Who are Belleville Walk of Fame inductees Henry Raab and Jacob Brosius?
Belleville City Council has approved the induction of two 19th century German immigrants who became community leaders into the Belleville Walk of Fame later this year.
Henry Raab was a teacher and superintendent of schools at city and state levels. Today, a local elementary school bears his name. He also co-founded Belleville Philharmonic Society.
“He led the education movement in Belleville,” said Larry Betz, president of Belleville Historical Society, which administers the Walk of Fame.
Betz noted that local children in the 1800s didn’t have the educational opportunities they do today. Raab helped make the change.
The other inductee is Jacob Brosius, a manufacturer and inventor, who lived in a mansion on East Main Street, where Union United Methodist Church stands today. He called it “Kronthal Castle.”
“He was just a genius industrialist,” Betz said.
The Walk of Fame consists of metal plaques mounted on the northwest quadrant of the Belleville Public Square. It was established in 2014, when the city celebrated its bicentennial.
Inductees are selected every two years. Seventeen people – including politicians, entrepreneurs, a golfer and an actor – have been inducted.
“The Walk of Fame honors people who have made significant contributions to the history or renown of the city of Belleville,” according to the Historical Society’s website.
The city hasn’t yet installed plaques for 2024 inductees Otto W. Rubach and Theodore J. Gundlach because of infrastructural work that had to be done, according to Betz.
An induction ceremony for Raab and Brosius will be held on Oct. 24.
“We will mount four plaques that day, but we’ll only be honoring two inductees,” Betz said.
The City Council approved the inductions at its meeting on Monday night. Hunter Robinson, Historical Society vice president, read bios for Raab and Brosius that will appear on plaques:
Henry Raab (1837-1901), Master Teacher
“Raab was a native of Rhenish Prussia, Germany, who came to the United States in 1853. He began a teaching career in Belleville in January 1858. During 1873-1882 and 1887-1890 he was the city school superintendent. He was elected Illinois State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1882 and 1890. He promoted fitness instruction, teacher training, and kindergartens. Raab was active in the German Turnverein movement, promoting physical fitness and mental growth. As Turnverein president he reinvigorated the movement in Belleville. For nearly 20 years he was the librarian of the forerunner of the Belleville Public Library and advocate for a public library. He served on the city library’s board of the directors. Raab was a founder of the Belleville Philharmonic.”
Jacob Brosius (1824-1882), Inventive Manufacturer
“After arriving in St. Clair County from Kronberg, Germany, in 1849, Brosius cofounded in 1856 the Geiss and Brosius foundry in Belleville, which produced agricultural implements — some of patented design — and structural metal work. He established Belleville Oil Works in 1866, which used innovative technology to press oil out of seeds and nuts. The pond located at his Kronthal mansion provided the water needed to produce steam that flowed from his power plant through pipes of Brosius’s design to warm the county courthouse and residences beginning in 1879. To synchronize the time displayed by municipal clocks in Belleville, he ran electric wires to them from his electric clock. Brosius died just before his electric power plant began to produce electricity in Belleville in 1882.”
Here is a list of past inductees:
- George Blair (1759-1833), Belleville’s Founder
- Ninian Edwards (1775-1833), Illinois Leader, Town Developer
- Lyman Trumbull (1813-1896), Apprentice Politician to National Leader
- Christian “Buddy” Ebsen (1908-2003), Star of Stage, Screen and Television
- Robert “Bob” Goalby (1929-2022), Master Athlete and 1967 Master’s Champion
- Gustavus P. Koerner and Sophia Engelmann Koerner (1809-1896 and 1815-1888), German American Reformers
- Edward A. Daley (1887-1930), Preeminent Town Booster
- Julius Liese (1843-1920), Entrepreneur-Musician
- Carrie Thomas Alexander-Bahrenburg (1861-1929), Progressive Activist
- Les Mueller (1919-2012), Major League Pitcher
- Ruth A. Sterling (1905-1994), Pioneer Business Executive
- Theodor Erasmus Hilgard (1790-1873), Democratic Jurist, West Belleville Developer
- George Bunsen (1794-1872), Public Education Advocate
- Audrey Marsh King (1920-2010), Global Entrepreneur
- Otto W. Rubach (1874-1959), Homegrown Architect
- Theodore J. Gundlach (1892-1981), Industrialist
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
