History of Keck's Agency, Inc.

Keck's Agency, Inc. has had a long and storied past starting with its founder Charles Keck in 1893. Charles, a German immigrant, worked as a barber but sold insurance on the side. He saw the importance of protecting his customers' property and goods selling Fire Insurance, and thus, decided to sell insurance full-time. Needing more space, Charles moved to the upper story of the Walton Building in downtown Fairbury. His office remained there from 1895 to 1921.

The Keck's traveled to their clients and prospects using various means of transportation. Charles started by using a horse and buggy. His son, Perry, in an effort to speed up travel times bought a motorcycle in 1909 and traded that in on a Ford Model T in 1913. Their traveling usually began on Monday and sometimes resulted in them not seeing Fairbury again until later in the week.

In 1920, Charles bought the neighboring Archer Building which he refurbished and moved into in 1921. The renamed Keck Building (picture) was the home of the Keck's Agency for 60 years. It was considered by many, "as fine a store and office building as one will find...(in) a city many times larger than Fairbury." Many of Keck's owners and associates served from the second story of this building which still proudly bears the historic name Keck.

The current home of Keck's Agency, Inc. sits one block north of downtown Fairbury. It was bought from the Fairbury Federal Savings and Loan in 1981.

Charles Keck served his customers by being trustworthy and reliable. The Keck family laid this as the foundation of this business years ago. Today, the business still stands, the foundation of trust and reliability is stronger than ever, and we look forward to continuing to serve your insurance needs.

*Information for this section was found in various articles of The Blade and in the archives of Keck's Agency, Inc.