The first settler in Livingston County was Valentine Darnall. He settled south of Fairbury in 1830 near what is now Indian Creek.
In that era, everyone knew that a good farm site had plenty of timber and was located on a creek or stream. Every earlier settler in Avoca, Indian Grove, and Belle Prairie Townships chose to live on Indian Creek or the VermilionRiver.
The glaciers from the Ice Age leveled the land in Central Illinois. A pleasant byproduct of the glaciers was the creation of some of the most productive farmland on the planet. Unfortunately, there were no hills to drain this flat prairie, and most of it became swampy. There were substantial swampy areas north of Piper City down to Oliver's Grove, three miles south of Chatsworth.
One history book that describes this swampy land is the 1884 Historical Atlas of Ford County by J. H. Beers & Co. This history book recounts the summer of 1856 was very hot and dry. Around September 1, 1856, a prairie fire started in southern Ford County. The winds that day were blowing from the south to the north. The fire spread at a frightening speed. The timber in Oliver's Grove, especially the down timber, was nearly all destroyed, and it was considered that the loss of wood that Mr. Oliver sustained must have run into the thousands of cords.
The fire spread north for about 30 miles until it hit the Kankakee River. The low sloughs with a lot of grass continued to burn for three months until the ground froze in the fall. Some of the land areas were burned so severely that this land still showed the ill effects 28 years later when the 1884 history book was written.
Many of the creeks and rivers in Central Illinois were initially connected to a swamp or slough. Wikipedia recounts there are two different Vermilion Rivers in the State of Illinois. The Wabash tributary flows south, while the other Vermilion River flows north to the Illinois River.
The north-flowing Vermilion and south-flowing Vermilion rivers lie along a straight line connecting Oglesby and Danville. The two rivers drain what was once an upland marsh near Roberts, Illinois. Drainage ditches have extended the two rivers to nearly connect them at their headwaters. The rivers may share a common name because early settlers regarded them as a single river that flowed in two directions. The rivers may have served as a canoe route between the Illinois River and the Wabash River for Native Americans and early settlers, with a portage through the marshes near Roberts.
The oldest known map of the Fairbury area, which shows all the creek and river names, is the 1876 map of Livingston County from the Atlas of the State of Illinois by the Union Atlas Co. This book shows the South Branch of the Vermilion River started at Turtle Pond by Oliver's Grove, three miles south of Chatsworth. The map in this book does not show the South Branch starting in Roberts, Illinois, and leading to Turtle Pond. It is possible this section was drained before the 1876 map was made.
The South Branch of the Vermilion left Oliver's Grove and flowed northwest to the west side of Forrest, Illinois. The South Branch continued to flow northwest to what is now the Fugate Woods Nature Preserve, located 2 1/2 miles northeast of Fairbury.
Indian Creek was named after the Kickapoo tribe that lived south of Fairbury from 1828 until 1830. This creek originates south of Fairbury and is a tributary of the South Branch of the Vermilion River. Indian Creek empties into the South Branch of the Vermilion just north of the Fugate Woods Nature Preserve.
The North Branch of the Vermilion originates east of Fairbury. It crosses U.S. Route 47 about 3 1/2 miles south of Saunemin. About one mile west of Route 47, the Five Mile Creek drains into the North Branch of the Vermilion. Five Mile Creek drains Saunemin and Sullivan Townships. In 1876, there was a significant grove of trees at this intersection point named Five Mile Grove.
The North Branch of the Vermilion continues to flow west until it meets the South Branch of the Vermilion about five miles north of Fairbury. Less than one mile after the North and South Branches combine, the Felkey Slough empties into the Vermilion River. On the 1876 map, the Felkey Slough or creek originated 3 1/2 miles east of the village of Cayuga, and it flowed south into the Vermilion. The Vermilion River flows west to McDowell and northwest to Pontiac.
The 1876 map also identified timber areas along these waterways. The timber areas often extended half a mile on each side of the waterways.
Before the arrival of the early settlers to the area, Native Americans and their ancestors inhabited these lands. They lived here from the end of the Ice Age about 10,000 years ago until they were forced to leave Illinois in 1832. Many of these native peoples chose to live next to these waterways. Creeks or rivers could be used to travel by canoe, and they could fish for food. There were also periodic raging prairie fires, and these people could shelter in a waterway. Artifacts such as arrowheads from pre-historic peoples are often found along these waterways.
The Kickapoo tribe lived south of Fairbury on Indian Creek from 1828 until 1830. In 1830, they moved their 650 tribe members to a site three miles south of Chatsworth, later called Oliver's Grove. Oliver's Grove also had the South Branch of the Vermilion in that area. In 1832, the Kickapoo were forced by the government to leave the state of Illinois.
In 1948, members of the Fairbury Archaeological Society excavated a site on the north side of the Vermilion River at the point where the South Fork of the Vermilion joins the North Fork. During this excavation, they found the skeleton of a male about five feet six inches tall.
The Native American was determined to be from the Woodland period between 500 A.D. and 1,500 A.D. The remains were from the Woodland period because of the method of burial, the scarcity of grave goods, and the cord-imprinted potsherds.
On the skeleton's right arm was a crude, leaf-shaped arrow of quartzite and the middle part of a flat drill, and a five-inch, split-bone awl was found beneath the skeleton. The awl was sharp and highly polished from much use.
This person died due to someone striking his skull with a blunt piece of stone. The person's jaw was also broken. The excavation team donated the remains and the artifacts to the Illinois State Museum.
The waterways in the Fairbury area have played an essential role in our local history. Native Americans and their ancestors lived along these waterways since the Ice Age ended 10,000 years ago. Early pioneer settlers all established their homes along one of these waterways.
(Dale Maley's local history article is sponsored each week by Dr. Charlene Aaron)
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