I have now researched and written over 360 articles about Fairbury area history. I am running out of ideas for new history stories. A few weeks ago, I was driving from Germantown Hills back to Fairbury on Route 24. I was thinking of some new stories to write about while I was driving.   I then got the idea for another story about John Virgin, one of Fairbury's most prominent early citizens. I knew I had already written one story about him, but I figured I could write another

130 Years Ago November 9, 1895 Thomas Langabeer has resigned his position in Keck's barber shop. He has purchased a half interest in Hillyer's shop, and the firm will hereafter be known as Hillyer & Langabeer. Anchor Burns — The village of Anchor was almost destroyed by fire on Monday afternoon. The fire started in Dr. Banks' frame office, which was destroyed together with the following other buildings: E. B. Stewart's three story single brick, occupied by Worley & Hester, ge

Kinley Elliot was announced as the Fairbury Rotary Student of the Month for this past September at Prairie Central High School. Elliot was chosen by Joe Moore in the Physical Education and Health Department. In the nomination, Moore said Elliot has demonstrated tremendous effort and leadership in class this year.

Kyle Miller, Madi Roth, Saydee Fehr, Leah Hartman, Carolyn Schmidgall, Brayden Schrader, Ty Harms & Clayton Meiss shown Tuesday at the Fairbury Rotary meeting. Illinois sends 17 winning state FFA judging teams to nationals and Prairie Central had six of those this year. Prairie Central saw huge success at the recent national convention at Indianapolis and that’s no small feat. There are 1,420,245 FFA members in the U.S. and 9,407 chapters. Some of the winning Prairie Central

Much of Fairbury's history is contained in old copies of the Blade newspaper. Old copies of the Blade can be easily searched by anyone using the Dominy Memorial Library website. The story of how the old Blades became digitized and made available online is an engrossing saga. The Blade newspaper traces its roots back to the combination of two competing newspapers. In 1871, the Dimmicks began publishing the Independent newspaper in Fairbury. In 1876, C. B. Holmes started the B

(Fairbury News file photo from 2024) Prairie Central High School will host its annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11.  Festivities begin at 1:45 pm with a free ice cream social for all veterans, active military and their families located in the school cafeteria.  The ice cream social will be immediately followed by the Veterans Day Ceremony at 2:30 pm located in the school gymnasium. This year’s presenters include members of Fairbury VFW post #9789, Fairbury Americ

(Photo provided by Prairie Central High School) The Fairbury American Legion John Joda Post has generously donated new American and Illinois flags to Prairie Central High School. The post also donated new flag poles and stands. These flags will be displayed daily in front of the Prairie Central Military Wall that honors all military members that have graduated from PCHS or one of its former schools.   Flags will also be used during formal events held at the school including g

130 Years Ago November 2, 1895 Fairbury experienced a real live earthquake at about 5:11 Thursday morning. In regard to the details of the disturbance there is a conflict of testimony. Some declare that dishes rattled and some say the movement was gentle and not strong enough to rattle anything. The earthquake was general all over the central part of the Untied States. George P. Westervelt has returned from his trip to Oklahoma and resumed his duties at the telegraph office.

New street sign posts are coming to Fairbury. The City Council approved a quote from Decker Supply Co. during Wednesday’s regular council meeting. This is a new company the city reached out to. “This is who the state uses,” explained City Superintendent Brett Ashburn. These posts have a special wing which helps them stay in the ground to make the structure more stable. Alderman Bill Schmidgall made the motion to approve the quote. In another matter, the 2025-2026 Tax Levy Ord

Prairie Central FFA members pose during a reception held at Kilgus Farmstead Friday evening. It was another great National FFA Convention for members of the Prairie Central Chapter last week at Indianapolis. The following are the national results provided to Fairbury News:   Marketing Plan-Reserve National Champions, Kamber Kilgus, Kaylee Skaggs, Lily Schaffer   Farm and Agribusiness Management-Reserve National Champions, Micah Lanz-National Winner, Kinzey Bachtold, 5th overa

The Harrington brothers emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland, to the Fairbury area because of the Potato Famine in Ireland. According to Wikipedia, the Irish economy experienced growth between 1760 and 1815, driven by infrastructure expansion and the Napoleonic Wars  (1803–1815), which increased demand for food in Britain. Tillage increased to such an extent that only a small amount of land was available to small farmers to feed themselves. The potato was adopted as a primary

