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s. AUGUST 4, 1975 - PLAINDEALER CfNTENNIAL EDITION • ' •AGE I? River Used For Transport; Railroad Brings Town West There has scarcely been a period in the history of McHenry that has not con­ tributed to the prestige of the community. Nearly 140 years ago, when the first settlers came to McHenry in 1836 and 1837. the Indians had built a fording place here by laying stones across the river. Large blocks of limestone stood a pace apart and on the&e 4 the Indians walked, leading their horses across the stream. After the white settlers iifrrived. these stones were taken up and used in the walls of many of the homes that were built. Thus the Indian gave way to the white man.. wljo came determined to stay, t The Fox river in the earh days moved almost sluggishly from Wilmot. Wis., to what was then the seat of McHenry1* county Before the railroad came to McHenry. a steamboat made regular' d ips along I he rivpr. carrying passengers and freight so that McHenry became a place of importance to the settlers of (he early days. Then grist mills and factories were built, making McHenry an industrial center with the settlers coming here to have their feed ground. Today. McHenry is the gateway city to the playground <>l Ovic'-agoland. 'lo l ho lakes and river comes thousands ot visitor^ every -Summer with cars bearing licenses from nearly every state in the union appearing on our streets. McHenry is. also, largely the trading center for much of this resort region and its business men are progressive. •fust as it was in the old days ol the Indian and the pioneers when McHenry was their mecca, so it is today when McHenry still stands at the gateway of opportunity. Loyal citizens and a progressive corps of merchants give to this city a substantial place among the communities of northern Illinois. McHenry s merchants have responded loyally in cooperation witlj, the Plain- dealer to malce this an­ niversary edition a success. Different in every respect are the ads today from the ads in the first issue of the Plajn- dealer sixty years ago, which then,appeared on the front page of Itie paper, while the news items were found in the center ot the section Different in ^tyle and form, perhaps, but t^ie underlying principles of sound business, progressiveness and service are the same In the years to follow the Plaindealer hopes for the continued support and cooperation of .the citizens and merchants of the community. wncCK AT vajj M A R C H 1908 TRAIN WRECK - Pictured above is the massive wreckage of a railroad engine, stock car and tender which occurred March 30, 1908, at the McHenry railroad station. One man was killed in the crash. (Taken from the April 2, 1908 issue of Plaindealer) One of the worst railroad wrecks that has eyer occurred on this branch of the North western railroad system took place at the depot here at 6:05 o'clock Monday, March 30, 1908, the awful accident being witnessed by a few of our people who happened to be in that part of town at the time. The disaster came when a special stock car loaded with twenty-four head of cattle and six- calves was being taken from the main track atlcrystal Lake to Ringwood. Th^ train was made up of the engine and tender, one stock car and a way car. The main train was left on the siding at Nunda while the run to Ringwood was being made. Consequently, the engine was running backward, the tender in front, and pulling the other cars. When rounding the sharp curve just south of the depot, the engine and tender left the rails and crashed into the platform leading to the depot, reducing the heavy planking to kindling wood:'The engine and tender continued their wild journey almost to the depot where, with a last wild leap into the air, they tipped over, landed on their sides, laying side by side, just west of the depot. The engineer, A. Jewell of Chicago, escaped certain death by jumping through the cab window just after the engine left the rails, but the fireman, Ernest Auler, with no chance of escape, was left in the cab,% there to meet his death by being scalded by escaping steam and boiling water. The engine and tender broke away from the stock and way cars a short distance south of the depot and, strange as it may seem, though the front truck was disconnected and the head en^h of the stock car smashed^n, all the cattle in the car caifyeotut alive and but one of the/Calves was killed. The stock was the property of S.W. Smith who, with the conductor was riding in the way car and both of whom came out of the wreck uninjured. The engineer who received a few slight body bruises was cared for by the company's local surgeon. Dr. C.H. Fegers, Sr., while the body of the un­ fortunate fireman was taken to the undertaking rooms of N.J. Justen where the inquest was held late in the afternoon. The verdict returned by the jury impanelled was to the effect that the victim came to his death in a railroad wreck by being scalded by hot water and steam. The wrecker and a crew of workmen arrived at the scene of the accident at 8:30 o'clock a.m. and by 6:30 o'clock p.m. all the debris was cleared away. All day Monday, a large crowd of curious visitors could be seen around the depot watching the work of the wrecker and men. Local photographers were on hand early in the morning and some excellent pictures of the wreck apd the progress of the work during the day can now be obtained. The accident did not delay traffic in the least, all trains throughout the day passed the station by the east side track which was cleared of a nu­ mber of freight cars by the \ »<#* ©A ve»®* t C\ubs W / / You Name It! Worts Transit Co., has been carrying them for 35 Years Inc. • J George Worts Sr. started driving school buses in 1940 and continued until his son George took over and expanded the business. Worts Transit Company, Inc. was granted interstate permits to travel in interstate travel in 1975 to better serve this area. Worts Transit Company, 1315 N. NORTH DR. MctiEJIRY, ILL 385-1500 Travel - Style 1900-1975 Modern Photos By -Pkundealer Photographer Shown above is the North Western station as it appears today. Wayne Gaylord engineer on the 7:23 a.m. passenger. The North Western depot was a busy place as seen in this picture taken in the early 1900's. Wm. Tonyan & Sons, Inc GENERAL CONTRACTORS t «M»p "*« Tonyan & Sons has been located at A910 W. Rte. 120 since they were incorporated in 1962. During the fall ot 1975 we plan to move our facilities to our new location at 1400 South Rte. 31. Complete Planning Service NEW - ADDITIONS - REMODELING Commercial • Homes Industrial • Store Fronts * Institutional Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings EQUIPPED TO SERVE YOU! ALL TRADES 1 ESTIMATES WITHOUT OBLIGATION Our New Name: INRYCO, Inc. INRYCO ^ an INLAND STEEL company Wm. Tonyan & Sons, Inc. 4910 W. RTE 120 McHENRY SERVING YOU SINCE 1962