Month: March 2026

The Railroad Comes to Dayton

Candace W Leave a comment

In 1869 the Ottawa Oswego and Fox Valley Rail Road approached Dayton landowners to acquire the right-of-way for a railway line through Dayton. The OO&FVR line started operation in 1871. This Dayton map from the 1876 La Salle County atlas shows the route the railroad took through the village.

The chart below is a railroad map, a condensed profile of the railroad infrastructure most useful to civil engineers, namely gradient, curvature, crossings at grade, overpasses, underpasses, culverts and bridges. In order to be able to read the markings, it has been turned so that south is at the top. Going up means going toward Ottawa.

The red arrow points to the trestle bridge over Washington street, shown in the picture below. It is a 6 span bridge, made of 20 foot I-beams.

The next three grade crossings (in the green box) correspond, in the map above, to Franklin street, Jackson street, which leads up and out to the west to Route 23, and O’Connell street, which leads west and becomes the Dayton lane. There was no crossing at La Fayette street.

The numbers in the column to the left of the tracks show the distance from the origin in Chicago. The line pointed to by the blue arrow shows the height in feet above sea level. Notice that it shows a slight grade going up to the north. In the winter, with water, snow, or ice on the tracks, we could definitely hear the train laboring and slipping as it worked its way north.

The railroad went through a number of incarnations. It was sold to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy in 1899. The CB&Q merged into the Burlington Northern in 1970. BN subsequently acquired the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, forming the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, whose name was later simplified to BNSF Railway. The one-time Ottawa Oswego & Fox Valley Railway was sold by BNSF to the Illinois RailNet in 1999. In 2005, the latter railroad became Illinois Railways.

I owe many thanks to Jon Roma, for all his railway knowledge and his patience in explaining it to me. Any errors in the above are due to me, not to Jon.

Picnic, Tennis, and Euchre

Candace W Leave a comment

DAYTON
By Mrs. M. J. Keenan

DAYTON WOMAN”S CLUB TO HAVE PICNIC ON FOURTH
The members of the Dayton Woman’s Club plan to hold an all day picnic the Fourth of July, on the club lawn. Picnic dinner and supper will be served, the clubhouse dining room will be used in case of rain.
A sports committee will furnish games and amusements for young and old throughout the day. Mrs. Earl Gardner assisted by Mrs. James Mac Grogan and Miss Mildred Marten will have charge of the affair which is open to everyone.

MR. AND MRS. VERN WILSON HAVE HOUSEWARMING
Mr. and Mrs. Vern Wilson and family who recently moved into their new home entertained seventy-five friends at a house warming party Thursday evening. Euchre furnished the entertainment for the evening. At midnight refreshments were served. The card favors were presented to Mrs. William Gibson and Jule Pitts.

TENNIS CLUB ORGANIZED BY DAYTON YOUNG PEOPLE
At a meeting held at the Dayton store, Earl Lardner was elected president of a tennis club, which is being organized by a group of Dayton folks. A court has been made and is located east of the railroad tracks near the Gardner home. The president has charge of the membership.

To Entertain Club
Mrs. Dan Hallowell and Mrs. Ed Hill will entertain the members of the Dayton Woman’s club Wednesday afternoon, July 9, in the Dayton hall.

Dayton Briefs
Miss Cora Tanner returned to Aurora Monday after spending several weeks here.
Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Mac Grogan and Miss Marjorie Gregory have returned to their home in South Bend, Ind., after a week’s vacation here with relatives and friends.
Miss Catherine Pitts of Joliet has been spending a few weeks in Dayton.
Misses Jennie and Emma Fraine visited at the Ernest Raspilian home in Serena last week.
Carl Edward of Chicago visited at the McHale home here last week.
Miss Mildred Pool has returned to her home near Marseilles after a visit with her grandmother, Mrs. John Reynolds.
Miss Edith Reynolds of Ottawa spent Thursday evening in Dayton.
Miss Jean Ball visited last week in Ottawa with her aunt, Mrs. Harry Zellars and other relatives.
Mrs. Harry De Bolt and Miss Lorraine De Bolt spent Wednesday afternoon in Dayton.
Miss Irene Thompson and Mrs. Edward O’Brien of Chicago, were guests at the Fraine home one day last week.
Ed McHale is spending a couple of weeks in Dixon.
Mr. and Mrs. William Daly of Marseilles spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Earl Gardner and family.
Mrs. William Fleming spent Saturday in Ottawa.
L. A. Green and Miss Maud Green attended a reunion at Walcott Van Etten’s in Mendota, Sunday.
Miss Eleanor Keenan celebrated her fourth birthday, June 26.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dore of Hennepin, spent Saturday with Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Nash.
Misses Emma and Jennie Fraine and Mrs. Edie Thompson were all night guests at the Jule Fraine home in Ottawa.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen Fleming and son Marshall, and Miss Catherine Fleming of Aurora called on friends here Sunday.
Mrs. M. Keenan spent Saturday in Ottawa.
Miss Lois Fraine of Ottawa visited last week with her aunts, Misses Emma and Jennie Fraine and Mrs. Addie Thompson.
Miss Loretta Thorson returned home Wednesday after a two weeks vacation at the Casper Larson home in Stavanger.
Garnet A. Cope, operator for the Burlington at Ottawa, spent a three day vacation recently fishing and visiting friends in Dayton township.
Joseph Jacobs of Marseilles is spending a few days in Dayton.
Mrs. Frank Davis was a caller in Ottawa, Saturday.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Nash visited the latter’s brother, E. Moews at the Spring Valley hospital, Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Jule Pitts and family of Joliet were week-end guests at their home here.
Mr. and Mrs. E. Dudgeon and family of near Serena called in Dayton Sunday.
Miss Pauline Parr took part in the recital at the Episcopal church in Ottawa Friday evening.
Mrs. Mark Keenan spent Tuesday in Aurora.1

  1. [Ottawa Illinois] Daily Republican Times, July 2, 1930, p. 18.

*Trumbo Reunion

Candace W Leave a comment

The Trumbo family gave a picnic in the woods near the home of Mrs. West Matlock, at Yorkville, Thursday. Sixty-seven were present and all are related either by marriage or birth. It was decided to incorporate under the name of “The Trumbo Family Association” and hold a picnic once each year. The Trumbos are old residents of La Salle county and reside in Rutland and Dayton townships. The descendants of the number 250, the majority of whom reside in this county within a radius of fifty miles of each other. Mrs. West Matlock is one of the oldest surviving members of the family. She is 68 years old and has three children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The most interesting feature of Thursday’s picnic was a game of baseball between the old men and young men. Tom MacKinlay, Theo. Gibson and Ben Hess played like Trojans and Theo. caught one youngster between second and third base and nearly knocked him silly trying to play the old game “pot ball.” All the party had an enjoyable time and arrived home safe and sound.1

Mrs. West Matlock was the former Lavina Trumbo, daughter of Mathias and Rebecca (Grove) Trumbo. She was born in Licking county, Ohio, on September 11, 1820, and married West Matlock in La Salle county on February 23, 1840. She was the niece of Barbara (Grove) Green.

  1. Ottawa Free Trader, May 4, 1890, p. 5.