The following is the first of a multi-part article about the timeline of Chillicothe, IL. This article will illustrate the key dates along with the key individuals that helped to shape our city’s great history.

1819 – January 1, 1819, Henry Truitt is born in Vevay, Switzerland County, Indiana. 

1830 – Mahlon Lupton and John Hammett along with three other Ohio families put together a group of ten wagons and set out for the Illinois Prairie. They arrived at the village of Peoria and were aided by local Native Americans to cross the Illinois River. The next day the group moved to the north end of LaSalle Prairie and settled on land two-and-a-half miles east of the river. Jefferson Hickson, a blacksmith erects the first known cabin along with a shop near the Illinois river. 

1832 – Erastus C. Root bought the SW1/4 of Section 21 and set up his farm. 

1832 – Henry Truitt, at thirteen years of age, meets and is employed by Tobias S. Bradley. Tobias’ wife, Lydia Moss Bradley would go on to form Bradley Polytechnic Institute, now known as Bradley University.

1832 – Jefferson Taliaferro plats out the Village of Rome. It consists of 23 blocks and a public square. The streets running parallel with the river were named Front, Second, Third, and Fourth Streets, while those running at right angles to those mentioned bore the distinguished names of Caesar, Pompey, Anthony, Octavius, Cato, Cicero, and Brutus.

1834 – Samuel T. McKean platted the original town of Chillicothe. McKean was born in NY and his family would later settle in Oregon in 1847 and become the 1st Representative to the Territorial Congress, representing Clatsop, Oregon.

1835 – James M. Brown opens The Dunlap House, later changing it to The American House at the corner of First and Walnut. This building was the first Inn or tavern built in Chillicothe for the benefit of travelers on the Chicago to Peoria stagecoach lines.

1835 – Isaac Underhill plats out his village which is also named Rome, which is believed to cover the territory originally covered by Taliaferro. It consists of 44 blocks and a public square. 

1836 – McKean sells the entire town of four blocks to Harrison Jamison and Joseph Hart, who added twenty blocks and filed another plat of Chillicothe. It is believed they ignored the earlier plat and called their newly surveyed district Chillicothe.

1836 – The first child born to settlers of Chillicothe was James L. Root, on April 24, 1836, to Erastus and Barbara Root. Erastus Root and family would eventually become agitated with the future city and sell his farm and relocate to Hallock Township in September later that same year.

1836 – James H. Temple and Harrison Jamison platted an eight-block area of land from First Street to Water Street between Elm and Maple Streets. Note: Water Street would be vacated in 1920 by the City Council and Mayor Joseph Fisher.

1847 – John Moffitt builds the first grain warehouse on the Illinois riverbank. Trade is confined to the river at this time.

1850 – Henry Truitt makes his first visit to Peoria County, and purchases two hundred acres of land adjoining the village of Chillicothe, to which place he will move his family the following year.

1850 – James H. Temple and Hiram Cleveland platted a six-block area of land from First Street to Third Street between Elm and Beech Streets.

1852 – Hiram Cleveland platted a three-block area of land from First Street to Fourth Street between Sycamore and Hickory Streets.

1852 – Henry Truitt, partner of Tobias Bradley, established a grain business. 

1853 – Isaac Underhill of Peoria and John Moffitt of Chillicothe led a group of Peoria businesspeople to build the Peoria and Bureau Valley Railroad (P&BVRR) to connect Peoria to Chicago. The Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad leased the line in perpetuity.

1856 – Thomas Bryant platted two areas in a three-block area of land from South of Fourth Street and East of Willow Street and South of Second Street and east of Oak Street to Front Street.

1857 – Jacob Darst would plat one of the largest plats of land at one time in the city’s history. The plat would consist of a twenty-five-block area from the NW edge of Second Street and Elm and running west to the NE edge of Sixth Street to south edge of Washington/Willow Street (now known as Truitt Ave.) and running east to Fourth Street.

1857 – Henry Truitt would plat the first of four areas in Chillicothe. The plat would consist of a five-block area from Second Street running west between Hickory and Eliza Street (now known as Maple) to Fifth Street and then heading north between Fourth and Fifth Street to the east edge of Beech Street. 

1861 – Chillicothe, Illinois is incorporated as a village.