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A Founding Voice in Law, Civic Life, and Community
Born in Boston on October 3, 1825, and educated at Dartmouth College, Stephen B. Stinson arrived in Illinois equipped with the training of a lawyer and the perspective of the East. Admitted to the bar in 1850, he became one of the early professional figures in a region just beginning to organize itself.
By 1860, as Sandwich formally incorporated, Stinson was already part of its civic foundation. He was elected Town Clerk at the first municipal election, serving alongside men such as Augustus Adams, Almon Gage, and George Culver, figures who would shape the early direction of the community.
But Stinson’s role extended far beyond legal duties.
He became deeply involved in the agricultural and institutional life of the region through the Union Agricultural Institute, serving as both Vice President and Secretary during the 1860s. This organization, formed in Sandwich, would lay the groundwork for what would eventually become the Sandwich Fair. Stinson’s continued involvement in the Fair Association in later years suggests a lasting role in one of the town’s most enduring traditions.
As Sandwich grew, so too did its civic and cultural life. In 1879, Stinson was among the speakers at the dedication of the new City Hall and Opera House, joining other local leaders in marking a moment of progress for the community.
Professionally, he maintained a law office in town, listed as a lawyer and notary public on Railroad Street. Personally, his presence extended into the social fabric of Sandwich as well, with gatherings noted at his home, evidence of a man engaged not only in governance, but in community life.
In 1861, he served as a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention, representing DeKalb and Kane Counties. Later, in 1882, he was appointed County Judge and was elected the following year to continue in that role.
Stephen B. Stinson died in Sandwich on January 14, 1899, and is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
If early settlers established the land, Stinson helped shape nearly everything that followed, its laws, its institutions, its traditions, and its civic life.
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