Monmouth - Sesquicentennial - Monmouth, IL - Community Commemoration on Waymarking.com

County of capsule: Warren County
Loction of capsule: 100 W. Broadway, courthouse lawn, Monmouth

Capsule Text:

"The town established in 1831 was originally going to be called Kosciusko (the name was drawn out of a hat), but the founders of the town feared that it would be difficult to spell and pronounce.

"In 1841, Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith appeared before Judge Stephen A. Douglas in an extradition hearing held at Monmouth's Warren County courthouse. The hearing, which was to determine whether Smith should be returned to Missouri to face murder charges, resulted in freedom for the defendant, as it was determined that his arrest had been invalid. Attorney Orville Browning, who would assume Douglas's Senate seat following his death, represented Smith.

"Gunfighter Wyatt Earp was born in Monmouth. For many years, the town watertower boasted that Monmouth was the "Home of Wyatt Earp." Controversial Civil War General Eleazer A. Paine practiced law there for many years. Abner C. Harding, Civil War General and Republican Congressman, lived in Monmouth and is buried in Monmouth Cemetery. Ronald Reagan lived in Monmouth for a while as a child when his father worked as a shoe salesman at the Colwell Department Store and mass murderer Richard Speck lived in Monmouth briefly as a child, and again in the spring of 1966.

"Monmouth College, a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was founded in Monmouth in 1853 by Cedar Creek & South Henderson Presbyterian Churches. With James Cochran Porter & Robert Ross Founding in 1852 Monmouth Academy. The Rev. David Alexander Wallace serving as the first President 1856-1878. It is the second-largest employer in the city. Pi Beta Phi, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men, was founded on its campus in 1867. Just three years later in 1870, Kappa Kappa Gamma, international fraternity for women, was founded on its campus.

"Monmouth was once home to one of the most unusually named high school sports organizations, the Zippers. Originally known as The Maroons, the Zipper nickname came about in the late 1930s when the school had a fast basketball team that would "Zip" up and down the court. Earl Bennett, a sports writer nicknamed them "The Zippers" and the name stuck. The school went with the "Zipper" nickname until the 2005-06 school year when Monmouth consolidated with Roseville and the new Monmouth-Roseville High School adopted the nickname "The Titans".

"Monmouth was the home for Western Stoneware, known for its "Maple Leaf" imprint and for producing "Sleepy Eye" collectible ceramics, which are recognizable by the blue-on-white bas-relief Indian profile. Western Stoneware closed in June 2006. Three former employees of Western Stoneware now operate the facility under the name "WS", Inc and have leased the building and logo from the city of Monmouth." ~ Wikipedia

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