History of Our Community

Before being settled by European immigrants, the plains around Pontiac were home to the Illini — a confederation of smaller tribes, including the Tamaroas, Michigamies, Kaskaskias, Cahokias, and Peorias — Pottawatomie, and Kickapoo. In 1682, the region was nominally under French control. In 1765, Great Britain claimed ownership of the land. After the American Revolution, the area fell under the jurisdiction of the state of Virginia. Virginia gave the Illinois lands to the new federal government in 1784; in 1809, the area became part of the Illinois Territory, which included parts of modern-day Wisconsin and Minnesota.

In spring 1832, the Blackhawk War erupted when Native Americans crossed into Illinois from the Iowa Indian Territory. Although the Blackhawk War was a brief conflict, the Livingston County region was close to the front lines. The early settlers were advised to either build a stockade to protect their families and livestock or move back east temporarily while the fighting continued. Most of the early settlers, finding a stockade impractical, abandoned their homesteads and went back east until the war ended. In September 1832, the government forced the relocation of the entire Kickapoo tribe and other native groups to government lands located west of the Mississippi River. The settlers then returned to their homes.

In 1837, Livingston County was officially established by an act of the Illinois legislature. One of the provisions of the act establishing the county decreed a commission be created to find a suitable location for the county seat. The commission met and selected a site on land owned by three of the early settlers: Henry Weed, Lucius W. Young, and Seth M. Young. The three settlers laid out a town site and agreed to contribute $3,000 for the erection of public buildings. They further agreed to donate land for a public square and a jail, and another parcel of land for a pen to hold stray domestic animals. Finally, the three men promised to build a bridge across the Vermilion River. The name “Pontiac” was suggested by landowner Jesse Fell, who admired the great Native American chief.

For the first 20 years, the village of Pontiac struggled for survival. 1837 not only marked the founding of Pontiac, but was also the first year of an extended, nationwide financial depression. The Panic of 1837 slowed the pace of settlers and westward expansion significantly. After five years of existence, there were still only two families living within the city limits. In 1849, a terrible outbreak of cholera hit Pontiac and the nearby farms, resulting in the deaths of 14 people in less than two weeks — a catastrophe for the small community. In those early years, most of the early settlers were small farmers of meager means who lived outside city limits. The pioneers dug drainage and irrigation ditches to manage runoff and reclaim swampland, cleared the prairie grasses, and planted acres of wheat, corn, and other staple crops. Farmers fenced in their fields of grain to protect them from the herds of deer that roamed the woods and prairies. Later, large herds of cattle were brought into the area to graze on the unclaimed prairie land. A fence law passed in 1867 required cattle owners to fence their livestock to prevent damage to crops. Soon, the remaining open prairie spaces were fenced, plowed, and planted in crops.