The History of Fort Clark, Peoria, Illinois. (1813-1818)

There are letters from William Henry Harrison Sr., the future 9th President of the United States, dated 1807 as the Governor of the Indian Territory (1800-1809) requiring all settlements to have a small fort or blockhouse constructed.

On February 3, 1809, Congress had established the Territory of Illinois, which included all of modern Illinois, Wisconsin, the upper western peninsula of Michigan, and northeastern Minnesota, as shown in the map below. Ninian Edwards, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, was appointed by President James Madison as the governor of the new territory, and he served in that position until Illinois was granted statehood eight years later.

Illinois Territory in 1809

In the 1810 federal census, just 12,181 white settlers lived in the Illinois Territory. At that time, the village of Peoria was attached to St. Clair County, and the census gave the village a population of 93. Most of these early Peorians were of French descent, having arrived from Canada, and were primarily trappers and traders. During the year, a series of raids were staged by Indians within the Illinois Territory, which resulted in a great deal of anxiety and trepidation among the settlers. Throughout the next year, British representatives from Canada, still upset over their defeat in the Revolutionary War, continued to encourage the Indians to attack the white settlers throughout the Illinois Territory.

The War of 1812, launched by the U.S. in June of 1812, again brought Peoria’s French settlers into the position of being at war with the British and their Indian allies, including the Potawatomi. Because the Peoria French had a close association with the Potawatomi, who lived nearby and traded at the Peoria settlement, the position of the French settlers was difficult.

In August of 1812, Fort Dearborn, the American post at Chicago, was taken by the Potawatomi, and many of the inhabitants were killed or taken prisoner. Thomas Forsyth of Peoria, half-brother, and partner of the Chicago trader, John Kinzie, went north to negotiate with the Indians for the return of captives.

Governor Edwards had received reports that Peoria was a hotbed of Indian troubles. In October of 1812, just a few months after the Indian raid on Fort Dearborn, the governor led an attack of mounted troops across the prairies from Fort Russell, near Edwardsville, and destroyed the Potawatomi village of Chief Black Partridge at the upper end of Lake Peoria, on the east side of the river. Although the soldiers found the village deserted, they plundered and burned it. In clashes with Indians in the vicinity of the village, 25 to 30 Indians were killed.

After the raid, Captain Thomas E. Craig of Shawneetown and a company of troops boarded boats that were anchored in the river offshore from the French village. Sometime during the evening, shots were fired at their vessels. The troops stormed ashore to loot and burn the village. Craig then arrested the inhabitants; forced 41 men, women and children to board the two vessels; and brought them to "Savage’s Ferry," near present-day Alton. After the prisoners had been held for four days, Governor Edwards ordered their release. Captain Craig later reported to Governor Edwards, “I burnt down about half of the town. The damned rascals may think themselves well off that they were not scalped.” This episode marked the end of the French settlement at Peoria.

A year later in September 1813, Brigadier General Benjamin Howard led another expedition of about 1,400 men against Indian villages around Lake Pimiteoui. The first portion of the expedition, a detachment of 150 troops of the First United States Infantry under the command of Lt. Colonel Robert Carter Nicholas, arrived at Lake Pimiteoui on August 29th. The troops came from St. Louis in reinforced keelboats and immediately began to build a stockade adjacent to the river at the former French village. Trees were cut on the eastern shore of the lake and rafted across to the western shore. While the first blockhouse was under construction, 150 Indians under the command of Black Partridge made an attack on the troops but were driven off.

Eight hundred mounted rangers from the Illinois and Missouri militia reached the settlement three days after the arrival of the regulars. The rangers marched to the two Indian villages at the head of Lake Pimiteoui; on the eastern shore was the village of Black Partridge, and on the western shore was a Potawatomi village, led by Chief Gomo. When the rangers arrived, the occupants of both villages had already fled. The rangers burned what remained of the villages and returned to the French village.

Fort Clark Illustration

With over 1,000 men to assist, the construction of a new fort was completed on September 23rd. A brass six-pound cannon was mounted and fired in celebration. The fort was named Fort Clark, in honor of General George Rogers Clark, the celebrated hero of the War of 1812 and victories against the British at both Vincennes and Kaskaskia. General Howard sent a force in two boats under Major William Christy to pursue the Indians on the upper Illinois River. Another force, under Major Nathan Boone, followed the course of the Spoon River for 50 miles. Upon their return to Fort Clark, both officers reported that their troops were unable to overtake the fleeing Indians. The rangers were relieved of duty at Fort Clark in mid-October and returned to their home stations, leaving the regulars to garrison the post.

