Kewanee Preservation Society members watched as the old Boiler Shop Office Building burned to the ground on November 4, 2023. The structure was scheduled for demolition at the end of the year but the Kewanee Preservation Society was planning to salvage parts of the building, such as the portico at the entrance to the building. The memorial was established to honor the workers who built the boilers and to remember them as much as the company itself. The Kewanee Preservation Society hopes to salvage part of the portico and bricks from the building. The group is discussing salvaging the steel beams from the fire but they won’t know what is salvageable until they can get in the rubble. The Kewanee Preservation Society is in the initial phase of planning and hopes to have the memorial site ready for the public within 12 months. The Kewanee Preservation Society is a 501(c)3 and was established in 2014. The group is hoping to raise at least $100,000 to create the memorial site, which would include cleaning up the area and rebuilding the portico that was destroyed by the fire. The Kewanee Preservation Society is run by community volunteers and they need your help to honor the Boiler Shop Corporation, especially after the last building burned to the ground. If you would like to donate to the Boiler Shop Memorial, mail a donation to:
Preservation Society
C/O Kewanee Chamber of Commerce
113 E. Second St., Kewanee, IL 61443
Please denote “Boiler Memorial” on the Check
The Kewanee Preservation Society said, “We have decided that the memorial is needed now more than ever. Plans were already being made for the memorial, and we have decided to pursue it full force”. After the fire, the Kewanee Preservation Society decided to move forward with further development of the memorial site. Mark Mikenas, President of the Kewanee Preservation Society, began searching for old Boiler Shop Boilers to be part of the new memorial site. While researching the Kewanee Boiler Corporation, Mark Mikenas found a boiler that was manufactured around 1960 and was used at the North Carolina Nation Guard Armory building in Wilmington, North Carolina, from production until 2018. The boiler had been in storage since the demolition of the building to build a new modern Readiness Center. Sam Blizzard of Blizzard Construction in Beulaville, North Carolina, has been storing the boiler since 2018. Mark Mikenas contacted the owner and was able to make a deal to bring the Boiler back to Kewanee.
The boiler was picked up by Anthony Edwards, of On the Go Transportation and Delivery, on November 13, 2023, and arrived back home in Kewanee on November 15th. Joe Chamberlain, of J & D Tree Service, unloaded the boiler and is storing the boiler in his building on Third Street until the boiler goes to Midwest Trailer Manufacturing (MTM) to get a new paint job. “In 2024, she will be at her old stomping grounds. This boiler will be proudly displayed at the Kewanee Boiler Workers Memorial site at 101 Franklin Street, Kewanee, Illinois.”
