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Full text of "History of Stark County, Illinois, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement .."




LIBRARY 

OF THL 
U N 1VER5 ITY 
or ILLl NOIS 



>.\ 



KLINOIS HISTOSICAL SUMt 



JIJI, 



STARK COUNTY 

ILLINOIS 

AND ITS PEOPLE 



A RECORD OF SETTLEMENT, ORGANIZATION, 
PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENT 



J. KNOX HALL 

SUPERVISING EDITOR 



ILLUSTRATED 



VOLUME I 



Chicago 

THE PIONEER PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1916 



^ -^..f .^r'^y 






CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 
<^ PHYSICAL FEATURES, GEOLOGY, ETC. 

LOCATIOX AND BOUNDARIES — SURFACE — RIVERS AND CREEKS — GENERAL 

CHARACTER NATIVE A'EGETATION ANLMALS AND BIRDS GEOLOGY 

— THE COAL MEASURES — SECTIONS OF MINING SH^Vl'TS — EXTENT OF 

THE COAL DEPOSITS — BUILDING STONE — THE GLACIAL EPOCH HOAV 

STARK COUNTY ^VAS FORMED — CHARACTER OF THE GLACIAL DRIFT — 
THE AVATER SUPPIA' 9 

CHAPTER II 
ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS 

.MOUND BUILDERS FIRST NOTICE OF MOUNDS IN THE UNITED STATES 

CHARACTER AND STRUCTURE OF THE MOUNDS — EARLY INVESTIGA- 
TIONS AND THEORIES WORK OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY — DIS- 
TRICTS IX THE UNITED STATES — WHO WERE THE MOUND BUILDERS — 
MORE THEORIES — RELICS IX THE COUNTY OF STARK — ADAMS AND 
shallexberger's work 22 

CHAPTER III 
INDIAN HISTORY 

DISTRIBUTIOX OF IXDIAX NATIO>JS AT THE CLOSE OF THE FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY" — THE ILLINOIS — SUBORDINATE TRIBES — THE SACS AND 

FOXES THE BLACK HAWK WAR DEATH OF BLACK HAWK THE 

POTTAWATOMI THEIR VILLAGES IN STARK COUNTY SHAB-BO-NEE 

— TREATIES WITH THE POTTAWATOMI THEIR CHARACTER THE 

WINNEBAGO INDIAN NA:MES 31 

\ iii 

\ I I 0948 I 



iv CONTENTS 

CHAPTER IV 
THE PERIOD OF PREPARATION 

EiiRLY EXPLORATIONS IN AMERICA SPANISH, FRENCH AND ENG- 
LISH CLAIMS TO TERRITORY IN THE NEA\^ WORLD — THE JESUIT 
MISSIONARIES — DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI — :MARQUETTE AND 

JOLIET LA SALLE's EXPEDITIONS LOUISIANA CROXAT AND LAW 

THE MISSISSIPPI BUBBLE — CONFLICT OF INTERESTS — FRENCH AND 

INDIAN AVAR — ILLINOIS A BRITISH POSSESSION THE WAR OF THE 

REVOLUTION CLARK's CONQUEST OF THE NORTHWEST ILLINOIS 

UNDER VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS ADMITTED AS A STATE EVOLUTION 

OF STARK COUNTY — RECAPITULATION 45 

CHAPTER V 
SETTLEMENT OF STARK COUNTY 

AN OLD TRADING POST EVELAND AND ROSS — ISAAC B. ESSEX THE ORIG- 
INAL PIONEER — FIRST CABIN IN STARK COUNTY — LIST OF SETTLERS 
EACH YEAR TO 1839 — PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS — THE HOUSE 
RAISING — FURNITURE AND UTENSILS — SWAPPING WORK — AMUSE- 
MENTS AND PASTIMES — MARKING ANIMALS — THE OLD TRAPPER's 
SOLILOQUY 58 

CHAPTER VI 
STARK COUNTY ORGANIZED 

THE MILITARY LAND GRANT — FORGED TITLES — FIRST COUNTIES IN THE 
ILLINOIS VALLEY — STARK COUNTY — THE ORGANIC ACT — FIRST ELEC- 
TIONS — THE COUNTY SEAT — CHANGE IN GOA'ERNMENT — THE COURT- 
HOUSE — THE ANNEX — THE COUNTY JAIL — SHERIFF MURCHISON's 
REPORT — THE POOR FARM — HOW THE COUNTY WAS NAMED 70 

CHAPTER VII 
TOWNSHIP HISTORY 

ORIGIN OF THE TOWNSHIP — FIRST TOWNSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES — 
justices' districts in STxVRK COUNTY — ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL 



CONTENTS V 

TOAVNSHIPS IX 1853 — ELM IRA — ESSEX— GOSHEN — OSCEOLA — PENN 
— TOULON — VALLEY — WEST JERSEY — MILITARY LAND ENTRIES IN 
E^CH — HOW THE TOAVNSHIPS AVERE NAMED — EARLY SETTLERS- 
PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS— RAILROADS— SCHOOLS— POPULATION AND 
AVEALTH ^^ 

CHAPTER VIII 
CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES 

SPECULATION IN EARLY DAYS — NUMEROUS TOWNS PROJECTED — LIST OF 
TOAVNS AND VILLAGES IN STARK COUNTY — CITIES OF TOULON AND 

WYOMING INCORPORATED VILLAGES OF BRADFORD AND LAFAYETTE 

MINOR VILLAGES HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EACPI PRESENT DAY 

CONDITIONS POSTOFFICES AND RURAL MAIL ROUTES Ill 

CHAPTER IX 
MILITARY HISTORY 

AVAR OF 1812 BLACK HAAVK AA^VR AVAR AVITH MEXICO AA'AR OF 1861- 

'65 — CONDITIONS LEADING UP TO THE AVAR — THE SLAA'ERY QUESTION 

C0MPR03IISE LEGISLATION — KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL — POLITICAL 

CAMPAIGN OF 1860 — SECESSION OF THE SLAA'E STATES — FALL OF FORT 
SUMTER — CALL FOR A'OLUNTEERS — AVAR MEETING AT TOULON — ILLI- 
NOIS' RESPONSE — EARLY ENLISTMENTS — BRIEF HISTORIES OF THE 
REGIMENTS IN AVHICH STARK COUNTY AVAS REPRESENTED — ROSTER 
OF STARK COUNTY COMPANIES — MISCELLANEOUS INFANTRY ENLIST- 
MENTS — CAA^ALRY SERVICE — ARTILLERY — SOLDIERs' MONUJIENT^ 
THE AVORK AT HOME 135 

CHAPTER X 
INTERNAL II^IPROVEMENTS 

EARLY CONDITIONS IN STARK COUNTY — ^DIFFICULTIES OF EARLY TRAVEL 
— INDIAN TRAILS — PUBLIC HIGHAVAYS — KNOXVILLE & GALENA STATE 

ROAD FIRST ROAD DISTRICTS AND SUPERVISORS PETITIONS AND 

VIEAVERS MODERN HIGHAVAYS STATE HIGHAVAY COMMISSION- 

STATE INTERNAL IMPROAEMENTS — ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CANAL — 



vi CONTENTS 

ACT OF 1836 LxUJGE APPROPRIATIONS FOR RIVER IMPROVEMENTS 

AND RAILRO^VDS THE RAILROAD ERA WESTERN AIR LINE A3IER- 

ICAN CENTRAL — CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND &: PACIFIC — CHICAGO, BUR- 
LINGTON & QUINCY — CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN — VALUE OF RAIL- 
ROAD PROPERTY IN THE COUNTY 162 

CHAPTER XI 
FINANCE AND INDUSTRY 

PUBLIC REVENUES — PROPERTY VALUES — PRINCIPAL FUNDS RAISED BY 
TAXATION — BANKING INSTITUTIONS — GENERAL HISTORY — EARLY 

BANKING IN ILLINOIS STARK COUNTY BANKS AGRICULTUItE^ 

CROP AND LIVE STOCK STATISTICS STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 

farmers' INSTITUTES — COAL MINING — MANUFACTURING TELE- 
PHONE COMPANIES 177 

CHAPTER XII 
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

CHARACTER OF THE EARLY SCHOOLS — SCHOOLHOUSE AND FURNITURE — 

TEXT-BOOKS SPELLING SCHOOLS — THE THREE r's — PUBLIC SCHOOL 

SYSTEM — STARK COUNTY SCHOOLS PIONEER TEACHERS — EDUCA- 

TION^VL PROGRESS BY TOWNSHIPS THE SEMINARY TOULON PUBLIC 

SCHOOLS — TOULON ACADEMY WYOMING PUBLIC SCHOOLS — SCHOOL 

OFFICERS TEACHERS^ INSTITUTE — TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION — THE 

PRESS — BRIEF HISTORIES OF THE VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS — EXTINCT 
NEAVSPAPERS PUBLIC LIBRARIES WYOJIING TOULON LAFAY- 
ETTE BRADFORD ELMIRA IJBRARY ASSOCIATION SCHOOL 

LIBRARIES. ....... ^ 194 

CHAPTER XIII 
THE BENCH AND BAR 

PURPOSE OF THE COURTS — THE LAWYER AS A CITIZEN — EARLY COURTS 

OF STARK COUNTY FIRST JURORS SKETCHES OF EARLY JUDGES- - 

LIST OF CIRCUIT JUDGES SINCE 1839 — CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 

CONCERNING COURTS PROBATE COURT COUNTY COURT AND JUDGES 

state's ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES COURTS THE BAR CONDI- 
TIONS OF EARLY DAYS SKETCHES OF OLD-TIME LAWYERS THE BAR 

OF 1915^ — CRIMINAL CASES A STRAY INCIDENT 219 



COXTENTS vii 

CHAPTER XIV 
THE MEDICAL PKOFESSION 

MEDICINE AX OLD I'UOl-ESSION HOME-:\rADE liEMEDIES CHARACTKli Ol'' 

THE PIONEER DOCTOR HIS METHODS OF TREATMENT^ HARDSHIPS 

OF FRONTIER PRACTICE — STANDING OF THE DOCTOR AS A CITIZEN — 
STARK COUNTY DOCTORS — BRIEF SKETCHES OF OLD-TIME PHYSICIANS 
■ — STARK COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY — REGISTERED PHYSICIANS IN 
191.3.... 236 

CHAPTER XV 
CHURCH HISTORY 

DIFFICULTIES IN AVRITING CHURCH HISTORY — JESUIT MISSIONARIES — 
THE METHODISTS — PEORIA MISSION THE BAPTISTS THE PRESBY- 
TERIANS THE CONGREGATIONALISTS LATTER DAY SAINTS^ — CHRIS- 
TIANS OR DISCIPLES — THE UNIVERSALISTS — UNITED BRETHREN — 
THE CATHOLICS — HISTORIES OF THE VARIOUS CONGREGATIONS — 
MISCELLANEOUS RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 240 

CHAPTER XVI 
SOCIETIES AND FRATERNITIES 

MUTUAL PROTECTION SOCIETY ITS AUMS AND OBJECTS — AGRICULTURAL 

SOCIETIES AND FAIR ASSOCIATIONS OLD SETTLERs' ASSOCIATION — 

THE LOG CABIN OLD SETTLERS' MONUMENT LETTERS FROM 

PIONEERS MASONIC FRATERNITY ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR 

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS — DAUGHTERS OF REBEKAH — 
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC — TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES — MISCEL- 
LANEOUS SOCIETIES '2C}(> 

CHAPTER XVII 
MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY 

PURPOSE OF THIS CHAPTER — FIRST THINGS — PRICES AND AYAGES — LIN- 
COLN AND DOUGLAS AT TOULON — THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD — 

FOUNTAIN AV ATKINS TELLS A STORY- — A RESOLUTION THE FIRST 

POLITICAL CAMPAIGN INDIAN RETALIATION HUNTING IN EARLY 

DAYS — THE MORMON PROPHET — A POLITICAL HERO 280 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XVIII 
STATISTICAL REVIEW 

POPULATIOX AT EACH UNITED STATES CENSUS — CONSTITUTIONAL CON- 
VENTIONS — CONGRESSION.VI. DISTRICTS — GENERAL ASSE5IBLY — HOW 
STARK HAS BEEN REPRESENTED IN THE LEGISLATURE OEITCIAL ROS- 
TER — LIST OF PUBLIC OFFICLXXS SINCE 1839 — VOTE FOR PRESIDENT 
AT EACH ELECTION SINCE 1840 — SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL 
E^'ENTS CONNECTED WITH THE COUNTy's HISTORY 305 



UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
UR6ANA 




J. KNOX HALL 



History of Stark County 

CHAPTER I 
PHYSICAL FEATURES, GEOLOGY, ETC. 

LOCATIOX AND BOUNDARIES SURFACE RIVERS AND CREEKS GENERAL 

CHARACTER NATIVE VEGETATION ANIMALS AND BIRDS GEOLOGY 

— THE COAL MEASURES — SECTIONS OF MINING SHAFTS — EXTENT OF 
THE COAL DEPOSITS— BUILDING STONE — THE GLACIAL EPOCH — HOW 

STARK COUNTY AVAS FORJIED CHARACTER OF THE GLACIAL DRIFT 

THE WATER SUPPLY. 

Stark County is situated northwest of the center of the state, its 
western Hue being about fifty miles from tlie INIississippi River at 
Keithsburg. and its northern bounthiry is eighty-seven miles from the 
\\'isc()nsin state line. On the north it is bounded by the counties of 
Rureau and Henry; on the east l)y Rureau and Marshall counties; 
on the south by Peoria County, and on the west by Knox and Heiu-y 
cdunties. It embraces Congressional townshi])s 12 and 13 north. 
Range o east; townships 12. l.'i and U, Range (i; and townships 12. 
I. "J and 14, Range 7. As each of these townships contains thirty-six 
square miles, the total area of the county is 288 square miles. 

The general surface of the county is slightly undulating, or roll- 
ing, except in the vicinity of the Spoon River and at some places along 
Indian Creek, where it is more or less broken. More than nine-tenths 
of the 184.320 acres responds easily to cultivation, and the remaining 
tenth is by no means waste land, though its cultivation is attended 
by greater effort. Natural drainage is afforded by the Spoon River. 
Indian and AValnut creeks, Cooper's Defeat, Camping Run, Jack 
Creek, ]Mud Run, Jug Run and a number of smaller streams. 

The Spoon River is composed of two branches. The East Fork 
rises in Rureau County and the West Fork in Henry County, the 
former flowing in a southwesterly direction and the latter toward the 



10 IIISTORV OF STARK COUNTY 

southeast until they form a junction in the northeastern part of Tou- 
lon Township, Stark Countj'. From this point the main stream fol- 
lows a general southerly course through the townships of Toulon 
and Essex. It finally empties into the Illinois River near the town 
of Havana, Mason County. The Indian name of this stream was 
"]Maquon," which in the Pottawatomi language means "Feather," 
certainly a more euphonious name than the one adopted by the white 
people. 

Indian Creek, the second largest stream in the county, has its 
source not far from the town of Galva, Henry County. It enters 
Stark County about two miles west of the northeast corner of Goshen 
Township, and follows a general southeasterly direction until it 
empties into the Spoon River a short distance above the old settlement 
known as Slackwater. This creek takes its name from the fact that 
when the first white men came to what is now Stark County they 
found a few Indians living along its banks. 

Walnut Creek, so named because of the number of walnut trees 
that once grew along its course, rises near the little village of Xekoma, 
Henry County, whence it flows southeast until it enters Stark County 
a little south of I^afayette. Its course is then almost south through 
Goshen and West Jersey townships until it mingles its waters with 
those of the Spoon River in the northwestern part of Peoria County. 

The creek known as Cooper's Defeat begins in the southern part 
of Bureau County. Its general course is westward and it finally emp- 
ties into the East Fork of the Spoon River in the southwest corner of 
Osceola Township. About three miles above its mouth it bends south- 
ward into Penn Township, where William and Jeremiah Cooper were 
frozen to death in the severe snow storm just before Christmas in is:n, 
from which incident the creek takes its name. A further account of 
this event Avill be found in another chapter. 

Some seven or eight miles south of Coojjer's Defeat and flowing 
in the same general direction is Cam])ing Rim, or Camp Creek, as it 
is sometimes called. It has its beginning a short distance east of 
Camp Grove, in INIarshall County, and joins the Spoon River about 
a mile and a half west of the little village of Stark. Before the advent 
of the railroad emigrant parties frequently encamped in the grove 
near the headwaters of the creek, from which custom it took its name. 

Still farther south is ]Mud (or ]Muddy) Run. \\hich rises in ^Slar- 
shall County and flows westAvard through the southern part of Valley 
Township until it empties into Camping Run about half a mile from 
the mouth of the latter. Its name indicates its character. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 11 

Jack Creek rises near the western boundary of Elniira Township 
and Hows in a southeasterly direction througli that township and Tou- 
lon, finally falling into the Spoon River a short distance below the 
village of JNlodena. 

.Jug Riui parallels the course of Jack Creek about two miles 
farther south. It is a short stream and is all in Toulon Township. 
Of the smaller streams the most important are Fitch Creek, which 
rises in Knox County and touches the northwest corner of Goshen 
Township; and Silver Creek, a tributary of the East Fork of the 
Spoon River in the northeast corner of Osceola Township. 

GEXEKAh CIIAKACTEU 

Originally the greater part of the county was prairie, with groves 
of timber interspersed in such a way that none of the prairies con- 
sisted of more than a few square miles. The largest prairie was be- 
tween Cooper's Defeat Creek and Camping Run, in what are now 
Pcmi and \'alley townships. The absence of timber \ii)on the tracts 
of land called prairies has been the subject of considerable specula- 
tion among geologists. geogra]ihcrs and botanists as to the cause of the 
vast, treeless plains in the ^Middle West and the smaller tracts of sim- 
ilar character in other parts of the country. It is a notable fact that 
no prairies existed east of the State of Ohio. Professor Whitney, 
who made .some observations on this subject, says: 

"The cause of the absence of trees on the prairies is due to the physi- 
cal character of the soil, and especially its exceeding fineness, which is 
prejudicial to the growth of anything but a superficial vegetation, the 
smallness of the particles of the soil being an insuperable barrier to 
the necessary access of air to the roots of dee])ly-rootcd vegetation, 
such as trees. \Vherever, in the midst of the extraordinary tine soil 
of the prairies, coarse and gravelly patches exist, there dense forests 
occur." 

Dr. Charles A. White, who held the office of state geologist in 
Iowa for several years in the early '7()s, made a somewhat extended 
investigation of the subject and reached a different conclusion from 
that of Professor Whitney. After calling attention to the fact tliat 
])rairies are found resting uj)on all kinds of bed rock, from the Azoic 
to the Cretaceous ages, and that all kinds of soil — alluvial, drift and 
lacrustral, including sand, clay, gravel and loam — are frecinently 
found upon the same prairie, he says: 

"Thus, whatever the origin of the jirairies might have been, wc have 



12 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

positive assurance that their present existence is not due to the influ- 
ence of the chmate, the character or composition of tlie soil, nor to the 
character of any underlying formations. 

"There seems to be no good reason why we should regard the for- 
ests as any more natural or normal condition than are the prairies. 
Indeed it seems the more natural inference that the occupation of 
the surface has taken place by dispersion from original centers, and 
that they encroached upon the unoccupied surface until they were 
met and checked by the destructive power of fires. The prairies 
doubtless existed as such almost immediately after the close of the 
glacial epoch." 

Doctor White's statement, that the prairies are not due to any 
character or composition of the soil, is borne out by the fact that in 
the towns that have been built up on the prairies, and in the artificial 
groves around many of the farm houses in the West, trees have grown 
M'ith as much vigor as though the surface had once been covered by a 
gnjw th of native timber. But, no matter how the prairies originated, 
the pioneers of Stark County found upon them a soil — a dark loam in 
.structure — that \\hen properly drained and rightly cultivated is unsur- 
passed in productiveness. 

Along the streams the first settlers foimd belts of timber, vai'ying 
in width, the principal varieties of native trees being oak, maple, lin- 
den, hickory, black walnut and elm. Smaller and less important spe- 
cies were the dogwood, hawthorn, red bud. wild plum, crab apple, etc. 
The soil of the timbered lands is lighter in color than that of the ])rai- 
ries and not so deep, but with the right kind of care and cultivation it 
can be made to produce excellent crops. 

Before the plow and the spade of civilization disturbed the nati\'e 
vegetation of the ])rairies the land was covered with flowers of various 
hues. First in im])ortance was probably the tall plant known as 
"Queen of the prairie," which often grew to a height of six feet and 
bore at the top a large cluster of flowers resembling the blossoms of 
the peach tree. Then there were the white, yellow and ]Hu-])le lady 
slipper, the golden rod, the buttercup, the INIay api)le. the blue bell, 
the forget-me-not, several members of the phlox family, the best 
know n of which was the modest little flower known as the sweet wil- 
liam. and numerous others, all of which have disappeared except in 
very rare instances. 

Along the banks of the streams and around the ponds could be 
found three or four species of water lilies, the cowslip, the cat tail 
and blue flags, various kinds of mint, etc. In the Avoods the wild mari- 



HISTORY OF STxVRK COUNTY 13 

gold, tlie bell flower, the yellow honey suckle, aiieinones, the clematis, 
the trumpet creeper and the modest violet grew ahuiidantly, and some 
of these flowers are still to be seen in a few secluded places, wjicrc the 
ravages of civilized man have not yet encompassed their destruction, 
in the early days, before the physician and the drug store had 
become established institutions, many herbs were gathered and pre- 
served for their medicinal properties. Foremost among these were 
the horehound, boneset, pennyroyal, catnip, wild garlic, barberiy, yel- 
low water dock, burdock, wild senna, gentian, lobelia, and a species of 
wormwood. A i'eA\- straggling siJecimens of these plants may be seen, 
but whei-e they once grew in pi'oi'usion are now the cultivated fields 
of the thrifty husbandman. 

ANIMALS AND lilKIlS 

Time was when the l)ison. or American I)uff"alo, roamed in great 
berds over the prairies of Illinois. At several points along the Spoon 
IJivei-, within the limits of Stark County, large quantities of the bones 
of these animals have !)een found. It is supposed that these bone 
heaps are due to the bufl'aloes seeking shelter in the timber along the 
river from some violent storm, and that here the whole herd perished. 
What the storms failed to accomjjlish toward the extinguishment of 
the bison the rifle of the pioneer and the encroachments of civilization 
did accomplish, and they have gone, never to return. 

The Virginia deer was also once plentiful in what is now Stark 
County and venison formed a considerable jjortion of the meat sui)i)ly 
for the family of the early settler. Occasionally a black bear could 
be seen prowling about some frontier settlement, but when some 
pioneer "drew a bead" on him with the long barreled rifle his tenure of 
life was limited to a few seconds at most, and then the family ^^ould 
least on bear meat for a short season. 

Although not so plentiful as the bufl'alo or tlie deei\ tiie elk was 
one of the native animals of the S])oon River \'allev. The beaver, 
ottei', nniik. raccoon and nmskrat were the best known of the fur- 
bearing animals and in early days were tra])ped in large numbei's for 
the revenue that their skins woidd bring. The beaver and otter have 
joined the bufi^alo, bear, deer and elk in oblivion and oidy on r;u-e 
occasions are any of the others to be seen. 

Among the predatory animals, or beasts of ])rey, the prairie and 
timber wolf, the lynx, the pantbei-. the catamomit. the wildcat, the 
grav and red fox were those most common. Of these the wolves were 



14 HISTORY OF STARK COUXTY 

probably tbe most troublesome. In JNlarcb, IH^J', the county com- 
missioners offered a bounty of $1 for the scalp of each big wolf and 
;50 cents for that of each prairie wolf "six months old killed in Stark 
County during the year 1844." As late as December 18, 1884, a large 
wolf was killed a few miles west of Toulon, and on ^Nlay 23, 188.3, the 
county clerk paid E. H. Bates, of Osceola, $24 on fourteen young 
wolf scalps. There are still living in the county jjersons who can 
I'emember how, when they were children, they were wont to cuddle 
more closely together in their beds as the mournful howl of some wolf, 
engaged upon his nightly foraging expedition, came to their ears in 
the lonely cabin on the frontier. 

Other wild animals that were common in the early days were the 
IMaryland marmot — commonly called the woodchuck or ground hog — 
the rabbit, which is still found in considerable mmibers, several species 
of squirrels, the skunk, the opossum, the weasel and a few others. 
The gray squirrel, the striped and spotted prairie squirrel have dis- 
api)eared aTul the other varieties are found only in limited numbers 
compared with former years. 

In October, 1867, Robert Church killed an American eagle near 
the bridge over Indian Creek on the road leading from Toulon to 
Lafayette. The bird was a magnificent specimen, measuring seven 
feet from tip to tip of its wings. So far as can be learned this M'as 
the last eagle killed in the county, where the bald eagle was once (piite 
common and occasionally the golden eagle cotild be seen. Closely 
allied to the eagle in habits, but much smaller, are the hawks, several 
s|)ecies of which were once quite nmnerous in Stark County. Those 
best known were the pigeon hawk, the sparrow hawk. Cooper's, the 
sharp-shinned, the red-tailed and the swallow-tailed hawks, while the 
fish hawk, the red shouldered hawk and the marsh hawk were more rare. 

Of the owls, the most common was the ordinary screech owl. 
Next was the barred or barn owl. The long and short eared, the 
great horned owl and the snowy owl were to be seen in the smaller 
numbers, the last named being rather rare. 

Game birds, or birds used for food, were abundant. The wild 
turkey, several species of wild ducks, the wild goose, the loon and the 
gull Mere the largest of such fowl, though some of the smaller varieties 
made u]) in numbers what they lacked in size. The most familiar of 
this class were the prairie chicken and some other members of the 
grouse family, the quail, the snipe, of which tliere were several kinds, 
the plover, and last, but not least in importance, the passenger pigeon. 
Prior to 187o great flocks of wild pigeons numbering thousands of 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 15 

birds would pass over the county during the migratory seasons. At 
night they wouhl pause to roost in some forest and would perch upon 
the rimhs of the trees in such numbers that often branches several 
inches in diameter would give wav under the weight. Those were red- 
letter days for the sportsman and the birds were killed by hundreds, 
merely for the sport of the killing. In the early '70s the size of the 
flocks began to diminisli and a few years later the ])assenger pigeon 
disappeared altogether. The question has l)een asked many times 
where they went or what became of them, as they have not been heard 
from anywliere. Their disappearance is still shrouded in mystery. 

Other birds once seen here in considerable numbers that are now 
entirely extinct or exceedingly rare were the turkey buzzard, the 
C'aroliit* parrot, the whippoorwill, the cuckoo, the crane, the heron, 
the common crow, the tintle dove and quite a number of song birds, 
such as the thrush, the finch family, several species of warblers, the 
oriole, etc. Then tliei'e were the swallows, of which there were several 
kinds, the bunting, the little wren, the titmouse, the chickadee, the 
native sparrows, the red throated humming bird, the meadow lark, 
the nuthatch, the fly catcher, the jn'airie skylark, the pewee, the blue 
bird and some others that have entirely (lisa])peared or are extremely 
rare. The ax, the plow and the scythe destroyed many of their 
accustomed haunts and drove them to seek other (piarters, and the 
pugnacious, worthless English sparrow has added to the destructive 
work of man in driving out many of the native birds. The wood- 
pecker, the l)lack bird and the uliiquitous lilue jay are still seen in the 
county, but in smaller numbers tlian formerly, and on rare occasions 
some of the other species mentioned above are to be met with, as 
thougli they had returned to mourn over the scenes of their l)y-gone 
ha])piness. It is to be regretted that greater and timely protection 
was not given to the song ])irds and insect-eating varieties, which 
could have done so much toward adding to the cheerfulness of the 
liiiiiian familj' and the protection of the farmers' crops. 

GEOLOGY 

Although America is called the Xew ^Vorld, geologists believe 
that it is older than any of the continents of the Eastern Hemis])here. 
P]-ofessor Agassiz says: "Here Avas the first dry land lifted out of 
the waters; here the first shores were Avashed by the ocean that en- 
velo])ed all the earth besides; and while Europe was represented onlv 
by islands rising here and there above the sea, America already 



16 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

stretched in one unbroken line of dry land from Nova Scotia to the 
far West." 

It is not witliin the province of a history such as tliis to discuss the 
methods by which geok)gists readied this conclusion, but other eminent 
autliorities, as well known in scientific circles as Professor Agassiz, 
are inclined to favor the same theory regarding the age of the conti- 
nent upon which we live. If their hypothesis be correct. Stark County 
may have been the home of the creatures of the reptilian type belong- 
ing to the Jura-Trias and Cretaceous eras, while the so-called Old 
World was still under water. 

The first official geological survey of the conditions existing in 
Stark County was made by H. A. Green, under the auspices of the 
state geological survey, and published in the report for 1870. ]Mr. 
Green found in his investigations that all the stratified rocks of the 
county belong to the Coal INIeasures, including all the lower portion 
of the series from coal No. 7 to coal Xo. 2, inclusive. Coal Xo. 7 was 
observed in only a few places, the most notable of which was in section 
10, township 14, range 7, where S. C. Francis was engaged in oper- 
ating a mine near the east fork of the Spoon River. A section of 
the shaft at this mine, as given by Mr. Green, shows the following 
formation : 

Ft. In. 

Yellow clay 2 

Red sand 2 

Xodular limestone 2 4 

Light colored clay G 10 

Clay shale 2 

Sandstone 8 

Blue clay shale 4 2 

Sandstone 1 4 

Blue clay shale 8 

Dark clay shale 5 8 

Coal ...". ■ 2 

Blue clay shale 12 

Impure limestone 3 

Clay shale 8 

Impure limestone 2 

Blue clay shale 1 4 

Dark clav shale 3 

Coal ..." 2 7 

Depth of shaft 62 6 



HISTOKV OF STAKK COUNTY 17 

Concerning the product of this mine and the coal deposits in the 
vicinity, Mr. Green says: "Tliis coal appears to occupy the ])osition 
of coal No. 7, and prohal)ly l»eh)ngs to that seam. The coal worked 
at the Bradford shaft, which is hut a short distance from here, in 
section 21, is thought to he some thirty or forty feet helow, and is 
probahly No. G." 

With regard to the coal deposits in general his report says : "Stark 
County has an abundant supply of coal, which is at present derived 
mainly from coal No. i>. It crops out along the West Fork in JOImii-a 
Township, along the Spoon River in Toulon, at intervals for about 
twenty miles, and can i)robably be found and worked along the 
streams and their tributaries for the entire distance. This coal varies 
in thickness from 2I/2 to 6 feet, seldom reaching the extreme, but 
averaging from 3\-> to .) feet. Immense quantities of coal have been 
taken from this seam at its outcrops along the diff'erent streams. In 
Osceola Township one shaft has been sunk near the East Fork, and 
several others are pai'tially completed. Shafts have also been sunk 
at ]Modena. near Wyoming, in Toulon Township and at Cox's Mill 
in Essex Township." 

That was wi'itten in 1870. Since then several new developments 
have been made in the mining industry. Coal No. (i is the ])i'inci])al 
seam worked in the county. It first appears in the bluffs along the 
West Fork, in the southeast part of section .'}. townshij) 14, range 0. 
From that point to the southeast quarter of section 10, in the same 
township and range, it has been worked at intervals along the west 
side of the stream. In section 16 a number of openings have been 
made and considerable quantities of coal have been taken out. Here 
the coal crops out of the bluff, some ten or fifteen feet above the level 
of the creek. The seam nms from fom- to five feet thick, with a clay 
parting of about two inches near the middle. No. seam is also 
worked at what is kno\\n as the Bradford shaft, located on the east 
side of the East Fork in section 28, township 14, range 7. The shaft 
here shows as follows: 

Ft. In. 

Yellow elaj' .'J 

Limestone 4 

I^ight colored clay 4 6 

IJght colored clay shale 8 4 

Limestone 2 4 

Clay shale 9 10 

Coal 2 



18 IIISTOKV OF STARK COUXTV 

Soft black slate (fossiliferous) 4 

Clay 4 5 

Sandstone 22 2 

Clay shale 

limestone 4 

Light colored clay shale 6 

Green clay shale 2 4 

Dark clay shale 3 2 

Impure limestone 1 6 

Dark clay shale 2 6 

Coal (with 3-inch clay parting) 4 

Depth of shaft 88 7 

At IModena the vein ranges from 41/.' to .jl/ feet in thickness and 
is rarely more than thirty feet below the surface. Coal has also been 
noted in the bed of Jack Creek, in section 4, township 13, range 6, 
where some of the deposits have been worked a little. In sections 2. 
11 and 12, of the same township and range, a short distance south of 
jNIodena, the coal crojjs out along the bluff from eight to ten feet above 
the bed of the creek and several mines were in operation in this part 
of the county at the time of IMr. Green's sur^'ey. 

According to Green, coal Xo. 4 is found at only one place in the 
county, viz: in section 19, township 12. range .5. near Walnut Creek, 
about two miles southwest of the "N'illage of ^Vest Jersey. Here he 
found a vein of coal 41/. feet in thickness, below which was a layer 
of impure cannel coal, varying from six to ten inches in thickness and 
containing the fossil remains of plants and fishes. The vein of No. 4 
coal at this point is only about fifteen feet below the surface. Fur- 
ther mention of the coal deposits and their develoiMiient will be found 
in the chapter on Finance and Industry. 

BUILDING STONE 

When INIr. Green visited the county in his geological research in 
1870, he found only a small quantity of building stone of value. The 
best deposit of limestone worked at that time was in the quarries in 
sections 21-22, township 14, range 7. a short distance northwest of 
Bradford. This he pronounced the largest bed exposed anvwhere in 
the countv, being from six to twelve feet thick, but in thin ledges, 



I 



HISTORY OF STARK COUXTV 19 

none of which was over six inches thick. The stone from this (iiiarry 
is of a light drab coh)r, conij)act and of even textnre, moderately hard 
and stands exposure to tlie weather. It can be l)urned into a lime 
suitable for masonry, but too dark in color to be used for plastering. 
Near the Spoon River, in section 14, township 1"2, range G, jNlr. 
Green found a deposit of sandstone which he considered the best in 
the county. About three miles west of this, in section 17 and near 
Inilian Creek, he found another sandstone deposit, \\hich furnishes a 
fair ([uality of building material. An old house near the quarry, con- 
structed of this stone, shows that the weather has l)ut little effect 
upon it after years of exposure. Another bed of sandstone is in sec- 
tion 20, township 12, range 5, near ^Valnut Creek; a soft sandstone 
exists in considerable quantities in section Ki, township 14, range (i, 
and a better quality is found in section 13, township 13, range 6, but 
neither of these deposits has been worked to any extent. The thick 
vein of sandstone (22 feet (J niches) in tiie Jiradford coal mine could 
be used for building purposes, but the fact that it lies from thiity-five 
to i'orty feet below the surface has prevented its develoi)ment. 

THE GLACIAL El'Ot'U 

Far back in the geologic past, while the coal beds of Stark County 
were in j^rocess of formation, the siu'face was probably one vast marsh 
covered with tangled masses of vegetation and inhabited only by 
reptiles. ^Vbout the close of the Tertiary period came the I'leistocene 
or "Ice Age," during which the upper Mississippi Valley was covered 
l)y one vast sheet of ice called a glacier. This glacier extended from 
tile country about the (ireat Lakes to the Rocky ^lountains on the 
west, and southward to about the latitude of St. Louis. It was formed 
in the northern part of the continent by successive falls of snow, each 
of wliich added to the weight of the great mass liclow until it was 
compressed into one solid body of ice. After many years of the 
formative process, a change in tlie tenqicrature started the glacier to 
moving slowly soutliward, carrying with it great bow Idcrs. clays, soils, 
etc.. to be deposited u])on the bed rocks of a region i'ar distant from 
that where they were first placed by the hand of nature. As the 
huge mass moved slowly along, the bowlders and other hard sub- 
stances at the bottom of the glacier left scratches (called stri;e In- the 
geologists) u])f)n the bed rocks, and from these markings the course 
of the glacier can be determintd w Itli a fair degree of accuracy. Ex- 
aminations of the stria' at various places in the IMississippi Vallev, 



20 HISTOKV or STARK COUXTY 

where the bed rock is exposed, show that the general direction followed 
by the great central glacier was toward the southeast. 

-(\.s the ice melted in the warmer latitude, the materials carried by 
the glacier Aiere deposited upon the bed rock in the form of drift, 
composed of till, loess and alluvium. It was through this method 
that the great swamp above mentioned underwent a change. At the 
close of the Pleistocene the earth's surface, over which the glacier had 
])assc(l. was void of either animal or vegetable life. In time the action 
of tile rain and wind gradually leveled the surface, the heat from the 
sun warmed it, and life in the most primitive forms made its 
appearance. 

l"V)r the rich heritage of soil in Stark County, the region is indebted 
to the great glacier that once overflowed the country. In its slow 
mai-ch it ground up the rocks over which it passed, mixed the fresh 
rock flour with the granites of British America and Northern jNIinne- 
sota, with the pulverized limestones and shales of the more southern 
latitudes, and de2)osited these materials upon the rocks of earlier 
geologic periods. Everywhere the soil is the product of rock disinte- 
gration. In Stark County the glacial drift is from twenty to sixty 
feet deep, giving it one of the most fertile soils in the state. 

It was through the action of the glacier that the surface of Xorth- 
ern Illinois was formed. At the edge of the glacier, as it moved 
forA\ai-<l. it left a ridge called a "lateral moraine." Where two glacial 
bodies came together a larger ridge running parallel to the stria^ was 
formed and is called a "median moraine." At the terminus of the ice 
sheet, where all the remaining solid materials carried by the glacier 
were deposited, the ridge thus formed is known as the "terminal 
moraine." As no evidences of a moi-aine of any kind have been 
noticed in Stark County, it is almost certain that tliis portion of 
Illinois was in the heart of the glacier, an indication that is furtlier 
borne out by the almost uniform thickness of the drift when comjnired 
with those parts of the country where the moraines are known to exist. 

CHARACTER OF THE DRIIT 

At the bottom of the glacial deposits lies the till — called by some 
geologists the lower till — composed of a blue clay or a dark shale, 
charged with liowlders and sometimes mixed with sand. This till is 
seen in the strata immediately overlying the Coal Pleasures, as shown 
by the sections of shafts given in the preceding pages. 

The loess is a fine ash-colored silt, or a porous clay, rich in carbon- 



IIISTOKV OF STARK COrXTV 21 

ate of lime. Tliis substance was (lei)()site(l very irregularly and so 
far as known no deposits of it have been found in Stark County. 

Above tb.e loess conies the alluvium or .soil, which is made up of 
the lighter materials cariied i)y the glacier, to which has been added a 
large volume of decayed vegetable matter that has accumulated since 
the close of the glacial epoch. As this portion of the drift constitutes 
the surface, and is seen everywhere in Stark County, it is too well 
known to requii-e further description. 

The bowldeis cuinnionly called "nigger heads" that may be seen 
in greater or less numbers in all parts of the state, are uiuiuestionably 
of glacial origin. They are of a different texture from the bed rock, a 
fact that sustains the theory that they are foreign to this part of the 
country. IMost of them are found below the surface, but those left 
u[)()ii the higher portions of the glacial deposits have remained where 
they can still be seen, the lighter materials of the alluvium having 
been deposited around them without disturbing their resting places. 

THE WATER SUPPLY 

There are but comparatively few natural springs in the county. 
]Most of the wells derive their svqjply of water from veins in the drift. 
only a few of them penetrating to the Coal ^Measiu'cs. The deepest 
well in the county is the one at Toulon, from which the town's water 
'su])]ily is taken. It is over fourteen hundred feet in de])th. A further 
descrijjtion of it, as well as of the wells at Wyoming and Bradford, 
will be found in connection with the history of those towns. 



CHAPTER II 
ABORIGINAL IXIIABITANTS 

MOUND BUILDERS — I'lKST NOTICE OF MOUNDS IN THE UNITED STATES— 
CHAKACTER AND STRUCTURE OF THE MOUNDS EARLY INVESTIGA- 
TIONS AND THEORIES WORK OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY DIS- 
TRICTS IN THE UNITED STATES WHO WERE THE MOUND BUILDERS- 
MORE THEORIES — RELICS IN THE COUNTY OF STARK — ADAMS AND 
SHALLENBERGER's A\'(niK. 

Yov nearly a ccntui-y and a half after the first white settlements 
were made along the Atlantic coast, in what is now the United States, 
the general belief was that the Indian tribes found here by the first 
Europeans were the t)riginal inhabitants of the country. Then evi- 
dences were discovered in the interior of the continent that led arch- 
aeologists to believe that the great valleys of the Ohio and ^Mississippi 
rivers had once been occupied by a peculiar race of people entirely 
separate and distinct from the Indian. These evidences were found 
in the numerous mounds and earthworks, fragments of pottery, stone 
implements, weapons, etc. A report issued by the United States 
Bureau of Ethnology says : 

"During a period beginning some time after the close of the Ic« 
Age and ending with the coming of the \\'hite man — or only a few 
years before — the central part of North ^Vmerica was inhabited by a 
people who had emerged to some extent from the darkness of sav- 
agery, had acquired certain domestic arts, and practiced some well 
defined lines of industry. The location and boundaries inhabited by 
them are fairly well marked by tlie mounds and earthworks they 
erected." 

The center of this ancient civilization — if such it may be called — 
seems to have been in the present State of Ohio, where the mounds 
and relics are more mmierous than in any other part of the country, 
though Illinois was well Avithin the confines of the domain once occu- 
])ied by this peculiar race, to which the name of "IMound Builders" 
has been given by archaeologists, and various theories have been ad- 

22 



HISTORY OF STARK C'OUXTV 23 

vaiiced conceniing- tlieir origin, identity and tlie manner in wliieli llu-y 
became extinct. 

It may be interesting to the reader to know something of these 
theories regarding tiie 31onnd RniUlers, as well as something of the 
character of the works they constructed, ^lost of the monnds are of 
conical form, varying in height, and when opened they have nsnally 
been fomid to contain human skeletons. For this reason they have 
lieeii designated by ai'chaeologists as bui'ial mounds. Next to the 
burial mound comes the truncated pyi'amid — that is, a mound scjuare 
or lectangular at the base and tlattened at the top. ^lounds ol' this 
class ai'c nearly always higher than the highest of the burial mounds 
and u})on the top of several such mounds charcoal has been found. 
The greater heigiit and the charcoal gave rise to the theory that they 
were used as lookout or signal stations, upon the top of ^vhich signal 
Mres had once been lighted. 

In some sections of the country can still be seen well defined lines 
of earthworks, sometimes in the foi-m of a scjuare, but more often of 
oval or circular shape, bearing every indication of having been erected 
as ])laces of defense against hostile invaders. Still another class of 
works, less numerous and widely separated, consists of one large 
mound surrounded by an embankment, outside of which are a number 
of smaller mounds. In such groups the smaller mounds are nearly 
always devoid of human bones or other relics, and even the larger 
mound within the end)ankment yields l)ut few relics. The absence of 
skeletons, implements, weapons, etc., and the arrangement of the 
mounds in works of this nature have led anticiuarians to form the 
theory that they were centers of sacrifice or religious ceremonies of 
some character. 

Xot for years after the mounds were first noticed was anv svs- 
tematic investigation of the origin made. The earliest persons to 
examine the mounds were Squier and Davis, who, about 18.)(), pub- 
lished a work entitled "Ancient JNIonuments of the Mississippi Val- 
ley." Between the years 184.5 and 1848 these two archaeologists, 
working together, explored over two hundred mounds and other earth- 
works, the description of which was published by the Smithsonian 
Institution. Following them came Baldwin, INIcLcan and a number 
f others, ])ractica]ly all of whom held to the theory that the Mound 
Builders belonged to a scjnirate and distinct race and that many of the 
relics were of great antiquity. 

Some of these early writers on the subject took the view that the 
^lound Builders first established their civilization in the Ohio Vallev, 



o 



24 lllSTORV OF STARK COUNTY 



from which region they gradually moved toward the southwest into 
^Mexico and Central America, where the white man found their de- 
scendants in the Aztec Indians. Otliers, with arguments equally 
plausible, contended that the people who left these interesting relics 
oriuinated in the Soutii and slowly made their way northward to the 
country about the Great Lakes, where they were met and driven back 
by hostile tribes. Upon only one phase of the subject were these 
early authors in accord, and that was that the JNIound Builders consti- 
tuted a very ancient and extinct race. This theory was sustained by 
the fact that the Indian tribes with whom the first white men came in 
contact had no traditions relating to the mounds or tlie people who 
built them, while the claim of great antiquity was supported by the 
i-reat trees, often several feet in diameter, that were found growing 
upon the mounds and earthworks. 

Shortly after the United States Bureau of Ethnology was estab- 
lished it undertook the work of making an exhaustive and scientific 
investigation of the mounds and other relics left by the Mound 
Builders. Cyrus Thomas, who had charge of this branch of ethnolog- 
ical research, in his analysis and comi)ilation of the information col- 
lected, has divided the region once inhabited by the JNIound Builders 
into eight districts, each of mIucIi is marked by certain features not 
common to the others. In making this division ^Nlr. Thunuis evidently 
did not adhere to any of the theories advanced as to the origin or first 
location of the ancient people, as he begins in the northwestern part 
of the country and proceeds toward the south and east. His districts 
are as follows : 

1. The Dakota District, which includes North and South Dakota. 
INIinnesota, the northwest corner of Iowa and the State of Wisconsin. 
In this district the chief objects of interest to the archaeologists are 
the beautiful efiigy mounds, constructed in the form of some bird or 
animal. Wisconsin is especially rich in mounds of this class. Near 
the Town of Prairieville is a mound resembling a turtle, fifty-six feet 
in length, and not far from the Town of Blue INIounds is a mound 
120 feet long representing a man lying on. his back. Some writers are 
of the opinion that the effigy mounds were made to represent the totem 
of some tribe or clan, and others think they are the images of some 
living creature that Avas an object of veneration. 

2. The Huron-Iroquois District takes its name from the country 
comprising the district, which was once inhabited by the Huron and 
Iroquois Indians. This district includes the lower peninsula of INIich- 
igan. the southern part of Canada, a strij) across the northern part of 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 25 

Ohio ami the greater portion of the State of ]S'ew York. Xear Toledo 
and Sandusky, Ohio, a few well defined fortifications have been ob- 
served, but by far the greater i)art of the relics are the small burial 
mounds and tiie "hut rings," small circular embankments, whicii are 
supposed to have been the foundations of ancient dwellings. 

3. The Illinois District embraces the middle and eastern portions 
of Iowa, Northeastern INlissouri, Northern Illinois and the western 
half of Indiana. That part of Illinois lying within this district in- 
cludes about two-thirds oJ" the state. Stark County lies within this 
district, in whicli the l)urial mounds are cjuite numerous and a few 
fortifications have been found, but they are greatly inferior, both in 
size and the manner of construction, to those of the Ohio District. In 
the southern part of the district several mounds of the truncated 
pyramid variety have been found, the great mound near Cahokia 
being one of the finest examples of this class known to students of 
American archaeology. 

4. The Ohio District takes in all of the State of Ohio, except the 
strip across the northern ])art. which is included in District No. 2, the 
eastern half of Indiana and the southwestern part of West Virginia. 
Here the Mound Builder evidently flourished in all his glory. Burial 
mounds ai-e larger and more numerous than in any other part of the 
country, many of them having a diameter of one lumdi'cd feet or more 
and rising to the height of sixty or eighty feet. JNIore than ten thcni- 
sand mounds have been explored in the State of Ohio alone. The 
(irave Creek Mound, in West Virginia, is one of the largest lookout 
or signal mounds yet discovered. The earthworks of this district 
sur])ass those of all the others. The "(ireat Seriient." a fortification 
in tile I'orm of a snake, is situated on a blufi' in ^Vdams County, Ohio. 
It is nearly fourteen iiundred feet long and is one of the best pre- 
served and most ])erfect specimens of the Mound Builders' fortifica- 
tions. Its site has recently been pin-chased by the state in order that 
the ancient fort may be kept intact. Near Anderson, Indiana, is a 
circular fortification, with a lookout mound inside the embankment. 
A peculiar feature of tliis woi-k is a subterranean ])assage leading to 
the ^Vhite River, some three hundred feet distant, indicating that the 
work had been constructed with a view to obtaining a snp])lv of water 
in the event of a siege. 

.5. The Appalachian District takes its name from the mountains 
included within its borders. It embraces East Tennessee, the south- 
western part of Virginia. "Western North Carolina and Northern 
(ieorgia. Throughout this district abundant evide?ices have been 



26 HISTORY OF STxVKK COUNTY 

found to show that the inliabitants were in many respects different 
from those of the other districts. The mounds are differently con- 
structed; stone graves are numerous; copper awls, needles, knives and 
othei' utensils have been found; tobacco pipes made of clay and baked, 
and some pipes carved fioni a pecidiar kind of stone are among the 
relics found here. 

6. The Tennessee District, which adjoins the Appalachian on the 
west, includes the southern third of Illinois, nearly all the State of 
Kentucky, a small jjortion of Xorthern Alabama. Middle and Western 
Tennessee and the central part of Georgia. The distinguishing fea- 
ture of this district is its pottery, a long-necked water jar of graceful 
outline being especially abundant. Fragments of pottery indicated 
that they were part of vessels from three to four feet in diameter and 
capable of holding several gallons. Several forts have been noted, a 
few of which are connected with nearby streams by subterranean pas- 
sages, and some of the mounds have yielded up stone images, believed 
by archaeologists to have been objects of worship. 

7. The Arkansas District includes the State of Arkansas, the 
northern part of Louisiana and the southeast corner of ]Missouri. 
Burial mounds here are small and few in number, ^'illage sites have 
been located by means of the hut rings and pottery has been found in 
abundance. 

8. The Gulf District includes the country bordering on the Gulf 
of JNIexico. In this district are a number of fine tnmcated pyramids, 
some of them built in terraces; skeletons buried in bark coffins have 
been unearthed and other skeletons have been foimd in caves; the 
entire district is rich in pottery, and a peculiarity of this region is the 
large numlier of polished stone implements and weapons of obsidian. 

WHO WERE THE 5I0UXD BUILDERS? 

Going back to the theories regarding the origin and age of the 
]Mound Builders, it is worthy of note that in more recent years arch- 
asologists are inclined to doubt the idea of great anticjuity. or that the 
IMound Builders differed materially in racial characteristics from the 
IVorth American Indian. Those who have made extensive research 
among the mounds, or a careful and systematic study of the relics in 
connection with the work of the United States Bureau of Ktlmolouv, 
are practically a unit in the belief that the Indians found here l)y the 
first white men are the descendants of the ]Mound Buildei-s. but that 
the traditions of the latter have been lost. Even some of the earliest 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 27 

writers on the subject expressed the opinion that the Aztecs were 
(lesceiuhmts of the ancient tribes who once inhabited the interior of 
Xortli ^Vnierica. 

That the tlieory of threat age is erroneous, to some extent at least, 
becomes apparent \\ iuii it is known that the early French and Spanish 
explorers in the soullic rn \)nvt of what is now the I'^nited States, dis- 
covered that among the Natchez Indians the house of the chief was 
always built ujjou an artificial mound. Mention of this fact is seen 
in a numbci' of the early French archives, and as eminent an authority 
as I'ierre Margry says: "When a chief dies they demolish his cabin 
and then raise a new mound, on which they build the cabin of the chief 
who is to replace the one deceased in this dignity, for the chief never 
Iddges in the house of his predecessor." 

How long this custom had prevailed among the southern Indians 
no one knows. l)ut it may account for the large number of small 
mounds throughout the region once inhabited by the Natchez and their 
ancestors. It has also been learned that the Yamasee Indians of 
Georgia built mounds over the warriors slain in l)attle. and Charlevoix 
found amony- the Canadian tribes some who built earthworks similar 
in many respects to those described by Thomas in the Iluron-lnxiuois 
District. 

Early investigators found in many of the small mounds burnt or 
baked clay and charcoal, for which they were at a loss to account. 
Snbst(|uent research has disclosed the fact that among certain tribes. 
|)artieularly those of the lower M ississi])])i country, the family hut 
was built u])on an artificial mound in many instances. This has led 
Jirintoii to advance the theory that the house was constructed of ])oles 
and the cracks l)etween the ]K)les filled with clay. When the head of 
the familv died, the body was buried under the center of the hut. which 
was then burned. i\s it is now known that this custom was followed 
for prrha])s many generations. Ri-inton"s theory would account I'or 
the binnt clay and charcoal, as well as for the large number of small 
mounds, each contaim'ng a single human skeleton. 

^Vnother evidence that there is some relationship bL'tweeii the 
Mound Builders and the Indians of more recent times is found in tiie 
jiotterv made by some of the southwestern tribes, which is very similar 
in both texture and design to the ])ottery found in ancient mounds. 
Among the cliff dwellers archicologists have fomid wea]Jons and 
utensils almost exactly like some of those found in the mounds, and 
some have even gone so far as to assert that the cliff dwellers are but 
the remnant of the once numerous and widely distriliuted Mound 
Builders. 



28 IIISTOIIV OF STAKK COL'XTV 

In the light of these discoveries, it is not surprising tliat ethnologists 
are discarding the theory of a separate race and great age and advanc- 
ing in its stead one of a vastly different nature, viz: That the Mound 
Builder was nothing more than the ancestor, more or less remote, of 
the North American Indian. The new theory, however, has not de- 
creased the interest in the ^Moiind Buildeivs and their works. Says 
Thomas: "The hoj)e of idtinuitely solving the great problem is per- 
haps as lively today as in former years. But, with the vast increase 
of knowledge in recent years, a modification of the hope has taken 
ace. 

MOUNDS IN STAKK COUNTY 

Nearly every county in the State of Illinois contains some evidence 
of having been inhabited by INIound Builders. Stark County is no 
exception. ^Slany of the mounds in the state have been completely 
obliterated by the plow and many others show only slight traces of 
their former outlines. Flint spear and arrow heads, stone axes, hvmian 
bones and a few specimens of pottery have all been found within the 
limits of Stark County. Formerly the spear and arrow heads were 
so numerous as to excite but little interest or comment. The most 
noted mound anywhere near Stark County is probably the one de- 
scribed by W. H. Adams, of Rochester, Peoria County, in a communi- 
cation to the Smithsonian Institution in 188.5. ^Ir. Adams says: 

"(On the north side of the Spoon River, eighty rods west of the 
east line and twenty rods south of the north line of section 12. town- 
shi]) 11, range 4, east of the fourth principal meridian, is a round 
mound about thirty feet in diameter, called by those in the neighbor- 
hood 'the hogback.' On the highest ])art of this hogback, at the 
surface, is some evidence of fire. The e^'idenees of a former fire 
increase very rapidly. At a depth of twelve to sixteen inches I found 
five skeletons, nearly all the liones of which were calcined i)y fire, and 
many of them entirely consumed. One of the skulls lay to the north, 
one to the northwest, one to the southwest, one to the south and one 
to the northeast. With the bones were fragments of sandstone burned 
red. At or near each skull, and nearly on a line between the point of 
the shoulder and the ear. was a water-worn pebble, except in one 
instance, and that was an angular ])iece of flint. The pebliles had not 
been acted upon by the fire, so that they were evidently placed there 
after the intense heat of the fire had subsided. From the appearance 
of the earth one would be strongly inclined to believe that the fire in 



\ 



HISTORY OF STARK COrXTV 29 

this instance luul hccn one of unusual intensity. From the position 
ol" the skulls to each other, the feet of one body would reach to his 
neit^lihor's head, if laid at full length. One of the skulls was rather 
thinner than those we usually tind in other mounds. Some of the 
teeth belonged to a person of great age; others of the teeth were very 
small, but 1 cannot say tliat they belonged to an infant. The skulls 
were in fragments, the largest piece obtained being about two inches 
square. On another hogback, east of the one described, commencing 
on section 12, township 11, range 4 east, extending across the north- 
west coi'ner of section 7. township 11, range 5 east, and also some 
distance on section (>. township 11, are thirteen common round mounds, 
varying in height from eighteen inches to tive feet. As far as ex- 
amined these are burial mounds and in one I found nineteen skeletons. 
This one was forty-tive feet in diameter and five feet high. The bones 
wei'C' ill a fair state of preservation. I opened four or five of this 
group and in each were found pieces of trap rock from one and one- 
half to two inches square; pieces oi' burned sand rock, small water- 
worn pebbles, and in the largest mound a very small fragment of red 
pottery." 

Although the mounds thus described by jSIr. Adams are not within 
the limits of Stark County they are situated near its southwest corner. 
The first "hogback" mentioned by him is a little southeast of the 
Village of Ftherley, Knox County, and the thirteen burial mounds 
.ihiiost touch the southwest corner of Stark. All are near enough to 
sustain the belief that the ^lound Huilder was once an inhabitant of 
the county. Mr. Adams and T. jM. Shalleiiberger gave considerable 
attention to the archieology of the Spoon River \'^alley, and after the 
Indians Mere removed from the country these two men visited all the 
old cam])ing grounds and villages of the red men, leveling numerous 
small mounds in search of historic relics. Few were found, however, 
exce])t arrow and spear heads, such as those above referred to, and 
some I'ragmentary .skeletons. It is doubtful whether the skeletons 
found on the old village sites were those of Mound Builders or the 
bones of Indians buried there in comparatively recent years. 

There is a sort of grim pathos in the reflection that where the 
Avhite people of Stark County now live in peace and prosperity there 
once dwelt a people of widely different manners and customs: that in 
the march of time they ])assed out of existence, leaving only here and 
there the mounds and other relics to mark their ])lace of residence. 
After the Mound Builder came the Indian, who in turn retired before 



30 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 



the superior civili/,atii)ii of the wliite man, and there is also a pathos 
in the refleetion that 2,000 years hence another race may indulge in as 
much speculation over the relics left hy the present occupants of the 
country as our scientists have indulged in over the mounds and earth- 
woi'ks of America's aboriginal inhabitants. 



I 



CHAPTER III 
INDIAN HISTORY 

DISTKIBUTION Or INDIAN NATIONS AT THE CLOSE OF THE EIFTEENTH 
CENTURY — THE n.IJNOIS — SUBORDINATE TRIBES — THE SACS AND 

rOXES THE BLACK HAAVK WAR DEATH OF BLACK HAWK THE 

POTTAMATOMI THEIR TILLAGES IN STARK COUNTY SHAB-BO-XEE 

— TREATIES WITH THE POTTAWATOMl THEIR CHARACTER THE 

AVINNEBAGO INDIAN NAMES. 

When Christopher Cohimhiis first discovered the Western Hemis- 
phere, in l-^D-i, he heheved that he had at hist reached the goal of his 
k)ng- cherished desires and that the country was the eastern shore of 
Asia. The first European explorers in America, entertaining a sim- 
ilar belief, thought the country was India and gave to the race of 
copper colored peojjle they found here the name of Indians. Later 
explorations established the fact that Columbus had actually dis- 
covered a land hitherto unknown, but the name conferred upon the 
natives still remains. This race is divided into several groups, or 
families, each of which is marked by certain physical characteristics 
and the language spoken. At the beginning of the Sixteenth century 
the \arious groups, or at least the leading ones, were distributed over 
the continent of North America as follows : 

In the far north were the Eskimo, a tribe that never played any 
iiiipdrtaiit part in history. Their descendants still inhabit the country 
in tlie vicinity of the Arctic Circle, where some of them are occa- 
sionally employed as guides to polar expeditions. 

The Algonquian family, the largest and most powerful of all the 
Indian nations or groups, occupied a large triangle, roughly liounded 
l)y the Atlantic coast from the most eastern point of Labrador to 
Ca]je Hatteras and lines from those two points to the western end of 
Lake Superior. To this great group belonged the tribes that once 
inhabited what is now the State of Illinois, the principal of which were 
tlie Illinois, the Sacs, the Foxes, the Shawnees, the ^Vinnebagoes, the 
Ottawas, and the Pottawatomies. 

