Fulton Commercial Historic District

The original owners of the real estate upon which the city now stands were John Baker, Henry C. Fellows, James McCoy, Alvin Humphreys, George W. Kellogg, John B. Jenkins, Daniel Reed, R. J. Jenks, Jeremiah Humphreys, Lyman Blake, John W. Baker, Ed. Rolph and some others. The land was purchased of the Government in 1840. Fulton was organized as a village in 1855 and the first trustees were Henry C. Fellows, Dr. W. C. Snyder, Dr. A. W. Benton, but we have been unable to get at any records showing the balance of officers under that organization, or other facts as to its municipal history. In 1859 it became a city under a special charter granted that year by the General Assembly. The book of records, together with all documents, ordinances, etc., belonging to the city were destroyed by fire on the 26th of March, 1875, so that but very few facts in relation to that part of the history of Fulton can be obtained. Through the kindness of Mr. John Phelps, however, we have been enabled to obtain the names of the different Mayors, Aldermen and City Clerks. They are as follows :

Passage source: History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time;, published 1877.

The first building put up within the limits of the present city of Fulton was a small one of hewn logs, on the bank of the river a little north of where Bachelder's pottery now stands. It was built in 1837, the work being done by the men then in the settlement, although the ownership was claimed by John Baker. It was erected originally for a store, but during the first summer was used by James McCoy, Henry C. Fellows, George Kellogg, John B. Jenkins and R. J. Jenks as a bachelor's hall. These bachelor halls were necessary institutions throughout the West at that period. Large numbers of those who sought the then comparatively unknown wilds and prairies of the Upper Mississippi Valley, were young men without families, and very many of them with limited means, if any at all, and for the sake of economy, and in many instances of necessity, banded together and occupied dwellings which could be the most easily and cheaply obtained. In these they resided until by their labor and industry, homes of their own could be procured. Many of them can now look back to these old bachelor halls with feelings of the keenest pleasure. They were young, hardy, and enthusiastic, and the difficulties and inconveniences of pioneer life only added zest to the situation.

Passage source: History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time;, published 1877.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Fulton Township - 31,426 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.