Eureka turns 150
February anniversary marks the incorporation of the village in 1859
By RHONDA WETZLER For the Woodford County Journal, February 2009
EUREKA - Darst, Major, Myers, Davenport, Meek, Callender, Bullock – these are not just the names of common streets and buildings in Eureka. They are names from the past – the individuals who played important roles in the formation of the City of Eureka. On Feb. 23, 1859, legislation incorporating Eureka was approved by the State Legislature. An examination of the history of the town offers more than just the founding of a village or a city – it was the founding of a community.
"The History of Eureka Illinois" by Burrus Dickinson outlines the history of the area that grew around Walnut Creek. In 1823 one of the first settlers, Joseph Dillon, settled on land approximately 2½ miles southwest of the current courthouse. Before that time, local Indians would hunt along the creek.
James Fyke of the Woodford County Historical Society noted that there were settlers in the area before the land was offered for sale by the government. "In the 1830's Mathew Bracken claimed the land, as it was not yet available for sale," said Fyke. After the war of 1812, land was given for military service to settle the land and maintain possession of it.
During the nation's westward movement, the area around Walnut Creek was an attractive spot. There was a waterway that was filled with trees to burn or to use for building houses and fences. In 1832, Henry Meek was the first to purchase land in what was then called Walnut Grove. An informal community was formed, with many leaders coming from Kentucky. Most of the people had known each other before leaving Kentucky, and had joined the religious movement known as the Christian Church (now the Disciples of Christ). They mainly were interested in farming, religion and education. "The Christian Church was an abolitionist group – anti-slavery and very pro-education, even though some of them didn't go to school or had just an informal schooling," said Fyke. "There was a sense of equalness for women and blacks; they had a philosophy that said people who are educated make better decisions."
In 1848 Ben Major asked his cousin Asa Fisher, a student at Bethany College in West Virginia, to find someone to teach in a school at Walnut Grove. That school began as a one-room frame building, which opened in the fall to teach the sons and daughters of the community. Over the years, the school split into a preparatory school for the younger children and a finishing school for the older students. In 1855 the school was incorporated as Eureka College.
The development of Eureka as a town really got its start in 1851 by John Darst from Dayton, Ohio, who acquired hundreds of acres of land in the area. Around the same time as the incorporation of the college, Darst discovered that the promoters of the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad wanted to build through his land. The railroad would connect East Peoria to the border of Indiana. Darst sold the land for a right of way with the understanding that there would be a railroad station as near as possible to Eureka College. "Darst understood where the railroad was going to go," said Fyke. "It influenced what the college was going to do – which direction the college was going to grow. Without the railroad, we would have been a small town. Eureka College and the railroad were two of the significant factors of Eureka's development."
Darst platted the town, and the lots went up for sale in a public auction in 1856. "He made a provision for a village green," said Fyke. "It was a big selling point when Eureka wanted to get the county seat – they had space for it. Eureka was able to give a beautiful square to the county for the courthouse."
"Route 117, now Main Street, was College Street in the old plats," continued Fyke. "The town was originally supposed to grow around Eureka College." In fact, Eureka was chosen as the name for the town when the students of Eureka College wanted a post office. Walnut Grove had already been used by a settlement near Bushnell, so a volunteer committee chose Eureka - a name apparently suggested by John Lindsay, a young teacher at the college.
In 1859, R.M. Clark led the movement to incorporate Eureka as a village. The community was actually chartered twice. "When it was incorporated, it was chartered" said Fyke. "Later the government passed a law (the City and Villages Act), and 30 years or so later Eureka was incorporated again. It became a city." It was in 1880 that it was proposed that Eureka give up the charter under the original act and have the village organized as provided under the general law of Illinois, becoming the City of Eureka.
The westward movement and, for those who settled here, the meshing of the Christian Church, Eureka College and the influence of the railroad, were all factors in the formation of the city we know today. "There is a different atmosphere here, and it has to do with the roots of the town," noted Fyke.
A celebration for the sesquicentennial is planned for Aug. 20-22 at Lake Eureka. Other sesquicentennial-related events will be held throughout spring and summer. For information, visit www.eurekafestivals.com and plan to be a part of this important milestone.