31 



32 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

In the center of the Algonquian countiy — along the shores of 
Lake Ontario and the upper waters of the St. I>a\\rence River — was 
the home of tlie Irociuoian trihes, to wit: The Oneidas, Onondagas, 
JMoliawks, Cayugas and Senecas. To the early colonists these tribes 
became known as the "I^'ive Nations." Some years later the Tus- 
caroras were added to the confederacy, whicii then took the name of 
the "Six Nations." 

South of the Alguntjuian and Iroquoian families lay the country of 
the JMuskhogean family, the principal tribes of which were the Creeks, 
Chickasaws, Choctaws and Cherokees. The people of this group were 
among the most intelligent and aggressive of the North American 
Indians. 

In the great Northwest, about the sources of the Mississippi River 
and extending westward to the IMissouri, Mas the country of the 
Siouan group, which was composed of a number of tribes noted for 
their physical prowess and warlike tendencies. South and west of 
this lay the domain of the bold, vindictive Comanche, Apache and 
other tribes, closely allied to the Sioux in appearance, language and 
customs, while in various parts of the continent were minor tribes 
which claimed kinship with none of the great families. They were 
generally inferior in numbers, often nomadic in their habits, and con- 
sequently are of little historic importance. 

Yolinnes have been written upon the subject of the North Amer- 
ican Indian — his legends, traditions and habits — and it has not yet 
been exhausted. In a work of this nature it is not the design to give 
those tribes whose history is connected with the country now included 
an extended account of the Indian race as a whole, but to notice onlj' 
within the State of Illinois and Stark County. 

THE ILLINOIS 

The Illinois — or Illini, as they were at first known to the white 
men — belonged to the Algonquian family and was the tribe from 
Avhich the State of Illinois took its name. The organization of the 
Illinois was in the natiu-e of a confederacy, which \\as conq)osed of 
five subordinate tribes — the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Tamaroa, jNIichigani 
(or jMoingwena) and the Cahokia. According to their traditions they 
were once a powerful tribe and took ])ossession of their lands in Illinois 
by driving out some of the Siouan group. Later they made war on 
the Winnebago Indians and drove them northward, after which they 
held undisinited possession of the broad prairies of Illinois until about 



I 
I 



lUSTOUV OF STARK COUNTY 33 

the middle of tlie Seventeenth century, wlien they were attacked by 
tlie warh'ke Irociuois and forced to rehn(iuish part of tlieir domain. 

The Illinois were expert hunters, skilled in the use of the bow and 
arrow, but could not successfully handle a canoe. The principal cen- 
ter of their coirfederacy was at Kaskaskia, which, during the most 
prosperous days of the tribe, numbered some eight thousand inhabi- 
tants. Their cabins here were well built and covered with a water])r()of 
matting. Generally each cabin contained four tires, around which 
the inmates would gather of evenings, the old warriors relating in- 
stances of skill and bravery in the chase or in battle for the edification 
of the members of the younger generation. 

.Vbout the beginning of the war with the Iroquois, in Ki.jd, some 
of the Illinois crossed the Mississippi River and established several 
villages in what is now Lee County, Iowa, where they were visited by 
JNIarquette and Joliet in tlie summer of 1073. 

In the summer of 1G80 anotiier invasion of the Illinois country 
was made by the Iroquois, who attacked the Peoria and Kaskaskia 
tribes, the object having been to drive them out and get possession of 
their hunting grounds. ]Many of the Illinois were killed, their homes 
burned, their crops destroyed and about nine hundred were carried 
away as prisoners. 

In 1709 the Ottawa chief, Pontiac, who had formed the conspiracy 
and led the uprising against the white settlements six years before, 
was killed by some of the Illinois Indians. The great chieftain was 
the idoj of his tribe and was also held in high esteem by the Chii)pe\va 
and Pottawatomi Indians. The three tribes allied themselves in a wai- 
upon the Illinois to avenge the death of Pontiac. The Illinois, who 
had never fully recovered from the onslaughts of the Iroquois, were 
in no condition to meet such powerful enemies. Defeat after defeat 
followed in (piiek succession and the remnant of the tribe was driven 
to the summit of the bluff known as "Starved Rock," on the Illinois 
River, about half way between the ])resent cities of La Salle and 
Ottawa. The bluff offered a good ])lace of defense, as the sides of 
the rock are perpendicular, except in one place, and there not more 
than two persons could ascend abreast. Assault was therefore out of 
the question and the allies settled down to a siege. The Illinois held 
out until one dark, stormy night, when they made a sortie, but only a 
few succeeded in making their escape. Those few took to canoes and 
])ad(lled down the river, finally reaching St. Louis, where they were 
given shelter and food by the white occu])ants of the fort. 

One account says that their pursuers soon afterward appeared be- 



34 HISTOKY OF STxVHK COUNTY 

fore the fort and demanded the surrender of the Illinois, that the 
tribe might be comijlctely exterminated, and that when their demands 
Avere denied they departetl witli threats of Nengeance against the fort — 
threats that were never carried into execution. After spending some 
time at the fort, until their strength was fully recovered, the refugees 
recrossed the Mississii^pi and joined their kindred tribes in Southern 
Illinois. 

Some writers say that tlie Illinois were greatly addicted to vice 
and were almost constantly at \var until they were converted by the 
teachings of Father JNIarquette and other Jesuit missionaries. But, so 
far as can be learned, the only aggressive wars ever waged by tliem 
were against the minor Siouan tribes and the Winnebagoes in the 
early days of their history, the accounts of which are only vague tradi- 
tions. In the wars with the Iroquois, and the allied tribes above 
mentioned, the Illinois fought on the defensive. 

THE SxVCS AXU FOXES 

These two tribes, Ashicli at one time occujiied a large tract of 
country in Western Illinois, and no doubt hunted where Stark County 
is now situated, are usually sjioken of as one people, though they were 
two separate and distinct tribes. They liecame allied by force of 
circumstances for their mutual protection, each tribe maintaining its 
identity, though one chief ruled over both. 

The Sacs — also called Sauks and Saukies — belonged to the Algon- 
quian family and were known as "The people of the outlet." Their 
earliest known habitat was in the lower peninsula of IMichigan, where 
they lived with the Pottawatomi. The name Saginaw, as applied to 
a bay and city in ^Michigan, means "the place of the Sac," and marks 
the place where they once dwelt. The Sacs are first mentioned as a 
separate tribe in the Jesuit Relations for IGiO, though they were then 
allied with the Pottawatomi, jNIascoutens, Foxes and Kickapoos, and 
maintained friendly relations a\ ith the 3Iiami and Winnebago tribes. 
Their ti'aditions tell how they were driven from the shores of Lake 
Huron by the Iroquois and their allies before the middle of the 
Seventeenth century. They then retired by A\'ay of jNIackinaw and a 
few years later found a new abode along the shores of Green Bay, 
AVisconsin. Father AUouez, one of the early Jesuit missionaries, in 
Avriting of these Indians in 1667, says: "They are more savage than 
any of the other people I have met ; they are a populous tribe, although 
they have no fixed dwelling place, being Avanderers and vagabonds in 
the forests." 



IIISTOKV OF STARK COUXTV 35 

That portion of their traditions rchiting to their expulsion from 
the eountry on the west shore of Lake Huron and their pilgriniage to 
Green Bay is first told by Father Uablon, in the Jesuit Kelations for 
KiTl. Says he: ''The Sacs, Pottawatomies and neighboring tribes, 
being ilriven from their own countries, which are the lands southward 
from ^Nlissilimakinac, have taken refuge at the head of this bay, be- 
yond which one can see inland the Nation of Fire, with one of the 
Illinois tribes called Oumiami and the Foxes." 

In the same year that this was written, the Ilurons and Ottawas 
startetl on an invasion of the Sioux country. On the way they per- 
suaded the Sacs and I'ottawatomi to join the expedition. They were 
defeated in the undertaking and the surviving Sacs returned to Green 
Hay, where they were content to live in peace for several years before 
making any more warlike demonstrations. 

Dorsey divides the tribe into fourteen gentes, or clans. ^Marriages 
were usually made between men and wouien of different clans, though 
they were not forbidden among persons of the same clan. Polygamy 
was practiced to some extent, though in this respect the Sacs were 
not so bad as some of the other AIg(iii(|uian tribes. Their religion 
consisted of a belief in numerous "JNlanitous" and was rich in myth 
and fable. 

The Foxes, also an Algonquian tribe, resembled in many particu- 
lars the Sacs, with whom they became confederated. Their Indian 
name was JMesh-kwa-ke-lnig (nearly always written INIusquakies), 
signifying' "Peojile of the red earth." Their original dwelling place 
is somewhat uncertain. According to their traditions they once lived 
along the Atlantic coast in the vicinity of the present State of Rhode 
Island. Subsequently some of them occu])ied the country along the 
southern shore of Lake Sii])erior, from which they were driven by the 
Chippewas. In IG.'Ji Jean Nicollet found some of them on the Fox 
River, not far from Gi'cen Bay, Wisconsin, and in 107(5 Father 
.Allouez visited a band of Foxes on the Wolf River, in the same state. 
In his rejxirt of his year's work he speaks of a "IMus()uakie village of 
about five thousand inhabitants." 

The name "Fox" originated with the French, who called these 
Indians "Reynors." They were regarded by the neighboring tribes 
as "avaricious, thieving. ])assionate and (|iiarrelsome." With an in- 
tense hati-cd for the French they planned the attack upon the ])ost at 
Detroit in 1712. The timely arrival of reinforcements saved the post 
and the Indians were signally defeated. The Foxes that took ])art 
in this movement then joined those spoken of by Father Allouez on 
the ^Volf River. 



36 HISTORY OF STAHK COUNTY 

About 1730 the Dutch and EngHsh traders, knowing the hatred 
of the Foxes for the French, formed an alliance with the tribe for the 
jjurpose of driving French conijjetition from the fur country about 
the Great Lakes. On the othei- hand the French enhsted the coopera- 
tion of the Huron, Ottawa, Pottawatomi and some minor tribes. In 
the war which followed the Foxes were defeated and sought shelter 
M'ith the Sacs who lived near Green Bay. The French authorities, 
thinking the Foxes had not been sutticiently punished, sent a force of 
French soldiers and Indians, ccjmmanded by an officer named De Vil- 
liers, to the Sac village on the shores of Green Bay to demand their 
surrender. The demand was rei'used by the Sac chiefs and a hard 
fought battle ensued, in which the Sacs were defeated, but the refugees 
were not surrendered. This was the beginning of the alliance which 
afterward resulted in the two tribes being generally recognized as one. 

In the meantime some of the Sacs had migrated southward, into 
what is now the State of Illinois, and in 1731 they fovmded the Village 
of Sau-ke-nuk on the Kock River near its mouth. ^Vhen those who 
remained in Wisconsin were defeated bj' the French and their Indian 
allies for defending the Foxes, they brought their refugees and joined 
the Sacs on the Rock River. At the beginning of the Xineteenth 
century there were about eight thousand Sacs and Foxes living along 
the Rock River, their hunting grounds extending eastward to the 
Illhiois River. When Lieut. Zebulon ]M. Pike went up the Mississippi 
River in 180.5, he visited the Sac and Fox villages in Illinois. 

Of all the Indian tribes, the Foxes were prol)ably the only one 
that had what might be called a coat of arms. The design consisted 
of an obli(|ue line (supposed to represent a river), with the figure of 
a fox at each end, but on opposite sides. Following a victory in Mar 
this emblem was ])ainted or carved on rocks and trees to tell the story 
of their valor and at the same time serve as a warning to their enemies. 

The Fox tribe, according to Dorsey, was divided into twelve gentes. 
Their pi'incipal deities were Wisaka and Kiyapata. mIio were bi'others. 
The former ruled the day and the latter the night. The princijial 
features of their religion were animal fable and a crude mythology, 
and they had many ceremonial observances, anniversaries, etc. The 
Fox Indians practiced agriculture in a primitive way. raising corn, 
beans, tobacco, squashes and some other vegetables. In a few cases 
some big chief or warrior of note would l)e i)ermitted to have more 
than one squaAv, but jjolygamous marriages were the exception rather 
than the rule. 

Two of the greatest chiefs in the history of the North American 



I 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 37 

Indians hflonoed to tlif allied tribes of the Sacs and Foxes. They 
were Rlaek Hawk and Keokuk, both born of Sac parents, but recog- 
nized as chiefs by the Foxes. Black Hawk was a warrior and Keokuk 
was a politician. The latter never played any considerable part in 
the history of Illinois. 

THE m.ACK HAWK WAli 

Black Hawk, whose Indian name was INIa-ka-ta-wi-nie-sha-ka-ka, 
was born at the Sac village on the Rock River in 1767. His father, 
l*y-e-sa, was a direct descendant of Xan-a-nia-kee (Thunder) and 
l?lack Hawk was therefoi-c a member oi' the Thunder clan. Accord- 
ing to tribal tradition, Xan-a-ma-kee had been intrusted by the (ireat 
Spii'it with the great medicine bag of the Sac nation and instructed 
to keep it always within the clan. ^Vhen Black Hawk was about nine- 
teen years old his fatiier was killed in an encounter with the Cherokee 
Indians and the youth thus became the custodian of the sacred medi- 
cine bag. This medicine bag had never been disgraced, and to ])re])are 
himself for the duty of preserving it unsullied Black Hawk took no 
part in the military affairs of his ])coi)le for about five years, although 
be bad l)een trained in tlie arts of war by liis father and bad already 
(Hstinguished himself upon the Held of battle. The five years were 
s{)ent in praying to the (ireat S])irit to endow him with the necessary 
strength and wisdom to perform his duty. During that ])criod he 
would fre(iuently go to the i)romontory near his home on tlie Roeli 
IJivcr. where be would pass hours at a time smoking and meditating. 
'IMie pi'omontory is still called "HIack Hawk's ^Vatch Tower." 

On November ."}, 1804, (xcn. William H. Harrison, then governor 
of the Indiana Territory, negotiated a treaty at St. I>ouis with some 
of the ihinor chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes, by which the confederated 
tribes ceded their lands cast of the JNIississippi Rivei- to the United 
States, retaim'ng the ])rivilege of dwelling thei'eon until the lands were 
actually taken up by white settlers, wiien they were to remove to a 
new reservation west of the IMississippi River. There was a great 
deal of dissatisfaction among a large element of the Sacs and Foxes 
over the terms of this treaty. It was then the custom for these tribes 
to instruct their chiefs or delegates to a treaty council in advance as to 
what course was to be pursued, or afterward confirm the action of 
such chiefs or delegates by a vote. Some of the Indians claimed that 
the chiefs who attended the council at St. Louis had no definite in- 
structions to sell the lands east of the Mississi])pi, and a |)ortion of 



38 IIISTOKY^ OF STARK COUNTY 

the allied tribes, uiuler the leadershij) of Black Hawk, refused to 
confirm their action. 

At the heginnino- of tlie War of 1812 part of tlie Sacs and l-'oxes 
joined tile British and became known as the "British Hand of Rock 
River," of which Black Hawk was tlie leader. Shortly aftei- tiie 
conclusion of the war treaties were made with the several tribes or 
bands wiiich had fought on the side of England, but it was not until 
JNIay 13, 1816, that Black Hawk and twenty-one other head men of 
the Rock River Sacs could be persuaded to enter into an agreement 
to keep the peace. On that date, at St. Louis, those twenty-two 
Indians "touched the goose quill," or signed a treaty reaffirming the 
treaty of November 3, 1804, though Black Hawk afterward declared 
that he did not understand what he was signing and repudiated his 
action. 

In 1828 President Adams issued a proclamation declaring the 
lands ceded by the treaty of ISO-t opened to white settlement and 
ordering the removal of the Indians to the west side of the JNIississipjji. 
As a matter of fact Chief Keokuk and his band had removed to the 
west side of the river about two years before the proclamation was 
issued, but Black Hawk refused to vacate until the United States 
Government actually sold the section of land upon which his village 
was situated. In 1830 he and his followers crossed tiie river "under 
protest," the old chief being far from reconciled to the situation. 

In the spring of 1831, «'ith a number of his braves and their 
families, he recrossed the river antl they took possession of their old 
cabins and cornfields. The white settlers appealed to Governor Rey- 
nolds, of Illinois, for protection and the governor sent General Gaines 
to Rock Island with a force large enough to compel the Indians to go 
back to their new home west of the river. 

During the winter of 1831-32 the Indians underwent severe hard- 
ships in their new homes. Their houses were poorly built and pro- 
visions were scarce, so that thej' suffered from both cold and hunger. 
About this time Black Hawk fell under the influence of AVa-bo-kie- 
shiek, a "bad medicine man," who advised him to recross the ^lissis- 
sippi, ostensibly to visit the Winnebagoes, secure the cooperation of 
that tribe and the Pottawatomies, and drive out the hated pale faces. 
Accordingly, on April (!. 1832. he again crossed over to the east side 
of the jMississippi within ])lain view of the garrison at Fort Arm- 
strong, giving out the information that he was on his way to visit the 
\Vinnebagoes and join witli tliein in raising a crop of corn. His 
disobedience Avas construed as a hostile demonstration, however, bv 



I 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY ;^9 

the military authoritifs. who feared that he ini^ht attempt to take 
possession of his old village on the Roek River. There is no evidence 
that he made or attempted to make any such an attempt, and some of 
the settlers, knowing that an Indian war party was never accomi)anie(l 
hy the old men. women and children of the trihe, expressed the opinion 
that J}laek Hawk was on a peaceful mission. 

Although the settlers felt no special alarm over the expedition, 
Governor Reynolds took the view that Black Hawk's conduct in the 
]jast had heen such that he would "hear watching." He therefore 
ordered out the state militia to the numher of •2,000 men, which force, 
under command of General Whiteside, was sent to the aid of the 
gai-i-ison at Fort Armstrong. There has al\\a\s heen a difference of 
opinion as to whether Black Hawk's intentions were really hostile, 
it is certain, however, that the first warlike movement was made hy 
tlie M-hites. 31ajor Stillman was sent out with a force. of 2.50 moimted 
meu to turn hack the Indians. The detachment came upon Black 
Hawk and about fort>- of his warriors at some distance from where 
the main body of the Indians were encamped. Black Hawk sent for- 
ward five of his men bearing a flag of truce, to ask for a parley, but 
Stillman's men opened fire and two of the messengers were killed. 
The Indians then took up the fight according to the tactics of their 
race, concealing themselves behind trees and rocks and picking off 
the white troopers. Stillman's men being mounted fought at a disad- 
vantage and in a short time were uttei'ly routed, abandoning their 
provisions and camp equipage in their fiight. 

Up to this time no hostile demonstration had been made by the 
Indians. The killing of the two warriors while engaged in bearing 
a Hag of truce was the beginning of hostilities. This occurred on ^lay 
12. 18.'}2. and during the next month some raids were made by the 
Inrlians upon the unprotected settlements. But not all the atrocities 
were committed by the members of Black Hawk's band. A number 
of 'Wimiebagoes and Pottawatonn'es took advantage of the disturbed 
conditions to kill and ])lunder. though they declined the invitation tv 
join Black Hawk and "fight like men." 

Stark County was at that time a ])art of Putnam, and though at 
some distance from the seat of war the settlers Avere greatly alarmed 
for fear that some straggling war ])arty would reach the Spoon River 
A'alley. ]Mrs. Shallenberger, in her "Stark County and Its Pioneers," 
savs: "Manj' settlers along the frontiers of Northern Illinois, in 
dread of the untold horrors of savage warfare, fled from their lands 
and homes, some of them never to return. It was at this crisis that 



40 lUSTOKV OF STiVRK COUNTY 

volunteers from Spoon River rciulezvoiised at Hennepin, as related 
hv Mr. Clifford, under the direetion of the gallant Colonel Strawii in 
'Honajjarte hat and laced coat,' and it is said that no less than fifteen 
hundred men reported themselves for service at that point." 

Colonel Strawn's name does not appear in any published account 
of the war and it is possible that his men were employed for local 
defense. Immediately after Stillman's defeat volunteers were called 
foi' and on June 1.3, 18.'32. there were three brigades in camp at Dixon's 
Ferry, commanded by Gens. Alexander Posey, Milton R. Alexander 
and James D. Ilein-y. In addition to these volunteer l)rigades. there 
were the regular ti'oops at Fort Armstrong, commanded by General 
Atkinson, and the state militia under General Whiteside. And all 
this military array was considered necessary to overcome the little, 
half-starved band of Sacs and Foxes, whose hostile intentions had not 
j^et been made certain. 

General Atkinson being between Black Ha^\k and the ^Mississippi 
River, the chief started for the \Visconsin River, intending to descend 
that stream and recross the jNIississippi. Early in June jNIaj. Henry 
Dodge, with his Galena Battalion, joined the forces at Dixon's Fei-ry. 
^^'hen it was learned that Black Hawk was making for the \Visc()nsin 
River, General Henry and Major Dodge started in pursuit. On 
July 21, 18.32, they overtook the Indians at the Wisconsin, about fifty 
miles above its mouth, and Black Hawk was forced to make a stand 
until the women, children and old men could retreat across the river. 
With his few warriors he held the white soldiers at ba.y until the squaws 
constructed light rafts for the transportation of the goods and small 
ehildi-en. These rafts thej' pushed across the stream, at the same time 
leading the ponies. When the noncombatants were out of danger 
on the other side. Black Hawk sent half his fighting force over. From 
the opposite shore these braves opened fire to cover the retreat of 
the chief and the remainder of his little band, who then swam across 
to safety. This feat was accomplished with fewer than two hundred 
warriors in the face of a vastly superior force, with a loss of oidy six 
men. Jefferson Davis, then an ofi^cer in Dodge's Battalion, afterward 
president of the Southern Confederacy, said of this maneuver: 

"This was the most brilliant exhibition of military tactics that I 
ever witnessed; a feat of most consummate management and bravery 
in the face of an enemy of greatly superior numl)ers. I never read of 
anything that could be compared -^ith it. Had it, been performed by 
white men it would have been immortalized as one of the most wonder- 
ful achievements in military history." 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 41 

The last battle of the Black Hawk War was fought at the mouth 
of the Bad Axe River on August '2, 1832. Here all the white troops 
were concentrated against Black Hawk, and a steamboat luul been 
sent up the river from Fort Crawford to i)revent the Indians from 
crossing the ^lississippi. The force on this boat kept up a tire on tlie 
red men in front, while from all sides the Indians were assailed by 
the land forces. Yet, in spite of the great inequality in the strength of 
the two armies. Black Hawk held out for about two hours, hoping 
vainly for some fortunate turn in the battle that would permit at 
least a part of liis people to escape. Some even attempted to swim 
the ^lississippi, but the steamboat ran in among tliem, capturing a 
few and dro\^ning others. 

After the battle of tlie Bad Axe, Black Hawk escaped to the 
\\'innebago village at Prairie la Crosse. Through the treachery of 
two AVinnebago Indians, he was turned over to General Street, the 
huhan agent at Prairie (hi Chien, as a prisoner. His two sons were 
also captured and held as ])risoners of war. They were contined at 
Fortress ^Monroe, ^'^a., until June -4, 1833. when President Jack- 
son ordered their release. Under the escort ol' Major (iarland the 
three Indians were then taken on a tour of the country, in order that 
they might behold the greatness of the United States and the futility 
of again making war against the white men. AVhen taken ])efore 
President Jackson, Black Hawk said: 

"I am a man; you are only another. We did not expect to con- 
(pier the whites. Thej'' had too many men. I took up the hatchet to 
avenge injiu'ies my ])eo])le could no longer endure. Had I borne 
them longer without striking, my people would have said Black Hawk 
is a s(|uaw; he is too old to be chief; he is no Sac. These retlections 
caused me to raise the war whoop. The result is known to you. I say 
no more." 

This speech has been quoted to show that Black Hawk really 
crossed the Mississii)pi with a hostile object in view. At its conclusion 
President Jackson presented the old chief Avith a beautiful sword — ■ 
"a gift from one warrior to another." Black Hawk then rejoined the 
remnant of his band in Iowa and died there on October 3, 1838. An 
old ^Vtlas of Stark County states that Black Hawk once had an 
encampment in what is now Goshen Township, but there is no cor- 
roborative testimony to show that he ever sojourned, even for a brief 
pei'iod. in the present county of Stark. 



42 HISTORY (JF STARK COUNTY 

THE POTTAAVATOJII 

Tribal traditions and accounts in the Jesuit relations go to show 
that the Pottawatonii once constituted one of the powerful tribes of 
the Algonquian family. French missionaries and traders first came 
in contact with them near the northern limits of the lower ^Michigan 
peninsula, where they were known as the "Nation of Fire." Nicollet 
met with some of tliem in Wisconsin as early as 1664. Bacqueville 
de la Potherie. an early French writer, says: "In 1665 or 1666 the 
Pottawatonii took the southern and the Sac the northern shores of 
Green Bay, and the ^Viimebago, who were not fishermen, went back 
into the forests to live on venison and bear meat." 

A few years later the Pottawatonii moved southward in large 
numbers and took possession of the country around the head of Lake 
^lichigan. In 1674. some of this tribe met Father ^Marcjuette on his 
return from the ^Nlississipjji River and acted as his escort part of the 
way back to Canada. As already related, they joined with the Ottawa 
and Chipi^ewa tribes in a war with the Illinois Indians after the death 
of Pontiac, and as a result of that war became possessed of a jjortion 
of the lands once inhabited by the Illinois. 

About the close of the Revolutionary war a part of the tribe 
moved eastward and in the early years of the nineteenth centuiy 
occupied practically all that part of Indiana lying north of the 
\Vabash River. By the treaty of August '2i. 1816, they ceded their 
lands along the shores of Lake ^Michigan to the United States and 
received in exchange some of the Sac and Fox lands in Western 
Illinois. This brought them into the valley of the Illinois River and 
some of the tribe established their homes along Walnut Creek, in 
what is now Stark County. In 1830 the band removed to Indian 
Creek, in the i)reseiit townships of Goshen and Toulon, where they 
were joined by others, and for a time this region A\as the principal 
hunting ground. 

The leading Pottawatonii chief in this part of the state was Shab- 
bo-nee, who was really an Ottawa, ])ut became chief through his mar- 
riage to a Pottawatonii maiden, daughter of a chief. In the War of 
1812 he listened to the blandishments of the ShaMnee chief, Tecumseli, 
and joined the British, but afterward proved to be a good friend to the 
white settlers. In 1832, at the time of the Black Hawk war, he visited 
the settlers on the Spoon River and warned tliein to leave, as tlie war 
was likely to extend to that part of the country. Acting upon liis 
information David Cooper and the three Essex families went to the 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 43 

flirt at the foot of Peoria Lake, tliough they all returned to their 
liouies in Stark County with the exeeption of Thomas Essex, Jr., who 
settled near Peoria. Shab-bo-nee died in Grundy County, Illinois, 

•July 17. 1H.5!). 

On August 17, IH-'l. a council was held at Chicago, when (icn. 
Lewis Cass, as the coniniissioner of the United States, defined the 
Pottawatonii country as "extending along both sides of the Illinois 
Kiver and all its tributaries, and along the western shore of Lake 
JMichiiian to CTreen Bav, with certain lands south of Lake Erie." 
At tlie same time the trilie reliiKiuished title to about five millions of 
acres in Michigan and Northern Indiana. 

Another council was held at Chicago on September 26, 1833, when 
the Pottawatomi chiefs and head men ceded all their remaining lands 
in Indiana, and all their possessions in Illinois, to the United States. 
Two years later they received their last annuity east of the ^Mississippi 
and soon afterward removed to reservations in Iowa and INIissouri. 
A few of this once powerful tribe are still living in Kansas. 

Says ]Mrs. Shallenberger: "Our pioneers report those they found 
here as a dirty, shiftless, set. the men of the tribe eking out a precarious 
living by hunting and fishing, while the women broke the sod, built 
the 'pony fences,' and raised paltry cro])s of coi-n. They were given 
to begging most importunately, if not to stealing from their white 
neighbors; their villages or encampments, of which there were several 
within our present county limits, formed rendezvous, especially on 
Sundays, for the idle and vicious, where horse trading and liquor 
drinking went on. much as in later days at a gipsy camp. So destitute 
of any element of poetry or romance were the last days of the red 
man in this region, and their trails, their corn pits, and the graves 
of their dead were the legacies they left us when they took up their 
enforced march west of the Mississippi about 183.5-3(5." 

THE AVINNEBAGO 

Originally this tribe belonged to the Siouan family, but far back 
in the past they became allied with the Algonquian tribes living about 
the Great Lakes, and some ethnologists class them as being one of 
tiie iMgonquian tribes. They are first mentioned in history as early 
as l(i()l). wlien they were allied with the Pottawatonii, Chippewa, Sac 
and Fox and other members of the Algonquian group. 

In the Revolutionary war some of the Winnebago fought with 
the Rritish. and in the summer of 179-i some took i)art in the battle 



44 HISTOllV OF STAllK COUNTY 

of Falk'ii Tiiiihers against the white forces coininaiided by Gen. 
^Viithuny Wayne. A few were en<>a<>'e(l in the battle of Tippecanoe 
in Novenibei", 1811, and witii the I'ottavvatomi were active in the 
massacre at Fort Dearborn (now Chicago) in 1812. Shortly after 
that tiiey located in that part of Illinois lying north and west of the 
Hock Kiver, tliongh they frecinently visited their Pottawatonii breth- 
ren farther south, and it is quite likely that some of them passed 
through Stark County. They were friendly to Black Hawk at the 
time of his mvasion of Illinois in 18.'32, though it was through the 
treachery of two members of the tribe tliat Black Hawk was captured. 
Not long after that they were given the strip known as the "neutral 
ground" in Iowa for a reservation in excliange for their lands east of 
the INIississippi. They intermarried freely with the Sacs and Foxes 
and were closely allied to those tribes. — so closely in fact that some 
of the last treaties made by the Sacs and Foxes were submitted to 
the ^Vinnebago chiefs and head men before they became effective. 

The foregoing includes probably all the Indian tribes that inliab- 
ited or hunted over that part of Illinois now included in Stark County. 
As the march of civilization proceeded westward the Indian retired 
before the superior race, and about all that is left as a reminder of 
their former occupation of the country are the names of certain 
streams and towns which ai-e of unquestionable Indian origin. The 
county seat of Gallatin County, in the southern part of the state, 
bears the name of Shawneetown. in memory of the Indian tribe that 
once liA-ed in that region. Kaskaskia. Kandolj))) County; Cahokia, 
St. Clair County; Tamaroa, Perry County; and the city and county 
of Peoria all bear names of minor tribes of the great Illinois confed- 
eracy, and Indian Creek, in Stark County, marks the site of the Potta- 
watomies' old hunting grounds. 



chapter iv 
tup: period of phepakation 

EARIA' EXPLOKATIOXS IX AMERICA SPANISH, FRENCH ANH ENG- 

IJSH CLAIMS TO TERRITORY IN THE NEW WORLD — THE JESUIT 

.AIISSIONARIES — DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI MARQUETTE AND 

JOIJET LA SALLE's EXPEDITIONS LOUISIANA CROZAT AND LAW 

— THE MISSISSIPPI BUBBLE — CONFLICT OF INTERESTS — FRENCH AND 

INDIAN WAR — H.LIXOIS A BRITISH POSSESSION THE WAR OF THE 

REVOLUTION CLARK's CONQUEST OF THE NORTHWEST ILLINOIS 

UXDER VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS — ADMITTED AS A STATE EVOLUTION 

OF STARK COUNTY RECAPITULATION. 

Eastiat. thv eminent Freneh writei- on political economy, once 
wrote an essay entitled "The Seen and the Unseen." People of the 
present generation see the conditions around them, hut they are not 
always so well acquainted with the conditions of former years, and 
therefore do not fully appreciate the influence of the ])ast upon the 
])resent. Civilization is the outgrowth of a gradual evolution. Stark 
County, like all the political suhdivisions of the Lhiited States, is the 
])r()(luet of a series of events running hack for many years. The 
part of each event may have heen small, hut tlie gradual development 
constitutes the "unseen" history of the county. It is therefore deemed 
ad\isaiile to devote a chapter to this subject, in order that the reader 
may he able to form some general idea of the evolution of the State of 
Illinois and the County of vStark. 

In 14!).'J. the year iollow ing the first voyage of Columbus to 
America, the pojjc granted to the King and Queen of Spain "all 
countries inhabited by infidels." At that time the extent of the conti- 
nent (liseovered by Columbus was not known, but in a vague way this 
papal grant included the present State of Illinois, the region then 
inhabited by Indian tribes who knew not the religion of the Catholic 
Church, and therefore came within the categoiy of infidels. 

Three years later Henry Xll of England granted to John Cabot 
and his sons a patent of discovery, possession and trade "to all lands 

45 



J6 II IS TORY OF STAKK COUNTY 

they may discover and lay claim to in the name of the Knglish crown." 
Before the close of the century the Cahots had made exjjlorations 
aloni>' the Atlantic coast from Cape Ilatteras northward, and their 
discoveries formed the hasis of England's claim to all the central por- 
tion of North America. 

While Spain was pushing her explorations through the West 
Inches and along the coast of the (iulf of ^Mexico, and Kngland was 
oi)erating along the xVtlantic seahoard farther north, the French Gov- 
ernment sent Jacques Cartier on an expedition to the New World. 
He discovered and laid claim to the Valley of the St. Lawrence River 
and the country ahout the Great I^akes, from which hase the French 
suhse(iuently pushed their explorations and claims westward to the 
JNIississippi River and southward into the Ohio Valley. 

Following the usage of that jjcriod, each of these three great Euro- 
])ean nations claimed title to certain territory "by right of discovery." 
Spain's 2)apal grant was strengtliened by the expedition of Hernando 
de Soto into the interior in 1.54U-i2, one result of whicli was the dis- 
covery of the Mississippi River. De Soto died in the wilds and his 
body was buried in the great river. The few survivors, after many 
hardships, finally reached the Sjianish colony at St. Augustine and 
upon their report Spain, in 1.54.;j. claimed all the land bordering upon 
the iMississippi as well as the gulf coast. In this way what is now the 
State of Illinois became Spanish territory. 

In 1()20 the Eritisli crown, ignoring the authority of the pope 
and the explorations of De Soto, issued a charter to the Plymoutli 
Company including "all the lands between the fortieth and forty- 
eighth parallels of north latitude from sea to sea." The southern 
l)oundary of this grant crossed Illinois about fifteen miles north of the 
present city of Springfield, and wliat is now Stark County was there- 
fore included in the old Plymouth Company grant. 

Eight years later (in 1(;2S) the ^lassacliusetts Bay Company 
received a grant that included a strip of land al>out one Inmdred miles 
Avide "extending from sea to sea." The northern boundary of this 
stri]) crossed tiie Mississippi River not far from tlie present city of 
Prairie du Chien. Wis., and the southern crossed the State of 
Illinois about ten miles north of the noi-th line of Stark County. Thus 
at least a part of the state was claimed by both Spain and England 
"by right of discovery." but no effort was made by either nation to 
extend colonization into the interior. S])ain was so busily engaged in 
the search for the rumored rich gold and silver mines that she paid but 
little attention to the establishment of permanent settlements, whil^ 



1 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 47 

the English were apparently content with tlie little colonies at James- 
town. Vii., and in Xew England. 

^leantinie the l<'rench were not idle. Quebec was fouiuled by 
Samuel Champlain in 1608, only one year after the English colony 
was planted at Jamestown. In KH I Jesuit missionaries from Quebec 
visited the Indian tribes living about the Great I>akes, and in l(>ir> 
a French explorer named Le Caron \isited the country of the Huron 
and Inuiuois tribes. The reports of Le Caron and the missionaries 
C(in\iiieed the r'rencii authorities that it was possible to open up a 
jM-otitable trade with the natives, particularly in furs, and explorations 
were pushed still farther westward. In KJ.'U Jean Nicollet reached 
the Fox River country, in what is now the State of ^Visconsin. For 
more than half a century, however, after the founding of Quebec, 
no systematic eff'ort was made to establish anything like a colony in 
the (ireat Lake basin. 

In the fall of KHi.j Claude xVllouez, one of the most zealous of the 
Jesuit missionaries, held a council with the Indians at the Chippewa 
village on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Chiefs of tiie Sioux, 
Chippewa, Sac, Fox, Pottawatomi and Illinois tribes were present 
and to them and their jjcople Alloue/. promised the j^rotection of the 
great French father, thus opening the way for the establishment of 
trading posts in the Indian country. Some of the Sioux and Illinois 
chiefs told .Alloue/, of a great river farther to the westward, "called bj^ 
them the ^le-sa-sip-pi, which they said no white man had yet seen 
(they knew nothing of the expedition of Ue Soto), and along which 
fur bearing animals abounded." 

This same Fa4:her Allouez and another missionary named Claude 
Dablon founded the JNIission of St. jNIarys — the first white settlement 
in Michigan — in lOCtH. Friendly relations were soon established 
between the people of the mission and the neighboring Indians. In 
1(J71 Jac(jues INIarquette, one of the most influential of the Jesuit 
missionai'ies in Aniei'ica. founded the Mission of Point St. Ignace, 
near the present city of INIackinaw, for the benefit of the Huron 
Indians. For many years this mission was considered as the key to 
the great, unexplored West. 

Father .Marquette had first heard of the great river through the 
report given bj" Allouez of the coimcil held at the Chippewa village 
in IfU!.). and as time passed he grew more desirous of verifying the 
Indian accounts of its existence. Fearing hostility, or at least opposi- 
tion, on the part of the natives, he made no attempt to reach the river 
until after the founding of the mission at Point St. Ignace. Some 



48 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

time was then sixnt in making his preparations and in obtaining the 
consent of the Canadian colonial officials. In the spring of 1073, 
armed with the proper credentials, he went to Michilimackinac to 
com])Iete his final arrangements for the expedition. It is said that the 
friendly Indians, w^ien they learned of his intention, tried to dissuade 
him from the undertaking by telling him that the Indians who lived 
alonsi' the great river were cruel and treacherous, and that the river 
itself was the abiding place of great monsters that could easily swal- 
low a canoe loaded with men. 

Giving no credence to the horrible stories, JNIarquette continued 
his work of preparation and on ^Nlay 13. 1673, accompanied by Louis 
Joliet. an explorer and trader, and five voyageurs, with two large 
canoes, the little expedition left the mission. 

DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI 

Passing up Green Bay to the mouth of the Fox River, they 
ascended that stream to the portage, crossed over to the Wisconsin 
River and drifted down that stream in the belief and hope that it 
emptied into the great river of which they were in search. Xor were 
their hopes idle and their belief without foundation. On the morning 
of June 17, 1673, a little over a month from the time they left Point 
St. Ignace, their canoes floated out upon the broad bosom of the Mis- 
sissipi)i. Turning their canoes down the mighty stream, a few days 
later they came to what is now the State of Illinois, opposite the city 
of Dubuque, Iowa, and were probably the first white men to see the 
western part of the state. 

On their way down the river ^Marquette and Joliet visited some of 
the villages of the Illinois Indians in Southeastern Iowa, after which 
they continued their voyage until they met with a tribe of Indians 
whose language they coidd not understand, when they retraced their 
steps and returned to the French settlements about IMichilimackinac. 
They had been absent about four months and had traveled about two 
thousand five hundred miles, through an unknown region, anchoring 
at night in mid-stream to prevent attacks by foes, and to avoid any 
rocks or rapids that might be in the river. 

Joliet was a good topographer and prepared a map of the countrj'^ 
through which he and jNIarquette had passed. The reiJorts of their 
voyage, when presented to the French authorities, made the knowledge 
of the ]Mississippi's existence certain and it was not long until a move- 
ment was started to claim the countrv drained bv it for France. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 49 

LA SAI.LK's expeditions 

Robert Cavalier, Sieur tie la Salle, in \(\7i. was granted the 
seigneury of Fort I'rontenac, where the eity of Kingston, Canada, 
is now located, and on ]May 12, 1078, Louis XIV, then King of 
France, granted him a permit to continue the explorations of Mar- 
quette and Joliet, "tind a port for the king's ships in the (iulf of 
3Iexico, discover the western parts of New France, and find a \\ay 
to penetrate Mexico." 

Nicholas Perrot had already made some explorations in the Illinois 
country in l()71:"the missionaries Allouez and Dablon visited the Illi- 
nois Indians in 1(572; and in 1073 Father ^Nlaniuette ascended the 
Illinois and Desplaines rivers. The information gained from the 
reports of these early explorers led La Salle to select the Illinois 
River route as the best way to reach the Mississippi. His first attemj)t 
ended in failure, chiefly because his preparations had not been care- 
fullv made. As his desire was to explore the great river from its 
source to its mouth, he sent Father Louis Hennepin in 1680 to lead 
an expedition from the mouth of the Illinois River to the headwaters 
of the Mississippi, and in April of that year Heimei)in reached the 
Falls of St. Anthony, where the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, now 
stands. 

Late in December, 1681, La Salle, accompanied by his lieutenant, 
Henri de Tonti; .Taccivies de la ]Metairie, a notary; Jean ^Michel, a 
surgeon; Father Zenobe 31endjre, a Recollet missionary, and "a num- 
ber of Frenchmen carrying arms," started upon the second expedi- 
tion to the mouth of the JMississipjji. After a weary journey in the 
dead of winter, they arrived at- Peoria Lake on January 2.3, 1082. 
La Salle had reached this ])oint about two years before, and had here 
built Fort Creveeoeur (liroken Heart), so named because it was here 
he had been forced to abandon his first expedition. A short rest was 
taken at the old fort and on February (>, 1082, the whole party reached 
the mouth of the Illinois. Here another halt of a week was made 
until the Indian members of the expedition came up, their progress 
having been impeded by the heavy snow and ice. On the 13th the 
canoes started down the Mississippi and on i\])ril S. 1(582, I^a Salle 
and Tonti jjassed through two of the channels that led to the (iulf of 
Mexico. The next day La Salle formally took possession of all the 
country drained by the great river and its ti'ibutaries in the name of 
France, and conferred upon it the name of Louisiana, in lionor of 
Louis XIV, the French king. Under this claim Illinois became a 
dependency of France. 



50 HISTORY^ OF STARK COUNTY 

Before the close of the year 1682 settlements were established by 
the French at Kaskaskia and Cahokia — the oldest settlements on the 
INlississippi River. A little later settlements or trading posts were 
established at Fort Chartres, Prairie du Rocher, Prairie du Pont and 
Peoria. To the French therefore belongs the honor of founding the 
first settlements within the limits of the present State of Illinois. 

It is not surprising that in time a conflict of interests arose among 
the English, French and Spanish. Spain claimed the interior of the 
continent by virtue of De Soto's discovery of the ]Mississippi River. 
England had sent no expeditions into the interior, but upon the dis- 
coveries made by the Cahots claimed the country "from sea to sea." 
Neither Sjiain nor England made any attempt to found settlements 
in the ^Mississippi Valley. The claim of La Salle was acknowledged 
by other European nations after some dispute and hesitation and 
France remained in control of the great valley for more than three- 
quarters of a century. At the beginning of the eighteenth centiuy 
the English settlements occupied the Atlantic coast from INlaine to 
Georgia; Spain was in possession of the Peninsula of Florida and that 
part of the Gulf coast not included in Louisiana: and France held 
the Valley of the St. Lawrence, the Great Lake Basin and the 
Mississippi Valley. 

In 1712 the French Government granted to Antoine Crozat, a 
wealthy merchant of Paris, a charter giving him exclusive control of 
the Louisiana trade under certain conditions. But when his agents 
arrived in the Gulf of ^Mexico they found the Spanish ports closed to 
Crozat's ships, for Spain, while recognizing France's claim to Loui- 
siana, as based upon the discovery of La Salle, A\as jealous of French 
ambitions. xAfter five years, tired of -constantly combating the Spanisli 
ojiposition and other difKculties, Crozat surrendered his charter. 

Crozat was succeeded by the INIississijjpi Company, which A\as 
organized by John I^aw as a branch of the Bank of France. In 1718 
Law^ sent about eight hundred colonists to Louisiana and the next 
year Philipe Renault went up the ]Mississippi to the Illinois country 
with about two himdred colonists. He reestablished the settlement 
at Kaskaskia and laid the foundations of the settlements at Prairie du 
Rocher and Prairie du Pont. Law AA-as a good promoter, but a poor 
executive. In 1720 his whole scheme collajised and so dismal was the 
failure that his company is known in history as the "^Nlississijjpi Bub- 
ble." In 1730 the white i)opulation of the French settlements in the 
Illinois country was about three hundred and fifty, and in 1732 Law 
surrendered his charter and Louisiana again became a French crown 
province. 



lilSTOUV OF STAUK COLNTV 51 

l-'KEXCir AND INDIAN AVAR 

111 the iiicaiitinif the English had l)eeii gnulually ])iishiiig the 
frontier of their eivihzation farther westward. As early as 1()(>7 the 
Hudson's Bay Company had been organized and its trappers and trad- 
ers passed freely among the Indian tribes around the Great Lakes and 
in the Upper .Mississippi \'alley, despite the French claim to the 
territory and oblivious to the French protests against their trespasses. 
The attack of the Fox Indians on the French post at Detroit in 1712 
was incited by the English traders. iVgain in 1730 the English and 
Dutch traders infiuenced some of the tril)es to make war on the French 
in the hope of driving them from the country. The first open rupture 
between France and England did not come until 17.53, when the 
former began the establishment of a line of forts from the Great 
Lakes to the Ohio Kiver, for the pur])osc of holding back the threat- 
ened English occupation of the Ohio \'alley. The French claimed 
that the Allegheny JNIountains formed a natural boundary, west of 
whieli the British had no right to pass. One of the French forts was 
located upon land claimed by Virginia, and (Governor Dinwiddie of 
that colony sent George ^Vashington, then just turned twenty-one, to 
demand of the French commandant an explanation of this invasion 
of English territory while the nations were at peace. The reply A\as 
unsatisfactory, not to say insolent, and in 1754 Washington was sent 
into the disputed territory with a detachment of troo])s. having been 
promoted to lieutenant-colonel. 

Some years before this a charter had been granted by the British 
Government to an association called the Ohio Company. The charter 
carried with it a large tract of country and the right to trade with the 
Indians on the Great Miami River. In 17.50 the Ohio Company built 
a fort and opened a trading post near the site of the present Citj^ of 
Piqua. Ohio. The Canadian authorities, regarding this as an en- 
croachment upon French territory, sent a body of soldiers and Indians 
to break up the post. The Ohio Com]iany then began a ne\v ]K>st at 
the head of the Ohio River, where the City of Pittsi)urgli is now- 
located, but again they were driven away by the French. Part of 
Washington's instructions in 175-1 was "to complete the fort already 
commenced by the Ohio Comi)any at the forks of the Ohio, and to 
capture, kill or drive out all who attem])te(l to interfere with the 
English posts." 

.Vn order of this kind naturally aroused the indignation of the 
French and in Mav, 17.5(). that nation formallv declared war against 



52 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

England. The conflict that followed is known in American history 
as the "French and Indian war," which in the end had a great iniluence 
upon the history of the Illinois country. After keeping the Indian 
tribes and Ajnerican colonies in a state of tvn-nioil for several years, 
the war was concluded by the treaty of Fontainebleau on November 
3, 17()2, by which France ceded that ])art of Louisiana lying east of 
the ^Mississippi River (except the City of New Orleans and the island 
upon which it is situated) to Great Britain. The treaty was ratified 
by the treaty of Paris on February 10. 1768, and on the same day it 
was announced that, by an agreement jireviously made in secret, all 
that part of Louisiana lying west of the ^Nlississijjpi was ceded to 
Sjjain. Through the operation of these two treaties the jurisdiction 
of France came to an end in what is now the LTnited States and 
Illinois became a British jjossession. 

]Many of the French subjects living east of the INIississippi refused 
to acknowledge allegiance to Cireat Britain ami removed to the west 
side of the river. When the English colonies in America became in- 
volved in war with the JNIother Country in 177.>, a large number of the 
French, who had formerly lived in Illinois, recrossed the river and 
joined the colonists in their struggle for independence. 

Clark's conquest of the northwest 

In the territory acquired by England by the treaty of 1763, several 
posts had been established by the French, prior to the cession. Near 
the present City of East St. Louis was Cahokia. Forty-five miles 
down the river was St. Philippe. A few miles below St. Philippe were 
Prairie du Rocher and Nouvelle Chartres (on the site of the old fort 
of that name), and a little farther south was Kaskaskia. On the 
Wabash River, in what is now the State of Indiana, were the posts of 
Ouiatenon and Vincennes, and still farther north was Detroit, the 
most important post of all. These posts Avere occupied by the British 
at the beginning of the Revolutionary war. 

In 1777 George Rogers Clark, a colonel of the Virginia line, sent 
two spies — Samuel INIoore and Benjamin Liim — into the Illinois 
country disguised as hunters to ascertain the conditions there. LTpon 
their return they reported the population of Cahokia as 300 whites and 
100 negroes; that a few French families Avere living at St. Philijjpe 
and Prairie du Rocher; that Kaskaskia consisted of eighty houses, 
500 white inhabitants and nearly as many negroes; that in none of the 
posts was the garrison very strong, and that many of the French 
inhabitants were friendly to the American cause. 



HISTORY OF STAllK COUXTY 53 

Armed with this inloriiiation, Chirk Merit before the Viroinia 
Assembly and presented a phm for the overthrow of British power in 
the Mississippi Valley. On Jannary 2, 1778, the Assembly voted 
£1,200 to defray the expenses of the expedition and the same day 
Governor Patriek Henry gave Colonel Clark seeret instruetions au- 
thori/ing him to raise seven companies of fifty men each, ol)tain boats 
at Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) for the transportation of troops, ammmii- 
tion and supplies down the Ohio River, "and during the whole trans- 
aetion you are to take especial care to kee]) the true destination of 
your forces secret. ' 

Clark raised but four of the seven companies. These four, com- 
manded by Captains John Montgomery, Joseph Bowman, Leonard 
Helm and \Villiam Ilarrod, rendezvoused on Corn Island, in the Ohio 
Ri\er, not far from the present City of Louisville, Kentucky. On 
June 24, 1778, the little ai-my left the island and droi)i)ed down the 
Ohio, Clark's intention beiirg to ascend the \\'abash and attack the 
])ost at ^^incennes first. Circumstances caused him to change his plan 
and begin his campaign at Kaskaskia. Leaving the boats at the 
mouth of the Tennessee Rivei-, Clark marched his force across the 
country to Kaskaskia, which place was captured without opposition 
on the night of Jidy 4, 1778. 

The inhabitants were treated with every consideration and some 
of them joined Captain Bowman, who was sent up the river Avith his 
com])any to capture the post at Cahokia. Here another bloodless 
victory was won and the inhabitants cheerfully took the oath of alle- 
giance to Virginia. Clark then commenced his preparations for the 
reduction of the ])ost at Vincennes. Father Pierre (ribault, who liad 
been in charge of the parishes between the Wabash and ^Mississippi 
rivers for ten years, volunteered to bring the people of A'incennes 
over to the American interests without any military demonstration, 
provided his name should not be used openly in the transaction and 
that Dr. Jean Baptiste LafFont, a ])hysician of Kaskaskia. might be 
cliarged with the temporal i)art of the mission. 

The priest anil the doctor, with tlieir attendants, left Kaskaskia 
on the 14th of July, with an address to the ])co])le of Vincennes au- 
thorizing them to garrison their own town. etc. They succeeded in 
their embassy and Clark placed the post under the command of Capt. 
Leonard Helm, who was also appointed Indian agent for the dcjiart- 
ment of the Wabash. 

So far everything had worked well and Clark had succeeded be- 
yond his most sanguine expectations. But late in the fall Henry 



54 HISTUllV OF STAllK COUNTY 

Hamilton, the British lieutenant-governor at Detroit, eolleeted a force 
of thirty regulars, fifty French volunteers and 400 Indians, with 
which he descended the Wabash and on December 1.5, 1778, recap- 
tured the post at Vincennes. No attempt was made by the inhabitants 
to defend the place. They were disarmed and Captain Helm wa.s 
detained as a prisoner of war. When this unfortunate event occurred 
Clark was making his preparations for his advance upon 13etroit, but 
now he deemed it more important to take and hold Vincennes. 

On January 29, 1779, Francis Vigo, a Spanish merchant who liad 
been at Vincennes, arrived at Kaskaskia and gave Clark the informa- 
tion that Hamilton had weakened his garrison by sending his Indians 
against the frontier settlements: that the garrison did not number 
more than seventy-tive or eighty men, and that the plan was to have 
the Indians gather at Vincennes eai-ly in the spring for the purpose 
of driving the Virginians from Kaskaskia and Cahokia. Ui^on learn- 
ing these things Clark realized that there was no time to be lost. On 
February 4, 1779, Capt. John Rogers and forty-six men embarked 
on a large keel-boat, with two four-pounders and four swivels and a 
su])ply of ammunition and provisions, under instructions to drop down 
the ^lississippi and ascend the Ohio and AVabash rivers with all sjiecd 
jiossible, while Clark, with the remainder of his force and some French 
volunteers marched across the country. 

Crossing the Kaskaskia River, Clark followed the old trail be- 
tween the two posts imtil he reached the Embarrass River, near the 
present City of Lawrenceville, where the flooded condition of the 
country caused him to change his course and he struck the \A'abash 
River about ten miles below the post. The march was one of great 
hardshijis. the men often wading in water up to their waists and the 
rations were limited for the greater portion of the march. Notwith- 
standing all the obstacles, on the morning of February 18, 1779, they 
were near enough to the fort to hear Hamilton's morning gun. Three 
days later, two canoes having been found, the men were ferried over 
the ^Vabash not far from the j^resent Town of St. Francisville. 

In his account of the expedition Clark says: "Our fate was now 
to be determined, probably in a few hours. We knew that nothing Init 
the most daring conduct would insure success." Confident that some 
of the inhabitants were friendly to the American cause, and believing 
that he had some friends among the Indians, Clark inaugurated his 
"daring conduct" polic_y by writing the following address: 



IIISTORV OF STARK COUNTY 55 

"To the Inhabitants of Post Viiicennes: 

"Gentlemen — Bein,i>' now within two miles of your villa<);e, with 
my army, determined to takeyoui- fort this night, and not heini>- \villiiii>- 
to surprise you, I take this method to request sueh of you as are true 
eiti/ens and willing to enjoy the liberty I brin<)- you. to remain still in 
your houses. And those, if any there be. that are friends to the king-, 
will instantly repair to the fort and join the hair-buyer general, and 
tight like men. And if any sueh as do not go to tlie i'ort shall be dis- 
covered afterwards, they may depend on severe punishment. On the 
contrary, those who are true friends to liberty may depend on being- 
well treated, and 1 once more recpiest them to keep out of the streets. 
For every one I find in arms on my arrival I shall treat him as an 
enemy. 

"G. R. Claimv." 

After sending this by messenger, Clark l)egan to maneuvei- his 
force in such a way as to make it appear much more formidable then 
it really was. A few horses had been captured from some hunters near 
the i)ost. These were now mounted by the officers, who rode about in 
all directions, as though carrying orders. There were several stands 
of colors, each of which was fixed on a long jjole and carried so that 
it could l)e seen above the top of one of the ridges, while the man who 
carried it remained out of view. These maneuvers were kept up until 
dark, wiien the direction of the ad\ance was suddenly changed and 
before the inhabitants were aware of what was taking place Clark had 
gained the heights back of the village. Lieutenant liaylej' advanced 
with fourteen men and opened fire upon the fort, the main body taking 
])ossession of the town. 

\Vithout going into details regarding the events of the next forty- 
eight lioin's, early on the morning of the "i-ith Clark sent the following 
communication to Hamilton under a flag of truce: 

"Sir: In order to save yourself from the impending storm that 
now threatens you, I order you immediately to surrender yourself, 
\vith all your garrison, stores, etc. Foi- if I am obliged to storm, 
you may depend on such treatment as is justly due to a murderer. 
Beware of destroying stores of any kind, or any jjapers or letters that 
are in your possession, or hurting one house in town — for, by Heavens ! 
if you do. there shall be no mercy shown you. 

"G. R. Clakk." 

Hamilton replied that he and his garrison were not disposed "to 
be awed into any action unworthy British subjects." and the attack 



56 HISTORY OF STARK COUXTY 

on the fort was renewed. Some of the men begged to be permitted to 
storm the fort, but Clark knew he had no men to spare and kept his 
solchers from exposing themselves as much as possible. In the after- 
noon Hamilton asked for a truce for three days, which Clark denied, 
and even refused to go to the gate of the fort for a conference, fearing 
treachery on the part of the British commander, who liad won the 
appellation of "the hair-buyer general" through his custom of paying- 
Indians a certain price for American scalps. However, Clark offered 
to meet Hamilton at the church, some eighty yards from the fort, and 
requested that Captain Helm, who was still a prisoner, be present at 
the jjai-ley. The result of the meeting was the surrender of the fort, 
with all its stores and munitions and Clark took possession at 10 o'clock 
the next morning. Three days later Hamilton and liis troops took 
their departure from Vincennes. During the siege Clark lost one man 
wounded, while the British casualties amounted to seven wounded. 

Virginia claimed the territory captured by Colonel Clark and in 
October, 1778, the Legislature of that colony passed an act providing 
tliat the conquered region should comprise the "County of Illinois," 
of A\hich Col. John Todd was appointed county lieutenant in the 
spring of 1779. Soon after receiving his commission Colonel Todd 
visited Vincennes and Kaskaskia and organized in each place a tem- 
porary government, in accordance witli the provisions of the act 
creating the county. 

The importance of Colonel Clark's conquest can hardly be over- 
estimated. By the treaty of Sei^tember 3, 1783. which ended the 
Revolutionary war. the western boundary of the United States \vas 
fixed at the JNIississippi River. Had it not been for the action of 
Colonel Clark and his little band of heroes in driving the British out 
of tile 31ississip2)i ^"alley, the chances are that the treaty would have 
applied only to the territory included in the thirteen original colonies, 
the western boundary of which would in all probability have been fixed 
along the summit of the Apj^alachian ]Mountains, and the interior of 
the continent would have remained an English possession. In 1784. 
Virginia relinquished her claim to the region and Illinois became 
territory of the United States. By the Ordinance of 1787 the country 
ac(]uired by and through tlie campaign of Colonel Clark — lying north 
and west of the Ohio River — was organized as the Xoithwest 
Territory. 

In 1800 all the Northwest Territory, except the present State of 
Ohio, was erected by an act of Congress into the Territory of Indiana, 
of M-Iiich Illinois formed a part. On February 3. 1809. President 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 57 

Jeft'erisou approved tlic act uiaking lUiiujis a separate territory and 
appointed Xinian Edwards governor. At that time there were but 
two organized counties within tlie present state limits — Randolph and 
St. Clair. Immigration itito the new territory was ra])id and on April 
18, 1818, I'resident Monroe approved the "Enabling Act," which 
authorized the people of Illinois to elect delegates to a constitutional 
convention and adopt a constitution, preparatory to admission into 
the Union as a state. The convention assembled at Kaskaskia in 
July, the constitution was ratitied by the people and a])proved by 
Congress, and on IJecember .'3. 1818, Illinois was formally admitted 
to statehood. The two counties of 1809 have been multiplied until 
there are now 102 counties in the state. Stark became a separate and 
independent county in 1839. 

Having thus briefly traced the evolution of Stark County, step by 
steji, let us recapitulate. In 1.543 the territory now comprising the 
comity was claimed by Spain. Through the claim of La Salle, made 
on ^Vpril 9, 1682, it was included in I^ouisiana and became a part of 
the French possessions in iVmerica. Ry the treaty of February 10, 
17(i"J. which ended the French ami Indian war, it was ceded to Great 
Rritain and remained a dependency of that government until the re- 
duction of the Rritish posts by George Rogers Clark in 1778. It was 
then a part of ^"irginia until 1784, when it was ceded l)y that state to 
the United States. Ry the Ordinance of 1787 it was made a part of 
the Northwest Territory. From 1800 to 1809 it formed a part of the 
Territory' of Indiana. It was then included in the Territory of Illi- 
nois, which was admitted to statehood in 1818, when Stark was still 
lield by the IndiaTis. Ry the treaty of Chicago, Se])tember 2(), 1833. 
the IniUan title to the land was extinguished and the white man came 
into full possession. 

