Town of Cambridge

Cambridge Courthouse

courtesy of Bonnie Wiley

The town of Cambridge, Illinois is situated in the center of Henry County, about 30 miles east of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area and 60 miles north of Peoria, Illinois. Located along Illinois Route-81 and Route-82 and within seven miles of I-74 and nine miles of I-80.It is also the county seat for Henry.

The original town contained about 36 acres. Two public squares were platted: Court Square” and “ College Square”. The two names are suggestive of the bent of mind at that time. On square was to punish criminals on and the other “square” was the first idea of a great institution of learning-“ College Square” where at that time, prairie wolves, frogs,and crawfish chimneys were the exsisting alma mater for these classic grounds.

The courthouse at Morristown was not completed when this last change of county seat occurred and work was stopped. The people of the southern part of the county were invited to assemble and every man invited to bring his work oxen and the courthouse was put on runners and hauled to Cambridge over the prairie and tall grass. The courthouse was used for three years. In 1844 a contract was made with Sullivan Howard for a new couthouse and it was built. It was used as a school, courthouse and various other functions.

Charles Blish surveyed and platted Cambridge and was paid $14 therefor. His assistants were Albert Jagger and Sullivan Howard. June 26 was the first sale of lots in the new town. Twenty lots were sold at about an average of $20 each. There were 13 purchasers and of these but three were known to have stayed. These were Tillson, Allan and Ayers.

The oldest settler was noted village blacksmith Lord John Russell, who put up the first house in Cambridge.The first hotel was built by A.H. Showers in 1848.

There was no wild “booming” in Cambridge property. It was a modest, unpretentious county seat, and grew in population, building and businesses strictly in keeping with the demands made upon it by the wants of the public and growth of the adjacent farming community.

From: portrait and Biographical Album of Henry County-1885