State Fair Amusement Park, or State Fair Kiddieland, Springfield, Illinois (c.1940-1992).

The State Fair Kiddieland lost its contract in 1992 says an article dated January 26, 1993. The State Fair Amusement Park, long known as Kiddieland, is getting a new look and a new name.

The State Fair Amusement Park Midway Entrance. Photo: 1992

Carnival Company Blomsness-Thebault, based in Crystal Lake, and Greenview businessman David Cramer have been given a five-year contract to develop "Adventure Village" in the former Kiddieland area, state fair manager Bud Hall said Monday.  The park will open in June or July after extensive renovations, Hall said. Eventually, it will operate in good weather, probably from May to October.

Cramer, a farmer, and former farm equipment dealer, resigned from the State Fair Advisory Board in December to undertake the venture. Cramer, reached Monday night in Ohio where he had a speaking engagement, said he had sold his implement dealership a year ago and "was looking for something to invest in and occupy my time." Blomsness-Thebault had indicated an interest in the Kiddieland theme park but they were concerned they didn't have anyone in the Springfield area to manage it. We decided it was a natural fit — they had experience in the amusement park business; I have a knowledge of Springfield's business community and business experience.

Major Ride - Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl. Photo: 1992

"The State Fair Amusement Park has been operated in the summer months and during the state fair for 18 years by John Holliday of Springfield and his daughter Donna. "It's almost like when someone has been ill a long time, and you know they're going to die and you're prepared, you think, but you're not," said Donna Holliday, who learned Blomsness-Thebault won the contract Monday afternoon. "It's very hard to lose but hopefully we lost with dignity." Blomsness-Thebault Enterprises has already been given a one-year ride contract for Happy Hollow, replacing longtime operator Rod Link. One bonus in having Blomsness-Thebault operate both Happy Hollow and Kiddieland, Hall said, is that for the first time tickets and unlimited-ride wristbands will be honored in both areas. The Blomsness-Thebault-Cramer park was designed by J.R. Minick & Associates, a Texas firm that has worked with Six Flags, Disney Corp., and other major parks, Hall said.

Kiddie Ride - AH Hi-Lo Kiddie Coaster. Photo: 1992

Changes in the park included: 
- Expanding boundaries by 20 percent into the nearby playground area, bringing the amusement park area to 3.8 acres.

- New landscaping, including grassy areas, planters, and new blacktop throughout. 

- Construction of new entrances, restrooms, a concession area with patio, and new fencing. The main entrance will be shifted to the northeast corner, closer to the Giant Slide. 

- Bringing in 12 new or almost-new rides, including a Huntington Train, able to seat adults as well as children, Jungle of Fun (with climbing ropes, punching-type bags, play area filled with balls), giant inflatable jumping pillow, Yo-Yo (a spinning swing-type ride), Apple Ride, Go-Gator and Spider Ride. 

- Rides similar to those in the current amusement area include a carousel, Tilt-a-Whirl, child-scaled Ferris wheel, bumper cars, and mini-boat and mini-motorcycle ride. A second Ferris wheel will be brought in this year during the state fair in honor of the 100th anniversary of Jacksonville manufacturer Eli Bridge Co. 

- Other rides will be brought in during the state fair and if future demand warrants it in the off-season, Hall said. There will also be games of chance and concessions. 

- The bumper-boat area will be restored to its former use as a decorative fountain. 

- Ride prices will range from $1 to $1.50, with some one-price promotions during the fair and "economically attractive" packages for companies, schools and other groups. 

Trains - (3) G-16 Locomotives (16 gauge) with a total of (10) coaches and one"Calf" auxiliary power unit. 2/3 mile of track with signals, switches, etc. Photo: 1992

The company will reach out to special-needs groups including the disadvantaged, co-owner Jeff Blomsness said in a prepared statement. Not included in the new area are such past attractions as go-karts, bumper boats, pony ride, and a petting zoo. The bumper boats were "very, very popular," Donna Holliday said, generating an estimated $8,000 of the $35,944 the amusement park paid the fair during last year's nine-day run.  Additional off-season revenue brought the state's take to around $40,000 last season, she said. Blomsness-Thebault will pay the fair a flat $32,000 for this year's 10-day fair, plus 17 percent of revenue during the off-season, Hall said. "It's about the same, just a little less," than the current contract, said Hall. "They will be standing the cost of repairing the fountain," which will be substantial, he said.

Kiddie Ride - AH Wet Boats. Photo: 1992

Cramer said his partnership would be investing in the neighborhood of $1 million in the fairgrounds. The Hollidays, who had operated on renewable one-year contracts, were given 60 days to remove the current rides and buildings. Cramer resigned from the fair's advisory board shortly after a meeting with Blomsness-Thebault in December, he said. "Anyone who knows my business background knows I go out of my way to do things above board," he said. "I'm sure some people will question this type of thing, but I feel comfortable with it. Everyone had an opportunity to make a proposal. I asked to be treated as an outsider."  He was not even aware there were only two final proposals, he said. The Hollidays also submitted a proposal for revamping the area, Donna Holliday said. Their proposal called for new landscaping and giving the area more of an agriculture theme, with a working mini-grain elevator and stockyards, with animals for petting, she said. The same 13 rides would have stayed, plus the pony rides during the fair itself. Advisory board vice-chairman John Slayton said the new park will "sell itself upon completion... I think it's very good for the fair and good for Springfield."

Major Ride - Big Eli No.5 Ferris Wheel. Photo: 1992

The final proposals were reviewed by Slayton, Agriculture Director Becky Doyle, advisory board member Paul Briney, and top fair staffers. Personally, Slayton said he had concerns about not continuing with the Hollidays because of their long connection with the fair, "but the proposals were like night and day. Everything was just very impressive," about the Blomsness-Thebault-Cramer proposal, he said. Blomsness-Thebault is a quality operation and should develop a good park, Holliday said. But she questioned the extension to January 15th given the company to submit a proposal. "I sent my certified mail and it arrived December 15th," the original date for proposals, she said.

Eleven JOHNSON Go Carts. 1991-92 Honda 5 hp. gas engines. Photo: 1992

The fair placed an ad in trade publications seeking proposals for the area, and all were given the later January 15th deadline, Hall said. Several, including Link's company and fair regular Sutter's Taffy, seriously reviewed the fair's plan for a mini-theme park and declined to submit a proposal, he said. Supporters of the current Holliday operation collected more than 1,000 petition signatures, which were given to various local officials in the fall, Holliday said. "It was very humbling" to have that kind of support, she said. The family most likely will sell the rides it has kept year-round on the fairgrounds, but no decision has been made, Holliday said. 