What were once the hunting grounds of the Pottawatomi Indians 
are now cultivated fields. Where once was the Indian trail is now 
tile railroad. The whistle of the locomotive has sup])Ianted the war- 
whooj) of the savage. The tepee of the red man has given way to the 
schoolhouse and the halls of legislation have taken the place of the 
trilial council. Indian villages have disappeared and in their stead 
have come the towns of civilization, with paved streets, electric lights, 
public libraries and all the evidences of modern progress. To tell the 
story of this progress is the aim of the subsequent chapters of this 
liistorv. 



CHAPTER V 
SETTLEINIEXT OF STARK COUXTY 

AX 01,I) TKAUIXG POST EA'ELAND AND KOSS ISAAC B. ESSEX THE (JKIG- 

IXAL I'lOXEEK FIRST CA15IX IX STAKK COUXTY LIST OF SETTLERS 

EACH YEAR TO 1839 PIOXEER LIFE AXD CUSTOMS THE HOUSE 

RAISIXG FURXITURE AXD UTEXSILS SWAPPIXG AVORK A:MUSE- 

3IEXTS AXD PASTI3IES ilARKIXG xVXIMALS THE OLD TRAPI'ER's 

SOLILOQUY'. 

During the French occupation of the Illinois Valley a trading 
jjost was established at the site of the old Peoria Indian village, near 
the outlet of Peoria Lake. When Illinois was organized as a territory 
in 1809 and Ninian Edwards was appointed governor, this post Avas 
still in existence. Shortly after the beginning of the War of 1812 
Governor Edwards became convinced of the sympathy of the inhabi- 
tants with the British cause. He therefore ordered the inhabitants 
banished and the seventy houses that then constituted the village de- 
stroyed. ^Vhile the post was in existence, no doubt some of the traders 
there dealt with the Indians who lived within the present borders of 
Stark County, and these traders were probably the first white men to 
visit this portion of the state. They made no settlements away from 
the post, however, and it was not until some years later that the atten- 
tion of immigrants was attracted to the fertile Spoon River Valley. 

In 1828 AVilliam Eveland and Harvey L. Ross, accompanied by 
the French interpi-eter, Edouard Plude, left Lewistown. Fulton 
County, with a wagon loaded with goods for the piu'pose of trading 
with the Indians in Peoria, Stark and Knox counties of the present 
day. They were gone nearly a month, when they returned to Lewis- 
town, where they re])orted a jjrofitable trade, and that they found ])ut 
two white settlers north of the Town of Canton. 

In the fall of that year Isaac B. Essex came to the SjJoon River 
Valley and selected a claim in section 1.5, township 12, range 6. He 
remained there long enough to cut logs and make the clapboards for a 
cabin, after which he returned to the "Sliual Creek Colony," M'here 

58 



HlSTOllY OF STARK COUNTY 59 

the ti-a(liii^i>- i)()st had hceii destroyed hy order of Governor Edwards, 
and there passed the winter. In April, IS'il), equipped witli two 
horses and a wagon laden with tools and supplies, and accompanied 
by his Avil'e and little children, he set out for his home on the frontier. 
Pausing for a short time at the settlement known as "Prince's Grove," 
a short distance northwest of the jjresent Town of Prineeville, he there 
enlisted the cooperation of Daniel Prince, Frank Thomas, two Baptist 
preachers — Elders Silliman and Allen — Simon Reed, Stephen French, 
and periiaps one or two others, all of whom agreed to go with him to 
his claim and assist him in building his cabin. They arrived at the 
place late in the day and encamped the first night in the woods, but 
before sunset of the next day the cal)in was completed and they "had 
a house to sleep in." This cal)in was the first dwelling erected by 
civilized man within the ])resent limits of Stark County. 

Isaac B. Essex was born in Virginia in January. 1800. From his 
native state he went to Ohio, and while still a young man came to 
Illinois and was appointed teacher to the Indian children by Rev. 
Jesse "Walker, the first INIethodist minister in the state. After teach- 
ing a short time he took up a claim on the l)ank of the INIississippi 
River a short distance Ijelow Rock Island. Here he laid out a town, 
which he called Quebec, but the project failed and he went to I'eoria, 
or the Shoal Creek Colony, where he remained until he came to Stark 
County. He continued to reside in Stark for many years, when he 
went to Dongola. Union County, where he passed the closing years of 
his life. Isaac B. Essex was a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Essex, 
who were married in Virginia in IT'.'l. when he was twenty and she 
eighteen years of age. They followed their son to Stark County, 
where Elizabeth Essex died on January "iO. 18.53, and her husband 
followed her to the grave on May 1.), 18.53. Essex Townshii). where 
thej^ first settled, was named in honoi- of this pioneer family. Others 
of the Essex family who settled in Stark County were Thomas. Jr., 
William, David and Josej)h. l)rothers of Isaac, and a sister who was 
the wife of David Cooper. Further mention of this family will be 
found in the history of Essex Township. 

The second wliite man to build a cabin in what is now Stark County 
was John B. Dodge, who located in section 14, township 12, range 6. 
not far from Mr. Essex. After a short residence there he entered 
land in section 3 and his cabin in section 1-i was occupied by John E. 
O wings. ]Mr. Dodge it seems was a i-estless sort of an individual, who 
preferred life on the frontier and went to Texas aliout the time that 
state was annexed to the Ignited States. 



60 IllSTOllV OF STAllK COUNTY 

III tlie spriiii^- of 1830 Eenjaiiiiii Smith, the father-in-law of John 
li. Dodge, became a resident of tlie county. He was accompanied by 
three others of the family — Sewell, Greenleaf and \\"illiam P. Smith 
— and they built their cabin not far from that of JNIr. Dodge, ^\'illiam 
D. Grant also came in 1830. 

On the southeast corner of the public scjuare. in the Town of Tou- 
lon, is a log cal)in which was erected by the Old Settlers' Association 
and on August 2.5, 1898, it was dedicated to the "Old Settlers of 
Stark Count)'." In the Toulon Public Library are two large, en- 
grossed panels, framed and covered with glass, giving a list of the 
county's pioneers to whom the cabin is dedicated. From this list it is 
learned that the inhabitants of the county in 1831 were: Isaac B. 
Essex, Thomas Essex, Sr., Joseph Essex, Henry Seely, Benjamin, 
Greenleaf, Sewell and William P. Smith, David Cooper, Harris W. 
IMiner, Sylvanus jMoore, David Gregory, AVilliam D. Grant, John 
B. Dodge and Peter Sheets. 

Those who came during the years 1832-33 were as follows: Par- 
don B. Dodge, Conrad, Jacob and Joseph Emery, John P. Hays, 
Jesse W. Heath, James Holgate, Elijah ]McClenahan, Sr., Elijah 
McClenahan, Jr., James and Robert ^NlcClenahan, Isi-ael Seely, 
iMinott Silliman, Lewis Sturms, Gen. Samuel Thomas and Jefferson 
Trickle. In this list there are a few names that are still well remem- 
bered in the county. IMinott Silliman, a son of the elder Silliman, 
who helped Isaac Essex to build the first cabin in the county, was the 
first treasurer of Stark County. The first election in the county was 
held at the house of Elijah INIcClenahan, Sr., and Stephen Trickle 
was a member of the first board of county commissioners. 

In 1834, according to the list, twenty-two families were added to 
the population, to wit: George Albright, Augustus Bailey, Isaac 
Chatfield, Giles C. Dana, Daniel Davis, John Finley, Xelson Grant, 
Charles Lake, Henry McClenahan, William ^loore, Nero Mounts, 
Joseph Newton, William Parks, Charles Pierce, Ira and Lyman 
Riddle, Thomas Scott, Peter Shafer. Robert Sharer, Henry Sturms, 
jNIathias Stin-ms, Dexter Wall and Thomas Winn. 

The next year witnessed even a larger increase, as thirty-two 
pioneers settled within the county. They were: Thomas Bradford, 
James Buswell, Capt. Henry Butler, Henry Butler, Jr.. Samuel But- 
ler, Jarville Chaffee, David Currier. Peter Davidson, John Davis, 
Augustus Dunn, Barnabas Frail, Hugh Frail, John B. Howard, 
James and Robert IMoore, Benjamin Newton, George Parker, Adam, 
Lewis and Swift Perrv, John T. Phenix, Peter Pratt, Doctor Rich- 




OLD sKT'ri.iats' (Ai;i.\, kh mi.n 



U3RARY 

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

URBANA 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 61 

ards, jMiltoii and Silas Richards, ^Vhitney Smith, Isaac Spencer, 
Nathaniel Swartz, James Thompson, Stephen Trickle, Thomas Watts 
and Calvin Winslow. 

In the year 18:30 the immigration passed the hall'-centm-y mark, 
over fifty new residents establishing their homes in Stark Couiil> . 
Those wiio came this year were: John W. Agard. Ephraim Rarnett. 
J. II. Rarnett. Moses Roardman, Charles Rolt. William Rowen. 
jNIyrtle G. Rrace, Henry Rreese, E. S. Rroadhead, John Rrowii, 
Jacob Claybangh. Henry Colwell, Presley Colwell, Enoch and Nathan 
Cox, Lemnel Horrance, Andrew Dray, Ezekiah and Martin Dukes, 
William Dunbar, George R. Eckley, Lewis Finch. Rrady Fowler. 
Orange Fuller. Frank Grady. George, John. Langley. Robert and 
William Hall, Smith Hayes, John W. and Col. William Henderson. 
Renjamin F. Hilliard, Philip Keller, Joseph 1). Lane. Joseph K. 
Lane, Nathaniel JMcClure, William JNIahany, Richar<l Maskel. John 
.Miller, Josiah lAIofKt, Howard Ogle. William Ogle. A^irgil Pike. John 
Pratz, Christopher Sammis, Sumner Shaw, Aslnn- Smith, Jacob Smith. 
John Spencer, Andrew Swartz, Edward Trickle, Horace Vail, Archi- 
bald and Charles Vandyke, John White, Nehemiah Wycoft". 

Those who settled in the co\inty in 18:57 Avere: P. J. Anschutz, 
Zebulon Avery, Carson and John Rerfield, Nelson Ronham. Dr. 
Alfred Castle," Thomas S. Clark, \Villiam Cue, Adam Day, W. W. 
Drummond, Calvin and Stephen Eastman, Joseph and Levi Eckley, 
Caleb Flint, Ansil Fuller, Luther Geer, Joshua Grant, David Guyer, 
Dr. Thomas Hall, John Hamilton. Aaron Harvey, Harry Hays, 
John Hester, Jonathan Hodgson, 1). S. Ilurd, Theodore F. Ilurd, 
Henry T. Ives, Lemuel R. Leonard, AVilliam Lyall, Thomas Lyle, 
Thomas McNaught, Abiah JNIanning, Newton Matthews, Orin INIax- 
field, Charles H. and Rev. Jonathan ^Miner. Adam and Thomas 
Oliver, Stephen Ordway, Joseph Palmer. Rnloff and Squire Parrish, 
Joseph Perry, Isaac Polhamus, P^dward Porter, William Porter, 
Calvin Powell, Sr., William Pratt, Ren.jamiii Ricker, W. W. Riggin. 
Robert Rule, David, Jacob and John Simmerman. Israel Stoddard, 
liberty Stone. John F. Tbom])son, Charles Todd. John Turnbull. 
AN'illiam Wheeler, Oliver Whitaker and Ilewes White. 

The list of settlers for 1838 includes the following: Philander 
Arnold, Royal Arnold, David W. Rrown, Timothy and AVilliam 
Carter. Riley Chamberlain, Dr. Ebenezer Clarfield. John Culbertson. 
John CurdifF. Eli jab Eltzi'otb. Joshua Gilfillan. Christian (Tingrich. 
Daniel Gingrich. Daniel Hodgson, H. M. Jackson, Jonathan H. anf^ 
James Jackson, John Lackey, Caleb Lyon, David Rouse, Philip 



62 HISTOllY OF STAllK COUNTY 

Shaner, John and Nathan Snare, Levi Stephens, Jacob Stites, 
Lunian Thurston, Robert Turnbull, Cyril ^Vard, Ira \Vard and 
Joseph H. Wilhcr. 

In JNlarch, IH'M, the Legislature of Illinois passed the act provid- 
ing for the organization of Stark County. During that year the 
following persons and their families settled in the new county: James 
L. Ayers, Jeremiah Bennett, Joseph and William D. Blancliard, 
Samuel Camp, Alexander Christy, Asa Currier, Luther Driscoll, 
Ellis Uwire. F. W. Emery, James Headly, George Jackson, Sheri- 
dan Jones, John Me^^^illiams, ^Villiam Mason, E. C. Merritt, John 
Pryor, John Kiggin, John Kussell, Benjamin Turner and ^^^ A. 
Walters. 

Tile above list of pioneers, compiled as it is from the records of 
the Old Settlers' Association, is probably as nearly correct as it can 
be made and includes a majority, if not all, of those who settled in the 
county prior to its organization. Further mention of many of these 
early settlers, giving the places where they located and some account 
of their achievements, will be found in the chapter on Township 
History. 

PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTC^MS 

Looking back over a period of four score and six years, to the 
time when Isaac B. Essex built his lonely cabin on the banks of the 
Spoon River, about two and a half miles southwest of the present 
Town of Wyoming, it occurs to the writer that the young people of 
the present generation may find some interest in learning how the first 
settlers in Stark County lived. Imagine a vast unbroken tract of 
country, interspersed with forest and prairie, stretching away toward 
the JNIississippi River, with but few white settlers between the Shoal 
Creek Colony at Peoria and the great Father of Waters. It was into 
this wild region that the Stark County pioneers came — not as con- 
(|uerers, seeking to enrich themselves with the spoils of a vanquished 
foe, but, armed with axes, rifles and farming utensils, they came to 
coiKjuer and subdue the wilderness, build roads, schoolhouses and 
churches, and develop the resources of a state that today ranks second 
to none in the American LTnion. 

One of the first things that confronted the pioneer was the neces- 
sity oi' some sort of shelter for himself and family. The manner in 
whicli the first cabin in Stark County was l)uilt has ah'eady been told. 
Sometimes two or more families woidd come into a new country to- 
gether. In such cases one cabin Mould be erected, in which all would 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 63 

live- tugetlier until each settler could stake his ckiui and build a dwell- 
ing of his own. liun)ber and brick were luxuries unknown to the 
frontier settlement, hence the log cabin was the universal type of 
residence. The first cabins were built of round logs, but a little later 
some of the more aristocratic citizens put up hewed log houses. And 
what an event was a "house-raising" in a new settlement. 

After the settler had cut his logs and dragged them to the site of 
the cabin — quite likely with a team of oxen — invitations were sent to 
the neighbors, some of whom lived several miles distant, to attend the 
"raising." Verv seldom was such an invitation declined. AVhen all 
were assembled the first thing was to select four men, skilled in the 
use of the ax. to "carry up the corners." It was the duty of these 
four men to take their stations at the four corners of the cabin and, as 
the logs were lifted up to them, to shape a "saddle" upon the top of 
each log and cut a notch in the under side of the next to fit upon the 
saddle. The notch in the butt end of the log had to be cut a little 
deeper than the one in the top end, in order that the walls nnght be 
carried u]) ap])roximately level, a work that was aided by alternating 
the butt and top ends of the logs on each side and end of the cabin. 
No plumb line was used to keep the walls perjiendicular, that \nivt oi' 
the woik depending upon the eye of the cornerman. 

No openings were left for doors and windows, l)ut these were 
sawed or chopped out afterward. i\t one end an opening was made 
for the fireplace, just outside of which was constructed a chimney. 
If stone was convenient the chimney was built of stone: if not it was 
built of sticks and claJ^ The roof was invariably of cla])boards, split 
or "rived" with an instrument called a frow, and were held in place 
bv a pole running the full length of the cabin and fastened to the end 
logs with wooden pins. The floor, if there was one, was made of 
l)unchcons — that is, slabs of timber s])lit as nearly the same thickness 
as ])()ssible and smoothed ofi' on the ui)])er surface after the floor was 
laid. The door was also made of thin puncheons, hung on wooden 
hinges and provided with a wooden latch. To lift the latch from the 
outside a thong of Inickskin was passed through a small hole in the 
door. At night the latch string was drawn inside and the door was 
locked. This custom gave rise to the saying, "The latch string is 
always out." used to signify that a visitor would be welcome at any 
time. Nails were rare and not infrequently the entire cabin Mould be - 
finished without a single piece of iron being used in its construction. 

The furniture was usually of the "home-made" variety and of the 
simplest character. Holes bored in the logs of the walls and fitted 



^4 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

with pins, upon wliicli boards were laid, formed the "china closet." 
Smaller pins driven into the walls were used to hang clothing on and 
constituted the only "wardrobe" of the family. Boards taken from 
packing cases, or claplioards, battened together, formed the top of a 
table, which was supported on two trestles. When not in use, the top 
of the table could be leaned against the wall, or set outside the cabin, 
and the trestles could be placed one on top of the other to make more 
room. In one corner of the cabin was the bedstead, which was made 
by boring holes in the logs at a suitable distance from the corner for 
the length and width of a bed and inserting poles, which were sup- 
ported at the outer corner by a post. Across this framework clap- 
boards were laid, one end resting on the "bed rail" and the other in a 
crack of the cabin, and on these boards was placed the "straw tick." 
Benches and stools took the place of chairs. A few immigrants 
brought with them a little factory made furniture and a sash tilled 
with glass for a cabin window, but in a majority of cases the furniture 
was "liome made." and light was admitted through oiled paper in- 
stead of glass. 

Stoves were unknown and the cooking was done at the tireplace, 
an iron teakettle, a copper-bottomed coffee pot, a long-handled skillet 
and a large iron pot being the principal cooking utensils. The skillet 
was used for frying meat and baking bread and the iron pot was used 
in the preparation of the "boiled dinner." While doing the cooking 
the housewife often wore a deep sunbonnet to protect her face fi-om 
the heat of the open fire. "Johnny cake" was made by spreading a 
stiff dough of corn meal upon one side of a smooth board and pro])])ing 
it up in front of the fire. AVhen one side was baked sufiiciently. the 
dough would be turned over so that the other side might have its 
inning. A liberal supply of johnny cake and a bowl of fresh milk 
often constituted the only supper of the pioneer. 

Somewhere in the cabin, two hooks, formed from the forks of 
small trees, Avould be pinned against the Avail or to one of the ujjper 
joists for a gun rack. Here rested the long, heavy rifle of the settler 
and suspended from its muzzle 6r one of the hooks hung the bullet- 
jiouch and powder-horn. 

After the "house-raising" came the "house-warming." A new- 
cabin was hardly considered fit to live in until it had been properly 
dedicated. In nearly every frontier settlement there was at least one 
man who could play the violin. The "fiddler" was called into requisi- 
tion and the new cabin would become a "sound of revelry by night." 
The two-step, the tango or the hesitation waltz were not known, but 



HISTOKV OF STARK C'OLXTV 65 

the Virginia reel, the stately luimiet or the old-fashioned cotillion, in 
which someone called the figures in a stenotorian voice, were very 
much in evidence. It is doubtful if the guests at a presidential 
inaugural ball ever derived as much genuine pleasure from the occa- 
sion as did these peojjle of tlie frontier at a house-wariuiiig. If the 
owner of the cabin had scruples against dancing, the house was warmed 
by festivities of a different character, but it iiad to be "warmed" in 
some way before the family took full possession. 

How easy it is at the present time to enter a i-oom at night, turn a 
switch and flood the whole place with electric light! It was not so 
four score years ago in Stark County. The ho\isewife devised a lamp 
bj- ushig a shallow dish, in which was placed a quantity of lard or 
bear's grease. In this grease was immersed a loosely twisted rag, one 
end of which was allowed to project slightly over one side, and the 
projecting end was lighted. The smoke and odor emitted by such a 
lamp could hardly be endured by fastidious ])ersons of the present 
day, but it answered the purpose then and gave light enough to enable 
the good woman to perform her household duties. Next came the 
tallow candle, made in moulds of tin. Sometimes only one set of 
candle moulds could be found in a new settlement and they passed 
freely from liouse to Iiouse until all had a supply of candles laid away 
in a cool, dry place sufficient to last for many weeks. Often, during 
the winter seasons, the family would spend the evening with no light 
except that which came from the roaring fire in the great fire])lace. 

Xo one Avore "store clothes" in the early days. The housewife 
would card her wool by hand M'ith a pair of broad-backed Avire brushes, 
the teeth of which were slightly bent all in one direction. Then the 
rolls would be spun into yarn on an old-fashioned spinning wheel. 
She would next weave the yarn into cloth u]}on the old wooden hand 
loom and make it into garments for the members of the family, doing 
all the sewing with a needle. A girl sixteen j'^ears of age, who could 
not spin her "six cuts" a day and make her own dresses Avas hard to 
find in a new settlement. How many graduates of the Stark County 
high schools in 1910 know what "six cuts" means ^ 

In these days, with plenty of money in circulation, when anyone 
needs assistance he hires someone to come and hel]) him. When the 
first white men came to Stark County, money was exceedingly scai'ce 
and they overcame the difficulty by helping each other. Cooperation 
was the rule. All the settlers in a commimity would join in raising a 
cabin for a newcomer, although a total stranger. If a clearing was 
made in the timl)er they would all join in the "log-rolling." l?v this 



66 IIISTOHV OF STARK COUNTY 

means the logs Mould be ijiled in great heaps, so that they could be 
burned. The same system was followed in harvest time. Fre(iuently 
ten or a dozen men would gather in a neighbor's wheat tield, and while 
some would swing the cradle others would bind the sheaves and shock 
them, after which the whole crowd would move on to the next field 
where the Avheat was ripe, and so on imtil the entire crop of the neigh- 
borhood was cared for, or at least made ready for threshing. Xo 
threshing machines had as yet made their a))pearance and the grain 
was separated from the straw with a flail or tramped out by horses or 
cattle upon a smooth piece of ground, or upon a barn floor, if the 
settler was fortunate enough to have a barn \vith a floor that was 
suitable. 

And the community of interests, the custf)m of "swapping work," 
did not apply alone to the men. ^Vhile they were raising the cabin, 
rolling the logs or harvesting the wheat, the "women folks" would get 
together and prepare dinner, each one bringing from her own store 
some delicacy that she thought the others might not be able to supply. 
If the weather was pleasant the table would be set out of doors. Bear 
meat and venison took the place of terrapin and canvas-back duck, 
but each man had a good ai)petite by the time the meal was ready and 
the quality of the food was not criticized. The main thing was to 
have plenty of it, and when they arose from the table it "looked like 
a cyclone had struck it." Each family had its turn and by the time 
the year rolled around no one suffered any disadvantage in the amoimt 
of food consumed. 

Now, when a family needs a supjily of breadstuff, all that is neces- 
sary is to step to the telephone and order the grocer to send out a sack 
or a barrel of flour, but in the early days going to mill was no light 
affair. ]\Iills were few and far a])art and the settler would often 
have to go such a distance that two or three days, or even more, AAOuld 
be required to make the trip. To obviate this difficulty various meth- 
ods were introduced for making at home corn meal — which was the 
principal breadstuff of the first settlers. One of these methods was 
to build a fire upon the top of a large stump of some hard wood and 
keep it burning until a hollow was formed. The charred wood was 
then carefully cleaned out of the "mortar," corn poured in small quan- 
tities into the mortar and beaten into a coarse meal with a hard wood 
"pestle" or a smooth stone. In the fall of the year, before the corn 
was fully hardened, the "grater" was brought into requisition. This 
implement was made by launching holes closely together through a 
sheet of tin. which was then fastened to a board, rough side upward. 



HISTOKV OF STARK COUNTY 



67 



so tliat the till woukl be slightly convex on the outer surface. Then 
the corn would he rubbed over the i-ougli surface, the meal passing- 
through the holes and sliding down the hoard into a vessel ])laced to 
receive it. A slow and tedious process was this, but a bowl of mush 
made from grated corn meal and accompanied by a generous supjily 
of good milk formed a repast that was not to be sneered at, and one 
wiiich no pioneer blushed to place before a visitor. 

^latches were exceedingly rare and a little tire was always kept 
somewhere about the cabin "for seed." During the fall, winter and 
early spring months, the fire \\as kept in the fireplace, but when the 
weatlier grew warm a fire was kept burning out of iloors. If, by 
some misha]), the fire was allowed to become extinguished one of the 
family would have to go to the nearest neighbor's for a new supply. 
But if the pioneers had their hardships, they also had their amuse- 
ments and pastimes. Old settlers can recall tlie shooting matches, 
when men met to try their skill with the rifle, the i)ri/e being a turkey, 
a haunch of venison or a (juarter of beef. And some of these old 
pioneers with their hair-trigger rities, could hold their own with the 
l)est of our military sharpshooters. Then there was the "husking bee," 
in which pleasure and profit were combined. On such occasions the 
corn to he husked would be divided into two piles, as nearly etjual in 
size as ])ossil)le. Two of the invited guests would then "choose up" 
and divide those present into two sides, the contest being to see which 
side woidd first finish its pile of corn, ^len and women alike took 
])art and the young man who foimd a red ear was permitted by the 
rules of the game to kiss the lassie next to him. "^Nlany a merry laugh 
went round" when someone found the red ear and the lassie objected 
to being kissed. Sometimes the young men would })lay an underhand 
game by passing a red ear surreptitiously from one to another. 

After the orchards were old enough to bear fruit, the "a])ple cut- 
ting" became a popular form of amusement, when a numl)er of young 
])eople would assemble to pare and slice enough apples to dry for the 
winter's supjjly. The husking bee and the apple cutting nearly al- 
ways wound up with a dance, the orchestra consisting of the one lone 
fiddler in the neighborhood. lie might not have been a classic musi- 
cian, but he could make his old fiddle respond to such tunes as "Turkey 
in the Straw," "Money Musk," "The Bowery Gals," and "The ^Vind 
That Shakes the Barley Fields," and he never grew tired in furnishing 
the melody while the others tri])i)ed the light fantastic toe. 

On grinding days at the old grist mill a number of men would 
meet, and while waiting for their grists would pass the time in athletic 



68 HISTORY OF STAKK COUXTV 

contests, such as foot races, wrestling matches or iiitching horseslioes. 
The women had their (luilting parties, and after the puhhc school 
system was introchiced, the spelling school became a frequent place of 
meeting. At the close of the s])elling match the young men could 
"see the girls home," and if the acquaintance thus commenced ripened 
into an intimacy that ended in a wedding, it was usually followed by 
a charivari, or, as it was pronounced on the frontier, a "shivaree," 
which was a serenade in which noise took the place of harmony. The 
proceedings were kept up until the bride and groom came out where 
they could be seen, and the affair ended all the more pleasantly if 
each member of the shivareeing party was presented with a slice of 
wedtling cake to place under his pillow to inlluence his dreams. 

There was one custom of olden times that should not be overlooked, 
and that was the manner in which each settler marked his domestic 
animals so that they could be identified. There were Jiot many fences 
and stock of all kinds was i)erinitted to run at large. To jirotect him- 
self, the pioneer farmer cropped the ears of his cattle, hogs and sheep 
in a peculiar manner and these marks were made a matter of record. 
The i^rincipal marks were the plain crop, the upper and under bits, 
the swallow fork, the upper and lower slopes, the slit, the roimd hole, 
and perhai^s a few others, by a combination of which each settler could 
mark his stock in a way different from that of any of his neighbors. 
The "upper bit" was a small notch cut in the upper side of the ear; 
the "under bit" was just the reverse: the "swallow fork" Avas made by 
cutting a deep notch in the end of the ear similar in shape to the tail 
of a swallow, from which it derived its name, and so on. If someone 
found a stray animal marked with an "up])er bit in the left ear and a 
swallow fork in the right," all he had to do was to inquire at the re- 
corder's office for the owner of such a mark. These marks were seldom 
violated and they protected the settler as surely as the manufacturer 
is protected in the right to use his registered trade mark. 

One accustomed to the conveniences of modern civilization would 
sui)pose that the early settlers would be glad to escape the hardships 
and disadvantages of frontier life. But there were some who evi- 
dently preferred it to any other. JNIany who came to Illinois in an 
early day and aided in the tlevelopment of the state's resources after- 
ward crossed the ]Mississi]:)pi aiid became pioneers a second time in 
Iowa, Xebraska or Kansas. There is a freedom on the frontier that 
becomes restricted as population increases, and many preferred the 
freedom with its hardshi])s to the advantages of an older comnumity 
Avith its conventionalities. Such persons are well described in Brinin- 
stool's beautiful jioem : '^ 



1 
I 



IIISTOKV OF STARK COUNTY 69 

TIIK OLD TKAPrER's SOLILOQUY 

I've taken toll from every .stream that held a lurry prize, 

Eiit now my traps are nistin' in tlie sun; 
Where once the broad, free ranges, wild, unbroken met my eyes, 

Their acres have been civilized and won. 
The deer have left the bottom lands; the antelope the plain, 

And the howlin' of the wolf no more 1 hear, 
But the busy sounds of commerce warn me of an alien reign, 

As the saw and hammer echo in my ear. 

I've lived to see the prairie soil a-sproutin' schools and stores. 

And wire fences stretch on every hand; 
I've seen the nesters crowdin" in i'rom distant foreign shores. 

And the hated railroads creej) across the land. 
]\Jy heart has burned within me. and my eyes have misty grown. 

As Progress came unbidden to my shack; 
jNIy streams have all been harnessed and my concjuest overthrown, 

.\nd I've been ])ushed aside and ci-owded back. 

I've seen men come with manners and with custouLs new and strange, 

To take the land which I have fought to hold; 
I've watched the white-topped wagons joltin' on across the range 

With those who sought to lure the hidden gold. 
I've seen the red man vanquished and the buffalo depart, 

^Vnd cowmen take the land which they ])ossessed. 
And now there's somethin' tuggin' and a-pullin' at my heart, 

And biddin' me m()\e on to'rds the West. 

There aint no elbow room no more to circulate around. 

Since Civ'lization stopped beside my door; 
I'll pack my kit and rifle and I'll find new stompin' ground. 

Where things is like they was in days of yore. 
I've heard the mountains whisper, and the old, free wild life calls. 

Where men and Progress never yet have trod; 
And III go back and worship in my rugged canyon walls. 

Where the pine trees croon and Nature is my Ciod. 



CHAPTER VI 
STARK COUNTY ORGANIZED 

THE JIILITARY LAND GRANT FORGED TITLES FIRST COUNTIES IN i'lIK 

ILLINOIS VALLEY STARK COUNTY THE ORGANIC ACT FIRST ELEC- 
TIONS THE COUNTY SEAT CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT — THE COURT- 
HOUSE THE ANNEX THE COUNTY JAIL SHERIFF MURCHISON'fv 

REPORT THE POOR FARM HOW THE COUNTY WAS NAMED. 

Shortly after tlie close of the War of 1812 the United States 
Cioverninent api)ropriated and had surveyed a lai\n'e tract of land in 
Illinois to be given to the soldiers who took part in that war. The 
"^Jilitary Bounty Land Grant," as it was called, was situated be- 
tween the Illinois and JNIississippi rivers and extended northward to 
about the north line of Henry and Bureau counties. While a large 
number of the veterans took advantage of the Government's liberality 
to secure warrants, or patents, to a "(juarter section," there were only 
a few who became actual settlers on their claims. A large majority 
of them traded their patents to speculators, rarely receiving the real 
worth of the land. When the actual settlers began to come into the 
tract, in which Stark County Avas included, they found a badly mixed- 
up situation with regard to land titles, with no sure May of telling 
wiiich quarter section belonged to some individual under the military 
bounty act, and which was subject to entry. Those who held patents 
to th.e lands generally kept out of sight until some settler would make 
imjjrovements, when they would turn uj) with a "prior title." These 
land sharks showed but little mercy to the pioneers — the men who 
were really developing the country — and in numerous instances deeds 
and patents were actually forged for the purpose of defrauding the 
settlers. Claim associations were organized in several places through- 
nut the tract, one of which was formed by the settlers about Osceola 
Grove, now in the northeast part of Stark County. Thnmgh the 
operation of these associations the land shark antl sjjeculator was 
sometimes given short shrift and the settlers were able to hold their 
lands until they could jjurchase them from the Government. One of 

70 




I'l ni.ii si.ii Alii;, ini i.dx 



nSRARY 

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

URBANA 



I 



HISTOllY OF STARK COLNTV 71 

the most notorious of tlie land sliarks and claim jum])L'r,s was a man 
named Toliver Craig, who was charged with forging titles, and who, 
it is said, placed forty fraudulent deeds on record in one day at Knox- 
ville. In 18.54 he was arrested in the State of New York and taken 
to the jail at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he tried to commit suicide by 
taking arsenic. After remaining in jail about a year he was released 
on hail and disajjpeared. 

This condition of affairs is here mentioned to show one of the 
phases of frontier life that the early settler in this section of Illinois 
had to contend with, along with the other hardships, and tliat the men 
who came here with the determination to make homes for themselves 
could not be defeated in their pur])ose, no matter how adverse the 
conditions. It was several years before the conflict over titles to the 
land was finally settled. 

In the preceding chapter is given a list of those who settled within 
the present limits of Stark County between the years 18"Ji) and 18:i9. 
At the time the first of these settlers came into the Spoon Kiver Valley 
the territory was attached to Peoria County for all legislative and 
judicial pur])oses. Peoria County was created in 182.) and the act 
j)ro\ iding for its organization attached to it all the territory north of 
it within the State of Illinois, "on both sides of the Illinois Kiver as 
far east as the third principal meridian," which marks the present 
eastern boundary of Putnam and Bureau counties. 

Knox, Henry and Putnam counties were set off' from Fulton 
County, and by the act of A\m\ 2. 1831, Putnam was divided into 
four precincts, one of which, known as "Spoon Kiver Precinct." in- 
cluded "all the county south of the direct line from the head oi' Crow 
Prairie to Six ^Nlile Grove, thence northwest to the original county 
line." Bureau Precinct embraced all the present county of that name 
and portions of ]\Iarshall and Stark. 

As the number of settlers in the Spoon River Valley increased 
they began to feel the inconvenience of having to go to Hennepin to 
attend court and transact their county business, and a movement was 
started for the organization of a new county. At the legislative ses- 
sion of 1836-37 the County of Bureau was established and an act "for 
the formation of Coffee County" was also ])assed and ajjproved by 
the governor. Says Mrs. Shallenbcrger: "Now as Col. William 
llentlerson was, from his first settlement here, prominent in local 
politics, and known to be an enthusiastic admirer of the Tennessee 
hero, General Coffee, with or under whom he had done militarv serv- 
ice, it is highly prol)able that this, as well as subsequent acts for the 
same purpose, was secured through his instrumentality." 



72 HISTORY OF STARK COL XT V 

Under the act of 1836 the County of Coffee was to consist of nine 
Congressional townships, six of which were to be taken from Put- 
nam, two from Knox and one from Henry. Benjamin Mitchell, 
Richard X. CuUom and Samuel Hackleton were named in the act as 
commissioners to locate the county seat, which was to be called Ripley, 
unless some town already established should be selected. The act was 
not to become effecti\-e, however, unless a majority of the voters ofi 
Knox and Henry counties should give their assent to the formation 
of the new county at an election to be held on April 10, 1837. Putnam 
was not allowed the opportunity of voting on the proposition, and in 
the other counties a majority was against the establishment of the 
new county. That was the end of Coifee County. 

In February, 1838. a meeting was held at the house of James 
Holgate, near Wyoming, to discuss the question of petitioning the 
next session of the Legislature to organize a new comity. A factional 
fight arose over the question of the eastern boundary, some wanting 
the county to extend eastward to the Illinois River, and a spirited 
campaign followed in 1838. Colonel Henderson was elected to the 
I^egislature and on January Ifi. 1839, he presented a petition from a 
large number of citizens of Putnam, Knox and Henry counties pray- 
ing for the erection of a new county. Just a week later a bill was 
introduced in the Legislature for the establishment of Stark County. 
This measure contained some features that were not satisfactory to 
Colonel Henderson, and upon his motion it was laid on the table. On 
February Ttli the bill and proposed amendments were referred to a 
special committee, which reported it back on the 11th, with the recom- 
mendation that it pass, but on the final vote it was defeated. 

Then a bill was introduced under the title of "An act to dispose of 
the territory west of the Illinois River in the County of Putnam, and 
for other purposes." On February 28, 1839, the Senate reported that 
it had made several amendments to the bill, one of which provided for 
the formation of Stark County. The House concurred in the amend- 
ments and on March 2, 1839, the council of revision reported a])])roval 
of the act, which bore the title of "An act for the formation of the 
Count}' of Stark, and for other purposes." 

THE ORGANIC ACT 

That part of the act relating to Stark County is as follows: 
"Section 2. That townships 12 and 13 north, of ranges 5, 6 and 7, 
east of the Fourth Principal ]Meridian, shall constitute a new county. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 73 

to be called Stark; Provided, however, that townships 12 and 13 of 
range number .5 east shall not constitute or coini)ose any part of 
the County of Stark, except upon the condition that a majority t)f the 
legal voters in said township shall consent thereto; and to enable the 
said voters to decide the question and give or withhold their consent, 
an election shall be held at the house of Henry JNlcClenahan, on the 
third Monday of March, under the superintendence of Jonathan 
Hoduson, Es(i.. Silas Richards. Henrv jNIcClenahan and Conrad 
Emery, who shall act as judges and clerk of said election, and whose 
duty it shall be to attend at the time and place aforesaid and hold an 
election. A poll-l)ook shall be o])ene(l, with cohunns in favor of and 
auainst being included in the said Countv of Stark; and the legal 
^ oters aforesaid shall be permitted to vote for either proposition. The 
polls shall be kept open from !) o'clock A. INI. to .3 o'clock P. M.: and 
upon receiving the votes, the said judges and clerk shall certify the 
result upon the poll-book, and within five days thereafter deliver said 
Ixiok. certitied as aforesaid, to the clerk of the county commissioners' 
court of Knox County; and said clerk shall, in the i^resence of two 
justices of the peace, or two of the county commissioners, open and 
examine the said ])oll-b()ok and compare the ccrtiticate with the votes 
given, and thereupon make duplicate certificates of the result of said 
election, which shall be signed by the clerk and justices or commis- 
sioners as aforesaid; and if it shall appear that a majority of said 
votes are in favor of being included in the County of Stark, the said 
townshi]) shall be included in said county; otherwise said townshi]) 
shall continue to form and constitute a part of the County of Knox. 
One of the certificates made as aforesaid shall be transmitted to the 
secretary of state, to be by him filed with the em-olled bill enacting the 
county : and one shall be entered of record in the county commissioners' 
com-t of Knox County; but if the majority of said votes shall be 
against being included in the said county, the certificates shall be trans- 
mitted and recorded as aforesaid, and the boundaries of Stark shall be 
as fixed in the foregoing section, excluding the townships aforesaid. 
If the y)ersons herein appointed to act as judges and clerk of said 
election, or any one of them, shall fail or refuse to act, the voters, 
when assembled, shall select others to act in their stead, wlio shall 
execute this act as though they were named herein. Notice of said 
election shall be ])osted u]) at tln-ee ])laces in said townshi]). at least 
five days preceding said election, by Henry JMcClenahan." 

Section 3 gave to the county commissioners of Stark County the 
power "to vacate, locate and relocate roads, and to use and exercise 
exclusive jurisdiction in the premises." 



74 IIISTOUY OF STARK COUNTY 

"Section 5. The commissioners of the County of Stark, when 
elected, shall jjroceed immediately to demand of the county treasurer 
of Putnam County the one-sixth ]nirt of '$9,870, paid liim by the Fund 
Commissioners, together with fJ per cent per annum upon the 
one-sixth part of the sum aforesaid; and should the treasurer of the 
County of Putnam fail promptly to pay over the sum aforesaid, then 
it is hereby made the duty of the County Commissioners of the 
County of Stark to bring suit against the treasurer of Putnam County 
and his sureties for the sum aforesaid, it being $1,645, together with 
interest as aforesaid from the time of loaning said money imtil paid — 
said sum being hereby appropriated to the County of Stark, to be 
applied agreeable to the provisions of 'An act to establish and main- 
tain a general system of internal improvement;' provided, ho^vever, 
that nothing in this act shall be so construed as to release the present 
commissioners of the County of Putnam from any liability which they 
may have incurred by illegally authorizing the fund aforesaid to be 
used for any other object than that for which it was legitimately 
approjiriated. 

"Section 7. That the legal voters of the County of Stark shall 
meet at the house of Elijah ]McClenahan, Sr., on the first ^Monday 
in April next, and proceed to choose their own judges and clerks, who, 
after being duly sworn, shall proceed to open the polls and hold an 
election for the purjjose of electing county officers. It shall be the 
duty of Closes Boardman, or, in case of his absence, any justice of 
the peace within the bounds of said county, to give at least ten days' 
notice of the time and place of holding said election, and, when said 
election is over, to give certificates of election to the persons elected 
comity commissioners and make retiu'ns to the secretary of state for 
comity officers. 

"Section 8. The County Commissioners of the said County of 
Stark shall meet at the house of Elijah ^McClenahan, Sr., within ten 
days after their election, and after being qualified shall proceed to 
layoff said county into justices' districts and rpad districts and order 
elections for all justices of the peace and constables; to levy a tax for 
all county purjjoses for the present year, unless the revenue law shall 
be changed, and to do and perform all the duties required of the county 
commissioners' courts by law. 

"Section 9. The courts of said county shall be held at sueh place 
as the county commissioners' court may designate, until a suitable 
preparation can be made at the county seat; which county seat, when 
located, shall be called Toulon. Said county shall form a part of the 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 75 

same judicial circuit with the counties of Putnam and Marsliall: and 
the circuit court shall he held for said comity twice in each year at 
such times as the judye of said circuit may desi<^'iiate. 

"Section 10. Tiie (jualitled voters of the County of Stark, in all 
elections except county elections, shall vote with the senatorial aii<l 
representative district composed of the counties of Peoria, Putnam. 
Hureau and Marshall, until otherwise provided hy law, hut shall make 
election returns to the secretary of state in the same manner that is 
now required hy law from the other counties in this state." 

Section 12 provides that the school commissioner of Putnam 
County should turn over to the proper authorities in the County of 
Stark all money, hooks, records, etc., pertainin<>; to the schools within 
the territory- comprising the new county. 

THE FIRST ELECTIONS. 

The Legislature having done its })art hy the passage of the ahove 
act. it devolved ujion the people of the countj^ to complete the organi- 
zation. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 7 of the organic act, 
the legal voters living within the limits of the County of Stark met 
at the house of Klijah ^McClenahan, Sr., on the first Monday in 
April, 1839, which was the first day of the month, and i)roeee(led to 
elect the following officers: Commissioners, Jonathan Hodgsoti, 
Steplien Trickle and Calvin Winslow; commissioners' clerk, Oliver 
^Vhitaker; sheriff, Augustus A. Duim; treasurer, ^Minott Silliman; 
recorder, Jesse W. Heath; prohate judge, William Ogle; surveyor, 
.John W. Agard. 

On Thursday, April 4, 1839, the county commissioners met, for 
the first time, at the house of Mr. JMcClenahan, where the election, was 
held, and carried out the provisions of the organic act as set forth in 
Section 8. ^Vt tlie .lune term the coimnissioners made provisions for 
the general election to he held on iVugust .), 1839, by ordering that 
each justice's district should he an election precinct, appointing 
judges of election in each precinct and designating the voting 
places. In precinct Xo. 1, Ri-ady Fowler, Nicholas Sturm and 
M. G. Brace were ajipointed judges, and the Northern school 
house named as the voting jjlace. No. 2, James Holgate, Samuel 
Thomas and Ilemy Rreese, judges; vote at the house of James Hol- 
gate. No. 3, Calvin Powell, William W. Webster and ]Moses Board- 
man, judges; election at the house of Lewis Finch. No. -1, Conrad 
Emery, John ]Mc Williams and Israel Stoddard, judges; election to 



76 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

be held at Theodore F. Hurds store in Lafayette. Xo. 5, ^Villiani 
Ogle, Adam Perry and Angnstus Richards, judges; election at tiic 
house of William Henderson. 

The election of April, 1839, was for the purjiose of electing county 
officers to serve until the next regular election, which occurred on 
August 5, 1839. At the August election Oliver Whitaker and Minott 
Sillinian were re-elected clerk and treasurer, respectively; William 
Ogle succeeded Stephen Trickle on the board of county commission- 
ers; Carson Berfield was chosen surveyor to succeed J. W. Agard; 
John :Miller succeeded William Ogle as probate judge; and B. M. 
Jackson was elected recorder. The new board of commissioners 
organized on September 3, 1839, when lots were drawn for the \ arious 
terms. William Ogle drew the one-year term; Calvin Winslow, two 
years ; and Jonathan Hodgson, three years. The machinery of county 
government Avas now permanently established. 

THE COUXTV SEAT 

Although the organic act gave the name of Toulon to the coimty 
seat, '"when located," no provision was made in the act of ]March 2, 
1839, for its location. On February 27, 1841, an act was passed 
naming John Dawson. Peter Van Bergen and William F. Elkin, all 
of the County of Sangamon, to locate the town of Toulon. The act 
stipulated that the commissioners should meet at "the house of Wil- 
liam H. Henderson, in said county, on the second ^Monday in April, 
1841, thereafter, or as soon as might suit their convenience, and being 
first duly sworn, as l)y said act retiuired. to discharge faithfully tlie 
duties assigned them by said act, should then proceed to locate the said 
town of Toulon, having due regard in making said location to the 
})resent and future population of said County of Stark, the promotion 
of the general good, the eligibility of the site, and as near as may be, 
after considering all other provisions of said act. the geographical 
center of the county." 

The commissioners did not meet until in ^Slay. Their report, tiled 
with the county commissioners and entered in the records of the 
county, contains the following: 

"And, whereas, said commissioners did on the 17th day of ]May, 
1841, meet at the house of William H. Henderson, in said County 
of Stark, and did take and subscribe to an oath prescribed by said 
act, and which said oath is filed in the clerk's office of the county 
commissioners' court of said Countv of Stark, and after having 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 77 

inspected the territory of said county in all tilings appertaining to 
the discharge of the (hities assigned them by said act above referred 
to, have h)eated, and do hereby locate, the town of Touh)n, the county 
seat of Stark County, on ninety rods scjuare of hnid, at present owned 
l)y John Miller, of said County of Stark, and known and described 
as follows, to-wit: It being ])ait of the southwest (juarter of Section 
Xo. 19, in Townshij) No. 13 north, of Range 6, east of the Fourth 
Principal ^Meridian, whieli said ninety rods square lies twelve rods 
east and twelve rods north of the west and south boundary lines of 
said (juarter section: upon this condition, however, that the said .loiiii 
Miller execute to the county eonunissioners in office a good and sutH- 
cient deed in fee simple to the said ninety rods s(iuare of land." 

On July 28, 1841, John ^Miller and his wife. Mary Ann Miller, 
executed the recjuired deed and Stark County became possessed of 
tile site of its seat of justice. (For the further history of the Town 
of Toulon see the chajiter on Cities, Towns and \^illages.) 

CHANGE IX GOVEKNMEXT 

When Stark County was first organized the transaction of tlie 
public business was intrusted to a board of three coiinuissioners. This 
system was continued until the adojjtion of the Constitution of 1848. 
which gave to the several counties of Illinois the privilege of adopting 
township organization. A majority of the legal voters of Stark 
County, at the general election in November, 18.)2, voted in favor of 
townshij) organization, the inauguration of which changed the execu- 
tive officials of the county from a l)oard of three commissioners to 
a board of supervisors, composed of one member from each ci\ il 
township. The first board of supervisors, as shown by the minutes 
of Se])tember 12, 18.).'J. when they held their, first meeting, was made 
up as follows: Elmira Townshi]), Thomas IjvIc: Kssex, IamhucI 
Dixon; Goshen, Lewis II. Fitch: Osceola, Bradford S. Foster; I'enn, 
James Holgate: Toulon, Calvin I.,. Eastman: Valley, Charles C. 
Wilson; West Jersey, William W. Webster. The system thus intro- 
duced has been continued to the ])resent time. 

THE COURTHOUSE 

l-'or more than two years after the orgam"zation of the county, 
the public business was transacted and the sessions of the Circuit Court 
were held in private dwellings. Some time in the early part of 1842 



78 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

a contract was made by the county commissioners with Abel ]Mott, 
an elder of tlie ^Mormon Church, to erect a courthouse upon tlie public 
square in the Town of Toulon. It seems that ]Mr. JNIott failed to 
carry out his part of the agreement to the satisfaction of the board of 
conmiissioners, as the records show that Cyril Ward, John Shores 
and J. H. Wilber were appointed to arbitrate the differences or mis- 
understandings between the contracting parties. On January 20, 
184."3, after the arbitrators had rendered their decision and made their 
report, the commissioners ordered "that the treasurer pay to Abel 
Mott the sum of $360.36, to be paid out of the notes given for the 
sale of lots in the Town of Toulon, it being a balance due him in 
full for building said courthouse in said town." 

On 3Iarch 8, 1843, ^linott Silliman, the treasurer of Stark County, 
tiled a claim for $21.7.5 for commission on $1,087.2.5 \\'orth of notes 
taken in jjayment for lots in the Town of Toulon and turned over 
to Abel jNIott since JNIarch 10, 184.2. The sum represented by these 
notes was probably somewhere near the cost of Stark County's first 
courthouse, so far as the contractor was concerned. There were some 
extra charges, howe\'er, as shown by the minutes of the commission- 
ers' court. Notice was given by the board on September 7, 1842, 
that a contract would be let on the 20th of October "to under])in the 
courthouse with stone in a good and workmanlike manner, payable 
either in notes of the sales of lots in the Town of Toulon, or State 
Bank of Illinois paper." 

At the same time W. T. Vandeveer was appointed agent of the 
county to award the contract and oversee the work "to the best advan- 
tage for said county." For some reason the contract was not let at 
tlie ai)pointed time, for on July 3, 1843, the bid of Calvin Powell, 
of $74.00. for underpinning the courthouse, was accepted by the 
boartl, the work to be completed by the first ]Monday in September. 
On tlie same date the commissioners made a private agreement with 
Minott Silliman, by whicli the latter was to "build six chimneys for 
stove i^ipes in the cotn-thouse," for the sum of $33.50, the chimneys 
to be finished by the first ^Monday in September. 

Tiie old frame courthouse continued in use for nearly fifteen 
years before any agitation was started in favor of a new one. On 
Seiitember 10, 1856, John Berfield, Henry Breese and C. JNI. S. I>yons 
were appointed a committee "to visit I^acon, in ^Marshall County, 
and obtain a full description of the courthouse at that place — its 
size, the material of which it is constructed, its cost and manner of 
construction — together with such drafts, models, plats, etc., of said 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 79 

building, or such other phits as they may deem expedient; to consult 
with experienced builders, and to make such other arrangements 
pre])aratory to building a new courthouse as they may think necessary 
and report to this board at its next meeting." 

Tile committee reported on October 11, 18.50. and with the rei)ort 
submitted plans and specifications for a new courthouse. The re])ort 
and i)lans were accepted and ai)i)roved by the board and the committee 
was discharged as a committee of in(}uiry and investigation, but the 
same men were immediately appointed a building committee, witii 
instructions to advertise for bids and report progress at the next 
meeting. On December 9, 18.5G, the committee reported that three 
sealed proposals for the erection of the courthouse had been received, 
to-wit: 

Thomas B. Starrett and Edward Nixon $12,700 

Stephen ^M. Fisher 10,.500 

Parker C. Spaulding 8,300 

The bid of Mr. Spaulding, whose home was in Knoxville, 111., 
was accepteil. but before the contract was entered into he came for- 
wai'd with the complaint that the advertisement, upon which he had 
based his estimate, stated that the building was to be fifty-six feet 
in length, while the plans and specifications called for a building sixty- 
four feet long. He therefore asked the board to jjermit him to add 
$1,185 to his original bid, which was granted, his figures then being 
more than one thousand dollars below those of the next lowest bidder. 
A contract Avas then made with Mr. Spaulding, in which he agreed 
to furnish all materials and labor necessary to complete the court- 
liouse for $9,48.5. This contract was dated December 23, 18.5('), and 
Mr. Spaulding agreed to have the building completed by the first 
day of December. 18.57. 

Before the courthouse was more than half done the contractor 
assigned to Elias Spaulding, who failed to finish the building within 
the stipulated time. On December 9, 18.57. the county clerk was 
directed to issue an order on the county treasurer for $1,0()(). due 
February 1.5, 18.58, the last payment to Elias Spaulding for building 
the C()\u-thouse. The contractor was allowed $104. ()8 for extra work, 
and some other extras added l)y the board amounted to ai)ont fifty 
dollars. 

On August 4, 18.57, it was ordered by the supervisors that the 
clerk advertise and sell the old courthouse at auction on the first day 
of the October term of court, the purchaser to remove the building 



80 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

from the public square within thirty days after the sale. The house 
was h()u<^ht by Jett'erson Cooley, who removed it to the east end of 
his hotel lot, on the northwest corner of Main and ^filler streets, 
Avhere it was used for years as a livery barn. It was then sold to 
M. B. Downend, who removed it to his farm a short distance east of 
Toulon and converted it into a cattle shed. 

THE ANNEX 

The fireproof building, immediately west of the courthouse, which 
for want of a better name is here called the annex, was erected for 
the pin-poses of obtaining more room for the transaction of county 
business and providing a safe depository for the jiublic records. It 
had its inception on September 12, 1883, when James H. Quinn, the 
supervisor from Goshen Township, offered the following preamble 
and resolution: 

"Whereas, it is the duty of the board of supervisors to provide 
necessary bviildings and suitable fireproof safes or offices to keep and 
inoperly protect the records of the county, and 

"Whereas, the present buildings and offices of Stark County, 
Illinois, are entirely inadequate for that purpose, both as to capacity 
and protection from fire, and each property holder in the county, 
as w'ell as each one who is affected by the records of the county, is 
without such protection as an ordinarily thoughtful and prudent man 
would provide for his own ^^rivate interests, and 

"Whereas, the finances of the county are such that we can and 
should immediately make such provision as we are required by law, 
and in duty bound to do by the obligation of the oath of our office; 
it is therefore 

"Resolved l)y this board, and we do hereby appropriate the sum 
of .$6,000 for the purjiose of building a suitable fireproof structure 
for offices and for the records of said county, said offices to be built on 
the coin-fhouse square in the Village of Toulon, in said county, and 
we do further direct that the said sum of money be levied and extended 
ujjon the tax books of the respective townships that are now being- 
prepared for the taxes assessed for the year 1883." 

Ujjon the roll being called, the supervisors from Goshen. Elmira, 
Toulon and West Jersey townships voted aye; and those from Essex, 
Osceola, Penn and ^"alley voted no. The result being a tie vote, the 
resolution was declared lost. The next day JNIr. Quinn. not willing 
to accept defeat, presented another resolution to appropriate $G.000 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 81 

for a fireproof building, provided: "That the sum of $2,000 be raised 
by the eitizens of the said Village of Toulon and api)ropriated by thcni 
to aid in the erection and construction of said lircproof building, in 
addition to the above named sum of $(),000." 

After some discussion this resolution was laid on the table and no 
further action in the matter was taken until the following spring. 
On April 29, 1884., the resolution was taken from the table and upon 
the final vote was rejected. Robert Armstrong, the member of the 
board from Elmira Township, then offered a resolution similar in 
character to that of IMr. Quinn, except that the amount to be appro- 
priated was left blank, to be filled in after the cost of such a building 
was ascertained, and the peojjle of Toulon were not required to appro- 
priate any part of the cost of said building. Mr. Armstrong and 
William P. Caverly were appointed a committee to procure plans, 
specifications and estimates and report at the next meeting of the 
boai'd. 

On 31ay 27, 1884, they reported that they had employed Charles 
Ulricson, an architect of Peoria, to make plans, which were submitted 
to and approved by tlie board. The next day, on motion of J. S. 
Atherton, the sum of $7,.)0() was appropriated for the building and 
W . P. Caverly, of Toulon, Robert Armstrong, of Elmira, and .lohn 
Jordan, of Essex, were appointed a building committee. Rids were 
advertised for and were opened on .Inly 14. 1884. The contract was 
awarded to John Volk & Company, of Rock Island, for $7,414. and 
^V. P. Caverly was appointed to oversee the erection of the building. 
In this fireproof structure are the offices of the recorder, surveyor, 
county and circuit clerks. 

THE COUNTY JAIL 

A careful seairli tlirough the records fails to reveal just when and 
how the first jail in Stark County was built. For several years after 
the organization of the county prisoners were kept in the jails of 
some of the adjacent counties. On September 8, 184(), the county 
commissioners ordered the treasurer to pay to the treasurer of Mar- 
shall County the sum of $134.03 "for keeping, boarding and guarding 
Josiah Kemp and Robert Brown," etc. 

The next entry in the commissioners' record relating to a jail is 
found in the minutes of September 3, 1849, when the following war- 
rants were drawn on the county treasury for labor or material used 
in building a fence around the jail lot at the southwest cornei- of 



82 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

Franklin and Jefferson streets, opposite the public squai'e: Alexan- 
der xVhel. $10.62; Jacob Holgate, $8..-)(): David Winter, $5.2.5; John 
A. Williams (for self and boy), $10.00; Henry ^Vhite, $10..J0, 
making a total allowance of $4.4.. 87 for the fence. 

Just a year later — September 3, 18.50 — the clerk was ordered "to 
make out and transmit to the clerk of Knox County so much of the 
record as may be necessary to exhibit the amount i)aid by the County 
of Stark for expenses incurred by AVashiugton Stair, a prisoner 
in the Stark Count)' jail on change of venue from said County of 
Knox," etc. 

From these three entries it may be seen that the jail was built 
some time between the years 1840 and 1850 — probably in 1849, at 
the time the lot was fenced. It was a brick building, the jail proper 
being on the first floor, Avhile upstairs were living rooms for the jailer 
and his family. The brick walls of the lower story were reinforced 
by a lining of heavy timbers, studded with nails. Init even this precau- 
tion was not sufficient to prevent prisoners from working their way to 
liberty when they were so inclined. There was at least one jail 
delivery that is still remembered by old settlers. 

It was a sort of oiien secret that "Uncle" John Culbertson was in 
the habit of keeping a considerable sum of money about his house. 
One Sunday morning, while ]Mr. Culbertson and his family were 
attending church, four men broke into the house and ransacked until 
they found at least a portion of the gold and silver coin, which they 
divided into four shares and concealed the money in hollow trees near 
Toulon. There was a slight snow on the ground, and when 3Ir. Cul- 
bertson returned from church and saw what had happened he raised 
the alarm. The neighbors soon gathered and had no difficulty in track- 
ing the housebreakers into the woods, where three parcels of the 
money were recovered. The men were afterward arrested and con- 
fined in the old jail, where they kept up a noise every night, singing, 
hallooing, etc.. to prevent the sheriff from hearing their efforts to 
break through the wall. The only heat in the cell room was furnished 
by a stove. Heating the ])oker in the stove, the prisoners used it to 
burn out a section of the timber, hanging their clothes over the place 
during the day so that their work would not be discovered. After the 
timber was burned away they pounded a hole through the brick wall — 
singing and yelling all the time as usual — and made a dash for free- 
dom. Their escape was soon discovered, however, and a pursuit insti- 
tuted that resulted in the recapture of the fugitives. The Civil war 
was on at the time and they were given the oi^portunity of enlisting, 




corx'i^ .lAii. AM) siii;i;iii-s kksiuknck. TdiLoN 



UNiVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
URBANA 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 83 

instead of .spending a term in prison. Tliey accepted the alternative 
and entered the army. 

