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St. John The Baptist Chapel, Old Gillett Farm,
Elkhart, Illinois
This beautiful Gothic Revival style Episcopalian
Chapel is located in Elkhart Cemetery on Elkhart
Hill, one of the highest spots in Central
Illinois. The Chapel was constructed in 1890 by
the Culver Stone and Marble Company of
Springfield as a memorial to John Dean Gillett
(1819-1888), a prominent rancher in Logan County
who was once dubbed "The Cattle King Of The
World" by the London Gazette. The Chapel is
owned and operated by the proprietors of the Old
Gillett Farm, and is the only privately owned
and operated church in Illinois.
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The
Battle for Napoleon
Hollow
or
A series
of unfortunate events
— Ken Lazar
Friday June 18th,
2021
Dinner Lecture
5:30P
The Elkhart Historical Society is pleased to announce
the June 18 dinner lecture,”The Battle for
Napoleon Hollow or a Series of Unfortunate
Events,” presented by retired IDOT District 6 civil
engineer Ken Lazar. Although the original idea of
Interstate 72 was proposed in the late 1960s, and
segments were built in the 1970s the completion was
still a long way off and included some contentious
events. The beautiful Valley
City Eagle Bridges
and
the economic up-turn for
the area were part of the benefits of the contest.
Ken Lazar was
involved in the lengthy siege, and brings many insights
on how the bridges connected the high bluffs over the
Illinois floodplain, while crossing a conservation area,
and the Wade farm, all without disturbing the eagles.
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The event will be held
at Horsefeather’s Wild
Hare Café, and the
entrees offered are Pork
Medallions in a
mushroom/ wine sauce or
Chicken Cordon Bleu, at
a cost of $40 per person
which includes $10 for
the Elkhart Historical
Society. Due to the
continuing cautions from
the CDC, seating will be
limited, and guide lines
will be followed.
But the story of this highway's
construction will
not soon be forgotten by those
involved.
This
saga encompasses a long battle between two elderly
farm owners and their archfoes, "the IDOTS."
It features a mystical place called Napoleon Hollow,
a Hopewellian dwarf,
a prehistoric
Mormon warrior named Zelph and an act of the U.S.
Congress.
"This
was certainly one of our more interesting highway
projects. . . .
This was a real potpourri of crazy stuff bouncing
around,"
said Dennis Pescitelli, a planning engineer with
the
Illinois
Department of Transportation.
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Spring, 2021, Elkhart,
IL.
Wild
Flowers & Bird Walks
Slide
Show
<-- click here

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