Charles Ballance, in his 1870 book, The History of Peoria, Illinois, described the fort as follows:

This fort was a simple stockade, constructed by planting two rows of logs firmly in the ground, near each other and filling the space between with earth. This, of course, was not intended as a defense against artillery, of which the Indians had none. This fort was about a hundred feet square, with a ditch along each side. It did not stand with a side to the lake, but with a corner toward it. The corner farthest from the lake was on the upper side of Water Street, near the intersection of the upper line of Water and Liberty streets. From there the west line ran diagonally across the intersection of Water and Liberty streets, at the lower corner of Liberty and Water Streets. At this corner was what I suppose military men would call a bastion; that is, there was a projecting corner made in the same manner as the side walls, and so constructed, as I imagine, as to accommodate a small cannon to command the ditches. And the same had no doubt been at the opposite corner.

The War of 1812 was finally settled by the Treaty of Ghent (diplomats from the U.S. and England met at Ghent in the Netherlands) on December 24, 1814. Although this treaty did eliminate the British encouragement and support for Indian raids in the Illinois Territory, the settlement at Lake Pimiteoui remained unoccupied, save for the troops occasionally stationed at the fort, occasional trappers or Indians. Indians apparently set fire to the fort and burned most of the structure in 1818.

The first group of American settlers to come to the Fort Clark location after Illinois became a state in 1818 arrived in April 1819. These settlers were Abner Eads, Josiah Fulton, and his brother, Seth Fulton, from Virginia; Joseph Hersey of New York; and S. Daugherty, J. Davis, and T. Russell of Kentucky. Eads and Hersey arrived with pack horses, and the rest arrived on a keelboat, apparently poled upriver.

Upon their arrival, they reportedly found the walls of two deserted log cabins standing close to the river. It is possible that the soldiers garrisoned here when Fort Clark was built six years earlier had erected these cabins. They were made suitable for use and became the first two residences in Peoria. The settlers also reportedly found sufficient remains of Fort Clark to determine that it had indeed been a fort.

Ballance described what remained of Fort Clark when he arrived in Peoria:

When I came to the country in November 1831, there was no vestige of it remaining. In fact, at that time there was little to show that there had ever been a fortification there, except some burnt posts along the west side, and a square of some 10 or 12 feet at the south corner, and a ditch nearly filled up, on two sides of this square and on the west side of the fort. The fort had been burnt down to the embankment of this square and of the west side, after which the embankments had been mostly worn away by the rains and other means, until that part of the logs that was underground had become charred posts. Some of them, however, had become entirely decayed and were gone. On the other sides there was but little to be seen of logs or embankment.

Today, the site of Fort Clark, at the foot of Liberty Street on the shore of the Illinois River in downtown Peoria, is commemorated by a pavilion in Liberty Park.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The 1711 French Settlement is the beginning of today's Peoria, 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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At what time the French commenced a settlement at Peoria has long been a controverted point on which history and tradition are alike defective. Some believe it began when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (Sieur de La Salle is a title only: translating to "Lord of the manor.") built Fort de Crévecoeur in the year 1680, and from that time people continued to reside here.

Many claim the first Peoria location dates to 1691, when French soldiers, traders, and missionaries joined several thousand Illinois Indians as they moved from the Village of La Vantum to the Starved Rock area, 65 miles upriver. Add in all the French traders and soldiers who married Illinois Indians, creating a multi-cultural community. 

REFERENCE

The 1691 La Vantum Village Massacre of the Illinois Indians by the Iroquois and its Aftermath.

The Village of La Vantum, aka Grand Village of the Illinois Tribe (home to thousands of Indian residents), Fort St. Louis du Pimiteoui (serving as the administrative center for French military and traders), and the Mission of the Immaculate Conception (continuing the work begun by Father Père Jacques Marquette in 1673).

Others fixed the permanent settlement of the place in 1760 from an old letter in the possession of a descendant of an early pioneer and traditional accounts. It commenced at an early period.

