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EMDEN

The village is the result of the Pekin, Lincoln & Decatur Railroad passing through this township. It was completed in 1871, and on June 15 the town was surveyed, by Thomas G. Gardner, county surveyor, for John M. Gill, of Pekin, Illinois, the original proprietor. The land before comprised part of the farm of Mr. A. J. Snyder, and, at the date of the survey, two houses were standing on the plat. The first store was built by B. F. Burnett, the first postmaster and depot agent. It is now owned and occupied by P. J. Alberts & Co. During the summer of 1873 the first elevator in town was built by A. W. Ray. It is still occupied and ships annually large amounts of grain. The second elevator was built in1875 by Smith, Kippen & Co. and is now controlled by Henry Weinbura, and from December 1876 to May 1877 he shipped150,000 bushels of corn. This is the staple article here and forms almost the entire business of town. Emden is now the best grain depot on this railroad in Logan County, the shipments of corn alone aggregating fully a half million bushels annually. Stock is not shipped in as large quantities as from other places, the farmers preferring to sell the corn.

There are three or four stores whose trade is with the surrounding farmers, while one or two good shops complete the list of industries.

A year or two ago the schoolhouse, about a mile southeast of town, was moved in and the town school, still conducted as a district school, is held therein.

The Methodists have completed a comfortable parsonage and are taking steps to erect a church edifice. The congregation is mostly German and was organized about a year ago.

The town received its name from Emden, on the River Ems, in Germany, from whence many of the Germans in this locality emigrated.