Streator Illinois News From the Past
TAKEN FROM THE HENRY REPUBLICAN
March 31, 1870
Streator is a weight station of the western division on the Chicago Alton and St. Louis Railroad. It is convenient to the Vermillion river and a pleasant little inlet town about as large as Magnolia. The Fox river Railroad is expected to be completed from Ottawa to Streator in June. The transfer of freight from that road to the Central(I.C. R.R.) will take at Wenona giving Streator a go by.
TAKEN FROM THE HENRY REPUBLICAN
July 16, 1874
Streator has also been a victim to a terrible fire. It started in the Free Press block, which the breeze speedily spread to the neighboring buildings. The fire destroyed nearly all the business portion of the town. The loss is variously estimated for $90,000 to $100,000. The heaviest losers are
J. Bailey & Son, dry goods and groceries. No insurance.
Schuler & Burresk, dry goods
Stoneholder & Anderson, clothing
Ames & Son, hardware
Moesher and Woodward, furniture
J. Dalls, sample rooms
John Scharfenberg & Wheeler’s, Oriental hall - where $30, 00 was
also destroyed - insurance not known, but believed to be small.
Taken From the Tonica News, Tonica, IL
June 5, 1875
Asylum Children
A company of children, mostly boys, from the New York Juvenile Asylum, will arrive in Streator at the Streator Hotel, on Friday morning June 11th. Their ages vary from seven to fifteen years. They are mostly of good parentage, and promising and desirable children. Homes are wanted for them with families where they will continue to receive good care and training. They may be taken at first upon trial, for about ten days, and then if all parties are satisfied, they will be indentured until of age, girls until eighteen and boys until twenty-one.
A small payment, to aid in defraying the passage expenses from New York will be required when indentures are expected. Applicants are requested to meet the children at the Hotel on the Morning of their arrival. For further information, address E. Wright, Bloomington, Ill.
Taken From the Henry Republican
January 6, 1876
The Streator Free Press gives a general resume of the business of that town since its organization. It claims that it is only eight years old and now has a population of 6000, with 13 religious sects and 13 teachers in its public schools. Four railroads cross at this point. The Free Press is a wide awake paper, and we value it as among the best that comes to our table.
Taken From the Henry Republican
August 14, 1879 - State News
The Streator Free Press is six years old. Quite a youngster, with every prospect of living to complete its majority.
Taken From the Henry Republican
June 2, 1881 - Local items
A 40 acre lot, owned by N. Moore of Wenona, lying within a mile of Streator, was sold the other day for $100 per acre. He also sold the coal deposit beneath and the right to mine to the same for $250 per acre, making a total valuation of $350 per acre.
Taken From The Toluca Star Newspaper
November 15, 1901 - PAGE 1, Brief Locals
A train of six oil tank cars makes several trips from Streator daily, through this place to the Illinois river for water, which has become a very scarce article in that city.
Taken From The Toluca Star Newspaper
March 14, 1902 - Around About Us
Streator has secured a new factory. An automobile plant at Anderson, Ind., owing to the inadequate supply of gas, offered to remove to Streator if its citizens would donate three to five acres of land and building 36 x 200 feet in dimensions and two stories high. The company guarantees to employ fifty men the first year and one hundred the second and third years. The citizens of Streator accepted the proposition and will donate a building site and $10,000 for a new building.
Back to ILTrails LaSalle Co. IL History
August 21, 1879
Taken From The Henry Republican, Henry, IL
William Sample - Charged with a Base Crime, and Shot by an Infuriated Father of an Alleged Victim.
A former citizen of Coal Holler in Whitefield, Wm. Sample by name, has got into trouble at Streator, and came near losing his life by being shot with a revolver. We publish the particulars as we find them in the Streator-Monitor-Index of Friday last. Mr. Sample was favorably known here, and those who know him best will be loth to believe him guilty of the alleged crime brought against him. We copy:
On Tuesday afternoon, considerable excitement was caused upon our usually very quiet appearing streets, by the shooting of William Sample by Dick Evans. The cause and effect may be found in the following: That afternoon William Sample appeared in Esquire Donaghho's court, - charged with abduction for the purpose of prostitution. The grounds for the complaint were that he had induced, at different times during the past four or five weeks, three little girls about 12 years of age, by giving them dandy, raisins, etc., to meet him in the woods, where he is charged with having taken improper liberties with them, inducing them to make improper exposures of their persons, etc.
Last Sunday afternoon two married women residing in the south part of the town (where the offense is alleged to have been committed) claim to have seen tow of the little girls go into the woods. From what they pretended to know of the past, they became suspicious that all was not as it should be, and also went into the woods to see what was going on, and report that they saw Sample lying on the ground with one of the little girls on each side of him, with the clothes of one of them in a not very becoming position. Soon after that Mr. Sample and the little girls were made aware that somebody was watching them, and they at once sought another location, or ran away.
One of the little girls was the daughter of Dick Evans, and what is claimed to have been seen was reported to him. Monday he came to town and took legal advice and on Tuesday suit was instituted as stated above. We are informed that all three of the little girls deny positively that any such intimacy existed between them and Mr. Sample, as does also Mr. Sample. Two married women claim otherwise, and it remains to be seen when the trial is concluded whether there is a "nigger in the fence" or not. Several witnesses had been examined Tuesday afternoon, when the little daughter of Mr. Evans was called. She went into the court room crying bitterly. As she passed by Mr. Sample, to take her seat in the witness's chair, he said to her, "Mary, tell the truth about this matter; tell all you know about it."
The words had scarcely left the lips of Mr. Sample when Richard Evans left his seat, not more than six or eight feet from Sample, stepped toward the latter, and before anybody knew what was to follow, drew his revolver and fired, the ball striking Mr. Sample in the forehead, just above, the left eye, passing to the right, and lodged somewhere about the nose. Evans could not have been more than three or four feet from Sample when he fired, and it is a miracle that the shot did not do its deadly work instantly. Sample fell to the floor immediately, and was thought to be a dead man. Esq. Donaghho picked him up and placed himself between Sample and Evans, and officer Gaut at once seized Evans and disarmed him. J. T. Buckley was sitting on the right of Sample, and if Evans had missed his mark, Mr. Buckley would undoubtedly have been the victim. Those in the room were not long in making their exit, for Constable Gaut made such a command and impressed it upon their minds with a pair of revolvers pointed at them.
Sample was taken to Dr. Taylor's office where a portion of the bullet was removed, and he is now doing well, his life being in no danger from the effects of the wound. Evans was taken to the calabose where he remained a few hours. The same evening he appeared before Esq. Donoghho, charged with attempt to kill, waived an examination and his bail was fixed at $1000. Dr. Evans and Jake Moon became his bondsmen.
Sample's case was continued until Monday next. He gave bonds of $500 for his appearance, with Fred. Eades as bondsman. As the case is not yet decided, we do not feel at liberty to express an opinion. We have given the facts as near as we could obtain them, without favoring either side, and our readers must draw their own conclusions. At best it is a very unfortunate affair for all hands concerned, as both men have always borne excellent reputations, and undoubtedly would never have occurred had it not been for some long tongued women who allowed their imagination to do a great deal for them in laying the case before Mr. Evans. So far as we have been able to learn, Mr. Sample has always been very fond of children and taken great pleasure in giving them apples, candy, etc., but has never before been looked upon as a man who would be guilty of any improper liberties with little girls.