Historians over the years have given this subject much attention, gathering up scraps of history relating to it and conversing with many of the descendants of the Peoria French, some of whom trace their genealogy back to the days of La Salle. By comparing these different accounts, it is shown conclusively that the settlement at Peoria commenced in the year 1711 and under the following circumstances:

In the summer of 1711, Father Marest, a Jesuit priest from Canada, preached to the Indians at Cahokia. By the force of his eloquence, many of them were converted to Christianity. Among these converts was a chief named Kolet from Peoria, who was visiting friends at the time in Cahokia. The chief prevailed on Father Marest to accompany him home to his village at Peoria Lake and proclaim salvation to his people. Late in November, the priest and chief, accompanied by two warriors, started in a bark canoe for Peoria, but after going ten leagues, the river froze up so that further progress by water was out of the question; therefore, the travelers hid their canoe, with most of their baggage, in the thick river timber, and continued their journey on foot.

Lake Pimiteoui, today's Peoria Lake.

They waded through snow and water for twelve days, crossing extensive prairies and through thick timber full of briars and thorns. Sometimes, crossing marshes and streams where the ice would give way, letting them into the water up to their necks. At night, they slept on dry grass or leaves, gathered from under the snow, without shelter or anything but their blankets to protect them from the cold winter blast. The provisions for their journey, as well as their bedding, were left with their canoe. Consequently, they were obliged to subsist on wild grapes and game killed. After many days of fatigue and exposure, their limbs frostbitten, and their bodies reduced in the flesh from starvation, they, at last, reached the village and, from the Indians, received a hearty welcome.

This Indian village (afterward called Opa by the French) was situated on the west bank of Peoria Lake, one mile and a half above its outlet. On La Salle's first visit to this place, thirty-one years before, he found a large town cordially received by the head chief, Niconope. This chief had long since been gathered to his fathers, and his place was occupied by Kolet, as referred to above.

Father Marest found quarters in an Indian lodge and remained in the village until spring without meeting with one of his countrymen. He preached to the Indians almost daily, many of whom embraced Christianity, and their names were afterward enrolled in the church book.

In the following spring, the French at Fort St. Louis established a trading post at Peoria Lake, and several families came there from Canada and built cabins in the Indian village. For fifty years, the French and half-breeds continued to live in the town with the Indians, and during that period, peace and harmony prevailed among them. But this town was abandoned for one that figured extensively in its day and is known in history as La Ville de Maillet.

In the summer of 1761, Robert Maillet, a trader of Peoria, built a dwelling one and a half miles below the town, near the outlet of the lake, and moved his family there. He called it La Ville de Maillet (the New Village). Here, the land rises gradually from the water's edge until it reaches the high prairie in the rear, forming a beautiful sloping plateau unequaled by any spot on the Illinois River. This locality for a town was considered preferable to the old one, with the ground being dryer, the water better, and it was considered healthier. Consequently, others came and built houses by the side of Maillet's.

The New French Village - La Ville de Maillet- is along the river in modern-day downtown Peoria. This substantial trading village was the site of Robert Maillet's fort, built in 1761, and then an American Fur Company post. The town was burned out by American soldiers in 1812, and the Americans built their own fort (Fort Clark) the following year.

The inhabitants gradually deserted the old town for the new one, and within a few years, the latter became a place of great importance.

Fort Maillet was built in 1761. The fort was located along the river in modern-day downtown Peoria.

No French lived in the old town after 1764, but for many years, it remained an Indian village, and the houses vacated by the French were occupied by the natives until they rotted down.

The new town took the name La Ville de Maillet (Maillet's village) after its proprietor and existed for fifty-one years. A fort was built on high ground, overlooking the lake on one side and the sloping prairie on the other. This fort consisted of two large blockhouses, surrounded by earthworks and palisades, with an open gateway to the south next to the town, and was only intended as a place of retreat in case of trouble with the Indians. The fort was never occupied except for a short time by Robert Maillet, who used one of the blockhouses for a dwelling and the other for the sale of goods. Some years afterward, Maillet left the fort for a more desirable place of residence and trade, and it remained vacant for many years, the enclosure within the stockades being used by the citizens in common for a cow yard. 

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In 1820, Hypolite Maillet (a decedent), in testifying in the United States Court, in a snit brought on French claims, said that he was forty-five years old and was born in a stockade fort which stood near the southern extremity of Peoria Lake.

In the winter of 1788, a large party of Indians came to Peoria for trade and, by their former practice, took quarters in the old fort. They purchased a cask of brandy to have a spree. All got drunk, had a war dance, and, during their revelry, set blockhouses on fire, and they burned down.