In Decemhcr. 18().>, the sheriff' was iHrectcd to ascertain tlie cost 
of two iron cells for the jail. The following March John ^I. Jirown, 
then sheriff, reported that two cells wonld cost $1,150, hut the hoard 
of supervisors decided that it was too nuich money to spend on a 
jail that had alxnit outlived its usefulness and the cells were not 
installed. Xo mcncnicnt for the erection of a new jail was made for 
nearly thirty years after that date, notwithstanding that every grand 
jury for the greater pait of that period condennied the jail as unsafe 
mid unsanitary. On ]Mareh 1, 189.5, Sheriff Donald INIurchison suh- 
mitted to the hoard of su])ervisors the following report: 

"To the Honorable Board of Supervisors of Stark County, 
Illinois: 

"Gentlemen: — The statute. Chapter 75, Section T2, makes it the 
duty of the sheriff, from time to time, to report to the board the 
condition of the county jail, and the fact that the board may, in some 
measure at least, be ac(|uainte(l with the condition of the jail does 
not relieve the sheriff from the duty of making such a report, or of 
the responsibility whicii would attach to his failure to make known 
to the board the condition of the jail. Therefore, I would rejjort to 
your honorable board : 

"First — That the jail is in such a condition that it would he con- 
sidered unfit for the confinement of brute beasts, much less a fit place 
for the confinement of human beings. It is a pure impossibility either 
to ventilate or light (except with artificial light) the miserable den. 

"Second — It is in such a condition that it is utterly impossible to 
confine and keep prisoners safely within its walls. 

"Third — It is in such a condition that it is wholly lacking in facili- 
ties for liandling prisoners witli safety. 

"Fourth — There is only one apartment or cell for all classes of 
prisoners, whereas, the statute. Chapter 75, Section 11, forbids the 
confining of men and women together, and minors with notoi'ious 
offenders in the same room. I would therefore urge on the board 
the necessity of at once making such rei)airs and imjjrovements on 
the jail as will afford proper light and ventilation, and such as will 
insure, at least to a reasonable degree, the safe keeping and handling 
of ])ri.soners. Also, to ])i-ovide such apartments as will enable the 
jailer to com])ly with the statute in kee])ing the vai'ious classes of 
prisoners apart as above set forth. The roof leaks badly and needs 
rejDairing. All of which is respectfully submitted. 

"DoxAi.D MuRCHisoN, Sheriff." 



84 IIISTOKV OF STAHK COUNTY 

The board took the sheriff's report under advisement and after 
exaniinini>- the jail decided that ^Ir. ]Murchison's caustic criticisms 
were not witiiout foundation. On -May 2, 18t).5, the cliairman of the 
board was instructed to procure plans and estimates for a ne\v jail 
and report at the next meeting. 

On .July 3. 189.), it was "moved and seconded that the supervisors 
build a jail for Stark County, not to exceed the cost of $8,000, pro- 
vided they can sell the west eighty acres of land belonging to the 
poor farm, at not less than $80 per acre, and apply the proceeds as 
jjart payment on said jail." 

On the same date the clerk was ordered to advertise for bids on 
the west eighty acres of the poor farm and on the old jail lot. and 
also for bids for the construction of a new jail until 10 o'clock A. 31., 
August 0, 189.5. When the bids were opened it was found that the 
Champion Iron Works had submitted the best proposition, offering 
to build the jail comidete for $7,"200, and that concern was awarded 
the contract. All bids on the eighty acres of land were rejected and 
the board levied a tax that would net $8,000 foi- the construction 
of the jail. The southwest corner of the public square was selected as 
the location and John P. Williams was employed to superintend the 
building of the jail. It was completed hi JNlarch, 189(j. With the 
new jail, which includes a residence for the sheriff. Stark County can 
claim to be as well provided in this i-espect as any county of its class 
in the State of Illinois. 

THE POOR FARM 

Concerning the first poorhouse, or poor farm, in Stark County. 
Mrs. Shallenberger, on page 82 of her history, says : "The first county 
2)oorhouse was located a little northeast of Toidon, on what was long 
familiarly known as 'Adam Perry's place:' indeed the house was but 
the old residence enlarged and adapted in various ways to its new 
duties. But this being deemed insufficient to meet the demands liable 
to be made by the increase of ])au])ers as the county grew in years and 
numbers, it was decided in 1808 to buy a larger farm, farther from 
town, and to erect upon it a good, substantial and commodious poor- 
house. Accordingly a tract of land described as the northeast (|uarter 
of Section 12, ToMiiship 12 north, Range 5 east, in Stark County, 
was ])urchased from 3Ir. Davis Lowman. at a cost of about eight 
thousand dollars, and early in the following year preparations for 
building began — the committee in charge being C. M. S. Lyons, J. H. 
Quinn and H. Shivvers. 



HISTORY OF STARK COT^XTY 85 

"The 1)1(1 buildings were sold, the old iarm platted and sold in 
small lots, and the eontract for the new building- let to William 
Caverly for the sum of -$1(),()()0. This was eonsidered by some an 
unneeessary expense, eonsidering the small number of our paupers, 
and the project met with some opposition and a good deal of ridicule." 

The poorhouse erected in 1S()8 was destroyed by tire in the early 
part of December, 1«8(). and a few days later Edward Colgan, chair- 
man of the board of supervisors, was authorized to "make, sign and 
execute proofs of loss," etc., in order to obtain the indemnity from 
the insurance companies — $2,.j0() in each of two companies. Some 
of the citizens of the county advocated the purchase of a new farm 
and the board ajjpointed a committee to examine farms, ascertain the 
prices at which they could !)c purchased and report. Several farms 
were examined by the committee, but upon final consideration of 
the matter the board decided to retain the farm already owned by 
the county, and on Jamiary 18, 1887, appointed John F. Rhodes, 
John W. Smith and John Ilazen a conunittee to build a new poor- 
house on the old foundation walls according to plans made by John 
Hawks. On February 18, 1887, the building committee entered into 
a contract with Ira F. Ilayden to erect the new poorhouse for $0,909, 
and some additional ex])ense was incurred in repairing the foundation 
walls where they had been injured by the fire, making the total cost 
oi' the l)uil(ling a little over seven thousand dollars. It was completed 
and accepted by the board on September 14, 1887. has been kept in 
good re])air and is still in use. 

now THE COUXTV WAS NAMED 

In the early part f)f this chapter is given an account of the effort 
to establish Coffee County in the legislative session of 18.3(i-37, as 
taken from ^Nlrs. Shallenberger's work on Stark County. The same 
autlioi- says, regarding the name of Stark County: "To whose taste 
this name was due is sometimes a matter of curiosity among our 
people, who had formerly suggested 'Coffee.' There is no means of 
ascei'taining this to a certainty now, and it is a matter of small 
importance, but the writer is well convinced that the name was a 
])olitic concession on the part of Colonel Henderson to the wishes of 
his constituents from Yermont, many of whom lived about Osceola 
Grove, and who also urged Bennington as a suitable name for the 
county seat." 

John Stark, in whose honor the county was named, was a native 



86 HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 

of New Hanii).sliirc, where he was horn on Augxist 28, 1728, of Irish 
l^arents, who came to iVnieriea some ten years l)ef()re. He served 
with distinction in the colonial army during the Revolutionary war 
and \\as a memher of the council that arranged the terms of General 
Rurgoyne's surrender at Saratoga. With seventy-one Irishmen in 
his command, he was at the hattle of Runker Hill, and it is said he 
was the officer who first gave the command: "Hold your tire, hoys, 
till you see the whites of their eyes," a jjolicy that carried death and 
defeat to the forces of General Howe. On another occasion, at the 
lieginning of an engagement, he urged his men forward hy saying: 
"\Ve must win today, or tonight ]MoIly Stark is a widow." AMiile 
it may have been a source of some regret to Colonel Henderson that 
the county was not named after his old military commander, it was 
named for a hero who was no less illustrious. 



CHAPTER VII 
TOWXSIIir HISTORY 

ORIGIN or THE TOWNSHIP ITRST TOWNSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES 

justices' DISTKlfTS IN STARK COUNTY ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL 

TO\\NSHlPS IN 18.33 ELMIRA ESSEX — GOSHEN OSCEOLA PENN 

TOULON VALLEY WEST JERSEY MILITARY LAND ENTRIES IN 

EACH HOW THE TOWNSHIPS WERE NAMED EARLY SETTLERS — 

PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS — RAILROADS SCHOOLS POPULATION AND 

WEALTH. 

The townsliip as a suhordiiuite civic division orioinatcd in England 
in Anglo-Saxon times and was called the "tunscipe." It was the polit- 
ical unit of poi)ular expression, which took the form of a mass 
convention or popnlar assembly called the "tun moot." The chief 
executive of the tunscipe was the "tun reeve," who, with the parish 
priest and four lay delegates, rejirescnted the tunscipe in the shire 
meeting. Says Fiske: "Aliout 871 A. D. King Alfred instituted a 
small territorial .subdivision nearest in character to and probal)ly con- 
taining the germ of the American township." 

In the settlement of New England the colonies there were first 
governed by a general court, or legislature, composed of the governor 
and a small council, generally made up of the most influential citizens, 
'i'he general court was also a judicial body, deciding both civil and 
criminal causes. In JNIarch, 103.5, the (Jeneral Court of Massachusetts 
])assc(l the following ordinance: 

■Whereas, particular towns have many things that concern only 
themselves, and the ordering of their own affairs and disposing of 
l)usiness in their own town, therefore, the freemen of every town, or 
a majority of them, shall have the ])ower to dispose of their own lands 
and woods, and all the appurtenances of said towns; to grant lots, 
and to make such orders as may concern the well ordering of their own 
towns, not repugnant to the laws and orders established by the Cien- 
eral Court. 

"Said freemen, or a majority of them, shall also have power to 
choose their own particular officers, such as constables, petty magis- 

87 



88 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

trates, surveyors for the highways, and may impose fines for violation 
of rules established by the freemen of the town; provided that sueh 
fines shall in no single ease exeeed twenty shillings." 

That was the beginning of the township system in the United 
States. Connecticut followed with a similar provision regarding local 
self government, and from New England the system was carried to 
the new states of the Middle West. 

In the southern colonies the county was made the political unit. 
Kight counties were organized in Virginia in H'uii and the system 
spread to the other colonies, except in South Carolina the counties 
are called districts and in Louisiana, ])arishes. The Illinois country 
became a comity of ^'^irginia after the conquest by George Rogers 
Clark in 1778. 

The first provision for a civil township northwest of the Ohio 
River was made by Governor St. Clair and the judges of the North- 
west Territory in 17!K). The term "civil township" is here used to 
distinguish the township with local officers from the Congressional 
township of the Government survey. The latter is always six miles 
square, but the civil township varies in size and its boundaries are 
often marked by natural features, such as creeks, rivers, etc. 

In New England the townshij) is still far more important in local 
matters than the county. The town meeting, which is the successor 
of the old "tun moot" of Anglo-Saxon days, wields great influence 
in sueh matters as the levying of local taxes, appropriating funds 
and issuing bonds for j^nWic improvements within the townshi]) 
limits. In the South the township is little more than name, all the 
local business being transacted by the county authorities. Through- 
out the great Middle West there is a well balanced combination of 
the two systems, schools and roads being usually in charge of town- 
ship officials, while business that affects more than one civil township 
is handled by the county. 

When Illinois Avas first admitted into the Union as a state, no 
provision was made in its constitution for the introduction of a town- 
ship organization. This idea may have been iniierited from its old 
county organization, first established in 1778, while the territory com- 
])rising the state was claimed by Virginia. The nearest approach to 
the civil township was the "justice's district." Section 8 of the act 
of Mai-eh 2. 1839, organizing the Comity of Stark, provides that the 
county commissioners, as soon as elected, or within ten days, "shall 
proceed to lay off said county into justices' districts," etc. 

l^msuant to this provision, on Thursday, April 4, 1839, the county 



HISTORY OF STxVRK COUNTY 89 

coiiiinissioners — Calvin ^Vin.sk)\v, Jonathan Hodgson and Stephen 
Trickle — established the following justices' districts: 

1. Township 14, Ranges G and 7. (This district included the 
present townships of Elmira and Osceola.) 

2. "To eoninience at the northeast corner of Township 13, Range 
7; tlienee west to the northwest corner of Section 3, Township 13, 
Range 0; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 34; thence 
east to the southwest corner of Section 3.5 ; thence south to the south- 
west corner of Section 3.5, Townsiiip V2, Range (i; thence east to 
the southeast corner of Township 12, Range 7, and thence north to 
the place of beginning." (As thus established No. '2 contained the 
])resent townships of Penn and Valley and practically the east half 
of Toulon and Kssex.) 

3. "Beginning at the southwest corner of Township 12, Range 
5; thence east to the southwest corner of Section 35, Township 12, 
Range (J; thence north to the southwest corner of Section 11; thence 
west to the southwest corner of Section 7. Townshi]) 12, Range 5; 
tlience south to the place of begiiuiing." (This district included a 
strip four miles wide and ten miles long in the southwest corner of 
tlie county.) 

4. "Beginning at the northwest corner of Township 13, Range 
.5; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 7, Township 12, 
Range .>; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 10; thence 
north to the northeast of Section 3, Township 13, Range .5; thence 
west to the place of beginning." (No. 4 contained thirty-two square 
miles, including the western two-thirds of Goshen Townshiji and eight 
sections in the northwest part of \\'est Jersey.) 

.). "Beginning at the northeast corner of Section 4, Township 
13. Range 6; thence west to the noithwest corner of Section 2, Town- 
ship 13, Range .5; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 11, 
Township 12, Range .5; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 
3; thence west to the northwest corner of Section 3; thence north to 
tlie i)lace of beginning." (This district included all that part of the 
county not contained in the other districts, to-wit: The west half 
of the ])resent Township of Toulon: eight sections in the nortliwest 
coi-ner of Kssex Township, a strip two miles wide oft' the east side 
of (ioshen Township, and four sections in the northeast cornei- of 
West Jersej^ Township.) 

Assessors were appointed for the several districts as follows: No. 
1. Isaac Spencer; No. 2, John W. x\gard; No. 3, J. II. Barnett; 
No. 4. Silas Richards; No. 5, Adam Perrv. 



90 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

On ]March 3, 1840, the board of county commissioners ordered 
that each of the justices' districts be made an election precinct and 
names were adopted instead of numbers. District Xo. 1 became 
Osceola precinct; No. 2, Wyoming; No. 3, Massillon; No. 4, 
Lafayette, and No. 5, CentraL 

Section 6, Article 7, of the Constitution of 1848 reads as follows: 
"The legislature shall pro\ide by law that the legal voters of any 
comity in the state may adopt a township form of government within 
the county, by a majority of the votes cast at any general election 
within such county." 

In accordance with this constitutional provision, the General 
Assembly jjassed an act on February 12, 1849, authorizing the various 
counties of the state to vote on the question of adopting a township 
organization. In Stark County the question was voted upon at the 
general election held on Tuesday, November 2, 18.52. The total 
number of votes cast at that election ^^'as 774, of which 443 were in 
favor of the adoption of a township form of government and 173 
were ojjposed, 1.58 voters not expressing themselves upon the question. 
The records of the commissioners' court for jNIonday, December 6, 
1852, contains the following entry: 

"And it appearing to the court that a majority of all the votes 
cast at said election were in favor of township organization, it is 
therefore ordered bj' the court that Theodore F. Hurd, Henry Bi-eese 
and Calvin L. Eastman be, and they are hereby appointed, commis- 
sioners to divide the countv into towns or townships as required by 
law." 

Commissions were issued to these three men December 13. 18.52. 
They met at the courthouse in Toulon on JNIonday, January 3. 18.53, 
and divided the county into eight townships. On ^larch 7, 18.53, they 
filed their report with the commissioners and it was made a 
matter of record. The townships as then established have never been 
changed, to-wit: Elmira Township includes Township 14, Range H; 
Essex, Township 12, Range 6; Goshen, Townshij) 13. Range .5: 
Osceola, Township 14. Range 7; Penn. Townshij) 13. Range 7; 
Toulon. Township 13. Range (!: Valley, Township 12, Range 7; \Vest 
Jersey, Townsliip 12. Range .5. 

ELMIRA TOAVXSPriP 

This townshiiJ is one of the northern tier. It embraces Congres- 
sional Township 14, Range 6, and therefore has an area of thirty-six 



HISTORY OF STARK COUXTY 91 

square miles. On the nortli it is hounded by Bureau County; on tlie 
east by Osceola Township; on the soiitli by Toulon Townshi]), and nn 
tile west by the County of Plenry. The surface is generally level 
or (gently undulatin,L>- and is well watered. The west fork of the 
Spoon River flows diagonally across the township from northwest to 
southeast; Jack Creek touches the southwest corner, and there are a 
few minor streams. The soil is fertile and some of the finest farms 
in the county are in this township. Originally there was some native 
timber along the water courses and artiheial groves have been planted 
around some of the houses upon the prairie. The township has some 
valuable coal deposits, ])ut they have never been fully developed. 

In a preceding chapter mention was made of the land warrants 
filed on Stark County lands by veterans of the War of 1812. During 
the years 1817-lH more than three score military claims were tiled 
upon lands in what is now Klmira Township. Godfrey Reemer 
located a claim In Section 1; James Thomas. Robert Hall, A. F. 
S])cncei' and William She])herd, Section 'i: Reuiieu Close. Section 1; 
John Hughes and Charles Armstrong, Section .3; William Walsh, 
Section 6; John Fleming, Section 7; David Armstead and A. O. 
Smith. Section 8; John IMartin and Henry Atkins, Section 9; James 
Patterson. Richard Gates, Charles Smith and Frederick Jenkins, 
Section 11: Richard Howard, Hemy Shannon, ^Nloses Sears and 
]^l)hraim Small, Section 1.3; Michael Conway, Aaron liurbank and 
two men named Roberts and Stenhert, Section 17; Daniel (iaskel. 
Section 10; Isaac Smith, Section 20: William Thompson, John 
liainett. Section 21; Klias Hughes, Section 22: Malbry Palmer and 
John Potter, Section 2.'}; John Jones, Section 24; Benjamin Barrett, 
Thomas ^IcFaddeii and John Wood, Section 26; James D. Wells, 
John Ciowell and Henry Davenport, Section 27; Bela Dexter, Sec- 
tion 28; Francis IJncoln, James Tiner and Bird I^avender, Sectioii 
2!); Hradford \Villis and Stephen Benjamin, Section 30; Chai'les 
Board and Henry Cruser, Section .31 ; .John Timberlake and W. S. 
Tom])kins, Section 32; Timothy Weston, Lewis Bronson and .Folin 
\Vhitlock, Section .33: Robert Goodwin and Lewis Green, Section 34; 
Richard Scott, .John Davis. John (liers and Seward Walters, Section 
3.5; .James Joyce, Conrad Sarr, William Sears and II. Edwards, 
Section 36. 

The first settlement in the townshi]) was not made, however, until 
in December, 183.3. Maj. Robert Moore, who conducted a ferry 
across the Illinois River at Peoria, had obtained a ma]) showing which 
lands had been patented under the military bounty act and which were 



92 HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 

subject to entry. His object was to encourage immigration to tbat 
pai't of the county, w itli a view to building u]) a town, of which he was 
to be the proprietor. In December, IH.'J.j, he led thither a party of 
prospective settlers, auiong whom were James IJuswell, Isaac Spencer, 
Thomas Watts, Giles A. Dana and the Pratts, all irom Vermont. 
They selected lands and began the work of establishing their homes 
upon the frontier. The following June came William Hall and his 
wife, Robert and Mary Hall, Archibald and Charles ^"andyke, 
JNIyrtle G. Brace, E. S. Brodhead and several meml)ers of a family 
named Davis. The first of the Sturms family had located at Seeley's 
Point as early as 1834. Other members of the family came later and 
located claims along the south side of Osceola Grove, in what is now 
Elmira Township. ^Irs. Shallenberger describes the Sturms as "regu- 
lar frontiersmen, every one 'mighty hunters;' of tall stature, combin- 
ing strength and activity in an unusual degree. Wearing an Indian 
garb of fringed buckskins, their feet encased in moccasins, with bowie 
knife in the belt and rifle on the shoulder; no wonder many a new- 
comer started from them in aft'right, supposing they had encountered 
genuine 'scalpers.' But these men were by no means as savage as they 
seemed, but had hearts to which friend or stranger never appealed in 
vain." 

On June 17, 1837, the Turnbull and Oliver families left their 
"Bonnie Scotland" to seek homes in America. After a voyage of 
six weeks they reached Quebec, and nearly six weeks more were con- 
sumed in the journey to Chicago. From there they went to Joliet, 
where they found two vacant cabins, which they were permitted to 
occupy, the settlers there showing them every kindness. But they 
were anxious to enter lands of their own. At Joliet they met a man 
named Parker, who owned a quarter section of land in what is now 
Stark County, and John Turnbull set out on foot to meet Parker 
at ^Vyoming, his intention being to purchase the land. He did not 
buy Parker's land, however, but, after looking around through the 
new settlement, purchased forty acres from John and Thomas Lyle. 
in Osceola Grove, u]wu which there was a small cabin, with the under- 
standing that if ^Ir. Oliver came on the Lyles would sell him the 
adjoining forty acres. On February 14, 1838. John Turnbull and 
Andrew Oliver, with their families, took possession of their new pur- 
chases. That was the beginning of the "Scotch Colony" in Elmira. 
Says INIrs. Shallenberger: "The four families, consisting of eight 
Lyles and thirteen of the Turnbulls and Olivers, contrived to live until 
s])i-ing opened, in one room, and that one 16 by 18 feet. That they 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 9iJ 

succeeded in doing this harmoniously, so that the survivors can now 
look hack through the mists of nearly forty years, and make merry 
over the experiences of that tirst winter in Osceola, is creditable to all 
concerned." 

Letters from the Turnbulls and Olivers to friends and relatives 
in Scotland soon brought others from that country, and the JMurrays, 
the Grieves, the Armstrongs, the ]McDonalds. McRaes, JNlurchisons. 
Finlaysons and McLennans joined the Scottish settlement in Stark 
County. They patiently endured the hardships and inconveniences 
of frontier civilization, and with that industry and determination that 
lia\ e alwaj's been such dominant characteristics of the Scotch people 
they built up a neighborhood that is remarkable for its thrift :nid 
independence. 

In 1837 a jjostoffice was established where the village of Osceola 
is now situated. It was named "Elmira" by Oliver \Vhitakei-, after 
his old home in New York, and when township organization went 
into effect in 18.5.'J the name was conferred on the township. 

The population of the township in 1910, according to the United 
States census, was 884, and in 1914 the property was appraised at 
$7.58,198 for taxation — a valuation of over eight hundred dollars for 
each man, woman and child residing in the township. Elmira has 
seven schoolhouses. valued at $1 ().()()(). and employs nine teachers in 
the public schools. 

ESSEX TOWNSHIP 

Essex is the middle township of the southern tier and includes 
Congressional Township 12, Range 6. It is bounded on the north 
by Toulon Township; on the east by Valley; on the south by Peoria 
County, and on the west by the Township of West Jersey. The 
Spoon River enters from the north about two miles west of the north- 
east corner and flows in a southerly direction across the township, 
and the western part is watered by Indian Creek, which forms a 
junction with Spoon River in Section 33. In the southeastern part 
Camping Run and Mvul Run flow westwardly through a small section 
of Essex, their waters finally nn'ngling with those of the S])oon 
River. Along the streams the surface is slightly broken, but by 
far the greater part of the tow^nship consists of a gently undulating 
surface, with a fertile soil, and there is very little waste land. 

This township was named for Isaac Essex, the first white settler 
in what is now Stark County. Prior to the inaugm-ation of the town- 
shij) system in 18.53, this portion of the county was known as Massillon 



94 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

Precinct. Between the years 1817 and 1820 land entries were made 
in this townshij) under the ohl MiUtary Rounty Act as follows: 

Section 1. William Kly and John Trask; Section 2. John McClf)ud 
and ^Vl)ram Walton; Section 3, aiaron Graham and John Xewkirk; 
Section 4, Joseph Cox, Peter Lawrence and Ralph Tucker; Section 6, 
William Lloyd and James McCray; Section 7, John JNleeks; Section 
8. (xardner Herring and Oilman Smith; Section !). Nathan Bennett, 
Jarville Chaft'ee, John A. Newiiall and James Zings; Section 10, 
Benjamin Davis, R()l)ert King. John B. ]McKenny and John ^Vorts- 
hough; Section 11, Tryon Fuller, Solomon Libhy, John Odam and 
Joseph Wright; Section 12, Roswell Post, Harvey Sperry and Joseph 
Woodmansee: Section 13, John II. ^Martin, James Reed, James Selah 
and J. II. Winney; Section 14. John Baptiste, Benjamin Lovell and 
John Lovell; Section 15, John Bruce and Rufus Stanley; Section 17, 
Samuel Banner, George Blanchard, Aaron Scott and Joseph Elliott; 
Section 18, Thomas Hamilton and Jacob House; Section 10, John 
Union and George ^V. ^Voods; Section 20, Thomas Briggs and Jacob 
Yost; Section 21. Henry Harmon, Cornelius Overlock, Abram 
Parker and Abram Prior; Section 22, Timothy Green and John 
Miller; Section 23, Taylor Hardin. John INlurray. D. A. JMyers and 
Israel D. Towle; Section 24. Uavid Bell. Charles Cain and Henry 
Smith; Section 2.5, jNliehael Colebrough, Herman Fisher, Ldward 
Keough and Jeffrey AVorthington ; Section 26, John Francis, Abra- 
ham Lucky, George IMiller and Amos L. Smith; Section 27, Orra 
Bardsley. J. V. Fcagles, George Phipps and Peter Pilgrim; Section 
28. John ^IcLaughlin. Joseph Lutz and Samuel Little; Section 29, 
Ldmund Ueady and Jt)hn Dickaman; Section 30, Abraham Birch 
and Jeremiah Hillers; Section 31, William HoUings. Joshua Nelson 
and Tyre Nelson; Section 33, Charles Austin, James Coleman and 
Thomas ]\Ierritt: Section 34. John J. Uunbar. Silas Hodson. Ezra 
Hutchings and Consider Yeames; Section 3.3, John Hyatt, Charles 
JNIaynard, Francis JMorrow and Reuben Rowe; Section 30, Richard 
Ford, Charles Frost, William Goodman and Andrew Gott. 

]Most of these entries were for a quarter section each, hence it 
Avill be seen that more than fifteen thousand acres of the land in Essex 
Township were claimed on land wari'ants by the veterans of the War 
of 1812. A few of the claimants afterward became actual settlers, 
but the greater number sold their titles, which caused considerable 
trouble to those who came in later years. 

Isaac Essex, the original Stark County pioneer, located u])on the 
south half of the northeast quarter of Section 15, a short distance 



HISTOKY OF STARK COUNTY 95 

west of the Spoon River, about two miles soutli and one mile west of 
the present city of \Vyoming. Here he built his cabin in the spring 
of 1829, cleared a few acres of ground, and raised that year the first 
crop ever grown by civili/ed man in Stark County. Compared with 
])resent day conilitions it was not much of a crop, but it marked the 
beginning. 

In the fall of 1829 John B. Dodge located a claim and built a 
cabin in Section 14, directly east of Isaac Essex. His cal)in was the 
second house in the county. The following spring Renjamin Smith, 
Dodge's father-in-law, settled in Section 14.. His son, Greenleaf 
Smith, came a little later and located in the same neighborhood. The 
three cabins of Essex, Dodge and Smith constituted the only habita- 
tions in the county at the close of the year 1830. In 1831 came \\i\- 
liam D. Grant, Tiiomas Essex, David Cooper, John E. Owings (who 
occupied the cabin built by Dodge) , Sewell and William P. Smith, and 
a few others, all of whom settled in what is now Essex Township. 

An election was held at the house of Renjamin Smith in August, 
1881, when John E. Owings was elected justice of the peace. He 
held the office until in 1834, when he sold out to Moses Boardman 
and removed to Canton, Fulton County. 

Retween the years 1831 and 183.5 a number of immigrants came 
in and established homes within the present township Ihnits. Among 
them were the Leeks, father and son, wiio came from Tazewell County 
early in 1832 and built a saw and grist mill on the Spoon River, a 
short distance southwest of where Wyoming now stands. The mill 
was washed away by a flood about four years later, but while it stood 
it was a great convenience to the settlers. Samuel Merrill settled in the 
northwestern part of the township, about a mile south of the City of 
Toulon, and a little farther south was the house of Elijah iNIcClena- 
han, Sr., where the first election was held after Stark County was 
created by the act of March 2, 1839. Stephen Worley settled south 
of ^McClenahan and in 1834 Thomas Winn came from Indiana and 
built a cabin in Section 16. 

Jarville Chaffee, who laid claim to a part of Section 9 under the 
IVIilitary Rounty Act in 1818, came from Michigan in ^Nlay, 1834, and 
stopped with one of the settlers until he could build a house of his 
own. Concerning that house, Leeson's History of Stark County 
says: "Thinking to get up something extra he split the logs, white- 
washed the inside, and had an upstairs reached by a ladder." 

To Essex Township belongs the distinction of being the site of 
the first postoffice and the first schoolhouse in Stark County. A 



96 HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 

weekly mail route was established from Springfield, via Peoria, to 
Galena in 18.'}8 and the same year an otfiee was opened in the "Essex 
Settlement," with Isaae B. Essex as postmaster. The neighbors took 
turns in bringing the mail from the "office under the bluff" in Peoria 
County. Mrs. Shallenberger says: "The office was an old boot 
box, set ui^on pins driven into the wall, high and dry, and above the 
reach of the children in the cabin of Mr. Essex. In 1833 only two 
newspapers were taken in the county — one by Mr. Essex antl the 
other by Benjamin Smith. At this date two weeks were required to 
get a paper from Springfield, and a proportionately longer time to 
get intelligence from Washington or the East." The office was at first 
called Essex, but after the Town of Wyoming began to grow it was 
removed to that place and the name changed to Wyoming. 

By the act of IMarch 1, 1833, Isaac B. Essex was appointed 
commissioner of the school fund in his settlement and authorized to 
sell section 16. The section was sold on February 4, 1834, for 
'$9(58.70. JMadison \Vinn, in a paper read before the meeting of the 
Old Settlers' Association in 1886, says: 

"On the fourth day of July, 1834, the people came together for 
the purpose of building a schoolhouse. The site chosen was near the 
northeast corner of section 15, in Essex Township. The building was 
planned to be twenty feet square and all went to Avork with a will, 
some cutting, some hauling, some making clapboards and others build- 
ing. By noon it was built up Avaist high, and there coming a shower 
we ari'anged the clajiboards over the wall and underneath ate our 
Fourtli of July dinner. The first daj^ the walls were built up to the 
roof, which was soon covered, and from Leek's Mill slabs were brought 
for seats. A post was driven into the ground and a slab laid on it for 
a teacher's desk, while mother earth was the floor. Adam Perry 
commenced school about July 1.5th, with about thirty scholars, out of 
which number I am the only one living." 

Fi-oni that humble beginning the school system of Essex has de- 
veloped until in 1914 the township had ten public school buildings, 
valued at $26, 7.50, and employed sixteen teachers. One of the school 
buildings is in the City of Wyoming. 

Two lines of railway — the Chicago, Rock Island iSs: Pacific and the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy — furnish transportation to the people 
living east of the Spoon River, the stations being Duncan and Wyo- 
ming, and those living in the northwestern part of the townshij) find 
their railroad accommodations at Toulon. 

The population of Essex ToMiiship in 1910 was 1,131, which in- 



IIISTOllV OF STARK COUNTY 97 

eluded the Third AVard of the City of Wyoming, and in 1914 the 
property was valued tor tax ])urpose.s at .$87'2,44.(). 

tiOSHEX TOWNSHIP 



of 



Congressional townshij) l.'i, range .5, prior to the introduction o 
the township system in 18.5:{, was known as "Lafayette Preeinet." 
In that year it was organized as a eivil township and was named 
"(iosheii." hecause a number of the early settlers in that part of the 
county came from tlie Town of (loshen, Clermont County, Ohio. It 
is hounded on the north by Henry County; on the east by Toulon 
Township: on the south l)y the Township of West Jersey, and on the 
west by Knox County. The surface is generally level or slightly 
I'olling. well drained by Indian Creek and its tributaries in the eastern 
l)art and by AValnut Ci-eek in the southwest. There is some prairie 
land in the township and the Walnut Creek Valley is one of the most 
fertile jjortions of the county. 

Probably owing to the fact that this part oi' the county was in- 
habited by Indians for several years after the ^Var of 1812. fewer 
enti'ies of land were made by soldiers in Goshen than in the other 
to\\nships of Stark County. Consequently the early settlers here 
were not subjected to the uncertainty of titles that attached tt) many 
other parts of the military tract. Among those who entered lands 
under the provisions of the JNIilitary Bounty Act were: 

Daniel Shattuck, E. B. Ware and James Ware, section 1: Isaac 
Bingham. Klisha Courtney and Rubull Parrish, section 2; Isaac Fos- 
ter, section 7; iVlcxander Frazier and Francis Tibbins, section 11; 
Jesse Bradbury, Daniel Hand and James Matthews, section T2; 
(ieorge Xewton and Henry Webb, section 13; John Foster, section 
24'; Solomon Dodd and Herman Johnson, section 2.5; Jonas Witti- 
ford, section 3.5; Matthew Caldwell and Walter Thornton, section 30. 
After the removal of the Indians a few of these veterans settled upon 
their claims, but most of the lands were sold to speculators. 

The first settlements in this section were made in 1830, some nine 
years before the organization of Stark County. ^lichacl Fraker 
located in the grove a short distance west of the i)resent Village of 
Lafayette, which still bears the name of Fraker's Cirove. There he 
erected a hand mill for the use of himself and his neighbors. This 
mill was afterward purchased by William Dunbar, one of the ])ioneevs 
of Goshen Township, familiarly known as the "Old Hatter." It is 
said that settlers from all parts of the county would bring their furs — 



98 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

from rabbit to bea\'er skins — to jMr. Dunbar to have them made into 
hats. So well did he do liis work his hats would last for years, the 
owner coming in several times to iiave them cleaned and reblocked. 
Other early settlers were the ^liners, Parrishes, Ilitchcoeks, Fitches 
and a few other families, some of whom lived in what is now Stark 
County and the others just across the line in Knox. 

In 18.34 Henry ^NlcClenahan settled in the township, entered 2-1-0 
acres of land in section 31, and continued to reside there until his 
death in Julie, 1857. The next year (1835) Conrad and Jacob Emery 
came from Ohio and settled in the township. Conrad Emery was a 
veteran of the War of 1812. Xelson Grant, a native of Connecticut, 
also settled in Goshen in 183.5. John White came with his family from 
Ohio in 1836 and the next year Sanuiel Parrisli, the founder of the 
Parrish family in Stark County, located on lands which he had pre- 
viously entered in Goshen Township. He served in the Revolutionary 
war, afterward settling in Canada and coming from that country to 
Illinois. He joined the ]Mormon Church about a year after coming 
to Illinois and removed to Xauvoo, where he died. Some of his 
children remained in Stark County, where their descendants still live. 

JNIinott Silliman, the first treasurer of Stark County, entered sev- 
eral tracts of land in Goshen Townshij) and became a resident of that 
townshiiJ in 1837. Barnabas M. and James Jackson and Elijah 
Eltzroth were among the settlers of 1838. INIr. Eltzroth was a caliinet 
maker by trade and made a large part of the fui-niture used by the 
first families. The first election for school trustees in Goshen Town- 
ship was held at his house on April 6, 1839, when Luther Driscoll. 
Charles H. JMiner and Samuel Parrish were elected. Jeremiah Ren- 
nett was likewise a settler of 1838. 

Lafayette is the only town or village in the township. It is situ- 
ated near the Avestern border, on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 
Railroad, which runs almost due east and west through the central 
part of the township. A history of the village will be found in the 
next chapter. Goshen is therefore an agricultural community, though 
considerable attention has been given in recent years to fruit raising, 
and there are two large nurseries near Lafayette. 

The nine jniblic school buildings in the township, including the 
one in Lafayette, are valued at $17,500 and twelve teachers were 
employed during the school year of 1914-15. The population in 1910 
was 1.145 and in 1914 the assessed value of the property was 
$1,063,077. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 99 

OSCEOLA TOWN SHIP 

The Townslii]) of Osceola oeci]])ies the novtlicastern corner of the 
county, including' Congressional township 14, range 7. It is bounded 
on the north and east by Bureau County; on the south by Penn Town- 
ship, and on the west by the Township of Elmira. The East Fork of 
the Spoon River flows iliagonally across the township from northeast 
to southwest, Silver Creek drains the northeastern portion and across 
the southern part Cooper's Defeat Creek Hows westwardly initil it 
empties into the East Fork in section ."Jl. ]More than 80 per cent of 
the 2."{.()40 acres of land lying within this township is capable of being 
cultivated and yields abundant crops, owing to the great fertility of 
the soil. ^Vhen the first white men came to this part of the county 
they found here a beautiful ])rairie, which may account in a great 
measure for the large number of soldiers' land warrants being filed 
between the years 1817 and 1820. In those years lands were entered 
in this township by veterans of the War of 1812 as follows: 

In section 1, Daniel Prestman and John Wingtield; section 2, 
John Cochran and Richard INIarsliall; section 3, Levi Spaulding and 
John Spencer; section 4, Isaac Irvine and George Rowland; section 
5. II. J. Balch and Jacol) Seeders: section 0, John S^^■isson: section 7, 
Timothy Carter and Daniel ^Vhisker; section 8. ^Vlanson Adams, 
Samuel Adams, John Pilsbury and 3Iargaret Smith ; section 9, James 
C. Angell, Alexander JNIcConkey, John T. Swords and Stephen 
\\'hip])le: section 10. Charles Aveiy, Nathan Brown, Samuel Shannon 
and William \Veavcr; section 11, Stejjhen Bridges, John Gowen, 
Rensselaer Lee and Shelton Lockwood; section 12, Joseph Cutler; 
section 1.3, David Flagg and Jonathan Pike; section 14, William 
JJrower, Andrew Campbell, Frederick Devoe and Asahel Stanley: 
section 1.3, John Barker, Fj^hraim l*ratt. Timothv Thompson and 
Gerard Tracy; section 17, John Carroll, John Langfitt, Jacob Sticker 
and James Wiley; section 18, Amos Bunnell and Asa INIanning; sec- 
tion 19, William Kurnin: section 20, James Bush; section 21. Fli 
Brady and Andrew (iroynne; section 22, William Crowson. William 
Graham and Jabez Graves; section 2.*J, Samuel Allen. I'hilip .Andrews, 
Isaac McCarter and James Taylor; section 24, Frederick Ilomi. Sam- 
uel Neal, Elijah Nickerson and George Stall; section 25, Job Haskell, 
Hudson Knight and F. K. Robinson; section 26, John Coon, Josiah 
Brantley. Orson Menard and J. C. Parker: section 27, E. F. Nichols, 
Richard Hardy. \\'illiam F. Reed and Amos Small; section 28, Wil- 
h'am Eaton and George Stanton; section 31, Zachary Gray; section 



100 HISTOKY 01< hiWKK COl^XTV 

32, Grandeson B. Cooper; section 33, ^Vinship Gordon and Lawrence 
Hoots; section Hi, Saimiel K. Jenkins, John Lennon, Samuel ]Moul- 
tonand Arthur Slierrard; section 3.>, George Anway, Joseph Kenion, 
George Longniire and William blading; section 3G, Jacob 31orton. 

The eighty-seven soldiers' claims of 160 acres each absorbed 13,920 
acres, or a little more than 60 per cent of the entire township. When 
actual settlers began to come in there were several disputes and law- 
suits over title to the lands, which retarded to some extent the develop- 
ment of the township. The vexed question was finally settled, how- 
ever, and since then Osceola has grown to be one of the wealthiest, 
most populous and prosperous townships of Stark County. 

When the first settlers came to the townshij) in 183.5 they found a 
beautiful grove in the northwestern j^art, extending into what is now 
Khiiira Township, and it was here that they located. At that time 
the Seminole Indians in Florida were at war with the United States 
under the leadersliij) of the half-lireed chief. Osceola. This chief was 
the son of a white man named \Villis Powell and a Creek squaw. He 
Avas born in Georgia, but while he was still in his youth his mother 
deserted her own tribe and joined the Seminoles. Some of the early 
settlers, admiring the skill and bravery of the adopted chief in resist- 
ing the removal of the Seminoles from their favorite hunting grounds 
in Florida, named the grove "Osceola Grove," and this name was 
afterward conferred upon the civil township established in 18.53. 

The first land entries made by actual settlers were in the grove 
above mentioned and along the East Fork of the Spoon Kiver. 
Nicholas Sturm and Henry Seely located claims in section 28 in 183.5. 
The following year Robert and ^^'^illiam Hall entered land in section 
6; James Buswell in section 7: Isaac Spencer, section 18: James 
Clark and Samuel Love, section 19: Mathias Sturm, section 21, and 
Joseph Xewton, section 28. In 1837 Myrtle G. Brace located in sec- 
tion 6, John Watts in section 19, and W. H. Boardman in section 31. 

Although Osceola is an agricultuial comnumity, considerable coal 
mining has been done in the township. As early as 1861 John ]Mc- 
Ivaughlin was mining coal at a place known as Foster's coal bank, 
about two and a half miles west of Bradford, and there were other 
mines along the Spoon River and about Lombardville. A more com- 
plete account of the mining interests of the county will be found in the 
chapter on Finance and Industry. 

The Buda & Rushville branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
railway system runs through the eastern part of the township, with 
stations at Bradford and Lombardville, and furnishes transportation 
facilities to the people living east of the Spoon River. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 1<J1 

The first election of school trustees in Osceola Township was on 
Jimc ;5. 1840, when Liberty Stone, 1. W. Searl and Zebnlon Avery 
were elected. Immediately after their election the trustees divided 
the township into three school districts. In I'Jl.J there were nine 
pnl)lic school huil(lin<-s, valued at $1(),«0(), and during the preceding- 
school year sixteen teachers were employed. The population of the 
townsliip in lUlO, including the incorporated Yilhige of Bradford, 
was 1,.")77. and in 11)14 tlie pro])crty was valued for tax ])urposes at 
,*l,()'.tO,874. 

PENN TOWXSHIl' 

This is the middle township of the eastern tier and embraces Con- 
gressional townshi]) i;5 nortli. range 7 east. It is bounded on the 
north by Osceohi Township; on the east by Marshall Covuity, on the 
south by Valley Township, and on the west by the Township of Tou- 
lon. The surface is moderately diversified and originally a large part 
of the townshi]) was ])rairie land, with a soil above the average in fer- 
tility. Coal deposits underlie the township and in a few places have 
been found beds of a good quality of tire clay, but they have not been 
devehtped. The only stream of any consequence is a tribntary of 
Cooper's Defeat Creek in the northeastern portion. Cajjfain Ilaaeke, 
one of the early settlers of Peoria, several years ago told the story of 
how this creek received its name. His account is as follows: 

•'The winter of lH.'31-3-2 was the winter of the deep snow. Tlie 
M-eather before Christmas being pleasant a party of four men was 
ecjuipped by a trader by the name of John Hamlin, then of Peoria, 
wh.o was buying furs for the American Fur Com])any. Fitting them 
out with an ox team of two yoke and provisions for their journey 
trom I'eoria to the Winnebago swamjjs, with goods to trade to the 
Winnebam) and Pottawatomi Indians, thev started on their journev. 
Soon snow connnenced to fall, the air grew colder, and continued to 
grow more so as they went along, until they were compelled by the 
fierce cold and driving snow to abandon their team. In fact the snow 
was so deep that the cattle got swamped and they were left to their 
fate. With BoycTs (irove in view, the men started, guided by a large 
tree and a light at the grove. A man named Ridgeway was the only 
one of the party who succeeded in reaching the grove. The other 
tiuec. two ol' whom wvvv AVilliam and Jerry Cooper (the other name 
forgotten), perished on the prairie near a stream southwest of lioyd's 
Grove. The bones of the men and the cattle were seen in the spring- 
following, also the sled, as the soldiers of the Black Hawk war were 



102 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

marching, all mounted, 260 strong, to make battle with the Sac and 
Fox Indians. The stream where the men jierished has since been 
known as 'Cooper's Defeat.' " 

Township 1.'}, range 7, seems to have been a favorite field for the 
veterans of the War of 1812, as nearly one hundred land warrants 
were located in what is now Penn Township. Following is a list of 
entries made betMeen the years 1817 and 1820: 

Section 1, AVilliam Y. Knapp, Elizabeth I^eonard (soldier's 
Avidow) and James Rogers; section 2, Daniel Robertson; section 3, 
Francis Cook and James Scandling; section 4, John and William 
Owen; section ,5, William A. JNIcLane and Samuel Tyler; section (!, 
Benjamin Howard; section 7, Peter Kerns and Job Price; section 8, 
Charles Brewster, William H. Fann and John Hoagden: section 
9, Samuel Earl, Samuel Ellis, William Kelly and Levi Pratt: sec- 
tion 10, George Coates, Ebenezer Cobb, William Loomis and Stephen 
Xewburg: section 11, Richard Carver, William Gordon. Philip 
Plielps; section 12, George Kindle, Elijah Loveless, jMoses Taylor 
and Thomas Tyler; section 13, Patrick Freeman. John W. Ingersoll 
and ^Villiam Trottenberger; section 14. Daniel Bennett. John Connor, 
John J. Jewell and William Sheets; section 1.5. John Beals. John 
Cook, JNIathias Boyd ajid Robert INIcIntosh: section 17, Ira Ilolman, 
Thomas Johnson, Henry Parker and George Suter: section 18, 
Nathan Convers and Aaron ^Voodworth; section 19, Abiezer Wash- 
burn and Asa Winslow; section 20, Richard Bayard, Jonathan Drake, 
Shelby Hobbs and Nathan Shepherd: section 21, Alvin Dillingham, 
Samuel Lane. Joseph INIcFarlin ;nid James Parks; section 22, Benja- 
min Brown, Samuel Lewis, William Stewart and Joseph AVindell; 
section 23, Moses Heath. Archibald McCrary and Christian Right; 
section 24, Amos C. Babcock, John W. Ingersoll, Bernard JMc^NIahon 
and John iMason; section 25, John Norfleet and Jacob Skinner; sec- 
tion 26, James Giles, Paul Green. Thomas ^NIcCov and Joshua Regis- 
ter; section 27, Timothy Dixon. Richard Eml)ley, Josc])h ]Morse and 
Warren Sartwell; section 28, AVilliam Briggs, John Adams. Thomas 
Dennis and Richard Edmunds; section 29, Giles C. Dana, George 
Decker, Joseph Dockham and John Nichols; section 30. Horace 
Clark and Harvey Gaylord; section 31. Adonijah Ball and Peter 
Ricker; section 32. John Brandon. Christo])her Brockctt and Jacob 
Trishour; section 33, Peter Brown, Robert Devine, Jeremiah Gillilan 
and William ]Matthews; section 34, Adam Sufford, Nathaniel Yar- 
nuin, Thomas AValden and Horace Witheville: section 35, jNIoses 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 103 

Aldrich, John ]Messing ami Jtiiks Waite; section 'Mi, Thomas Lee 
and Jolm \V. IngersoU. 

Thv actnal settlement of the township began before the organiza- 
tion of the eonnty. One of the earliest settlers was James Ilolgate, 
who was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Jnly 26, 1804.. and when sixteen 
years of age went to Lnzerne County, in his native state, where he 
learned the miller's trade. In 18.*}.'} he left Pennsylvania and came to 
Illinois, locating in section 19, in what is now Penn Township. lie 
held tile otHce of county judge for eight years; was justice of the peace 
and a member of the Legislature; was one of the democratic leaders 
in Stark County, and was an energetic and useful citizen. He died 
about 188.J. 

Henry Seely, anoliier pioneer of I'enn, was a native of New ^'ork 
State, but came west while still a young man and was mari'ied in 
Indiana. Soon after his marriage he came to Illinois and acquired 
:i-20 acres of land in what is now Penn Township. His place was long 
known as "Seely's Point" and is located in sections 27 and 28. He 
Mas elected to several otRces on the republican ticket and was an active 
member of the Methodist Church. His death occurred in JSIarch, 187(). 

Others who settled or entered land in this townshi]) in the '.'JOs 
were Dexter Wall, Benjamin and Uavid Newton. John T. I'henix. 
Henry lireese, I^emuel S. Uorranee, Sylvanus ]Moore, Klisha C. and 
Nehemiah ]Merritt. Then came the Averys, the Bunnells, the Snares, 
the Bococks and other families, many of whose descendants still reside 
in the township. 

Prior to the introduction of the township system in 18.).'J the terri- 
tory comprising Penn Township was included in the "Spoon River 
Precinct." After the people of Stark County had voted to adopt the 
township organization, Henry Breese was appointed one of the com- 
im'ssioners to divide the county into civil townshi{)s. He was from 
Pennsylvania, as were a number of his neighbors, and suggested the 
name of "Pennsylvania" for his township, but the other two commis- 
sioners thought the name too long, so it was shortened to "Penn." 

Castleton, a little northwest of the center of the townshi]). is the 
only town. It is located on the line of the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy Railroad, which runs from northeast to southwest thi'ough the 
township. 

Perm reported a population of 931 in 1910, Avhich was a slight 
decrease from the census of ten years before. In 1914 the pro])erty 
was valued for taxation at $88.5. .501. The nine schoolhonses are 
valued at $9,3,50, and ten teachers are emploj-ed in the public schools. 



104 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

TOULON TOWNSHIP 

Of the eight townshi]).s coniprisino- Stark County. Toulon is the 
most centrally located. It includes Congressional Township 13 north, 
range 6 east. Elniira Township bounds it on the north; Penn on the 
east; Essex on the south, and Goshen on the west. Spoon River tiows 
soutliwardly across the eastern portion and the southwest corner is 
watered by Indian Creek. Along the streams the surface is somewhat 
broken, but the greater part of the township consists of rolling land 
\\ ith a fertile soil, well adapted to agricultural purposes. Some coal 
has been mined in the township. AVhen Stark County was first organ- 
ized in 1839 the eastern half of this township was in the Wyoming 
Precinct and the western half in the Central Precinct. Fourteen 
years later the township system was adopted and the name of "Tou- 
lon" was given to the township, from the county seat, which is located 
near its western border. 

More than one hundred military land warrants were located in 
Toulon Township between the years 1817 and 1820. Jonathan ]Mat- 
thews and Samuel P. Tufts selected claims in section 1; ]Michael Cun- 
ningham and Xathan Chadwick, section 2: William Dunlap and 
Charles Gist, section 3: Erastus Backus and Joseph Banks, section 4; 
Solomon Plutchinson and Jesse Seeley, section ,5; Jacob Rheam, sec- 
tion 6; David Park, Hiram Stevens and William Wiley, section 7: 
Elijah Coates, Ira Ellmore and Sanniel McCahan. section 8: Daniel 
Dudley, Amos J. Eagleson, Silas McCuUough and Robert 3Iorton, 
-section 9 ; Hester Faust, Bela Hall, Joseph Porter and Ira Reming- 
ton, section 10; Isaac Dyer, Benjamin Pratt. James Thomas and 
Benjamin H. Tozer, section 11: Luke Blackshire. Abram Bowman 
and Samuel Grimes, section 12; David Fulwell, Jesse Ormsby, George 
^\'. Russell and Isaac Patch, section 13: John Dawson, John Pike, 
Robert D. Thompson and David R. Whiteley, section 14; Samuel 
Null, Abram Rader, Thomas Thompson and John R. Turner, section 
15; James Bulley, William Davidson. Yalentine ^Matthews and John 
Yearns, section 17; John Wallace and William Young, section 18; 
William Bennett and (iideon W. 3Ioody. section 19: Lydia Barrett. 
Edward D. Strickland. Robert Vallally and William Yanderman. 
section 20; Jeptha Cloud. Robert Fry. Moses McClay and Roliert 
Miner, section 21; Xicholas Cook, Allen B. Strong and John Wells, 
section 22: Reuben Boles. Richard Hill and W. B. McKennan, sec- 
tion 23; Abel H. Coleman, Silas ^I. ]Moore and Isaac Parcelles, sec- 
tion 24; Joseph Joy, William Karns, John Thompson and Asaph 




Ki;sl|)KM K i)\- A. .1. ADAMS. WYOMING 



UNIVERSITY OF ILLIMOIS 
URBANA 



HISTORV OF STARK COUNTY 105 

AVethcrill, section 25 ; George Metzinger, Tlionias Rogers and Joseph 
AVildey. section '26; Timothy Cook, Joseph S. Ciorniaii. Joh Park- 
lieatl and Polly Tucker, section 27; Ebene'/.er Gilkey, Samuel CTritlitli, 
Jacob Slantler and Phineas Spilman, section 28; Asa Hill, W^illiam 
Hyde, Henry Rol)erts and James Trumbull, section 29; Philip Law- 
less and Adam ^IcCaslin, section ."30; Sijuire \Villiams and Peter 
Wolf, section 31; James Baldwin, David llambleton. Isaac lliggins 
and Thomas \Vandell, section 32; Henry Bailey, James Chancey, 
Josejjh Cram and Joim Cross, section 33; Jeremiah Davis, Richard 
Nixon. William Oaks and John Short, section 34; John Bussell, Luke 
G. Hasley. Benjamin Hughes and Henry ^Murphy, section 3.5; John 
Lynes, John Ilageman, Patrick Sliort and Thomas W. Way, 
.section 36. 

The first lands entered for actual settlement were the southwest 
([uarter of section 30 and the nortlnvest quarter of section 31, which 
were entered on June 24, 1839, the former by Adam Perry and the 
latter l)y William H. Henderson. On September G, 1839, John ^Miller 
entered the southwest quarter of section 19, where the City of Toulon 
now stands, and on the 28th of the same month .Tohn Culbertson en- 
tered the quarter section directly north of ^Miller's. Lewis Perry, 
Chauncey D. Fuller and William Mahaney also entered lands in the 
township in the fall of 1839. 

Col. ^Villiam H. Henderson, one of the early settlers in Toulon 
Township and a man who i)layed an important part in the early his- 
tory of Stark County, was born in Garrard County, Ky., Novem- 
ber 16, 1793. At the beginning of the War of 1812 he enlisted in 
the Kentucky ^Mounted Riflemen, commanded by Col. Richard ^L 
Johnson, and with his regiment was at the battle of the Thames, 
October .5, 1813. T^pon retiring from the army he located in Stewart 
County, Tenn., where he was married on ;Tanuary 11, 1816, to 
Miss Lucinda W^imberly. He served as sheriff of Stewart County 
and afterward removed to Haywood County, in the western ])art of 
tile state. In 1831 he visited Illinois and selected lands in what is now 
La .Salle County, about fifteen miles north of the present City of 
Ottawa. In the spring of 1832 his father and mother, two of his 
brothers and a man named Robert Norris, with two of his wife's 
brothers, set out for the new possessions. Just then the Black Hawk 
war came on. Robert Norris was killed ])y the Indians and the other 
members of the family were comi)elled to vacate their claims. Colonel 
Henderson therefore remained in Tennessee and in 183.5 was elected 
to represent his district in the State Senate. He resigned his seat. 



106 HISTOKY OF STAllK COUNTY 

however, before the exijiration of his term, and on July 2, 1836, landed 
in Stark County. Plis work in securing the organization of the county 
is told in another chapter; the first session of tlie Circuit Court of 
Stark County was held at his house; he was a member of the last 
Legislature that met at ^^andalia and the first that met at Springfield, 
and was otherwise active in public affairs. In 184o he removed to 
Iowa and died in that state on January 27, 186-1. His son, Thomas J. 
Henderson, was colonel of the One Himdred and Twelfth Illinois 
Infantry in the Civil war. 

In 1841 the county seat was located at Toulon and much of the 
history of Toulon Township is intimately associated with the county 
seat. It is therefore told in connection with the history of the City of 
Toulon in another chajiter. The Peoria & Rock Island (now the 
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific) Railroad was built through the 
township in 1871. 

According to the Ljiited States census for 1910 the population in 
that year was 2, .379, which included parts of the cities of Toulon and 
Wyoming. There are nine school districts in tlie township, outside 
of the City of Toulon, in which ten teachers were employed during 
the school year of 1914-1.5. and in 1914 the taxable value of the prop- 
erty, including railroad property, was $1,401,244. 

VALLEY TO ^y N S H I P 

Valley Township occui)ies the southeast corner of the county and 
embraces Congressional Township 12 north, range 7 east. It is 
bounded on the north bj' Penn Township; on the east by ^Marshall 
County: on the south by Peoria County, and on the west by the Town- 
ship of Essex. Previous to the introduction of the township system 
in 18.53, this part of the county formed a part of the ^Vyoming 
Precinct. AVhen the county was divided into townships the name 
"Valley" was conferred ujion this political subdivision for the i-eason 
that it occupies the broad, fertile valley at the foot of the highest divide 
in the state. Camping Run flows in a westerly direction through the 
northern part and ]Mud Run through the southern part. With a 
generally level or slightly rolling surface and a productive soil, some 
of the finest farms in the county are in Valley Township. 

With the exception of section 16 — the public school section — and 
a few isolated tracts here and tliere. practically the entire township 
was claimed by veterans of the War of 1812 under the ^lilitary Bounty 
Act. Following is a list of soldiers' land Avarrants located between 
the years 1817 and 1820: 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 107 

Section 1, Charles Gibhard and Linus Gilbert; section 2, Justus 
Cobb and Thomas Edwards; section 3, Joseph JMcCord and Jtjhn 
Thornburg; section 4, John ^'inchane and Charles Youn<>': section .J, 
Welcome Rutterworth (320 acres) ; section (i, Jolm Sargent and 
James Sawyer; section 7. Isaac Paulding and Samuel P. Stegner; 
section 8, Isaac Cliihis, John Erskine. Hugh IJobh and Xeheniiah 
Wood; section D. Richard Ilorton. \Viniani Ilerrald, William W. 
Sickles and Nicholas Xau Stcyke; section 10, Renjamin Fall, Caleb 
Johnson, Leverett Richardson and John Vanderbeck; section 11, John 
Green, David Page and Edward Wyman; section 12, William Heath, 
Thomas PI. Parker and John Pritchard; section 13, Robert Rrown, 
]*hilip Clarke, Robert Cockk's and Thom])son White; section li, 
Zerah Call, John Coffey, 01i])hant Coleman and Charles Kitchen; 
section 1.5, Eodowick Rlackley, James Rriggs and Jolm ONeil; sec- 
tion 17, George Armstrong, John Concannon, Hampton Owens and 
John Thom])son; section 18. Isaac Ackerman, James Reardwine, 
Pleasant ]Meredith and Peter Rotis; section 19, John Ringham, Nor- 
man Collins and Renjamin R. JNIeredith; section 20, Daniel Rurns, 
"William Dillon, Philip Kinston and Nathaniel White; section 21, 
John Rooth, Cierard (iibson, Jolm Ij. Griswold and William "Walker; 
section 22, David Durand and Charles Tabor; section 23, John An- 
drews, Isaac Garrett and Nathan Hall; section 24, Charles Curran, 
William T. Graves, William McGlynn and Owen Riley; section 25, 
Sanuiel Adams, Thomas Carty, James Sproul and Joseph Yates; 
section 2G, Frederick Cook. Frank liowder. John ^NlcCormack and 
Renjamin Tarr; section 27, Ichabod Colby, Thomas Harris and Con- 
rad ^Mandell; section 28, Clement C. INIinor; section 29, David Guth- 
rie, David Rringman, Francis Dudley and ]Moses Hamphill; section 
30. John .Ai'chibald, Renjamin S. Snyder and Alexander \Yaistcoat; 
section 31, John Ayler, Henry Emery, INIichael Gebhart and Daniel 
Palmer; section 32, Silas Reverstock, Sanniel Chatterton. Calvin Iloyt 
and John Lackey; section 33, William Hearn, ^Villiam JNIartland, 
Aaron Turner and Horton Wood; section 34, Peter Holloway, Isaac 
Snn'th, William Tajjp and Daniel Woolford; section 3.3. Putnam 
Conouss, Aha/, Cook and James II. Rowland ; section 30, Luke Rar- 
ton, iMoses Davis and Zeba Parmeley. 