Kiddie Ride - Swing Ride. Photo: 1992

A newspaper article from April 9, 1993:
Work will begin on the new "Adventure Village" at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in May, following an agreement reached Thursday between fair officials and the longtime operators of Kiddieland. However, the Holliday family will continue to press a lawsuit seeking damages for the loss of the amusement park contract, said attorney Grady Holley. "That's going forward," he said. The agreement reached Thursday called for the Hollidays' rides, buildings, and equipment to be removed by May 1 from the southeast corner of the fairgrounds adjacent to Sangamon Avenue and Peoria Road. John Holliday, his wife Margery and daughter Donna had operated the children's ride area at the fairgrounds, informally known as Kiddieland, for 18 years. Their most recent contract expired last fall, with winter storage privileges, the terms of which have been in dispute.2

Major Ride - Eli Scrambler. Photo: 1992

In January, fair officials accepted the Adventure Village bid for a five-year contract to develop a new "mini-theme park" for the area over a proposal by the Hollidays. Construction was expected to begin on April 1st. In late March, John Holliday obtained a court order blocking the removal of their property by fair officials for 10 days. Donna and Margery Holliday also filed suit asking that the Adventure Village contract be thrown out on the basis of alleged deadline irregularities and a conflict of interest by one of the developers. The suit asks for damages in excess of $15,000 due to the loss of income from the fair contract. It also seeks legal fees and punitive damages. Adventure Village is being developed by Blomsness-Thebault, an amusement company based in suburban Chicago, in conjunction with Greenview businessman David Cramer, who was a member of the state fair's advisory board until December. It was a conflict of interest for Cramer to bid on the project, the Hollidays' suit contends. Blomsness-Thebault will try to have the new park ready for this year's fair, August 13-22, said fair spokesman Joe Khayyat. "This was a very unfortunate delay obviously," said Khayyat. "There will be every effort to have rides in that area by fair time, and hopefully complete development of the theme park." State fair manager Bud Hall said he met with developers Thursday and they were "fairly confident" the new park might still be ready sometime in July, for a few weeks of operation before the fair. The developers will be working from a plan designed by J.R. Minick & Associates, a Texas firm that has designed amusement areas for Six Flags and Disney. The new park will be 20 percent larger than Kiddieland, incorporating an additional 3.8 acres of the nearby playground area.

(9) RAINBOW INDUSTRIES Electric Rechargeable Bumper Boats. Photo: 1992

Plans call for 12 rides — possibly more during Fair time — which will still be aimed primarily at children between the ages of 2 and 12. The design calls for new landscaping, blacktop, new entrances, fencing, restrooms, and a concession area with a patio. One of the more costly parts of the estimated $600,000 renovation will be the restoration of the bumper-boat pond into a decorative fountain. Eventually, plans are to operate the Adventure Village area from May through October, weather permitting. Kiddieland also operated during the summer months but did the bulk of its business during the fair.

Carousel - 1950 Allen Herschell 3 Abreast (3 Row) Merry-Go-Round with (36) aluminum horses and (2) chariots and Baptist Sound System. Photo: 1992

Blomsness-Thebault also has a one-year contract for rides and games in the Happy Hollow area, replacing longtime vendor Rod Link. That will permit the same tickets and discounts to be used in both Happy Hollow and the Adventure Village area, fair officials have said. Attorney Bob Goldman Jr. said a liquidation company Norton Auctioneers specializing in carnival equipment will be asked to set up an auction of the Hollidays' rides as soon as possible. "Bud Hall threatened to destroy it if we didn't, and my clients, of course, cannot afford to fight the state of Illinois," Goldman said. "They have pretty much a bottomless pit with which to do battle in court. And once the property is destroyed, it's pretty much worthless. We never had any intention of destroying anything," said Hall. However, he said fair workers were preparing to remove state property from the area, including benches, a chain-link fence, and tires in the go-kart area. "We never gave any indication we were going to go in there with a bulldozer or some of the other rumors I've heard," Hall said. Fair workers will be available to assist the Hollidays in the final cleanup of the area after the amusement equipment is sold, Hall said. "We hope they have a successful sale and wish them well," he said. Even if the Hollidays sell the equipment, Goldman said they have not ruled out bidding on the amusement contract in the future or buying new equipment if the Adventure Village contract should be invalidated. "It's been their livelihood for many years and they have many friends, and many people, even within the Department of Agriculture, who've supported them down the line," said Goldman. "It's more than just a contract to the Hollidays."

Kiddie Ride - Trailer Mounted Kiddie Cage Feris Wheel. Photo: 1992

A newspaper article on April 29, 1993:
The rides of the state fair amusement park, long known as Kiddieland, will be auctioned at 10 a.m. April 29th. Norton Auctioneers, based in Coldwater, Michigan, will conduct the sale. "We were down there yesterday," said Daniel Satow, senior vice president of the auction firm, which specializes in liquidating amusement parks, museums, and other specialty items. "It's a nice little park, a clean park." Kiddieland, operated by the John Holliday family for 18 years, is being replaced by Adventure Village, a new children's theme park to be developed later this spring. "There's an awful lot of good memories there," said Donna Holliday, who operated the park with her parents. "Part of you looks at it, and your heart is breaking, and part of it, you're smiling because you do have good memories and good friends there." Among the items expected to generate the most interest is the 1947 Allen Herschel merry-go-round. "It's just the staple of an amusement park," said Satow. Also for sale will be three child-sized trains, a small roller-coaster, an Eli Ferris Wheel, Eli Scrambler, and Tilt-a-whirl. The go-karts and bumper boats will also be auctioned, along with other rides. The likely bidders will be other amusement parks and festival operations, Satow said. "We have occasionally sold trains to local businessmen who wanted it in the yard for their kids, or grandkids, but we expect it to go to little amusement parks or family theme parks," Satow said.

Pony Carts. Photo: 1992

A flyer on the sale will go to amusement companies nationwide, and most likely, Satow said, "It'll end up going out of state." However, Blomsness-Thebault — the Chicago-area amusement company that is developing Adventure Village with Greenview businessman David Cramer — will also be contacted, he said. "I know they've been out buying equipment for the park already," Satow said. Satow declined to estimate what the rides might be worth. "If you get three people there who need a Scrambler, it can supersede any estimates you might be able to get," he said. Bidders will be given three days to remove the equipment from the fairgrounds, which is being cleared to make way for the construction of the new theme park. The Hollidays have a lawsuit pending against the state of Illinois and fair officials over the Kiddieland contract but agreed to remove their rides by May 2nd. The Holliday family was offered an extension on removing the equipment in exchange for dropping their suits, but declined, Donna Holliday said. 

A newspaper article on August 6, 1993:
The sod was newly laid, and most of the rides have not yet passed final inspection, but Adventure Village was already getting a thumbs-up Thursday from children invited to a preview at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. "There's one word to describe it — beautiful," said Dale Snyder, 14, surveying the colorful rides, which include a gilt-and-mirrored carousel. "I think it's a lot better and much funnier [more fun] than what used to be here," said Howard Beavers, 13, fresh from a trial spin on the new larger train that will circle the expanded amusement area on the southeast corner of the fairgrounds. Rides like the Octopus and the Jungle-of-Fun climbing/activity center will go over well, they predicted.  However, the teenagers agreed they missed seeing the animals in the Kiddieland petting zoo and they think kids will wish they could still cool off in bumper boats. The bumper boat area has been restored to its previous use as a decorative fountain. "That was cool," Dale said of the bumper boats. "It seemed like when you went by, everybody was riding it, just to get wet" The children were among those invited to bring the fairgrounds to life for the annual preview for press and officials. Other preview highlights included a rededication of the Artisans Building as a museum-quality art exhibit with limited craft demonstrations, and a ride down the Giant Slide by Illinois County Fair Queen Nikki Bauman, of Olney, who soiled a white suit and ripped white stockings in the process but kept smiling. First Lady Brenda Edgar and clown-faced Ronald McDonald made a joint appearance to promote a new "Help Me Grow" tent adjacent to Kids Korner. The tent features information on a wide range of children's services, from car seat safety to immunizations. Also Thursday, fair officials announced one street at the fairgrounds will be renamed to honor longtime motorsports director Bill Oldani, who died recently. 

Another street will be renamed "Pat Henry Lane" to recognize the "lifelong enthusiasm" of the Springfield woman who has acted as a volunteer state fair historian for many years. "Pat Henry has spent a great deal of her life not only recording the history of the fair but also touring the state, giving slide shows on our behalf," said Joe Khayyat, state fair spokesman, who presented a plaque to a surprised Henry. Like Adventure Village, the fair still has gaps to fill in the final week before opening day. The Twilight Parade is next Thursday night at 6 p.m., but there's still no parade marshal. "We're working on it," said Bud Hall, state fair manager. Jam Productions and fair officials are also scrambling to lineup last-minute replacements for Bell Biv Devoe and Poison, which were scheduled for prime Saturday night Grandstand spots, August 14th and 21st. 