When the Americans commenced a settlement at Peoria in the spring of 1819, the outlines of the old French fort were plain to be seen on the high ground, near the lake, and a short distance above the present site of the Chicago and Rock Island depot. The line of earthworks could be traced out by the small embankments; in some places, pieces of pickets were found above ground. Back of the fort was the remains of a blacksmith shop, and nearby grew a wild plum tree. This plum tree was dug up by John Brisket, the owner of the land, and under it was found a vault containing a quantity of old metal, among which were several gun barrels, knives, tomahawks, copper and brass trinkets, etc. Among other things in this vault were silver and brass plates for inlaying gun stocks, ornamenting knife handles, etc. These things appeared to be the stock in trade of a gunsmith and, for some unknown reason, were buried here.

According to the statements of Antoine Des Champs, Thomas Forsyth, and others, who had long been residents of Peoria before its destruction in 1812, it's believed that the town contained a large population. It formed a link between the settlements of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Canada, and it is situated in an Indian country, making it an excellent place for the fur trade. At one time, it contained about sixty houses, besides many lodges occupied by Indians for part of the year. The town was built along the beach of the lake, and to each house was attached an out-lot for a garden, which extended back some distance on the prairie. The houses were all constructed of wood, some with framework and sided up with split timber, while others were built with hewed logs, notched together after the style of a pioneer's cabin. The floors were laid with puncheons, and the chimney was built with mud and sticks.

General Clark conquered Illinois and took possession of the settlements at Kaskaskia and Cahokia in 1778, after which he sent three soldiers with two French Creoles, in a canoe to Peoria to notify the people that they were no longer under British rule, but citizens of the United States. Among these soldiers was Nicholas Smith, who was later a resident of Bourbon County, Kentucky, and whose son, Joseph Smith (Dad Joe), was among the first American settlers at Peoria. Through this channel, we have an account of Peoria, which appeared over two centuries ago and agrees well with other traditional accounts.

Mr. Smith said Peoria, at the time of his visit, was a large town built along the beach of the lake, with narrow, unpaved streets and houses constructed of wood. In the back of the city were gardens, stockyards, barns, etc., and a wine press with a large cellar or underground vault for storing wine. A church with a large wooden cross rose above the root and gilt lettering over the door. There was an unoccupied fort on the bank of the lake, and close by it was a windmill for grinding grain. The town contained six stores or places of trade, all of which were well filled with goods for the Indian market. The inhabitants consisted of French half-breeds and Indians, not one of whom could speak or understand English.

The Old French Village consisted of French settlers and was located near today's Detweiller Marina, 2 Caroline Street, Peoria. The American government recorded portions of the old properties and lot lines in the 1820s.

The inhabitants of Peoria consisted of French Creoles, emigrants from Canada, and half-breeds. Many intermarried with the natives, so their posterity at that time showed strong marks of Indian origin. They were peaceable, quiet, ignorant, superstitious, and influenced very much by the priests. They had no public schools, and few of them, except priests and traders, could read or write. Out of eighteen claimants for the land where Peoria stands, all but three signed their names with a mark. Among the inhabitants were merchants or traders who made annual trips to Canada in canoes, carrying thither pelts and furs and loading back with goods for the Indian market. Mechanics were among them, such as blacksmiths, wagon-makers, carpenters, etc., and most of the implements used in farming and building were home-manufactured. Although isolated from the civilized world and surrounded by savages, their standard of morality was high; theft, murder, and robbery were seldom heard of. They were happy, joyous people, having many social parties, wine suppers, and balls, living in harmony with the Indians, who were their neighbors and friends, and trading with them, they accumulated most of their wealth.

The French settled at Peoria without a grant or permission from any government, and the title to their lands was derived from possession only. But these titles were valid according to usages and a village ordinance, and lands were bought and sold the same as if patented by the government. Each person had a right to claim any portion of the unoccupied land, and his title was regarded sacred when in possession. Every settler had a village lot for a garden attached to his residence, and if a farmer, a portion in the common field.

On the prairie west of the town were extensive farms, all enclosed in one field, and each person contributed his share of fencing. The time spent securing the crops and pasturing the stock was regulated by a town ordinance. The boundaries of these farms could be traced out in the early settlement of Peoria, as the lands showed marks of having been cultivated. When a young man married, a village lot and a tract of land in the common field (if a farmer) were assigned to him, and it was customary for the citizens to turn out and build him a house.

