Take a walk down memory lane, enjoy champion pies at Founders’ Day event in O’Fallon

Honoring the past while spotlighting the present is what the first annual Founders’ Day will celebrate on Saturday, May 14, organizers say.

The event is a collaboration between the Downtown District and O’Fallon Historical Society and will coincide with the season opening of the Vine Street Market from 8 a.m. to noon.

Guided historical horse-drawn trolley tours on public streets from O’Fallon Station to the Community Park will be conducted. Other key activities include a championship pie-baking contest, a re-enactment of the town’s original parcel auction — only instead of lots, it will be O’Fallon experiences.

Downtown merchants will offer specials and there will be food trucks available.

Jon Greenstreet, owner of the Bike Surgeon and a member of the committee, expressed the merchants’ enthusiasm for the event.

“All of the district businesses are excited for the first day of the market and this great new event! We all plan to be open to welcome the crowds out enjoying the market and the Founders’ Day event,” he said.

“The ongoing growth of the market — and events within the district — are in part a result of the efforts of everyone involved with district. It’s great to see for everyone here in O’Fallon,” he said.

On May 13, 1854, 164 town lots were sold in a parcel auction, effectively developing the downtown district. It took place under an elm tree near the current O’Fallon Station, and an ad noted that the area, Ridge Prairie, was known for its “fertility, natural beauty and salubrity” (promoting health).

Stating it was 16 miles from St. Louis, the station was the third depot on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad line. The ad stated the town was laid out with wide streets on an elevated plain, “in the midst of the most beautiful and healthy country and will afford a rare opportunity to those who may wish to make a profitable investment, secure a suburban residence or establish a business.”

As a nod to the town beginnings, an auction showcasing unique O’Fallon experiences will kick off at 10 a.m. Bidder numbers are $5 each.

Proceeds will benefit the O’Fallon Historical Society.

The committee has been working on the event for about six months, and includes Brian Keller, Andrea Fohne and Valerie Hancock — officers of the O’Fallon Historical Society — in addition to Greenstreet and Sarah Burton, the city’s Downtown District Coordinator as well as coordinator of Vine Street Market.

Championship Pie Baking Contest

Bakers can put their pie skills and favorite recipes to the test in this judged two-category contest for fruit and open — any pie type. Cream and custard pies are not permitted because of lack of refrigeration. Cost is $10 per entry. Sign up is at: //bit.ly/3LdLi3r.

Drop off pies between 8-9 a.m., judging will take place from 9-10 a.m., and the winner will be announced at 11 a.m., with champions in fruit pie,open pie, Supreme Champion Pie Overall and a Champion Popular Vote Pie announced. The public can vote on a pie based on appearance, not tasting.

“The winners will have bragging rights,” Burton said. “The judges will have scorecards and the judging will be in public. No purchased pies are allowed.”

Horse and Trolley Rides

Those who sign up will learn the history of the area along the route from guides who are in the O’Fallon Township High School thespian troupe.

Rides will take place every 25 minutes between 9 and 11:30 a.m. The cost is $10 per person. Children ages 3 and under are free but must sit on an adult’s lap.

Tickets can be purchased at: bit.ly/36TPDK8.

Parcel Auction

Some of the O’Fallon experiences being auctioned off include Mayor for the Day, Police Chief for the Day, birthday party at the Fire Rescue headquarters and private group tour of the water towers and historic Tiedemann House.

Keller will lead a private group tour of the cemetery, and Jim and Kim Sabella will offer an evening at Wolfersberger Funeral Home.

A Night at the History Museum, a group tour of the caboose, and VIO tickets for the first hot-air balloon ride offered by ReMax at the City Fest, are among the offerings.

Town History in a Nutshell

Founded 168 years ago, Col. John O’Fallon, a wealthy St. Louisan, is the town’s namesake (and O’Fallon, Missouri, as they were the bookends of his railroad depots). The train route is what put O’Fallon on the map. After the 1854 parcel auction, the city attracted German settlers looking for fertile farmland. The city was incorporated as a village Jan. 27, 1874, and residents voted in 1905 to switch to a city form of government.

Since then, O’Fallon has gained population in every census — except in 1930, when the town lost six residents, according to census records. It is currently the second largest city in the metro-east region and southern Illinois, with the 2020 census listed as 32,289.

Located five miles from Scott Air Force Base and 18 miles from downtown St. Louis, the city center is 2 miles east of Interstate 64 and U.S. 50. The city’s total area is 14.48 square miles.

The town’s original 164 lots now have grown to 8,310 households, with substantial expansion in the 1980s.