Also shadowing this year's fair is a lawsuit filed by the Hollidays family, who ran the Kiddieland amusement area for many years on the site that has become Adventure Village. The Hollidays also put in a bid to create a revamped amusement area but lost out to the Adventure Village partnership formed by Blomsness-Thebault, an amusement firm out of suburban Chicago, and Greenview businessman David Cramer. The Hollidays will be refiling the suit Monday, said attorney Grady Holley, after agreeing to a technical dismissal in July. The pending opening of Adventure Village doesn't affect the suit, Holley said. "The issue still exists on whether what was done was right or not," he said. Adventure Village will remain open after the fair into October and operate in warm weather months in the future, as will the Giant Slide.

Adventure Village will not open to the public until Thursday, following the Twilight Parade. Rides will be discounted to $1 apiece from 6 to 10 p.m. parade night, said Dwight Walton, promotions coordinator for Blomsness-Thebault. During the fair, rides will cost from $1.50 to $2.50 (three, four or five 50-cent tickets) in both Adventure Village and Happy Hollow, which will also be run by Blomsness-Thebault. The same tickets and one-price specials can be used in both areas this year for the first time. Hall said. There will also be a variety of discount packages available. Monday through Thursday, August 16th-19th, $10 will buy unlimited rides in both areas from noon to 4 p.m. On the final Sunday, August 22nd, fairgoers can pay $12 for unlimited rides from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Coupons in a fair guide that will be available on the fairgrounds will offer additional discounts. Prices are not set for after the fair in Adventure Village, said Walton, but a pay-one-price unlimited ride package is being considered. 

A newspaper article from May 13, 1994:
Adventure Village, the renovated amusement park at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, opens for the season today. The park will be open from 5 p.m. until about 9 p.m., weather permitting, said Judi Cole, marketing consultant. On Saturday, the park will have a grand-opening featuring roving characters including Barney, Baby Bop and Beauty, and the Beast. The "Wild Bunch" dancers will perform. The hours Saturday are noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday hours are noon to 6 p.m. Adventure Village will operate only on Friday evenings and weekends through May, Cole said. The park can be booked by private groups at other times. Starting in June, the park will be open Wednesdays through Sundays through August. In September, the park will return to a weekend schedule. All-day ride wristbands are available. During the week, the unlimited ride wristband costs $4.95 for children, $1.95 for an adult accompanying a child. Nonriding adults are free. Saturdays and Sundays, the all-day wristband is $5.95 for children, $2.95 for an adult with a child. Tickets can also be purchased individually and rates will change for the state fair and other special events, including the Heritage Days festival on Memorial Day. Reduced rates are available for groups, Cole said, and special birthday party packages are available. The park is considering building a game center with skill games such as Skee Ball, Cole said. The park raised about $900 for the planned Children's Museum in a preview event last weekend, according to museum organizer Marygael Cullen. Rides were rained out two of the three days last weekend. The park does close in inclement weather, Cole said. Adventure Village includes 12 rides aimed at ages 14 and under, and a concession stand, Cole said. It will be used in June for several days by a New York film company. 

A newspaper article from June 22, 2011:
A guy can have only so much fun with a Giant Slide. At least that's how Dennis Herrington, who has been the sole owner of the Giant Slide at the Illinois State Fairgrounds since 1995, sees it. He's now 57 years old, has had health problems, and has no children at home to help him operate the iconic structure just inside the Main Gate of the fairgrounds. So he's hoping to sell it before this year's fair starts in August. "You don't just go put a 'for sale' sign on it," he said. Instead, he's working with Prairie State Bank & Trust and through word of mouth to find a buyer. Asking price: $175,000. The slide, which Herrington said is about 40 feet high and 130 feet long, was erected in 1968 by private owners. Pam Gray, the state fair historian, said she wasn't immediately sure who built the slide. But a total of 208,807 tickets were sold at 25 cents apiece during the 1968 state fair, making the new slide the fair's most popular attraction, according to newspaper archives. About 29,000 tickets were sold on the first Sunday of the fair. The Bud Shymansky family purchased the slide in time for 1973 fair and operated it until 1993, when Springfield businessmen Herrington, Lars Buchloh, David Mayes and Steve Vincent bought it. By 1995, Herrington had bought out the other partners, who were concentrating on their other businesses.

Springfield's Giant Slide isn't unique among state fairs. Herrington estimates that 30 to 40 other state fairs also have giant slides. But the one here has gained some notoriety over the years. Gov. Jim Thompson made it a tradition to ride down the slide with his family — and once with a visiting Chinese dignitary — after cutting the ribbon to open the state fair. He did that all but one of his 14 years as governor. He missed 1986 because the operator couldn't get proof of liability insurance until noon of the day after the fair opened, then it rained in the afternoon.

The first state fair for Herrington and his partners was in 1993, which also was the first year for a transformed and renovated Adventure Village, formerly called Kiddieland. Adventure Village is privately operated. It still operates during the warmer months even when the state fair isn't in session. But Herrington opens the slide only for special events, such as this weekend's Farm Bureau convention. He just doesn't have the time or the inclination anymore. "The kids are grown, I'm getting up in age, and I've had a few inner-ear problems," he said. "People in real estate always talk about not falling in love with the property. It was a lot of fun when the kids were younger. I'd just like to do things to make life a little easier. And liability insurance isn't cheap," he added. "You can't just go down to State Farm and buy that. You have to go find it." His youngest daughter is away at veterinary school, and his oldest daughter works as a designer for Abercrombie & Fitch in Columbus, Ohio. "You want family in the booth taking money," he said. "We were there from the time we opened until the time we closed every day. I only hired family or friends of my kids." Herrington said he has picked up several clients for his full-time insurance/financial planning business from operating the slide. There also is a prestige factor. "It was kind of neat when people would say, 'Oh, you're the guy who owns the Giant Slide,'" he said. "It's a family thing. You also see a lot of people you see only once a year at the fair. We'd have families come back year after year to go down the slide." 'Too chicken now' the slide apparently does stir memories — some good, some bad, but always exciting. Susie McClure of Taylorville said the State Fair Parade and opening night is important to her family, and that includes a ride down the Giant Slide. When she started dating her future husband eight years ago, she was reluctant to go down the slide but was eager to participate in his family's traditions. "The food was delicious and the slide and the Sky Ride were wonderful," she said. "I survived and vowed to take part the following year." The next year was different. "Apparently they had greased the slide and only a few people had gone down before us," she said. "After the first hill, I didn't touch the slide again until the end. At the bottom, my feet hit and I flipped head over heels." Her husband and his family still ride the slide every year. But after a rug burn, bruises and much embarrassment, she hasn't been back. "I'm too chicken now," she said. "But it was quite a ride down that time." 

