Name This Peoria Landmark

Peoria Landmark #286

Located in Giant Oak Park on High Street near the Easton Manor.

Thanks as always to my commenters. This site would be nothing without you.

Peoria County Landmark #284

Alice: Old Stone School at Stone School Rd and Rt. 116 between Farmington and Trivoli.

Precisely.

I could only find one reference to this building on a website named PeoriaCountyOneRoomSchools.com (I swear – there’s a website for everything!) This is the only source I could find and I hope that they don’t mind that I am reprinting it in its entirety. As happens so many times, maybe someone will stumble across this and add some more tidbits of info.

The Pea Ridge School more often called the “Stone” School has had interesting stories told of its beginning.

The building stood on a very important corner; originally, being on the trail that led to the gold fields of California and to which a rush was made immediately after 1848. On the south side of the road just opposite the schoolhouse stood a blacksmith shop where the travelers stopped to have the horses shod before continuing their westward journeys and so nearly all the time an encampment was pitched on the corner similar to our more modern tourist caps except that the tourist of those days came in covered wagons while now they drive cars. (This tiny little town was called Pea Ridge.)

Before the days of the Civil War a log school was built and used in this district. Before this time, the pupils of the neighborhood went to the little log school taught by Maria Harkness over in district 30. (Harkness Grove) The stone building, which is now being used, was built after the log building had been used for about ten years and had become too small to accommodate the large enrollment. This new building was erected about 1864 and has been in service since that time. The room was heated at first by a large stove in the center of the room and the seats were crowded around three sides of the stove. Now a modern heating and ventilating system have replaced this stove. The seats were benches in the earlier days and these have gone through a series of changes.

Double seats were place in the room shortly after the Civil War. Then when it became known that single seats were better a set of these were arranged in rows in the building, all of the same size and then later it was discovered that the younger students should have smaller seats, a graded set of seats was place as they can be found now if one were to Double seats were place in the room shortly after the Civil War.

The building was turned into a home in 1950 and owned by Russell Deal. The walls are two foot thick. The floors at the time it was converted into a home were within a half-inch of being perfectly level. Inside measurements are 22 x 30 feet. It is constructed of limestone keyed in.
Laura Jones

Peoria County Landmark #283

I was reading over the National Historic Registry list for Peoria County when I ran across an item that I had never heard of. Pleasant Grove School, in Eden, Il, .6 miles west of Eden Rd, on Pleasant Grove Rd. In other words, just past Hanna City and a mile or so south of 116. Definitely a place you have to search out to find.

It was added to the National Registry in 1994. Here are a few highlights from the application (I don’t want to retype the whole thing, but it is an interesting read).

Pleasant Grove School was originally constructed in 1856 as a one-room schoolhouse, located on a wooded knoll adjacent to an existing church (removed, 1951) and cemetery. The schoolyard is separated from the cemetery by a cement block wall along the west side (constructed, 1913) and a wire fence along the south. The original grove of oak, hickory, and maple trees no longer remains on this portion of the knoll and the schoolyard is open except for a few young deciduous trees and one large pine tree. A handpump-type well is located on the west side of the building. A wood outhouse remains off the schoolyard in the southeast portion of the adjacent cemetery.

Logan Township Pleasant Grove Cemetery Association, Inc., which now owns the building and grounds, is comprised for the most part of fifth-generation descendants of the original pioneer settlers of this area which was once called “Kimzey’s Close” after the three brothers who settled near Pleasant Grove between 1835 and 1839.

The stone construction and workmanship of the building are its most outstanding features. The school is constructed of native limestone from a time of the earliest use of this material locally.

Additional Photos:

…one of the adjacent Pleasant Grove Cemetery

…and one dated 1920. The schoolhouse is on the left. On the right is what I presume is the 1869 church building which was removed in 1951.

Peoria Landmark #273

From the 1985 book Peoria! by Jerry Klein…

1888 – The wood-floored Upper Free Bridge at the narrows, the former site of “Little Detroit,” was opened. It had been designed by George F. Wightman, city architect. On February 27, 1943, the bridge was struck by the towboat, “Sylvia T.” It was repaired; but right before its reopening on May 17, 1944, the “Sylvia T.” struck the bridge again and put it out of business for good. The United States War Department ordered the removal of debris from the channel, but the city disclaimed ownership and the War Department ultimately removed the debris and the center pier in 1947. The pier on the west side remains in place today.

The pier can be accessed from a small park at the foot of Lorentz Ave. Original color photograph by Mitch Segler.

Peoria Landmark #270

In an application to the National Register of Historic Places from 1974 regarding the West Bluff Historic District, which included Randolph, Moss and High streets, this was written about the property:

Edward S. Easton Residence
1125 West Main
Built ca.1882
Edward Easton was one of Peoria’s wealthiest citizens, active in grain dealing, transportation, and real estate. He took a major role in the organization of the Peoria Board of Trade and served as its president in 1877. The house is now a mortuary.
Architectural and Historical; Significance

Now the home of Converse Marketing, they give this account of the home’s history-

Converse Manor, originally known as Hillcrest Mansion, was built in 1880 by Edward S. Easton and his wife, Sarah, as their primary residence.

Edward Easton made his fortune in the grain distilling business. He and Sarah were prominent, well-known citizens of Peoria who entertained often.

The home was designed by a Swedish architect, and built in the Victorian style with Second Empire elements, most notably the mansard roofline, which extends from the top level of the house to down around the upper-story windows.

The building cost more than $30,000, in an era when most grand homes were constructed for $5,000 to $10,000.

The home incorporates European architectural elements the Eastons admired during their extensive travels abroad, including floor tiles from England, ceiling fresco paintings (which were unfortunately painted over long ago) and delicate adornments using ebony, marble and etched glass.

The original ballroom chandelier now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Presidents Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt are rumored to have been guests here.

In the time since the Eastons called Hillcrest Mansion home, the building changed hands many times and stood empty for decades, falling into a state of disrepair.

In the 1960s, its owners were finally granted permission to raze the building – thankfully a project that would fall through three times.

In 1997, Converse bought the manor and began the process of restoring this local treasure back to its former glory.

Peoria Landmark #269

Text from the Cache of an article about Lydia Moss Bradley (the actual web page wouldn’t load):

In 1858, Tobias Bradley, already a successful businessman with interests in banking, railroads, steamboats, distilleries and real estate, built an imposing brick residence which stands today at 802 W. Moss. Mrs. Bradley continued to live at this house until her death on January 16, 1908.

The Church of St. Andrew The Apostle is located at 1601 N.E. Madison and was established in 1896. I cannot confirm when the actual building was constructed, but it is well kept and handsome. As commenter Alex implies, the neighborhood surrounding it has seen its better days.

Their web site reads-

Nestled in the heart of Illinois for more than 100 years, the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle is proud to serve Peoria and the surrounding communities and villages. At St. Andrew’s you will find a warm, welcoming congregation, desiring to love and serve our Lord and one another as we journey together in the adventure of life, looking toward the joy of our goal with Jesus Christ in the next.

While searching online for information, I ran across this report to the Peoria City Council, dated August 26, 2008:

ACTION REQUESTED: Lawsuit filed by Kathy Henderson. Receive for information and refer to Legal Department.

BACKGROUND: Kathy Henderson has filed a Complaint against the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle and the City of Peoria in the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Peoria, Illinois. The Plaintiff is claiming that she sustained injuries from a fall on a sidewalk at 1601 N.E. Madison. The Plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $50,000.