Recently a historical research query was submitted to the Pekin Public Library from someone who was seeking information about an old trade token that he had found. The trade token was from a business called “The Elm” that was located at 110 Court St. in downtown Pekin.
His query left me quite stumped, and neither he nor I were able to find any record of a business of that name located at that address. A systematic and thorough search through the old Pekin city directories from the 1890s to the 1960s was unable to turn up a single reference to “The Elm.”
An examination of the old Sanford Fire Insurance maps of Pekin indicates that there was no building at 110 Court St. that could have housed any business until the 1890s, so it only stands to reason that there would be no trace of “The Elm” in the 1861, 1871, 1887, or 1893 directories.
The 1885 Sanborn map of Pekin shows a small unidentified building, hardly large enough to house a business. By 1892, though, the Sanborn maps show that a large structure had been built at 110 and 112 Court St. – 110 Court was then the site of an unidentified saloon, while 112 Court was vacant.
It is only with the 1895 Pekin city directory that we find a business listed near the site of 110 Court St. The directory that year shows “Eagle Bottling Works, 112 Court, Wm Friedrich prop.” But that was next door to 110 Court St., which seems to have been unoccupied that year.
In the 1898 directory, we find “Model Steam Laundry, O. D. Ramsey, propr.” at 112 Court, but again 110 Court is not listed. The Sanborn map that year shows 110 Court St. as the site of a saloon that had gone out of business, located next door to a steam laundry.
The next directory in our collection is for 1903-04. During that five-year gap in our directory collection, it is quite possible that “The Elm” was in operation at 110 Court St. as the mystery trade token would indicate. Notably, the 1903 Sanborn map again shows an unidentified saloon at 110 Court St., while 112 Court St. next door was vacant.
The 1903-04 city directory is the first to show a business at 110 Court St., for that directory includes this entry: “C. C. Glasford, prop. Glasford House, propr., cor 3rd and St. Mary, saloon, 110 Court.” That would mean Glasford House was at the corner of Third and St. Mary streets, but Glasford also operated a saloon at 110 Court St. (no doubt the one shown on the 1903 Sanborn map). The directory does not tell us the name of Glasford’s saloon. Could he have named his saloon “The Elm”?
This is 110 Court St. as shown in the 1885 Sanborn map of Pekin:
Next, we see a larger building at 110-112 Court St. in the 1892 Sanborn map of Pekin:
The same building appears in the 1898 Sanborn map of Pekin as the site of a steam laundry (at 112 Court St.) and a closed saloon (at 110 Court St.). Was the saloon called “The Elm”?
Finally, we see a saloon at 110 Court St. in the 1903 Sanborn map:
Our next city directory is from 1908, when we find 110 Court St. listed as the residence (or possibly the business site) of a certain man named Ed Forest. The directory does not shed any light on who Ed Forest was or whether he operated a business at that location.
The 1909 Pekin city directory says 110 Court St. was then the location of “Rasmussen & Ingrah’m.” These are probably Carl E. Rasmussen and Harry Ingraham, who are both listed in that directory as owning or working in a saloon, and both living at 114 Ann Eliza. Again, the directory does not specify the name of their saloon, so perhaps it was the mysterious “The Elm” we’re looking for.
From that point on, the record of businesses that operated at 110 Court St. is fairly complete in the city directories, and none of those businesses is said to have been named “The Elm.” Following is a table of city directory entries from 1913 to 1961:
1913 Van Boening storage (110-12 Court) – that must be Oscar Van Boening, proprietor of Pekin Livery Co., corner of N. Capitol and Ann Eliza.
1914 Same entry as 1913
1922 Vacant
1924 C. A. Hardt & Co. auto tires – Carl A. Hardt (and his wife Minnie)
1926 Pekin Auto Radiator & Tire Co., 110-12 Court, Stanley B. Griffith (which was next door to C. A. Hardt in 1924)
1928 Vacant
1930 Jones-Koeder Co. band instrument manufacturers; Halbert G. Jones, pres., Theophil M. Koeder, sec.-treas.
1932 Same entry as 1930
1934 Majestic Band Instrument Co., Halbert G. Jones, manager
1937 Superior Machine & Welding Works, Robert Nolan
1939 O. L. Carey & Son agricultural implements, owned and operated by O. L. Carey, of Lilly, Ill.
1941 Warehouse for Frank Rosenberg’s furniture and Lakeview Cemetery Lots Co., 109-19 Court.
1943 Same entry as 1941
1946 Same entry as 1941
1948 Eagle Insulating Co., 110-12 Court, Glen K. Hubbard
1950 Same entry as 1948
1952 Same entry as 1948
1955 Same entry as 1948
1958 Eagle Insulating Co., home improvement, 110 Court, James R. Burkett
1959 Same entry as 1958, but with the additional reference to “aluminum products and siding”
1961 Vacant
After 1961, and for the rest of the 1960s, “110 Court St.” doesn’t even appear in the directories. That would suggest that the building had been torn down, or perhaps was part of another business in that block of Court Street and thus did not get a separate directory entry. By this time, businesses in Pekin had ceased using trade tokens, so we can be sure “The Elm” was not around during the 1960s or later.
At this time, the mystery of “The Elm” and who owned and operated it must remain unsolved.
