Worthy S. Streator - Streator, Illinois

Streator, Illinois

In 1868 the newly developed town that was created in conjunction with the mines was incorporated as Streator, Illinois, named in honor of Streator. Colonel Ralph Plumb served as the new city's first mayor. Worthy Streator, himself, never visited the city named for him.

The success of the local mining operations and the introduction of the new glass making industry allowed for improvements in the living conditions and personal wealth of its miners and laborers. In his 1877 History of LaSalle County, author H.F. Kett states:

Perhaps no city...in Illinois, outside of the great city of Chicago, presents an instance of such rapid and substantial growth as the city of Streator. From a single small grocery house... the locality has grown to be a city of 6,000 prosperous and intelligent people. Churches, school-houses, large, substantial business houses and handsome residences, with elegant grounds and surroundings, now beautify the waste of ten years ago, while the hum of machinery and thronged streets are unmistakable evidences of business importance and prosperity.

Streator continued to flourish for much of the 20th century. Ultimately the demand for coal was replaced with the new demand for oil. Many of the mines closed in the 1920s, with the last of the mines finally shutting down in 1958. Since then, growth has stagnated, but Streator remains a viable manufacturing town with a glass bottle and a heavy equipment industry in addition to retail and agriculture.