Driving Around Small Town Fairbury, Illinois in 4k Video

Filmed on Sunday, May 12 2024, I drive around Fairbury, IL to see what's going on.

Fairbury was laid out on November 10, 1857 by Caleb L. Patton and Octave Chanute. Like most Illinois towns of the 1850s, the original town of Fairbury was centered on a depot ground. It consisted of twenty-six blocks, each divided into fourteen to sixteen lots. There was no central public square, but one was later included in Marsh's addition. The plan used was virtually identical to that at Chatsworth, Illinois, including the street names.

Octave Chanute was a civil engineer employed by the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad. Caleb L. Patton was an early settler on the land where the town was built. Chanute, a French native, was later famed for publishing Progress in Flying Machines, which helped pioneer aviation (the Wright brothers even mentioned Chanute as a mentor to them).

Fairbury was home to a resident and restaurant owner named Ronald McDonald who was in a 26-year legal battle with fast food giant McDonalds over the name of his restaurant. He ultimately prevailed and continued using his name on his restaurant.

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