To order your copy, contact Cheryl Rabe in the evenings at (815) 268-7321.
How Onarga received its name remains a mystery. Realists believe Illinois Central Railroad land commissioner John Calhoun combined two or three consonants and added the necessary vowels to invent a nice-sounding town name.
Many
prairie towns in the 1850's, with the arrival of the railroads,
received their names by this method.
Romantics believe Onarga was named for a young Native American
girl, Princess Onarga, daughter of an Iroquois Indian chief. Prior to
the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad, Native Americans
controlled this part of Illinois, and among the roving tribes that
crisscrossed the grand prairie were the powerful Iroquois. Legend
says that when a name was proposed for the new town on the
railroad, none better than Onarga were given. this mystery may
never be solved, but the realists and romantics agree to disagree -
agreeing foremost on celebrating and preserving the rich history of
Onarga.
The Onarga Historical Society and friends of the society have selected
the best images from Onarga's archives and as a concerted effort have
put together a most interesting narrative of Onarga's history. This
pictorial is in celebration of Onarga's 155th birthday.
The images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods,
towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs,
each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape
the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of the local heritage, making history available to all.