Community Connection: Exhibit show how the railroad impacted Sycamore

When Doris Hetchler of Cortland took a day trip into Chicago for a Cubs game, she never knew that one day, the trip would be historic. Hetchler’s trip took place in the 1940s, and she traveled into the city on a train from Sycamore.

The new exhibit at the Sycamore History Museum, “Connecting a Community: How One Railroad Shaped a Small Town,” focuses on how railroads impacted the Sycamore community through the years. The exhibit, which started March 21, will run until March 20, 2016, at the Sycamore History Museum, 1730 N. Main St. in Sycamore.

“At that time, going into the city for a day trip was a big deal,” Hetchler said. “The railroad ran right behind my aunt’s house in Sycamore. I remember going out and watching the trains in her backyard. Now I’m attending a museum exhibit about the railroad, which was always a part of my childhood.”

Michelle Donahoe, the museum’s executive director, said the exhibit’s topic was chosen last year shortly after the publication of Clint Cargile’s book, “Five-Mile Spur Line: A Railroad History of Sycamore, Illinois.”

“It was a great book and was well-researched,” Donahoe said. “We had a lot of artifacts related to the railroad, which complimented all of the information and history in the book.”

About 150 artifacts can be found in the exhibit. The exhibit is divided into four different categories: local businesses, manufacturing companies, opportunities and people.

The railroad first came to Sycamore in 1859, when town founders established the Sycamore & Cortland line. The 5-mile spur connected Sycamore to Cortland and then linked to other railroads that led to Chicago.

“The gentlemen that came to Sycamore, including the Ellwood brothers that helped found the railroad, loved the town and gave their own funds to make Sycamore and the community more vibrant,” said Carol Meeks, museum board member and head of the Junior Docents program.

Free train tickets given by the Ellwood brothers, Reuben and Chauncey Ellwood, are on display at the museum, as well as a section of the freight door of the Sycamore train depot inscribed with the name “Ellwood.”

“At that time, traveling to Cortland was a day trip and a great adventure,” Meeks said. “Now we get in the car and are there in three minutes. The railroad allowed people and products to travel back and forth in a way that was faster than ever before.”

The Chicago & North Western railroad line came to Sycamore in 1883 and the Chicago Great Western in 1887. The railroads and refrigerated train cars allowed Sycamore farmers to transport eggs, cheese and milk to Chicago and St. Louis, as well as cities as far away as Boston. Meeks said farmers could leave full milk cans on the train platform in the morning and the train would return empty cans in the evening. A telegraph sent by a store in the morning could guarantee a delivery on the afternoon train.

“The railroad brought business and manufacturing to Sycamore, allowing items to be brought in from around the country,” Donahoe said. “According to a menu from the Sycamore Ice Company, the company bottled fresh orange juice. They made freshly squeezed orange juice from oranges shipped in from California.”

Food was not the only type of goods transported on the railroad. Clothing items, including hats, shoes and fabric, could be ordered and shipped directly to Sycamore stores. Sycamore factories, including the Illinois Thresher Company and the E.C. Chandler Cigar Factory, were able to produce and ship goods worldwide using the railroad.

People also took advantage of Sycamore’s train station to travel into Chicago. One section of the museum’s exhibit is dedicated to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition that was held in Chicago.

“The railroad in Sycamore allowed people to come and go places, like to Chicago and the World’s Columbian Exposition,” Meeks said. “Souvenirs were bought and collected at the exposition, and they were passed down through families over the years, including families here in Sycamore.”

One lasting remnant of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Sycamore was the Columbia Literary Club, a woman’s club that was created to meet and discuss books and topics introduced by the exposition. The club is still in existence today.

“I knew the railroad was in Sycamore, but I never knew how important it was or how it helped the formation of the club,” club member Ann Stipher said. “After seeing all of the good things that happened and the history behind the railroad, frankly, I still wish we had it in Sycamore.”

Donahoe said that one of the main goals of the museum’s exhibit is to help bring awareness of Sycamore’s history to the community in a fun, family-friendly way. The exhibit features a children’s section with hands-on and interactive displays, including toy trains and a 1908 Sears catalog. Exhibit attendees can match items from the catalog to pictures on the wall that show photographs of Sycamore citizens from the early 1900s.

“Often, people think of museums as boring, but we want to show them that history can be interesting,” Donahue said. “Sycamore’s downtown area has so much character, and we are a town with a lot of history. It’s our rich history that has made us the community that we are today.”

---

Know more

For more information on the Sycamore History Museum's new exhibit, call 815-895-5762 or visit www.sycamorehistory.org.