Fairbury, Illinois is a small town about 35 minutes Northeast of Bloomington-Normal. There are approximately four thousands residents in Fairbury, according to the 2000 census. Fairbury is a small, rural town, with agriculture playing a significant role in its economics. Fairbury is a very tight knit town where everyone seems to know everyone. It is a fairly conservative town as a whole. Fairbury is a very religious community. It has many different churches; notably, the Apostolic Christian Church members make up a considerable amount of Fairbury's citizens. The kind citizens of Fairbury make it the pleasant, small town it is today.

History

Fairbury was founded in 1857 by Octave Chanute. Chanute was a French civil engineer. He was responsible for building the railroad that made the creation of the town of Fairbury possible. Chanute was said to have been a mentor to the Wright brothers. Although Chanute gets the credit for finding the town, Fairbury's first citizen was Caleb Patton. Patton owned the land on which Fairbury was built. When Patton became aware of Chanute's desire to build a railroad through his land, he saw it as an opportunity to turn his land into something useful. He promised to give Chanute half of his land in exchange for the railroad to be built through his land. Although Chanute had Patton's permission, when he arrived to Fairbury, Chanute was met by a group of armed citizens who wanted him to build his railroad somewhere else. Chanute decided to build his railroad during the middle of the night and successfully built the railroad track that today still runs through the middle of town.

Fairbury Today

As of 2009, there were a total of 3,792 citizens living in Fairbury. Fairbury is not a very diverse town; as of 2009, ninety-seven percent of its citizens were Caucasian. Fairbury has a total of 1.3 square miles of land. Fairbury is a relatively safe town when it comes to crime; there has not been a murder in Fairbury in over ten years.

Police Department

Businesses

Shopping in Fairbury

Dave's Super Market

Dave's Super Market is a local grocery store in Fairbury. It is renowned throughout the surrounding areas of Fairbury for its great prices and excellent customer service. Dave Steffen started Dave's in 1950. Steffen was the owner of Dave's until his death in 2011. Dave's has a short and simple motto: "Wow the Customer."

Restaurants

  • Benchwarmers
  • China Kitchen
  • Dairy Queen
  • Grandma's Kitchen
  • Indian Creek Country Club
  • Lost In Time Inc.
  • McDonald's Family Restaurant
  • Monical's Pizza
  • Pizzas by Marchelloni's
  • Subway

The Dairy Queen and Subway in Fairbury are chain restaurants and are essentially the same everywhere. Benchwarmers is a bar and grill where people can go enjoy a nice meal with their family or get a drink at the bar. China Kitchen is a locally owned chinese buffet that is a great place to go if looking for chinese food in Fairbury. Indian Creek Country Club is located south of town in the clubhouse of the golf course. Like Benchwarmers, it is a bar and it has a dining area. Lost In Time Inc. is a locally owned, newly opened cafe/diner that serves food breakfast in the mornings and lunch in the afternoons. McDonald's Family Restaurant is not the famed golden arch franchise, it is another family diner in Fairbury. Monical's Pizza is a local chain restaurant that serves pizza, obviously. Pizza's by Marchelloni's is another pizza restaurant restaurant in Fairbury. Marchelloni's has a pizza buffet and a bowling alley.

Prairie Central School District

Kids in Fairbury attend one of the schools in the Prairie Central school district. There are seven schools in this school district: Westview Elementary, Chenoa Elementary, Chatsworth Elementary, Meadowbrook Elementary, Prairie Central Upper Elementary, Prairie Central Junior High School, and Prairie Central High School. Westview Elementary and Prairie Central High School are the only schools of the seven that are located in Fairbury. The Prairie Central School District was created in 1984 with the merger of three school districts. Students from Fairbury and its surrounding towns, Forrest, Chatsworth, Strawn, Wing, and Chatsworth, all attended the same school upon the merger. In 2004, Prairie Central once again consolidated, this time with the town of Chenoa, Illinois and its school district. http://www.prairiecentral.org/

