Month: March 2025

The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that the members of Randolph County’s Burlington Way Committee, pioneers in the field of automobile travel, will be inducted into the 2025 class of honorees.

At the turn of the 20^th century, Randolph County’s citizens relied solely on horses, wagons, and trains for transportation along the county’s dirt and rock roads. But by 1901, automobiles began appearing on the streets of local towns. The first automobile dealership in the county was opened by the Herschbach Bros. of Chester in 1908, and buyers flocked to purchase the exciting new machines. Farmers, doctors, and mail carriers in particular found early reasons to buy automobiles, and town and county officials soon saw the need to adapt both laws and infrastructure to accommodate the new mode of travel.

The lack of paved roads caused particular difficulty, with weather problems frequently making heavily-traveled roads virtually impassable. By 1916, after the Good Roads Act provided new sources of federal funding for highways, the Illinois State Highway Agency also began the construction of nearly 5,000 miles of hard road highways across the state.

Various committees worked to decide routes that these new roads would take, and local communities lobbied to have the roads pass through their towns. Having a state highway nearby would be a boost to local motorists as well as the economy. But rural areas like Randolph County were often afterthoughts on the new maps. When the Chicago Tribune published a map of the state’s marked highways in 1916, Randolph County was one of the only ones not serviced by one of the new hard roads.

A group of local businessmen stepped in to try to remedy that oversight. One highway project in particular, the Burlington Way, was looking to extend from St. Paul, Minnesota, south to the Gulf of Mexico. An established section of the road stopped in Marissa, and the Randolph County committee lobbied to have the next part of the highway travel through Sparta, Steeleville, and Percy on its way south to Murphysboro.

The county’s Burlington Way Committee was comprised of Charles Baue, a Steeleville farmer and mechanical engineer; Alfred A. Brown, a Sparta banker and merchant; William J. Hood, owner of a Sparta dry goods store; Louis Hood, owner of a Sparta clothing store; John B. Hoef, the founder of Steeleville’s Randolph County Monument Works; Henry Walter, a grocery store manager and food administrator from Steeleville; George Lickiss, the proprietor of a Percy grocery store; Albert Gilster, owner of the Steeleville flour mill; Rutherford Hahn, the vice president of Gilster’s mill; Norris Lessley, the president of Sparta State Bank; J. Hammond Webster, publisher of the Steeleville Ledger and owner of an auto garage; Robert Moffat, an owner of Sparta’s Moffat Coal Company; and Thomas Jeremiah, the general superintendent of the Willis Coal Company.

The committee successfully lobbied to have the Burlington Highway routed through Randolph County, though two decades later the route of the road, now Illinois 13, was changed. Their efforts are commemorated by a granite marker located on present-day Illinois 4 between Sparta and Steeleville. As the first committee dedicated to bringing a major highway through the county, they also inspired further movements to establish good roads in the region, pioneering projects that are still in use today.

Today, the issue of “good roads” continues to be at the top of the list for many in the area who want to steer attention toward the maintenance of existing roads and the expansion of highway connections between Randolph County and its neighbors. A century ago, when roads made for automobiles were in their infancy, we can thank the men of the Burlington Way Committee for championing the cause. Their public service is a reminder of the importance of community advocacy, both then and now.

Click here to read a more detailed biography of the members of the Burlington Way Committee.

The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that Dr. George Fisher, a pioneering physician, public servant, and entrepreneur, will be inducted into the 2025 class of honorees.

George Fisher, the son of a blacksmith, was born in Virginia in the years just before the Revolutionary War. After reaching his majority, George received his inheritance. That money may have helped to fund his medical studies, which, according to family tradition, may have taken him to Germany for a period of time. Back in America, he settled down to begin his career as a physician and start a family of his own. He welcomed several children with his first wife in Virginia, and later, he married again in Illinois and expanded his family once more.

By the middle of the 1790s, with expansion pushing westward, George decided to move to the frontier. He arrived with his family in Kaskaskia in 1798 and quickly became a prominent member of the community. Professional medical care was a valuable commodity, and George began to serve as one of the first providers in the region.

George’s expertise and popularity led him toward other enterprises in Kaskaskia, too. When the Indiana Territory was officially organized in 1800, Governor William Henry Harrison appointed George to serve as sheriff of Randolph County. The influence that George gained, both through his political appointment and his medical knowledge, led him to develop additional business interests in the area. He was granted business licenses to operate a ferry across the Mississippi and a tavern and inn in Kaskaskia not long after settling in the area.