As in the other townships of the county, these military titles sub- 
sequently caused numerous misunderstandings and retarded settle- 
ment to some extent. Among those who entered lands along in the 
'30s for actual occupation were Edwin and Titus Hutchinson, Wil- 
liam C. Cunnnings, Joseph Sulliman, Charles Pope and a few othei-s. 
The scliool section was not disposed of until 18.51. 



los HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

On July 17, 1847, the first scliool trustees — David Rouse, Z. G. 
Bliss and William C. Cunmiings — were chosen at an election held at 
the house of David Rouse, and the township was soon afterward 
organized for school purposes. There were then hut nine families, 
with forty-one children, and only two districts were established. Since 
then the two original districts have been subdivided until in 1915 
there were eight. The eight schoolhouses in the township were then 
valued at $8,(j.50 and during the school year of 191-4-15 ten teachers 
were employed. 

Valley is fairly well provided with transportation facilities, the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad passing through the western 
part and the Chicago & Northwestern through the southeastern por- 
tion. Stark on the former and S])eer on the latter are the only rail- 
road stations. In 1910 the population was 821. an increase of 33 
during the preceding decade, and in 1914 the assessed value of the 
proj^erty, including railroads, was $806, 836. 

WEST JEESEY TOWNSHIP 

This township is situated in the southwest corner of the county and 
includes Congressional Township 12 north, range 5 east. The surface 
is gently undidating and the only stream of conseciuence is Walnut 
Creek, which flows in a southerly direction through the western half. 
Some coal and fire clay deposits have been found in the township. 
With the exception of a small tract of sandy land called the "Bar- 
rens," the entire townshiiJ is well adapted to agriculture and produces 
fine crops of corn, wheat, oats and other farm products suited to this 
section of the state. Fruit growing has received considerable atten- 
tion in recent years and West Jersey boasts some of the best orchards 
in the county. 

For some reason the Walnut Creek ^^alley was not looked upon 
with favor by the veterans of the War of 1812 and comparatively few 
military "floats" were located in this section. Solomon INIarshall en- 
tered by military land warrant the northeast quarter of section 1 ; 
Daniel Trash, section 4; Hezekiah Adcock, section 17: Charles Davis, 
section 20; Benjamin Sherman, section 21; Nicholas Walsh, section 
22; George Dearborn, section 2.5; Sheldon Clark, section 28; Charles 
Higgins, section 29; Charles Hoover, in the same section; Elijah 
Smith and Ebenezer Nichols, section 32; John Scott and Peleg Tup- 
per. section 33; Robert C. Jackson and Edward Stewart, section 34; 
Cromwell Bullock, Cato Bunnell and Henry S. Hunt, section 33; 
Da\ id Bowen and John Phillips, section 36. 



IIISTOHY OF STAKK COUNTY 109 

Tlie first actual settler in tlic township was Jacob B. Smith, who 
came from Fulton County. 111., in February, IB.'U?, entered the 
southeast (quarter of section ;5.), built his lot)- c-abiiiTuul began the work 
of I)uil(lins4' uj) a home in the wilderness. George Kckley came soon 
afterward with his wife and five children from Seneca County, Ohio, 
and located in section 2.). Before the close of the year 18;j() rhilip 
Keller. Michael Jones, Washing-ton and Stei)hen Trickle, Fphraim 
Jiarnttt. John Brown and a few others settled in various ])arts of the 
townshij). The year 18.'i7 witnessed the arrival of \N'illiam W . Web- 
ster, Nehemiah WykofF, Newton JNIatthews. John Pratz and some 
others. Josej)!) Palmer came almut this time and on .July 4. 1838, a 
"celebration" was held at his house, near Walnut Creek. Forty-six 
])ers()ns took dinner with Mr. Palmer. Caleb North delivered the ora- 
tion, and'the affair wound up with a dance, William Mason furnishing 
the nuisic. George A. Clifford says Mr. JNIason li\ ed near the present 
City of Toulon and that he received nine dollars on this occasion, "the 
fii-sf money he ever took in for music." 

Jose])!] I'almer, at whose house this celebration was given, was a 
native of Brattleboro. A"t.. where he was born in 1802. When about 
twenty-five years of age he decided to "Go West and grow u]) with 
the country," and located in iVshland County. Ohio, where he mar- 
ried a ]Miss ^Nlary Slocum. In ]8;}7 he came to Stark County and 
purchased 320 acres of land in what is now AVest Jersey Townshi]). 
In 1844 he was elected a member of the old board of county commis- 
sioners and served one term. After the Civil war he removed to Gales- 
burg. 111., where he ])asscd the remaining years of his life. 

Jacob B. Smith, the original jjioneer of \Vest Jersey, was born 
near Beading, Pa., in 1801. He afterward went to Ashland County, 
Ohio, where he married Mrs. ^laria JMurphy, nee Trickle, and in IS.'}.) 
came to Stark County as above stated. His first dwelling here was a 
log cabin sixteen feet square. After a residence of several years in 
Stark County, he removed to Galva, 111., and died there in Septem- 
ber. 1884. 

WHien Stark County was organized in 1839 the territory now coni- 
prisitig the Townshij) of West Jersey was included in justice's district 
No. 3, which afterward became known as ^Massillon Precinct. Be-, 
tween 183(5 and 18.50 several families from New Jersey settled in this 
part of the county. Among them wei'e the Bodines, Boyds. Ha/.cns, 
A\'ileys. Voungs and some others. W^hen the townshi]) .system was 
introduced in 18.)3 these people re()uested that their township be called 
West Jersey, which request was granted and in that way the town- 



no HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

ship was named. Some say the township was named after the village 
of West Jersey, hnt that is a mistake, as the village was not platted 
until three years after the townships of the county were oi-ganized and 
named. 

Washington Smith, a son of Jaeoh Smith, was the first white child 
hoiii in the toAvnship. The first frame house was built by Washington 
Trickle in 1838. The first school was taught by ]Miss Columbia A. 
Dunn, a sister of Rev. R. C. Dunn, and the first schoolhouse was built 
in 1837 or 1838. In 191.5 there were eight public schoolhouses in the 
township, valued at $8,200, and one teacher was employed in each 
district during the preceding school year. 

West Jersey is one of the two townships of Stark County without 
a railroad. The people living in the northern half of the township find 
railroad accommodations at Toulon or Lafayette, and those living in 
the southern part are within reach of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa 
Fe Railroad, which runs through the northern part of Peoria County. 

In 1910 the population of West Jersey Township was 818 and in 
1914 the property was assessed for taxation at $73.5,8.51. 



CHAPTER VIII 
CITIES. TOWNS AND VILLAGES 

SPECULATIOX IX EAUIA' DAYS — NUMEROUS TOWNS PROJECTED LIST OF 

TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN STARK COUNTY CITIES OF TOULON AND 

WYOMING — INCORPORATED VILLAGES OF BRADFORD AND LAFAY'ETTE 

MINOR VILLAGES HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EACH PRESENT DAY' 

CONDITIONS POSTOFFICES AND RURAL MAIL ROUTES. 

In the early settlement of the West there seems to luive been a sort 
of mania for layin<>- off towns. Companies were organized for the 
purpose of preempting- the most available sites, employing surveyors 
to make plats, copies of which were sent to cities in the East to adver- 
tise the advantages of the coming metropolis of this or that locality. 
In some of the counties there were more towns two or three years after 
tlie first settlements were made than there are today, if a paper ])lat 
constituted a town, and nearly every man or company that had a 
town-site had a map made to show that particular town as being the 
best situated for the county seat. 

Scarcely had the first settlements been made in what is now Stark 
County until the speculator and promoter were in the field laying oft' 
towns. Some of tlie towns thus projected have sur\'ived and grown 
into commercial centers of consideral)le importance ; others are merely 
small railroad stations, neighborhood trading jjoints. or postotfices for 
a rural community: and still others have passed out of existence. 
From a careful examination of the official plat l)ooks, old atlases and 
newspaper files, the following list of towns that are or have been in 
Stark County has been compiled: Bradford, Camp Grove, Castleton, 
Duncan. Elmira, Lafayette, Lombardville. Massillon, INIodena, 
IVIorse, ^loulton, Osceola. Pleasant (rreen, Puckerbrush, Slackwater, 
Speer, Stark, Starwano, Stringtown, Toidon, Wady Petra, \Valden, 
West Jersey and Wyoming. A few of these places, such as Pucker- 
brush and Stringtown, were never officially platted, but, like Topsy in 
Uncle Tom's Cabin, they "jest growed." 

Ill 



112 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

\Vliile the above list is arranged alphabetically, in giving their 
history, the to^viis will be considered in the order of their importance, 
beginnhig with 

TOULOX 

Section 9 of the act of March 2, 1839, under which Stark County 
Avas organized, provided that the county seat should be called "Tou- 
lon," and in Chapter XI will be found an account of the manner in 
which the location was selected. At the time the site was chosen for 
the seat of justice in 184.1, the only house upon the original plat of the 
toAvn was a small cabin. Avhich was occupied l)y John Miller and his 
family. This cabin had been erected by :Minott Silliman in the spring 
of 18;3.5 and sold, with the land, to John :Miller, the place afterward 
becoming known as "Miller's Point." Leeson's History of Stark 
County says: 'Tn 1832 Harris W. Miner erected a cabin not far 
from the Toulon depot: and it is further claimed for him and tliis 
section that here the beginnings of cultivation of lands in this town- 
ship were made, although ^Nlinott Silliman, who came later, does not 
state positively that any evidences of such improAcment were observed 
by him." 

On July 28. 1841, John ^Miller and his wife executed a deed, con- 
veying to the conunissioners of Stark County the tract selected for 
a county seat. The "ninety rods square" included in the deed was 
laid off"" into lots by Carson Berfield in August. 1841. The original 
plat shows sixteen blocks of ten lots each, with 3Iiller, Franklin, 
Washington and Henderson streets running north and south, and 
Yine, ]Main and Jeff'erson streets running east and west. Between 
the north and south streets were three alleys, each twenty feet in 
width, named Plum, Cherry and Grape. Since that plat was filed in 
the office of the county recorder several additions have been made to 
the town, tlie most important of which is Henderson & Whitaker's 
addition, which consists of thirty blocks. Then there are Culbert- 
son's Eastern and Western additions, the Assessor's addition and 
Turner's addition. Tliese additions have increased the area of the 
town more than three times that shown by the original plat. 

The first sale of lots in Toulon was held on September 14-1.'). 1841. 
Bidders were plentiful and 122 lots were sold. The highest price 
paid for any one lot was $80, which was paid for lot 10 in block (J. and 
the lowest price was $.5, for lot 2. ])lock 9, and lot 1, block 1. Among 
the ])ui-ehasers Avere Oliver Whitaker, John W. Henderson, Jonathan 
Hodgson, Benjamin Turner. Cyril Ward, JNIinott Silliman. David 



r^'-^w-^iv* 




IM r.l.Ii SI III ml.. Till I.I IX 




ITl'.I.K l.lliKAHV. TOl'LON 



UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOi 
URBANA 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 113 

Essex, Nero W. Mounts, John JNIiller, Henry Breese, Calvin Powell, 
Harris JMiner and several others whose names figure prominently in 
early Starlv County history. In October following the sale Benjamin 
Turner built the tirst "real house" in the town. A postoffice was 
established a little later and ]Mr. Turner was appointed the first 
postmaster. 

John Culbertson, who located just outside the town ])lat in 184.1 
and brouglit a stock of goods, was jjrobably the first merchant. He 
commanded a large trade in and around Toulon, built a flour mill and 
established a woolen factory, and was otherwise active in building up 
the new county seat. His investments in real estate were extensive 
and a neighlior once remarked: "Uncle John will not be satisfied 
until he owns all of this township and the one west of it." Another 
jjioneer of 18-il was Dr. Thomas Hall, who was the first resident 
physician. 

The first hotel was kept by Benjamin Turner, who also ke[)t a 
small stock of goods in one of the front rooms. The building in which 
his hotel was kept was afterward removed to the northwest corner of 
the public square, where it was occupied by various persons as a mer- 
cantile establishment for a number of years. Other early hotel keepers 
were B. A. Hall and AVilliam Rose. Alexander ^Vliel kei)t a tavern 
on the north side of ]Main Street, between Franklin and Miller, where 
the Virginia House was built by J. A. Cooley in 1849. 

The first school in Toulon was taught bj^ JNIiss Elizabeth Buswell, 
in an upper room of the courthouse, in 1843. It was known as a 
common school, while JNIiss Susan (rill, daughter of Elder Elisha Gill, 
taught a "select" school in an adjoining room. The first schoolhouse, 
still referred to by old i-esidents as the "old brick," was built on 
Jefferson Street, in the Avestern part of town. It was but one story ' 
high and was built by Ira "Ward, Jr., at a cost of $000. T. J. Hen- 
derson taught the first school in the building after it was finished. 
The brick for the structvn'e was burned especially for it by W. B. 
Sweet, and the lumber was hauled from the Illinois River. That was 
the beginning of Toulon's ])ul)lic school system, which has developed 
into two magnificent modern buildings, in which seventeen teachers 
are em])loycd. 

A Methodist class was organized just south of the town in 1841. 
Avith Caleb B. Flint as class leader. This was the beginning of the 
Toulon ^Methodist Chiu'ch, the first religious organization in tlic town. 
A more com])lete account of the churclies of Toulon will be found in 
Chapter XV. 



114 IIISTOKY OF STAKK COUNTY 

III October, 18.57, a movement was instituted for the incorpora- 
tion of Toulon. At a meeting of the citizens, held at the clerk's ottice 
early in ^larch, 18.58, thirty-four votes were cast in favor of the 
proiJosition and only two were opposed. E. L. Emery, Oliver Whit- 
aker, INliles A. Fuller, William Lowman and Isaac C. Reed were 
elected as the first board of trustees. No record can be found con- 
cerning this lirst corporate government of the town, but on February 
11,1 859, the Legislature passed an act defining the powers and duties 
of the trustees of Toulon. 

A reorganization of the town government took place in the spring 
of 1868. At an election held on the first jMonday of April in that 
year, Caleb M. S. Lyons, Davis Lowman, Amos P. Gill, Hugh Y. 
Godfrey and David Tinlin were chosen trustees. In the organization 
of the new board, Mr. Lyons was elected president ; JNIr. Tinlin, clerk : 
JMr. Gill, treasurer, and Miles A. Fuller was appointed attorney. On 
A])ril 17, 1868, fourteen ordinances were passed and ordered printed 
in the Stark County News. The first related to public morality, health 
and iJolice regulations; the second prohibited gaming houses; the third 
fixed a 2)cnalty for interfering with the town officers in the discharge 
of their duties; the fourth ])rovided for the punishment of persons 
disturbing the peace; the fifth prohibited certain animals from running 
at large; the sixth related to streets and alleys and prohibited fast 
driving within the corporate limits; the seventh altered certain streets 
and alleys; the eighth and ninth dealt with labor upon the streets and 
alleys; the tenth forbade the sale of intoxicating liquors; the eleventh 
licensed and regulated the keeping of billiard tables; the twelfth pro- 
vided for licensing peddlers and auctioneers ; the thirteenth related to 
legal ])roceedings, and the fourteenth to the election and appointment 
of officers. 

The railroad was completed to Toulon in June, 1871, and during 
the next year there were a number of additions to the population. 
Consequently the board of trustees on IMarch .5, 1873, issued a call for 
an election to be held at the courthouse on April 7. 1873. "to submit 
to the voters of the said town the (juestion whether the said town shall 
become incorporated as a city (village) under the general incorpora- 
tion laws of the State of Illinois." 

A majority of the votes were cast in favor of the change in 
municipal government and the following trustees were elected: Den- 
nis JNTawbey, .James Nowlan, H. StaufFer. Benjamin C. Follett and 
Warren Williams. The village government thus established con- 
tinued for thirty-six years. On A])ril 20, 1909, an election was held 



IIISTORV OF STARK COUNTY US 

to decide the question whether Toulon should incorporate as a city. 
A majority of the votes were cast in favor of the chanoc and the 
charter bears date of April 22, lUOU. The lirst city othcers were: 
George Xowlan, mayor; Arthur Shinii, clerk; Harry B. Davis, treas- 
urer; A'ictor G. Fuller, attorney; F. C. INIcClenahan, Thomas J. 
Malone, William A. Newton, Orlando Brace, Amiel F. Lehman and 
E. H. Lloyd, aldermen. Mr. Nowlan served as mayor until the spring 
of ini.>, when he was succeeded by J. H. Baker. 

ELECTRIC LIGHT 

On .Tune 0, 1892. the board of trustees granted to ^Nfiles A. Fuller 
a fianchise to construct and maintain an electric lighting plant, tiie 
life of said franchise to be twenty-five years. Mr. Fuller and his 
associates went to work almost immediately upon the ])lant and the 
result was that on the evening of Decembtr 2.), 1892. the Town of 
Toulon was lighted for the first time by electricity. Some years later 
the business was incorporated under the name of the "Toulon Light 
and Power Company." The power-house, which is located on Frank- 
lin Street between JNIain and Vine, is ecjuijjped with modern electric 
machinery and the comj)any besides furnishing light to the people of 
Toulon also furnishes power for pumping water for the municiiJal 
^^■aterworks. 

WATERWORKS 

^Vbout the time the form of government was changed from village 
to city, the question of establishing a sJ^stenl of waterworks was agi- 
tated by some of the progressive citizens. The movement gained 
headway and on .Tune 0, 1910, the city council passed an ordinance 
calling a special election for the ])urpose of voting on the question of 
issuing bonds to the amount of -f l.l.OOO to establish waterworks. The 
])ro))osition to issue the bonds was carried by a substantial ma joiity 
at the election and the engineering firm of W. S. Shields & Company 
was given the contract for the erection of the tower and reservoir and 
the installation of the ])um])ing machinery. 

Gray Brothers, well drillers, were em])loved to sink a deep well 
and during the summer of 1911 about foui- and a half miles of mains 
were laid, the mains being paid for by a s])ecial assessment against 
the property benefited. The well which furnishes the water supplv is 
1,44.8 feet in depth. iV reservoir of .)(),()()() gallons and a steel taidc 
mounted upon a tower also having a capacity of 50,000 gallons, hold 



116 HISTORY OF STARK COL XT Y 

a supply of water equal to any demand that is likely to arise. The 
ordinary jjuniping capacity is sutficient to furnish water for daily use, 
and in adtlition there is a reserve pump that can be called into requisi- 
tion in case of fire, etc. The cost of the plant complete, including the 
special assessment for the mains, was about thirty thousand dollars. 
Few cities in the state, the size of Toulon, can boast a better system of 
waterworks or a more bountiful supply of pure, wholesome water. 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS, ETC. 

The City Hall, located on Franklin Street, adjoining the water 
tower and the electric light plant, was erected in 1910 at a cost of 
$6,000. It is two stories high, with walls of concrete block, steel ceil- 
ings, etc. In the lower story are kept the fire engine, hook and ladder 
truck and other property of the fire company, and the second story 
contains the offices of the mayor, city clerk, council chamber, and in 
the rear a room for the members of the fire dei)artment. The Iniilding 
is heated by a finnace and well provided with toilet rooms and lockers 
for the municipal officials and employees. 

On ]March (5, 1914, the council passed an ordinance for the con- 
struction of a sewer system, to be paid for by special assessment. The 
contract was awarded to W. S. Shields & Company, the same firm 
that built the ^vaterworks. This firm has made a special study of 
sewer problems in connection with cities, and at Toulon an op])or- 
tunity was given for the construction of a model system. A septic 
tank was built southeast of the city and about four miles of sewer laid, 
the total cost being about twenty-five thousand dollars. So well has 
this system done its work that other cities about to install sewers have 
sent committees to Toulon to study the methods used, and all have 
gene away satisfied that the city "got its money's worth" in building 
the way it did. 

A fire department was organized in the early "90s and Charles S. 
^IcKee was appointed chief a little later, a position he has held ever 
since. The first apparatus purchased for the use of the company was 
a second-hand hose reel, which was bought from the City of Clalva. 
Then came the hook and ladder truck. Later ^Ir. McKee went to 
Indianapolis, Ind., and purchased a combined gas engine and hose 
cart fi'om the Howe ^Manufacturing Company of that city. With 
this acquisition to the fire fighting eqi!i])ment of the city, Toulon is 
well prepared to combat any fire that is likely to lireak out. The 
company consists of twenty-five members and holds meetings for 
instruction and drill on the third ^Nlondav eveniny in each month. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 117 

The Toulon Civic Club was or<«auize(l at the opera house on Thurs- 
day evening, August 5, 191.). The objects of the club, as stated in 
the articles of association, are "to develop, promote and enhance the 
civiC; industrial, eoniniercial and agricultural interests of Toulon and 
vicinity." C. D. ]McClenahan was elected president of the club; 
W. U. Sickles, vice president; and M. D. Dewey, secretary antl 
treasurer. 

^lention has been made of the establishment oJ' tlie postolliee at 
Toulon in 1841 and the api)ointment of Benjamin Turner as post- 
master. ^Ir. Turner continued in charge of the office until President 
liuchanan came into office in 18.57, when he was succeeded by Oliver 
Whitaker. In 191.3 the office enii)loye(l two clerks, a man to carry 
mail from the ofHce to the railroad station and return, five I'ural cai'- 
riei's. and the total receipts for the fiscal year ending on June .'{(), 
191."). amounted to nearly seven thousand dollars. At that time the 
])ostmaster was Otto Raemeister. 

From the single log cabin of John ^liller in 1841. Toulon had 
grown to a city of 1,208 inhabitants in 1910, with many modern 
homes. It has two fine public scliool liuildings, a public library. Bap- 
tist, Catholic, Christian, Congregational and INIethodist Episcopal 
chiu'clies, two lai'ge grain eknators, two banks, stock yards, several 
miles of cement sidewalks, a telei)hone exchange, telegraph and ex- 
press service, a number of well appointed mercantile establishments, 
a weekly newspaper, a motion picture tlieater, an opera house, a base 
ball club, and on every hand ai'c to be seen evidences of progress and 
pi'osperit}'. 

CITY OF AVYOMING 

Wyoming, the largest city in Stark County, also claims the dis- 
tinction of being the oldest town in the county. It was surveyed in 
INIarch. 18.36. by B. M. Hayes, then surveyor of Putnam County, for 
Cien. Samuel Thomas, and the plat was filed the following INIay. The 
oi'iginai town contains eighteen blocks or squares, one of which was 
set aside by General Thomas for a jjublic square. William Street, 
the northern boundary, is the line between Essex and Toulon town- 
ships, the plat being entirely within Essex Townshij). The other 
streets running east and west are Main. Smith and Agard. Beginning 
at the west line of the plat the north and soutli streets are numbered 
from First to Seventh, inclusive. Since the original plat was filed 
additions have been made wliich increase the area of the cor])oration 
to more than four times that of the first toA\'n laid out by General 



118 IllSTOUV OF STARK COUNTY 

Thomas. The most important additions are Thomas', Dana's, Scott 
& W'rigley's, and the two additions hiid out hv Dr. Alfred Castle, 
sometimes called "Xorth \Vy()ming." 

Gen. Samuel Thomas, the founder of Wyoming, was horn in the 
State of Connecticut, February 2, 1787. When about nineteen or 
twenty years old he went to the Wyoming Valley, in Pennsylvania. 
At the beginning of the War of 1812, he was captain of a company 
of young men who were well drilled in artillery tactics. He ofi'ered 
the services of his conqjany to the Cxovernment and the offer was 
accepted, the company being ordered to Erie, Pennsylvania, where 
Commodore Perry was engaged in building his fleet. Captain Thomas 
was placed in command of the post and several times thwarted the 
British in their attempts to burn Perry's ships before they were com- 
pleted. His company then joined the army under Gen. William PI. 
Harrison and he was present at the battle of the Thames, where the 
celebrated Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, was killed. After the war he 
was apiJointed inspector of the Pennsylvania militia and in 1828 was 
commissioned brigadier-general. After serving two terms in the 
Legislature of Pennsylvania he decided to seek his fortunes in the 
West, and in October, 183-i, he purchased the claim of his brother-in- 
law, Sylvanus ]Moore, who had preceded him to Stark County, 111. 
When he concluded to lay off a town, his recollections of the Wyoming 
Valley prompted him to confer that name upon his town. General 
Thomas was engaged in farming and keeping store until his death, on 
July 21, 186j. He was one of the leading members of the 3Iethodist 
Church, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and took an active in- 
terest in political affairs as a democrat. 

Concerning the earlv history and growth of Wyoming, jMrs. Shal- 



'o 



lenberger, in her "Stark County and its Pioneers," says: "For a long 
time it had little but a name. In a communication to the Lacon Herald 
in 1838, it is spoken of as having upon its site 'one second hand log 
smoke house, which serves the double purpose of store and postoffice.' 
Xevertheless, its name appears upon several maps of that time, and 
it was a prominent candidate for the county seat. It is said that some 
speculators interested in the sale of lots, had circulars struck off and 
circulated in the eastern states, in which this town ^^•as represented in 
1837 at the head of navigation on Spoon River, with fine warehouses 
towering aloft and boats lying at the wharf which negroes were load- 
ing and unloading, giving the appearance of a busy commercial mart. 
This may be but a story, still it serves to illustrate the speculating 
mania of those days; which disease has not yet ceased to afHict man- 
kind. l)ut has only traveled a few degrees farther west." 




\ iKW \()i;iii UN M,i;i II si:\ i:\Tii stkiokt. \\■^"(IMIXI; 




PI i;i-ii i.ii,i;ai:\ , w voMl.NU 



UNIVERSITY OF ILLiNOiS 
URBANA 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY n* 

Whether the stoiy of the eircular he true or not — and it may have 
been, as such occurrences were bj' no means rare in those days — ^Vyo- 
niino- has i)assc(l the point wliere such subterfuges are necessary to call 
attention to its couunereial importance. In 18G.5, just after tiie close 
of the Civil war, there was a marked increase in the number of inhabi- 
tants and in response to a petition the "Town of Wyoming" was duly 
incorporated under the laws of Illinois. Unfortunately the early 
records of the village under this first government have not been pre- 
served. In fact, but little attention was paid to nuinici])al matters 
until after the completion of the two railroads in 1871. Then a more 
active interest was awakened and in 1872 A. G. Hammond, Otis T. 
Dyer, Perry H. Smith, A. J. Conover and C. Collier were elected 
trustees. In the organization of the board Perry II. Smith was 
elected president and JNIr. Collier, clerk. 

In the spring of 1898 a census was taken, which showed the lumi- 
ber of inhabitants to be 1,311. An ordinance was then passed by the 
board of trustees dividing the town into three wards and ordering an 
election to determine whether or not Wyoming should be incorporated 
as a city under the general laws of the state. The voting places were 
designated as follows: Fir^t Ward, Engine House No. 2, on ^lain 
Street; Second Ward, Engine House No. 1, on the north side of 
William Street; Third \Vard. King Brotliers' store, on the south side 
of William Street. The election was held on April 19. 1898, and a 
majority of the citizens cast their votes in favor of a city government. 

A special meeting of the old board of trustees was then held on 
April 2<j, 1898, for the purpose of inaugurating the new regime. As 
this was the last meeting of the town officials under the old village 
system, it may be of interest to know w ho tlie men were that changed 
Wyoming from a village to a city. C. P. ]McCorkle was president of 
the board; W. E. Nixon, clerk;' II. R. Brown, J. A. Klock, M. P. 
Ryan, W. J. Townsend, 31arshall Winn and Peter Lane, trustees. 
The first and most important business of the special meeting Avas to 
appoint the 19th day of INIay as the date of the first election for city 
officers. On that date S. R. Perkins was chosen mayor; A. W. Hig- 
bee, Henry Duckworth, Fred Stevenson, Fred Ditewig, H. R. Rrown 
and C. F. Hamilton, trustees; Ernest Mortimer, clerk; M. H. Lutes, 
treasurer. 

In 1899 A. J. Harty was elected mayor and served until 190.), 
when he was succeeded ])y John W. Smith. George F. Garden was 
elected mayor in 1909 and was succeeded by the present incumbent, 
William H. Hartz, in 1913. The other members of the city govern- 



120 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

ineiit in 1915 were: Frank Jacobs, clerk; Charles Peve, treasurer; 
F. S. Foster, Elting Arganbright, Charles Ingram, C. F. Scott, A. C. 
Cooper and A. C. Stagg, aldermen. 

THE rosTOiaicF, 

As stated in the chapter on Township History, the first postoffice 
in Stark Comity was established in the Essex Settlement in 1833, 
with Isaac B. Essex as postmaster. When Gen. Samuel Thomas came 
to the county in IHSi he was accompanietl by several others, among 
whom was a man named ^Villiam Cxodley. Two years later the Town 
of Wyoming was platted and a movement was started to secure the 
removal of the postofiice to the new town. This project was favored 
by the people living about Osceola Grove and those living along the 
Spoon River above the Essex Settlement, as a matter of convenience, 
and a petition was circulated asking for the removal of the office and 
the appointment of ^YiIliam Godley as postmaster. The petition was 
granted and the new appointee, accompanied by James Holgate, went 
to the Essex dwelling to receive possession of the property appertain- 
ing to the postoffice. What happened upon their arrival there is thus 
told by INIrs. Shallenberger: 

"JNlr. Holgate soon noticed indications of a coming storm in the 
countenance and conduct of ^Irs. Essex. She was washing when they 
entered, and for awhile continued her occupation with a vim that 
astonished her visitors, rubbing and scrubbing almost furiously, then 
she deliberatelj^ turned from her tub, wiped her arms and hands, sat 
down and gave them her opinion of men who would steal a postoffice. 
in terms which those gentlemen can never forget. Later in the day a 
neighbor coming in and observing she was excited, inquired the cause, 
when she made the apt, Init petulant, play upon their names, INIr. 
Clifford has recorded, saying: 'God Almighty and Hellsgate have 
come and taken away our postoffice.' Surely enough to upset any 
woman, and coming on washday at that!" 

It could hardly have been the income that at that time made JNIr. 
Essex so desirous of retaining the postoffice. but rather the prestige it 
gave him in the settlement. The affair created some strife between 
the settlements on the lower and upper jjortions of the Spoon River, 
but the office remained at Wyoming and in time the affair was 
forgotten. 

At the close of the fiscal year ending on June 30, 101.), the Wyo- 
nn'ng ])ostoffice showed receipts of about five thousand dollars, em- 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 1:^1 

ployed two people in tlie office and four mral carriers who delivered 
mail daily to a lar<>e tract of the surrounding" country. P. B. Colwell 
was then postmaster. 

ELECTRIC LIGHT 

On April 7. IH'.H). an ordinance was passed by the village board 
granting a francliise to R. C. Jordan & Company to light the Town 
of Wyoming with electricity. It seems that tlie recipients of this 
favor failed to do anything under the provisions of the franchise, and 
on July t>, 1892. another ordinance relating to the subject was passed, 
giving to E. B. Hillman c^ Company, of Peoria, authority "to con- 
struct maintain and operate an electric light and power plant." Hxing 
tlie rates to be cliarged by the firm, and containing i)rovisions for the 
purchase of the plant l)y the village. Soon after the passage of the 
ordinance, Mr. Hillman and his associates began the construction of 
a power-house just west of the Rock Island Railroad station, setting 
poles and running wires througli tlie streets, and l)efore the close of the 
year Wyoming was rejoicing in the fact that it had an electric lighting 
system in operation. 

On November 6, 1912, the company was reorganized and incor- 
porated for fifty years, under the name of the Stark County Power 
Com])any. with a cajjital stock of !p2(),()()(). held by Edwin B. HiUman, 
Adele S. Hillman and Edgar P. Reeder. Tliis company now fur- 
nishes electric light and power to tlie towns of Castleton and Brad- 
ford, as well as to the City of Wyoming. Its plant is ecjuipped with 
modern machinery and the service is as good as is generally found in 
cities of Wyoming's class. 

AVATEIMVOlUvS 

The first move toward establishing a system of waterworks for 
the City of Wyoming was the ])assage of an ordinance by the city 
council on April 22, 1902, granting to S. V. Deem, of Galva. 111., a 
franchise to construct a water system at a cost of $28,()()(). the life of 
the fianchise to be twenty years. INIr. Deem carried out the pro- 
visions of the ordinance and the waterworks were completed the fol- 
lowing year. 

On March 7. 1904. the city council passed an ordinance entitled 
the "Waterworks I'mrhase Oi-dinance," under the i)rovisions of which 
the city purchased the entire plant from S. Y. Deem for $.'}().()8.j. 
The first bond, or waterwoi-ks certificate, for .f()8.). was made pay- 



122 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

able on the first day of Ajjril, 11)04, and the reauiining $30,000 in 
certificates of $1,000 each, payable annually and bearing interest 
at the rate of 5 per cent per annnni. The amount of these bonds or 
certificates outstanding on September 1, 1915, was $9,000. Both 
the franchise for the construction of the plant and the purchase 
ordinance were adt)pted during the administration of flavor 
A. J. Harty. 

The system consists of a Mater tower 100 feet in height, with a 
capacity of .'id, 000 gallons: five miles of mains, and a pumping 
capacity of 200 gallons per minute. The rates charged are 3.5 cents 
per 1.000 gallons per month, up to 10,000 gallons, and all over that 
amount 25 cents per 1,000 gallons per month. The number of con- 
sumers on October 1, 1915, was 245. The supply comes from a deep 
well and the quality of the Avater is excellent. 

PUBLIC PARKS 

Wyoming has two public parks — the public square laid out by 
General Thomas when he platted the town in 1836, and Central Park, 
at the northeast corner of Galena Avenue and Van Buren Street, in 
Scott & Wrigley's addition. The latter was set apart at the time 
the addition w^as platted as a site for the courthouse in the event 
Wyoming secured the county seat, which the people were then trying 
to obtain. Both are real "beauty spots," being provided with band- 
stands, seats, swings for the little ones, handsome shade trees, etc., 
and they form jjlaces for recreation and amusement for the people. 

OTHER PUBLIC IMPROVE5IEXTS 

About the time the waterworks were completed the subject of a 
sewer system began to engage the attention of the people. The first 
sewer, which was constructed by general taxation, runs from a jjoint 
on the south side of Van Buren Street, opposite Central Park, to 
the southwestern part of the city, near the cemetery. Since it was 
built other sewers have been added from time to time by special 
assessments until Wyoming has a method of disposing of its sewage 
that is as good as that found in most cities of its size. 

The fire department is a volunteer organizatiou. but is marked 
by efficiency and promptness in time of need. Prior to the estal)lish- 
ment of the city government two engine houses were built by the 
municipality — one on the north side of William Street and the other 




■■^viMr^:^^^^^*' 














STREET SCENE IN BRADFORD 



? f nt^ r n^/ 



UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
URBANA 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 123 

on the south side of the same street— and botli were supplied with 
approved tire-fij>htin<>- apparatus. AVith the completion of tlie 
waterworks an additional supply of hose was purchased, to he 
attached to the hydrants in case of tire, and this assured ample tire 
protection for all ordinary occasions. 

Within recent years \Vyoming has given considerable attention 
to building sidewalks and oiling the roadways of the streets. The 
result is several miles of excellent concrete sidewalks and dustless, 
streets that makes the little city one of the cleanest in the State of 
Illinois. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

The fair grounds of the AVyoming Agricultural Society are 
located in the eastern part of the city, a short distance east of the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and within easy walking 
distance of the business district. The first fair was held here in Sep-) 
tember. 1881. 

Resides lieing the oldest town in the county, Wyoming claims the 
honor of having the first frame house. A year or two after the town 
was started by General Thomas, Whitney Smith erected a small 
frame building, \\ hieli he used for a store, and it is generally conceded 
that this was the first frame structure of any kind to be erected in 
Stai-k County. 

Two modern pul)lic school buildings, one known as the South Side 
School and the other as the North Side, furnish excellent educational 
facilities for the city. During the school year of 1!)14-1.3 eleven 
teachers were employed. 

AVyoming has two banks, a pul)lic library, a weekly newspaper, 
a number of mercantile houses that compare favorably with those of 
larger cities. Congregational, Catholic, Episcopal and ^Methodist 
churches, grain elevators, lumber and coal yards, hotel and restaurants, 
a large ])oultry house, a motion ])icture theater, an opera house, a 
baseball club, a large number of cozy homes, and in 1!)10 reported a 
population of 1,;50(). Being located at the junction of the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific rail- 
roads, it is the princi])al shij)ping ])oint for a rich agricultural district 
in Essex, Penn, Toulon and Valley townships and large (|uantities of 
grain and livestock are handled here annually. 

BRADFORD 

Bradford, the third largest town in the county, is situated in the 
northeastern part of the county, the original plat being in sections 23 



124 lUSTOKY OF STARK COLMV 

and "20, Osceola Township. It was surveyed on ^Vpril 27, 18.5-t, by 
Sylvester F. Ottman, then county surveyor, for Bradford S. Foster 
and derived its name from the Chi'istian name of the proprietor. In 
making the survey, JNIr. Ottman located Main Street on the section 
line. North of this is one tier of lots. The next street south is Arbor 
and Soutli Street forms the southern boundary of the original town. 
Between ^Main and Arbor (at first called Bowery) streets was left 
a "market square," and north of JMain Street was a public square, 
intersected by a short street called Park. This scjuare was vacated by 
a vote of the citizens at an election held on Sei)tember 22, 18(39. The 
noi'th and south streets in the original plat were Peoria, Park and 
Kim, and the total number of lots was thirty-seven. Since then 
Foster's and Phenix's first and second additions have extended the 
limits of the town toward the south and west, and Drawyer's, 
Pilgrim's. Real's and some minor additions have extended the limits 
northward and eastward into sections 24 and 2.5 until the corporation 
includes about one square mile. 

In the fall of 18G9, when it became certain that the Dixon, Peoria 
& Hannibal (now the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy) Railroad was 
to be built through Bradford, the town experienced its first boom. 
A number of energetic, progressive men bought lots and established 
homes and business houses. The town was incorporated on August 13, 
18(i9. and ]M. S. Curtiss was elected the first president of the board 
of trustees. At the general election held on Xovember 4. 187'3. the 
question of incorporating under the general laws of the state was 
carried bj^ a substantial majoritj^ and the present form of municipal 
government was shortly afterward inaugurated. .Toshua Prouty was 
elected the first president of the board under the new charter. In 
191.5 the village government was composed of Albert Deyo, president; 
George A. ISIarsh, clerk: R. W. Sharp, Walter Scholes, W. S. Ribley, 
R. C. Hay, O. C. Boyd and R. D. Lackman, trustees. 

A postoffice was established at Bradford soon after the town was 
surveyed, but the name of the first jxistmaster could not be learned 
by the writer. Some idea of the growth of the town and the develo])- 
ment of its business interests may be gained from the knowledge 
that in 191.5 the postoffice had risen to a third-class office, Avith annual 
receipts of about four thousand dollars, em])l()ying two people and 
being the source of five rural routes that distrii)ute mail daily over a 
large territory. T. .T. Mowbray was then postmaster. 

On September 7, 1896, "in compliance with a vote of the legal 
voters at a special election." the board of trustees passed an ordinance 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 125 

to issue five bonds of $1,000 each, tlie first due in five years aiul the 
hist ill nine, with interest at (5 per cent per annum, for the purpose 
of instalhng a system of waterworks for the viUage. A deep well 
was sunk, a pumphouse erected, a large tank mounted upon a tall 
tower and a reserve tank constructed, mains laid upon the princi- 
pal streets, and in the summer of 18U7 the water was turned on. 

The fire department was organized imdei- the provisions of an 
ordinance passed on April 4. 1904. The force consists of twenty-five 
men (volunteers) and the equipment of hosecarts, the pressure from 
the waterworks being suHicient to furnish enough water to extinguish 
any fire that is likely to occur. The members of the department meet 
at regidar intervals for drill and instruction. 

Jiiadford has two hanks, a weekly newspapei'. churches of several 
faiths, a fine jjublic school building, in which eight teachers are em- 
ployed, well kept streets, good sidewalks, several well stocked stores, 
two large grain elevators, a number of handsome residences, and the 
visitor to the town is impressed by the air of prosperity and couimer- 
cial activity. In 11)10 the population of Bradford was 770. 

LAFAYETTE 

Located on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, six miles 
west of Toulon and near the Knox Countj' line, is the incorporated 
Village of Lafayette. The original plat — blocks 1 to 10, of eight lots 
each — was surveyed on July 7, IS.'JG, by George A. Charles, then 
county surveyor of Knox County, for William Dunbar. On the north 
of tills part of the town is JMonroe Street. From Monroe Street it 
extends southward to Franklin, bounded on the east bj^ Hodgson 
Street and on the west by Timber. Additions have since been made 
until now the town embraces forty squares of eight lots each. The 
north and south streets are Willow, JMulberry, East INIain, Hodgson, 
jNIain and Timber, the last named forming the western limits of the 
town. Ikginning at the north, the east and west streets are Monroe, 
Jefferson, Lafayette, Washington, Jackson, Franklin, ]Madison and 
Adams, and there is one row of l)locks south of Adams Street. The 
northern tier of lots in block 20 and the southern tier of block 21 were 
taken to form a public sfjuare, which is intersected by Jackson Street. 
The railroad cuts off the north side of this square and the remainder 
of it forms a ])leasant little ])ublic ])ark. The additions to the first 
plat were made by Jonathan Hodgson, Henry Dunbar and John 
Lundy, August 8, 1836. 



126 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

One of the first houses in Lafayette was built by Wilhani Uunbar, | 
the "Okl Hatter," mentioned in a former chapter. Few lots were 
sold until about 184'2 and 1843, when Asahel Holmes, George W. 
Jackson, George W. Dunbar, James J. Wilson, Joshua Woodbury, 
William Wheeler and a few others all bought property in the new 
town. Other early settlers were Peter F. JNIiner, Daniel J. and Theo- 
dore F. Hurd, William D. Runyan, Jehial Bouton, James B. Lewis, 
Gilbert \\^ard, Thomas N. Fitch, \\"alter Hock, James Dunn and 
James E. White, some of whom located as early as 1837. Several 
of these Lafayette pioneers afterward became prominent in the 
affairs of Stark County. 

Jesse C. Ware was the first merchant and is said to have been the 
first man to build a house within the limits of the town. Theodore F. 
Hurd and Barnabas M. Jackson were other early merchants, and Ira 
Reed opened a shoe shop as early as 1838. Some years later a few 
enterprising individuals organized a stock company to build a carding 
mill and woolen factory, but it proved to be a financial failure. 

At an election held in ISGO the vote on the question of incor- 
poration was forty-one for to thirteen against tlie proposition. The 
first board of trustees was composed of Thomas W. Ross, J. H. 
Nichols. Daniel J. Hurd. Dennis Lee and James Martin. The gov- 
ernment thus established existed until September, 1872, when tlie 
vote on the question of obtaining a new charter was twenty-four for 
to eighteen opposed. The first trustees under the new charter ^\•ere 
M. S. Barnett, James ^Martin, Samuel White, B. H. Snyder, Daniel 
J. Hurd and Dr. J. H. Nichols. The election of clerk was declared 
illegal and C. P. Jackson was elected in 1874. In lOl.') J. H. Wliite 
was jjresident of the village board; F. T. Gelvin, clerk: Joshua Grant, 
Samuel Hanks, James Norton, S. E. White, V. H. Brown and 
Wiley Plankel, trustees. 

Some years ago the village board granted to Jesse S. Atherton a 
i'ranchise to build, ecjuij) and operate an electric light plant. Mr. 
Atherton built the plant and conducted it for some time when he 
sold out to some parties in Galva, 111., and Lafayette is now suj)- 
plied with light from Galva. The streets of the village are kept well 
oiled, keeping down the dust; there are several blocks of good cement 
sidewalks; the village has a commodious public scliool building in 
which foiu" teachers are employed during the school year. Formerlv 
there were several churches, but they have all fallen into disuse except 
the ^Metliodist I^piscopal, which is now the only active denomination. 
The Inisiness interests of the village include a bank, several stores 




i;a\k AM) iM r.i.ii l.ll■.l:Al;^ . i.a lA^l;^■|■|■; 




l-rULK' I'AUK. I.A I A^ I.I 11. 



UNIVERSITY OF /LLflVOIS 
URBANA 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 127 

haudliny practically all lines of goods, grain elevators, restanrants, 
etc., and there are two large nurseries near the town that ship fruit 
trees and plants. Lafayette also has a public library, the gift of Mrs. 
Reed, an account of which will be found in the chapter on Educational 
Development. The pt)pulation in 11)10 was 287. 

The smaller villages of the county, those not incorporated and 
those that have ceased to exist, are treated in alphabetical order, 
beginning with 

CAMP GROVE 

Strictly siJeaking. Camp Grove is no longer in Stark County. It 
was established at an early date on the lines between Stark and 
Marshall counties, near the southeast corner of Penn Township. 
Among the early business men here were: J. Townsend and Cyrus 
Rocock, general merchants; R. G. Fargo, dealer in iron and metals; 
William Evans, butcher; S. H. Nichols, contractor and builder, and 
^^\ J. Townsend. postmaster. When the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad from Peoria to Nelson was built in 1902, it passed about 
hall' a mile east of Camp Grove and most of the business concerns 
"pulled up stakes" and removed to the railroad. About all that is 
left of the old village is the Catholic Church and cemetery. 

CASTLETOX 

This thriving little place is situated in sections 9 and 16 of Penn 
Township, on the Ruda & Rushville division of the Chicago, Rurling- 
ton &: Quincy Railroad. It was surveyed by Edwin Rutler, surveyor 
of Stark County, on ^Nlarch -1, 1870. for Dr. Alfred II. Castle, after 
whom it was named. The original ])lat shows seven blocks averaging 
sixteen lots each, the north and south streets being Main. Washington 
and I^incoln, and the cast and west streets, Smith, Shei'man and State. 
Since the original plat was filed three additions have been made to 
the town — Julg's and Fuller's, of six lots each, and Kissinger's, of 
foity-five lots. Among the early business concerns of Castleton were 
Klock & Fleming's grain elevator, Leo Julg's boot and shoe store, 
D. \V. Crum's drug store. G. Wright's hardware and farm implement 
house, ]Mrs. Stewart's hotel and II. I). ^lartin's wagon and paint sho]). 

The Castleton of 191.) boasts several good mercantile establish- 
ments, a branch of Scott. Walters & Rakestraw's bank, three churches, 
a fine ])ublic school liuilding, two grain elevators, a town hall, a number 
of minor business concerns and many pretty homes. Tiie streets and 



128 lllSTOKV OF STAKK CUL'M'V 

sidewalks are in good condition and tlie town is lighted by electricity 
from the plant of the Stark Connty Power Company at Wyoming. 
It ships considerable quantities of grain and livestock, and in 1910 
reported a population of 201. 

DUNCAN 

On June 10, 1870, Edwin IJutler, county surveyor, platted the 
Town of Duncan for Dr. Alfred H. Castle, with six blocks (104 lots) 
though blocks 1 and 4 were afterward vacated. The streets running 
north and south are ^Monroe, Adams and Jefferson, and those running- 
east and west are Main, Washington and Galena. Duncan is located 
in section 35, Erssex Township, on the Buda & Rushville division of 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, seven miles south of 
Wyoming. F. F. Brockway and John H. Slater were among the 
first merciiants of the town; George Fautz oi)ened a hardware store, 
^Villiam Heath conducted a grocery store and a hotel, John Barker 
was the village blacksmith, and Dr. T. C. Thomas was probably the 
first resident physician. A postoffice was started soon after the 
village was laid out in 1870, with W. H. Miller as postmaster. 

Although a shipping point of considerable importance, Duncan has 
never grown to be a town of any great projiortions. Rand & 
]McXally give the pojjulation in 1910 as 12.5. Scott, Walters & Rake- 
straw, of Wyoming, have a branch bank at Duncan. The village 
has general stores, a grain elevator, lumber yard, hotel, several small 
shoi^s, a church and a public school. 

ELMIRA 

W. R. Sandham, of Wyoming, who has given considerable atten- 
tion to the origin of Stark County names, says: "Elmira is the name 
given to a postoffice which was first established about tlie j-ear 1837, 
where the jiresent Village of Osceola is now located. It Avas named 
by Oliver ^Vhitaker, its first postmaster, after his former home, 
Elmira, New York. About the year 1845 the postoffice was mo\ed 
to its present location on the Avest side of Spoon River and the name 
moved with it." 

However, the Village of Elmira had its beginning some two years 
before the removal of the postoffice as mentioned by ]Mr. Sandham. 
In 1843 Ambrose Fuller entered the quarter section of land upon 
wliicli the village stands and ojjened a store. Fuller's store soon 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 129 

became a sort of rallying point for the people of the neighborhood, 
the MetluKhsts anil Presbyterians located' churches there, several 
families purchased lots and built dwellings, thus starting a town. No 
otiicial plat of Elmira was ever filed with the county recorder, though 
part of the town is known as "Parsons' subdivision." In 1!>15 Elmira 
had two churches, two general stores, some small business concerns, a 
public school and a few residences. Rand & McXally give the po])ula- 
tion in I'JIO as 7tJ. The postoHice has been discontinued and mail is 
now delivered by rural carrier from Toulon. 

LOMBAKDVILLE 

On June 15, 1870, Edwin Butler, then county surveyor, surveyed 
the Town of Lombardville for Julia A. Lombard and Dr. Alfred H. 
Castle, and the plat was filed on the 8th of July following. Lombard- 
ville is located on the Buda & Rushville division of the Chicago, Bur- 
lington <Sc Quincy Railroail, on the line dividing sections 2 and 11, 
Osceola Township. The original i)lat shows 104 lots, with State, 
Frajiklin, Lombard and Duncan streets running north and south, and 
Howard, JNIain and Washington rim east and west. The hotel and 
elevator were completed in the fall of 1870, the I^ombardville Mining 
Comj)any began operations about the same time, and for some time 
the village showed signs of becoming a town of some importance, lint 
the coal deposits were worked out, much of the trade was diverted to 
Bradford and other towns and Lombardville never came up to the 
expectations of its foimders. A public school, a general store and 
grain elevators are the jirincipal institutions. INIail is delivered by 
rural carrier from the postoflRce at Bradford. 

MASSU.I.ON 

Says Mrs. Shallenberger: "Massillon was situated seven miles 
nearly due south of the present Town of Toulon, not far from the 
southern boundary of the county. Its projector and pro])rictor was 
Stephen Trickle. Date of survej', April, 18.'}7." 

This is the only written account of ISIassillon that the writer has 
been able to find. It is known that one of the precincts of the county 
war; named "^Massillon," from which it may be inferred that the town 
Avas once a j)lace of some consequence, though it is now nothing more 
than a memorv. 



130 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

MODENA 

Tlie \"illage of JNIodena is located in the southeast quarter of sec- 
tion 1, ill the northeastern part of Toulon Township and on the west 
bank of Spoon River. It was surveyed on IMarch 24, 1853, for JNIiles 
A. and Williston K. Fuller. The plat was filed in July and shows 
thirty-one lots, with Main and Second streets running- nortli and south 
and Locust and Chestnut, east and west. The Hour mill and the coal 
mines in the iiiiniediate vicinity were the principal industries of early 
days. A. Y. Fuller, who was one of the early purchasers of lots, 
opened a general store, and B. .A. Newton also conducted a store 
here for some time. Mr. Saiidhaiu says the name was suggested by 
^lodeiia in Italy. A Baptist Church Avas erected here about 1850. 
In 191,5 a general store and the public school were the principal fea- 
tures of the village, which reported a population of 3.5 in 1910. It is 
on one of the rural mail routes from the postoffice at ^Vyoming. 

MORSE 

This is one of the new towns of the county and owes its existence 
to the building of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad through the 
county in 1901-02. It is located in the extreme northeast corner of 
the Township of Osceola and is only a short distance east of Lombard- 
ville. No official plat of the village Avas ever filed in the office of 
the county recorder, but an atlas of the county, published in 1907, 
shows fourteen lots — six north and eight south of the railroad station. 
Rand & McNally give the population in 1910 as 50. jNIail is delivered 
by rual carrier from Bradford. 

aiOULTON 

The extinct town of IMoulton was located near the northern border 
of Essex Townshiji, about three miles west of Wyoming, in the Indian 
Creek Valley. It was surveyed in August, 183G, l»y Roliert Schuyler, 
Russell H. Nevins. William Couch, David Lee and Abijah Fisher. 
George and AVilliam Sanimis had a store. on the site at the time the 
town was laid out. At one time INIoulton had aspirations to become 
the county seat of Stark County, but Toulon won that honor and 
the close proximity of Wyoming also contributed to INIoulton's down- 
fall. A frame house was erected there by Eugenius Frum a year or 
two after the town was platted, but tliis l)uilding was afterAvard pur- 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 131 

chased by Beiijamiii Turner and removed to Toulon, \vliere it stood 
until 188G. 

OSCKOI>A 

The village of Osceola is situated in the southeast quarter of section 
11, Elmira Township, a small portion of the place extending south- 
ward into section 1-i. The first settlers in this part of the county came 
late in the year 18.'j.5. Among them were Giles C. Dana, Isaac 
Spencer, James Buswell, Thomas Watts and the Pratts, one of whom 
was a physician. Mrs. Shallenherger saj's: "They came out under 
the auspices of ^laj. Robert ^Sloore, who encouraged emigration 
hither, with a view to building up a town, which he had surveyed and 
called Osceola." 

If such a tuwi) \\as e\er surveyed it failed to become a reality, 
though the first settler named the grove in which they built their 
cabins "Osceola Grove," after the celebrated Seminole Indian leader 
in the Florida war. When the postof!ice was established there in 
18.'37 it was named Elmira, as already stated, and a settlement grew 
up around the postofRce. After the removal of the postoffice to the 
present village of Klmira, the village where it was first established 
took the name of Osceola. Being some distance from a railroad, the 
village has never grown to any considerable proportions, but it forms 
a trading point and meeting place for the people in the northeastern 
part of Elmira Township. The population in 1910 was only 55. 
It has a general store, a Baptist Church, a iNlethodist Chiu'ch and 
parsonage, a public school and a few dwellings, and is on one of the 
rural mail routes fi'om Neponset, in Bureau County. 

PLEASANT GIJEEN 

An old map of Stark County shows the settlement of Pleasant 
Green near the center of section 3.3, Osceola Townshi]i. It was never 
formally laid (jut as a town, but a rural p(Jstotlice was maintained here 
for some time in early days and some coal was mined in the vicinity. 
The district school known as the "Pleasant Green" school is all that 
is left to tell the story. 

PUCKl'.IUtKUSH 

This is another settlement that "just growed." It is located in 
section 7, Penn Township, a little south of the site of the old village 
of ^Valden, and consists of six lots along the south side of the higli- 
wav. Just how the settlement obtained its name is uncertain. 



132 HISTOKV OF STAKK COUNTY 

SLACK AVATER 

Just east of the Spoon river, in section 33, Essex Township, is 
the old viUage of Shickwater, which at one time was a trading point 
and neighhorliood center of some importance. The building of the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and the foundhig of the town 
of Duncan, only a mile and half east on the railroad, robbed Slack- 
water of its prestige and it sank into insignificance. 

SPEEK 

While the Peoria & Nelson branch of the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad was under construction, James A. Speer, who owned a 
farm on the line of the railroad in section 36, Valley Township, con- 
ceived the idea of founding a town. Accordingly, on December 5, 
1901, Henry H. Oliver, county surveyor, platted the town of Speer, 
in the northwest quarter of the above named section. The original 
])lat showed twenty-four lots west of the railroad. Iiut on April 1.5, 
1003, 31r. Oliver made a revised plat of the original town and Speer's 
first addition thereto. Front Street runs north and south next to 
the railroad and farther west is jMcKinley Avenue. The streets run- 
ning east and west are IMain and South, and one not named on the 
plat. Speer soon came into prominence as a trading and shipj^ing 
})oint for the southeastern part of the county. It reported a popula- 
tion of 1.50 in 1910: has general and hardware stores, a bank, livery 
barn, planing mill, postofRce, lumber yard, grain elevators, and is one 
of the flourishing little towns of Stark County. 

STARK 

Five miles east of \Vyoming, on the Chicago, Rock Island & 
Pacific Railroad, is the little village of Stark, which grcAv up soon 
after the railroad was completed, but was never officially platted. A 
postoffice was established in the early '70s; Simpson ds: Smith and 
Charles N. Hull opened general stores; Joseph Anderson began 
dealing in grain and drain tile, and a few other business enterprises 
were established. In 1910 the population was 7-5. It has a large 
grain elevator, general stores, a Congregational Church, etc., and 
does a good business in shipping grain and livestock. It derives its 
name from the county. 

STARWAXO 

No plat of this settlement — for it can hardly be called a town — ■ 
was ever recorded. It is located in West Jersey Township, near the 



HISTORY OF STARK COLNTY 



133 



eastern boundary. A JNIethodist Church was organized here at an 
early date and is still in existence, l)ut the coiniiicrcial activity of Star- 
waiio has departed. 

STRINGTOWN 

In the atlas of Stark County, pul)lished in 1907, is shown a thickly 
settled neighhorhood in the sonthwcstcrn part of Essex Township 
(sections 30 and 31 ) which has long been known as "Stringtown." Its 
location is almost identical with that of the old Town of ^Nlassillon pre- 
viously mentioned. A church and public school are the only institu- 
tions worthy of note. 

AV.U)Y I'ETKA 

This little town with the oriental name was platted on June 2, 
1873, by Edwin Rutler, then surveyor of Stark County, for "Sirs. 
Anna K. Chase. It is located on the Chicago. Rock Island & Pacific 
Railroad, in section 31. Valley Township, only about one mile east 
of the ^"illage of Stark. Front Street runs parallel to the railroad 
and a square farther east is Chase Street. The north and south streets 
are ]Main and Hamilton. The original plat shows fifty-five lots. 
Wady Petra is a typical little railroad station, with the usual local 
business enterprises. In 1910 the population was given as forty-five. 
INlail is delivered by rural carrier from the postofl^ce at Stark. 

AVAI,DEN 

The old Town of Walden was situated in the nortii side of section 
7, Penn Township, just across the Spoon River from Modena. It 
is said to have taken its name from Dexter Wall, and was sometimes 
M-ritten "Wallden." JMr. Wall built a steam mill there at an early 
date and a general store was opened, but the name of the pioneer 
niei'cliant has apparently been i'orgotten. "Wall's Schoolhouse," 
which stood not far from the mill, was a favorite place for holding 
religious services by ministers of different denonn'nations. In time 
^Ir. Wall removed his mill to Wyoming and the Town of Walden 
disajjpeared from the map. 

"O'EST JERSEY 

Karly in the year 18.56 Jacob ^'oung employed Carson Berfield, 
wlio Iiad previously served as county surveyor, to lay off a town 



134 HISTOKV OF STARK COUNTY 

almost in the exact geographical center of West Jersey Township, 
which town was named West Jersey. Seminary and Jersey streets 
and Plum Alley are shown on the original plat as the thoroughfares. 
The plat was filed for record on February 19, 1850, and ten years 
later only twenty-four lots had been sold. Dm-ing the next twenty 
years the growth was "slow but sure," and in 188G about seventy lots 
had been sold. Among the early industries and business houses of 
West Jersey may be mentioned Snediker's mill, John Catton's coal 
mines, Giwitts & Son's planing mill. ^V. II. IJttle's harness shop, 
\Villiam Atkinson's blacksmith shop and W. II. Jolinsons store. 
The ^Methodist Church was built about 1860. A postoffice was estab- 
lished here before the Civil war, but it has been discontinued and 
mail is now addressed to Toulon and delivered by rural carrier. \Vest 
Jersey has a public school building, a church, general stores, some 
smaller business concerns, a hall for pul)lic entertainments, and in 
11)10 reported a population of seventy. 

