Griggsville was laid out in 1833 by Joshua Stanford,
Nathan W. Jones, and Richard Griggs and named for Richard Griggs. The
original town consisted of eight blocks on the north side and eight on
the south side of Quincy Street.
The original plan made provision for a public square containing
two acres but the town was replatted and eight lots from four adjacent
blocks were designated for public purposes. Griggsville sprang up as a
boom town when the floodgates of migration opened after the Indian
Removal Act of 1830 and successful conclusion of the Black Hawk War in
the 1832. As a frontier boom town, Griggsville was a rival of Chicago,
then a small settlement on the shore of Lake Michigan. The first
industries in Griggsville were pork packing and flour milling and these
products were transported to Griggsville Landing, once a busy river port
four miles to the east, for shipment to the rest of the nation.
The town was actively
interested in the Civil War and in 1838 an abolition melee occurred
after a Democratic and Whig contest in the election for constable.
Following the election an anti-slavery meeting was held and a petition
was signed asking Congress to abolish slavery in the District of
Columbia and not to admit Texas as a slave state to the Union. A mob of
pro-slavery advocates got a hold of the petition and began threatening
the signers of the petition with violence if they didn’t erase their
names. The anti-slavery men formed a committee and informed the
pro-slavery mob that they must disband or they would be dealt with
harshly with a “fresh supply of ammunition.” The community's active
concern over the slavery question resulted in there being more
enlistments in the Union army recorded in Griggsville than from any
other point in Pike County.
As Griggsville lies between the Illinois and
Mississippi Rivers it has muggy summer weather and conditions ideal for
mosquitoes. Concerned with the growing the use of pesticides local
entrepreneur and nature enthusiast J.L. Wade, a Griggsville resident and
owner of a local antenna manufacturing factory, came up with an
alternate method to control the pests. Wade realized that Griggsville
was right in the migration path of the Purple Martin which supposedly is
able to eat 2,000 mosquitoes in a single day. Wade reasoned that if the
town provided the birds with shelter they would make Griggsville their
summer home and so he converted his antenna factory into a bird house
building factory. Over the years Griggsville has installed over 5,000
birdhouses along the city streets, including a 562-apartment high rise
that reaches a height of 70 feet. As the mosquito population dwindled
the town adopted the nickname "The Purple Martin Capitol of the Nation",
as well as labeling the Purple Martin "America's Most Wanted Bird."
Griggsville is home to the Western Illinois Fair which is held the
third week of June each year.
A major highlight of the fair is the bus demolition derby held on
Saturday evening. The fair,
which is one of the longest running fairs in Illinois, offers
something for everyone. Some of the highlights are a petting zoo,
fantastic midway rides, horse racing, motor cross, and a wide
variety of concession stands. The town also has an annual Apple
Festival in September that provides for a fun filled weekend. Local
history can be found at the Skinner House. The Griggsville
Preservation & Restoration Society restored the 1858 home in 1982
and it is open to visitors Tuesday & Wednesday morning and Thursday
and Friday afternoon.
www.griggsvilleil.org
The official website of the town of Griggsville. This web site has
detailed information about the town, its history, the things to do, and
local events.
