 | 1763 The land where Aviston stands switched hands from
France to become part of the British Empire. The land would become part
of territorial Virginia. |
| 1810 The first European settlements began to appear along the Sugar
Creek. Early settlements were bothered by Native Americans. |
| 1812
Nathaniel Journey sets up a log fort northwest of Aviston
during the War of 1812 to protect settlements from British or Indian ruin.
|
| 1814 On August 5th John Journey (Nathaniel's brother) filed
for Sugar Creek township section 11. One month later he died at Hill's
Fort near Greenville, Illinois during the War of 1812. |
| 1814
Mrs. Bayels was killed by Native Americans while riders with
her husband Jesse Bayels east of the Sugar
Creek just off of what is today, Old State Road. |
| 1818 Illinois becomes a state |
| 1824 On December 27th
Clinton County was created out of
Washington, Bond, and Fayette counties. |
| 1830
Samuel Hull, a Virginian, brought his money and trading skills
to Illinois. He would later help found Aviston (Hull at first). |
| 1836 "Old" Aviston on Old State Road was first laid out into
lots on April 29, 1836. Old Aviston is the current location of Old Towne
North subdivision where many of our students live north of town today.
Aviston was the first town established in Sugar Creek Township. |
| 1836 July 14,1836 Alexander Sheilds becomes the 1st
Postmaster of the Aviston Post Office. The Aviston Post Office has run
continuously from 1836-present. |
| 1836 Aviston was named after gunsmith John T. Avis who was
the first person to open a business in the community on the old Vincennes
Road (Old State Road today).
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| 1840 Between the years of 1840 and 1845 local Protestants
built a small frame church in "old" Aviston. |
| 1850 "Old" Aviston appears on the
1850 Illinois map. |
| 1854 In the 1850s the O and M Railroad was built
south of
"old" Aviston traveling through
Clinton County. The citizens of "old" Aviston re-settled in
Hull near the railroad. The
1856 Map of Illinois is the first Illinois map to show this addition
to Aviston and Southern Illinois. |
| 1860 Hull (Aviston) was laid out into lots by the J.W.
Dugger and Co. near the O & M Railroad. |
| 1861 Residents in the Aviston area register and fight in the
Civil War.
|
| 1864 1864 was chosen as the beginning of our village for 3
reasons
1) The cornerstone was laid for a Catholic Church in the spring of 1864.
The original 80 by 50 ft. structure was built by Gerhard Rolfmeyer and Henry
Dillmann for $11,741.25.
2) Aviston had enough citizens to truly be a community.
3) Business activity picked up this year. |
| 1864 Aviston's First Lieutenant Robert Gooding fought for the
59th Infantry and died in the Battle of Nashville. He is
buried in
Lake Branch Cemetery just northeast of Aviston Park on Old
State Road. |
| 1865 On November 22, 1865 Samuel Hull died and was buried
3-5 miles north of Aviston in Gullick Cemetery. |
| 1870 Clinton County's population reached 16,285.
|
| 1875 The Aviston we know today was once the combination of
three communities, Aviston, Hull and Hecker. |
| 1879 St. Francis purchased 4 bells weighing 5,000, 3,300,
1,140, and 560 lbs. These were the largest ever cast in St. Louis at the
time. |
| 1880 Henry Rosen was elected the first Village President in
1880. Early terms were only 1 year. |
| 1884 October 24th, 1884, Aviston was officially registered as
a village with Illinois. |
| 1887 St. Francis completes an extensive expansion of the
church. The upgrade cost the parish around $42,000. |
| 1906 Telephone is introduced to Aviston |
| 1907 The village hall is built on Spring
Street. |
| 1909 The first Aviston volunteer fire department was
organized in May of1909.
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| 1913 In
1913 commercial business begins to pick up. |
| 1913 Fred G. Brefeld was elected mayor and continued to
serve until 1945. He served for a record 32 years as mayor. |
| 1914
Henry J. Althoff of Aviston was ordained the Diocese of
Belleville's 2nd Bishop. Althoff served as Bishop for 33 years. |
| 1917 Reverend Frederick Lohmann, 41 year pastor at St.
Francis and visionary of the current building died on February 10th. Lohmann was buried near the cross at
St. Francis Cemetery. |
| 1918
Pvt. Urban Mondt
of Aviston died on September 28th, 1918 fighting in
World War I. It was in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a major battle
of
World War I, that Urban died. This was one of the biggest operations
and victories of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in that war. The
offensive took place in the Verdu Sector, immediately north and northwest
of the town of Verdun. He was put to rest in the
Argonne American Military
Cemetery in
France. Mondt is recognized at the Aviston Post 1239 American Legion.
|
| 1921 In 1921 Aviston built a large school (St.