POSTOFFICES 

With the introduction of the free rural delivery system, several 
of the postoffices of Stark County were discontinued. The United 
States Postal Guide for July, 191.5, gives the following offices in the 
county, the figiu'cs in parentheses following the name indicating the 
number of rural mail routes: Bradford (.5) ; Castleton, Dimcan, 
Lafayette (2) ; Speer (1) ; Stark (1) ; Toulon (.5) ; Wyoming (4). 
Everj' office in the county is authorized to issue money orders. Those 
at Bradford, Toulon and Wyoming issue international money orders 
and are postal savings depositories. 



CHAPTER IX 
:Mn.lTARY HISTORY 

WAR or 1812 BLACK HAAVK WAR MAR WITH ilEXICO WAR OF 18G1- 

"0.5 CONDITIONS LEADING UP TO THE WAR THE SLAVERY QUESTION 

COMPROMISE LEGISLATION KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL POLITICAL 

CAMPAIGN OF 1860 SECESSION OF THE SLAVE STATES FALL OF FORT 

SUMTER CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS AVAR JIEETING AT TOULON ILLI- 
NOIS' RESPONSE— EARLY ENLISTMENTS BRIEF HISTORIES OF THE 

REGIMENTS IN WHICH STARK COUNTY AVAS REPRESENTED — ROSTER 
OF STARK COUNTY COMPANIES — MISCELLANEOUS INFANTRY ENLIST- 

^IE>;-fS CAA'ALRY SERVICE ARTILLERY SOLDIERS' :\IONU5IENT 

THE AAORK AT HOME. 

At the time of the War of 1812 there was not a single Avhite man 
living within the present borders of Stark County. As previously 
mentioned, the United States Government, soon after the close of 
that war, set apart a large tract of land in Illinois, including the 
present County of Stark, to be given to those who had served as 
volunteers during the Avar. A few veterans of the War of 1812 
afterward became residents of the county, though the most of them 
sold their land Avarrants to speculators for a small pittance. In the 
fall of 1800 a meeting of old soldiers of 1812 Avas held at Toulon, at 
Avhich probably a dozen Avere ji resent. 

In the Black HaAvk Avar of 1832 the name of Thomas Essex ap- 
pears upon one of the muster rolls — the only one from Stark County — 
thouiih the countA' Avas not then organized and there Avere but feAv 
Avhite men living Avithin its limits. 

On INIarch 1, 184'.j. Congress passed a bill to annex the Re])ublic 
of Texas to the I'^nited States. This lirought on a Avar Avith ^Mexico, 
Avhich countiy claimed Texas, and Gen. Zachary Taylor Avas sent 
Avith the "Army of Occupation" to hold the territory until the bound- 
ary question could be settled. Taylor fought the ])attles of Palo Alto 
and Resaca de la Palma. defeating the Mexicans in both engage- 
ments, and on ]May 11. 1840, tAvo days after the battle of Resaca de 

135 



136 HISTORY OF STxVRK COUNTY 

la I'alnia, Congress declared that "war already exists by act of the 
JNlexican government," jjlaced a fund of -$10,000,000 at the disposal 
of the administration, and authorized the President to accept the 
services of 50,000 volunteers. 

^Vithin a few days Illinois offered the President 8,370 men, but 
only 3,7-0 were accepted. These men formed the tirst six regiments 
of Illinois Infantry. A few Stark County men were included in the 
enlistments, but in the absence of nmster rolls it is impossible to give 
their names. 

THE W.VK OF 1861-05 

Soon after the establishment of the American Republic, the slav- 
ery question became a "bone of contention" that was gnawed at by 
jDoliticians for years in nearly every campaign. In 1808, the earliest 
date at which legislation on the subject could be constitutionally en- 
acted. Congress passed a law abolishing the foreign slave trade. By 
1819 seven of the tliirteen original states had abolished slavery. Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, ^Mississippi and Alabama had been 
athnitted to the Union as slave states, and Vermont. Ohio, Indiana 
and Illinois as free states, making eleven of each. This was the situa- 
tion in 1820, when the people of JNIissouri asked for admission. After 
a long and somewhat acrimonious debate, that state was admitted 
under the i)rovisions of the act known as the "^lissouri Compromise," 
which agreed to the admission of 3Iissouri without any restrictions as 
to slavery, but expressly stipulated that in all the remaining portion 
of the Louisiana Purchase north of the line marking the latitude of 
36° 30' slavery shoidd be forever i)rohibited. 

The ^Mexican war gave to the United States a large territory, to 
wliicli the advocates of slaveiy laid claim. According to the views of 
the opponents of slavery, the "Omnibus Bill," or Compromise of 
1850, was a violation of the terms of the ^Missouri Compromise, in 
that it sought to extend slavery north of the line of 36' 30'. The 
Kansas-Xebraska Bill of 1854 added fresh fuel to the already raging 
flames. The passage of this bill was one of the principal causes that 
led to the organization of the republican party, Avhich opjiosed the 
extension of slavery beyond the territory where it already existed. 

In the political campaign of 1860 some of the southern states 
announced their intention of withdrawing from the Union in the event 
of Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The people of the 
Xorth regarded these declarations as idle threats, made solely for 
political effect. Through a division in the democratic ])arty. Mr. Lin- 




SOLDIERS" AX I) S \II.01!S- MOXr^IKXT. TOT'T.OX" 



f-IBRARY 

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

URBANA 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 137 

coin was elected and on December 20, 1860, South Carolina proceeded 
to carry out her threat to withdraw, a convention of delegates, chosen 
for the purpose, passing an ordinance of secession, declaring that all 
allegiance to the United States was at an end. IMississippi followed 
with a similar ordinance on January 9, 18G1; Florida, .January 10th; 
Georgia, January 19th; Louisiana, January 26th, and Texas, Febru- 
ary 1, 1861. On February 4, 1861, delegates from six of these states 
(Texas was not represented) met at Montgomery, Alabama, adopted 
a i)rovisional constitution, elected Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, 
provisional president, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, pro- 
visional vice president of the "Confederate States of America." Davis 
and Stephens were inaugurated on 1^'ebruary 22, 1861, the anniversary 
of tiie birth of George ^Vashington. 

Hence it was that when ^Ir. Lincoln was inaugurated on iVIarch 
4, 1861, he found seven states, with an organized government, in open 
opposition to his administration. Notwithstanding this serious con- 
dition of affairs, the President, his inniiediate advisers and the people 
of tlie North generally, entertained the hope tliat the situation could 
be met without an open rupture between the North and South, and 
that the citizens of the seceded states could be persuaded to return to 
their allegiance. Vain hope! 

About the beginning of the year 1861, Maj. Robert Anderson, 
who was in connnand of all the defenses of the harbor at Charleston, 
South Carolina, decided that Fort Sumter offered a better oppor- 
tunity for defense than Fort Moultrie, where he and his garrison 
were stationed. Secretly removing his stores and men, he ordered 
the guns at Fort INIoultrie to be spiked, rendering them unlit for 
ser\ice. JNIajor Anderson's action immediately raised a storm of 
protest from the secessionists. They claimed that the removal to Fort 
Sumter was a violation of an agreement made with President 
Buchanan. Lincoln's predecessor. On the other hand the people of 
the North upheld Anderson and the northern press was almost a unit 
in demanding that additional supplies be sent to Anderson, and tliat 
he be given a force sufficient to hold the fort. President Buchanan 
was still in office, and not liking to invoke too much criticism from 
the loyal North, he sent the steamer Star of the West, with 2.50 men 
and a stock of ])rovisions, mmiitions of war, etc., to Fort Sumter. On 
January 9. 1861. as tlie vessel was passing iMorris Island, she was 
fii-ed upon by a masked battery and forced to turn back. This inci- 
dent is regarded in the official records as the beginning of the Civil 
Mai-, thougli the popular awakening did not come until about three 
months later. 



138 lUSTORV OF STARK COUNTY 

Early in A])i-il, 18G1, General Beanregard, who was in command 
of the Confederate forces at Charleston, opened negotiations A\ith 
Major Anderson looking to the evacuation of Fort Sumter. Ander- 
son's provisions were running low and on April 11, 1861, he advised 
General Beauregard that the fort would he vacated on the 1.5th, uidess 
orders were received from the war department to remain and the 
needed sui^ijlies were sent to the garrison. This answer was not 
satisfactory to Beauregard, who feared that Anderson might be rein- 
forced before that time. He therefore sent back the reply, at 3:20 
A. ]\L on Friday, April 12, 1861, that within an hour fire would be 
opened upon the fort. At 4:30 Capt. (ieorge Janes, commanding a 
battery at Forf Johnson, fired the signal gun and the shell l)urst 
almost directly over the fort. A few moments later a solid shot 
from a liattery on Cummings Point went crashing against the walls 
of Fort Sumter. The war had begun. 

The garrison responded promptly and the cannonading continued 
throughout the day. Fire broke out in one of the casemates of the 
fort, which was observed by the Confederates, who increased their 
fire, hoping to force a surrender. Anderson held out against des- 
perate odds until Sunday morning, when he was permitted to leave 
the fort with honors of war, even saluting his flag with fifty guns 
l)ef'ore hauling it down. 

■When the telegraph flashed the news of Sumter's sin-render 
through the North, all hope of conciliation was abandoned. Political 
differences of the past were forgotton in the insult to the flag, and 
there was but one sentiment: "The Union must and shall be jn-e- 
served." On INIonday, April lo, 1861, President Lincoln issued a 
proclamation calling for 7.5,000 militia and appealing to "all loyal 
citizens for state aid in this effort to maintain the laws, integrity, 
national union, perpetuity of popular government, and to redress 
wrongs long enough endured." 

"WAR MEETING 

The first war meeting in Stark County was held at Toulon on 
INIonday evening, April 15, 1861, the very day that the President issued 
his call for 75.000 volunteers. Judge Elihu N. Powell presided and 
James A. Henderson was chosen secretary. George A. Clifford, 
Dr. William Chamberlain, J. H. Howe, Levi North, Alexander ^Ic- 
Coy and Thomas J. Henderson all made short addresses urging the 
necessity for united action in support of the national administration. 
Among the resolutions — unanimously adojited — was the following: 



IIISTOUV OF STARK COUNTY "'J 

"That in the present crisis ol' our country, we will ij-nore all uure 
l^arty considerations and uphold the administration in enforcing the 
laws North and South, and in putting down rebellion wherever it may 
arise. And to that end we invoke the entire power of the Govern- 
ment, and we hereby adopt as our motto those memorable words 
uttered long since by a patriot now in his grave: 'Liberty and Union 
now an<l forever, one and inseparable.' " 

Illinois' kksi'oxse 

Wiieii the war commenced the prevailing opinion throughout the 
North was that it would be of short duration — a mere "breakfast 
s])ell." That this view was entertained by the President is seen in his 
first call for only T.j.OOO troops, which he thought would be sufficient 
to suppress the rebellion. Before the conclusion of the conflict ()\'er 
two million loj^al citizens of the North had been called into military 
service. Illinois prom])tly responded to each call for volunteers and 
during the war furnished 18.5,l»41 infantry, ;J2.()82 cavalry, and 7,277 
artillery, a grand total (not including reenlistments) of 22.), 800 men. 
Stark County was represented in thirty-six infantry regiments, five 
cavalry regiments, and the Second Light Artillery. Having fur- 
nished six regiments of infantry in the ^lexican war, the first regi- 
ment that went out from Illinois in 1801 was the 

SEVENTH IXFAXTRY 

This regiment was mustered in at Camp Yates on April 2.5, 18()1, 
for three months service, during which time it was on guard duty at 
Alton, Cairo, St. Louis and other points. It was reorganized for the 
three years' service on July 2.3, 18r>l. Early hi 18(52 it joined the 
army under Gen. U. S. Grant, took part in the capture of Fort 
Donelson and the battle of Shiloh, after which it continued in service 
in Mississippi and Tennessee. It was veteranized in December, 18(5.'3, 
and in Company B of the Veteran Seventh the following men were 
credited to Stark County: Hugh J. Cosgrove, ca])tain; George II. 
31ai'tin, first lieutenant; Andrew Nelson and Isaiah V. Bates, ser- 
geants; Alexander Headley and Henry Stauffer, corporals. 

Privates — Heiny II. Ballentine, Jacob Bogard, Oliver Boggs, 
Willis Burgess, Silas Cha])pell. Thomas II. Crowe, .rf)hn Dawson, 
Thomas Dawson, John Ditman, Henry Duckworth, Thomas Fal- 
coner, John L. Foulk, John Garvin, Jasper Graves, ^Villiam W. 



14U HISTORY OF STARK COLXTY 

Isenberg, James L. Jarman, John ^lartiii, John Otto, Patrick Plill- 
Ih'II. FraiikHn Pratt. Timothy liatclift', Henry Rouse, John Rouse, 
William Shipley, ^lason Stauli'er, Jotham K. Taylor, vStephen Tim- 
mons, Edward H. Trickle, David White, Henry H. Witcher, Ben- 
jamin Witter and William Zumwalt. The regiment was mustered out 
at Louisville, Kentucky. July 0. 1865. 

EARLY ENLISTMENTS 

In several of the first regiments that went out from the state there 
were one or more Stark County men. Henry Speers A\as a recruit 
in Company C, Eleventh Infantry; Thomas Carroll was a private 
in Company H, Twelfth Infantry, until wounded and discharged in 
August, 1862; jNIichael Casey, Thomas Doyle, James IMaloney and 
Frank Williamson were enrolled in Conqjany C, Fourteenth Infantry; 
in the same regiment Thomas J. ^larshall and John Xorris served in 
Company E; Livingston Sharrach, Company G; and Samuel A. 
Patten was a corporal in Company H ; Thomas D. Bonar and David 
^V. Snyder enlisted as privates in Company D, Seventeenth Infantry, 
in May. 1861; and in Company F. Fjighteenth Infantry, were George 
W. Bowers, Charles McLaughlin, John Gladden and John P. Smith. 

NINETEENTH INFANTRY 

Not until the organization of the X'ineteenth Infantry, in June, 
1861, was Stark County enabled to furnish a full company for the 
\()lunteer service. Before the President issued his first call for troops, 
Capt. Charles Stuart had commenced the formation of a comjiany 
called die "Elmira RiHes." This company was mustered in as Com- 
])auy B, Xineteentli Infantry, which regiment was commanded by 
Col. John B. Turchin. At the time of the muster in it was officered 
as follows: 

Captain, Charles Stuart; first lieutenant, Stephen W. Hill; sec- 
ond lieutenant, Alexander ]Murchison. Captain Stuart resigned on 
Juh' 15, 1862, and Lieutenant JNIurchison was promoted to the com- 
mand of the company. Lieutenant Hill having resigned in X^o\ em- 
ber, 1861. 

Sergeants — John S. Pashley, William Jackson (promoted first 
lieutenant), John H. Hunter (promoted second lieutenant), James 
G. Boardman, James INIontooth. 

Corporals — James Jackson, Charles H. Brace. Robert A. Turn- 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 141 

bull, Joseph Rlanchard, John G. Laniper, Thomas Robinson, Joliii T. 
Thornton (promoted second lieutenant), George B. Hutchinson. 

Isaiah Y. Bates and Isaac M. Spencer enlisted as musicians, and 
John Douglas was the company's wagoner. 

Privates — John Q. xVdams, Uavid W. Aldrich, Dax-id Allen, 
James Atherton, Isaac Bannister, John Blackburn. Charles Black- 
well, Frederick P. Bloom, Lenuiel U. Bullis, John Bourke, Henry 
Burrows. William A. Cade, Owen Carlin. Julius A. Case, DeForest 
Chamberlain. James Cinnamon, ^Vsa Clark, Walter Clark, George 
Comstock, Adrian Coon, Urban Coon, I^ewis Corsan, Aaron T. 
Courier, Francis Crowden, George Crowden. Ileiny F. Uavison, 
AVilliam Douglas, Leonard C. Drawyer. Henry Drury, George Du- 
gan, Edward Ervin. Adam G. Fell, Robert Fell, William H. Flem- 
ming, Philip A. Galley, Springer Galley, Reuben Gardiner, Charles 
(Jreenfield, Wesley Hall, Chester P. Harsh, Leonard D. Henderson, 
Frank Ilorrigan. James Hutchins, Alfred S. Hurment, James O. 
Imcs. John Imcs. Martin Imes, ^Villiam Imes. William Ingles. David 
Jackson, William Johnson, Edward M. Jordan. \N'illard Jordan, 
Arnold Kempion, John I^. Kennedy. Isaac Kenyon. John M. Lamper, 
Joseph M. Leacox, Charles N. Leeson, Madison Linsley, Alonzo 
IjUcc. John ]McConchie. John McShcrry. Jose})h C. Meigs. James 
JMeri'ill. Samuel Montooth. Daniel J. Moon, Columbus ^lorgan. Com- 
fort Morgan, Cornelius ^Morgan, William X. Nelson, William H. 
Newcomer, Thomas AV. Oziah, Joseph X. Park, George P. Richer, 
George N. Ryerson, Robert T. Scott, (ieoi-ge T. Sharrer. Heni'v C. 
Shull, John (). S])aidding. (ieorge II. Stone. Albert Terwilliger. Eli- 
jah N. Terwilliger. James (i. Turnbull, Thomas TurnbuU. Amos 
Yinson, Edwin D. Way. John Webber, Fred H. Whitaker, Lewis 
Williams, Henry B. Worth. 

On the r2th of July the regiment was ordered to Quincy. where 
it arrived the next day, and was immediately sent to the line of the 
Hannibal & St. Joseph llailroad in Missouri. It was next sent to St. 
Ijouis. where it remained for a few weeks, when it joined General 
Buelfs Army of the Ohio in Tennessee. After seeing the Nineteenth 
drill, GeTieral Buell ])ronounced it the best drilled regiment he bad 
seen and assigned COionel Turchin to the command ol' the Eighth 
Brigade, Third Division, Army of the Ohio. The regiment was 
actively engaged in the second day's battle at Shilob: took i)art in 
the battle of Perry ville. Ky. ; formed part of General Negley's 
division in the battle of Chickamauga, and took part in the military 
ojjerations around Chattanooga in the fall of 180.'}. especially the 



142 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

engagement at Missionary Ridge. In the spring of 1864 it joined 
the army commanded by Gen. W. T. Sherman for the Atlanta cam- 
paign and took jjart in several engagements before it was mustered 
outon July 9, 18t)4. 

THIRTY-THIRD IXFAXTRY 

The next regiment in which Stark County was represented by any 
considerable number of men was the Thirty-third, in which a large 
])art of Company B came from little old Stark. Of that company 
C. Judson Gill was mustered in as first lieutenant and promoted to 
captain in January. 1803. Xelson G. Gill, who Avas mustered in as a 
sergeant was promoted to first lieutenant, and Walter T. Hall, who 
entered the service as a corporal, was promoted to sergeant. 

Privates — Jesse Armstrong, William Biggs, Xewton G. B. Brow n 
(promoted second lieutenant), Calvin Butler, George Dewey, Daniel 
Donovan, Otis T. Dyer. Harrison W. Ellis. Levi^ T. Elli.s, Walter 
A. Fell, George Fezler, Alvin Galley, Hugh Y. Godfrey, Charles 
Green (transferred to the regimental band), Charles C. Hotchkiss. 
^Murray Hotchkiss, Edward H. Ingraham, Charles S. Johnson, 
George A. Lowman (transferred to regimental l)andK Andrew Mc- 
Kee. William J. R. ^Nlayo, Thomas ^y. Rule. Charles Shinn, John 
H. Stickney, Sanford Strowbridge, Lewis Thomas, Andrew Turnbull. 

John Peterson and Adam Rush served in Company K of the 
Thirty-third, which was mustered into the United States service in 
August. 1861. It served in ^Missouri and Arkansas until the spring of 
1863, when it was ordered to join General Grant's army for the siege 
of Vicksburg. The regiment was in action at Champion's Hill, Port 
Gibson and the Black River Bi-idge. After the surrender of Yicks- 
burg it took part in the battle of Jackson. ^liss. In August, 
1863. it was assigned to the Thirteenth Corps and ordered to Eoui- 
siana. Its last active military service was in the movement against 
jNIobiie in the sjjring of 186.5. and on Xovember 24, 186.?. it was 
mustered out. 

THIRTY-SEVENTH IXFAXTRY* 

About the time the comi)any known as the Elmira RiHes was 
organized, the patriotic people of Goshen Township organized the 
"Fafavette Rifles," under command of Ca})t. Charles V. Dickinson. 
The comi)any entered the service as Company B. Thirty-seventh In- 
fantry, with Charles V. Dickinson as captain: Cassimir P. Jackson, 
first lieutenant: Francis A. Jones, second lieutenant; David L. Ash, 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 143 

William X. Perry and Fayette Lacey, sergeants; Oliver S. Risdon, 
Thomas J. ]Mel3aniel, Luman P. Ilimes, Chillon R. Redtield, Joshua 
S. Dudley, James S. Lundy. John A. Perry and William Nieholson, 
corporals: and George Ransom, musician. Lieutenant Jackson re- 
signed on July 1>, 18<>2, and Lieutenant Jones was promoted to the 
vacancy, Sergeant Ash being made second lieutenant. Corporals Ris- 
don ami McDaniel were promoted sergeants, and Corporal Himes rose 
to the rank of first lieutenant. 

Privates — Andrew Anderson, John Anderson, xVaron S. Anshutz, 
David Anshutz. William W. Atkins, Joseph Rarlow, William H. 
Barney, Alva W. Brown, Emery S. BufFum, John W. Buffum. John 
Charleson. Lucius Church. William H. Craig, Henry B. Dexter, 
William T. Dickinson. Fldridge B. DriscoU. John A. Eddy, ^Michael 
M. Emery, Luther Fitch, Martin Fitch, Cummings Force, JNIatthew 
T. Godfrey, Nelson Grant, N. G. Hilliard, Charles F. Himes, George 
H. Hurd, W. H. Hurd, Thomas Hughes, Norman Ives, Moses S. 
Jones. Julius Kelsey. Alvin Kiem, Daniel Kiem. Anthony Kennard, 
Thomas R. Lake. Dennis Lee. James E. Lee, Samuel Lemoine, Dan- 
iel Lundy, Chauncey R. ]Miner, Benjamin H. JMorgan, Ira Newton, 
Joseph H. NeAvton, William J. Noran, David Nowlan, Edward Per- 
kins. \Villiam J. Pilgrim, John Reed, Robert C. Reed. George W. 
Rouse. Hartford J. Rowe. John Sackrisson. Henry Sipe. David W. 
Snyder, Henry W. Wilbur. ]Martin \Vilcox, Samuel W. Young. 

The Thirty-seventh was mustered in at Chicago early in Septem- 
ber. 1861, and soon afterward was ordered to Arkansas. In January. 
1802. it was in the battle of Pea Ridge, after which it was engaged at 
Fayetteville, Newtonia and Prairie Grove. During the remainder of 
its service it was in a number of battles and skirmishes and was mus- 
tered out in May. 18(16. 

FOKTY-SECOXn IXFAXTRY 

Fourteen Stark County men served in this regiment, to wit : Hcniy 
Boyle. Company B ; James Hall, Frank Horn, Robert jNIiller and 
John W. Shoemaker, Company D; Cyrenus Dewey. Case D. Dubois, 
Sanuiel P. Hankins and Amos Hodges, Com|)any F; Silas Avery, 
Mordecai Bevier, Joseph G. Fowler, Springer Galley and Thomas 
W. Oziah, Company K. 

The regiment was mustered in at Chicago in Sejitember, 1861; 
served in ]Missouri and Kansas until the spring of 18()2; was then in 
Mississippi for a short time; took part in the engagements at Stone's 



144 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

River, on the Tullahoma cami)ai^n, Chickaniauga and Missionary 
Ridge; was with Sherman in the Athnita campaign of 1864 and par- 
ticipated in a number of the actions incident to that movement, in- 
cliuhng the charge at Ivenesaw JMountain, Peaclitree Creek and 
Atlanta. In September, 1864, it was ordered to New Orleans and 
served in the Department of the Gulf until mustered out on January 
10, 1866. 

FORTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY 

Stark County Avas well represented in this regiment, having a few 
men in each of Companies A and D, and Company K was organized 
in the county. Charles S. Blood, who went out as a sergeant in Com- 
pany A, was promoted to second lieutenant, and Benjamin Anient 
and Benjamin F. Ellis served as privates in the company. In Com- 
pany D were the following jirivates: Nathaniel Childs, Alliert G. 
Conley, William Crow, Robert Davidson, Perry Kent, William R. 
Kiger, John ]\lcKinnon, Robert S. ]Martin, James Richart, Allen H. 
Spellman, William ^V. Stewart. Alva W. Sturdevant, Abraham A"an- 
dusen. James Drummond was a i)rivate in Company H, being the 
only Stark County man in that company. 

The officers of Company K at the time of muster in were as fol- 
lows: Jacob Jamison, captain; David DeWolf, first lieutenant (pro- 
moted ca2)tain) ; James A. Henderson, second lieutenant. Sergeants — 
John ]M. Brown (promoted captain), William H. Denchtield (jiro- 
moted first lieutenant) ; Elisha Dixon, Philip A. Templeton, Charles 
Butler. Corporals — Adam Torrance, Charles D. Paul, Joseph W. 
Jamison, Henry Dixon, D. W. Davis, Henry Hixon, Charles Ed- 
munds. Wagoner — John H. Waller. 

Privates — James Alderman, Henry Allen, John Barler, Benja- 
min Blackburn, Hiram Boardman, Wilson Boggs, Allen Chaffee, 
George A. Clifford, ^Nliles Colwell, Ross Colwell, Amos Cornish, 
Thomas Cross, William Cross, Oliver Crowder, William Dailey, Joel 
Dixon, William Dixon, Jasper Doleson, Carson W. Drummond, 
Socrates Drummond, John D. Eby, Sanmel Ebv, Lewis Egbert, 
George W. Ellis, Andrew Eutzler, Daniel Fast, Robert Garner, ^ 
Charles Goodrich, George Hachtel, John Hawks (promoted second 
lieutenant), Oscar G. Hixon, Charles S. Hitchcock, Daniel Howard, 
John Hum, Jacob Hutchinson, William Jamison, James W. Jarna- 
gin, James Kinkade, Robert Lambert, Daniel ]McCrady, Theodore 
W. ]\IcDaniel, James T. ^Marshall, George H. Martin, Thomas 
Nichols, David Oziah, George F. Pyles, Robert Pyles, Edward Som- 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 145 

mers, Sylvester Sylcott, John E. Tlirall Barton Tlmi-ston, Jesse 
West, John G. ^Vhite, Rohert L. Wright. 

The Forty-seventh was organized at Peoria in >;Vugnst and Sep- 
tember, 1861. Soon after being mustered in it moved to Benton 
Barracks at St. Louis. It was first under fire at Farming-ton, ^liss., 
May 9, 1862; took part in the action of ^lay 28, 1862, at Corinth, 
wliere Colonel Tln-ush was killed, and in 3Iay. 1868, joined General 
Grant at Vicksburg. After the fall of Vieksbin-g it was ordered to 
Louisiana. When the men whose time had expired were mustered out 
in 1864. the veterans and recruits were consolidated with some from 
other regiments. The Stark County men in the consolidated Forty- 
seventh were as follows: 

Company A — James B. Riley and Richard Lynch. 

Company B — Henry Weiar, corporal (promoted captain) : Wil- 
son Boggs, first lieutenant; and the followhig privates: J. Bates, 
Socrates Drummond. Cliarles (roodrich. (ieorgc Ilachtel. Henry 
Hixon, Oscar G. Hixon, James Kinkade, Uavid Oziah, Sylvester 
Sylcott, Jacob Weiar, ^Michael Weiar. 

Company C — Benjamin Ellis, corporal. 

Company E — Philip C. Scott, corporal; Charles Byrne, Thomas 
Byrne. William Conklin, James Farrell. Charles Hall, John Keely 
and Robert Keusler, privates. 

Company H — George Edwards, John Hartley, Uaniel Hogan 
and Charles jNIcBride, privates. 

Company I — In this company were four privates, viz: Uaniel 
Ballard, John Burns, Abram Loudenburgh, Theodore Vandyke. 

Company K — Albert Papeneau, sergeant; Alexander Davis, 
George W. Sailer and Alexander Sanies, corporals : Robert Lambert, 
wagoner; David Biddleman, Enoch Foble, Thomas J. Fuller, Thomas 
Fryman, Samuel A. Glassford, Samuel S. Glassford. Stephen H. 
Jackson, John W. ^lorrison and Robert Sames, privates. 

After the consolidation above mentioned the regiment continued 
on duty in Louisiana and Alabama. It was mustered out at Sehna, 
Ala., in January, 1866. 

SIXTY-FIFTH INFANTRY 

The next regiment in which Stark County was represented by any 
considerable number of men was the Sixty-fifth, which was mustered 
in at Chicago on ]May 1, 1862. In Company A were James K. iVllen, 
Ezekiel Bogard, Joseph Bogard, Asa Greenfield, Bethuel Greenfield, 



146 HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 

Sylvester Greenfield and Robert H. Hitchcock. There were three 
jjrivates in Conijjany D — Finley ^IcClellan, William \V. Updike and 
Daniel P. White — and in Company G were Corporal John Richer, 
James F. Ausman, William H. Ausman, privates. 

A mimber of men in Company L came from Stark County. 
George II. Brown was mustered in as a sergeant and promoted to 
second lieutenant; James K. Oziah served as corporal, and the follow- 
ing as privates: Isaac Bannister, Benjamin Blackburn, Stephen S. 
Burnham. Alfred Cornish, James Dalrymple, Freeman R. Davison, 
Chauncey Gardner, Henry C. Hall, Robert Heimessy, Harmon 
Ilochstrasser, Osro C. Huckins, Frederick K. Ketzenberger, Alex- 
ander C. Lord, Peter Xelson, Arthur R. Olds, George W. Pate, 
James C. Powell, Samuel C. Sharrer, William Shirts, Harvey L. 
Way. \V. W. Weaver. John Whitclier and Robert ^y. ^Vood. 

The Sixty-fifth, sometimes calleil the "Scotch Regiment," served 
in ^"irginia until the sjjring of 1863, when it was assigned to the Army 
of Eastern Kentucky. In the spring of 1864 it joined General Sher- 
man for the Atlanta campaign and was in numerous engagements, 
especially distinguishing itself at Lost Mountain and the charge at 
Kenesaw ^Mountain. Like the Forty-seventh, some of the veterans 
and reci-uits of other regiments were consolidated with tlie Sixty-fifth, 
and in the consolidated regiment the following men were credited to 
Stark County: 

Company B — David C. Jf)nes, sergeant; Josejjh W. Richer, cor- 
jjoral ; George JMaxfield and David Woodard, privates. 

Company F — Elmer Sage, first lieutenant; Frank L. Yale and 
Luther Graham, corporals; George A. Brown, William A. Brown, 
Zachary T. Brown, James L. Fox, ^lelvin Gage, William J. Hamil- 
ton, Ira F. Hayden, ^Martin Plickman, Andrew Jackson, A\'illiam J. 
Lamper, ]Morris C. Lami^son, John Lee, Solomon Leighton, Isaac 
Luce, Jacob W. McDaniel, Bailey C. Ogden, George W. Pate, 
Thomas Patterson, Adam Rush. George Rush. James M. Tacket, 
Stephen Talbot, Anson Tanner, Elisha E. Taylor, privates. 

Company H — James K. Allen, Joseph Bogard, Bethuel Green- 
field, Sylvester Greenfield, Robert H. Hitchcock and Daniel P. 
White, privates. 

Company I — In this company Freeman R. Davison and Osro C. 
Huckins served as privates, and in Company K. George H. Brown 
Mas second lieutenant. The consolidated Sixty-fifth was mustered 
out on July 13, 1865. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY li7 

SIXTY-NINTH INFANTRY 

Tliirty-onc men from Stark County saw service in Company D, 
Sixty-nintli Infantry, which was mustered into the United States 
service on June 14, 18152. Jedediah Luce, George ^V. Smith, Mat- 
thew Rounds and James Adams were enrolled as corporals, and the 
following- served as privates: oMoses jM. Adams. ^Villiam Rowden, 
Edward Rrown, Robert Royd, Lucius Church, \Villiam H. Davidson, 
Algernon Fitch, Ransom 1). Foster, William Foster, INlichael Gil- 
lespie, William Hamilton. David Ilimes, ^Michael Hum, Renjamin 
F- I^ewis, Henry R. Lewis, George ^V. McDanicl. Cieorge Pate, Kd- 
Mard Perry, Edwin R. Pomeroy, John AV. Rounds, Wilson Rounds, 
F^rederick Russell, Jasper Smith, Theron Wallei-, ^Villiam F. 
Wheeler, Lorenzo K. Wiley, Isaac INI. AVitter. 

EIGHTY-SIXTH INFANTRY 

This regiment was organized at Peoi'ia and was mustered in on 
August 27, 1H()2. Stark County furnished nineteen men to Com- 
pany E, and three men to Company II. George H. Smith was mus- 
tered in as a sergeant in the former company and was promoted to the 
captaincy on July 1.3, 18G4. The privates were: Renton Carrington, 
Joseph Carter, ^Villiam Cooper, Williaiu Dawson, Harvey Fore- 
man (promoted to second lieutenant, but not mustered), Alonzo 
Goodale, James C. Hall, John A. Job, Andrew Xehlig, Thomas 
Reader, James ^V. Reagan, Tighlman S. Reagan, James S. Schank, 
Jacol) Schleigh. AVilliam F. Speers, John R. Waldron, Eli Wilson 
and Louis \V()odward. The three men in Company II were: Cyrus 
A. Fox, who was enrolled as musician, and privates Alexander Ilep- 
perly and John Jenkeson. 

The regiment was ordered to Ijouisville, Ky., immediately 
after it was mustered in and served for several moiitlis in that state. 
It was engaged at Perryville, Chickamauga, ^lissionaiy Ridge and 
in several of the battles and skirmishes of the Atlanta campaign in 
18(>1.. aftei- which it accompanied Sherman's army on the historic 
"JMarcli to the sea" and the campaign of the Carolinas. It was mus- 
tered out at AVashington, D. C, June 6, 18G.3. 

NINETY-THIRD INFANTRY" 

In September, 1802, this regiment was organized at Chicago and 
when mustered into the United States service Nicholas C. Ruswell, 



148 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

of Stark County, held the rank of heutei)aiit-colonel. He was pro- 
moted to colonel on Xo\einber 2.5, 18(53, but was not mustered as such. 
In Company H the following Stark County boys were enrolled as 
privates: George Gardner, Thomas Goodwin, Edgar Hall, William 
C. Ifall, John Ilellener, ^Matthew Landon, Fred Selaghter, Seth K. 
Stoughton, Xathan Thorn and ^Morgan L. Weaver. 

In November, ISC'i, the regiment was ordered to ^lemphis, Tenn., 
and the next ^Nlareh it took part in the famous Y^azoo Pass expedi- 
tion. It was in the battle of Rlack River Bridge, the siege of Vicks- 
burg, a number of the engagements on the Atlanta eampaign of IHfii, 
marched with Sherman to the sea and up through the Carolinas, and 
was mustered out on June 23, 1865. 

ONE HUNDRED AND TWELFTH INFANTRY 

On xVugust 8, 18(;2, the commissioned officers of three Stark 
County companies and sevoi Henry County companies met at Cialva 
ami took the jireliminary stejjs to organize a regiment. The result of 
tliis movement was that on September 20-22, 1862, the One Hundred 
and Twelfth was mustered in at Peoria, with Thomas J. Henderson, 
of Toulon, as colonel, and Luther S. JNIillikin, of Wyoming, as as- 
sistant surgeon, afterward promoted surgeon. "With the exception 
of a few men. Companies B, E and F were raised in Stark County. 

In Company B the commissioned officers at the time of muster in 
Mere: James B. Doyle, captain; Jonathan C. Dickerson, first lieu- 
tenant ; John Gudgell, second lieutenant. Captain Doyle resigned on 
March 31, 1863, and Lieutenant Dickerson was promoted to the 
vacancy. He Mas killed in action on September 18, 1863, Mhen I>ieu- 
tenant Ciudgell became captain and served until discharged on ^Nlarch 
27, 1865. Bradford F. Thompson Mas then promoted to the cap- 
taincy and held that rank until the regiment was mustered out. 

Sergeants — Bradford F. Thompson (promoted to lieutenant and 
captain), William H. Doyle (i)romoted first lieutenant). Charles P.. 
Foster (promoted second lieutenant), John II. Bunnell and Willard 
B. Foster. 

Corporals — Eli C. Jones (promoted sergeant), George W. Reed 
(promoted sergeant), Nicholas Hill, Augustus J. Thomi)son | jirn- 
moted sergeant), Edward J. Riley. 

Privates — Robert Alexander, Charles H. Barber, George Barber, 
Orlin Bevier (promoted corporal), Andrew J. Brode, Charles N. 
Crook (])romoted corporal), Isaac N. Dalrymple, Thomas E. De- 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 149 

• 

Jaiit'v. Uriah Dunn. Spencer KIston, Joseph Fleming, Fiioeh \N'. 
l'\)stt'r, ^Morris Fowler, Samuel 13. Francis, John P. Freeman, ^Vil- 
liam 1). Freeman, AVashington Garside, Hiram P. Cieer. Kphraim 
(ilidden. James A. Goudrich, .John Hall, Charles II. Handley, \Vil- 
liani Handley, .James Hare, Henry S. Haj'den (mustered out as 
musician), Louis T. Ilinkle (promoted corporal), Kdwin Holmes, 
George Jennings, ^^'iiliam H. Johnson, Levi W. Jones (promoted 
corporal), .John R. .Jones (promoted sergeant), Peter .Tones, Daniel 
Kane, Francis J. Leggett, Charles Leighton, John C. Leighton, 
.James A. I^ong (promoted corporal), William C. Lopeman, George 
Ijudlum, Henry MeKihhons. .John JNIcLaughlin, Hiram P. jNIallory 
(promoted corporal). Llias Miller, Ornian X. xMiiler, Horace iNIorri- 
son. .Jolm ()lenl)in-g (promoted corporal) , J-'^her S. Oshorn (mustered 
out as wagoner), Lewis Oshorn, Irwin Oxherger, James Partridge, 
.Jacol) H. Perkey, Ira Porter, Samuel Redding, George W. Scott, 
Henry Shim]). Dennis Spellman. Henry Stacy, Nathan D. Stewart, 
George W. Stone, Cyrus Sturm, Isaac Sturm, .John Sturm, Alva ^V. 
Sturtevant, Clark N. Sturtevant, Joseph Taylor, Charles R. Thomp- 
son, .John Wallace, William P. Wilson. 

Recruits — Joseph H. Raldwin, George A. Brown, IMelvin Gage, 
Ira F. Hayden, ^Villiam .T. 1 tamper, .John Lee, Solomon Leighton, 
Isaac Luce. 

Sanford I^. Ives, of Goshen Township, was a sergeant in Com- 
pany 1), and Robert Creighton, Walter N. Jones, Lemuel F. 
JNlathews, Baillie C. Ogden and Ste])hen Talhot. ])rivates in the same 
company, Avere credited to Stark County. 

Sylvester F. Otman, of Wyoming, was mustered in as captain of. 
Company K; Cranner W. Brown, first lieutenant: Elmer A. Sage, 
second lieutenant. The last named was transferred to the Sixty-fiftli 
regiment and Henry Graves was made second lieutenant. 

Sergeants — Henry .T. Otman, Henry Graves (promoted second 
lieutenant). Dixon Solomon, John E. Charrett and Charles B. Hitch- 
cock. 

Corporals— Timothy Bailey, John B. Pettit. William G. Wilkin- 
son, I'eter ]M. Swords, Carey G. Colhurn. AVilliam C. JMc^Iillen. 
James B. Blackmore. David Fast. 

Wagoner — John D. INIartin. 

Privates — ^Michael Alderman. iMfred B. Armstrong. .Terry IT. 
Bailey. William B. Barr. David Barrett. James D. Bloomer (])i-(i- 
moted sergeant), Gershom Bui'nett, .Tames FL Bush. Sidnev D. But- 
ler (promoted corporal), William Cassatt, William T. Carter, 



150 lllSTOliV Ol' STAKK LOLNTV 

Thomas Cohvell, William Cohvcll, John Cole, Absalom J. Cooper, 
Klijali Cox, Joel Cox, Douglas X. Crone (promoted eorporal), 
Charles B. Davis, David Dawson, John Dawson, Xewton Dolison, 
\\'illiam Ellis, James Elston, Wallace W. Emanuel, Whitfield Evans, 
Andrew Fautz, Xoah Fautz, Shephard Green, Stephen ^^^ Cxreen, 
Henry A. Greenerwalt, Jonathan Ciraves. Charles Hall, Charles 
Hart, Eugene Hart, John Harvey, William Herridge, Lewis Hihack, 
JNlichael Hire, \Villiam Holgate, IMedora Hoover, X'athan H. Hull, 
David Kerns, Calvin B. Laskell, Curwine McCoy, John IMcCoy, 
Kiley .AJaranville, George B. Marlatt, David S. .Miller, William H. 
jNIorgan, William J. jNlorgan, George W. Nicholas, John Oldaker 
(promoted corporal), Charles W. Phenix. Frank Pross, James W. 
KatclifF, James Ray, Simon Ray, William Ray, John Sigel, William 
E. L. Smith, Cyrus Snare (promoted corporal), Henry Soper, 
Joseph Sparks, ^Michael Springer, James Strinhurg, Sylvester H. 
Stofer, John D. Swain, Thaddeus Thurston, Ananias Timmons (pro- 
moted corj^oral). Philip ^I. Trapp, Josiah F. Umbaugh, David 
Wandling, Russell White, Ancil H. \Voodcock. 

Recruits — James I^. Fox, jMorris C. Lampson, Adam Rush, 
Geoi-ge Rush, Francis M. Sollars, James JNl. Tacket, Anson Tanner. 

Companj' F was officered at the time of muster in as follows: 
William W. Wright, captain; Jackson Lawrence, first lieutenant; 
Robert E. Westfall, second lieutenant. Captain Wright died on 
June 24, 1864, and was succeeded by James G. Armstrong, who was 
mustered in as first sergeant, Robert E. Westfall being promoted to 
first lieutenant. 

Sergeants — James G. Armstrong (promoted captain), George 
C. ]\Iaxfield (promoted second lieutenant), Edwin Butler. AVilliam 
P. Finiey, Bushrod Tapp (promoted first lieutenant). 

Corporals — John H. Lane (jiromoted sergeant), Henry B. Perry 
(promoted second lieutenant), William C. Bell, Andrew G. Pike 
(})romoted sergeant), William Rounds, Levi Silliman, ^Milton 
Trickle. John F. Rhodes (promoted sergeant). 

Privates — Henry C. Ackley, John L. Adams. Samuel 3L H. 
Adams (promoted corporal), Alfred C. Ballentine, William P. Bal- 
lentine (promoted sergeant), Elmore Barnhill. AVilliam H. Barton, 
William Beiderdeck. John Black. George Iif)yd. William Boyd, 
Xathaniel Crabtree, William ]M. Creighton, John W. Curfman. James 
W. Davison, Darius Demont. Robert INI. Denney (promoted cor- 
poral), Samuel ]M. Eldridge, George Ely, William H. Ely. James 
Essex. John D. Essex, William T. Essex. James E. Finlev (mustered 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 151 

out as corporal), Olaus Forss, Heiuy Garner, James R. Gelviu (pro- 
moted sergeant) , George Graen, William II. Harris, Anderson Harty 
(promoted sergeant), James P. Headlev. Milton Headley, Austin C. 
Ilimes, William Himes, .Joseph Hoppock. James Hughes (promoted 
corporal), Uaniel Huselton, George W. Johnson, Ilavilah B. John- 
son, Timothy Kennedy, Andrew Kamerer, John Kindle, Royal Laf- 
ferty, Jesse Likens, Theodore ^MeDaniel. James M. ^NlcSharry. 
Jeremiah D. ^Madden, Job G. ]MaIiaft'ey, Robert Makings, Isaac 
^lessinger, George ^liller, Josiah Minoi-, John F. Negus, Zarah II. 
Newton, Cieorge W. Oziah. Hiram G. Parrish, William B. Price, 
Thomas Proctor, George Rockwell, (ieorge W. Rhodes, Ira Scran- 
ton, Kphraim ^V. Smith, Jacob Stanffer. Milton Stevens, George G. 
Stone (promotetl eor])oral), Robert Ci. Stowe, William A. Stowe, 
Presley Terrell, David Tiidin, Benjamin F. Todd, Jacob Vulgamott 
(promoted corporal), William Vulgamott, David Webster, Thomas 
T. White, John W. ^Vhitten. Curtis Wright. 

liecruits — Joseph II. Burwick. Futher Graham, Henry C. Hall, 
William J. Hamilton, Peter C. Johnson, J. AV. ^NlcDaniel, George 
W. Pate, Thomas Patterson, Elisha J. Taylor, Jesse B. Taylor, 
Henry J. Stone. 

In Company G. Joseph Berry, Charles Kezer, George ^lelbourne, 
Louis E. jMorton, John A. Tarble, AVilliam A. Brown, Ransom D. 
Foster, Andrew Jackson, INIyron Waters and Frank L. Yale served 
as privates, and the following recruits from Stark County were nnas- 
signed to comjnniies: John Berier, Ciba A. Dunlap, Noah Hidle- 
baugh. Jonas Johnson, Arnold Volney. 

The I'egiment left Peoria on October 8, 18(»2, and on the 11th re- 
])orted to Gen. Gordon Granger, at Covington, Ky. It remained in 
camp at Lexington for about five months, after which it was on guard 
and scolding duty in Kentucky until the summer of 1803, several 
times being engaged with small bodies of the enemy. It Avas then 
moved to East Tennessee and took part in all the military operations 
there in the fall of 1863 and the early part of ISfU. In :May, 1804, it 
joined General Sherman at Tunnel Hill, Ga.. and was in several of 
the hottest engagements of the .Atlanta campaign. When General 
Hood evacuated Atlanta and started northward, the regiment, as part 
of the Twenty-third Army Corps, moved back to Tennessee. It took 
part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, which virtually ended 
the war in the ^Vest. After pursuing Hood's retreating army to the 
Tennessee River, the One Hundred and Twelfth i)roceeded by steam- 
boat to Cincinnati, Ohio, thence by rail to ^Vashington, D. C, and 



152 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY' 

was next engaged in the reduction of Fort Fisher. Its last service was 
in North CaroHna. It was mustered out at Cliicago on July 7, IHGo. 
Colonel Henderson was in conunand of the hrigade the greater part 
of the time after August 8, 1863, and on November 30, 1864i, was 
pi'omoted to the rank of brevet brigadier-general. 

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUKTH INFANTRY 

Sixteen Stark Comity men served in this regiment, though some 
of them were credited to Henry County. Asa Bunton was corporal 
in Company A at the time of muster in, but was promoted to sergeant, 
and Uaniel S. Adams, Frank Hudson, Levi Leek, Fred ^l. Leacroft 
and Asa Smith enlisted as privates in the same company. In Ccni- 
pany F. George S. Green was a sergeant; Samuel ^I. Likes, a cor- 
poral; and the following privates: Nathaniel Copper. Walter A. 
Fell, x\lvin Galley, Tliomas :Murray. Thomas W. Rule, Sylvester 
Sweet. Andrew Turnbidl and ^Alexander Wier. 

The regiment was mustered in on September 10, 1862, with 
Thomas J. Sloan as colonel. Its first active service was in Tennessee; 
then it took part in the siege of Vicksburg and several of the engage- 
ments of that cam})aign. In January. 1864, it won the prize banner 
offered by Gen. M. D. Leggett for the best drilled regiment in the 
division. Its last service was in Alabama. It was mustered out at 
Springfield, 111., August 16, I860. 

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINTH INFANTRY 

In this regiment, as in the preceding one, some of the men who 
went out from Stark County are credited to other counties. Stephen 
V. R. Bates, of Toulon, was a member of the regimental band; Otis 
P. Dyer was a corporal in Company A ; James Swank was a corporal 
m Company E; Ansel J. Wright was first lieutenant in Company H; 
Gorham P. Blood and George Dugan were sergeants in the same 
company; Oliver P. Crowell, Nathaniel W. Dewey and \Villiam O. 
Johnson were corporals, and the following served as privates: Wil- 
liam J. Barnett, Samuel Burge, Thomas W, Cade, George W, Dewey, 
Joseph Flansburg, Adam Gardner, Abram H. Loudenburg, Don C, 
I>yon, Oren ^Nlaxfield, Jr., Elisha ]Mosher, ^Villiam II. Newcomer, 
Harrison Newton, Joseph II. Newton, Harvey J. Remington, Reu- 
ben Rounds, John S. Roof, Charles D. Sharrer, William Searl, 
Joseph H. Sharrer. Theodore Vandyke, Andrew J. Whitaker, Ben- 



I 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 153 

jainin J. \Vitcher, Isaac M. Witter, Benjamin Witter, William "\V. 
WrJMht. 

Tliis regiment was mustered in on June 1, 1804., for 100 days and 
was soon afterward sent to Columbus, Ky., via St. Louis. Its only 
encounter with the enemy was in capturing horses and cattle to replace 
some taken by guerrillas, who had taken some Government cattle 
from steamboats near Padueah. Some of the stock was recaptured 
and enough taken from secession sympathizers to make good the loss. 
It was then in pursuit of General Price in Missouri. It was mustered 
out at Peoria on October 2.). 18()4. having served nearly two months 
beyond the term of its enlistment. 

ONE HUXDREl) AXU I'IFTV-FIKST INFANTRY 

Fayette Lacey, who had previously served in the Thirty-seventh 
Regiment, was made sergeant-major of the One Hundred and Fifty- 
first; Lafayette Schanip was a private in Company A; ^V. II. Rover, 
Allen Gingrich and C. W. Phenix served as privates in Company E, 
and a large ])art of Company I came from Stark County. 

The commissioned officers of Company I were as follows: Casimir 
P.Jackson, captain; James INIontooth, first lieutenant; Andrew^ Gal- 
braith, second lieutenant. James ^lontooth resigned on June 20, 
18(5.5. and Lieutenant Galbraith was promoted to the vacancy, Ser- 
geant George R. Fezler being made second lieutenant. 

Sei-geants — George Dugan. Cieorge R. Fezler. George W. ]Mc- 
Daniels, Samuel Keyes. 

Corporals — Rufus S. Jones, Samuel Dixon, Thomas Homer, 
James F. Thompson, John S. Roof and Herod ]Murnan. 

JMusicians — Thomas S. Craig and Charles W. Orr. 

^Vagoner — Jonathan Rounds, of Goshen Township. 

Privates — Atkinson Coe, David Crumb, Austin DeWolf, Joseph 
Dixon. George W. Gilson, Orson Grant. Edward A. Johnson, Leon- 
idas H. Jones. Elias R. Ia'w is, Samuel K. Lowman, Ira J. JMcCon- 
nell. Samuel Masters. .lohn H. ^Nloncrief, Edward A. Perry. Rethuel 
Pierson. Daniel Rockwell, Seth F. Rockwell, Henry W. Thomas and 
David Woodard. 

The regiment was organized at Quincy and was mustered into the 
United .States service on February 2'J. ISfi.l. for one yeai-. Two days 
later the men were armed and equi])ped at Springfield, and on March 
7, 186.5, the One Hundred and I'ifty-first reported to Gen. James B. 
Steadman at Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was present at Resaca, Ga., 



154 HISTOKV (JF STAllK COUM'V 

Avlien Confederate General AVarford surrendered his command to 
lOjiUO men in May, and spent the remainder of its term of service in 
that state, breaking uji guerrilla bands, guarding Government stores, 
etc. It was mustered out at Columbus, Ga., January "Ji, 18GG. 

MISCELLANEOUS INFAXTRY ENLISTMENTS 

In addition to the comijany rosters given above, a number of Stark 
County men were scattered through the various infantiy regiments 
sent out by the state. An examination of the adjutant-general's re- 
ports shows that Keuben Crook and George \y. Leighton served in 
Company A, and Lemuel G. JNlarsh in Company G, Sixteenth 
Infantry. 

In the Twentieth, William Borter, Zelotas Kendall and ^Matthew 
Rounds, were enrolled in Company E; William Keeper and Calvin 
Vulgamott, Company D: James Farrell, PhiliiJ Graves, Finley C. 
JNIcClellan, Edward Quirk and Herman Schrader, Company E; 
Thomas Graves, Company F; ^Michael Flynn and William H. Little, 
Company I. 

Jerome B. Thomas, of Wyoming, went to Kewanee and enlisted 
in the Twentj^-fourth, of which regiment he was commissioned assis- 
tant 'surgeon on jNIarch 3, 1862. 

Six Stark County boys served in the Twenty-eighth, viz: James 
C. Hall and John Waldron, in Company E (later transferred to the 
Thirt_y-fourth Regiment) ; Edress ]M. Conklin, Company F; George 
A. Armstrong, Jeremiah Fergiison and James JNI. Paden, Company K, 

In the Thirty-eighth Regiment, John ]M. Cole, Thomas C. Davis 
and Peter Lane served as privates in Company E. John Timmons 
was a recruit in Company D, Fortieth Infantry, and Hugh D. Keff er 
was a private in Company G of the same regiment. James D. Ander- 
son was enrolled in Company D, Forty-first. 

John L. Lee and William C. Grant were recruits in the Forty- 
ninth, the former in Company B and the latter in Com])any K. and 
Jolni Ryan was a private in the Fiftieth. 

The Fifty-first was organized in the winter of 1861-62. In Com- 
pany II were Hugh Donnelly, Eli PLlison, Erick From, Thomas Imes, 
Cyrus .lacobs, James Kemiedy. James Kinneman. Charles W. New- 
ton, Joseph Pew, David Simmerman, Solomon R. Shockley, Anthony 
Sturm and Paul Ward. Cyrus A. Anthony enlisted as a private in 
Company K, but was promoted to quartermaster sergeant and later 
to captain of Company B. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY ]55 

In the Fifty-third, Francis Bradlej^ was enrolled in Company A; 
James W. Albro and James Lee, Company C; William Oziah, Com- 
pany F. 

Five Stark County men enlisted in Company G of the Fifty-lifth, 
to-wit: L. S. Coggswell, George W. Eckley, James A. Eckley, 
Joseph C. Hiner and George E. ^Vitter. Three of these five were 
promoted to noncommissioned officers. 

In the Fifty-sixth, Edward Keffer and Osmand C. Griswold en- 
listed at ]McEeansboro. The former rose to be captain of his com- 
pany and tiie latter was mustered out as a second lieutenant. 

Thomas J. Blake, James Kelley and Joseph ^Manning enlisted in 
Company F, Fifty-seventh Tid'antry: James Nichols and Thomas C. 
Xicliols in Company K, and William P. Clifford in Company H. 

In the Fifty-eighth, Rudolph Shipman enlisted in Company I); 
Edward Ueffleg and Isaac Dudley in Company E; Franklin IMaxey 
and James C. JNIaxey, Comjjany I; and John Ryan joined the regi- 
ment as an unassigned recruit in February, 180,5. 

Stephen liabb served in the Sixty-fourth, and in the Sixty-sixth 
were Charles Atherton, Andrew Hamilton and Daniel Holmes. 

In Company A, Seventy-second Infantry, were Miles Avery, 
Jacob Galley, Scepta T. Harding, James U. Heath and Robert 
Holmes, and George W. Dunbar, Jr., and W. II. Harris served in 
Company E, Eighty-third. 

In the One Hundred and Sixth. Henjamin Williams was ca])tain 
of Company G, and James W. Berry, who enlisted as a corporal in 
C()m])any H, was promoted to first lieutenant. 

In the One Hun(h-ed and Eighth, Ricliard I^ynch was a member 
of Company C. and James Riley of Company I). Miles A. Collin- 
berry was in Company K. One Hundred and Thirteenth, and John 
C. Copestake was first assistant sui'geon of the One Hmidred and 
Fourteenth. 

In Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh regiment, 
were Abram Bevier. Robert J. Dickinson, Uriah (xiwitts, William 
H. Giwitts and George Kinter. 

In the One Hundred and Thirty-second were two privates fi'om 
Stark County — Cliarles C. Hotchkiss and Barney M. Jackson — both 
members of Company G. 

In Coni])any I, One Hundred and Forty-eighth (a one-year regi- 
ment), Mf)ses B. Robinson was a sergeant: Edwin B. Pomeroy. a 
corporal; and ^^'illiam D. Cundiff, Charles Hester and Unman Ilinies 
served as privates. 



156 III STORY OF STARK COLXTY 

Four men Avere credited to Stark County in Company I, One 
Hundred and Fifty-fifth Infantry, viz: William Cross, Patrick 
JNlcGuire, Edward ORrien and Oliver P. White. 

CAV.VLKY SERVICE 

Illinois furnisheil seventeen regiments of cavalry to the Union 
army during the Civil war. Stark County was represented in seven 
of the seventeen regiments, though in no instance did a whole com- 
pany enlist from the county. 

In Company A, Third Cavalry, which was mustered in on Sep- 
tember 21, 1861. were James H. Chaddock, John ^V. Highlands and 
Samuel A. Highlands. After the ranks of the regiment were depleted 
liy a long and arduous service, it was consolidated with portions of 
other commands and in Company C, Consolidated Third, were Sam- 
uel H. Aten. George Boardman, Harrison Rurkhart, William P. 
Burns, Hugh R. Creighton, Albert P. Finley, Robert Garner, John 
Green, John King, Theodore W. IMcDaniel, George F. Pyle, Henry 
Sinunerman and John Simmerman. Andrew J. Walker served in 
Company K. 

Joseph E. ]McKinstrey was a corporal in Company A, Fourth 
Ca^•all•y; William Douglas was a member of Company D. and Wil- 
liam Crooks, who enlisted in Company K, was promoted to sergeant- 
major. 

In the Seventh, which Mas mustered in at Camj) Rutler in August, 
18(51, Charles Butcher and William Butcher were unassigned recruits 
credited to Stark Comity. 

Twenty Stai-k Comity men were enrolled in the Ninth. Chris- 
to])lu'r Flanagan, Thomas Flanagan. Henry Lewis. Samuel R. Lewis, 
•John C. Shaw, Patrick Smith and John Stokes were privates in Com- 
])anv H ; J. O. H. Spinney was promoted to the captaincy of Com- 
pany K; John Jamison and Francis ]M. Lamper served as sergeants 
m the same company, in MJiich the following were enrolled as privates: 
Fowler Rryant, E. AV. Curtis, Frank U. Doyle. Thomas A. Foster, 
Wesley F. Foster, Francis Griswold, Christopher Handley, John S. 
Hayden, William S. Luce, Henry IMcKibbon, Isaac ]Moon, iSIartin 
Shay (imassigned recruit), James Sherlock, James ]M. Stanley, Her- 
man D. Sturm. C. :VI. Wheeler, William F. Wheeler. 

Andrew Caldwell enlisted in Company C of the Eleventh Cavalry; 
William A. Glaze was a member of Company M, and Baxter ]M. 
]Mahany was an unassigned recruit. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 157 

In the Twelfth Cavahy were Corporal Joseph E. JNIcKinstrey 
and William Douglas, who ^\ere transferred from the Fourth, and 
Joseph Johnson. 

De\Vitt C. Recce was a member of Company A, and Isaac Dennis 
of Company M, Fourteenth Cavalry. 

