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FORD COUNTY
What a great place to live!
Picture of the Ford County Courthouse
Background:
Ford County, located in east central Illinois, has the
distinction of being the youngest county in the state.
It was carved from a part of Vermilion County and became
the 102nd county on February 17, 1859. It was named
after Thomas Ford, the eighth governor of Illinois, who
died nine years before the county was organized.
Ford County
is shaped like an inverted capital T and the northern
part is known as the "panhandle." There are 45 other
counties in Illinois having a smaller land area than
Ford County.
The largest
town and county seat of Ford County is in Paxton where
the present courthouse was built in 1906. A near violent
argument broke out between Paxton and Gibson City that
year, as each town wanted the new courthouse. Finally,
when the old building was torn down, the supervisors
left one wall standing in the basement. Thus, by
building on and around the old wall, they settled the
argument by saying that they were remodeling, rather
than building a new structure.
Augustana
College was moved from Chicago to Paxton in 1863 and
remained in the county until 1875. A large boulder marks
the site. During its existence in Paxton, the college
had a large enrollment of the sons and daughters of
Swedish immigrants who had settled Ford County.
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History:
The first permanent settlers of Ford County were Joshua
and Robert Trickel, two brothers, who came from Ohio.
They founded Trickel's Grove in 1836 and soon had
several neighbors. Land was selling for $1.25 per acre
in the 1830s. A good horse cost $50 and the usual price
for a cow was $10.
Michael L.
Sullivant purchased thousands of acres of land in Ford
County, which became known as "the largest corn farm in
the world under one man management". In 1877, land was
laid out for the town of Burr Oaks. Sullivant sold most
of his land to Hiram Sibley, and in 1880 the town was
renamed Sibley. Here was the site of the world's largest
corn crib, which was once featured in Ripley's "Believe
it or not".
One
memorable event in the history of Ford County was the
one and only hanging in the county. A jury sentenced the
condemned man in 1897 for killing a woman northwest of
Gibson City. There were 100 people who actually bought a
ticket to view the hanging in the courthouse.
Presidential Honors
Ford County's most distinguished citizen, Congressman
Leslie C. Arends of Melvin, was honored for his 40 years
of service to our nation when President Gerald Ford
arrived on October 24, 1974. The President's helicopter
landed on the baseball field in Melvin. Classes in all
Ford County schools were dismissed for the big
celebration, which had national television, radio, and
newspaper coverage. Mr. Arends was born in Melvin and
graduated from Melvin High School. He had been
Republican Minority Whip since 1943, the longest record
in history for either political party.
Norwegian Settlement
As Norwegian people settled in Ford County about 1866,
they organized a congregation which is now Pontoppidan
Lutheran Church in Dix Township. Almost all of these
early settlers came from Kendall County, having
previously emigrated from Norway. The church was named
after Eric Pontoppidan, a Danish bishop and writer, who
lived in the 1700s.
Copyright 2007-8. Diane Johnson, webmaster
Copyright 2006. Diane Johnson,Webmaster |
PAXTON, IL