Laura Mae (Knochel) Knapp, Fairbury, 93, born September 19, 1932, in Kawkawlin, Michigan, to the late Fred and Nettie (Wieland) Knochel, passed into the loving arms of her Savior on Tuesday, October 28th at Fairview Haven, Fairbury. Laura married Glenn E. Knapp on November 11, 1956, in Bay City, Michigan.  They farmed in Cissna Park, Illinois, until 1963 when they moved to Forrest, and then shortly thereafter Fairbury, where they transitioned from farming to the insurance ind

William “Bill” E. Cox, 61, of Fairbury, passed away in his home on Monday, October 27, 2025. Cremation rites have been accorded. There are no services scheduled at this time. Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury, is in charge of arrangements.  Bill was born on December 22, 1964 in Fairbury, IL, the son of Robert E. Cox and Betsy Ann (Todd) Cox. Bill graduated from Saunemin High School and worked as a Sales Clerk, including 20 years at Ace Hardware in Fairbury.  Bill is survived

Fairbury’s October 22 blood drive, held at the First United Methodist Church, collected 39 units. Donors reaching milestones were Joyce Gulliford, one gallon; Loren Steidinger, 10 gallons; and Lynn Barnett, 14 gallons. Others donating were Jeff Ifft, Gerry Groskreutz, Kyle Buchanan, Ann Francis, Robert Francis, Steve Hall, Gregg Honegger, Brenda Bachtold, Matt Brauman, Sharon McCoy, Jeff Lackaff, Cheryl Palen, John Krueger, Heidi Bachman, Mark Hall, David Langel, Martha Fehr,

130 Years Ago October 26, 1895 A. P. Farley, the photographer, has just purchased an apparatus with which he is able to take photographs at night. A new barn is being built on the Phil Wade property, corner of First and Elm Streets. The new house being built by Joseph Morris in Wade & Merit's addition, is well under way. High School Notes — The twelfth grade has a membership of eighteen and if they all get through next spring it will make a large graduating class.   120 Years

Until around 1900, the Fairbury economy was based upon horses. Farmers used horses to farm their land. Citizens used horse-drawn buggies for transportation. Several businessmen imported horses from Europe to sell to local farmers. Fairbury had several livery stables where people or visitors could keep their horses.   The first mention in the Blade about the Fairbury Carriage Company was in 1909. Telephones had recently been installed in Fairbury, and the business phone number

Maxine L. Yoder, 91, of Fairbury, passed away at 9:20 am, October 23, 2025, at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington Her funeral will be held at 10:30 am, Monday, October 27, 2025, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Forrest. Pastor David Castner will be officiating. Burial will be in Forrest Township Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 3-5:00 pm, Sunday, October 26, 2025, at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury and 9:30-10:15 am Monday at the church. Memorials may be made t

A previous meeting of the PC Board of Education in Fairbury, file photo. The PCHS School Improvement Plan was presented to members of the Prairie Central Board of Education during the group’s regular October meeting in Fairbury. Principal Wade Czerwonka described goals including student attendance, post-secondary outcomes for students, participation in extracurricular activities at the freshman level and raising student achievement.  Czerwonka also spoke about procedures in p

Helen E. Meyer, 90, Fairbury, died at 11:55 pm Sunday, October 19, 2025 at Accolade Healthcare of Pontiac. Cremation rites have by accorded by Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury.  Her graveside service will be held at 10:00 am Saturday, November 1, 2025 at Forrest Twp. Cemetery with Fr. Scott Archer officiating.  The family suggests memorials be given to the charity of their choice. Mrs. Meyer was born January 13, 1935 in Forrest, IL the daughter of Lawrence and Polly Baysing

130 Years Ago October 19, 1895 The Odd Fellows Temple at Fairbury, the building of which has to so large a degree engrossed the attention of members of the fraternity in this vicinity, was dedicated Wednesday according to program with impressive ceremonies. Commencing at 1:30 in the afternoon the dedicatory services took place in the lodge room, occupying about two hours' time. The grand master, Hon. Henry Phillips, of Virginia, Ill, presided and Grand Secretary James S. Mill