White's Place Plat

I came across this PDF the other day and thought the neighborhood might be interested in seeing it. It appears to be the original Plat drawing for the "White Place Addition."

Check it out . . .complete with signatures of then-current city officials:

• J.S. Neville, Mayor
• A.H. Bell, Civil Engineer & Surveyor
• H.L. Denison, Clerk

Very cool!

If you're interested, here's some more info on who these people were:

A quick search on James S. Neville shows that he lived from 1856 to August of 1906. The White Place Addition was approved in March, 1906. There's also a photo and short biography of him on page 283 of the book titled Republicans of Illinois; A Portrait and Chronological Record of Members of the Republican Party (1905) (beware, this book is a 16 MB download!). The biography reads as follows:

J. S. NEVILLE, BLOOMINGTON
Born Mackinaw, Tazewell Co., Illinois., March 11, 1856. Adm'td to Illinois Bar, 1880 and since been in active practice. Politically active since 1878; postmaster Bloomington. 1889-93; member Bloomington City Council, 1893-99; appointed Railroad and Warehouse commissioner by Gov. Yates, 1901; Chairman McLean County Delegation to State Convention 1900 and 1904; member State Central Committee 4 years; elected mayor of Bloomington.

Arthur H. Bell shows up online as well, this time on page 52 in the book titled Transactions of the McLean County Historical Society (1899) (4.5 MB). The book only mentions that he served as the surveyor beginning in 1892. Another book mentions that he worked for the Illinois State Geological Survey Division specializing oil and gas.