It was during the 1700s,
French explorers headed by Berrard de LaHarpe were forced to spend the winter
just north of the present city of La Harpe, Illinois. Around 1896, four stone
tablets dated June 15,1715 and inscribed in French were reportedly found a few
miles east of the old fortification built by the explorers.
After 1830, landowners
in the area began to develop a town which they called Franklin. In 1836, they
applied for a post office and were informed another town in Illinois was
already named Franklin. The first postmaster, Louis F. Chaffin, suggested the
name be registered as La Harpe, for the Frenchman who spent the winter over
100 years earlier.
In 1859, the City of La
Harpe was granted a charter by the Illinois legislature. The charter was
amended in 1861 to change the size of the town, and the boundaries have
changed through the years. Today the city has 22 streets and avenues.
Then in 1867, the TP&W
railroad line was completed through the town. In 1888, the City council bought
the first fire engine, but a fire in October 1893 still destroyed nearly all
the businesses in one block of Main Street.
The City of La Harpe's
City Hall was built in 1893-4 The election of 1895 was the first election in
which the women of La Harpe were allowed to vote on the issue of liquor
licenses (The women had a separate ballot box).
The La Harpe Carnegie
Public Library was built in 1905, with the help of local support and a
donation from Andrew Carnegie. Today it is listed on the National Register of
Historic Sites.
The La Harpe City Park
was donated by Marvin Tyron, one of the town's founders, as a public square.
Then in 1986, La Harpe
celebrated 150 years of history. During that year, a Sesquicentennial History
entitled La Harpe, Illinois, 1836-1986 was published.
