ARCOLA

A short history of Arcola

Arcola was the birthplace in 1880 of John Barton Gruelle, or "Johnny" Gruelle, who created Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, the loveable American dolls and storybook characters. He used artistic skills learned from his painter father, Richard Buckner Gruelle, combined with his self-taught writing skills to create stories expressing regional values and aesthetic images. His artistic granddaughter, Joni Gruelle Wannamaker, manages the Raggedy Ann Museum in Arcola.

In 1904 Arcola was one of the towns selected to have a Carnegie Public Library built. The Arcola Carnegie Public Library was finished in 1905 and eventually was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

A nationally known tourist attraction, Rockome Gardens, which featured large formal gardens, concrete fencing and architecture, and many Amish-influenced attractions was located just outside of Arcola. Rockome Gardens was built in 1937 and was operated for nearly 80 years by members of the local Old Order Amish community. In 2015, the Rockome Gardens property was sold to a local developer and has since been converted into Aikman Wildlife Adventure, a drive-through wildlife park which officially launched in 2016.

Arcola is also known for housing the world's only Hippie Memorial, created by Bob Moomaw, who died in 1998. He worked as a railroad clerk and tax assessor, but did not like either job. As an eccentric, independent artist with strong beliefs, he was able to give voice to his feelings, passions and opinions through his art and the writing on the sides of his buildings. He created the 62-foot-long artwork starting in 1992 to say something about his life and the era during which he lived. A nearby marker gives an interpretation of his work.

In the countryside surrounding nearby Arthur, Illinois, is a prominent community of Old Order Amish, the largest in Illinois. Amish farms occupy much of the farmland west of Arcola, with the highest concentration of Amish businesses around Arthur and the unincorporated communities of Chesterville, Bourbon, and Cadwell. Arcola is home to the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center. The Old Order Amish Museum opened in 1996 and features exhibits on most aspects of Amish life, as well as an introductory video about the Central Illinois Amish. Through the museum, tours can be scheduled of the Amish countryside, Amish homes, farms, and businesses; meals in Amish homes can be scheduled as well.

Arcola is somewhat known for the Lawn Rangers, a "precision lawn mower drill team" that marches in formation with brooms and lawn mowers while wearing cowboy hats. Every year since 1980, the Lawn Rangers have marched in the Arcola Broom Corn Festival Parade. The event, held the weekend after Labor Day, honors Arcola's position in the late 19th century as a center of broom corn production. The Grand Marshal of the Parade in 1980 was Clayton Moore, famous as the Lone Ranger, and the team was named in his honor. This unique custom was publicized by humor columnist Dave Barry, who marched with the Lawn Rangers in 1995.

In addition, Arcola was also known for Arrol's drug store, which had the names of all of its customers painted on mugs. The store was filmed on CBS's evening news in 1977. In 1984, after Bob Arrol's death, it was purchased and ran for 14 years, before closing down in 1998. The mugs are now stored in the Arcolan chamber of commerce.

Arcola is also home to Libman Company. This mop and broom making company can boast to be the only major cleaning product company that manufactures their mops and brooms in America. The nickname "broomtown" was given to Arcola because William Libman is a major employer of the city employing 600 people.

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Arcola, Illinois, revision 1377067870 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.