Megan Mander's entire family was watching when her father, Rich Mander, took her as a 3-year-old down the slide for the first time in 1987. She said the story is that he didn't have a tight enough grip on her, and at the second or third bump, she flew several feet in the air and landed right back in her father's lap. "I came away unscathed and with no traumatic fears of that Giant Slide!" she wrote in an email. State fair landmark Herrington said that Shad Shymansky, Bud's son, helped the new owners operate the slide the first two years so they could learn the ropes. He said he's in the final year of an $8,200-a-year, four-year lease with the fair, but doesn't anticipate any trouble renewing it if he can't sell the slide. "It's always been easy to negotiate with them," he said. Herrington said a new buyer could probably dismantle and move the bright yellow slide in a day — if they wanted to.  "It could be moved," he said. "It's on scaffolding, and there are probably 24 to 30 sections. But it's one of the landmarks of the state fair." Herrington said he sold 47,000 ride tickets in 1995, the last year Happy Hollow was located in the sunken grassy area south of the Exposition Building. The carnival area had been there since 1907 but was moved to the area west of the Fire Station in 1996. He says he now sells between 25,000 and 30,000 rides during the fair each year, at $3 a ride or two rides for $5. "It would benefit a lot of the vendors, not just myself if they'd move Happy Hollow back to where it was," he said. He also thinks someone could make an additional $25,000 to $30,000 annually by opening the slide for special events, even opening it for picture-taking purposes. "If I can find a buyer, great," he said.

Dennis Herrington said he has "lots of memories" of the Giant Slide during the years he's been an owner since 1993. But these stories stick out:

On Aug. 22, 1998, a couple was married at the top of the slide, then while their teenaged children watched at the bottom, rode down together, kissing — or trying to — all the way. In 1999, about 30 Illinois state troopers ended their shift on the last Sunday of the fair and rode down the Giant Slide in unison, dressed in full uniform. A couple of years ago, Herrington saw an elderly woman "almost crawling up the steps" of the slide. She said she had been riding the slide for 30 years and had her nieces, who were in their 60s, with her. Herrington told her he'd feel safer if someone rode down with her, so he got on the mat with the woman and they both slid to the bottom, where she "kind of rolled over on her hands and knees" to get off the mat.

A newspaper article from July 18, 2011:
The Giant Slide at the Illinois State Fairgrounds has been sold to a local buyer who intends to keep the 43-year-old attraction in operation at the fairgrounds. "I don't think that was ever in doubt," said Dennis Herrington, the Springfield man who has owned the slide since 1995 and put it up for sale last month. "Nothing's going to change," Herrington said. The new owner doesn't want to be identified immediately. "We're still negotiating a few final things," Herrington said. 5 bids were submitted. Herrington, 57, said he put the slide up for bids with the help of Prairie State Bank & Trust. He declined to disclose the sale price, but said earlier he was asking $175,000. Many people expressed interest in the slide, and five actually submitted bids for the structure, which operates under a leasing arrangement with the state fair. Herrington has had health problems and no longer has children at home to help him operate the slide, located just inside the Main Gate in Adventure Village. Erected in 1968 the slide, which is about 40 feet high and 130 feet long, was erected in 1968 by private owners. The Bud Shymansky family bought the slide prior to the 1973 fair and operated it until 1993 when Herrington and three other Springfield businessmen bought it. By 1995, Herrington had bought out the partners, who were concentrating on their other businesses. Former Gov. James Thompson made it a tradition to ride down the slide with his family each August after cutting the ribbon to open the state fair. Springfield's Giant Slide is one of more than 30 such slides operating at state fairs around the country.

A newspaper article from May 5, 2012:
New rides are coming to Adventure Village at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, but only during the run of the state fair itself. American Midway, which operates rides at Adventure Village, has been removing the old rides since January. They will be replaced by new rides still geared to children and families. However, the new rides will be there only during the run of the Illinois State Fair, August 9th-19th. "Adventure Village, as far as being open in non-fair season, has ceased," American Midway general manager Pat Repp said. "Adventure Village will now operate only during the fair." Adventure Village had been open from Memorial Day to Labor Day each year. However, Repp said, economics caught up with the area. "It just came down to where it couldn't support itself," Repp said. "We made a decision to cease the operations and clean it out and clean it up." That includes new and more varied rides. "We're still going to focus our attention on family and the kids," Repp said. "We're not going to be putting in thrill rides or teenage-type rides. We are going to put as many or more rides in and a different mix of rides. We think the public and fair-goers are really going to like what they see this year." Once the 2012 fair is over, the rides will be removed until next year. Department of Agriculture spokesman Jeff Squibb said the Adventure Village rides will be "newer and better. For the fair, it will be advantageous," he said.

Another children’s amusement park has been lost to time.  

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Civil War Union General Benjamin Henry Grierson (1826-1911)

Benjamin Henry Grierson was born July 8, 1826 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of five siblings. In 1829 the family moved to Youngstown, Ohio where Grierson attended the local schools and showed great promise as a musician. Grierson became afraid of horses when at age eight he was kicked and nearly killed by a horse, after which he hated horses. At the age of thirteen he was named band leader in Youngstown, then in 1850 he began teaching music.

Benjamin Henry Grierson

In 1851 he moved to Jacksonville, Illinois where he taught music and was the leader of a local band. In 1855 he became a partner in a mercantile business in Meredosia, Illinois, a small town on the Illinois River near Jacksonville. He settled in Meredosia and became active in local Republican politics. Although the business can best be characterized as unsuccessful, Grierson managed to support his family. 

When the war erupted Grierson was still running the business in Meredosia. His military service began on May 8, 1861 as a volunteer aide-de-camp for Benjamin M. Prentiss. Prentiss commanded troops from Illinois operating in northern Missouri. Grierson served without pay initially with the nominal rank of lieutenant.

On October 24, 1861 he joined the 6th Illinois cavalry. The 6th was officially mustered into Federal service on November 19, 1861 with Grierson assigned as a staff officer. He was given the rank of major on January 9, 1862. He was promoted to colonel on March 28, 1862 and given command of the 6th. The 6th operated in west Tennessee and northern Mississippi. Grierson led the pursuit of Earl Van Dorn's forces after they raided the Union supply depot at Holly Springs, Mississippi. 

Union Cavalry Colonel Benjamin Grierson (seated with hand resting on chin) and staff.

In the spring of 1863, he led Grierson's Raid, a major diversionary thrust deep into the Confederacy, ordered by Grant as part of his Vicksburg Campaign. Grierson departed from La Grange, Tennessee, on April 17, in command of 1,700 men of the 6th and 7th Illinois and the 2nd Iowa Cavalry regiments. Over 17 days, his command marched 800 miles, repeatedly engaged the Confederates, disabled two railroads, captured many prisoners and horses, and destroyed vast amounts of property, finally ending in Baton Rouge on May 2nd. He was rewarded on June 3, 1863 with promotion to brigadier general.

Union Troops under the command of Colonel Benjamin Grierson at Camp Baton Rouge, May 1863.

He was given command of a division and the cavalry of the Army of the Mississippi. In December 1864 and January 1865 he led raids against John B. Hood's communications resulting in the capture of Verona and Egypt Station, Mississippi for which Grierson was brevetted major general of volunteers. He led expeditions from Mobile, Alabama into Georgia and Mississippi. He was promoted to major general of volunteers in May 1865.

Following the war Grierson remained in the army with the rank of Colonel. He organized and was the first commander of the 10th US cavalry, one of the two cavalry units of black enlisted men with white officers that became known as Buffalo soldiers. He was brevetted brigadier general and major general in the regular army on 2 March 1867. He commanded Fort Riley, Kansas and Fort Gibson, Oklahoma from 1867 until 1869, heading the District of the Indian Territory from 1868 until 1869. After selecting the site for Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1869 he supervised the construction and commanded the post until 1872. He then spent two years supervising recruiting efforts in St. Louis, Missouri. In the spring of 1875 he was sent to Fort Concho, Texas. He commanded the District of the Pecos from 1878 until 1880 during which period he is credited with opening West Texas to settlement and the railroads. 

Colonel Benjamin Grierson and Buffalo Bill with Chippewa and Souix Indians.