Francis Parish Center today). The school contained six first floor
classes, a large auditorium upstairs, and a large basement for the cost of
$54,480. |
| 1921 The 3037 mile long
U.S. Route 50
passes through
Aviston,
Illinois. "The backbone of America" runs from San Francisco, CA to
Ocean City, MD. The history of Route 50 dates back earlier than the
1920s. 50 turns into Constitution Ave. which passes by our nation's
Capitol. Learn more about our highway from
Wulf Berg.
|
| 1923 Aviston High School District 71 was organized and it
included Albers and Damiansville. |
| 1930 The
1930 Aviston census listed residents within the village limits.
The census shows 380 residents.
The
1930 Sugar Creek census list residents outside the limits of Aviston
and Trenton in Sugar Creek Township. |
| 1937 The upstairs auditorium (St. Francis Parish Center) was
transformed into classrooms and a the gymnasium was built in 1937 for
$20,000. |
| 1940 Census showed Aviston with 388
residents. |
| 1941-1945
Citizens of Aviston and Clinton County joined in the fight of World War
II. |
| 1945
Sgt. Joseph F. Lampe
fought in the
289th infantry and was
one of 45 people from Clinton County killed in World War II. He died January 19, 1945
and his burial was in the
Henri-Chapelle
American Cemetery in Henri-Chapelle (near Liege),
Belgium.
At this cemetery, covering 57 acres, rests 7,989
American military dead, most of whom gave their lives during the advance
into Germany known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Lampe is recognized at the Aviston Legion. |
| 1948 In 1948, St. Rose, Germantown, and Bartelso were added
to the Aviston High School District. This made Aviston the second largest
school district in the state by land area. |
| 1949 The Aviston water tower was erected. The tower holds
30,000 gallons of water and cost $15,700. |
| 1952 Fred Lohman was elected mayor and continued to serve
until 1977. He served as village president for 25 years. |
| 1956 A tornado struck the St. Francis Church and damaged the
tower. A much shorter steeple tower replaced the old one. |
| 1958
Mater Dei Catholic High School was established in 1958 when AHS
enrollment was at 250 students. Local priests and the bishop recommended
students attend Mater Dei and this dramatically hurt the school district.
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| 1959 Aviston builds a sewer system for residents
within the village limits |
| 1964 Aviston celebrated its 100th birthday with a centennial
celebration. |
| 1967 Aviston purchased land east of town and begins work on
a new community park. |
| 1970 On July 1, 1970 Aviston High School and Breese
Community High School voted to consolidate into
Central Community
High School, District 71. |
| 1980 Census showed Aviston with 846
residents |
| 1989 Aviston celebrated 125 years. The Quasquicentennial
celebration was held at the park. |
| 1989 Charles Rakers was elected mayor. He continues to
serve as mayor and currently holds the third longest tenure as village
president. |
| 1990 Census shows Aviston with 924
residents. |
| 1996 Aviston Village Board approves the annexation of land
north of new Highway 50. |
| 2000 Census showed Aviston with 1,231
residents. |
| 2000s The late 1900s and early 2000s were a good time for
residential growth in Aviston. Aviston has became one of the fastest
growing small communities in the state of Illinois. From 1990 to 2000
Aviston's population grew 33.2%. |
| 2001 On October 9th, 2001, Aviston Elementary moved from
Spring Street to Hull Street. The building cost an estimated $5 million.
|
| 2002 Aviston Elementary receives the "Bright
A+ Award of Excellence." The award is given to the top 5% of
schools with the highest academic performances within the 894 Illinois
school districts. |
| 2003 Aviston purchased 24 acres of land east of the village
community park. Soccer and football fields have been made out of
this addition. The village also completed its new firehouse. |
| 2003 The Village of Aviston published its Web site. |
| 2005 On June 4th, 2005, Kopff Park was
dedicated to Fr. Herbert Kopff who was instrumental starting the Khoury
League in Clinton County. A brick memorial sits
behind home plate to recognize the occasion. Fr. Kopff died shortly
after the dedication on August 15, 2005. |
| 2005 Aviston Elementary receives the Bright
A+ Award of Excellence." The award is given to the top 5% of
schools with the highest academic performances within the 894 Illinois
school districts. |
| 2006 Aviston passed
another school referendum with 62% yes vote to add on to the elementary
school.
|
| 2006 Aviston Elementary receives the
Bright A+ Award of Excellence." The award is given to the top 5% of
schools with the highest academic performances within the 894 Illinois
school districts. |
| 2007 Aviston Elementary added on a storage facility, six
classrooms on the west wing, and made other smaller improvements to the school. The
additions were made on the western side of the campus. Construction began
on May 7th and students entered the new section on Oct. 27th.
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