Editing Towanda, Illinois (section)

===Development===
Alex Warren built the first residence in the new town and James Alexander the first warehouse. These were soon followed by Wesley Bishop's grocery and Frank Henderson's dry goods store.<ref>''History of McLean County'', 1879, pp 596-598.</ref> The largest building was a two-story structure built by Charles Roadnight, which was {{convert|50|by|100|ft}}; the first floor was used for stores and the second as a meeting room. It burned about 1900.<ref>''Towanda, McLean County, Illinois, 1826-1926'' compiled by Mildred Hurst Roberts and Elizabeth Jones Winter (Towanda: Towanda Area Historical Society and Towanda District Library, ca 1976) p. 24-28.</ref> In 1873–1874, wooden sidewalks were being built, followed by brick sidewalks in 1891 and concrete walkways in 1916. The town was officially incorporated in 1870. The first jail was built in the North Park and replaced at least once; the structure can not have been very substantial because in 1901 the town fathers were forced to appoint a committee to inquire into what had happened to the jail.<ref>''Towanda, McLean County'', ca 1976, pp 24-28.</ref> Perhaps the most exciting event in the town's history was the attack on the Buena Vista Tavern. A group of local women took exception to the amount of money their menfolk were spending on whiskey. They assembled at the hardware store where they were issued hatchets. They then marched into the Buena Vista smashing bottles, threatening the barman, and hurling whatever they could find through the tavern windows. Each of the women was fined one dollar.<ref>''Towanda, McLean County'', ca 1976, p.60.</ref>