Rare Central Illinois Notes

Here is the view of the business district as it appears today in Gilman. Compared to the 1915 view, most of the old buildings remain intact. Mark Hotz

This month, we will move back to Illinois to visit a heartland town and its iconic bank. Let’s check out Gilman, Ill., South of Chicago and in the heart of Iroquois County.

Gilman is located in Iroquois County, Illinois, 88 miles south of Chicago, roughly halfway between Kankakee and Champaign, and easily reached via Interstate 57. U.S. Routes 24 and 45, along with the interstate, all intersect at Gilman. The current population is just shy of 2,000 people.

Here is a postcard view of the business district of Gilman as it appeared circa 1915. I have also included a modern view from the same vantage point for comparison. The bank is in the left foreground.

Gilman was laid out in the fall of 1857 on land belonging to E.D. Hundley, Judge John Chamberlain, and three Methodist ministers: Walter C. Palmer, Joseph Hartwell, and John Dempster. Hundley, who was from Virginia, left Illinois for the South at the outbreak of the Civil War. Judge Chamberlain was the man most responsible for Gilman’s early growth. He was born in Charlestown, N.H., the son of a lawyer. Chamberlain had served in the New York Legislature and had moved to Iroquois County in 1853. He was elected judge, was active in county politics, and lived in Watseka, Ill. Chamberlain took Joseph Thomas from nearby Onarga as a partner.

The town of Gilman was platted in 1857 at the point where the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad would soon cross the Illinois Central Railroad. The Peoria and Oquawka became the Toledo, Peoria, and Western Railway. The engineering firm of Cruger Secor and Company was awarded the contract for constructing the Eastern Extension of the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad. Cruger Secor and Company had been given the right to name the town, and they decided to honor Samuel Gilman, a company director. Soon, a depot was established at Gilman.

Here is another view of the First National Bank along East Crescent Street in town circa 1915.

The first new inhabitant of the area was W. P. Gardner from Pennsylvania, who at first lived in a shanty maintained by the railroad for its workers. When Gilman was surveyed in September 1857, Gardner built the first house in Gilman. That same fall, James Wright built a house in Gilman. This was soon followed by a much more expensive structure, a three-story hotel costing $4,000 with a third-floor assembly area. The first recorded event in Gilman’s history was a ball held on Feb. 22, 1858, at the hotel to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. D. Harwood was the first merchant to open a store in Gilman, which maintained a full stock of goods. The first train through Gilman arrived on Sept. 21, 1857, and was to take local people to the State Fair in Peoria. It was three hours late, but its arrival signaled the start of a period of rapid growth for the new town. The Illinois Central did not begin to run trains until 1858. In 1860, the first school was built; by 1865, the town had 31 buildings. Gilman was officially organized as a town in 1867.

Here is the First National Bank of Gilman, Ill., as it appeared circa 1910. The bank was on the right ground floor, with the post office on the left ground floor

By the late 1860s, Gilman had two railroads. The eastern branch of the Illinois Central linked St. Louis and Chicago. At the same time, the Toledo Peoria and Western ran east and west across the state, from the Mississippi River to Indiana. Gilman prospered as the place where people and goods were transferred from one railroad to the other. In 1870, the Gilman Star newspaper began publication, and Gilman had 761 residents. On July 5, 1883, a severe fire damaged much of the town. An electric power plant was built in 1898.

Unlike many local towns, Gilman continued to grow in the twentieth century. In 1920, there were 1,443 people. In 1923 and 1924, Illinois began building a new “hard road” paralleling the Toledo Peoria and Western Railroad, which was at first called the Corn Belt Trail but soon became U.S. Route 24. A second new road, which was initially known as the Egyptian Trail, evolved into Interstate 57, paralleling the Illinois Central Railroad through Iroquois County.

Here is the First National Bank building as it appears today in Gilman. It has remained little changed over 120 years, though the second-story windows have been bricked up.

By 1901, the time had come for Gilman to have a national bank, and accordingly, the First National Bank of Gilman obtained charter #5856 and opened for business. The first officers were Dwight L. Parker, president, and Robert M. Pollock, cashier. As the bank was chartered at the tail end of the Second Charter period, it issued all three types of Series of 1882 notes until 1921, when it issued 1902 Plain Back notes. It also issued Series of 1929 Small Size notes in $10 and $20 denominations. The bank’s total circulation was just over $700,000. It survived the end of the national currency era. Currently, 14 Large-size notes and 26 Small notes are reported.

This lovely Choice Extremely Fine Series of 1882 $10 Brown Back was issued by the First National Bank of Gilman, Ill., and hails from the author’s collection. It is the only $10 Brown Back known on the bank. Note the lovely pen signatures of bank officers Robert M. Pollock, cashier, and Dwight L. Parker, president. Heritage Auctions

I recently obtained a lovely Series of 1882 $10 Brown Back issued by the First National Bank of Gilman. It is a lovely, Extremely Fine note and one of just two Brown Back notes reported from the town. It is the only $10. It has the lovely pen signatures of President Dwight Parker and Cashier Robert Pollack. Bearing serial #17, it is one of the first notes issued by the bank. I have included a photo of it as well as one of a Small-Size note issued by the bank.

The First National Bank of Gilman, Ill., also issued Series of 1929 small-size notes, of which 24 are currently reported. Here is a $20 note bearing the signatures of L.C. Pollock, cashier, and E.S. Herron, vice president. Heritage Auctions

Gilman is today a quaint town whose commercial part centers on East Crescent Street. The railroad bisects the town at this point; Amtrak has a tiny kiosk station at Gilman, which is the least utilized Amtrak stop in Illinois.

Gilman had one other bank during this period, the Gilman State & Savings Bank. The style is very similar to the bank architecture of the 1910s. The building was recently sold for just under $48,000.

I have included a few early postcard views of the First National Bank of Gilman building as it appeared circa 1910. The building, erected in 1905, is a two-story brick structure faced with an arched entryway guarded by two small pillars on either side. The A&M Masonic Lodge was on the second floor; the U.S. post office occupied the left ground floor, and the bank occupied the right half. I have included a photo of the bank as it appears in Gilman today. It still looks very similar to the 1910 view, though the second-story windows have been bricked up. The building ostensibly houses an antique mall today.

I have also included several photos of East Crescent Street as it appeared before 1920 and a modern view from the same vantage point. The bank is clearly visible as the first structure on the left side of the postcard and modern views. The First National Bank was not the only bank that served Gilman. A little further down, at the junction of West and East Crescent Streets, stands the two-story Gilman State and Savings Bank building. This is an impressive brick structure that once provided banking competition in town. Recently, it has housed a computer repair shop; I also saw that it was for sale not long ago and sold for less than $48,000. It would have made a great coin shop!

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Hotz off the Press Mark Hotz

Mark HotzAuthor