The inhabitants of Peoria had extensive vineyards and each year made a large quantity of wine, much of which they traded to the Indians in exchange for furs. They domesticated the buffalo and crossed them with native cattle, which was found to improve the stock. These cattle could live during the winter without the expense of feeding, but while buffalo remained in the country, they lost many by straying off with the herd. The following summer, after the French were driven away from Peoria, a party of adventurers from St. Clair County came here and drove many of these cattle home. The inhabitants prized these cattle as they would winter on the American Bottom without feeding them. This cattle stock was known here for many years, and their hides were frequently tanned for robes.

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For one hundred years after the French made a settlement in the west, they used no horses except Indian ponies, and for the first thirty years, cattle and hogs were unknown. Tradition says two young pigs were brought in a canoe from Canada to Fort St. Louis, and from these, hogs were raised to supply the settlements on the Mississippi River. At Cahokia, the settlers caught a number of buffalo calves and raised them with the expectation of domesticating them, but it proved a failure, for they went off with a herd of wild ones. It Is said when Crozat obtained a patent for the Illinois County in 1771, his agent, Colonel De Mott, employed two half-breeds to drive a herd of cattle through the wilderness from Canada to Kaskaskia, and from these originated the stock in the Mississippi Valley.

When a settlement was commenced at Peoria, the country belonged to France, afterward to Great Britain, and lastly to the United States. When Illinois came under British rule in 1756, Captain Stirling, commanding at Kaskaskia, sent a messenger to Peoria to notify them that they were British subjects. Afterward, when Illinois by conquest came under United States authority, they were again informed of a change in government, but they still remained French in feeling and sympathy. They claimed no allegiance to any government, paid no taxes, and acknowledged no law except their village ordinance. While these people were living in peace and harmony, being two hundred miles from the nearest point of civilization, they were attacked by an armed force, their town burned, and the heads of families carried off prisoners of War. There are many incidents related, showing that trouble existed at different times between the French and their Indian neighbors, among which are the following:

In the year 1781, a Frenchman killed an Indian with whom he had trouble, and for a time, the white population was threatened with destruction. A large party of warriors came to Peoria and demanded the murderer, but he could not be found, having fled down the river, as was afterward shown. But the Indians believed that the murderer was secreted by his friends, so they gave the French three days to deliver him up, and if he was not forthcoming at the specified time, they would burn the town. This caused a great panic; some fled for Cahokia, and others took quarters in the fort, but before the time had expired, the Indians were convinced that the murderer had fled. Consequently, pledges of friendship were renewed.

Again, in 1790, about five hundred warriors came to Peoria and demanded the surrender of a particular trader whom they accused of causing the murder of Pierre de Beuro but finally left without him.

It is claimed that four and seven forts and stockades were constructed along Peoria's waterfront between 1691 and the 1820s.

The remains of the 128 years between the 1691 Peoria settlement and the initial 1819 American settlers have only been found in a few areas. However, the precise locations of the Illinois Indian villages, the Jesuit mission, and various French forts are still unknown. The area outside the pre-1939 flood levels along the shoreline north and south of Detweiller Marina is undoubtedly the prime location for such remains.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

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Peoria, Illinois History as Presented Today:
What has become Peoria and the surrounding area bears many remnants of Native Americans. Artifacts and Native American burial mounds show that people lived in the area as far back as 10,000 BC.

The French were the first Europeans to explore the area that would become Peoria in 1673. Father Père Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the region, finding the Illinois Indians who were part of the Algonquian people. Those tribes that were part of the Illinois Confederacy then were the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Cahokia, and Tamaroa.

In 1680, two French explorers, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (Sieur de La Salle being a title only), and Henri de Tonti, constructed the first fort on the east bank of the Illinois River and named it Fort de Crévecoeur. Eleven years later, in 1691, another fort was built by Tonti and his cousin, François Dauphin de La Forêt. It is believed the fort was near present-day Mary and Adams Streets. Called Fort Street  Louis II, it is also known as Fort Pimiteoui. The fort and the town established around it was the first European settlement in Illinois.

The settlement became legally British in 1763 after the French and Indian War but remained French. By 1778, the village had become part of the territory of the new United States, and George Rogers Clark appointed Maillet as a military commander. Robert Maillet established a new town, 1½ miles south of the old one. It later became known as "La Ville de Maillet" and was on the present-day site of downtown Peoria. The new village was considered better situated, and by 1796 or 1797, all the inhabitants of the old town had moved to the new location.

