Elkhart Community Vision Statement
Elkhart is a small town dedicated to preserving
its rich history and natural beauty, while cultivating an atmosphere
in which modern technology, business, industry and agriculture
can thrive. Promoting educational excellence, the arts, family
values and environmental responsibility, Elkhart welcomes visitors
and residents alike with its hometown spirit.
- Created by Elkhart Community Residents
IIRA Mapping the Future of Your Community Process / Spring 2001
History of Elkhart
Set in a rich history of undeniable fortitude
and determination, the residents of Elkhart have a proud heritage.
From the Native Americans
of the 1700's to the residents that now call Elkhart their home,
legend and local historians have kept a record of the transition
of the "Hill" and the fertile prairie beside it. All who
passed this way, the Indian, the explorers, the pioneers, the settlers,
were sure to be struck by the unique landscape - a tree covered mound
that arose to 777 feet above sea level and the flat prairie land
immediately below.
The history of Elk Heart Hill began with the marriage and ensuing
family of White Blossom and her husband of the Illini branch of
the Kickapoo Indiana Nation. When James Latham, the first white
settler arrived in 1819, the "Hill" and surrounding area
became known as Elk Heart Grove. Elk Heart Grove was still just
a settlement in 1848 when John Shockey, a farmer and cattleman
from Quincy, Pennsylvania, made the journey here to buy cattle.
Taken with the richness of the area Elkhart Hill as it appears
today. The fertile soil, the timber - he returned to Pennsylvania
, sold his land and holdings, loaded up his wife and children and
their belongings, and left for Elk Heart Grove. He and his family
homesteaded on the hill overlooking what is now the Village. Along
with his adventurous and pioneer spirit, however, came also a man
of vision. It was with this vision, that on April 11, 1855, he
took 22.47 acres on the west edge of the hill and had it platted
and surveyed and made the cluster of residents a town - Elkhart
City.
One of the first buildings in the town was
an old horse mill that was brought here from Springfield and converted
into a warehouse
in the early 1850's. The warehouse was located just south of the
present corner of Latham and Governor Oglesby Streets and was a
general store/hardware store/"anything you need" store.
Mr.. J. W. Saunders owned and operated this very successful enterprise,
proving it to be a very convenient way to shop for all those in
the area. Mr.. Saunders also became the first postmaster and railroad
agent, both of these duties being performed out of his "warehouse" store.
Another building was moved into town in 1855 and became the first
public schoolhouse in the township with 335 students. The building
originally sat on the corner of what is now Governor Oglesby and
Bogardus street and was later moved to the present corner of Shockey
and Gillett streets.
John Shockey died unexpectedly in
November of 1859 leaving land for churches, businesses and more homes
to be built. As the town grew,
the railroad came and the decision to incorporate was made. On
February 22, 1861,Elkhart City was incorporated and James Rigney
became its first board president.
Elkhart City was the official name until 1979 when the State of Illinois
notified the Village that they were by record still legally known
as just that. Residents held a special public meeting on June 26,
1979, to change the Village name to Elkhart. Effective on November
14, 1979, the Village's name changed from Elkhart City to Elkhart.
More about Elkhart's history...
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