They have something better including WIld Bill Hickok's historic marker and some nice houses. Here's one with some lovely gingerbread trim.
This older building is attached to a newer structure and it's used for storage. The architecture tells me that this was once a bank.
I love the little post office. It's very small and shares the building with a Grange Hall. The Grange is a rural organization. I haven't been in a Grange Hall in many years but I remember it as being a type of social organization. This is a very small Grange.
Surprisingly there are two places to eat in Troy Grove. There's a small place is called "The Kidd Inn".
I don't know who "Kidd" is..... the faded image on the sign looks like Hickok and the playing cards are a reference to the poker hand that he was holding when he was shot dead. A pair of eights and a pair of kings, which in the poker world is known as "Dead Man's Hand".
From the information on the sign it appears they're only open on Friday and Saturday. Friday is fish fry and Saturday is chicken. I think every small town in northern Illinois has a fish fry on Friday night.
The other establishment is on the edge of town and it's called "Chubby's Corner", home of the World's Largest Ham Sandwich. Wow, that's quite a claim. Unfortunately I was in town very early on a Sunday morning and Chubby's wasn't open yet. But I do intend to drag the Farmer back with me to see if their claim is true. And maybe, just maybe, they might also serve pie.
And last but not least, what's a small town without at least one Our-Lady-of-the-Bathtub?
This one was quite lovely.
Thanks for coming along with me to Troy Grove, Illinois, birthplace of Wild Bill Hickok.
Next week we're going on an adventure to the birthplace of yet another famous person born in Illinois. Stay tuned.
18 comments:
Brings me back to my Grandpa's farm... White Hall Ill..
I appreciate it so much more now... : )
God Bless those small towns! That was so fun! You always have such interesting post-thank you! ~Smiles~Tam!
It's funny when I see photos from all kinds of places and it looks as if it could be around the corner from me...especially with that great equalizer — snow.
Hope that Chubby's does serve wonderful pie. With a name like that, they ought to.
Enjoy your weekend, Suzanne!
When we took dear daughter to college in Wisconsin we commented on all the "Friday Night Fish Fry" signs along the way. That's something you don't see in the MidAtlantic!
Now that's no real Our Lady of the Bathtub. It's not an actual bathtub, is it? I have seen quite a few in actual bathtubs upended and buried part way in the yard. It seems St. Marys, Ohio had several done this way, but I haven't been back for almost 20 years, so I have no idea if they're still there. Near our old house in Wichita, there was an Our Lady of the Birdhouse. It was a small shrine with a peaked roof set up on a high pole. It really did look like she was in a birdhouse, but I imagine they just wanted to keep it safe from mischievious neighborhood teens.
Can I come live there? I love it.
that was fun, yes, I'll stay tuned.
I can think of a few famous people born in Illinois...can't wait to see who your talking about!
jenni -It didn't look like a tub to me either, but a real Grotto.
I think it is great that you can stop and appreciate a small town like that. Usually we are too busy to take an exit that doesn't go to the exact place that we are headed. Beautiful!!
Oh, I am in the process of starting a blog for the garden that I work on and it logs me in as Texas Gardener now instead of Jeanette. Lots for me to learn.
The 1st home is my dream. It would have transoms above the doors and high ceilings and creaky floors and drafts and horrible plumbing and electrical....
Chubby's is the sign I remember seeing as we would go through Troy Grove on the way to pick up I-39. We always wanted to stop and get one of those ham sandwiches but unfortunately, never had time to. Thanks for all of the photos.
Gotta love those ladies of the bathtub! LOL
Thank you. I came from a small town. I love them. Can't wait to see what's next!
Grange! I have so many fond memories tied to Grange. I belonged to the Charter Grove Grange on Plank Road until I was a young adult and they disbanded it. And now it is a house. I have often wondered if they took out the stage and if the old wood floor still creeks. And the coat room. What did they do with it?
I'm guessing it's supposed to be "Billy The Kidd"?
Hey Suzanne; My goodness you and your hubby sure do find some interesting towns. I just love all the photos you took. I love the small towns and how they hold on to their roots.
Hugs;
Alaura
That's a great post. I can never get away to go on vacation but that was like a mini-vacation. Thanks. I love seeing different places that I would probably never know about. Thanks again for sharing.
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