AliTII.I.EUY 

In Comi)any A, Second Fight Artillery, were twenty-three men 
credited to Stark County. Harvey I'ierce was a corporal and the 
following served as privates: Morris Ayres, William Beers, Joseph 
G. Bloomer, Alva \V. Brown, Stephen W. Carney, John Cox, Clem- 
ens R. Defendener, Albert Eagan. Samuel Eagan. Thomas J. Ellis. 
David X. Iliffner, Charles X. Hull, John Hull. Nathan H. Hull, 
Emanuel Kissel, Calvin Rockwell, Hugh Stockner, John R. Stratton, 
Charles Thomas, Lorenzo K. Wiley, INLirshall Winn, Warren Winn. 

In the Marine Artillery were: John J. Campbell, Dennis Clark, 
James \V. Dexter. Samuel Dyer. Andrew Gall)raith, ]Marion (God- 
frey, James Hall. John Ilotchkiss. Joiiii I^al)arr, Henry ]Marchant, 
Charles IMaxfield, Jeptha ^Nlosher, John H. Parks, Carleton Rhodes, 
Isaac Whitaker, Oliver White, JMarshall Winn and Warren Winn. 

The two last named in the above paragraph were transferred from 
the Second I^ight iVrtillery, and ^Villiam Cross and George Rouse 
served in the First United States Artillery. 

There were also a few Stark County men who served in regiments 
belonging to other states or in the regular army. Upon the official 
muster I'olls a name now and then is marked as a "deserter." but the 
percentage of this class is no larger than that of the other counties, 
and in fact not so large as many of them. In whatever arm of the 
service — infantry, cavalry, artillery oi- the navy — the Stark County 
boys as a rule rendered a good account of themselves, and the peoi)le 
of the ])resent genei-ation hold in grateful remembrance the valor and 
patriotism of the "Boys in Blue," as is witnessed by the monument 
erected to the memory of the Stark County soldiers and sailors upon 
the north side of the ])ublic square in Toulon. 

A Stark County Soldiers' IMonument Association was organized 
at Toulon on the last day of October, 18G7, by Dr. J. C. Copestake, 
Capt. J. M. Brown, Andrew Galbraith and others, but no record can 
be found of its further proceedings. Early in the year 1901 the board 
of su])ervisors took up the question of ajijH-opriating a sum of money 
for the ])urpose of erecting a monument to commemorate the services 
of the soldiers and sailors who went out from the countv^ during the 



158 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

dark days of the nation from 1861-6.3. George T. Oliver, 3Iordecai 
Rc'vier and W. ii. JJallentine Avere appointed a eoniniittee to select a 
design, ascertain the cost, and report. 

The committee reported on INIarch 1, 1901, in favor of the design 
suhmitted by Messrs. Drummond, of Bradford, and Teets, of Wyo- 
ming, the monnment to cost $:$,()()() complete. The report Avas ap- 
]>i()ved l)y the hoard and on the same day it was ordered that "the sum 
of .$3,000 be set aside and appropriated out of the county tax levied 
for the year 1900 for the purpose of erecting a soldiers' monument 
for Stark County." 

Xot long afterward the contract was formally awarded to Drum- 
mond & Teets and the work was commenced. On September 3, 1901, 
the clerk was ordered to draw a warrant for $3,000 in favor of Drum- 
mond & Teets, to be payable when the monument was completed and 
accepted by the committee. The monument was dedicated on Thurs- 
day, June 12, 1902. Gen. William G. Cochran, of Sullivan, 111., who 
had been engaged to deliver the address, failed to make his appearance 
and the principal speech was made by Gen. Thomas J. Henderson, 
who followed George T. Oliver, the chairman of the board of super- 
visors, in an address of welcome, in which he presented the monument 
to the countj'. 

The monument is a handsome specimen of the sculptor's art; an 
imposing shaft of graj' granite some forty feet in height, surmounted 
by the figure of an infantry soldier at parade rest. On the north side, 
facing ]Main Street, is the inscription selected by the board of su])er- 
visors: "In Memory of the Soldiers and Sailors of Stark County," 
and (in the reverse is the simple statement — "Dedicated June 12, 
1902." 

THE WORK AT HOilE 

W'hile those at the front wei'c imdergoing the inconveniences of 
camp life, the hardships of the long march and the dangers of battle, 
the friends they left behind them were not unmindful of the soldier's 
needs. On June 10, 1861, the board of supervisors ordered: "Tiiat 
the sum of $3,000 be appropriated for the pvu'pose of uniforming 
volunteer militia companies organized or to be organized in Stark 
County, at the rate of $6 per man, under certain conditions and 
restrictions. Also that in the event of immediate call of Ca]itain 
Stuart's company — the 'Elmira Rifles' — the clerk shall issue an order 
immediately on the treasurer for such amounts as shall be found due 
them by disbursing agents," etc. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUXTV 159 

The next day, pursuant to a plan reported by a committee pre- 
viously appointed, a tax of 20 cents on each $100 worth of projjcrty 
in the county was levied for the year 1861, "for the purpose ol' aiding 
and assisting volunteer soldiers and their families." One thousand 
dollars of the money thus raised were ordered to be set apart i'or 
aiding the families of volunteers and the remainder to be used for 
uniforms and equipment for the men. 

David McC'ance, Davis Lowman and Oliver Whitaker were 
appointed a connnittee to take charge of the disbursements. On 
December 3, 1861, this committee reported the following disburse- 
ments : t 



'\'^ 



To the Elnura Rities (106 men) $ 630.00 

To the Lafayette Rifles (76 men) 456.00 

To the Stark County Rifles (77 men) 462.00 

■ For relief — 

Elmira Township 86.78 

Goshen Township 106.87 

Osceola Township 9.00 

Penn Township 20.71 

Toulon Townshij) 70.62 

Valley Township 12.00 

Total $1,859.98 

On June 2, 1862, the committee reported the additional expenditure 
of $348.45 for the relief of soldiers' families. At the September term 
in 1862 the supervisors appropriated $4,000 for the purpose of aiding 
the families of volunteers and at the same time directed the supervisor 
in each townshij) to report the number of families in his jurisdiction, 
the heads of which were in the army, when the amount appropriated 
should be divided or apportioned among the several townships, each 
supervisor to act as disbiu'sing agent in his township, though the old 
committee was continued to audit the accounts of the supervisors. A 
bounty of $50 was authorized to be paid to each man enlisting from 
Stark County and a tax of 5 mills on the dollar was levied for the 
purpose of paying bounties and the accumulation of the $4,000 relief 
fund. At the next session the supervisors reported the number of 
families and the fund was apportioned as follows: 



160 HISTOKV OF STAKK COUNTY 

Elniira Towii.ship 28 families $ 533.32 

Essex Townslii]) 33 " (;28..5(; 

Goshen Township 20 " 380.9() 

Osceola Township 37 " 704.70 

Penn Township 21 " 400.00 

Toulon Township 33 " 028.50 

\'alley Township 12 " 228.57 

West Jersey Township 26 " 4.95.24 



Total 210 families $4,000.00 

Of this sum there was an unexpended balance on September 14, 

1803, but during the winter the fund was exhausted and on March 14, 

1804, the board ordered an appropriation of $2,600 for the support 
of soldiers' families. On September 13, 1864, a tax of 50 cents on 
each $100 worth of property was levied to pay boimties and aid the 
families of volunteers. Another appropriation, amounting to $2,760, 
was made on March 7, 1865, for relief purposes and several years 
after the war was over bounties, the payment of which had been de- 
layed, were handed over to the veterans. For this reason it is difficult 
to state just what sum was paid by the county in bounties. 

Besides the relief given by the county in its official capacity, there 
were several organizations formed for the purpose of assisting the 
families of those who were engaged in fighting the battles of their 
country. The Soldiers" Relief Circle of Toulon \vas organized on 
November 12, 1861, with Mrs. Oliver Whitaker, president; JNIrs. O. 
Gardner, vice president; Miss F. JNIarvin, secretary; JNlrs. Calvin 
Eastman, treasurer; jNIrs. P. M. Blair, JMrs. S. S. Kaysbier, Mrs. 
31. A. Fuller and ]Miss R. AVhite, committee on supplies. 

The Wyoming Soldiers" Relief Society was organized about the 
same time, with Mrs. M. A. Hoist, president; JNIrs. A. G. Ham- 
mond, secretary; Miss Lucy Butler, treasui'er; ]\Iesdames Isaac 
Thomas, B. F. Foster, W. B. Armstrong. P. Pettit, JMary Butler, 
J. AVrigley, J. B. Lashels and J. jNIatthews, committee on collections. 

On July 27, 1863, the women of Penn Township organized a 
"Loyal League," with JMrs. J. JNI. Ricker, jiresident, and JMrs. S. S. 
Rockwell, secretary. There were also a number of meetings held in 
different parts of the county for the purpose of collecting money and 
supplies for the families of the boys in the field. 

The amount of aid extended by these societies and spontaneous 
gatherings cannot be ascertained, and no approximate estimate can 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 161 

he made of the assistance reiulertd hy individual offerings. ^^^R'n- 
ever some sokher's family stood in need of aid it was forthcoming. 
The sum thus eontrihuted ran into thousands of dollars, of which no 
account was kept. JNIany a basket of provisions found its way to the 
home of some soldier; shoes, clothing, school hooks, etc.. wci-c ])ro- 
vided for soldiers' children; sons and daughters of volunteers were 
given preference in the matter of employment hy loyal citizens, and 
in many other ways relief was afforded to those who had sent their 
loved ones to the defense of the Union. 



CHAPTER X 
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 

EARLY CONDITIONS IN STARK COUNTY — DIFFICULTIES OF EARLY TRAVEL 

INDIAN TRAILS PUBLIC HIGHWAYS KNOXVILLE & GALENA STATE 

KOAD FIRST ROAD DISTRICTS AND SUPERVISORS PETITIONS AND 

VIEAVERS 5JODERN HIGHAVAYS STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION — 

STATE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CANAL 

ACT OF 1836 — L.UJGE APPROPRIATIONS FOR RIVER IMPROVEMENTS 
AND RAILROADS THE RAILROAD ERA WESTERN AIR LINE AMER- 
ICAN CENTRAL CHICAGO, ROCK KLAND & PACIFIC CHICAGO, BUR- 
LINGTON & QUINCY CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN VALUE OF RAIL- 
ROAD PROPERTY IN THE COUNTY. 

In this year 1916 of the Christian era, when a citizen of Stark 
County has occasion to visit the county seat, or make a short journey 
into some of the adjacent counties, it is a comparatively easy matter 
to step into his automohile and glide along over a public highway to his 
destination. Should it be necessary for him to take a longer journej', 
he can take his seat in a reclining chair car or a Pullman coacli on 
one of the great railway systems of the country and be transported 
across the land at the rate of fifty or sixty miles an hour. But does 
he ever pause to consider hoA\- all these conveniences were brought 
about for his comfort and acconmiodatif)n. I^et him for a moment 
draw upon his imagination for the conditions that existed in what is 
now Stark County when Isaac B. Essex and his earlj- neighboi's came 
to the Spoon River Valley in 1829. 

Then all this region was "fresh from the hands of Nature." Along 
the stream still known as Indian Creek the Pottawatomi villages were 
to be seen, the men hunting where now are cultivated fields and the 
squaws raising some corn and a few other vegetables in a desultory 
sort of way. Through the groves and across the prairies prowded the 
wolf, and the oidy white men were the hunters, trappers or agents of 
the great fur companies who came at intervals to catch the fur-bearing 
animals or trade with the Indians. No roads had yet been opened for 

162 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 163 

the white man's travel and the pioneers eanic with the ox teams and 
"prairie schooners," i>nidin^' their way l)y the sun and "f()Uowin<>- tlie 
line of least resistance."' Streams were unhridgcd, and it was no un- 
usual thing for a jjarty of immigrants to reach the bank of an ordi- 
narily insignificant creek to find it swollen by recent rains and wait 
for the waters to subside before they could continue their journey. 
Through the forests or over the jjrairies wound an occasional Indian 
trail. These trails were the only thoroughfares and they were only 
narrow paths, the Indians always traveling in single file. A man on 
horseback might follow one, but they were practically useless to the 
man with a team and vehicle. However, the red man's trail ])ossessed 
some advantages. They led as directly from one point to another as 
the nature of the ground permitted, and they struck the streams at 
the best possible fording places. 

\\'hen the first wliite men came to Stark County the nearest land 
offices were at Q>iincy and (ialcna, and tliither they must go to enter 
tlieir lands. 3Irs. Siui]lenl)erger descril)es these journeys to the land 
offices as being made "with no roads, no bridges, no places of shelter, 
notliing to direct their course save the sun and wind (which latter 
would sometimes sadly deceive tliem by an unnoticed change), and 
sometimes an Indian trail; these were reliable guides wherever they 
existed, and were followed witii perfect confidence by the true back- 
woodsmaUi" 

In the early part of the nineteentli century a few adventiu-ous 
individuals liad clustered around the lead mines at Galena and there 
was a small settlement where the City of Peoria now stands. The 
fii-st road to pass through what is now Stark County was that known 
as "Kellogg's Trail," which ran by a "devious way" from Peoria to 
the lead mines. It was opened in 182.), but after a lapse of foin- score 
and ten years it is impossible to descril)e the i-oute it followed, as there 
Mas neither bridge, ferry nor white man's habitation along the entire 
distance. 

A\^iiere the Indian trails could be widened for the passage of 
vehicles they were used by the first settlers until better highways could 
be constructed. The first roads made by civilized man were crude 
aflf'airs — generally a route marked out at will, the trees blazed through 
the woodlands, Mith liere and there some of the timber removed to 
permit the ])assage of wagons. They nearly always passed from one 
grove to another, the groves being marked places and serving as land- 
marks or guides to the strange traveler. Low places were filled \\ith 
small logs, thrown crosswise of the driveway, thus forming the famous 



164 HISTOllV OF STAllK COL'XTY 

old "corduroy" road, which Avas neither easy on the team nor com- 
fortable lor the driver, but it kept the wagon from '"miring down." 

PUBLIC HIGHWAYS 

Prol)ably the first thoroughfare in Stark County, to be established 
by official authority, was the state road running from Knoxville to 
Galena. From Knoxville it followed a generally northeastern direc- 
tion until it struck the western boundary of what is now Stark County 
not far from the southwest corner of Goshen Township. Thence it 
followed a more easterly direction, passing through the grove south 
of the jjresent City of Toulon, near the dwelling of Elijah ]SIcClen- 
ahan. Si-., and from there to the grove near James Holgate's. From 
Holgate's it ran to Boyd's Grove, then to Dixon, where it turned 
northward toward Galena. 

In September, 1831, while Stark was a part of Putnam County, 
the authorities of that county ordered a road to be surveyed and marked 
from Hennepin to Smith's Ford on the Spoon River. Three years 
later the commissioners of Putnam County established road districts. 
The Spoon Kiver settlement was in District Xo. 17, of which Sylvanus 
JNIoore was appointed supervisor, but that was all that was done, as 
no roads were ever built by Putnam County for the settlement, and 
Mr. ]Moore really had nothing to "supervise." 

Stark County was organized under the provisions of the act of 
March 2, 1839, and on the .5th of April following the first board of 
county commissioners divided the county into nine road districts as 
follows : 

District Xo. 1 included the present townships of Elmira and 
Osceola, of which John Lyle was api)ointed supervisor. 

District Xo. 2 was described as "beginning at the northeast corner 
!of township 13, range 7 ; thence west to the northwest corner of sec- 
tion 3, township 13, range 6: thence south to the southwest corner of 
section 34: thence east to the southeast corner of township 13, range 
7; thence north to the place of beginning." James Holgate was ap- 
pointed supervisor of this district, ^^hich included all the present 
Township of Penn and the eastern half of Toulon. 

District X^'o. 3 was bounded as follows: "Beginning at the north- 
east corner of township 12, range 7; thence west to the northwest 
corner of section 2, township 12, range 6; thence south to the south- 
west corner of section 3.5, township 12, range 6: thence east to the 
southeast corner of township 12, range 7, and thence north to the 



i 










l;i)AlJ i:LlLI)L\t- IN ^lARK ( OrXTV 



UBRARY 
UNIVERSITY-OF ILLINOIS 

URBANA 



HISTORY OF STAKK C'Ol NTV 165 

place of beginning." This district embraced all of Valley Township 
and a strip two miles wide across the eastern ])art of Essex. \N'hitney 
Smith was appointed supervisor. 

District No. 4 began "at the southeast corner of section 10, town- 
ship 12, range 6; thence west to the southeast corner of section 10, 
township 12, range .5; thence south to the southeast corner of section 
34.; thence east to the southeast corner of section 34, townshi}) 12, 
range (5; thence north to the place of beginning." This district in- 
cluded sixteen sections in the southwestern part of Essex Township 
and eight sections in the southeastern part of West Jersey. JeflFer- 
son Trickle, su]iervisor. 

District Xo. .3 connnenced "at the southeast corner of section 10, 
townshii^ 12, range 5; thence west to the southwest corner of section 
7; thence south to the southwest corner of the township; thence east 
to the southeast corner of section .'34, township 12, range 5; thence 
north to the place of begiiming." This was one of the smallest of the 
nine districts, embracing a tract four miles square in the southwestern 
part of West Jersey Townshi]). \\'illiam W. Webster was appointed 
supervisor. 

District Xo. began "at the southwest corner of section 7, town- 
ship 12, range •>; thence east to the southeast corner of section 10; 
thence north to the northwest corner of section 26, township 13, range 
.5; thence west to the range line between ranges 4 and ."5; thence north 
to the place of beginning." This district was also four miles square, 
including eight sections in the northwestern part of West Jersey 
Townsliip and the same in the southwest i)art of Goshen. Joseph 
Palmer was appointed supervisor of tiiis disti'iet. 

District Xo. 7 was described as "beginning at the northwest corner 
of townshi]) 13, range o: thence east to the northeast corner of section 
3: thence south four miles; thence west to the range line, and thence 
noith to the place of beginning." These boundaries include a tract 
four miles s(]uare in the northwestern part of (roshen Townsliip. 
Peter F. Miner was aijjjointed supervisor. 

District X"o. 8 commenced "at the northwest corner of section 20. 
townshi]) 13. range .5; thence south to the southwest corner of section 
11. townshi]) 12, range .3; thence east to the southeast corner of sec- 
tion 10, township 12, range G; thence north to the southwest corner of 
section So. township 13, range (J; thence west to the southeast corner 
of section 33, townsiii]) 13, range (5; thence north to the northeast cor- 
ner of section 28; thence west to the place of beginning." Xo. 8 
included a tract of eight sections in the northwest ])art of Essex Town- 



166 HISTOKY OF STARK COUNTY 

ship; four sections in the northeast corner of West Jersey, four sec- 
tions in the southeast corner of Goshen, and six in tlie southwest 
corner of Toulon. S. G. Worley was appointed supervisor. 

District No. 9 began "at the southwest corner of section 23. to\\n- 
ship 13, range .); thence north to the nortliwest corner of section 2; 
thence east to the northwest corner of section 3, township 13, range 6; 
thence south to the northwest corner of section 27, and tlience west to 
the place of beginning." This district included twelve scjuare miles in 
the northwestern jiart of Toulon Township and eight square miles 
in the northeastern part of Goshen. John ^liller was appointed 
supervisor. 

The same day that these districts were established it Mas ordered 
by the board of commissioners "that each and e\ery able bodied man 
sul)ject to work on the higinvay shall be required to perform three 
days' labor on the pul)lic roads." But as no roads had as yet been 
established, it is probable that the "able bodied" men had an easy time 
in the year 1839, so far as work on the public highways was concerned. 

The first mention of a public road in the records of Stark County 
was on September 2, 1839. when Virgil Pike and tliirty-two others 
])resented a petition for the opening of a road "commencing at the 
east line of the said County of Stark in the direction of Boyd's Grove 
from Seely's Point ; thence at or near the above mentioned point the 
nearest and best route through the neighborhood of Cooper's Defeat 
in the direction of L. S. Dorrance's mill, terminating at the state 
road on the line between L. S. Dorrance and Henry Breese." 

John Hester, Joseph D. Lane and Adam Perry were appointed to 
"view, mark and locate said road," which was the first highway estab- 
lished by the county authorities. They re])orted in favor of the road 
on Deceml)er 3. 1839, and the next season the "able bodied" men in 
that part of the county had something to do in the way of working on 
the highway. 

On Septeml)er 3, 1839. John Hester and about thirty other citi- 
zens petitioned for a change in the Knoxville and Galena state road 
"from the east end of Jackson Street in the Town of Lafayette, 
through township 13, range o," etc. ISIyrtle G. Brace, James Buswell 
and John Lyle were appointed to view the route proposed by the 
jietitioners and report. The change was subsequentlv ordered. 

On the same day John Finley and others came forward with a 
petition asking for a change in the same road between ^Villiam Hen- 
derson's and ^Nfassillon. The viewers appointed for this proposed 
change were William Bow-en, Charles H. jNIiner and Israel Stoddard. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 167 

but their report could not be found by the writer. Other petitions 
were jjresented at ahiiost every one of the early sessions of the county 
commissioners, the people of every neighborhood seemingly being 
anxious to secure a highway for their accommodation, whether the 
other parts of the county received sucli encouragement or not. I kittle 
work was done on these early roads. exce])t such as the settlers them- 
selves performed under the road law which required them to perform 
so many days' work each year under the direction of the district 
supervisor. 

The first roads did not follow the section lines, but took the 
shortest and most available route between the points it was meant to 
connect. Rut as the lands were entered and settled, it became neces- 
sary to alter a number of the roads, in order to make them conform 
to the lines of the official survey. On March 9, 1842, the board of 
commissioners redistricted the county, making eleven road districts, 
and levied a tax of 10 cents on each $100 worth of property in the 
county for the purpose of improving the roads. This is the first 
record of a road tax in Stark County. In 1914. the road and bridge 
fund amounted to $44..703.80. 

Within recen.t years quite a number of the states have adopted the 
plan of supervising the construction and improvement of highways. 
A state highway commission was created in Illinois by an act of the 
Legislature, approved June 27, 1913. The highway commissioners 
in 191.5 were: A. D. Gash, of Chicago: S. E. Rradt. of De Kalb; 
and James P. Wilson, of Polo. Under the new system the state is 
divided into seven districts, each of which is in charge of a highway 
engineer, to whom all plans for the improvement of roads must be 
submitted, and there is a chief engineer who has charge of the entire 
state. Road building in Illinois has not kept pace with that of some 
of her sister states — chiefly for lack of suitable material for the con- 
struction of improved highways — but it is hoped that the new system 
will result in giving to the people a better class of roads. 

STATE INTERNAL IMPKUVE.MENTS 

Although Stark Comity had not been created when the state in- 
augurated its gigantic scheme for internal improvements, it came into 
existence in time to assist in paying for the folly. One of the first 
great Avorks undertaken was the construction of the Illinois & iNIich- 
igan Canal. It is uncertain who first suggested such a canal — to con- 
nect the waters of Lake ^Michigan with the ^Mississippi River — but 



168 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

during the War of 1812 it was made manifest tliat some method of 
transportation between tlie Great Lakes and the ^Mississippi Valley 
was sorely needed. 

On INIarch 30, 1822, Congress, in response to a petition from the 
Illinois Legislatm-e, granted to the state a strip of ground ninety feet 
wide on each side of the bed of tlie canal. The grant was accepted l)y 
the next session of the Legislature, which appointed a board of canal 
commissioners, who reported that the cost of the canal would be about 
tliree-quarters of a million dollars. Subsequent events showed that 
their estimate was far too low, and they have been charged with pur- 
posely making it so, in order to get the state involved in its con- 
struction. 

After several futile efforts to get Congress to grant more land, 
the Legislature passed the act of January 17. 182.3. incorporating the 
"Illinois & ]Michigan Canal Association," with a capital stock of 
$1,000,000. None of the stock was ever sold or subscribed and on 
JNIarch 3, 1827, Congress passed a bill granting to the State of Illinois 
alternate sections of land in a strip five miles wide on each side of the 
proposed canal. A new canal board was appointed on January 12, 
1829, and the new conmiissioners announced that the canal would cost 
$4,000,000. The new estimate caused doubts in the minds of many 
of the people as to the advisability of the state's undertaking the cost 
of the construction of the canal, and some opposition to the scheme 
developed. But the friends of artificial waterways argued that such 
improvements had been made in some of the eastern states, notablj'^ 
the Erie Canal in New York, and that the tolls had not only paid the 
cost of construction l)ut also yielded a permanent income to the state. 
These advocates of internal improvements insisted that the people of 
Illinois must bestir themselves, if they expected to see Illinois occu^iy 
a place in the front rank of states. 

After about five years of discussion pro and con, the Legislature 
in 183(5 authorized the governor to borrow $.)00.000 with wliicli to 
commence the construction of the canal, giving tlie canal lands and 
tolls as security. Other loans followed and by January 1, 1839, 
nearly two millions of dollars had been expended. Then the Legisla- 
ture authorized a loan of $4,000,000 all at once. Some of this money 
was borrowed from tlie state school fund. Delay after delay followed, 
but finally, on April 10. 1848. the canal boat "General Fry" passed 
through the canal from Lockpoi-t to Chicago, and on the 23d of the 
same month the "General Thornton" completed the trip the full length 
of the canal from Chicago to I^a Salle. The canal was finislied. The 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 169 

tolls collected covered the operating- expenses until 1879, when the 
railroads took nuich of the freighting husiness away from the canal. 
Notwithstanding tliis, the canal wielded a great inthience in the de- 
velopment of the Upper Illinois Valley and acting as a restraint upon 
any imdue advance in railroad freight rates. 

The Illinois & ^lichigan Canal was not really a part of the great 
system of internal improvements, which had its inception in the wave 
of jjuhlic sentiment in favor of huilding canals and turnpike roads, 
which swept over the counti'y in the early '30s. Before anything 
definite along these lines had heen done hy Illinois, the railroad hegan 
to make its influence felt and pul)lic sentiment shifted to the construc- 
tion of railroads rather than the huilding' of turnpikes. By 183.5 
several lines of railway had been constructed in the East and were 
being operated with success. The advocates of an internal improve- 
ment system for Illinois did not pause to consider the difference in 
the density of population and the greater demand for common carriers 
in the East, but, in season and out of season, urged the state to make 
large appropriations for the improvement of the natural waterways 
and the encouragement of railroad building. As a result of all this 
agitation, the Legislature of 183(5 inaugurated the state scheme of 
internal improvements by making the following ajjpropriations: 

For River Improvements — 

Great \Vabash River $10().()()() 

Little Wabash River .50.000 

Illinois River 100,000 

Rock River 100,000 

Kaskaskia River .50,000 

Total for river improvement $4.00,000 

For Railroad Construction — 

From Cairo U) the Illinois & ^Michigan Canal $3,500,000 

Branch of the above to Terre Haute, Indiana 0.50.000 

From iVlton to jNIount Carmel and Shawiieetown 1,(100. 000 

Branch of the al)ove to the Cairo line (JOO.OOO 

Quincy to the Indiana State line ' 1,8.50,000 

Peoria to ^Varsaw 700.000 

Belleville to JNIount Carmel 1.50,000 

Bloouungton to 3Iackinaw 3;50,O00 



Total for railroads $9,400,000 



Vol.1 —II 



170 HISTORY OF STAllK COUNTY 

111 addition to the above there were appropriations of >f'--50,0U0 
for the improveiiient of the Great Western ^lail Route and $200,000 
to the eounties that received no direct benefit from the proposed pubhc 
improvenients, making a grand total of $10/2.50,000. Several of the 
enterprises contemplated by the bill were commenced, but none was 
ever completed and the money sunk in the state system of internal 
improvements was lost bej'ond recovery. The railroad from Cairo to 
the Illinois & JMichigan Canal, at La Salle, was afterward finished by 
a company and now forms a part of the Illinois Central, and the 
Quiiicy & Indiana State Line road was built over another route, after- 
ward becoming a part of the Toledo, ^Vabash & Western. 

Charles ]M. Thompson, in an article in one of tlie Illinois His- 
torical Collections, says: "Within three years the craze had run its 
course, leaving the people, as a reminder of their folly, a debt that 
hung over them for decades. The impossibility of the scheme was 
not revealed until the time came when the bonds were unsalable." 

^^^len Governor Ford was inaugurated in 184.2, the state debt 
was nearly fifteen and a half millions of dollars. Stark County was 
then about three years old. The only benefit this county received from 
the internal improvement scheme was under the provision of section 5 
of the act of INIarch 2, 1839, that the treasurer of Putnam County 
should pay to the treasurer of Stark County the sum of $1.64.5, with 
interest at 12 per cent, etc. Putnam was one of the counties that 
received a portion of the appropriation of $200,000 that went to the 
counties not directly affected by the public improvements, her share 
amounting to $9,870. When Stark was cut off she was given one- 
sixth of this sum, with accrued interest. Upon demanding the money 
from Putnam County-, it was learned that Amnion ]Moon, the treas- 
urer of that county, had loaned the funds without taking adequate 
security, though Stark finally received her share of the spoils. It is 
])robal)le. however, that the people paid back more tlian that amount 
in taxes in li(iuidatiiig the enormous debt incurred through the intei'iial 
imiJrovement scheme. 

THE RAILROAD ERA 

The first railroad in the United States to be operated successfully 
was a line about nine miles in length, running from the City of ^Nlaiich 
Chunk, Pa., to some coal mines. Within a few years men of sagacity 
and foresight realized that the railroad was destined to become an 
inijiortant factor in the development of the country, and the people 
of the AVest began to offer every encouragement to their introduc- 



HISTORY OF STARK C'OUXTV 171 

tion. The proposition was not favored unanimously, however, but 
met with consideralile opposition, some of wliieh merely insisted that 
flnaneial aid be withliehl until the eountry was in better eondilion, 
while other opposition was unquestionably based upon prejudice. 
About 1880 some young men of Lancaster, Ohio, formed themselves 
into a debatin<>' society and reijuested the school board to permit them 
to use the schoolhouse to discuss the railroad question. To this request 
tiie board made the followiny; reply: 

"We are \villini>' to allow you the use of the schoolhouse to debate 
all jiroper questions in, but such subjects as railroads are rank in- 
fidelity and not tit to be discussed in a building erected for the purpose 
of educating our children. If the ^Vlmighty had intended tor His 
creatures to travel across the face of the country at the frightful speed 
of fifteen miles an hour, he would clearly have foretold it through His 
holy projjhets. It is a device of Satan to lead immoi-tal souls down to 
hell." 

Despite the objections of the Lancaster School Board, and otiiers 
of that class, railroad building went on. Each year found more people 
interested and willing to vote aid to secure a railroad through theii- 
respective comnuuiities. And the railroad that today could not run 
its trains at a greater rate of speed than the "frightful fifteen miles an 
liour" so feared by the Ohio school board, would neither receive nor 
deserve a large amount of patronage. 

WESTERN AIK LINE 

The first railroad project to interest the people of Stark County 
was the Western Air Line Railroad, which was first mentioned in 
18.50. After about three years of ]ireliminary work, the County 
Court, on June 0, 18.>.'}, took the following action: 

"Whereas, it has been represented to this court that it would be 
for the welfare and advantage of Stark County, and that the citizens 
thereof are desirous that said county sliould subscribe to the capital 
stock of the 'Western Air Line Railroad Company' to aid in the con- 
struction of said road ; it is therefore 

"Ordered by the court tliat an election be held in the several town- 
ships in said county on the 13th day of August next, at the usual 
places of holding elections or town meetings in said towns, for the 
purpose of voting for or against the subscri])ti()n by the said County 
of Stark to the capital stock of the said 'Western Air Line Railroad 
Company' of the amount of $.J0.000. Bonds to be issued for said sum 



172 lllSTOUV OF STARK COUNTY 

(in case a majority of the legal voters, as required l)y law, shall vote 
for said subscription) running twenty years and bearing (J per cent 
interest, by the proper authorities under the laws of. the state. 

"And it is further ordered that the clerk give notice as required 
by law. The bonds to be issued on condition that said road shall run 
througii the central part of the county, as near as practicable." 

The result of the election was o'.H votes in favor of the stock sub- 
sciiption and 141 against it. About a month after the election the old 
county court was superseded by the board of supervisors and nothing 
further was done concerning the railroad stock until July 31, 18,55. 
The minutes of the supervisors' meeting for that date show that it was 

"Ordered that the chairman of the board of supervisors he, and 
he is hereby, authorized to subscribe $.50,000 to the cajjital stock of the 
Western Air Line Railroad, and that the clerk be authorized to issue 
to said company $.50,000 of the bonds of Stark County, payable in 
twenty years from the date hereof, bearing interest at the rate of 
per cent per annum, payable at such place as said company maj^ desig- 
nate. Said bonds may be in such sums as may he designated by said 
company, not less than $1,000 each, and shall have coupons attached, 
which said bonds and coupons shall be signed by the chairman of this 
board and attested by the clerk, with the seal of the county attached 
thereto." 

Pursuant to this order, fifty bonds of $1,000 each were issued and 
turned over to the railroad company by William W. Webster, chair- 
man of the board of supervisors, and JNliles A. Fuller, clerk, who 
received for the county $50,000 in stock of the company. The gen- 
eral offices of the company were established at Lacon. the county 
seat of ^larshall County. At the amuial meeting of the stockholders 
in 1850, Mr. \Vebster cast the vote of Stark County. The next year 
Isaac Thomas cast the county's vote. The meeting of 1858 was lield 
on the 'id of IMarch. The day before the meeting the board of super- 
visors appointed Isaac Thomas to cast the vote for the county, and 
instructed him to vote for Dr. Thomas Hall for director. 

Like many of the early railroad enter])rises in the West, the 
Western Air Line never became a reality. The bonds issued by Stark 
County produced more litigation than miles of railroad. In .July, 
1858, the board of supervisors appointed T. F. Hurd to obtain legal 
a(l\ice as to whether the county was legally bound to pay the bonds, 
and in September following the board adopted a resolution declaring 
"that the board deems it advisable to decline paying the interest now 
d>ie." \y. \y. ^Vinslow was authorized to tender the certificates of 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 173 

stock lulcl l)y the county to the railroad company and demand in 
return the bonds issued by the county. The offer was declined and 
on September 1.5, 18.58, Olai" Johnson tiled suit against the county for 
the amount of interest due. In the Circuit Court the suit was dis- 
missed, whereupon Johnson carried it to the Suprenje Court, wliere a 
decision was rendered in April, 18(il, ordering Stark County to pay 
both principal and interest of the bonds. 

AMEUICAN CEXTKAL KAIEKOAU 

Some work was done on the proposed line by the Western Air 
Line Company. Says Mrs. Shallenberoer: "In Sei>tember, 18.).>, 
the 'breakin<^- gromid' was celebrated at Toulon by a public dinner on 
the square and appropriate speeches. Great enthusiasm prevailed and 
a good portion of the vast assemblage afterward adjourned to the 
prairie east of town to see the first shovelful of earth thrown up on 
the much desired road." 

In the suit of Johnson vs. Stark County, it was shown that about 
eighty miles of the road bed had been graded and made ready for the 
ties and rails. Some of tlie ])eople of Stark County were not willing 
to see all this work go to waste, hence a new company, known as the 
American Central Railroad Company, was organized to succeed the 
Western Air Line. \Villiam Lownian, of Toulon, was chosen treas- 
urer, and ^^'illiam F. Thomas, of Wyoming, was one of the directors. 
The new company was no more successful than its predecessor and 
after a short time the interest in the effort to build a railroad waned 
and the project was abandoned. 

CHICAGO, liOCK ISLAND & PACIFIC 

On March 7, 18()7. a charter was granted to the Peoria l\; Rock 
Island l{ailroad Com])any to build a railroad between the points 
named. The new comi)any acquired the right of way of the old ^^''est- 
ern Air I^ine for $-27,(H)() and began making active ])reparations for 
construction. Xew encouragement was thus given to the jieople of 
Stark County and on ^Vugust 2(\, 18(;7, a railroad meeting was held in 
Toulon. Charles JNIyers presided and Oliver ^VIlite acted as secretary. 
Resolutions indorsing the proposed railroad were adopted and Pat- 
rick JSI. Blair, Benjamin Turner, Martin Shallenberger, Davis Low- 
man and Oliver Whitaker were appointed a committee to formulate 
and present a i)lan by which the county could aid in building the road. 



174 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

^At a second meeting, Novemhei- 9, 18(57, resolutions pledging 
Toulon Township to subscribe -^.50,000 to the capital stock of the 
company were adopted and JNIiles A. Fuller, JNIartin Shallenberger 
and Davis Lowman were appointed a committee to solicit subscrip- 
tions to the stock fund. Three days later the first board of directors 
was elected. ^Villiam R. Hamilton was chosen president; Patrick M. 
Blair, vice president; C. P. James, secretary; and H. ]M. ^Vheeler, 
treasurer. 

On November 22, 1867, a large number of the citizens of Toulon, 
Penn, Essex and Valley townshi])s — through which it was supposed 
the road would pass — assembled at ^Vyoming to consider the question 
of granting financial assistance to the company. H. A. Hoist pre- 
sided and Dr. J. C. Copestake was elected secretary. A motion to 
appoint a committee on resolutions, consisting of two from each town- 
ship, was carried and the following were appointed: Toulon, John 
Wrigley and Isaac Thomas; Essex, A. G. Hammond and C. H. 
Butler; Penn, Charles Holgate and George Nicholas; Valley, Thomas 
Crone and Elisha Dixon. The committee offered a resolution pledg- 
ing each of the townships to subscribe $.50,000, which was adopted. 

About this time the survey of the road was completed through the 
county and it was discovered that it did not touch Penn Township. 
Instead it passed through Goshen and on January 27, 1868, an elec- 
tion was held in the townships of ^^alley, Essex, Toulon and Goshon on 
the question of subscribing the stock recommended bv the Wyoming 
meeting the preceding November. The proposition carried, though 
Valley Township voted only $30,000. The lesson of the old Western 
Air Line bonds was not lost on the people of Stark County, and in the 
case of the Peoria & Rock Island the l)onds issued by the townships 
were safeguarded by such conditions that default on the part of the 
company w-as impossible. 

Work on the road was commenced in the spring of 1869 and early 
in June, 1871, the fii'st train arrived at Toulon. Although it was 
only a construction train, the occasion was one of rejoicing on the 
part of the denizens of the town, and the incident was celebrated by 
a big dinner served in Judge Ogle"s grove, at whicli the officials and 
em])loyes of the railroad company were invited guests. The first 
regular passenger train passed over the road on July 8, 1871. Pre- 
vious to that time the Peoria & Rock Island Railroad Company had 
formed a consolidation with the Rock Island tV Pacific. The road is 
now known as the Peoria & Rock Island division of the great 
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific svsteni. 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 175 

CHICAGO, BURLINGTON .*;. QUINCY 

Tlie branch of this great system whicli runs tln-ough Stark County 
had its inception in 18.3.5, in the Peoria & Hannibal Raih-oad, of 
which James H. Stipp was the principal projector. Some tive or 
six years later Mr. Stipp, on behalf of his company, gave a perpetual 
lease to James F. Joy and E. R. Ward, agents of the Chicago. Hur- 
lington & Quincy, with the stipulation that the line would be com- 
pleted and operated by that company. Early in 1869 the road was 
finished and trains were running between Canton and Rushville. The 
Ime was then called the Peoria, Dixon & Hannibal Railroad. About 
that time the townships of Osceola, Penn, Yalley and Essex, in 
Stark County, took up the question of granting some financial aid 
to the company, in order to hasten the completion of the road. 

In this work Ur. Alfred Castle, of Wyoming, was one of the 
leading spirits. Through the influence of him and his associates, 
lil)eral subsidies were granted and the work was pushed with such 
viaor that before the close of the year the line had crossed the boun- 
dary of Stark County being the first railroad in the county. In 1870 
it was finished to Ruda. where it connects with the main line of the 
Chicago. Rurlington i<c Quincy system. It is now known as the Ruda 
6c Rushville branch. It passes through Essex, Toulon, Penn and 
Osceola townships, the Stark County stations on the road being Dun- 
can, Wyoming, Castleton, Bradford and Lombardville. 

CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN 

About the close of the nineteenth century the Chicago & North- 
western Railroad Company decided to build a branch from some point 
on the main line to Peoria. After surveying several routes the one 
decided upon was from Nelson, six miles west of Dixon on the main 
line, southward through Lee, Bureau, Marshall and Stark counties. 
No subsidies were asked by the railroad company, the right of way 
was ])urchased. construction commenced and in 1902 the road Avas 
com]jlete and in running order. From Ruda to the Stark Comity 
line it runs almost parallel to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road. Upon reaching the northern boundary of Stark County it veers 
slightly eastward, crossing the northeast corner of Osceola Townshi]) 
and entering ^Marshall County. Just south of Camp Grove it again 
turns tf)ward the west and re-enters Stark County in section 12, Yalley 
Township. It crosses the southern boundary of the county about 



176 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

three-fourths of a mile west of the southeast corner. Two stations 
have heen established in Stark County by the Chicago k Northwestern 
Railroad Company — Morse, in the northeast corner of Osceola Town- 
ship, and Speer, in the southeastern part of Valley Township. 

Two townships of Stark Comity — Elmira and ^Vest Jersey — 
are without raili'oads. In the other six the valuation of railroad 
property is as follows: Essex, $116,382; Goshen, $63,428; Osceola, 
$107.02'9; Penn, $78,3.54; Toulon, $82,644; Valley, $77,881. This 
total of $.52.5,718 is the value as fixed for tax purposes, but it is far 
below the real value of the property. 



CHAPTER XI 
FINANCE AND INDUSTRY 

PUBLIC REVENUES PROPERTY VALUES PRINCIPAL FUNDS RAISED BV 

TAXATION — BANKING INSTITUTIONS GENERAL HISTORY EARLY 

BANKING IX ILLINOIS STARK COUNTY BANKS AGRICULTURE. — 

CROP AND LIVE STOCK STATISTICS — STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE — ■ 
farmers' INSTITUTES COAL MINING — .^lANUFACTURING TELE- 
PHONE COMPANIES. 

There is a story of an old man wlio once counseled his son tliat 
"The best way to establish and keep a good credit is never to use it." 
This seems to have been the ])olicy of Stark County from the time 
of its organization in 1839. With the exception of the railroad bonds 
mentioned in the preceding chapter, and a few county warrants to 
cover a small floating debt at times, the county has never issued 
promises to pay, but has lived strictly within its income. And it is 
worthy of comment tiiat during the entire three-quarters of a century 
of the county's corporate existence there has never been a defalcation 
on the part of any public othcial, nor any serious charge of unusual 
or unwonted extravagance in the expenditure of public funds. ^Vith 
such a record it is not surprising that the county has an uncjuestionable 
reputation in the matter of public credit. Should the authorities find 
it necessary to issue bonds, it is an easy matter to predict that they 
Avould command a good price in the market and find ready purchasers. 
Few counties in the United States — especially those that have been 
organized for three-quarters of a century — can say, "We do not owe 
a single dollar." 

The property values of the several townships and corporations 
in 1914, as shown by the official records, were as follows: 

EJmira 'Township $ 758,198 

Essex Township 7o().().38 

Goshen Township 1,()()().249 

Osceola Township 98.'}, 84.5 

Penn Township 807,147 

177 



178 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 



rt^ 



Tuulun Township 1,318,000 

Valley Township 778,955 

West Jersey Township 735,851 

Chicago. Rock Island & Pacific R. R 17(),998 

Chicago, Rurlington & Quincy R. R 295,978 

Chicago & Northwestern R. R 5'2,7i'2 

Total $7,664,621 

In the above table the assessed values of the cities of Toulon and 
AVyoniing and the villages of Bradford and Lafayette are included 
in the townships in which they are located. In the State of Illinois 
the custom prevails of assessing property for taxation at about one- 
third of its real value. AVhen this fact is taken into consideration it 
will be seen that the taxables of Stark County are easily worth, in 
round lunnbers, $24,000,000. And even this estimate is too low. Of 
the 184,320 acres of land in the county, the average valuation, based 
upon recent actual sales, would be not far from $200 per acre. This 
gives a valuation of $36,874,000 for the lands alone. Add to these 
figures the value of improvements, jiersonal and corporation property, 
moneys and credits, and the property of the coimty «ould show a 
valuation of fifty millions or more. 

The total amount of tax collected in 1914 was $213,929.96, the 
jjrincipal items of Mbich were as follows: 

State tax $36,800.53 

County tax 26.070.77 

Road and bridge fund 44,703.80 

School fund 61,134.03 

Total $168,709.13 

Deducting the total of these four principal items from the entire 
amount of tax collected leaves a balance of $45,220.83 to be used for 
all other purposes. The tax rate upon the low valuation of $7,664,621 
is less than 3 per cent, and if the property of the county Avere 
appraised for tax purposes at its actual value, with the same amount 
of revenue collected, the rate of taxation would jirobably he the 
lowest in the United States. 

BANKING INSTITUTIONS 

A crude system of banking was inaugui-ated early in the Christian 
era by the "\''enetian money-changers. The Rank of Venice was 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 179 

established in 117"2 and continued in business until 1707. Jewish 
money-lenders invented "forei<^ii bills of exchange" in the latter part 
of the thirteenth century, but the Rank of Rarcelona (established in 
1401 ) was the first financial institution that made a business of issuing 
them. The Rank of Cienoa. which commenced business in 1407. was 
the first to issue notes that passed as currency. They passed by en- 
dorsement, however, not being made "payable to bearer." The same 
bank introduced the system of drawing against deposit accounts by 
checks. The Rank of Hamburg was opened in 1619 and the Rank 
of England in 101)4. Each of the above institutions was an iini)rove- 
ment upon its predecessors, hence the business of banking as conducted 
today is the product of nearly eight centuries of evolution since the 
fii'st organized bank was established in Venice. 

The first Iianking house in the Ignited States was formed l)y an 
association of citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 18. 1780. 
Four days later Congress passed an act granting the association 
authority to conduct a general banking business, and two years after- 
ward a "perpetual charter" was granted to the Rank of Xo)'th 
America, located at Philadelphia. In 1784 the Rank of Massachusetts 
was chartered. In the same year the Rank of New York commenced 
operations, but it did not receive its charter until 1791. 

The Rank of the United States was established by act of Congress 
in 1791. At first a majority of the stock was held by the United States 
Government, but this was gradually dis])osed of and the bank became 
a private corporation. In 18.'32 a bill to recharter the bank was vetoed 
by President Andrew Jackson. This caused the bank to lose a great 
deal of its prestige as a financial institution; the panic of 1837 so 
seriously affected its affairs that on October 5, 1838, it was forced 
to suspend specie payments. iVfter a precarious career of about five 
years more, the bank finally closed its doors in 1843. 

Then came the era of state and ])rivate banks which lasted until 
the beginning of the Civil war. During this period tlie country was 
flooded l)y what l)ecame known as "wild cat" banks — that is, banks 
established by individuals or corporations without sufficient capital 
for successfully conducting a banking Inisiness or adequate means for 
meeting their obligations. In 1803 an act of Congress established the 
national banking system, and the first comjitroller of the currency was 
appointed in 18()4. In March, 1800, another act of Congress levied 
a 10 ])er cent tax upon the note issues of all state and ])rivate banks 
and since that time all paper currency in the United States has been 
issued bv the Government or bv the national l)anks. 



180 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

EAlilA* I5AXKIXG IX ILLINOIS 

One of th(^ first banks in Illinois was the Bank of Sliawneetown, 
which was chartered by the Territorial Legislature for twenty years, 
beginnino- on January 1, 1817. The next year Illinois was admitted 
into the Union as a state. Article 8, section 21, of the constitution 
adopted in that j^ear j^i-ovided : 

"There shall be no other banks or moneyed institutions in this state 
than those already established by law, except a state bank and its 
branches, which may be established and regulated by the General 
Assembly of the state as they may think proper." 

From the time the state was admitted to al)out 18;J0, its experience 
in banking was unpleasant, if not actually disastrous, but in the face 
of necessity for some form of circulating medium adequate to the 
demands of business the lesson such an experience should teach was 
forgotten. The internal improvement scheme was inaugurated and a 
large amount of state bonds were sold to construct the contemplated 
improvements authorized. The ninth General Assembly provided for 
a new state bank with a capital stock of $1.. 500.000 and the state was 
given the right to subscribe for ,$100,000 of the stock '^\henever in 
the judgment of the General Assembly the condition of the treasury 
Avould justify such action." The charter of the state bank thus estab- 
lished was to expire on January 1, 1860. At the same session the 
charter of the old Bank of Sliawneetown, \\hich had been inactive for 
ten years, was extended for twenty years beyond the original date of 
expiration (January 1, 1837) and the bank reorganized under the 
name of the Bank of Illinois. 

At the next session of the Legislature the capital stock of the State 
Bank of Illinois was increased from $1., 300,000 to^.'J. .500,000, and 
that of the Bank of Illinois from $300,000 to $1,700,000, the state 
reserving the riglit to subscribe for all the increase of the former and 
$1,000,000 of the latter. Then came the panic of 1837, when Imth 
. banks were forced to suspend specie payment. The State Bank failed 
in February, 1842, and the Bank of Illinois closed its doors the follow- 
ing June, notwithstanding the most liberal laws had been passed in 
the hoj^e of keeping their heads above water. 

The winter of 1842-43 was a critical j^eriod in the financial history 
of the state. The failure of the l)anks. in which the state held large 
interests, had a depressing effect upon the public credit of Illinois. 
The state debt was over fifteen millions of dollars, with interest past 
due. and the bonds fell lielow par, selling sometimes as low as 20 cents 



HlSTOllV OF STARK COUNTY 181 

on the dollar. Without banks there was a scareity of eirculatinii^ 
iiiediuin and all lines of industry languished. Many people elainied 
that large sums had been wasted in the inteiiuil iiii])rovenient scheme 
and in speculation, and advocated the repudiation of the debt. 

Stark County, then only abt)ut four years old. was affected by 
the existing conditions. On March 8. 1843, the board of commis- 
sioners ordered: "That ^linott Silliman, treasurer of Stark County, 
be employed and authorized to exchange the State Bank money now 
in the treasury of said cdunty, amounting to about sixteen hundred 
dollars, for the pro rata of s])ecie ]>aid by said bank, and the balance 
in certificates of State Bank indebtedness, and that he have the same 
in the treasury' as soon as practicable." 

jNIr. Silliman made the exchange, receiving .$4()7.31 in specie and 
•f 1.147.37 in certificates of indebtedness, or a total of $l.(iM.68. Some 
of the certificates were paid out to county officials "for services" at 
the rate of ,50 cents on the dollar, and some time later the state 
redeemed the pi-oportion represented by stock held in the defunct 
l)ank. 

Before the state fully recovered from the ])amc of 1837 and the 
de])ression caused by the gigantic internal imi)rovement scheme, 
the second state constitution was adopted. Article 10, section 3, of the 
constitution of 1848 provided that "no state bank shall hereafter be 
created, nor shall the state own or be liable for any stock in any cor- 
poration or joint stock association for banking ])urposes, to be here- 
after created." 

The constitution also provided that individual stock holders in 
every bank should be liable to the full amount of stock owned by 
them. It was a case of the "burnt child dreads the fire," and the 
framers of the new constitution took the precautions to j^revent the 
state, through its law makers, from again commiting the folly of 
becoming a stockholder in any banking institution. The provisions 
of the constitution of 1848 were incorporated in the present constitu- 
tion when it was adopted in 1870, so far as state ownership of bank 
stock is concerned. 

STAliK COUNTY BANKS 

The first bank in Stark County was established at Toulon in 1860. 

It was known as the Bank of Toulon and was conducted by the 
fii'm of Small & Walley, though the real proprietor was Benjamin 
Lombard. Bonds of the states of Georgia and South Carolina were 
used as the basis* of security for the l)ank's circulation. When the 



182 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

bank failed, after a short career, the holders of its notes lost al)out 
25 per cent of their face value and the depositors lost even more. 

About the close of the Civil war Samuel M. Dewey, a Toulon 
merchant, began loaning money, and in December, 1865, the banking- 
house of Dewey & Rurge was oi)ened on the north side of Main Street, 
nearly opposite the northwest corner of the public scjuare. 31r. Dewey 
died in August, 1806, but the firm of Dewey & Rin-ge continued until 
1869, when Samuel Rurge purchased the interest of tlie Dewey estate. 
In 1875 he erected the building at the northwest corner of ^Slain and 
Washington streets and removed the bank to new (juarters. Charles 
P. Dewey, a son of the founder, became a partner in 1870. The busi- 
ness is now conducted imder the firm name of Dewey, Rurge & Gould, 
the partners being Charles P. Dew^ey, Samuel D. Rurge and ^Villiam 
E. Gould. The i)aid up capital stock of the bank is 5*^.50.000. and the 
surplus }f2.5,000, and the deposits $.500,000. 

The Exchange Rank of Wyoming was opened in 1869 by A. R. 
^liner, with Otis Dyer as resident manager. After a short time the 
name of Exchange Rank was dropped and the business was continued 
under the firm name of A. R. ]Miner & Company. In 1876 William 
Holgate and four others purchased the interests of A. R. ]Miner & 
Company and changed the name of the institution to the Farmers 
Rank. The five partners then conducted the bank as a private con- 
cern until the fall of 1882, when it was reorganized as the First 
National Rank of Wyoming, with James Holgate, i)resident: Wil- 
liam Holgate, Cyrus Rocock, Levi Silliman, John A. Klock and 
W. P. Ruswell, vice presidents; Andrew F. Stickney, cashier. It 
began business as a national bank on jNIarch 15, 1883, and continued 
as such until early in the year 1885, when it went into voluntary 
liquidation, the interests being transferred to the banking house of 
Scott & Wrigley. 

The Scott & Wrigley Rank of Wyoming commenced business as 
a private bank in 1870. A few years later H. A. Hammond was 
admitted to a partnership and the firm took the name of Scott, Wrig- 
ley & Hammond. In 1910 the name was again changed, the firm 
then becoming Scott, Walters & Rakestraw, under ^\llich it still con- 
tinues. This is one of the leading banking concerns of the county and 
maintains branches at Castleton and Duncan, W. II. Hartz being 
in charge of the Castleton brancli and E. V. Graves at Duncan. 

^Villiam Leet opened the Exchange Rank at Rradford in 1872 as 
a private banking house. It is now known as the Rradford Exchange 
Rank, with Rosa L. Thompson, president; Robert Thompson, cashier; 



T 




T "^■■■■"'■•■■M^,-^^J 




■ ■ ■ II 



I'lIKXlX liANK. r.i;Al)K<)l!l> 




INTEKlOi; \ li:\V OF rUKXIX liAXK 



LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

URBANA 



HISTUUV OF STAKK COUNTY 183 

J. E. Harney, assistant cashier. C. W. & Harmon Plienix also liegan 
the hanking husiness at Bradford ahout the time the Exchange Bank 
was started. The husiness they estahhshed is now conducted under 
tlie name of the Phenix Banking Company. 

The State Bank of Speer was organized in 19()'2 under the general 
hanking hiws of the State of llhnois with a capital stock of i{?2.5,()00. 
It has heen jirosjierous from the heginning and in Septeniher, 191;), 
reported a surplus fund of $14,000 and deposits of $100,000. At 
that time the officers of the hank were as follows: John TurnhuU. 
president; Adam Daxidson, vice president; Benjamin E. 13avis, 
cashier. 

Two hanks were estahlished in Stark County in 1903 — the State 
Bank of Toulon and the National Bank of Wyoming. The capital 
stock of the State Bank of Toulon was fixed at $2.11,000 and the first 
officers were: S. M. xVdams, president; D. K. Fell, vice president; 
W. W. Fuller, cashier. In Septeniher, 191.), this hank reported a 
surjjlus of $25,000, undivided profits amounting to $10,711, and 
deposits of $27.5,000. S. M. Adams was then president; R. E. Taylor, 
vice ])resident; E. H. Lloyd, cashier, George Nowlan, assistant 
cashier. 

The National Bank of A\'yoming occupies a neat and well 
arranged huilding erected expressly for the purpose. The capital 
stock of the hank is $.)().000; the surplus, $2.5.000 ; and the deposits, 
$27.5,000. In Octoher, 191.5. James Ilarty was president; Jolin T. 
Colgan, vice president; A. J. Adams, cashier; D. J. Colgan and Ilazel 
Sellon, assistant cashiers. This hank enjoys the distinction of heing 
the only national bank in Stark County. 

The first bank in Lafayette was o])ened ])y Bailey &: Beecher as a 
private banking house, in the building occupied in 191.5 by Aldredge's 
store. Bailey & Beecher sold out to Dewey & Potter, who conducted 
the bank but a short time when they in turn sold to A. jM. Janes. Mr. 
Janes continued the institution as a private bank until early in the 
s])ring of 191.5. when it was incorjiorated as the State Bank of I^afay- 
ette, heginning business under the new name on ]March 9. 191.5, witli 
a capital stock of $2.5,000 and the following officers: A. M. Janes, 
})resident; Baxter Fuller and Alexander Inglis, vice presidents; W. N. 
Nelson, cashier. The hank has its home in a substantial l)uilding 
erected purposely for its acconniiodation, and on September 30, 191.5, 
I'eported deposits of $8.5,000. 

Six of the eight banks in the county reported deposits in Sep- 
tember, 191.5, aggregating $1, 23.5,000. Scott. Walters & Rakestraw, 



184 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

of ^Vyonling, and tlie two Bradford banks, l)ein<>- private institu- 
tit)n.s. cliose to exercise the privilege granted to such hanks of with- 
liokhng information regarding the amount of their deposits. It is 
probable, however, that they carry deposits that would raise the total 
for the entire county to nearly or quite two million dollars — approxi- 
mately two hundred dollars for each man, woman and child residing 
in the county. If the bank deposits of a community form any index 
to its prosperity. Stark County certainly has no cause for complaint. 

AGRICULTURE 

Farming and stock raising have always been the leading occupa- 
tions of the citizens of Stark County. From the small clearing in the 
timber or the sod cornfield on the prairie in 1840, the agricultural 
interests have gradually developed until in ltn.3 practically all the 
agricultural land of the county was under culti\ation. Originally 
some of the land was too wet to produce good crops, but, according 
to a bulletin issued by the State Board of Agriculture on August 1, 
1915, there are over one thousand miles (.5,401. .540 feet) of drain 
tile u2)on the farms of the county, and the total number of acres under 
cultivation ^vas 180, .570. 

There is neither poetry nor romance in figm'cs, and statistics as 
a rule are regarded as "dry reading," but the storv of a community's 



•-»'■ 



progress can often be better told in statistics than in any other way. 
Adopting that method, then, for the purpose of showing Stark 
County's agricultural status, the following tables have been compiled 
from the bulletin of the State Board of Agriculture of December 1. 
1914, to show the principal crops, miscellaneous products, and live 
stock conditions: 

Acres Bushels Value 

Corn 60,232 1,32.5,104 ^ 79.5,002 

Oats 37,600 2,2.56,000 924,960 

Wheat 2,270 .58,.572 ;56.71.5 

Rye 795 15,900 12,243 

Barley 650 19,500 15,600 

Potatoes 115 2,330 1,980 

Hay (all kinds) . 40,000 50,000 tons 650.000 

Pasture 33.650 168,250 



'"1'^ 



rotal 175,312 $2,624,810 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 185 

The value of the ero])s was determined by the eoncHtion of the 
market at tlie time the hidletiii was issued by the State Board of 
Agriculture and would ha\e brought the prices indicated had the 
products been sold on December 1, 1914«. 

