As far back as 1832 farmers settled near the present site of Streator, but
there was no coal mined until sometime in the sixties. The sudden discovery of
coal caused a rush of eager miners to this region just at the outbreak of the
Civil War. The first grocery store was erected along the Vermillion River to
supply provisions for the coal miners. Then came more people of all
nationalities, willing to risk their fortunes on what appeared to be a gamble
but which proved to be a successful venture.
This settlement was known
as Hardscrabble. It was so named by a blacksmith who watched the "hard-scrabble"
of the teams and miners in scaling the banks at the river ford. Later that small
mining camp, under a new name, grew and progressed until it became the
prosperous city of today.
Streator grew up from its coal beds. All of
the people were interested in the work. After the miners disappeared the
foundation of the city was built for larger success.
A man by the name
Dr. W. L. Streator of Cleveland, Ohio was the leading man among the people who
came here shortly after war to develop the coal fields. He was the first
president of the Vermillion Coal Company which later was the Chicago,
Wilmington, and Vermillion Coal Company. That is mostly the reason why Streator
got its name from him.
In 1872 the Chicago, Wilmington and Vermillion
Coal Company was the leading coal company. This company paid the highest wages
and employed the best miners.
Later in 1892 the Acme Coal Company was
established. It was the first one to clean, sort, and size the coal.
This coal was used for fuel by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad and
they said it was the best coal their company ever used.
In 1892 the
Streator Clay Manufacturing Company was organized by people of Ohio.
Streator was known for its glass factories. Mr. M. W. Jack was the president of
the Streator Glass and Bottle Company. The Thatcher Manufacturing Company
erected another factory in 1909. A one furnace factory was erected in Streator
and that made the business grow steadily until now it has a modern and
well-equipped plant that cannot be excelled for its production in milk bottles.
There are about 180,000 gross of bottles manufactured each year.
Streator is known most for its railroads. The railroads grew on account of the
industries of Streator. Some of its roads that have different names now, are the
Wabash, which was the Chicago and Paducah; the Burlington which was the Ottawa,
Oswego and Fox River; the Chicago and Alton which was the Streator and Wenona;
and the Sante Fe that goes into Chicago was originally owned by the Chicago,
Pekin and Southwestern.
The Wabash is one of the main railroads that run
south from Main Street. It goes past the Western Glass Company, Fanning's Bread
and Butter Pickle Factory, Streator Paving Brick Company and the Streator Drain
Tile Company.
Education is another important thing that Streator has not
overlooked. There are nine modern brick and stone schools. The first brick
school was built in 1882.
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 78.
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