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

1958 – Kenneth Koch envisioning a ten-year plan, announces plans for the new Plaza Park Shopping Center. The eight-acre development located south of the city cemetery will eventually feature ten stores. Plans for a supermarket at the north end of the shopping center will be built first, with plans for a department store at the south end.

1958 – The newly formed Arrowhead Country Club conducts its initial membership drive. The first drive would be necessary to raise sufficient capital to begin construction of the clubhouse and golf course. Two hundred and fifty memberships needed to be sold. The first officers of the club’s board of directors were:  Jim Whalen, President. Jim Mursener, Vice President. Tom Benten, Secretary, and Dick Zinser, Treasurer.

1958 – Kenneth C. Koch along with the Chillicothe Developers Co. complete phase three of the Cloverdale Subdivision. This 40-lot subdivision connects with Phase 1 (46 lots) and Phase 2 (46 lots). Streets within the subdivision include Leonard Drive, Stanley Drive, David Avenue, and Cloverdale Road.

1958 – The board of directors for Arrowhead Country Club signs a contract for golf course architectural services with William J. Spear of St. Charles, IL to design and supervise the construction of the first nine-hole course, clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis courts, and other facilities for the club. Associated with Spear is Leland Kew, assistant director of parks in Peoria.

1958 – Truitt-Matthews Bank, the second oldest bank in Peoria County, celebrates its 90th anniversary. Formed in 1868 by Henry Truitt and Samuel Jack, the bank has now operated at its current location at the SW Corner of Pine and Second Streets since 1919. In the Ninety-Year history, Truitt Matthews banking company has had but three presidents:  Henry Truitt, Rollin H. Truitt, and Oscar E. Smith. Other Chillicotheans who have had a financial interest in the bank include William M. Mead, Julius Root, Fred Scheeler, Fred Ferguson, Clifford H. Mead, Russell F. Hunter, and Arthur Shepard.

1959 – James Mullen unveils plans for his Mullen Manor 2nd Extension. The twenty-lot subdivision will be extended to the south of the existing Mullen extensions. Walnut, Elm, and now Beech Streets have been extended to the west. Hushaw Avenue will continue to extend south.

1959 – Chillicothe Township High School starts off the new school year in their new addition. The $700,000 addition to the High School (Today’s equivalent of $7.6 million) includes eleven new classrooms, a new industrial arts facility, an expanded physical education area, four new toilet rooms, a kitchen, and an administrative center. The new kitchen will serve a capacity of 1,000 in shifts of two hundred with its present equipment.

1959 – Mayor Everett Rose makes history in Chillicothe by placing the first telephone call on the new dial service. Mayor Rose called his brother Stanley in Topeka, Kansas. The switchboard personnel worked their last shift on Monday, September 14, 1959, just prior to the switch. The board in the building on West Pine Street had been in continuous use for the last forty-five years.

1960 – Developer Kenneth C. Koch rolls out his plan for the Hillcrest Park Subdivision Section 1. This nineteen-lot subdivision will be a complement to the Plaza Park Shopping Center that was unveiled in 1958. Lot nineteen has already been dedicated to the new location of the Plymouth Congregational Church. The new street names in the subdivision will be known as Hillcrest Drive, Hollybrook Drive, and Sweetbriar Drive.

1960 – The 1960 Census reports that the population of Chillicothe is 3,028 and North Chillicothe is 2,100, totaling 5,128. This is an increase of 613 since the 1950 Census. 

1960 – Co-Owners, Melvin Dierdorf and R. B. (Barney) McWilliams, open the new, deluxe twelve-lane Chilli Bowl bowling Alley on Truitt Avenue on land bought from Robert Truitt. The $300,000 ($3.2 million in today’s economy) modern establishment features AMF automatic pin spotters, a snack bar, and cocktail lounge and is fully air-conditioned.

1960 – The first parochial school in Chillicothe opens with an enrollment of one hundred and seventy students for grades one through four. St. Edward School located on the corner of Fifth and Ash, includes the faculty of Sister Mary Consolata, Principal and Third Grade teacher; Sister Mary Nicholas, First Grade teacher;. Sister Mary Helen, First and Second Grade teacher; Sister Mary Stella, Second and Third Grade teacher; Miss Rose Stadel, Fourth Grade teacher; and Verda Smith, School Secretary. Schad Brothers of Peoria Heights constructed the new school at a cost of $160, 000 ($1.7 million in today’s economy).

1961 – Developer Kenneth C Koch extends his Hillcrest Park Subdivision by adding twenty-seven lots west of Section 1. Section 2 features lots on the west side of Hollybrook Drive and the east side of Sweetbriar Drive.

1961 – Businessperson Robert Anderson is elected as the new Mayor of Chillicothe. Rose became the 25th Mayor in the City’s history by defeating challenger Dean Montonye. Anderson received 724 votes to Montonye’s 607. Other elections saw Ilion Wait Crabel win re-election as City Clerk running against challenger Carl Sine. This was Crabel’s thirteenth re-election. Jim Ladd won an easy victory running against Alvin Mathison, 407 to 167, and was re-named Village President of North Chillicothe.

1961 - Proprietor Dean Riggins has the grand opening for the new Chillicothe Marine and Marina Motel. The marina sits on the river at the south end of town just north of Cloverdale Road and Second Street. 

1961 – Arrowhead Country Club opens to golfers on June 1. The newly constructed clubhouse opens on August 1.