In 1882 he shifted his command to Fort Davis, Texas where he invested in real estate and organized a company to promote railroads. He established a huge ranch near Fort Concho where he was planning to retire. In 1885 he was transferred to Arizona where he commanded Whipple Barracks then Fort Grant. He was commander of the District of New Mexico from 1886 until 1888.

In November 1888 he assumed command of the Department of Arizona. He was promoted to brigadier general on April 5, 1890 becoming one of the few civilians, no formal military training, to reach the rank. He retired on July 8, 1890.

He returned to Jacksonville, Illinois but made frequent trips to his ranch near Fort Concho. In 1807 he had a stroke from which he never completely recovered. He died August 31, 1911 at his summer home in Omena, Michigan.  

Grierson is buried at the Jacksonville East Cemetery, Morgan County, Illinois.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of Fort Dixon located on the Rock River in the Dixon's Ferry, settlement of Illinois. (1830 -1843)

In 1828, a French and Indian half-breed [1], named Ogee, built a cabin on the present site of Dixon and established Ogee's ferry. In 1829 a post office was located here and an employee of Ogee was made postmaster. In the spring of 1830, John Dixon, from whom the city takes its name, purchased Ogee's claim and interest in the ferry and on April 11th settled here with his family. The name of the post office was also changed to Dixon's Ferry shortly thereafter. Today's Dixon, Illinois was incorporated on  February 10, 1853, and the post office name was changed again.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Black Hawk war in 1832, Dixon's Ferry was quiet, and at times, lonely outpost. But it was the hostilities and confrontations with the white settlers from Black Hawk and his followers that would turn Dixon's Ferry into a major military encampment.

Drawing of Fort Dixon

While the name was never officially changed, Dixon's Ferry would come to be known as "Fort Dixon." It would be established as the central command post during the early stages of the Black Hawk war. Because of its location relative to Fort Dearborn (Chicago), Fort Armstrong (Rock Island), and Fort Clark (Peoria) was established as General Atkinson's command post. Additionally, the Illinois militia used the ferry to transport troops and supplies across the river.

Many notable soldiers served at Fort Dixon, including Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Winfield Scott [1], and Zachary Taylor.

Fort Dixon stood until about 1843.

THE WHOLE STORY
In the year 1804 a treaty was entered into at St. Louis between the united tribes of the Sac and Mesquakie (Fox) Indians, on the one part, and the United States, on the other, whereby, for a consideration, the tribes ceded to the latter a large tract of country embracing the Rock River valley and the Village of the Sacs at its mouth. The Indians reserved the right to live and hunt on the ceded lands until the Government should part with its title. These Indians or their ancestors originally had their homes in the neighborhood of Montreal; and although they had been driven from Canada, many of them were still loyal to the British and sided with them in the effort which our Government was putting forth to compel the English to surrender and vacate certain western forts in accordance with the treaty of Paris of September 3, 1783.

There are letters from William Henry Harrison Sr., the 9th President of the United States, dated 1807 requiring all settlements to have a small fort or blockhouse constructed.

Black Hawk served in the English army in the war of 1812. Moreover, the Sacs were both to abandon their village at the mouth of Rock River; and Black Hawk, though only a brave—not a chief—became the leader of the disaffected element of that tribe known as the "British Band," which, by opposition to removal from the ceded lands, brought on the Black Hawk War. By the Treaty at St. Louis signed on May 13, 1816, the Sacs of Rock River reestablished and confirmed the treaty of 1804. But still, the British Band was restive, and depredations on the white settlements continued as before the treaty. Other treaties followed: one in 1822, with the Sacs and Foxes; one in 1824 between the Sacs and Foxes; and one in 1825, in which all the former treaties were recognized. Still, the Indians continued to harass the white settlers in ways known only to savagery.

In 1828 the President proclaimed certain lands open for settlement and sale. This included Black Hawk's village at the mouth of Rock River. The chiefs and most of the Indians of the two tribes promptly vacated the lands according to the treaty, but Black Hawk refused, claiming that when he signed the treaty of 1816 he had been deceived and never knew that his village had been included in its terms. Then commenced a course of marauding and intimidation against the new settlers. Repeated appeals were made to the Governor of the State and, through him, to the United States military authorities. Volunteers and detachments of the regular army finally marched on the village. The Indians escaped, but their homes were burned. Then came the treaty of June 30, 1831, in which it Is recited that "the said British Band of Sac Indians have, in violation of the several treaties entered into between the United States and the Sac and Fox nations in the years 1804. 1816 and 1825, continued to remain upon and to cultivate the lands on Rock River ceded to the United States by said treaties after said lands had been sold by the United States to individual citizens of Illinois and other States." The band then agrees, by this treaty, to move to their lands west of the Mississippi and never return. 

Black Hawk and his followers complied with this requirement in apparent good faith, but on the 6th day of April of 1832, defiantly recrossed to the east bank of the Mississippi near the mouth of the lower Iowa, with about 2,000 men, women and children, including about 500 warriors underarms, and thence set out on his march up Rock River. On April 16th Governor Reynolds issued a proclamation, the opening sentences of which were calculated to startle the country: "Fellow Citizens; Your country requires your services. The Indians have assumed a hostile attitude and have invaded the State in violation of the treaty of last summer. The British Band of Sac and other hostile Indians, headed by Black Hawk, are in possession of Rock River country to the great terror of the frontier inhabitants. I consider the settlers on the frontier in imminent danger." As in all other emergencies in our history, men all over the State responded with alacrity.

Father Dixon was early advised of the approach of Black Hawk and his followers. He was assured by a leading Winnebago Chief, Pachinka that the Winnebagos held possession of the lands through which Black Hawk would have to pass, and that they would not dare to injure the white friends of his nation, among whom Father Dixon was numbered. Thus it came about that Father Dixon remained at his home when the army of savages[2] passed in May and camped a few hundred yards above the ferry, at a spring that was submerged by the building of the dam. He estimated the force at 600 exclusives of women and children.  

On May 12, 1832, Governor Reynolds was at Dixon's Ferry with about 1,800 mounted riflemen under command of General Whiteside, awaiting the arrival of General Atkinson's forces of the regular army, coming up the river with army stores and provisions. Immediately after the arrival of the forces. General Whiteside sent a party of four men, with a guide and interpreter under command of Captain John Dement of Dixon (then State Treasurer), to Shabbona's Grove, to warn the friendly Potawatomi chief Shabbona who lived there on a small reservation with his family and a few followers, not to allow Black Hawk to locate on their lands. Losing their way the second day out, they came across four Sac Indians, from whom they learned that Black Hawk was encamped on a stream only a few miles distant, that his people were in a starving condition and were going over to Mud Creek to hunt.

Just before Captain Dement and his party returned Major Stillman was permitted, contrary to the advice of Father Dixon, to advance up the river and spy out the hostile camp. The locality where they found the foe—or more correctly where the foe found them—has been immortalized by what there happened. The cowardice and unsoldierly bearing of the troops at the approach of the redskins stamped the site with the name "Stillman's Run." It is said that many of the soldiers ceased not their running until they reached Dixon's Perry, twenty-five miles distant, or some other place of refuge. 

Immediately on receipt of the news of the route 1,600 volunteers moved out on the forced march, leaving 200 to guard the ferry. On reaching the field they discovered that the main body of the enemy had decamped northward, while small bands had scattered among the settlements to pillage, burn, and murder. The loss to Stillman's force was found to be eleven killed. Being out of provisions, the pursuing party was obliged to return to Dixon's Ferry to await the arrival of the boats.

