Oakwood: A nice station in life

When residents of this Vermilion County village think about Oakwood, they don't just consider the four blocks east and west spanning the town or the 1,500 people living here.

Instead, Oakwood's residents consider it more of an area – one that includes a small but proud school district, generations of farmers and a lot of history.

And is it a nice place to live?

"Oh, I think it's perfect," said 89-year-old resident Dorothy Dalbey, who's lived in Oakwood her entire life except for spending 3 1/2 years in Michigan as a young mother.

Surviving and thriving

The area's mineral riches drew the area's first white settlers.

Piankeshaw Indians established the first salt mines in the Salt Fork south of where Oakwood lies now. When government surveyors learned of the salt water, they considered salt mining a valuable possibility because salt had to be shipped from Kentucky, according to "Oakwood Illinois: 125 Years of History," which Don Claypool, the president of the Oakwood Township Historical Society, helped write.

Settlers dug wells 15 to 20 feet deep in 1819, gathered saltwater in iron kettles and boiled off the water. A hundred gallons of water yielded a bushel of salt. But improvements in shipping and transportation put the salt works out of business.

And soon, another entity brought settlers to town: the railroad.

The town of Oakwood Station developed when the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railroad came through in 1870, though its name was later shortened to Oakwood. The railroad's chief engineer and surveyor Lewis Olmstead purchased the first lots, though many were owned by Henry Oakwood, after whom the town was named.

Oakwood's great-granddaughter, 90-year-old Wilma Brandon, said her ancestor is remembered as a "good old grandpa."

Brandon's mother would tell her about the elderly man, who always used to bring tramps into his home to eat meals with his family, rather than feeding them in the yard.

Though the village hit some early obstacles – raging fires in 1871 and 1897, it quickly became a thriving railroad and coal mining town.

The Big Four and the Chicago and Eastern Illinois railroads bought out the IB & W, the Big Four in 1893 and the C & EI in 1894. Both ran between Oakwood's two Main Streets – North Main Street and South Main Street. But the Big Four wouldn't let the C & EI run on its tracks, so the latter ran on a city easement along South Main Street.The Interurban rail line ran down the middle of South Main in 1903. The electric train, which transported lots of passengers, brought electricity to town.

Brandon remembers frequently riding the Interurban to Danville, and when she moved there, she would simply hop a train back to Oakwood if she wanted to visit.

"It was very quiet, and (its cars would) kind of weave back and forth," Brandon said. "It's kind of a soothing feeling, really. It was lots of fun."

The railroads transported coal mined near Oakwood. In 1889, the Danville Press called the Missionfield Mine the "biggest strip-bank in the state of Illinois."

And several other mines sprang up near Oakwood, employing many of the town's breadwinners.

Brandon remembers the mine's company store downtown, where miners' wives would pick up groceries and clothing. They'd charge their purchases, which would be deducted from a miner's pay at the end of the month.

But mining wasn't Oakwood's only big industry. Many residents farmed – and still do.

Dorothy Dalbey remembers that farmers would take care of each other. Her father owned a threshing machine, so he and his neighbors would take turns baling hay. Dalbey remembers feeding all the threshers at noon, and she fondly recalls the way neighbors would help if a farmer didn't have family.

Young people spent plenty of time at the Blue Room, Wilma Brandon said, an Oakwood restaurant with a dance floor and jukebox. They'd come from Royal, Fithian, Fairmount and even Danville.

"We always had a big crowd and had a lot of fun," Brandon said.

Oakwood today

Today, several of Oakwood's businesses are along Interstate 74: truck stops, gas stations and restaurants. Many residents consider it a bedroom community to both Champaign-Urbana and Danville.

Though the town has changed, its residents still find sources of pride. Oakwood Community Unit School District 76 includes Oakwood, Fithian, Muncie, Newtown and the Hillery and Batestown sections of Danville.

Superintendent Keven Forney said that even though it's a small district, it has high expectations for its students.

"We know that the community really supports this school district," Forney said. "It's an important part of the Oakwood area."

Another vital ingredient in Oakwood's identity is its library. Library director Beth Kent said the library district's existed for a little more than 20 years and allows community members to access to Internet and books and materials through the Lincoln Trail Library System.

"Citizens can reach out to the world without having to go very far in distance," Kent said.

The library also provides summer reading programs for kids and teens; Kent estimates the programs served 110 children and 27 teenagers this summer. The library's hosted community chess tournaments that have proven popular, too.

Oakwood and the area is also home to several famous names. Angela Watson, who grew up in Oakwood, played Karen Foster on ABC's "Step by Step" in the 1990s. Watson formed Child Actors Supporting Themselves in 2000, a foundation teaching child actors to handle their finances, according to the Internet Movie Database. She starred in the movie "Final Approach," in 2006, according to the Web site.

Darrin Fletcher played professional baseball for four major league teams. Fletcher, who still lives near Oakwood, was an All-America catcher for the University of Illinois and played professional baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays. He was an All-Star in 1994.

Alan Dysert, a cast member of "All my Children," acted in and directed several movies and now operates an entertainment school in Tennessee.

The late Larry Cannon qualified five times for the Indianapolis 500, and raced in 1974, '76 and '80.

Oakwood residents think of these local celebrities with fondness, the same way they feel about their town.

"Oh, I think it's the best place because everybody is interested in community, even though they work out of town," Dalbey said.

The community is close-knit and full of family heritage, Dalbey said.

"I guess it's my whole life," she said.