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 