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The Marseilles Interurban
Matt Mooneyham The interurban was an electric street car that ran between cities, not just within cities. Interurbans were very popular throughout the United States in the first twenty years of the twentieth-century. On Tuesday evening, January 12, 1904, the first interurban car came into Marseilles, Illinois. It went to the Manufacturing Company office on Commercial Street. Because Marseilles' interurban was one of the only interurbans to carry freight, it was very welcome. Marseilles became one of the first towns in Illinois to have an interurban line. By 1911 the interurban connected Ottawa to Joliet. By 1914 sixteen cars served Marseilles and nearby cities. Some cars also had trailers attached to carry more people because business grew so quickly. Before World War I, plans were made to extend the line or tie in with another larger line, but the plans were never implemented. The interurban was inexpensive for people to use. People from Marseilles often went to Chicago for the day and then would come back for only $1.36 to $2.46. Interurban tracks were built where trains never went and sometimes could not go. They ran down main streets and back streets. The line that ran through Marseilles had three names: Illinois Valley Railroad Co., Chicago Ottawa Peru Line, and Illinois Traction System. In 1900 the interurban was the mode of transportation for many people between towns. Then, some interurban companies started going bankrupt. Others were able to operate until 1925, but the interurban became less popular because of the invention of the automobile and paved roads. After the interurban era it was written, "There never was an institution that meant so much to this valley since the steam railroad and canal boat came into existence." Interurban cars were not just known as a cheap and easy way to travel. They were also well known for their attractive looks. The exterior of early cars were made of wood and usually painted orange. At the top were air horns and the windows on the observation deck at the back had awnings. The later ones, however, were made of steel and designed for speed instead of looks. The interior of the early cars was quite fancy. The cars had clerestory windows and stained glass lunettes. The walls inside were made of cherry, teak, or mahogany veneer. The rear cars had floor-to-ceiling observation windows etched with floral de-
signs and arabesques. The later cars looked more like the inside of today's train cars. A long-time resident of Marseilles who used the interurban recalls that the depot was located at what is now Bolatto and Sons Service Station. There were two buildings where one could wait for the interurban. One was at the corner of Broadway and Chicago streets and the other was at the corner of Broadway and Pearl streets. A ride cost ten cents to Main Street in Ottawa to shop downtown. Then travelers would wait in the basement of the Ottawa Courthouse for the interurban to come and take them home. Today a little brick building still stands near the G.E. plant on Canal Road where people lived in the country and boarded the interurban. Living in the 1990s one must imagine life without automobiles to understand the importance of the interurban. It was used by people in Marseilles and surrounding towns. The interurban is just another example of how technology helped make the lives of people in the early 1900s easier.—[From: Dee Craw-shaw, The Story of Marseilles; Dee Crawshaw, Marseilles Sesquicentennial 1835-1985; Donald F. Tingley, The Structure of a State.]
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