Ottawa, Illinois

History

Ottawa occupies a place on the Illinois River that has long been one end of a portage trail between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan. The North Portage Trail connected the site over land and water to the Chicago River.

Ottawa was the site of the first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates on August 21, 1858. During the Ottawa debate, Stephen A. Douglas, leader of the Democratic Party, openly accused Abraham Lincoln of forming a secret bipartisan group of Congressmen to bring about the abolition of slavery.

The John Hossack House was a "station" on the Underground Railroad, and Ottawa was a major stop because of its rail, road, and river transportation. Citizens in the city were active within the abolitionist movement. Ottawa was the site of a famous 1859 extrication of a runaway slave named Jim Gray from a courthouse by prominent civic leaders of the time. Three of the civic leaders, John Hossack, Dr. Joseph Stout and James Stout, later stood trial in Chicago for violating the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Ottawa was also important in the development of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which terminates in LaSalle, Illinois, 12 miles to the west. In 1838, workmen from the canal project were causing public unrest. During a citizens' meeting, a local political leader, Washington Armstrong, suggested that farmer William Reddick be elected sheriff. Reddick was a popular choice due to his large stature and courageous manner. Reddick was elected by a large majority and held the office of sheriff for four consecutive two-year terms. In 1855, while serving in the Illinois State Senate, Reddick commissioned the construction of a large Italianate house for the then-large sum of $25,000 (~$ in ). Reddick Mansion is now one of the largest surviving homes in Illinois to predate the Civil War. In 1973, the mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places, as part of the Washington Park Historic District.

On February 8, 1910, William Dickson Boyce, then a resident of Ottawa, incorporated the Boy Scouts of America. Five years later, also in Ottawa, Boyce incorporated the Lone Scouts of America. Boyce is buried in Ottawa Avenue Cemetery. The Ottawa Scouting Museum, on Canal Street, opened to the public on December 6, 1997. The museum features the history of Boy Scouting, Girl Scouting and Camp Fire.

In 1922, the Radium Dial Company (RDC) moved from Peru, Illinois to a former high school building in Ottawa. The company employed hundreds of women called Radium girls. These women painted watch dials using a paint called "LUMA", which contained a compound of ZnS(Ag) (Silver activated Zinc Sulfide) and powdered radium, for watch maker Westclox. RDC went out of business in 1936, two years after the company's president, Joseph Kelly Sr., left to start a competing company, Luminous Processes Inc., a few blocks away. The employees of the company suffered radiation toxicity, as chronicled in the 1986 documentary, Radium City. After the plant closed and before it was dismantled, many residents took items from the factory for their homes. This spread the contamination even further. The building materials from the Luminuous Processes building were eventually turned into landfill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began removing contaminated material in 1986.

Areas still affected by radiation

Sixteen areas of Ottawa are still radioactive. The United States Department of Health and Human Services released a study outlining areas where contamination by radium-226 (Ra-226), as well as emissions of radon-222 (Rn-222), are at or above normal levels. These areas include homes, public areas, schools, and even a car sales lot that is housed directly over the old Radium Dial Company site. A score of 28.5/100 or higher qualifies an area for the Superfund National Priority List, and Ottawa's hazardous ranking score is 50/100.

The radium in Ottawa's water supply occurs naturally in water from deep wells across northern Illinois. A reverse osmosis water treatment plant removes the radium so the city's tap water complies with federal regulations.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Ottawa has a total area of 15.516 sqmi, of which 14.657 sqmi (or 94.46%) is land and 0.859 sqmi (or 5.54%) is water.

Climate

| Jan record high F = 68 | Feb record high F = 73 | Mar record high F = 85 | Apr record high F = 93 | May record high F = 106 | Jun record high F = 107 | Jul record high F = 112 | Aug record high F = 107 | Sep record high F = 103 | Oct record high F = 94 | Nov record high F = 83 | Dec record high F = 71 | year record high F = 112 | Jan avg record high F = 53.7 | Feb avg record high F = 57.3 | Mar avg record high F = 72.3 | Apr avg record high F = 81.8 | May avg record high F = 88.6 | Jun avg record high F = 92.6 | Jul avg record high F = 93.6 | Aug avg record high F = 92.9 | Sep avg record high F = 90.8 | Oct avg record high F = 84.3 | Nov avg record high F = 69.9 | Dec avg record high F = 56.7 | year avg record high F = 95.5 | Jan avg record low F = -6.0 | Feb avg record low F = -0.8 | Mar avg record low F = 10.9 | Apr avg record low F = 25.5 | May avg record low F = 36.8 | Jun avg record low F = 47.5 | Jul avg record low F = 53.0 | Aug avg record low F = 52.1 | Sep avg record low F = 40.2 | Oct avg record low F = 28.6 | Nov avg record low F = 16.4 | Dec avg record low F = 1.9 | year avg record low F = -10.0 | Jan record low F = −26 | Feb record low F = −23 | Mar record low F = −9 | Apr record low F = 12 | May record low F = 26 | Jun record low F = 35 | Jul record low F = 39 | Aug record low F = 33 | Sep record low F = 25 | Oct record low F = 13 | Nov record low F = -6 | Dec record low F = −23 | year record low F = -26 | access-date = July 11, 2021 | archive-date = November 10, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040544/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=lot | url-status = dead | access-date = July 11, 2021}}

Industry

Because of numerous silica sand deposits (Ottawa sand was on board the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia for experimental purposes) Ottawa has been a major sand and glass center for more than 100 years. Transportation of the sand is facilitated by the navigable Illinois river and the Illinois Railway Ottawa Line. One of its largest employers is Pilkington Glass, a successor to LOF (Libbey Owens Ford). Formerly concentrated in automotive glass, the plant now manufactures specialty glass and underwent a $50 million (~$ in ) renovation in 2006. Ottawa sand continues to be extracted from several quarries in the area, and is recognized in glass-making and abrasives for its uniform granularity and characteristics.

