Fairbury, Illinois and the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition

Fairbury is a small town located in Central Illinois. It is 100 miles south of Chicago and 60 miles east of Peoria. It was founded in 1857 when the railroad first crossed Central Illinois. Fairbury was home to one of great horse importers of Illinois, John Virgin. He was named by the Governor of Illinois to be on the planning commission of the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition. The Keeley Institute was founded in 1891 as an alcoholic treatment center in Dwight, Illinois, 30 miles north of Fairbury.
Many Fairbury citizens worked at the Keeley institute during the years it was open from 1891 to 1965. The inspiration for the plot of this short story came from Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City. Larson interwove two stories into one book. The first story was the planning, building, and operation of the 1893 Chicago Columbia Exposition. The second story was America's first serial murderer, H.
H. Holmes. John Virgin and the many Fairbury citizens who visited the Chicago Columbia Exposition had no idea America's first mass murderer was operating a boarding house for Exposition visitors and killing his patrons. This short story interweaves the stories of John Virgin planning the Exposition, William Stackpole wanting to use his creativity for the Exposition, Fairbury citizens visiting the Exposition, and a young girl from the Keeley Institute being murdered by H.
H. Holmes. The author would like to thank Diane Pawlowski for helping to provide some of the factual information for this short story. If you are interested in early Fairbury area history, this short story will help you understand Fairbury's role in the 1893 Columbia Exposition.