Peoria was incorporated as a town in 1835, with a population of about 1,600. In 1845, it was incorporated as a city.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Harlem (Amusement) Park, Rockford, Illinois. (1891-1928)

The Harlem (Amusement) Park was located at 2333 Harlem Boulevard, Rockford, Illinois, and opened in June 1891. It was incorporated as “Harlem Park Company” by George F. Penfield, John Camlin, Colvey Haven and Lester B. Halsted. They intended to build a park up the river from downtown Rockford for a summer resort with various attractions. They built a switchback railway roller coaster, a restaurant, a boat house to rent out boats, and other attractions to draw the people there on warm days and nights. 

Attractions added later included the Flying Circle Swing, an Auditorium, a dance Pavilion, a Zoological Garden, a Steamboat Wharf, Bathing Houses, and a Light Tower that gave patrons panoramic views of the park. It also featured the largest roller skating rink in the state at the time  It was located two miles north of downtown Rockford on 47 acres, just north of the "High Bridge" on the west side of the Rock River. The main entrance was on Harlem Boulevard between Harper and Brown Avenues. It was accessible by street or river. The most popular way was by the Rockford & Interurban street railway or by excursion boat or small steamers on the Rock River. On the Fourth of July the park was the place to go for a fireworks extravaganza show.

The parks main entrance was located several feet below street level so a stairway was necessary to enter the park from Harlem Boulevard. At the main entrance was a popular “laughing gallery” which in today terminology would be a "fun house", along with several souvenir and novelty shops and concessions. 

Just east of the main staircase was the famous Switchback Railway, the most exhilarating amusement ride that was conceived in its time. The train went 1100 feet in 26 seconds and the track contained giant drops to thrill the riders. The Switchback cost a nickel to ride. It was advertised that no visitor to Rockford should leave the city without first riding the famous Switchback Railway.

The park was closed in 1928.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Central Park Gardens Amusement Park, Rockford, Illinois. (1921-1942) - aka: Auburn Kiddieland, Rockford, Illinois.

Central Park Gardens Amusement Park was at 3500 Auburn Street, Rockford, Illinois. Owned by Charles O. Breining, the park opened in 1921.

It quickly became a popular spot that offered amusement rides, dancing, roller skating, games, novelty and food concession stands, concerts and a giant wooden roller coaster, among its many other attractions. The name was later shortened to Central Park.

The wooden roller coaster at Central Park Gardens was designed by John A. Miller and built by Harry C. Baker in 1921. The Giant Coaster was named the "Jack Rabbit" and then changed to the "Thriller." Some of Rockford's Harlem Park's most popular rides were moved here in 1928 when Harlem Park in Rockford was shuttered and demolished. Central Park would remain in operation until 1942, when it was sold for more profitable commercial use.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Al Fresco Amusement Park, Peoria Heights, Illinois. (1905-1944)

In 1904, a man from Chicago named Vernon Seaver made his way into Central Illinois with a plan. Seaver, president of the Trans-Continental Amusement Company, wanted to provide Peoria with a trolley Park [1].

The entrepreneur had constructed White City Amusement Park in Chicago and was prepared to model Peoria Park after it. He allegedly anchored his yacht at the foot of Main Street in the Illinois River and searched the area for the ideal location for his creation.

The area Seaver landed on was in Peoria Heights, off Galena Road, adjacent to the Illinois River. Thomas Webb, a prominent Peoria diamond jeweler, owned the land and agreed to participate in Seaver's project. All Seaver needed now was financial assistance. Luckily, John Finley, head of the Central City Streetcar Company, backed funding for the park. 

Finley's assistance didn't come merely from the kindness of his heart; he figured that the amusement park would bring enormous amounts of business to the streetcar company during the summer months. As the future popularity of the park would show, he was correct.
 
 
Construction of the park began immediately. Seaver obtained the services of the Ingersoll Amusement Company to build many of the park's main attractions, including a 65-foot-high Ferris wheel and a figure-8 roller coaster. Most of the rides contained within the park were the first of their kind in Central Illinois. Not all the rides and attractions were built from scratch; the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair provided statues, benches, and lights to the park.