SABIC recently(when?) purchased GE Plastics, a successor to Borg-Warner automotive glass manufacture, operates a large plastics facility in Ottawa, and is a major employer.

Ottawa sand is a standard testing medium in geotechnical engineering (laboratory demonstrations and research into new technologies).

Demographics

There were 7,764 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.70% were married couples living together, 15.38% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.01% were non-families. 34.31% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.95% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 2.36.

The city's age distribution consisted of 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $53,544, and the median income for a family was $64,128. Males had a median income of $39,677 versus $26,514 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,365. About 13.5% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Tourism

Ottawa has many historic homes and registered historic landmarks. Recent additions to Ottawa have included renovations to its historic mansion, the Reddick Mansion, and artistic murals throughout the central business district. Ottawa is known as the scenic gateway to Starved Rock State Park, the most popular state park in Illinois, with some 2 million visitors per year. The Fox River, which flows through communities like Elgin and Aurora, empties into the Illinois in downtown Ottawa. Ottawa is also home to one of the largest skydiving operations in the country, Skydive Chicago.

The Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum honors Ottawa resident William D. Boyce, founder of the Boy Scouts of America.

Jacob C. Zeller founded the Zeller Inn and Court Place Tavern in 1871, at 615 Columbus Street. The original Zeller Inn was demolished in 1982. The Zeller Inn tavern, originally known as the Court Place, still remains, now called Zeller Inn. The courtyard patio area on Columbus street is where the original Zeller Inn stood. The tavern contains the original mahogany bar built by the Sanders Bros in Ottawa, marble counters, tiled floors and walls, stained glass door and light fixtures. It also was known for its Gilded Age brilliance — tiled mahogany bar, carved gargoyles, pressed-tin ceiling and solid oak backbar. The mirror on the bar is the same since its establishment in 1871, which was brought over from the 1800s era European Worlds Fair. Zeller's initials, JCZ, are still visible in a tiled mosaic on the side of the bar and in the glass light domes that hang from the ceiling. This is one of the oldest taverns in Illinois, with original features which remain intact and displays the architectural details prominent in the late 1800s.

Media

Ottawa was served by two local newspapers. The older of the two, The Times, was formed in 2005, when the Streator-based Times-Press merged with The Daily Times, based in Ottawa. It is now an online newspaper. The second was a weekly newspaper called Ottawa Delivered, which closed in 2012. Ottawa is also served by the NewsTribune of La Salle, Illinois.

Ottawa also has three local radio stations, WCMY-AM at 1430, WRWO-LP at 94.5, and WRKX-FM at 95.3.

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Ottawa, Illinois

References

References

1. {{GNIS. 2396106
2. "The Chicago Portage - Historical Synopsis {{!}} Chicago Portage".
3. "First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois". National Park Service.
4. "List of Sites for the Underground Railroad". National Park Service.
5. "The Jim Gray Case". Jay W. Preston.
6. (1975). "History, Significance, and Feasibility for Adaptive Use of the William Reddick Mansion at Ottawa, Illinois". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
7. Catlin, Betty. (1971). "Reddick's Library". Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
8. (August 2016). "LaSalle County Sheriff William Reddick".
9. (1973). "Illinois SP Washington Park Historic District".
10. "Ottawa Scouting Museum". Ottawa Scouting Museum website.
11. Balkansky, Arlene. (2019-03-19). "Radium Girls: Living Dead Women {{!}} Headlines & Heroes".
12. Tara McClellan McAndrew. January 25, 2018. “The Radium Girls: An Illinois Tragedy.” NPR Illinois. https://www.nprillinois.org/equity-justice/2018-01-25/the-radium-girls-an-illinois-tragedy
13. "Ottawa Radiation Areas". U.S. EPA Region 5.
14. "Ottawa radiation areas". ToxicSites.
15. (July 25, 2006). "Ottawa Radiation Areas". United States Department of Health and Human Services.
16. (July 2006). "Illinois State Water Survey". Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
17. "Water Treatment Plant History". City of Ottawa.
18. "Gazetteer Files".
19. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
20. "Explore Census Data".
21. [http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/east/starve/park.htm ''Starved Rock State Park'' (Illinois Department of Natural Resources)] {{webarchive. link. (September 27, 2010)
22. "''Reddick Mansion'' (The Reddick Mansion Association)".
23. "Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum". Ottawa Visitors Center.
24. "About Us". Small Newspaper Group Inc..
25. "About Us". NewsTribune.