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History was always one of my favorite subjects in school.
Growing up I heard Washington had its fair share of history, but I could have cared less; I was much more interested in the “exciting” lessons about the Civil War or the Roman Empire.
But looking back I think it’s a shame that as students, we didn’t learn much — if anything at all — about Washington lore.
All we knew as kids was that some guy named Holland was the coolest because he had his own candy store on the Square.
Sure, we heard stories about how Abraham Lincoln used to frequent the Square with his cronies and the importance such a small town had on Illinois and, subsequently, national politics.
But there came that time when you stopped taking people’s word for fact and really started questioning if people’s love for Washington was blurring the real historical picture.
The night of June 9 was date night in the Schatsiek household where I took my new wife — I know, I’m just racking up those good husband points — to the Peoria Genealogical Society meeting where it played host to Carol Doward and her “Walk Around the Square” presentation from the Washington Historical Society.
From the early people to inhabit the land that is now Washington — the Potawatomi tribe — to the earliest settlers from the east coast and into the beginnings of a city starting to take shape in the early 1800s — known early on as Holland’s Grove — Doward wonderfully described Washington’s days of infancy.
There was even a story from the 1858 edition of the Times-Reporter, then known as the Washington Investigator — about a young Potawatomi chief and a young Kickapoo maiden’s forbidden love among their parents and fellow tribespeople.
After taking her to his tent, the chief noticed a dark object approaching, but reacted too late as his love was pierced with a blade and died shortly thereafter. The chief followed the murderer to the banks of Farm Creek — which begins two-three miles east of the Square and runs throughout town — only to see that the murderer was stuck in “quicksand” with no relief in sight.
The article said the chief wanted to jump in and kill him himself, “but a moment’s thought caused him to stay … for he knew that once upon the treacherous surface, no human power could save him from the fatal depths. Besides, he knew the murderer could not escape and felt a kind of foreign pleasure in contemplating the suffering he must know as he sank still deeper and deeper into the substance.”
History was always one of my favorite subjects in school.
Growing up I heard Washington had its fair share of history, but I could have cared less; I was much more interested in the “exciting” lessons about the Civil War or the Roman Empire.
But looking back I think it’s a shame that as students, we didn’t learn much — if anything at all — about Washington lore.
All we knew as kids was that some guy named Holland was the coolest because he had his own candy store on the Square.
Sure, we heard stories about how Abraham Lincoln used to frequent the Square with his cronies and the importance such a small town had on Illinois and, subsequently, national politics.
But there came that time when you stopped taking people’s word for fact and really started questioning if people’s love for Washington was blurring the real historical picture.
The night of June 9 was date night in the Schatsiek household where I took my new wife — I know, I’m just racking up those good husband points — to the Peoria Genealogical Society meeting where it played host to Carol Doward and her “Walk Around the Square” presentation from the Washington Historical Society.
From the early people to inhabit the land that is now Washington — the Potawatomi tribe — to the earliest settlers from the east coast and into the beginnings of a city starting to take shape in the early 1800s — known early on as Holland’s Grove — Doward wonderfully described Washington’s days of infancy.
There was even a story from the 1858 edition of the Times-Reporter, then known as the Washington Investigator — about a young Potawatomi chief and a young Kickapoo maiden’s forbidden love among their parents and fellow tribespeople.
After taking her to his tent, the chief noticed a dark object approaching, but reacted too late as his love was pierced with a blade and died shortly thereafter. The chief followed the murderer to the banks of Farm Creek — which begins two-three miles east of the Square and runs throughout town — only to see that the murderer was stuck in “quicksand” with no relief in sight.
The article said the chief wanted to jump in and kill him himself, “but a moment’s thought caused him to stay … for he knew that once upon the treacherous surface, no human power could save him from the fatal depths. Besides, he knew the murderer could not escape and felt a kind of foreign pleasure in contemplating the suffering he must know as he sank still deeper and deeper into the substance.”
Doward touched on the founding of Washington by William Holland Sr. in 1825 and subsequent naming of the city as Holland’s Grove only to be changed to Washington in honor of George Washington.
There were tales of Civil War times, the numerous businesses that have called the Square home over the many years and Heinrech “Henry” Denhart’s bank where the restaurant donning his name now stands in its place.
But just like everything else in Illinois history-wise, it all comes back to Abe.
According to B.C. Briner, who wrote a book called “Abraham Lincoln in Peoria,” written in 1925, said “Dick Smith’s store in Washington was the rendezvous for such political giants in those days like Lincoln who practiced law in Tazewell and Woodford counties.”
Doward said while this is interesting information, she is skeptical of its legitimacy.
“This entry has actually fueled discussion on Lincoln’s presence on the north side of the Square, since at this time Briner’s account is the only reference that I know of to this event, it raises some real questions …” she said, adding it is because not all of the timelines line up perfectly.
According to an 1855 edition of the Peoria Weekly Republican, Washington was the crossroads between Peoria to Bloomington and St. Louis/Springfield to Chicago, which would make it a prime location if such meeting did take place.
While he may not have had as many stops or “meetings” on the Square as many Washingtonians would like, Lincoln did represent quite a few residents in court cases in the area.
This historical information is just a small part of what the Washington Historical Society has to offer, so let’s be sure not to waste it.
It is exactly the kind of thing children need to know about. In order for younger generations to take pride in where they come from, they first need to actually know about the history of their fair city.
While the story about the chief, maiden and murderer may be a little rough for younger children — especially if books like Harry Potter are banned in some places *pffft* — the schools need to work with the Washington Historical Society in some fashion to educate children about Washington history.
One way the Washington Historical Society is doing its part is through its Time Travels in Trunks program, where society members take different trunks to the schools, each with a different aspect of Washington history. The trunk presentations can then be incorporated into a customized lesson plan by the teachers.
This is a great start, but for all of the great things the historical society does for Washington, it needs more support from both young and old alike.
Hear my plea — future generations still have the chance to learn valuable and interesting history early on. As far as older generations are concerned, we never really stop learning, anyway, right?
The Washington Historical Society has more than enough history for everybody.
