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Manito's
Year-Long
Sesquicentennial
Celebration in
2008.
150 YEARS
Log on to the
Manito website
As Honorary Citizens of Manito-Illinois we present hereby the Village on our site for all our
friends anywere on the Globe, specially in Illinois-USA.
We took the opportunity to dig up the past of two families which are special too us, to ensure their
children know their ancestors from the Flemish Region in Belgium and the Netherlands.
See menu at the top: Palmer- or DeSutter family.
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For US-Immigrants
Click HERE.
Read the Dutch and Flemish history, about Flemish farmhands and the reason of emigration.
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The Village of Manito in Central Illinois, the Prairie State,
is located at the north-east border of Mason County, about 180 miles south-west of Chicago
and 20 miles from Peoria, wellknown for Caterpillar Headquarters. Small shops are situated at the
Manito Blacktop, the main-road through the Village which the town split into two parts. The New
Forman Valley Library opened in 2001 and has a children's reading area, conference rooms, internet
access area, and much more! Be sure to stop by to see. The Village has seen the completion of the
Downtown Restoration Project with new lighting, fencing and landscaping. Finished also is the new
Memorial Park Pool,
a swimmingpool built at the western side of the Village and at the eastern side the two tennis
courts in Veterans Park are updated. The new Village Hall is open at the corner of Market and
N.Broadway Streets and the new Library has arrived.
Manito is on the move.
It is a nice friendly Village with emanation, full of trees and surrounded by farmland with
interchanges of forest. Young couples can raise their children in this small community with safety
and security. Schools in Manito are the Midwest Central Primairy and Highschool. Closeby is also the
Spring Lake 606 Primairy School, see Dutch
lecture.
Most of the children from first till third grade never heard of the Netherlands, some of them heard
of Holland, a name more known and famous in the world.
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Manito is primarily an agricultural community. Most of the business in the Village is in some way
related to agriculture. The diverse soil in the area leads to a broad range of crops and farming
methods.
To the North and East of Manito are several thousand acres of peat that is so rich that at one time
in the Villages history it was dried, processed and bagged. The Dirt Factory can still be seen off
in the distance. To the North, West and South of Manito lies sand. Sand is ideal for the growing of
melons and Christmas trees which, over the years, have brought some notoriety to the area.
Irrigation has been available in the area since the 1950ties with center pivots starting in the
early 60ties with 110 ft. deep wells pumping 1000 gallons of water per minute.
Irrigation has enhanced agriculture in the area by tapping into the aquifer which flows beneath the
area.
Today, because of modern farming techniques, scientific fertilization and irrigation, some marginal
land has been brought into full production.
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You
will feel right at home in Manito.
Five miles west of Manito is the Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery, located within the north end of
the Sand Ridge State Forest which offer camping and recreational areas. There is the Illinois River,
the Spring Lake Conservation Area, Chautauqua Lake and the National Wildlive Refuge. All are within
minutes of Manito. A nice place to fish is the Sangamon River, a good spot for hunters and
fishermen, see fishing in Illinois.
It is hoped that this short story of fishing will stimulate interest in fish for a fuller enyoyment
of fishing.
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Memorial Park Pool.
The ZERO depth entry makes it simple for young children to enter and exit
the pool safely! Memorial Park Pool has a capacity of 275 swimmers.
One of the sponsors is Engle B. Palmer.
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New Library has arrived.
The Forman Valley Library is up and running! Young and old alike can enjoy
the wide selection
of materials in a comfortable atmosphere.
The Forman Center is a recreational facility located in
Manito, Illinois,
and is available to rent for weddings, parties, meetings and sports events.
In 1996 we were present in the Forman Center for the marriage of
Clarence Palmer (see D.10.13.3.e. Palmer family) and Ardith Lynn Smit-Reynolds.
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The old jail in Manito was a small brick building with iron bars and many memories.
Several peope were interested in the old jail and decided
to start a campaign on "Safe the Jail", and formed the Historical Society in 1978.
One of the first officers was Elsie -DeSutter- Willett as Vice President.
The old jail became a Historical Landmark, as a museum, in summer 1982.
More about the Manito Historical Society, click HERE.
A lot of information on this site came from the book "It's good to remember", Volume I.
issued by the Society, followed by Volume II in 2008.
For a postcard by CJ DeSutter of the former Manito Opera House, click HERE. |
The Manito families Palmer and DeSutter are descendants of immigrants from the Dutch Flemish Region
in Belgium and the Netherlands, see Flemish Immigrants.
Read about those families, their family history and their relatives in the USA and Holland.
Click in the menu at the top "Palmer- or DeSutter family". |
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| Events
in Manito:
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The 2011 Popcorn Festival on Labor Day weekend,
The official snack food of Illinois.
September 2, 3 and 4, 2011
Pumpkin Patch two weeks before Halloween.
The local paper is the Manito Review, published weekly.
PANCAKE & SAUSAGE DAY.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2011.
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See the Manito Soccer-fans of the Dutch National Team.
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