As George’s connections in Kaskaskia grew stronger, he was tasked with more and more responsibility within the territorial government. In 1803, he was named as a Randolph County commissioner, a role he held until 1809. When elections were held for the First General Assembly of the Indiana Territory in 1805, George was chosen as the sole representative for Randolph County in the House of Representatives. He served in the position until 1808, when he was appointed to the Legislative Council. When the territory was divided, he was again elected to serve in the territorial legislature representing Randolph County.

In 1808, George decided to move his family to a farm near present-day Modoc. The area, which grew as others also established homes and farms in the vicinity, became known as “Dr. Fisher’s Settlement.” Though he had largely retired as a practicing physician, George had to turn back to his medical roots when an outbreak of smallpox began surging through the surrounding population. George set up a makeshift hospital on his farm. While other nearby settlements put up guards and barriers to keep out infected strangers, George decided not to turn away any person who needed help.

George’s medical skills were required by his community once more in 1812. He served as a surgeon in the Illinois militia, under the command of Colonel Hamnet Ferguson and Major Benjamin Stephenson (then sheriff of Randolph County), during the War of 1812. Near the end of his life, George continued to be an influential figure in the shaping of the new state of Illinois. He was elected to serve as a member of the constitutional convention that framed the first constitution for the new state in 1818. He also ran for a seat in the new state senate, but was defeated—the first time he had suffered an election loss since moving to Kaskaskia two decades earlier.

George settled down firmly into the life of a farmer on his settlement in Modoc, and there, in 1820, he passed away. His farm is now marked by a historical plaque celebrating his achievements. Despite the uncertainties of life on the frontier, George fearlessly ventured out to care for patients in need. His example of public service, both on the county and state levels, stands as a challenge to all of us today, encouraging us to play a greater role in our own communities.

Click here to read a more detailed biography of George Fisher.

The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that Jessie Lee Huffstutler, an influential musician, educator, and historian, will be inducted into the 2025 class of honorees.

Born in Chester in 1888, Jessie Lee Gant was the fourth child of Darius and Rachel Gant. She was only five years old when her father unexpectedly passed away, leaving behind a widow with four young children.

Jessie discovered early on that she had a talent for music. She began playing and singing in the choir at Chester’s First Methodist Church when she was just twelve. She was so skilled that she was hired to play piano accompaniment for silent films at the Chester Opera House. She improvised musical scores for the movies alongside her friend Elzie Segar, who played the drums. He would later use memories from their teenage days in his famous Popeye cartoons.

Jessie’s musical talents developed throughout her school years, and by the time she graduated from Chester High School in 1905, she could play multiple instruments. Her prowess caught the attention of the staff at Southern Illinois Penitentiary, who hired soon after graduation to serve as the prison’s organist. She recalled having “mixed emotions” when playing at the prison early on, but her efforts earned her the respect of the men behind bars. “From the applause I received, I knew they were now my friends and from that time, I was ‘Miss Jessie’ to them,” she later recalled.

While working as the prison’s musical director, Jessie decided to start a family of her own. She married Fred “Dick” Huffstutler in 1911, and their only child, Fred Jr., was born later that year. The family settled in Chester, where Dick worked as a signal master with the railroad, and Jessie continued to earn an income through her musical work at the prison.

Sadly, Jessie’s early married life was touched by tragedy. In the span of a decade, she lost her mother and two of her brothers. In 1924, she also had to say farewell to her husband, who died after suffering from appendicitis and typhoid fever. As a widow in her 30s, Jessie was left behind to raise her son alone. She continued to work at Menard and also began giving private voice and piano lessons to earn extra money.

When Fred graduated from high school in 1929 and enrolled at McKendree College, Jessie decided to pursue a course of higher education as well. She was hired as a house mother for one of the men’s dormitories at the college. Both mother and son finished their studies in 1933, with Fred earning a bachelor’s degree and Jessie receiving a certificate in music education.

For her next chapter, Jessie taught in public schools in Florida before returning to Illinois and teaching for many years in Du Quoin. After her retirement, she moved back to Chester, where she took on an active role in numerous local organizations, including professional women’s clubs and the retired teachers’ association. In 1960, she was recognized by the First Methodist Church in Chester for 60 years of service to the congregation.

Over the decade that followed, Jessie took time to write down her extensive memories of her long life in Chester, which were published as columns in the local newspaper. In 1976, the columns were gathered together and published as a book. I Remember—Early Memories of Chester, Illinois is a unique, valuable historical resource. The book was also a success, selling more than 1,000 copies. Jessie passed away in Chester in 1980 at the age of 92. She was survived not only by her family—a daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and a great-grandchild—but also by the students she mentored and encouraged in the classroom and the music room over the decades. Her desire to share her talents and knowledge with others continue stands as an example of dedication and service today.

Click here to read a more detailed biography of Jessie Lee Huffstutler.