading around the community and the city invested in a power plant.  Electricity was not available in the rural areas until the 1930s.


 

1898 The Hayward College Fire

  Chartered in 1885, Hayward College operated in an imposing two-story brick building on the Hayward property (where FCHS stands now).  Robert Hayward donated the land and a massive campaign raised local money to construct the building and hire staff. The building had ten large classrooms, a chapel, offices, and library. In 1898 chimney sparks caught the roof on fire. 

1900 - 1919

 

1907 H.G. Ferguson Arrives

  In the late 1890s George C. Sexton of St. Louis purchased the vacant Fairfield Woolen Mills complex on outer west Main Street using local financing.  The machinery was removed or updated and workers produced “jeans” cloth.  The market slumped. Alternative products failed and Sexton’s brother-in-law, Hugh G. Ferguson, took over the operation. Reluctantly but fortuitously, he retooled to produce athletic underwear for men. 

 

1908   Downtown Fairfield Orchard Block Fire

  All the businesses on the south side of the 100 east Main from First Street to its central alley were involved in this catastrophic blaze.  Castle’s Feed & Coal, the Baumberger Bakery, Harvey’s Millinery, Thompson & Rickard Grocery, and Brockett’s Furniture burned. 

 

1910 Cambridge Court Cottages

 Cottages for Sexton workers: The Sexton factory employed a large number of women as seamstresses or in related work. To encourage a stable workforce, the company built a complex of cottages, a recreational center, and cafeteria beside the massive main work building on West Main. 


1916 Frank Kirby, The Human Fly

1916--Frank Kirby, The Human Fly: Daredevil Frank Kirby was hired to climb the Wayne County courthouse steeple during a street fair event.  As a large crowd watched, Kirby scaled the tower until he reached a recently-painted section of louvers on the clock tower.  He slipped, fell, bounced from the lower roof, and landed on the ground. 

1920 - 1939

 

1923-24 The Arrival of the "Slab" Highways

  The automobile's growing popularity created the need for significant road improvements.  In 1923 contracts were let to put down a solid cement surface between Fairfield and the Little Wabash Bridge east of town, then to Golden Gate and Edwards County. A brick road was being built from Albion toward Fairfield at the same time.  Contractors picked up the road at the west edge of Fairfield and built toward Wayne City.  

 

1924 The Steiner Day Parade

  Emanuel Steiner established his clothing business in Fairfield in 1874. He became a mainstay of the community. His 50th anniversary in business was celebrated by the biggest parade in the town’s history. The entourage began west of town, marched through the business district, and ended at the city park.  

  

1926 The Opera House Block Fire

1926--The Opera House Block Fire: Yet another major loss came when fire destroyed the Pendleton & Boggs Opera House block.  The 1870s two-story brick complex housed a general merchandise store, drug store, furniture store, and “opera” auditorium.  The Masons had moved their quarters from the building shortly before the fire.  The blaze began in the corner (E. Main and N.E. 2nd) on Christmas Eve and by morning the substantial structure was a pile of smoking ruins.  Eventually the property was redeveloped with new businesses including Gus’ Candy Corner, Arnold’s Apparel, etc. In 2015 the old Opera Block houses the Chamber of Commerce office, Male Connection, Studio 117, and Carnaby Square apparel. 

 

1935 Chefford Master Arrives

1935--Chefford-Master Arrives: On July 8, Ben Frankel and associates joined the Chefford Automotive Parts, Inc., in Brooklyn, NY, the MasterParts Mfg., and General Fabricating, in Chicago.  The result was Chefford-Master which located in Fairfield after vigorous lobbying by a determined group of local businessmen.   After WWII, the Air-Tex division became the focus and the company was re-worked and renamed. 

 

1936 Senator William E. Borah's Visit Home

  Born in Jasper Township in Wayne County, William E. Borah was educated in rural schools and the Enfield Academy before reading law and moving west.  He eventually married the daughter of the governor of Idaho and settled into law practice and politics.  He was elected senator for the state and entered into national politics.  “The Lion of the Senate,” Borah was one of the most powerful senators and eloquent speakers of his era.  

 

1937 The Arrival of Rural Electricity

   Electricity was not widely available in the rural areas until three decades after it was installed in Fairfield.  Depression-era governmental programs helped support the project.  The Wayne-White Electric Cooperative steadily lit the countryside, farm after farm, transforming all aspects of country life from electrical appliances in barn and home to electric lights in one-room schools and radios in the parlor. 

 

1937 The Discovery of Oil in Wayne County

  The search for oil in Wayne County began as early as 1907 when a dry hole was drilled.  The Leach brothers of Golden Gate used their mechanical genius to devise a drilling unit in the early 1930s. They were unsuccessful. Oil was struck in increasingly close territory by the mid-30s, especially in the Clay County area.  Leasing escalated. The oil boom finally arrived in Wayne County in March, 1937 with the Bradley Discovery Well #1 halfway between Geff and Cisne.  


1940 - 1959

 

1940s-50s Rural School Consolidation

   From the pioneer era until the 1940s Wayne County’s population was fairly evenly spread between town and country. Country schools were the main source of “common school” education for most children.  As the small farm was absorbed into larger holdings and the automobile defined transportation, rural schools closed or consolidated.  


 

1950 Fairfield Memorial Hospital

    A major civic dream came to fruition with the dedication of the Fairfield Memorial Hospital in 1950.  The hospital cost over $1,200,000, one-third of which was local funding. Governor Adlai Stevenson gave the dedicatory address. The hospital had 84 beds, surgery, obstetrics, lab, emergency services—a fully equipped hospital. 


1956 Pat Bruce Gibbs Miss Illinois

        Pat Bruce, a Fairfield native and FCHS graduate, was successful in several local and state beauty pageants including the Lions’ Club Miss Fairfield contest.  As Miss Illinois, she became the state’s entry to the national Miss America contest in Atlantic City, during the pageant’s most popular era.  There Pat Bruce was chosen as Miss Congeniality by her co-contestants.  It was the first year the iconic beauty contest was shown on television. Pat’s Miss Illinois and Miss Congeniality trophies are on display in the Hanna House Museum in Fairfield 

1960 - 1979

Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.

1980 - 1999

Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.

2000 - present

Welcome to the new millennium 

Copyright © 2022 Wayne County Historical Society - All Rights Reserved.  

Note: the text and photographs on this website are copyright protected and may not be reproduced, in part or in whole, without written permission. Text and photographs may not be excerpted, copied, or scanned into for-profit websites or publications. To obtain permission,  for non-profit usecontact us at wcilhs@gmail.com

  • Early History Museum
  • Hanna House Museum

Updated 9/2022

This website uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

Accept