By order dated May 22, 1832, General Atkinson made Dixon's Ferry his headquarters and base of operations. At the same time, a fort was ordered erected on the north side of the river. The fort was built by Zachary Taylor and his regulars for the purpose of protecting Dixon's ferry during the war and he named it Fort Dixon. 

Fort Dixon consisted of two "block" or log buildings within an enclosure. One building was rather longer than wide and at least four times as large as the other. Around it, portholes were left through which to fire in case of attack. The smaller building was probably a powder magazine. The buildings stood until about 1843. As nearly as can be ascertained, the larger building stood near the line between Lots 3 and 10, Block 54. Around all this, an embankment of earth was thrown about five feet high and covered a square of ground about 500 feet. and abutting on the riverbank near the west line of what is now North Galena Avenue. The fort stood about 350 feet north of the present north end of the bridge and about seventy-five feet westward.

Great dissatisfaction developed in the volunteer portion of the army among those who were impatient to get back to their neglected fields and other industries. They had been sent on an expedition that brought them to the mouth of the Fox River, where they were mustered out May 27th, whither General Atkinson repaired on the 29th. A new levy of 2.000 men had already been ordered, and he urged that 1,000 of the discharged volunteers re-enlist for a twenty-day temporary service. Five companies promptly responded, including that of Captain Iles, in which Abraham Lincoln (formerly captain) became a private. Men who were subsequently conspicuous in the affairs of the State were among them: Joseph Gillespie, Pierre Menard, James Semple, John T. Stuart. John Dement, John J. Hardin. It must be remembered that the real war was still to come.

John Dixon

Captain Iles and another company were ordered to Galena by way of Dixon's Ferry, where Col. Zachary Taylor had remained with a few regulars to guard the supplies. Iles, in his book, "Early Life and Times." says that when he reached the Ferry, he camped at a spring a half-mile above, and then sought Colonel Taylor on the north side of the river and found him "in a little fort built of prairie sod." He further says, regarding the march. "John Dixon, who kept a house of entertainment here and had sent his family to Galena for safety, joined us and hauled out wallets of corn and grub, which was a great help." The company returning reached Fort Wilbourn, between Peru and LaSalle. June 16th and was there mustered out by Lieutenant Robert Anderson, of Fort Sumter fame, who had mustered it into service twenty days before.

Lincoln enlisted a third time and again came to Dixon's Ferry, this time as private in Captain Early's company, which formed a part of the new levy. The headquarters or place of rendezvous of this new army was at the "Rapids of the Illinois." where General Atkinson caused Major John Dement's battalion to be detached to scour the country, and join Colonel Taylor at Dixon, to whom Lieut. Jefferson Davis was acting as an aid. It is said of Dement's battalion, that it embraced men who had held nearly every office in the State from Governor down—Dement himself being, at this time. Treasurer of the State.

From Fort Dixon, the battalion moved on to Kellogg's Grove, where a desperate battle was fought with a band of mounted Indians, stripped to the skin and in their war paint under command of Black Hawk in person. The brunt of the fight fell on the commanding officer and a few as plucky as himself. In the annals of Indian warfare, few engagements of small numbers will be found more desperate and bloody. Without going into details it must be said that no praise can exceed the meed to which Major Dement is entitled to his bravery on that occasion. Black Hawk speaks of him in his autobiography thus: "The young chief deserves great praise for his courage and bravery, but fortunately for us, his army was not all composed of such brave men." 

The Quartermaster was ably assisted by John Dixon, who accompanied the army to the end of the campaign. John K. Robinson says, in this connection: "During the Black Hawk War, Father Dixon had the contract for supplying the army with beef up to the final battle of the Bad Axe River," and hence, facetiously gave himself the title of Major of the Steer Battalion. It is understood that the troops, both regular and volunteer, were all mounted.

The war closed with the defeat of the Indians at the Battle of Bad Axe, Wis., and the surrender of Black Hawk, on August 2, 1832. The treaty of peace was signed at Rock Island on the 21st of September following. The troops, then remaining in the service, were mustered out at Dixon's Ferry. The pack horses used in the war were gathered and corralled here, preparatory to being driven further south for sale in more densely settled portions of the State. 

That portion of the army that marched to Dixon's Ferry from the southeast to take part in the war, crossed Bureau Creek one-half mile southwest of the point where the Illinois Central Railroad now crosses it, near the east line of the county, and marched thence to the point where the residence of Mr. William R. Long stood near the north line of Section 13 in the Town of May, and from there to Rocky Ford, where they crossed Green River. Mr. M. Perkins of Perkins' Grove, near the south line of the county, in LaSalle County, came in 1834 when the evidence of the line of march was plain to be seen. 

In the course of the war troops of the regular army were brought to the field from St. Louis under General Atkinson, from Fortress Monroe under General Scott, and from Detroit under General Brady, as well as those at Prairie du Chien, Wis., under Lieut-Col. Taylor, and those at Portage, Wis., under Lieut-Col. Culter. To these were added the volunteer militia of the State.

Lincoln became well acquainted with Col. Dement in these war days, and though belonging to opposing political parties, each entertained the highest regard for the other, and their friendship was not allowed to wane in after years. After Lincoln had been elected President Mr. Dement called on him at Springfield, and Lincoln, grasping his extended hand in both his, greeted him as "Jack," and expressed his delight at meeting him.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

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[1] General Winfield Scott - In 1832, President Andrew Jackson ordered Winfield Scott to Illinois to take command of the Black Hawk War conflict. General Winfield Scott led 1,000 troops, to Fort Armstrong, to assist the U.S. Army garrison and militia volunteers stationed there. While General Scott's army was en route, along the Great Lakes, his troops had contracted Asiatic cholera, before they left the state of New York; it killed most of his 1,000 soldiers. Only 220 U.S. Army regulars, from the original force, made the final march, from Fort Dearborn, in Chicago to Rock Island, Illinois. Winfield Scott and his troops likely carried the highly contagious disease with them; soon after their arrival at Rock Island, a local, cholera epidemic broke out, among the whites and Indians, around the area of Fort Armstrong. Cholera microbes were spread, through sewery-type, contaminated water, which mixed with clean drinking water, brought on by poor sanitation practices, of the day. Within eight days, 189 people died and were buried on the island.

By the time Scott arrived in Illinois, the conflict had come to a close with the army's victory at the Battle of Bad Axe. Also known as the Bad Axe Massacre it was a battle between Sauk (Sac) and Meskwaki (Fox) Indians and United States Army regulars and militia that occurred on August 1st and 2nd of 1832. This final battle of the Black Hawk War took place near present-day Victory, Wisconsin.

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[1] WHY DO I USE TERMS THAT WERE USED IN THE VERNACULAR OF TIME-PERIOD BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS; GOVERNMENT, BIOGRAPHERS, LEGAL DOCKETS, CONTRACTS, ETC.?

Those derogatory terms are also extremely offensive, disrespectful, and vulgar today.

A young reader, searching for facts, biographies, or researching for a school assignment, lands on this Journal's [PG-13] rated Illinois and Abraham Lincoln repository. As an educational resource, duty-bound to provide a simple, meaningful, explanation.

"SAVAGE" is a word defined in U.S. dictionaries as a Noun, Verb, Adjective, and Adverb. Definitions include:

• a person belonging to a primitive society
• malicious, lacking complex or advanced culture
• a brutal person
• a rude, boorish, or unmannerly person
• to attack or treat brutally
• lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings

Unlike the term "RED MAN," dictionaries like Merriam-Webster define this term, its one-and-only definition, as a Noun meaning: AMERICAN INDIAN (historically dated, offensive today). The term Red Men is used often in historical books, biographies, letters, and articles written in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. 

