David Maxwell is believed to have been the first settler in the area that is now Chana. Maxwell passed through the area on his way home from the Battle of Stillman’s Run in 1832.

Over the next few years, Maxwell’s brother-in-law, Samuel Aikens, and several members of Aikens’ family joined him in the area. Some of the Aikens boys are believed to have been associated with the infamous gang of Prairie Pirates headed up by John Driscoll.

Another of the earliest settlers in the area was Phineas Chaney. Chaney first settled in White Rock Grove in the mid-1830s and was one of the organizers and early captains of The Regulators, a vigilante group organized to strike back against the Driscoll gang.

Chaney resigned as captain of that group after a death threat, and was replaced by John Campbell, who was promptly murdered by the Driscoll gang. The Regulators’ kidnapping and execution of two leaders of the Driscoll gang led to the now-famous trial in which 112 men were tried an acquitted for the Driscolls’ murder.

In 1871 when the Chicago & Iowa Railroad built a line through the area that is now Chana, Chaney bought 80 acres and created a stock company, dividing the property into 20 shares. The newly organized village was named “Chana” in honor of its founder.

Chaney’s grain warehouse, completed on July 4, 1871, was the first building in Chana. By 1875 the village boasted a general store, a blacksmith’s shop, a drugstore, a saloon, and a grand hotel and a post office—the first in the area. The Methodist Church, built that same year, still stands in Chana today.

1832:

The first known settler to the area, David Maxwell, passes through what is now Chana on his way home from the Battle of Stillman’s Run.

Chana founder resigns as captain of the vigilante group known as The Regulators after his life is threatened.

The Chicago & Iowa Railroad builds a line through what is now Chana.

Phineas Chaney buys the land where Chana now sits and lays it out as the village of Chana.

The first building in the new village of Chana is constructed.

The Chana Post Office — the first post office in the area — opens with John Matson as Postmaster.

The Chana Methodist Church, which still stands today, is built.

The first school is built in Chana.

The first electric streetlights are installed in Chana.

Ogle County Historical Society

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