Pontiac Township High School - Pontio Yearbook (Pontiac, IL)

Page 11 text:

Barrs, C, C. Murphy, Lclnnans, XVt'stalls, l,ihCt'ty Restaurant :incl Ht-chts SIUITS arc lorattrtl on thc wcst sitlc of tht' sqllart' CMill Strvvlj. On the far right is thc Pontiac National Bank, thc bank with thc clock. Time Records ax' X . W4,. it X Y 1 llcforc thc flaps ni' thc Bank flofk, tht- National Bank nkctl like this. 'l'hc bank was t-stalmlisltvcl March il 1874. The I,iXlIlQ'NlIlll County National Bank cslah lishvtl in H471 wax alxo lcxratutl in Puntiatl 'I hcrt' wax A ' lr lmanlw in tht' city. 'lhc trhits- hnilrling, ' t Ill tht' right sich' ul' tht' picttlrt' is tht' Puntiar Pm Y Ollifc, hllilt in l!ll2-lfl. R. I , llrarlllnll was tha' firs NllIl2lNll'l' to wru' in tht' new huilrling. Tht' East sitlc of thc' square, ont' finds xarions business L'SlLllJllSllIlIL'llIS. flfrmn lcft to rightj Klcins ll1ll'llVVZlTl'. llr. I-aw's ollicc. Harncr's. Donncll's Print Shop, Potter IIISIIYIIIICC. XY00lworth's antl Parkhill Clinic. The Intt'r-nrlban Street Car, which ran front Pontiac to Dwight, we-nt up Main Street. ll!! .tt

Page 10 text:

Old Times In the 20th Century, inany of the boys who used to stand on the corner wouldn't recognize the North side of the square QMa5lison Streetj, Auto- mobiles and parking meters line the streets where the horses and buggies once stood. Standing on the corner, in front of the Caldwell and McGregor drug store Qnorth side of the squarej was a popular pastime in the l890's. Charles A. McGregor was one of the citv's first merchants, He and his father, a pioneer at- torney, came to Pontiac two years before the railroad arrived. After clerking in various stores, he es- tablished a county-wide drug, book, and notion business. The blanket on the mule pictured above serves as a traveling billboard advertising Caldwell and McGregor. The Phoenix Hotel and the Sterry Building are located on the Sterry Block. The Phoenix Hotel was built in October l873 at a cost of 540,000 Lo- cal citizens donated 354,000 toward the cause. On July 4, 1874, the building was destroyed by fire, but it was later rebuilt. Todav it is known as the Pontiac Hotel. I

Page 12 text:

ss .get Ak a 21, tr at A Mill Street Bridge connected the northern business section of Pontiac with the southern residential district and farms, Originally, the Mill Street Dam was made of logs, but it was later replaced with a stone dam by Thomas Williams, owner of the mill. Time Post A footlog provided a means of crossing the Vermil- lion for confirmed pedestrians while automobile en- thusiasts used the Mill Street Bridge. On the far side ol' the bridge is the Mill Street Dam. YVater from this dam was used to run the Mfilliams Mill in the early days. Transportation facilities progressed, and Henry Ford made travel easier ton the horsesj with autos such as this Model T standing in front of the,Pontiac State Bank on the corner of Washington and Mill Streets. On dates during the l890's a fellow would hitch his best horse to the buggy and take his girl for a ride through Houder's Ford fpic- tured belowj. Located in the Vermillion River south of Pontiac, the ford was in existence until the river was dredged only a few years ago.