"HALF-BREED" is a disrespectful term used to refer to the offspring of parents of different racial origins, especially the offspring of an American Indian and a white person of European descent. 

The History of Fort Payne (1832) in the Naper settlement, today's Naperville, Illinois.

There were two settlements on the DuPage River, one on the east branch and one on the west branch. That on the east, including the junction, is now embraced in Will County, and the other about the Naper settlement (today's Naperville) in DuPage County. Of course, at the time both were included in Cook county.

On the east branch of the DuPage river were the families of Pierce Hawley and wife, Stephen J. Scott and wife, Willard Scott and wife, Walter Stowell and wife, Israel P. Blodgett and wife, Rev. Isaac Scarrett and wife, Harry Board man and wife, Robert Strong and wife, Seth Wescott and wife, Lester Peet, and a hired man at Hawley's and another at Boardman's. Here was built Fort Naper (1831-1832), a settlers' fortified trading post which today is Naperville.

Up the west branch of the DuPage River was the Naper settlement, probably embracing about the same number of settlers. Among these were the families of Baily Hobson, Uriah Payne, Capt. Joseph Naper, John Naper, H. T. Wilson, Lyman Butterfield, Ira Carpenter, John Murray, R. M. Sweet, Alanson Sweet, C. Foster, J. Manning, H. Babbit, and others. This is where Fort Payne (1832) was built.

Painting of Fort Payne

In the summer of 1831, Joseph Naper sailed from Ashtabula, Ohio, with his family, his brother and 13 other families headed for Fort Dearborn, Cook County, Illinois. Upon arrival in July 1831, they sold their boat, the Telegraph, loaded up ox carts, and headed to a spot 30 miles west on the DuPage River. By September, Naper and other settlers had secured a contract with a schoolteacher and within a year had a horse-driven sawmill and trading post established.

In the spring of 1832, startling news that Black Hawk was on the warpath and all town building activities ceased temporarily. Aptakisic (Hafda), a friendly chief of the Potawatomi, whose name was translated as "half-day." (An early cartographer misspelled Hafda as "Half Day," as in Half Day, Illinois, and so it remained.) sent a message by Shata, to Bailey Hobson, express from the Potawatomi village at Big Woods (in today's Joilet) advising the settlers to go to Fort Dearborn in Chicagou as rapidly as possible. He said that people were being massacred south of the settlement. Fort Le Pouz (1729-1730), a French fort, was located in Big Woods.

Joseph Naper was chosen as the captain of the first military organization in Cook County (DuPage County was formed on February 9, 1839, out of Cook County) to serve in the defense against Black Hawk in northern Illinois. About the middle of June, General Atkinson detailed Captain Morgan Lewis Payne (1805-1878) of Joliet and fifty volun­teers from Danville to build a fort in the Naper­ settlement. Fort Payne was constructed on the property of Lewis Ellsworth. It was a stockade type fortification about 100 feet square, surrounded by pickets set in the ground. Two blockhouses on diagonal corners were built with openings to view of the prairies from all directions. 

An incident occurred just before the completion of the fort, which threw a gloom over the minds of the settlers, and excited fears which had been entirely allayed by the prospect of speedy protection. Two men, named William Brown and Mr. Buckley, were sent to [Alanson] Sweet's Grove (near today's Odgen Avenue) to procure a load of shingles. They had gone as far as the grove, north of Mark Beaubien's place when Buckley got out of the wagon to open a passage in the fence. Brown drove through into the field, and the team continued to move on, while Buckley walked leisurely along behind. Suddenly the sharp report of a rifle was heard from an adjoining thicket, and Buckley saw his comrade fall dead from the wagon. Terrified and bewildered he fled toward the settlement. He reached the fort with scarcely enough strength to communicate the melancholy tidings to his sorrowing companions. About twenty men left the fort and proceeded to the scene of the disaster. The horses had been stripped of their harness and taken away, and the body of Brown was found near the wagon, pierced with three balls. He was brought to the fort and buried. The trail of the Indians was followed, but they had fled beyond the reach of pursuit. 

As much alarm now prevailed throughout the company, it was decided that Capt. Naper and Alanson Sweet should start that night for Fort Dearborn to procure more men. They started on horseback, but Sweet's horse gave out, he was obliged to journey on foot. They reached Fort Dearborn early next morning and asked assistance from Gen. Williams, who was there with three hundred troops from Michigan, but he refused to furnish it, "as he did not deem it safe to send men into the country at that time. At length Major Wilson informed Capt. Naper, that if General Williams would consent, he would take some of his men and return with him to the settlement. Whereupon, a council of officers was held, but it was deemed unsafe for any to go, even as volunteers. Capt. Naper then left Fort Dearborn and returned to the settlement, very disheartened. 

Filled with fear, families quickly located one another in the vast prairie settlement and packed their clothing and provisions for the journey to Fort Dearborn. Cros­sing the prairie was slow and escape difficult. Roads were no more than muddy ruts. Wheels became embedded in marshy soil and freshwater was not readily available. The Hobsons spoke of traveling thirty-six hours without food. Mrs. Hobson is said to have frequently used her shoe to dip water from the pools by the roadside in order to get a drink.

No battles took place at Fort Payne, for General Winfield Scott [1] made a treaty with the Sauks at Rock Island, thereby ending the Black Hawk War. The settlers once more resumed the task of subduing the wilderness.

Today, a smaller replica of Fort Payne is located at the Naper Settlement Outdoor History Museum, a presentation of the community's history as told through its historic buildings.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

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General Winfield Scott - In 1832, President Andrew Jackson ordered Winfield Scott to Illinois to take command of the Black Hawk War conflict. General Winfield Scott led 1,000 troops, to Fort Armstrong, to assist the U.S. Army garrison and militia volunteers stationed there. While General Scott's army was en route, along the Great Lakes, his troops had contracted Asiatic cholera, before they left the state of New York; it killed most of his 1,000 soldiers. Only 220 U.S. Army regulars, from the original force, made the final march, from Fort Dearborn, in Chicago to Rock Island, Illinois. Winfield Scott and his troops likely carried the highly contagious disease with them; soon after their arrival at Rock Island, a local, cholera epidemic broke out, among the whites and Indians, around the area of Fort Armstrong. Cholera microbes were spread, through sewery-type, contaminated water, which mixed with clean drinking water, brought on by poor sanitation practices, of the day. Within eight days, 189 people died and were buried on the island.

By the time Scott arrived in Illinois, the conflict had come to a close with the army's victory at the Battle of Bad Axe. Also known as the Bad Axe Massacre it was a battle between Sauk (Sac) and Meskwaki (Fox) Indians and United States Army regulars and militia that occurred on August 1st and 2nd of 1832. This final battle of the Black Hawk War took place near present-day Victory, Wisconsin.

The History of Fort Beggs (1832) in Walkers' Grove, today's Plainfield, Illinois.

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In historical writing and analysis, PRESENTISM introduces present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Presentism is a form of cultural bias that creates a distorted understanding of the subject matter. Reading modern notions of morality into the past is committing the error of presentism. Historical accounts are written by people and can be slanted, so I try my hardest to present fact-based and well-researched articles.

Facts don't require one's approval or acceptance.

I present [PG-13] articles without regard to race, color, political party, or religious beliefs, including Atheism, national origin, citizenship status, gender, LGBTQ+ status, disability, military status, or educational level. What I present are facts — NOT Alternative Facts — about the subject. You won't find articles or readers' comments that spread rumors, lies, hateful statements, and people instigating arguments or fights.

