PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2023

Cook Medical, located on the former site of Canton's International Harvester plant, was built by Canton native and billionaire Bill Cook

former IH property. Much of the rest of the site needs environmental remediation before it can be developed. The mayor said the city has reached an agreement with Navistar, a corporate descendant of IH, to clean up the contaminants buried there, with an expected completion date in 2026. “Developing that site would be a big feather in Canton’s cap,” McDowell said. In the meantime, the two-term mayor has secured state funding and loans for upgrades to the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants, both built during the Great Depression. “My goal is to leave things better than I found them,” he said. Transportation is another priority. Fulton is one of the few Illinois counties that does not have direct access to a four-lane highway. Plans are in place to extend a four-lane section of Illinois Route 9/U.S. Route 24 from Mapleton to Banner. “It’s a beginning,” McDowell said. “We’re taking baby steps.” AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL “We love our downtown,” Bobell said. “It’s kind of the heart of the community.” Canton’s square surrounds Jones Park, featuring a gazebo and entertainment stage, World War I memorial and multi faced millennium clock. Established in 1830, Jones Park plays host to the annual Canton Cruise-In every June, the Art on Main Fine Arts

gersoll Library, Canton schools, Graham Hospital, Canton Park District, churches and other community organizations. In 1930, Alice Ingersoll, daughter of P & O co-founder William Parlin, donat ed funds to build a gymnasium named in her honor, which remains the basketball home of the Canton High Little Giants and a venue for many community events. Jim Morrison and his then-little-known band, The Doors, played there in 1967 to mixed reviews.

employ about 150 people. McDowell said the company has plans to double its Canton workforce. Cook, Canton High School Class of 1949, would become a billionaire and the richest man in Indiana before leaving an indelible mark on his hometown, ren ovating several downtown structures — the Reynolds Building, the Lewis Building and Fulton Square (a former JCPenney store) among them — and building a 32-room boutique hotel, the Canton Harvester Inn. “We have been very fortunate to have Mr. Cook come in and help his hometown out in so many ways,” said Carla Bobell, executive director of the Canton Area Chamber of Commerce. Cook passed away in 2011, but “we maintain that connection,” she said. “It’s a good relationship.” Canton has had its share of notables. Charles Duryea, the automotive pioneer with later connections to Peoria, was born near Canton in 1861. Elizabeth Magie, inventor of the Landlord game, precursor to Monopoly, called Canton home. The late shuttle astronaut Steve Nagel was born and raised in town, graduating from Canton High in 1964. Cantonite John Keets gained global attention when he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion and became an outspoken advocate for AIDS research. CLEANING UP, MOVING ON McDowell said Cook built on “the cleanest, eastern portion” of the 31- acre

‘WE HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE MR. COOK COME IN AND HELP HIS HOMETOWN’ — Carla Bobell

Evidence of the fortunes created by manufacturing in Canton also can be seen in the Ulysses G. Orendorff house on Elm Street, built in 1902 by William Orendorff’s son. The 23-room mansion exhibits influences of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School of de sign and is on the National Register of Historic Places. THE COOK CONNECTION Economic hope rose from the ashes of the IH plant in 2008 when Bill Cook, a Canton native and owner of Cook Medical in Bloomington, Indiana, committed to building a manufacturing facility in his hometown. Two plants — Cook Medical and Cook Polymer — now

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