Jesse W. Fell, a small marker for a charmed lawyer from Pennsylvania
Image by guano
Our funky little house was built in 1887, over on the high spot on the north side of the street. In 1917 it was moved to the south side of the street, to clear the high spot for a much more elegant house. We were told by the real estate folks that Jesse Fell, just before he died, had our house built for his two spinster daughters to live in. Old Jesse was a surveyor and lawyer who likely touched nearly all of our town in it’s early days.
Fell helped found the Unitarian church here, where Rustie and I were married. I like to rub the nose of his bust for good luck after entering the church. Fell was a very lucky man.
Yeah, our house was built in 1887. It’s been through hell and it certainly is no longer in "historical" condition. Hot in summer (no A/C), cold in winter, the basement leaks, and the whole house leans toward the back yard. We love it!
Jesse W. Fell (1808 – 1887), a Bloomington, Illinois, lawyer and real estate shark, founded Illinois State University, originally Illinois State Normal University. He called upon his lawyer friend Abraham Lincoln to draw up the bond of guarantee for the Board of Education on May 5, 1857. Fell would later nominate Lincoln for the United States Senate.
Fell was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and moved to Bloomington in 1831. After opening up the town’s first law offices, he turned the practice over to a young lawyer, David Davis in 1836, and became a land claims adjuster.
Fell then founded the city’s first newspaper, The Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate on January 14, 1837. He married Hester Brown in January 1838, and in 1840, the couple moved to Adams County, near Quincy to start a fruit nursery.
Six years later, Fell returned to Bloomington and began acquiring land and working as an agent for the Alton & Springfield Railroad to secure the right of way through McLean County.
He also got back into the publishing business, joining with Charles Merriman to resurrect a failing newspaper, The Whig, which was rechristened The Intelligencer in 1851. It took the name The Pantagraph in 1853.
Fell also is credited with developing much of the town of Normal, known in the 1850s as North Bloomington.Jesse Fell also helped with the landscaping around ISU
Fell died at his home in Normal, Illinois on February 25, 1887. His remains were interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomington.
Illinois State University has an aboreteum covering its main quadrangle known as the Fell Arboretum.
A great capture, hard to imagine you are getting so great with your skills with this camera! Glad for your story and links. He really was quite a guy, one I learned much about when I used to go to that same church and attended "his" school.
I’m awarding pennies for my thoughts today – thanks for being an inspiring photographer, one I am happy to have as a contact!
Wow! Thanks for the penny, Sis!
It is a great age when point-and-click cameras can delivers such good results. Zero skill involved. Thanks again for the camera
Jesse Fell would be amazed at how his little town has grown. It’s still not cultured enough for a lawyer to flaunt the good life. Behind every community there is least one lawyer with an eye for manipulating real estate. I like my lawyers dead, and Jesse qualifies quite well in that regard.
. . That’s my two cents!
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