Birkey’s Community Chronicle: Oakland, IL
Birkey’s began in the small town of Fisher, Illinois, in 1954. Since then, we’ve expanded to 17 stores and an administrative office location, but we still have small town heart.
Our communities matter to us. We’re delving into the history and little-known-facts about each Birkey’s community.
Oakland, Illinois
Oakland was platted in 1833 and was formerly known as Independence.
Independence runs deep through Oakland’s history, as it’s perhaps best known as the home of abolitionist Dr. Hiram Rutherford.
Dr. Hiram Rutherford Home
Rutherford moved to Oakland in 1840 to start his medical practice. Friends with Abraham Lincoln, Rutherford became involved in the 1847 Matson trial—the only court case in which Lincoln represented a slave owner.
A Kentucky slave owner, Colonel Robert Matson, brought slaves to work on his land near Oakland every year. One year, a family of slaves ran away from the farm and took refuge with Rutherford and Gideon Ashmore. Matson sued the men for harboring slaves; Rutherford and Ashmore countered slaves could not legally be held in a free state. Rutherford attempted to have Lincoln represent him in the case, but Lincoln had already agreed to represent the slave owner. Matson, represented by Lincoln, lost the case in Coles County court.
You can still visit the Hiram Rutherford home today, only a few blocks away from our Oakland Birkey’s store. Oakland Office Manager Kathy Pardi is the President of Landmarks, Inc.—the caretakers of the Dr. Hiram Rutherford Home—and often gives tours.
The Birkey’s Evolution
The store in Oakland became part of the Birkey’s Farm Store family in 1991, when Oakland Farm Supply (OFS) merged with Birkey’s. OFS was started by Jug Campbell; his son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Darlene Campbell, were the owners of OFS at the time. Jim became a Birkey’s owner and continued to manage the store until his retirement in 2010.
“I was there my whole life,” said Campbell, whose father originally purchased the dealership in 1947. “It’s a small town of 1,000 and our priority was always to take care of our customers and employees.” Today, the goal remains the same under manager Nathan Gannaway.
Service manager Dave Dye and parts manager Rick East have both been with the store for over 30 years—bringing their deep level of experience and expertise to everything they do.
Family and community ties run deep at the Oakland store. Office manager Kathy Pardi was trained by Darlene Campbell, who helped her husband Jim run the store for many years. The store also takes pride in its tradition of supporting school and civic events in the community.
“We never thought we’d take the OFS sign off the building,” Jim Campbell mused, “but we have, and it has been a great merger for us, Birkey’s, and most importantly, our customers.”
Started on Main
Historic brick-lined streets anchor Oakland’s downtown, featuring not-so-hidden gems like a water fountain shaped like a lion.
The Birkey’s store building is still on historic Main Street, but a 1976 fire threatened the long-held location. Kathy Pardi shares the store was busy in preparation for an open house for Customer Appreciation Day, which happened to be on Valentine’s Day. Amidst a flurry of confusion, the entire building was engulfed in flames quickly—so quickly they couldn’t even grab the cash box in time to run out before the door slammed. Scot Campbell, who is now the Birkey’s Shelbyville store manager, was with his grandpa, Jug Campbell when they saw the black smoke from a town away. This could only mean the shop was up in flames. A true testament to their dedication, the Customer Appreciation Day was still held in 1976, in a tent in the parking lot across from the burned building. On the store’s 60th anniversary, they had a sign printed reading: “Started on Main. Burned on Main. Still on Main.” And it still is, 74 years after the doors first opened.
Interesting Visitors
Oakland has had its share of interesting visitors to the small community.
In 1904, the Liberty Bell was hauled around the country by train car to and from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. School children were alerted along the way, and a schedule was set up where they could view the bell. It was hauled by flat car and made a brief visit through Oakland, on Thursday, November 17, 1904.
In the 1950s, Sky King was a popular TV show about a WWII naval aviator-turned rancher and his niece and nephew solving crimes. The main actor’s mother-in-law lived in Oakland, so actor Kirby Grant visited multiple times over the years.
In 1956, Leroy Van Dyke, country music artist, visited Oakland many times and premiered his hit song “The Auctioneer” at a hog sale.
In 1978, Charles Kuralt, a documentary journalist with a show called “On the Road with Charles Kuralt” traveled the backroads of America to Oakland. He visited the Rutherford home and did a story on a little lost dog named Blackie, whose loyalty made a big impact on the community. Blackie’s grave site still stands near the crossroads of highways 16 and 49.
Visit Today
Today, Birkey’s in Oakland serves the counties of Coles, Douglas, Edgar, and Vigo and is ready to serve all of your equipment needs. The store sells Case IH, Kinze, Westfield, Bush Hog, Woods, and other products.
Learn more: https://www.birkeys.com/--hours-oakland