Prairie Central High School

As of 2009, Prairie Central High School had a total enrollment of 618 students. Prairie Central is known for its Ag. program. The Prairie Central FFA teams have won several state championships throughout the years in various judging contests. Prairie Central is a member of the Cornbelt Conference for athletics. In 2009, the Chicago Sun Times ranked Prairie Central in the top 100 Illinois public schools at #90. http://www.prairiecentral.org/html/pchighschool.html

Apostolic Christian Community

The Apostolic Christian Church was founded in the early 1830's by a young man from Switzerland, named Samuel Froehlich. In the church's early years in Europe, it was known as the Evangelical Baptist church. It would eventually become the Apostolic Christian Church of America. The first Apostolic Christian church in America started in 1847 in Lewis County, New York. According to their website, " The Apostolic Christian Church earnestly seeks to interpret the Bible literally. The teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles serve as the foundation of the doctrine of the church." Today, the church has nearly 90 churches throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Japan. The church runs several nursing homes throughout the country, as well as a home for the handicapped in Morton, Illinois. http://www.apostolicchristian.org/

Fairview Haven Retirement Community

The idea to open a nursing home for elderly members of the Fairbury community was created by members of the Apostolic Christian Church in December of 1960. From this, Fairview Haven was born. It was officially opened on September 4, 1962 when its first couple moved in as residents of the retirement community. As of 2009, there were 17 independent living apartments, 13 assisted living apartments, and 934 current members. http://fairviewhaven.org/OurStory.html http://www.fairviewhaven.org/fvhhdgp.jpg Fairview Haven Retirement Community Contact Information:605 N. Fourth Street, Fairbury, IL 61739 Phone: (815) 692-2572 | Fax: (815) 692-4257 | http://www.fairviewhaven.org/

Dominy Memorial Library

Dominy Memorial Library is a historical building in Fairbury. It opened on January 1, 1905. It was built for a total cost of $12,000. As the town of Fairbury began to expand, so did its need for a town library. Knowing the town needed a library, Lorenzo B. Dominy was inspired to build a town library in order to memorialize his daughter after her death from a short illness. Today, Dominy Memorial Library is a charitable, non-profit organization with nearly 19,000 books and 1,500 card holders.http://dominymemoriallibrary.org/aboutUs.asp

Fairbury American Legion Speedway

The Fairbury American Legion Speedway (FALS) is a one-fourth mile dirt track located on the south side of town at the Fairbury fairgrounds. The track relies on volunteer workers from surrounding communities to run it. During the summer, there is a race nearly every Saturday. The race track hosts two major races each year, the Prairie Dirt Classic and the UMP Summernationals. These races are by far the most attended races of the year; drivers and fans from all over the midwest come to these races. Many racing fans from all over the Midwest travel to Fairbury on Saturday nights in order to watch the races. http://www.fairburyspeedway.com

Things To Do

  • From late spring to early fall, the Fairbury American Legion Speedway hosts a dirt track race nearly every Saturday night.
  • There several sporting events at Prairie Central High School throughout the year; notably, Friday nights are when varsity football and boy's basketball games are hosted.
  • In middle to late August every year, the Fairbury fairgrounds host a 5 day fair.
  • Marchelloni's has a bowling alley.
  • In the summer, the Stanford pool, in Fairbury, is open every day.

Quick Facts

  • Fairbury was mapped out on November 10, 1857.
  • Fairbury was home to one of the few McDonald's franchises to ever shut down.
  • Home of Prairie Central High School
  • Part of Livingston County
  • Home of Dave's Supermarket
  • Home of the Fairbury American Legion Speedway
  • Home of Kilgus Farmstead, a local highly acclaimed dairy farm
  • Mayor: Bob Walter
  • About 1.3 square miles of land
  • Fast food restaurants include Dairy Queen and Subway
  • Pizza restaurants include Monical's, Marchelloni's, and Casey's General Store
  • The Thomas A. Beach House is one of two buildings in Fairbury on the National Register of Historic Places
  • John is the most common first name in Fairbury; Steidinger is the most common last name in town.
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