FAIRBURY HISTORY TALKERS
Fairbury’s History – ever wonder what some of those old buildings on Fairbury’s Main Street could tell you about themselves if they could talk? There is a lot of history contained in the business section of town, some of which is still identified on the upper sections of the brick building fronts. For instance, the original business section included two saddle and harness stores, a gun and sporting goods store, a poultry house, a drug store, the Fairbury Marble Works that made headstones for the cemetery, and a bed spring factory. When the town got its start back in 1857 it was a different world for how those businesses looked and functioned then as compared to now. The railroad was the primary life line for most of the towns in this area and, what is now the TP&W, became the focal point of Fairbury. The stories, all true, go on and on about the two men who got all this started – there were feuds, civil unrest between the east side and the west side, and ultimately, as the power figures changed, Fairbury became a town that seemed to be constantly on fire. All of that is well in the past now and the town has become a very balanced and comfortable place to live and work, but, oh what a history it has from back in “the day”.
The Fairbury Echoes Museum is going to give us a chance to hear a lot of fun historical facts about Fairbury’s downtown history by putting some historically educated “Talkers” on the block corners of Main Street (Locust Street) in the downtown section. There will be six “Talkers” talking about the different historical places and people that make up our colorful history and the public is welcome to stand in and give a listen. These events are scheduled to coincide with the Indian Creek Market events (June 3rd, July 29th, August 12th, and September 2nd.) from 10 am to noon, you can stop and hear the facts of the past as each one of these well-rehearsed purveyors of “the way it was” identifies the glory of days gone by for the section upon which they stand. It will be fun, informative, and will probably arouse some interest to maybe dig a little further on our own. Take the family and go on up to the Main Street section of town on those special Saturdays and find out about “the way it was” and how it all came together for Fairbury and its colorful past.