William J Bishop was a Civil War veteran who fought with under Col. Hovey and was wounded the same day as the future Governor Fifer during that war. After the war he farmed near Randolph and served as a deputy sheriff. He was elected Sheriff in 1890 and came to Bloomington to live. He built a lovely house at 606 South Clayton at that time and it was featured in the 1896 edition of Illustrated Bloomington.
The exploits of Sheriff Bishop were not often published in the Pantagraph, but upon his death his bravery was remembered. His greatest contribution was thought to be his fight against gambling. He would suppress the gambling machines and chips at every opportunity. At one of the local fairs he faced down the threats of the purveyors of gambling. During the war he was shot in the head and thought dead, but narrowly escaped death with the help of a nephew of Governor Fifer. When the soldier's monument was erected in Franklin Park, his name was incorrectly included among the dead.
This lovely home is no more, like so many of the beautiful homes that graced Bloomington. William Bishop died in 1901 of tuberculosis at the age of 58.
Postscript: When this post appeared on Facebook, the owner of this home noted that the home is now numbered 614 on Clayton Street and is doing just fine!! The new owner is only the second owner of this home, because he bought the home from Mattie Bishop, the daughter of Sheriff Bishop. I have added here a photo of the sheriff as a young man as he appeared when he fought in the Civil War.