FOR HISTORICAL CLARITY

When I write about the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, I follow this historical terminology:

• The use of old commonly used terms, disrespectful today, i.e., REDMAN or REDMEN, SAVAGES, and HALF-BREED are explained in this article.

Writing about AFRICAN-AMERICAN history, I follow these race terms:

• "NEGRO" was the term used until the mid-1960s.
• "BLACK" started being used in the mid-1960s.
• "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" [Afro-American] began usage in the late 1980s.

— PLEASE PRACTICE HISTORICISM —

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PAST IN ITS OWN CONTEXT.

 

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Fort Beggs in Walkers' Grove, Illinois (the Plainfield area was called Walkers' Grove until it was platted as Plainfield, Illinois, in 1841) was an impromptu fort used for one week in May during the 1832 Black Hawk War.

The appearance of the fugitives, some on foot, some on horseback, and some in wagons, some bareheaded and barefooted, and crying out "Indians! Indians!" was the first notice that the settlers at Walker's Grove and vicinity were in real danger. The consternation produced can better be imagined than described.

At this moment, they resolved to leave as soon as possible and were deciding whether to flee to Ottawa, Illinois or Chicago when James Walker urged them to wait until the rest of the men returned. During this wait, the settlers built a wall around the Fort out of old fencing and set it on fire so that they might see an attack coming during the night.

The leading men in the settlement hastily consulted as to the best course to adopt. Some were for flight in one direction or another. It was concluded that the best course, at present, was to get together and make a defense.

The cabin of Father Stephen R. Beggs in section 16 was thought the best one for the purpose, and accordingly, they gathered there and hastily put it into the best condition to resist attack. By common consent, Captain James Walker, a man of great energy and good judgment, was made Captain of the Militia on June 25, 1832. Barricades were erected by tearing down fences and out-buildings, and they soon had a stronghold that became known as "Fort Beggs." Father Beggs' cabin was converted to a fort on a Thursday.

Sketch of Fort Beggs. This picture was undoubtedly sketched by someone familiar with the old log house that was at one time Fort Beggs and gives something of the general shape of the building. The breastwork was a temporary affair, according to Beggs' history. The people stayed here a short time and then went to Fort Dearborn at Chicago and did not return until mid-summer and fall.

Beggs later explained their dire situation if attacked:

Everything that could be of service as a means of defense, such as axes, pitch-forks, etc., were collected and brought to the fort. The women made themselves useful in melting up their stock of pewterware, more valuable then than silverware now, and running musket balls. Only four guns, however, could be mustered that could be relied upon. Here they remained in anxious suspense for several days expecting every moment to hear the yells of savage foes coming to attack them.

The following families and persons were living in this vicinity at this time: Jesse Walker, the pioneer missionary, and family; James Walker and family; Reuben Flagg and family; Timothy B. Clark and family; Rev. Stephen R. Beggs and family; John Cooper and family; Chester Smith and family; Wm. Bradford and family; Peter Watkins and family; Samuel Shively and family; Thos. R. Covel and family; James Matthews and family; Mr. Elisha Fish and family; Rev. Wm. See and family; Chester Ingersol and family; James Gilson and family; Robert W. Chapman, James Turner, Orrin Turner, John Shurtleff and Jedediah Wooley, Sr.

With the fugitives from Fox River, these made the number, old and young, gathered in Fort Beggs one hundred and twenty-five. As you can imagine the cabin was uncomfortably full.

By Sunday, a group from Chicago composed of settlers and Indians had come to rescue them. According to most accounts, it consisted of twenty-five or thirty mounted men. Some accounts say it was under the command of Captain Joseph Naper of the Naper Settlement, next to Walkers' Grove. In contrast, others say it was commanded by Captain Sisson from the Yankee settlement, and in other accounts, it is spoken of as Captain Brown's company. All these persons were probably active men who were along and getting it up, and they were all captains. There is no other way to reconcile the different statements.

It is known from conversations with Mr. Sisson that he was with the company. At the same time, Lawton, above named, a man who had settled on the Desplanes River near the present village of Riverside, and who was well acquainted with the Indians, and had a squaw for a wife, with about the same number of friendly Indians accompanied the mounted rangers. They stayed the night of the 21st at Lawton's place, and on the following day, Lawton and his company started for the Big Woods (a forest property in Joliet, Illinois, home to Fort Le Pouz. Today, the park is called Pilcher Park, previously known as Higginbotham Woods, owned by early settler Henry D. Higginbotham. Before that, it was called the Big Woods) settlement, near the present town of Joliet, where there was an encampment of Potawatomi at the time. The Rangers struck for Holderman's. They agreed to meet at George Hollenbeck's cabin. The company arrived at Plainfield and stayed overnight. Then, it proceeded to Holderman's Grove. They met Cunningham and Hollenbeck on the way, who informed them of the destruction of their property and told them it was useless to go further.

Notwithstanding this, they went on to Holderman's and stopped overnight, from whence they sent an express to Ottawa to notify the settlers of the safety of their property. This express returned early the following day with the news of the massacre on Indian Creek. They then went to Ottawa and from thence to the scene of the bloody tragedy, where they collected and buried the remains. The scene presented was horrid beyond description. While the company was engaged in this painful duty, Lawton, after going to the Big Woods, had gone to the cabin of Hollenbeck, where, instead of meeting the rangers, he found himself in the company of a hundred hostile Indians, who took him prisoner and threatened to kill him. Still, his relations with and knowledge of Indian character served him a good purpose. He had old friends in the crowd who affected his liberation when he and his companions hastened with all speed for Fort Beggs, reaching it with the news as before stated. He supposed that the company of rangers had been all butchered.

The visit of Lawton greatly increased the excitement and consternation at the Fort. Father Beggs says: "The stoutest hearts failed them, and strong men turned pale, while women and children wept and fainted," The first impulse of most was to seek safety in flight. But this might be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Mrs. Flagg, a woman of great judgment and resolution, strongly supported those who thought it best to "hold the Fort." 

To this decision, most fortunately, they came. It was afterward ascertained that Indians were lying in wait for them. They made what preparations they could to meet the attack of the redskins. They built bonfires and kept them burning around the Fort all night so that the enemy's approach could be seen. On the second day after Lawton's visit, the rangers put in their appearance on their return, bringing the news of the Indian Creek massacre and other outrages. It was then unanimously concluded to go under the protection of the rangers to Chicago. A party of Indians was waiting for them at Flagg Creek, but, seeing they were so well protected, they did not venture to attack.

On Monday, the group had split up with some reconnoitering along the Fox River and the others (mostly Native Americans), led by Mr. Lorton (possibly David Lawton), going to meet up with General Brown, Colonel Hamilton and their men near Aurora, Illinois. This never happened because they were captured en route, but the Native Americans were "on good terms with Black Hawk" and were allowed to go free. Mr. Lorton, while on his way back to Chicago, briefly returned to Fort Beggs, told them what had happened and explained that an attack would come later that night. 

While here, expecting every hour to be attacked, their fears were greatly increased by the visit of Lawton, with some friendly Indians, who reported the country full of hostiles and advised the people in the Fort to leave at once for Chicago's Fort Dearborn, He made but a brief stop, he and his company hurrying on to that place.

Captain Naper returned with his men on Wednesday evening, brought word of a massacre on Indian Creek and advised them to leave immediately for either Ottawa or Chicago. The settlers chose to flee to Chicago, made preparations, and left the next day, on Thursday, for Fort Dearborn.

Fort Beggs was located on the DuPage River, and a monument was erected by the Will County Centennial Committee in 1936 to mark its location.

The location of the Fort is marked with a monument at the corner of Fort Beggs Drive and South James Street. Plainfield Central High School was built after the big 1990 Plainfield tornado.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.