Homer Park

Homer Park

Image Credit:
Homer Historical Society

South Homer Lake Road off Route 49

Briefly known as Riverside Park, Homer Park was an amusement park north of Homer that ran from 1905 to 1936. It was created by William B. McKinley of the Interurban and C.B. Burkhardt to encourage ridership on the transit line. African Americans utilized the park for picnics, barbecues, band concerts, dances, orations, fraternal gatherings, swimming, and fishing. The Bethel A.M.E. Church of Champaign organized Sunday school events, and residents congregated for religious revivals and church outings. African American baseball teams and jazz bands also played at Homer Park.

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Homer Park began to decline after 1930 and, over time, many of the gatherings ended.

Before the creation of Homer Park, and as early as the mid-1870s, African Americans began gathering in Sidney and Homer, Illinois, for Emancipation celebrations, which were held in September to coincide with President Abraham Lincoln’s issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. These celebrations brought together African American communities from Champaign, Vermilion, Douglas, and Edgar Counties, and from West Central Indiana, to enjoy food, music, and speeches. By 1886, Homer was hosting celebrations and debates organized by Samuel Persons, a Civil War veteran from Homer who fought with Indiana’s 28th Regiment USC Infantry. His camp meetings were held at the Homer Fairgrounds, north of the village.

Nellie and Roy Gillespie, residents of Homer, at Homer Park. Courtesy of Betty Nesbitt Rowell, Urbana, IL.

This trail stop is sponsored by:

Champaign County Forest Preserve District

Decade:

1900-1909

Location(s):

  • Homer, Illinois

Additional Homer Trail Sites

Military

Homer G.A.R. Cemetery

The Homer Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Cemetery was established in the 1860s and is the final resting place for some early African American families and local African Americans who fought in the Civil War.

Wiley & Frances Jones

Wiley Jones came to Homer from Decatur, Georgia, after the Civil War with William C. Custer. Jones would run a barber shop for years in Homer, was a trustee of the Homer Savings and Loan Association, and was nominated to serve on the Village Board several times. In 1877, Wiley Jones and Mrs. Frances Roberson Morgan were married at the home of Rev. Whitlock. Frances died in 1914 and Wiley Jones died in 1919 in a fire while lighting his stove. Wiley and Frances are buried in the Homer G.A.R. Cemetery.

Agriculture

Business

Community

Education

Military

Early Achievements in Homer & Southeastern Champaign County

Homer, Illinois, has a rich history as a village where many early African Americans in Champaign County could gather, work, recreate, and build successful lives for themselves and their families. Many prominent African American businesspeople, intellectuals, and community leaders passed through or came from Homer.

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