Conrad Stormer Statue & the Caterpillar Proving Grounds

We have many wonderful locations around Washington with great history, but if one digs just a bit, the facts unveil some interesting and lasting connections.

Conrad Stormer arrived in Washington with his family in 1847 at the age of 9.  He married Nancy Noland in 1860, and they raised five children.  Stormer purchased land in the far northwest corner of the township, mastering the woodsman trade in the rough terrain and constructing a very lucrative sawmill.  Ever a quiet man and living out in the far reaches, very few Washingtonians would know Stormer very well.

For his 75th birthday, Stormer commissioned the renowned Peoria sculptor Joseph Petarde to create a statue for his gravesite.  Petarde originally came to Peoria to cut stone to construct the Upper Free Bridge in Peoria.

Petarde spent over a year perfecting the impressive statue in Glendale Cemetery's far north end. Stormer passed away in 1915 at age 77, but shortly before his death, he commissioned Petarde to create another ornate headstone sculpture for his old friend, Andrew Schabinger.

The Caterpillar Tractor Company eventually purchased the wooded Stormer property in the northwest corner of Washington Township as a test site for their new machinery, first launched in 1947.  This secluded area continued to expand over the decades and now includes over 2,500 acres of land.  Caterpillar gave part of that land to the Washington Park District in 1979 for the construction of Oak Ridge Park.