Now that the political advertisements have stopped running over and over on television, it has made me wonder if any major candidates ever stopped in Geneseo. Reading through the historical documents of the Maple City I discovered a couple of men who came to town to try to win the support of the local voters.
On October 28, 1858, there was a "Rally of the Democracy" which told readers about the event which was to begin at 1 o'clock. The politician who was coming to Geneseo that day was to "speak on the subjects dear to every true American citizen" according to the story in the newspaper. Stephen A Douglas was going to be in the Maple City to rally the Democrats of Henry County and the surrounding area.
Stephen A. Douglas was elected from Illinois into the United States Senate for the first time in 1847. He would gain national fame during the period leading up to the Civil War. In 1858 Douglas ran against Abraham Lincoln for the United States Senate seat from Illinois. During that campaign the two men travel the state holding debates against each other. Those events became know as the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Douglas would win that election and in 1860 he was one of the four major candidates that ran for the position of President of the United States. Douglas lost that election to Lincoln then would side with Lincoln to support the Union cause during the Civil War.
The event on October 28, 1858, was scheduled to last the entire day with the Geneseo Delegation of Democrats forming on the Seminary Grounds at 9:00 a.m. The Seminary was the school building that was constructed in 1843 on the site of the old Geneseo High School/Junior High. Today the area is part of the city park grounds.
Once the Geneseo Democrats had readied themselves, the delegation from Rock Island arrived by train and the two groups march to the Democratic Club. At 1 o'clock the delegations lined up with J.M. Brown, who was the event marshal leading the parade. Behind Brown was the Rock Island Brass Band, then Stephen Douglas, and finally the reception committee. The group paraded down the principle streets of Geneseo and came to a halt in front of the speaker’s stand that had been constructed on the east side of the Seminary building.
Stephen Douglas stepped onto the speakers platform and “paced up and down gesticulating with his head and hands seldom did he squarely face the crowd who were standing in a drizzling rain.” During his speech, students could be seen leaning out of the Seminary Building windows trying to see and hear the Illinois Politician in action. Douglas's speech was delivered in the Maple City just 13 days after the final debate between Douglass and Abraham Lincoln in the southern Illinois city of Alton.
Douglas made a second visit to Geneseo on October 6, 1860. This time Douglas came to town by train and would deliver his speech from the train car while it was parked at the Geneseo Depot. Douglas arrived in the Maple City at 8 p.m. while traveling to Rock Island. Then he was on to Iowa City while campaigning for the Presidency of the United States.
The buildings around the train depot were “tastefully decorated with political buntings and American Flags.” Once the train came to a stop the town's old cannon boomed forth a load bang that alerted the town folks that the candidate was here. After the sound of the cannon had passed, the town band began to play "Hail to the Chief" which delighted the large crowd gathered around the depot. As soon as Douglas stepped from the train car, a “vociferous cheer arose from the crowd.” Local citizen, George Richards was granted the privilege of introducing Douglas to the crowd.
Douglas's speech that evening was cut short due to the strong winds and the smoke from the train engine that were disturbing him that evening. After Douglas left Geneseo, he spoke to large crowds in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. At the time of his visit, Douglas was 47 years old and was weary from his many campaign speeches that he would give each day.
A second politician, and future President of the United States, came to Geneseo. However, this gentleman was here well ahead of his time as a politician. Ronald Reagan was in the Maple City during his years as a high school football player At that time Reagan lived in Dixon, Illinois with his family after moving there from Tampico, Illinois. In October of 1926, the Dixon football team came to Geneseo for the opening game of that year’s football season. The game was played in a steady rain that caused the field to become a mud pit. Both teams would have game highlights from their punters and the final score was 2 - 0 in favor of Dixon. Sitting on the visitor's bench that day was Ronald Reagan and, while he did not play that day, Reagan would go on to play football at Eureka College in Central Illinois. While not campaigning for a political official, Reagan did spend a wet afternoon in the Maple City.
While these two men became famous in Washington, D.C. they both tie Geneseo into the nation's political scene.
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