A MAP TO MAYHEM

NORMAN  V.  KELLY

Second &  Fisher   Streets in south end of Peoria, Illinois, known as the west prairie was the scene of a dual hanging in 1851,  Williams and Brown, witnessed by over 15,000 people, January 15, 1851.

 

Hamilton Blvd.       Across the street from Peoria County Courthouse was the site of the Grand Old Peoria Opera House.  Beautiful building, 1882-1909.  ( Peoria County parking lot.)

 

Hamilton Blvd.         Across the street from courthouse was the site of the infamous Peoria County Jail.    The jail had a built in trap door used as a gallows. 6 men were executed by hanging in that building.

 

Main & Jefferson        ‘New’ Peoria County Courthouse.  Tried killer Richard Speck there.  The old courthouse scene of many notorious murder trials.

 

Spring & Glendale       Murder of  Harvey Hewitt by first ‘Buggy hi-jackers’

Two of the killers were hanged…murder in 1850.

 

208 Pecan     Scene of a brutal murder of Artie Hinkle, by her husband Joseph Hinkle in 1901. He was hanged inside our courthouse 2-28-1902.

 

509 Monson St.     Scene of the terrible murder of  Artie Slagel Botts by her husband Charles Otis Botts,  1-5-1905.  He was hanged in the courthouse.  June 15, 1905.

 

Morton Square    A small park area in the near north side which at one time housed a small Mexican ‘colony.’  Joe Ortez, known as Mexican Joe, shot Virgil Hill in the face on March 12, 1925.  Moments later he shot Enilian Matinez four times, killing her.  Hill survived.  Ortez was the last person hanged in the county jail.

 

Springdale Cemetery     Very near the old entrance in a creek bed, lying  nude over a log, a cemetery worker found the body of  teenager Mildred Hallmark.  The date was  June 16, 1935.  

 

1100 E Maywood    That was Mildred Hallmark’s  home.  Gerald Thompson lived at  805  Maryland.  Thompson was tried for murder and found guilty.  He was executed by electric chair in Joliet on 10-14-1935.

 

807 Stratford Dr.  Home of Flavel Feuger, BU student.  He was car-jacked at Franklin and Jefferson 12-3-1947.  Huge manhunt. Body found near Dixon Mounds. 

 

2224 S Adams…  The home of convicted Killer, Herman Weber, who killed Flavel Feuger….,  Herman Weber… He was executed in the electric chair in Joliet on  9-16-1948.

 

Nebraska and Sterling     Constable Arthur Smith was ambushed and killed at that corner investigating a car theft. The date was June 12, 1922. His name is on the park district monument for fallen officers. Only constable killed in Peoria.

 

107 E. Glen    That was in Peoria heights…the birth of WMBD by Fred Kahler…first radio show and first on air of WMBD…2-2-1927.

 

Spring and Adams       Officer Arthur Aiello killed at that corner in first open touring police car the city had.  8-29-1929.

 

201  W.  McClure        Home of Clyde and Cora Garrison. Well-known casino owner and gambler in town.  On October, 1930 men with guns stopped Clyde as he got out of his car at home.  Cora was killed by a bullet to the head and Clyde was seriously injured. 

 

3301  SW Adams   Larson’ barbershop where a big shoot out caused the death of Detective Robert Moran, the death of Guy West the bad guy and injury of a customer.  The date was  11-13-1933.

 

Peoria City Hall      David Roe shot and killed his wife Wilma then killed himself on the second floor of the city hall, April 1936.

 

1820 N. Madison        January 18, 1938, Anton  ‘Tony’  Miller was gunned down in his backyard by unknown killers.  Added to the ‘gangster’ reputation of Peoria.

 

AG LAB   Nebraska and University.  Nationally know lab, in 1941 was selected to learn how to produce mass quantities of Penicillin.  Save thousands and thousands of lives.

 

3900 Farmington Road,  2-21-1946 Frank Kramer was killed, ‘Gangland Style’ one of the three murders in Peoria that gave us our gangster reputation.

 

City Hall, Peoria, Illinois on September 3, 1946, Mayor Triebel STOPPED gambling in the city of Peoria, Illinois.

 

CITY HALL MURDER   David  and a lady worked Peoria  Kelly  know anything about it

 

Big Hollow Road near the bridge, 10-25-1946, Phillip Stump was killed in a gangland style shoot out  that also wounded his passenger. Notorious ‘gangster’ killing that helped ruin Peoria’s reputation.

 

200 High Street, near his home at 100 Moss Avenue, March 10, 1947, Internationally known Peorian and railroad man, George McNear was shot by an unknown assassin.  He was struck 6 times by a shotgun blast near his home.

 

Bradley Park, May 1947, near the tennis courts, the Park Bandit, struck again. He killed Oliver Baker while she sat in a car.  He had been notorious in Peoria, and after the killing he disappeared.

 

Entrance to Glen Oak Park, July 1947, infamous ‘Snooks’ Gordon got into a fight with a man and killed him.  Big trial in Peoria, he was acquitted.  Snooks was a well-known gambler in Peoria.

 

8-26-1947, South side Market, 5800 S Adams.  Officer John Cusson was shot and killed.  He died in the line of duty,

 

1026 N. Jefferson….Home of Peoria’s most famous Mayor, elected 11 times and served twenty-four years.  Died December 1947, age 85.  Also lived across the street  what   25?