Word quickly spread of the park's construction, and residents of Central Illinois eagerly anticipated the opening of their newest attraction. Seaver named his park Al Fresco, meaning "Open Air," and in March of 1904, an article in the "Journal Star" declared it to be a "summer resort free from all vulgarity, where families can go and have innocent enjoyment."

The article's anonymous author sang Seaver's praises, stating that "such a place has been a long-felt want in Peoria, and it seems a wonder that in a prosperous city like Peoria, no one has been enterprising enough to inaugurate a place like this." 

 
 
A short article on June 9, 1905, announced Al Fresco's opening for the following day: 

The completed Al Fresco Amusement Park deserved such a declaration. It indeed was a marvel. Besides the Ferris Wheel and figure-8 roller coaster, Al Fresco's also featured several games and other frivolities. Many attractions to the park could be considered dangerous by today's standards. High wire and high diving acts were quite common, and diving horse acts and motorcycle jumping acts also afforded a perilous pleasure. Perhaps the most incendiary of Al Fresco's performances was the "slide for life." In this act, a wire was attached to the top of the circle swing ride and stretched to a point on the river. A man was doused with kerosine, set afire, and slid down the wire into the Illinois River before he burned himself alive.

 Also in the park was a two-story pavilion called the Japanese Garden. The second floor featured a movie house that frequently screened films by Charlie Chaplin, while the ground floor housed a pavilion and beer garden. This area hosted several vaudeville acts and other performances. Some famous faces to grace the stage were escape artist Harry Houdini and boxers John L. Sullivan and Jim Corbett. Frequent performers included bands and orchestras, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and the Cherry Sisters, a three-person singing act. The Cherry Sisters hailed from Iowa, where their father was forced to mortgage his farm, and the sisters formed their singing team to help him. They were by far the most popular act, even though they sang so badly audiences would throw things at them, forcing them to perform from behind a screen.

Another essential draw to Al Fresco was Dewey Beach, which allowed visitors to swim and fish. Two bathhouses lined the beach, where bathing suits could be rented for 10¢ to 25¢. Fishing boats were also available, and Al Fresco's boat dock contained a famous barge decorated to resemble a battleship.

Admission to the park was 10¢ for adults and 5¢ for children. In the summers between 1905 and 1927, nearly 10,000 people visited the park daily. Vacationers poured in from around the Midwest, most traveling by ship from St. Louis and Chicago. Locals also flooded the park and arrived by various modes of transportation. Many came by streetcar, while others simply parked on Grandview Drive and walked to the park via Gibson Pathway. Those who could afford it took steamboat rides from downtown Peoria.

One 1918 steamboat ride, in particular, ended in tragedy. As the Columbia brought passengers back downtown after a day's fun at Al Fresco, a hole was torn in the hull, sinking the boat and claiming the lives of 87 of the 500 passengers aboard. A memorial was dedicated to the victims in 2003.

For most of the twenty-odd years that Al Fresco was in business, however, it maintained the air of innocent fun that Seaver had anticipated. The park and its attractions flourished until the late 20s. Attendance rates began to drop during World War I, but natural causes would ultimately result in the death of the park. During the 20s, the Illinois River, raised by Chicago drainage, permanently flooded portions of the park. Several rides were damaged by this flooding and were never repaired. The dismantling of the famous figure-8 roller coaster in 1928 marked the end of Al Fresco Amusement Park as it was formerly known.

In 1929 the land was leased to Fred C. Feyler, who rented the area out to traveling circuses. Swimmers and picnickers still flocked to the site until World War II. Due to an enormous drop in attendance rates, Feyler declared that all men in uniform would be admitted for free. However, Feyler did not anticipate the number of soldiers stationed nearby Camp Ellis. After his announcement, hundreds of men flocked to the once-popular amusement site. The park was forced to officially close in 1944.

Today, Al Fresco's address is 4602 N. Galena Road. A trailer park and a private club are occupying the land where thousands of vacationers once frolicked. The Illinois River is no longer as clean and scenic as it used to be. Though times have changed and the Al Fresco Amusement Park is largely forgotten, the delight and diversion it once brought during its short existence is definitely something to remember this summer.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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[1] TROLLEY PARK - In the United States, trolley parks started in the 19th century and were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. Streetcar companies created trolley parks to allow people to use their weekend services. These parks originally consisted of picnic groves and pavilions and often held events such as dances, concerts and fireworks. To become amusement parks, many eventually added features such as swimming pools, carousels, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, sports fields, boat rides, restaurants and other resort facilities.