ELCO HISTORY
Alexander County/Illinois Genealogy Trails
Elco was formerly called
Hazlewood, in honor of a family of that name, who were among the
most prominent of the early settlers. Among its pioneers were
Squire Thomas Whittaker, Reason Heater, M. Hartline, the
Hazlewoods, William Thompson and others. Elco was laid out on
land owned by Felix Hazlewood, and originally was three blocks,
each containing eight lots. For a short time Elco was called
Toledo. It received the name of Elco from the following
circumstance: E. Leavenworth and Duncan had a store under the
firm name of E. Leavenworth and Co. One day a number of men were
sitting out in front of the store on goods boxes, when the
subject of changing the name came up. Someone called attention to
one of Leavenworth's empty dry goods boxes, which had been marked
E. L. & Co., and suggested the name Elco. The first residence
in Elco is said to have been erected by A. P. Greer. Samuel
Brierly built the first storehouse.
--Source: HISTORY OF ALEXANDER, UNION AND
PULASKI COUNTIES, ILLINOIS, edited by William Henry Perrin, 1883,
Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publisher, 183 Lake
St. Reprinted in 1969.
In the early 1920s Harry Lee Beasley operated an Ice Cream Shop in Elco. It was located just north of Allen's Store. Allen's store being where the post office was located. The last existing building on the site of the Ice Cream Shop was the funeral home built by Josh Cauble. Harry Lee also grew vegetables and raspberries for shipment to Chicago through Josh Cauble, Elco's premier storekeeper, and also continued his hunting, fishing, trapping and wild herbs and roots activities. Harry Lee Beasley also had a lifetime fascination with Indian lore by excavating Indian burial mounds and graves and collecting their recovered artifacts. --Contributed by Frank Beasley. (Note: Allen's Store later became Greer's Store and later still Mosby's Store. The building burned around 2004-2005.)
Elco had a post office from 1874 until January 23, 1998. It was located in the above named store.
2005-2006 Anna Newell
Illinois
Genealogy Trails
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