Deducting the total acreage, as given in the above table, from 
180,.)7i>, the number of acres under cultivation, leaves .),'284 acres for 
"truck patches" and lawns about the homes of the farmers. In addi- 
tion to the crops given in the table, the farmers of Stark County s(jld 
during the year the following miscellaneous products: 

Amount Value 

Timothy seed 24 bushels $ 96.00 

Clover seed 21 bushels 210.00 

Millet seed 27 bushels 100.00 

\Vool 16,93.) pounds 4,234.00 

Butter l.),7T2 pounds 4,732.00 

Honey 988 pounds 119.00 

Milk 2,567 gallons 770.00 

Poultry 4,098.00 

Eggs 1,82.).00 

Cheese 187.00 

Total value $16,371.00 

The number and value of domestic animals on May 1, 1914, as 
estimated by the State Board of Agricultiu-e, was as follows: 

Number A'alue 

Horses 7,197 Not given 

Hogs 11,888 $133,204 

Cattle 13,977 282,370 

Sheep 3,978 23,486 

Total value $'439,060 

Of the cattle enumerated, 1,27-3 were dairy cows. During the 
year the numbei- of sheep sold was 87.'); the number of hogs, 9,867; 
the number of cattle, 2,921, the value of the entire product being 
based upon the jn-iees received for those marketed. It will be noticed 
that the value of horses is not given. If it were included, together 
with the value of animals not mentioned in the agricultural l)ulletiii. 
such as mules, goats, etc., the value of the live stock of Stark County 
in 1914 would easily reach half a million dollars. 

Vol. I— 1 2 



186 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

STATE BOARD OF AGKICULTURE 

The Illinois State Roard of Agriculture was created by the act 
of Ai)ril 1.5, 1872. and duriny the forty-three years it has been in 
existence it has wiehled a wide inHuence upon tiie farming and stock 
raising interests of the state. The lioard is composed of one member 
from each Congressional district, who is a vice president of the board. 
In 191.5 the member from the Sixteenth district was J. P. Code, of 
Rradford, Stark County. Resides the state fair, which is held under 
the supervision of the State Roard of Agriculture each year, and 
which is generally recognized as one of the finest agricultural exhibits 
in the country, the board collects and publishes every year a statistical 
report of the crops throughout the state. To accomplish this work 
in a manner that will insure authenticity in the results, a corps of crop 
correspondents, representing every county in the state, collects and 
sends in the necessary information. In 1914 the croj) correspondents 
for Stark County were: Duncan JNIcKenzie, 31. R. Downend and 
A. Leroy Hazen. 

farmers' institutes 

Along toward the close of the Nineteenth Century the custom of 
holding farmers' institutes was adopted in most of the states of the 
3Iiddle ^Vest. The Illinois State Farmers" Institute was created i)y 
the act of June 2-i, 189.5. The act provided for an ex-officio board 
of directors to be composed of the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, the dean of the College of Agriculture, and the presidents of 
the State Roard of Agriculture, the State Horticultural Society and 
the State Dairymen's Association. In addition to this there is a 
board of twenty-five directors, elective by Congressional districts. 
This state institute undertook the work of directing the county insti- 
tutes, the state making a small appropriation to such counties as 
would hold farmers' institutes under certain conditions. 

An act of the Legislature, approved on June 5, 1911, authorized 
the boards of county su])ervisors in comities having township organiza- 
tion, or the commissioners in counties without township organization, 
"to appro})riate from the county treasury, for the use of the county 
farmers' institutes in their efforts to promote the adoption of the 
latest approved methods of crop production, the conservation of soil 
fertility, and the improvement of agricultural conditions generally; 
])rovided, that in no case shall it be lawful for a county board to ap])ro- 
priate more than $300 in any one year for the above purj^oses." 



HISTORY OF STAllK COUNTY 187 

For a miiiiber of years the farmers of Stark County held institutes 
at some time during the winter months. On a number of these occa- 
sions the hoard of supervisors made appropriations under tlie al)ove 
mentioned aet to assist in defraying the expenses. Instructors from 
the State College of xVgrieidture gave lectures on various subjects 
in which the farmers are interested; corn contests were conducted 
under the auspices of the institute otficials and prizes awarded to the 
winners; boys and young men were taught to judge the "jioints" of 
various kinds of live stock; the best methods of preparing ground, 
selecting seed, and many otlier subjects of hve interest to the farmer 
were discussed. The attendance was generally good and those who 
came went away feeling well repaid for their time and tiouble. 

The last institute held in the co\uity was in 1913. M. B. Downend 
was then pi'esident: W. W. Wi'ight, secretary; Fred Winans. treas- 
urer. These three men and their associates spared no effort to make 
the institute a success and their efforts were rewarded by the largest 
attendance ever witnessed at an institute in Stark County, about five 
hundred people being present. Much of the work formerly done 
through the county institutes is now l)eing done by the ])ublic schools. 
In the township high school at Toulon, and some of the other schools 
of the county, instruction is given and experimental work done in 
various branches of agriculture. 

With the annual products of the farms, in crops and live stock, 
running over three millions of dollars; with more than a thousand 
miles of drain tile in the wet land districts; with a soil unsurjjassed 
in i'ertility, and with the influence of the College of Agi-iculture per- 
meating every nook and corner, the business of farming in Stark 
County is constantly rising to a higher ])lane and being conducted 
upon a more scientific basis. Other industries may be establistied and 
may ])rosper, but it is quite certain that for years to come "corn is 
king" in the little County of Stark. 

COAL MINING 

In the first chai)ter of this work some account is given of the coal 
dejjosits, in their relation to the geology of the county. Probably the 
fii'st attention to the coal l)eds of Stark County was attracted through 
the report of Professor Wilbur, who made some investigations in this 
part of the state and gave the product the name of "Spoon River" 
coal. Professor Wilbur predicted a profitable business in mining 
coal. Says he: "The fortunate position of the Spoon River coal 



188 HISTOllV OF STARK COUNTY^ 

field gives lis oceasioii to make a few remarks as regards its future 
value. It is situated near the Mississippi River, whose eoal trade in 
barges northward will soon equal its lumber trade southward, dis- 
tributing these mining products at the depots of 15,000 miles of shore, 
on either side. It is bounded on the north l)y the Silliman district, 
which occupies 17,000 scjuare miles of Northern Illinois, all of ^Viscon- 
sin and ^Minnesota, and Xorthern Iowa. This vast area is entirely 
void of coal, depending solely upon transportation from the nearest 
coal deposits. 

"The limit of workable coal may be safely put at eighty miles 
northwest and southeast by thirty miles northeast and southwest, 
giving an area of 2,400 square miles. In this field there are two veins 
of coal, having a combined thickness of nine feet. To measure the 
amoimt in tons we must take one cubic yard for every ton as a measur- 
ing vmit. A stratum of coal three feet thick would therefore give a 
cubic yard for every square yard of surface. Hence, an acre of three- 
foot coal would contain 4,840 tons; but in this field we have a thickness 
of nine feet, and an acre here must therefore contain 14, .520 tons. The 
aG'oreoate of tons contained in the field, whose limit we have assumed 
as eighty by thirty miles, is 22,302,720.000 tons. Now, if we distribute 
1,000 tons per day, it will require 75,000 years to exhaust the supply, 
allowing 300 working days per year." 

These predictions are certainly optimistic enough, >iut subsetp-.ent 
developments demonstrated that Professor Wilbur was somewhat 
mistaken in his calculations, both as to the area of the field and the 
thickness of the deposits. 

So far as can be learned, the first coal mined in the county was 
about 18.)4 or 185.5. when a few of the early settlers commenced taking 
coal in small quantities from the outcrops along Jack Creek and Jug 
Rim. A little later David and William Howard opened a mine in 
section 23, Toulon Township, about two miles and a half north of 
Wyoming and not far from the Spoon River. About the same time 
the Howards opened their mine, John Robinson and Richard 
Howarth (commonly called "Shanty Dick" by his neighbors) did some 
mining on section 25. about a mile and a half southeast of the Howard 
mine. A shaft was sunk in this locality some years later and a consid- 
erable quantity of coal was taken out. The passenger on the Chicago, 
Rurlington & Quiney Railroad can still see the I'uins of the abantloned 
mine from the car windows. 

In 1857 James Fraser came from England and settled in Stark 
County. He was a practical miner, having previously worked in the 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 189 

Xewcastle collieries in his native land, lie I'ornied a partnership with 
Thomas Tunsall, another Knglishnian, and the two leased a part of 
section 14, Toulon Township, from Elisha Dixon. Their mine was 
worked systematically, the slack and sulphur heinff taken from the 
coal, and the product of the Fraser & Tunsall mine found a ready sale. 
In IS.jS this firm purchased a part of Section 23, near the Howard 
mine, opened a mine tliere and that year sold about one thousand tons. 
About the beyinm'nn' of the Civil wai' in 18(n, John Mcl^au<>hlin 
was earryiiii)- on a successful mininfj- business at what was called the 
Foster coal bank, two and a half miles west of Bradford, near the 
Fast L'ork of the Spoon River. North of that about two miles was 
the S. C. Francis mine, mentioned by H. A. Green in his geological 
report of the county for 1870, and between the JMcLoughlin and 
Francis mines was the Bradford shaft, in section 21, also mentioned 
by Green in his report. 

Shortly alter the close of the Civil war the Lathrop Coal Com])any 
began mining on a more extensive scale than had up to that time been 
attemjjted in the county. The mines of this company were constructed 
on the most a])proved plans known to that period, being provided with 
steam hoisting aj)paratus, jjumjjs for keeping the mines clear of water, 
escape shafts for the miners, side tracks, screens, chutes, etc., and 
tenements and boarding houses for the miners. It was operated in 
the vicimty of Wyoming and the products of its mines were shipped 
to distant cities, so the local miners had no opposition from the big 
concern. In IBTl' the output of the Lathi-op mines was about three 
hundred and tifty tons daily. At the same time the local miners, who 
were operating on a smaller scale and supjjlying the local market, 
were turning out about 7.000 bushels of coal every week. 

Among these local operators were Fred Charleston, Peter Iler- 
])erger, William and Hemy Newton and John Cununings, whose 
mines were situated at different points in Toulon Township. William 
Newton's nu"ne, known as the "Coe coal bank," was opened about 
18(>r> and at one time employed about fifteen men. Around Modena 
Avas also a favorite field for the operator with small capital. 

In Elmira Township the outcrops along the West Fork of the 
Spoon River were worked at an early date by some of the settlers, 
who thiis obtained a su])ply of coal for their own use. So far as can 
be learned, the first shaft sunk in this township was that of Thomas 
Oliver, which was opened late in the year 188.3. It was located about 
a mile north of the village of Elmira and turned out a large block 
coal e(|ual in ([uality to any produced in the countv. 



190 HISTOHV OF STARK COUNTY 

When Green made his geological survey of tlie county in 180!)-70, 
he found a number of workings around Modena, in Osceola Township, 
along Jack Creek and near Cox's mill in Essex Township. But in 
recent years many of the mines have become "worked out" and have 
been abandoned, the great piles of shale and the ramshackle buildings 
standing as mute monuments to a bygone industry. Some mining 
is still carried on in the county, the largest single working prol)ably 
being the "Big Hit" mine, which is situated directly east of the 
Chicago, Bm'lington & Quincy Railroad, between Wyoming and 
Castleton. 

MANUFACTURING 

Stark has never been a manufacturing county to any considerable 
extent. The first factories of any kind were grist mills, to supply the 
])ioneers with material for making the "staff of life," and saw mills, 
for the purpose of providing them with lumber that they might have 
shelter for themselves and families. Perhaps the first mill in the 
county was the one built by Harmon Leek on the Simoon River, not 
far from where the Wyoming and Toulon road crosses the sti'eam. 
Mrs. Shallenberger says: "It was built as early as 1833 or 183-1, 
had one run of stone, and there was a saw mill attached to it. The 
dam was made of brush, hay and gravel, and the whole thing was 
poorly constructed. In the winter of 183.5 or 183(5 Minott Silliman 
rented the entire concern for the coming year for thirty dollars. But 
the high waters of the opening spring swept dam and mill away, to 
the dead loss of JNIr. Silliman of the thirty dollars ])aid in advance, 
and an equal amoimt of prospective profits." 

Sylvanus ^loore built a mill at an early date a short distance above 
liCek's, on the farm afterward known as the "General Thomas Home- 
stead," and Lemuel S. Dorrance had a mill on the river not far from 
the jjresent village of JNIodena. The latter was afterward known as 
Fuller's mill. Shortly after the Dorrance mill was completed he 
took Samuel G. Brcese into partnership and the Dorrance and Breese 
mill was one of the landmarks of Stark County for years. One of 
the l)uhrs used in this old mill was kept by Mr. Breese as a relic for 
fully half a century. 

In 1837 Enoch Cox came from Ohio, where he had followed the 
milling business, and built a mill on Indian Creek a short distance from 
its mouth. It was not long until he found the supply of water insuffi- 
cient for the purpose of furnishing the power, and removed to the 
mouth of Camping Run. about three and a half miles south of 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY TJl 

Wyoming, where he built a larger and better equipped mill, his 
brother, Thomas Cox, becoming associated with him in the latter 
enterprise. 

Andrew Dray, one of the early settlers, built a mill on Indian 
Creek, Parker & Bradford had one on Jack Creek, and Amsey New- 
man's mill was on Cooper's Defeat, near the northern boundary of 
Penn Township. Newman also had a chair factory, where he made 
the old-fashioned split bottom chairs and spinning wheels, which 
found a ready sale among the early families of the county. Asher 
Smith had a tanyard near Newman's mill and made a good cjuality 
of leather. John Prior, of Toulon, also made chairs and a few other 
articles of furniture of the primitive type. 

Probably the first steam mill in the county was the one built by 
Dexter Wall at the oUl village of Waldron, in the northwestern part 
of Penn Township. After running the mill there for a while he 
removed it to ^Vyoming, where it became widely known as the Viola 
]\lills. having three run of buhrs. In 188() the mill was remodeled and 
the roller process introduced, after which, it was operated for some 
time by Charles C. Priester. The machinery was then moved away 
and the building in 191.5 was used by Frank S. Foster as a feather 
.sorting and renovating estal)lishment. 

The Valley Mills at Wyoming stood about one block w^est of the 
Rock Island Railroad station and were conducted for several years 
by C. S. Payne. This mill had three run of buhrs and did a successful 
business, a considerable <iuantity of flour being shipped to Peoria 
and otliei- markets. The ruins of the old mill can still be seen. There 
were a few other mills in the county at various periods of its history, 
but the ones above mentioned were the best known. 

One of the most ])retentious manufacturing establishments of early 
days was the Hour and woolen mills of John Culbertson at Toulon. 
Says ]\Irs. Shallenberger: "While he never expected to reap great 
profits himself from this investment, he did hope to make these mills 
a public l)enefit and link his name with home enterprises and indus- 
tries." The mills were operated under his personal sui)ervision and 
employed a number of people, some of whom were skilled workmen, 
but after JNIr. Culbertson's death in 1869 the industry was allowed to 
languish and finally Avent down. 

Another ]iioneer carding mill was located on Walnut Creek, in 
West Jersey Township, or as it was then known "Massillon Precinct." 
It was owned by Charles Yocum and \Vashing1;on Trickle and did a 
thriving business at a time when the good women of the county spun 



192 HISTOKV OF STARK COUNTY 

their own yarn, wove it into flannel and jeans, and made most of the 
garments worn by the several members of the family. 

In the history of Goshen Township mention is made of \Villiaui 
Dunbar, the "Old Hatter" of Lafayette. It is said that he would 
take a large number of hats fastened together, throw them over his 
shoulders, mount a horse and start out on a peddling expedition, 
remaining away until his stock was disposed of, when he would return 
home and begin the manufacture of another supply. In this Avay he 
carried on a successfvd trade for a number of years, or until the "fac- 
tory" hats, which sold for lower prices, forced him out of the market. 

A cheese manufactui-ing company was organized at Toulon in 
December, 1874, with a capital stock of $5,000, and began operations 
in May, 187o. Its first year's product amovmted to 4.1,800 pounds of 
cheese. After running for a few years the business was discontinued, 
and in January, 1885, the old cheese factory was converted into a 
skating rink. A bulletin of the State Board of Agriculture issued on 
December 1, 1914, shows that during the preceding year there were 
1,24'4. jjounds of cheese manufactured in the county. 

^Muchmore & Phenix engaged in the manufacture of wagons at 
Bradford at a comparatively early date. W. AMiite cV Company con- 
ducted a wagon and carriage factory at Toulon, and J. B. Robinson 
was engaged in the same line of business at Wyoming. John B. 
Maxfield began making brick near Toulon about the close of the Civil 
war; James P. Headley operated a brick yard at Toulon along in 
the '80s; Higbee & Damon were engaged in the mamifacture of brick 
and tile at Wyoming at the same time, and among the other manu- 
factured products of the county may be mentioned cigars, harnesti, 
sorghum molasses and a few other minor articles. In 1915 a large 
bakery at Wyoming shipped bread to a number of the surrounding 
towns. 

TELEPHONE COMPANIES 

Although the telephone company is not an "industry,"" in the sense 
that it mamifactures or produces any commodity, it is one of the 
greatest aids to business of all kinds in modern times. Before the in- 
ti'oduction of the telephone and the free rural delivery of mail, the 
farmer de])ended largely upon his weekly newspaper and the informa- 
tion bi-ought by his neighbors when they "went to town" for his 
market reports. Now many of the farmers have telephones in their 
houses and the rural carriers bring the daily jjapers to nearly every 
household in Stark County. 

On jNIarch 1, 1902, the Toulon Mutual Telephone Comj^any was 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 193 

granted right of way for their hues along certain liighways in the 
county by the board of .supervisors, and soon afterward the work of 
construction was commenced. Just a inontii hiter (April 1, 1902) 
the Castleton Telephone Company, which was organized by A. U. 
Hoff' and A. L. Johnson, was granted right of way over some of the 
roads in the eastern part of the county. About five years later the 
interests of these two companies Avere consolidated in the Stark 
County Telephone Company, which was duly incorporated under the 
laws of the State of Illinois, with a capital stock of $2(),()()0. In 
October, 191.), the com])any was o])erating exchanges at Toulon, 
W'voming, Castleton, Camp (irove, Duncan and Elmira, with about 
two thousand telephones comiected with its lines. The building at 
Toulon, ill which are the exchange and general otfices of the company, 
was erected expressly for the purpose in 191-1, and tlie exchange 
building at Camj) Grove is also owned by the company, the other 
exchanges occupying leased quarters. The officers of the company 
in 1915 were: W. F. Price, president and general manager; A. B. 
Hoft', manager of the eastern division; W. R. Sandham, secretary; 
C. P. Dewey, treasurer. The boai'd of directors was com])osed of 
the above officers, J. W. Walters, Arthur Walters, .Tames T. Rogers, 
Jehiel Fuller, William Jackson and J. H. Duncan. 

On June 2, 1900, the Osceola-Neponset Telephone Com])any and 
the Buda-Rradford Telephone Com])anv were both granted the ])rivi- 
lege of setting poles and running wires along highways mentioned in 
their respective petitions. Of the former company Frank ^V. Bates 
was then president and A. E. Stetson, secretary; and of the latter 
com])any Frank Kopp was president and Hollis Blauvelt, secretary. 

The Lafayette Telephone Company — C. A. Buffum, president; 
F. \Y. Kltzroth, secretary — was granted a right of way on iVpril 17, 
1901. The Milo-Bradford Telej^hone Company, of which Festus 
Bently was president and Cyrus Bocock, secretary, was granted simi- 
lar concessions on ]March 11. 1902; the Duncan Telephone Com])any, 
through its secretary, J. W. McXay, filed a petition with the board 
of supervisors on April 1.), 1902, which was granted the same day; 
and on June 10, 1902. right of way was granted to the West Jersey 
Tcle])hone Com])any, of which Watson Egbert was president, and 
Thomas J. Dryden, secretary. 

By an arrangement with the Stark County Telephone Company, 
all the lines of these local companies are connected through the 
exchanges of the former, giving long distance senice to all parts of 
the county. The advantages resulting from this service can hardly 
be estimated. 



CHAPTER XII 
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

CHARACTER OF THE EARIA' SCHOOLS SCHOOI.HOUSE AND FURNITURE 

TEXT-BOOKS SPELLING SCHOOLS THE THREE r's PUBLIC SCHOOL 

SYSTEJI STARK COUNTY SCHOOLS PIONEER TEACHERS EDUCA- 
TIONAL PROGRESS BY TOWNSHIPS THE SEMINARY TOULON PUBLIC 

SCHOOLS TOULON ACADEMY WYOMING PUBLIC SCHOOLS SCHOOL 

OFFICERS teachers' INSTITUTE TEACHERs' ASSOCIATION THE 

PRESS BRIEF HISTORIES OF THE VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS EXTINCT 

NEWSPAPERS PUBLIC LIBRARIES WVOilING TOULON LAFAY- 
ETTE BRA n F () R D EL:\riRA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SCHOOL 

LIBRARIES. 

The young jjeople who enjoy the excellent educational facilities 
offered by the Stark County public schools in this year 1916 can 
hardly be exjiected to realize the difficulties encountered by their fath- 
ers and grandfathers in the acquisition of an education three-quarters 
of a century ago, when the first white people in what is now Stark 
County established their homes. Then there were no public funds 
with which to build schoolhouses and pay the salaries of teachers. 
When a sufficient number of settlers had located in a neighborhood to 
support a school they would join together in the erection of a school- 
house at some central point, where it would be most convenient for 
the children. These early schoolhouses ^vere invariably of logs, with 
clapboard roof and puncheon floor, sometimes, in fact, having no 
floor except "mother earth." If money enough could be raised in 
the frontier settlement, and it was not too far to some trading post, 
a real window of sash and glass would be placed in each side of the 
building, but in many instances the only light came through oiled 
paper fastened to a framework of slender strips over the aperture 
formed by leaving out a section of one of the logs. Stoves were a 
luxury and the school room was imperfectly heated liy a great fire- 
place at one end. On cold days those sitting near the fire would 
become too warm, while those farther away would be suffering with 

194 



HlSTOltV OF STARK COUNTY 195 

cold. One can imagine the confusion in tiie school caused by pupils 
constantly changing their scats to "get warm." 

The furniture of the school room was of the most i)riniitive charac- 
ter. Seats were made by splitting in halves a tree of some eight or 
ten inches in diameter, driving pins into holes bored in the half-round 
sides for legs, and then smoothing the upi)er surface with a draw- 
knife. The legs stood at an angle that would insure stability to the 
"bench." Under the window was the writing desk, which was made 
by boring holes in the wall at a slight angle and driving stout pins into 
the holes to support a wide board, the top of which would be dressed 
smooth to serve as a table, at which the ])u])ils would take their turns 
at writing. 

The text-books used in that day were usually Webster's spelling- 
book, the English or McGuffey's readers. Pike's. Ual)oirs, Tal])ott's 
or Ray's arithmetics, and if the teacher knew enough to teach such 
studies and the district was inclined to be aristocratic. Olney's geog- 
ra])hy and Kirkluun's or Butler's grammar. The teacher of that day 
was seldom a graduate of a higher institution of learning, knew nothing 
of normal school training, and rarely made any special preparation for 
the work. If he could read and spell well, write well enough to "set 
copies" for the children to imitate, and could "do all the sums" in the 
arithmetic up to and including the "Rule of Three," he was qualified to 
teach. There was one qualification, howevei-, which could not be over- 
looked in the teacher of that ])erio(l. He must be a man of sufficient 
physical strength to hold the unruly boys in subjection and i)rescrve or- 
der in the school. AVith the pioneer pedagogue "to spare the rod was to 
spoil the child." Xot many children were spoiled, for at the beginning 
of the term a bundle of tough switches were gathered and displayed 
to the best advantage as a sort of ])rophylactic. If the mere sight of 
these switches did not deter the bad l)oy from committing some infrac- 
tion of the rules, a vijSforous application of one of them generally had 
a tendency to cure his fi-olicsome disposition. 

On the theory that no one could become a good reader without 
first being a good s])eller, more attention was given to orthography 
during the child's early school days than to any other branch of study. 
Spelling schools of evenings were of frequent occurrence, and in these 
matches the parents would nearly always take part. Two "captains" 
would be selected to "choose up," the one Avinning the first choice 
would select the best speller ])resent, the other the next best, and so 
on until all who desired to participate were divided into two equal 
sides. Then the teacher "gave out" the words alternately from side 



196 HISTORY OF STxVKK COUNTY 

t(j side. When one mis-spelled a word he took his seat. The one 
who stood longest won the victory, and to "spell down" a whole school 
district was considered (juite an achievement. 

After the child could sjjell fairly well he was taught to read. Then 
came the writing lessons. The copy-books used in the early schools 
bore no lithographed line at the top. They were generally of the 
"home-made" variety, consisting of a few sheets of foolscap paper 
covei'ed ^\ith a sheet of heavy wrapping paper. xVt the top of the 
page the teacher woidd write a line or "copy," which was usually some 
motto or jjroverb intended to convey a moral lesson as well as to give 
the pu])il a specimen of penmanshij) to imitate; such as "Evil com- 
munications corrupt good manners," "Whatever is worth doing is 
worth doing well," etc. When one stoi)s to consider that the term of 
school was rarely over three months, that the same teacher hardly ever 
taught two terms in succession in the same place, and that each teacher 
had a diiFerent style of penmanship, it is a wonder the young peoj^le 
of that day learned to write as well as many of them did. 

Xext came the arithmetic. In the pronunciation of this word the 
soimd of the initial letter was often dropped and it was ])ronounced 
'rithmetic. And the fact that Keadin", 'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic were 
regarded as the essentials of a practical education gave rise to the 
exjjression "the three R's." If one imderstood the three R's he was 
equi])])ed for the great liattle of life, so far as ordinary business affairs 
were concerned. 

But during the years that have passed since the tirst white man 
came to Stark County educational development has kept steji with 
industrial progress. The old log schoolhouse, with its crude furniture, 
has disappeared and in its place has come the commodious structure 
of brick or stone. Steam heat, or a warm air furnace, has su2)planted 
the old fireplace, giving a uniform temperatm-e to the school room. 
The teacher now must show fitness and training for his calling. The 
bundle of "gads" is no longer kept on exhibition as a terror to evil- 
doers and corporal jjunishment is no longer considered a necessary 
part of the educational system. Yet, under the old regime, profes- 
sional men who afterward achieved world-wide reputations, chief jus- 
tices. United States senators, great inventors, and even presidents of 
the United States accjuired their rudimentary education in the old 
log schoolhouse. 

PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

The enabling act of April 18. 1818. which authorized the ])cople 
of Illinois to adopt a constitution preparatory to being admitted into 



HISTORY OF STAllK COUNTY 197 

the Union as a state, set apart section Ifi in eaeli Cono-rcssional town- 
ship as the basis of a per])etnal common school fund, the income of 
which was to be used for the ecUication of the youth of the state. At 
the beginning of the present century the vahie of these sections was 
$11. ()(){).()()(), but the school hinds then unsold were valued at only 
<t4.()'J.).000. 

In IHtiit Congress passed an act dividing the surplus in the national 
treasury among the states. Illinois received $33.5,000, which was 
added to the permanent school fund. Technically this distribution 
was a loan to the state, but no demand has ever licen made for its 
repayment — nor is any demand likely to be made — and the state's 
school fund has been permanently enriched by that amount. 

A county school fund ^\as established by the Legislature of 1837, 
the income of which was to be added to the general school fund each 
year. The county school fund amounted to $1()"2,0()0 at the begin- 
ning, but has been slightly increased by the addition of certain 
unclaimed funds in the public treasury, etc. From these several 
soui'ces, Illinois has built up a school fund of about fourteen millions 
of dollars, which can be increased, but cannot l)e legally diminished. 
The permanent school fund is loaned to the state, the interest amount- 
ing to about seven hundred thousand dollars per animm, which is 
used for the support of the i)ul)lic schools, and which is apportioned 
among the counties in proportion to the number of persons between 
the ages of five and twenty-one years. 

In addition to these various sources of school revenue, each county 
levies a tax for the supjjort of its free schools under the following 
provision of the Constitution of 1870: "The General Assembly shall 
])i'()vide a thorough and efficient system of free schools, wherel)y all 
children of this state may receive a good conunon school education." 

Pursuant to the above constitutional provision, the Legislature of 
Illinois has from time to time passed laws for the improvement of the 
public school system until the state offers to its young people educa- 
tional facilities that rank high among those of the states of the Uniom 
.Stark County's local school tax in li)14 amounted to $()1,134'.()3, or 
$2.34 for each pupil enumerated. 

STARK COUNTY SCHOOLS 

In the chapter on Townshij) History will be found some mention 
of some of the early schools and the number of school districts in each 
t()wnshi|) at the present time. The first schoolhouse in the county was 



198 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

raised in Essex Township uii July i, 1834. An account of the 'rais- 
ing," as given by JMadison Winn, is given in connection witli the 
history of that township. A school district had been organized there 
the year before, with Renjaniin Smith, Sylvanus IMoore and Green- 
leaf Smith as trustees for the territory embracing township 12 north, 
range G east. After the erection of the schoolhouse the next vear, 
Adam Perry taught the first school in the new structure, which is 
believed to liave been the fii'st school ever taught in the county. ^Irs. 
Sliallenberger, in her "Stark County and Its Pioneers," gives the 
following copy of the receipt signed by Mr. Perry for his salary: 

":March 1.5, IS.S."). 
"Received of Isaac E. Essex $.j.5..5U, in full, for teaching a school 
three months in town 12 X., range 6 E., which school ended this day. 

"Adam Perky." 

Stark County Mas then a part of Putnam and Isaac B. Essex was 
commissioner of the school fund for the townshii) that now bears his 
name. Under his direction section 10 (the school section) was sold 
on February 4, 18.'34. for $968.70. 

The second school in the county was probably that taught bv ]Miss 
Sabrina Chatfield, which ended on July 8, 183.5, and for which she 
received $13.00, the term being thi-ee months. ^liss Chatfield after- 
ward became the wife of B. L. Hilliard and removed to Clark County, 
Iowa, where she died some years later. ]Mary Lake also taught a 
short term in the fall of that year, her receipt being dated Xovem- 
ber 3, 183.5. It states that she taught six weeks and two days, for 
which she received $6.3li/x. 

Other early teachers were Jesse Heath, Jose})h R. Xewton, James 
Dalrymple and William Sammis. ^Ir. Clifford says of Jesse Heath: 
"He was a man of fair education, from St. Louis, a 'good fellow' 
out of school, but a rigid disciplinarian within. He seemed to regard 
the scholars as blockheads and dolts, because they were so back^\ard. 
He fi-ightened one of the boys so much that the little fellow stayed 
at home two weeks in bed, feigning sickness to avoid going to school." 

The early schools were frecjuently of the type known as "sub- 
scription schools," for the reason that the ])ublic fund was then too 
small to defray all the expenses of the teacher's salary, provide fuel, 
etc. L. E. INIiner, in a communication to one of the Stark County 
newspapers some years ago. gives the following account of a school 
taught b}' him shortly after the County of Stark was organized: 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 199 

"In 1839 I was rcciucsted to teach a scliool at Col. W. H. Hender- 
son's. I received snbscriptions for scholarships and Colonel Hender- 
son furnished a place for the school in one of his buildings, which was 
fitted up by cutting a log out of the west side of the cabin and putting- 
greased newspapers in the place of the log. This was all the light we 
had in the school room. The scholars came from Spoon River — John 
Bowen from up Indian Creek — besides those nearer by who could 
walk to school. It was in the winter of 1839-40. There was one fam- 
ily in Toulon at that time, that of John ^Miller. Colonel Henderson 
sent seven scholars to my school: William, Thomas. Henry, \\'eb- 
ster, Stephen and James, and Felix ^Vilkinson, a nephew of Mrs. 
Henderson. John \V. Henderson was with his father in attendance 
on the Legislature at Yandalia." 

iMr. JNIiner fails to state the amount of tuition he received for each 
scholar, but his descrii)tion of the schoolhouse will give the reader 
some idea of the ditficulties that had to be encountered and overcome 
in obtaining an education in the "good old times." 

The public school system of Stark County may be said to have 
had its beginning in the action of the county commissioners at their 
first session. On April .5, 1839, they appointed James Ilolgate school 
commissioner and the next day announced the appointment of the 
following trustees of the school lands: Township 17, range 7 (now 
Osceola), J. C. Avery, Henry Seely and A. JNI. Smith; township 13, 
range 7 (Penn), Henry Breese, Samuel Camp and Isaac Spencer; 
township 13, range 6 (Toulon), J. W. Heath, Samuel Seely and 
Adam Perry; township 12, range 6 (Essex), Calvin Powell, Sr., 
Moses Boardman and Whitney Smith; township 12, range 5 (West 
Jersey). William W. Webster. Joseph Palmer and ^Milton Richards; 
townshij) 13, range .> (Goshen), C. H. Miner, Luther UriscoU and 
Samuel Parrish. 

No trustees were appointed for Elmira and \'allcy townships, and 
it is difficult to understand why trustees of school lands were appointed 
for the Townshi]) of Essex, in which the school section had been sold 
some five years before. 

An election was held at the house of Robert JNIoore, in Osceola 
Precinct, on January 10, 1838. to vote on the question of incorporating 
township 14. range C> (Ehnira). for school purposes. Ten votes were 
cast, all of them in favor of the ])r()position and Robert jMoore, INIathias 
Sturm, R()])ert Hall. Thomas Watts. Myrtle G. Brace and James 
Buswell were elected trustees. Stark County was then a ])ait of 
Putnam and no report can be found as to the number of schools, if 



200 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

any, that were conducted in tlie township. In 18 1.) a petition from 
the people of this township was presented to James B. Lewis, sdiool 
commissioner, asking for the sale of the school lanils. The early 
school records of this township have disappeared and none prior to 
1801 can he found. In 1914 the township enumerated 2.3.5 persons 
of scliool age: possesseil school property worth $10, GOO, apparatus 
valued at $1,080, and employed nine teachers. 

The school section in Essex Township was sold in February, 1834, 
as already stated, and tlie money ai)])lied to the support of the com- 
mon schools. On June 30, 1840, twenty-three votes were cast in favor 
of organizing the township for school purposes, but the names of the 
first trustees cannot be learned. During the school year of 1914-1. > 
Essex enrolled 283 pujjils in the ten school districts; the school prop- 
erty, including the south side school building in the City of Wyoming- 
was valued at $20,7-5O, and the value of apparatus was $2, 27.3. 

The school history of Goshen Township begins with the appoint- 
ment of jNIessrs. INIiner, Driscoll and Parrish as trustees on April 6, 
1839, though subscription schools had no doubt been taught within 
the township limits prior to that date. On September .3, 184.3, a 
2)etition signed by seventy-five legal voters asked for the sale of the 
school section, and the last of the school lands in this township was 
dis2)osed of in February, 18.51. Says Leeson: "One of the first, if 
not the first schoolhouse in Goshen Township, was that overlooking 
the Indian camp, two miles from the Harris farn), on the old state 
road." The first school election was held at the house of Elijah Eltz- 
worth in October, 1840. Luther Driscoll, Charles H. INIiner, Jeremiah 
Bennett, Jacob Emery and Samuel Parrish were chosen trustees and 
Theodore F. Hiu'd was elected treasurer. The first act of the new 
trustees was to divide the township into the Lafayette, Emery, Indian 
Creek and Fahrenheit school districts. In January. 1841, the people 
of this township wrote to Col. W. H. Henderson, then a member of 
the Legislature, asking him to introduce a bill providing for the pay- 
ment to Stark County of its share of the school fund ajjportioned to 
Knox and Putnam counties. The bill was passed in July, 1843, 
Goshen Township receiving $60.30. In 191.3 the nine districts of 
Goshen em-olled 24.3 pupils, the property was valued at $17,500, and 
the apparatus at $1,000. 

The first election of trustees in Osceola of which there is any 
record, was held at the house of John Shawls on May 17, 184.3. Four- 
teen votes were cast and Liberty Stone, Isaac W. Searle and Zebulon 
A-\-ery were the successful candidates. The same day the township 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 'Ml 

was (lividtnl into three districts. These three districts have since been 
sul)divided until in 1D1.3 there were nine districts, huildin,i>s vahicd at 
$10, 800, apparatus worth $1,650, and 392 pupils cni-olled. 

Penn Township inaugurated its school system as early as 18:)6, - 
three years before the organization of Stark County, when Wall's 
schoolhouse was erected in section 7. Subscription schools were taught 
here at an early date, but the names of the teachers appear to have 
been forgotten. The township \\as organized for school purposes in 
184.5, but the earliest record is that of June, 1846, when an election 
was held at the house of Lcniuel S. Dorrance. Henry Ereese, John 
Todd and Xeheniiah Merritt were chosen trustees. In response to a 
petition, the school lands were sold in 1849-50. The nine districts of 
Penn ToAvnship during the school year of 1914-15 enrolled 286 pupils. 
Two teachers wei-e employed in the graded school at Castleton and 
one in each of the other districts. The schoolhouses are valued at 
$9.;}50 and the apparatus at $1,500. 

^'alley Township was organized for school purposes on July 17, - 
1847. when an election was held at the house of David Rouse and 
Z. G. Bliss. David Rouse and William Cummings were elected trus- 
tees. At that time there were but nine families, with forty-one chil- 
dren, living in the township. Four years later there were twenty-seven 
legal voters, twenty-three of whom signed a petition asking for the 
sale of the school section. Among the early teachers in this townshi]) 
were P. A. Ferbrache, Ithamer Daybault and Joseph Xewton. Dur- 
ing the school year of 1914-15, Valley Township enrolled 219 pupils 
in the eight districts, the schoolhouses were val'ued at $8,650 and the 
apparatus at $950. 

West Jersey Township held an election at the house of Philander - 
Arnold on April 5, 1842, at which twenty-two votes were cast, the 
decision being unanimous in favor of incorjDorating the township for 
school purposes. The township was then divided into two districts. 
The records prior to 1846 cannot be found. In 1846 C. M. S. Lyon, 
A. G. Dunn and Washington Trickle were the trustees. D. V. Frazer 
and A. C. Col well were among the first teachers in this part of the 
county. In 1915 there were eight school districts in the township, 220 
pu])ils were enrolled, the schoolhouses were then valued at $8,200 and 
the a])i)iiratus used in the schools at $1,700. 

Tt)ulon Township, which contains the greater pai-t of the cities of 
Toulon and Wyoming, may be said to be the educational center of the 
county, as it is the most centrally located geographically. The first 
.schoolhouse in Toulon — the "Old Brick" — has been described in Chap- 



202 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

tei- Vlll, in connection with the City of Toulon. One of the early 
institutions of learning in the county seat was 

THE SEMINARY 

The first mention of the seminary in the public records of the 
county was on December -i, 1849, when the county court appointed 
Samuel G. Wright, Oliver Whitaker and Samuel Reatty a conunittee 
to "receive subscriptions and report plans for the building of a female 
seminarj' in the Town of Toulon, under the third section of 'An act 
to authorize the County Commissioners' Court, or the County Court, 
when organized, to sell lots in the Town of Toulon,' ap^n-oved Febru- 
ary 12, 1849, and report at the ]March term of this court in 18.50." 

On ^Nlarch 3, 18.50, the conmiittee appointed as above reported that 
the funds received from the sale of lots were insufficient to build a 
suitable building for a seminary, and that the people showed an un- 
willingness to subscribe, unless the seminary could be opened to both 
sexes. Judge Holgate, of the County Court, then directed the mem- 
bers of the conmiittee to solicit subscriptions with the understanding 
that boj's and girls would both be eligible for admission to the insti- 
tution. 

On September 2, 18.50, the county treasurer was ordered to pay to 
the committee the sum necessary for the purchase of material, but it 
seems that the work went on too slowly to suit some of the citizens, 
for on December 6, 1852, Calvin L. Eastman presented a petition to 
the County Court, the jH-incipal features of which were: "That the 
Comity Court direct and order the committee having charge of tlie 
seminary fund, either in receiving, managing or disbursing it, to report 
especially upon the following matters: 

"1 — The total amount of the said fund, principal and interest. 

"2 — The amount paid in, what they have done about the building, 
the condition of the woi-k, materials, etc. 

"3 — The amount outstanding, in whose hands, and when due. 

"4 — The amount expended and for what, giving the same by items. 

"5 — Their reasons, if any, for not having discharged the trust 
committed to them, and 

"6 — What they projjose to do." 

After due consideration of the petition, the court ordered "That 
Oliver Whitaker, Samuel Reatty and Samuel G. Wright, committee 
to superintend the building of said seminary, be required to report at 
this term of court upon the foregoing petition, and that the clerk 
notifv them immediatelv." 



HISTOKY OF STARK COUXTY 203 

The committee came in and reported the expcncHture ol' .^(U) for 
a site lor the seminary; .%)-i2.71 for l)rick, lumber and shingles and 
for work done; that the total paid out, ineludhig a note for $02.81, 
was .$()().5.52, and the amount drawn from the county treasury was 
$004.. l(i. After a few more delays the seminary was completed, as the 
records show that on September Ki, IH.Vt, W. W. Webster, John Eer- 
fiekl and L. II. Fitch, of the board of supervisors, were appointed a 
committee to confer with T. J. Wright, of the building committee, as 
to the best plan for seating the seminary. The first term opened a 
few weeks later. 

Hy an act of the General Assembly, approved February 14, 18.55, 
the board of supervisors was authorized to appoint five trustees for 
the Toulon Seminary. Samuel G. Wright, Oliver Whitaker, Ben- 
jamin Turner, John Berfield and ]Martin Shallenbcrger were ap- 
pointed. Under their management, or that of their successors, the 
seminary continued until Septeml)er 9, 1861, when it was leased to 
Davis Fowman, Isaac C. Reed and Warham ^Nlordoff, the school 
trustees of the Town of Toulon, for a term of five years. By the act 
of February 18, 1807. the supervisors were authorized to sell the 
seminary and it became a part of the public school system. It was 
then used as a sort of high school for some years, when the building- 
was sold and converted into a residence. In the fall of 191,5 it was 
still standing, located on its original site at the northwest corner of 
'Washington and Vine streets, and was then the residence of II. C. 
Bradley. 

TOULON PUm.lC SCHOOLS 

In the fall of 18.58 two new school buildings in Toulon were com- 
pleted. One stood upon what was then called Soap Hill and the 
other near the northwest corner of the cemeterj'. The latter was 
known as the "Fair-ground School." Miss Mary Perry taught the 
first school in this building, a ^Ir. C'arjienter taught that year in the 
old brick, and William Campbell was made principal of the seminary. 
The Soap Hill schoolhouse was afterward sold and converted into a 
residence. 

Toulon in 191.5 had two ])ublic school Iniildings — the East Side, or 
old high school building, and the Township High School in the south- 
eastei-n part of the city. The site of the former building was selected 
by vote of the people and the interest in the question was as great as 
was ever displayed in a ])residential election. Several sites were pro- 
posed, l)ut when the votes were counted It was found tliat the one on 



20i HISTORY OF STARK COLXTY 

the east side of Olive Street, between Vine and Thomas had won, and 
here a substantial and cominndious building was erected. The attend- 
ance at the two schools during the school year of 191-1-1.5, according 
to the county superintendent's report, was 595. Seventeen teacher.? 
are employed in the city schools, the value of the buildings is about 
thirty thousand dollars, and nearly two thousand dollars' worth of 
apparatus is used in the school rooms. The Township High School 
was formerly the 

TOULON ACADEMY 

xVbout 1882 some of the citizens of Toulon, desirous of having a 
school that would offer a course of study not provided by the public 
schools, conceived the idea of establishing an academy. Among those 
who were acti\c in the movement were J. F. Rhodes, J. A. Hender- 
son, E. F. Thompson, E. C. Follett. Dr. Theodore Eacmeister, W. 
W. Wright, ]Mrs. Sarah A. Chamberlain, Andrew Oliver, Samuel 
Eurge, G. W. Dewey and JNIiles A. Fuller. The institution \\'as 
opened on October 12, 1888, with J. W. Stephens as principal. After 
earnest work and the overcoming of many obstacles, sufficient funds 
were accumulated to erect a handsome building, just outside the city 
limits at the southeastern part of the town, and here the academy 
continued its useful work imtil it was incorporated into the public 
school system and made the Township High School. 

WYOMING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

The early records of the Wyoming schools are not available, hence 
the city's educational histoiy prior to 1857 is somewhat uncertain. In 
]May, 1857, the district composed of the northeast corner of Essex 
Township and the southeast corner of Toulon, embracing the Town 
of Wyoming, was imder the charge of the following board of di- 
rectors: J. E. Erown, William E. Armstrong, Dr. Luther ]Milliken. 
Svlvcster F. Ottman and Isaac Thomas. A summer school was taught 
that year by ^Nliss Harriet Milliken and in the fall Enoch K. Evans 
was engaged to teach the winter school. There was but one school- 
house at that time and the district was not financially able to build a 
new one — or at least a majority of the voters so expressed themselves 
on June 22. 1857. by a vote of twenty to seventeen. Some repairs were 
made upon the old building, which continued in use for several years 
before the peoiile could be induced to sanction the erection of a new 
one. 





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LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY :i05 

In September, 1870, the first movement was made toward the 
hiiildiii^' of a modern sehoolhonse. adequate to the needs of the town. 
The phui was to issue bonds to the amount of .$5,()()() and levy a tax to 
create a sinking fund for their payment. The bonds were sold in 
July, 1871, the people having voted in favor of inereasing the in- 
debtedness of the sehool district to .) per cent of the assessed valuation. 
Tile South Side sehool opened in tlie new building in September, 1871, 
with William Xowhni as prineii)al. He Avas succeeded in 1873 by 
W. R. Sandham, in eliarge of tlie high sehool department. In Janu- 
ary, 1877, the building was almost completely destroyed by tire, but 
was immediately rebuilt with the money received from insurance com- 
panies. In the si)ring of 188ti a loan of -t.'J.OOO was authorized for 
the purpose of making an addition to the building. 

The North Side Ixiilding, which was erected aliout the same time, 
is well located for the accommodation of the ])eople living in the north- 
ern j)art of the city. It occupies an elevated site on ^ladison Street, 
extending from Seventh Street to Galena Avenue, and when first 
built had a capacity of over two hundred pupils, although less than 
that number were enrolled upon the opening of the school in Septem- 
ber, with S. S. Wood as jjrincipal. The South Side building is situated 
at the southeast corner of Fifth and Main streets, lacing the public 
scjuare as laid out by General Thomas when he established the original 
town. The value of the two buildings is approximately twenty thou- 
sand dollars. Din-ing the school year of 1914-1.> eleven teachers were 
em])loyed and the mmiber of ])u])ils in actual attendance was about 
four hundred. 

SCH(X)L OFFICERS 

When Stark County was orgam'/.ed in 18:39, the law of Illinois 
provided for an oflicial called a school commissioner, whose duty it 
was to take charge of the i)ublic schools of the county, investigate the 
(lualifications of teachers, etc. In 18(>.") the office of school conunis- 
sioner was abolished and that of county superintendent of schools 
created. Following is a list of those who have held these offices in 
Stark County: 

School Commissioners — James Holgate, 1840; Charles H. ISIiner, 
1841 : James B. Fewis, 184.); Samuel G. ^Vright, 1840; R. C. Dmin, 
18.).); Nelson F. Atkins, 18(51 (re-elected in 18(5:3 and died before the 
expiration of his second term, John W. Agard being appointed to fill 
the vacancy ) . 

County Superintendents— B. G. Hall, 18(5.): Aloir/.o B. Abbott. 



206 HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 

1873; Amelia L. Halsey, 1877; William R. Sandham. 1882; George 
O. Frank, 1898 (resigned and W. R. Sandham appointed for the un- 
expired term); Mary P. Edmunds, 1902; George C. Baker, 190(i 
(still serving in 191.3). 

TEACHEKS' INSTITUTE 

^Villiam Xowlan, in a paper read before the Stark County Teach- 
ers' Association some years ago, said: "It is not certain when the 
first institute was held in Stark County, l)ut it was about 18.52 or 18.33, 
while S. G. Wright was school commissioner. Rev. A. Lyman, of 
Genesee, was the conductor, and Rev. R. C. Dunn afterward stated 
that it was the first county institute held in the State of Illinois." 

Some meetings of the teachers had lieen held prior to that time, but 
JNlr. Xowlan expressed the opinion that the first regular institute was • 
held in October, 1852. That was the beginning of the institute sys- 
tem that has since been of such great lienefit to the teachers in bringing - 
them together for the purpose of getting acquainted and adopting a 
uniform method of teaching throughout the public schools. In recent 
years an appropriation is made from the public — a fund to defray the 
expenses of an institute (by fee of $1) which lasts for one week or 
more each year, just before the opening of the schools. The institute 
for 191.3 was held in August, in the East Side school building at Tou- 
lon, under the management of George C. Baker, county superintend- 
ent. Prof. H. E. Waite, of Princeton, 111., and ^Nliss :Mary L. 
Robinson, of the Peoria public schools, were the conductors. . 

teachers' association 

According to William Xowlan. in the paper above referred to, the 
Stark County Teachers' Association was first organized in 18.38. and 
was reorganized in October, 18.39. by a few teachers who met foi- that 
purpose at the house of Rev. R. C. Dunn a short time after the close 
of the institute for that year. Then began a propaganda, which re- j 
suited in a majority of the regular teachers of the county becoming 
members of the association. Through this association fraternal rela- 
tions have been kept up among the teachers, the meetings being less 
formal than those of the county institute, each member feeling per- 
fectly free to express his views or to criticize those of his fellow 
teachers. 

\y. R. Sandham. of Wyoming, still has in his possession the paper " 
read before the association bv JNIr. X"o\\lan, in which is related a num- 



IIIFTOHY OF STARK COUNTY 



207 



ber of amusing incidents that show the character of tlie early schools. 
One of these incidents tells how a hoy of some fourteen years of age 
was discovered "doing sums" in compound numbers, whereupon the 
teacher, a young lady of slight experience and limited education, sent 
word home that the boy need not bring his arithmetic to school any 
more, because she had "never been any farther than long division and 
had not been cmi)loyed to teaeli arithmetic, any how." 

Another incident told by Mi: Xowlan is of a reading contest at 
one of the meetings of the association. C. J. Gill, commonly called 
"Jud" Gill, Avon the prize, reading the poem of the Spider and the Fly, 
illustrating the actions of the insects by what he supposed were ap- 
proi)riate gestures. ^Vt the close of the reading Hev. G. A. Leaver 
"asked for information" if "Jud's" rendition of tlie poem was an 
elocutionary or a gymnastic exercise. 

From this it will be seen that the teachers were not too dignified to 
enjoy a little levity now and then in their sessions. The association 
organized more than half a century ago is still kept up, regular meet- 
ings of two days being held in the winter or spring every year, the 
teachers being paid by the county the regular Uvo days' wages for 
attending the association meetings. 

THE PRESS 

The newspaper is unquestionably an important factor in the edu- 
cational development of the nation. Through the dissemination of 
general news the neoj^le are kept in touch with the woidd's progress, 
and by the publication of special articles on scientific, industrial, 
economic or domestic subjects every household is moi-e or less benefited. 
It is therefore considered appropriate to include in this chapter some 
account of the newspapers of Stark County — past and ])resent. 

Dr. Franklin W. Scott, of the University of lUinois, in 1910 com- 
piled a list of the newspapers of Illinois by counties, which list was 
published in the Historical Collections for that year. lie states that 
the first newspaper ever ]niblished in the state was the Illinois Herald, 
the first numl)er of which was issued at Kaskaskia in INIay, 1814, by 
]Matthew Dmican "Printer to the territory and publisher of the laws 
of tile Union." The oldest number ol" tliis paper in existence is No. 
30, dated Wednesday, December 13, 1814. INIr. Duncan was a Ken- 
tuck ian by birth, a lirother of Governor .Joseph Dimcan and a grad- 
uate of Yale College. He served in the Black Hawk war and died at 
Shelliyville, 111.. January 16, 1844. He was the pioneer journalist of 
Illinois. 



208 , HISTORY OF STxVKK COUNTY 

The first newspaper in Stark County was the Prairie Advocate, 
the first number of which appeared on January 4. 18.)(), bearing tlie 
names of John G. Hewitt as editor and John Smith, printer and pub- 
lisher. Prior to that time 31r. Smith liad been conchicting a news- 
paper at Pekin. ]Mr. Hewitt interested a number of the Toulon 
citizens, raised a bonus of $300. ^\itIl which he went to Pekin and 
induced Smith to remove to Stark County. The old style type used 
in the production of that first number of the Prairie Advocate could 
hardly find a place in a newspaper office of the present day, and the 
press upon which it ^vas printed is said to liave been the third printing 
press ever brought into the state. After a few months Smith sold his 
interest to Hewitt, who continued the publication of the paper until 
18o7, when he sold to Rev. R. C. Uunn, who changed the name to the 
Stark County News. 

After a few months INIr. Dunn sold the News to Whitaker & Hen- 
derson, who placed Dr. S. S. Kaysbier in charge as editor. About the 
close of the year 1860 the paper suspended publication, but in the fall 
of 18t)l it was revived by W. H. Butler, who named it the Stark 
County Union. ]Mr. Butler undertook to run a paper of strong union 
sentiment, but witliout being partisan. The result was the Union was 
short-lived. 

In the spring of 18(J3 the Stark County News was resumed by 
Dr. S. S. Kaysbier, who in January, 1864, associated with him Oliver 
White. In July of that year ]Mr. White purchased his partner's in- 
terest, becoming sole proprietor. A half interest was sold to Joseph 
Smethurst in the fall of 1868 and the next spring ]Mr. White sold his 
interest to Edwin liutler. Several minor changes in ownership and 
management then followed until it passed into tlie hands of Charles 
T. Henderson. In October. 1897, the News was purchased by Charles 
E. Nixon, of Peoria, and James A. Nowlan, the latter becoming sole 
owner and proprietor by the purchase of ]Mr. Nixon's interest in 1904. 
In January, 191.5, ]Mr. Nowlan purchased the Galva Standard, and 
al)()ut the first of November following bought the Galva News, con- 
solidating the two papers, which after January 1, 1916, were ])ub- 
lishcd under the name of the Galva News. He is still the owner of 
the Stark County News, however, which paper receives his personal 
attention. 

While the political campaign of 1860 was in progress, some of the 
democi-ats of Stark County keenly felt the need of a party organ. 
Accordingly a meeting of the Douglas Club on July 6. 1860. started 
the preliminary steps toward the publication of the Stark County 



HISTORY OF STAKK COUNTY 209 

Democrat. A stock company was ornaui/.fcl, with the uiulcrstandiiig 
that il' the paper shouhl become self-supporting the remainder of the 
stock sliould be paid in and used for printing and distributing Doughis 
literature. The subscription price was fixed at 50 cents for the cam- 
l)aign. The first number of the Democrat made its appearance on 
July 1*J, 18U0, with the following editorial stafi": Martin Shallenber- 
ger, chief; G. A. Clifford, W. H. Butler, Charles Myers, Benjamin 
Williams, J. II. Anthony, J. H. Russell. W. D. Hicks and Thomas 
Ross, assistants. This was rather an imposing array of editorial talent 
for a small town like Toulon, but it must be remembered that none of 
the editors drew a salary, donating their services "for the good of the 
cause." 

The paper was printed in Kewanee and in the issue of November 
3, 18<)(), appeared the following notice: "PAY UP! AVe shall pub- 
lish one more number of this paper, giving the full election returns 
throughout the United States, when the Democrat will no longer be 
published. We expect every man who is in arrears will pay up now." 
The Democrat was 13 by 19 inches in size and contained very little 
except politics, the ])rinci])al aim of the i)aper being to keep the demo- 
cratic party supplied with ammunition until the election. 

Seth F. Rockwell began the publication of another Stark County 
Democrat on August 2, 18()7, with ^Martin Shallenberger as political 
editor. It a])pearc(l regularly until Christmas day, when the publisher 
announced that it wovdd be suspended until after the holidays. The 
next number was issued on January 8, 1808. ]Mr. Rockwell retired 
in August of that year and the paper came under the editorial manage- 
ment of ]\Ir. Shallenberger and Benjamin W. Seaton, who in Novem- 
ber changed the name to the Prairie Chief. The paper was owned by 
a company composed of Benjamin Turner, Patrick Nowlan, James 
Nowlan, Martin Shallenberger and Branson Lowman, who bought 
from John Smith tlie ])ress that had been used in the publication of 
the first Stark County News in 18.>r). In 1800 Mr. Seaton ])urchased 
the outfit and continued the publication of the Chief until the s])ring 
of 187*2, when he sold to Dr. Henry JNI. Hall. He changed the name 
to the New Era and published until January, 1870, when he removed 
to Red Oak, Iowa, and Stark County was without a democratic paper. 

The Stark County Sentinel, another Toulon ncws])a])er that ac- 
quired some ])r()minence, was first issued on October 8, 1880, by ^V. F. 
Nixon and Thomas H. Blair. On the last day of April, 1881, J. Knox 
Hall succeeded INIr. Blair, and in INIay, 1882, JNIr. Hall became sole 
owner. On January 1, 1884, Gus Hulsi/.er pin-chased an interest, but 



210 HlSTOllV OF STiMlK COUNTY 

the partnership betweezi Hall and Ilulsizer was dissolved on February 
13, 188.5, the former retiring from the paper. Under the manage- 
ment of ^Ir. Hnlsizer the Sentinel became a strong advocate of pro- 
hibition, wJiich policy was followed until circumstances forced it to 
susjiend. 

Wyoming's fii-st newspaper was started in 1872, when E. H. 
Phelps, at the earnest solicitation of some of the citizens of the town, 
began the publication of the Post-Chronicle. The name was adopted 
by reason of the fact that the Bradford Chronicle, which had been 
started a few months before, had already acquired some circulation in 
the eastern townships and it was consolidated with the Wyoming Post, 
the name selected by jMr. Phelps for his paper. The first number 
of the Post-Chronicle was issued on August 9. 1872. A few months 
later the latter part of the name was dropped and the paper continued 
under the name of the Wyoming Post. 

In 1876 Phelps sold out to J. D. Gilchrist, who conducted the 
paper until some time in 1879, when it was purchased by Craddock & 
Vosbui-g. In 188.5 this firm was succeeded by W. R. Sandham. Con- 
nected with this paper was one of those newspaper controversies that 
frequently occur over the question of "good will" and the exclusive 
right to a certain territory. It is said that when INIr. Pheljis sold out 
to Ciilchrist he agreed not to publish a paper in Stark County for five 
years. On July 2. 1880, he issued the first number of the Toulon 
Herald, but early in 1881 removed the office of publication to Wyo- 
ming. "Sir. Sandham went into court and asked for an injimction 
against the publication of the Herald, but finally solved the problem 
by purchasing that paper and consolidating it with his own under the 
name of the Wyoming Post-Herald. 

^V. E. Xixon and J. M. Newton purchased the Post-Herald in 
1889 and conducted it until August, 189.5, when Mr. Nixoii ])ecame 
sole o^^•ner. In 1902 Mr. Nixon was elected county clerk and on 
January 1, 1904, he sold a half interest to Harrison Thomas. A little 
later ^Villiam G. and Gladstone JNIoore purchased the entire outfit 
and continued the publication of the paper under the firm name of 
]\Ioore & Son. In November, 1914, the Post-Herald was bought by 
Scott Brothers, the present proprietors. 

The Bradford Chronicle above mentioned was founded by B. F. 
Thompson, editor, E. H. Edwards, publisher, in the fall of 1871. It 
was ])rinted at Princeton until it was consolidated with the Wyoming 
Post in August, 1872. The Bradford Times was first issued on 
Christmas day in 1880, with F. N. Prout as editor. It -was not ])rinted 



HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 211 

in the village. The first ncws])a])c'r to he ])i'iiite(l in Ri-adl'ord was the 
Rradford Independent, the first nuniher of which was issued on June 
4, 188.5, by C. F. Hamilton and J. C. Blaisdell. On June 1, 1880, 
]Mr. Rhiisdell retired, leaviiif^- Mi-. Hamilton sole owner. Suhse- 
<|uently Mr. Blaisdell established the Rradford Re])ubliean, whieh be 
sold to R. L. Hreen, the present editor and ])nblisber, in the sjjring 
of 11107. 

EXTINCT XKWSl'.VPERS 

Several of the newspa])ers above enumerated passed out of exist- 
enee after a short time, and there wei'e some other ventures in journal- 
ism that failed "for want of adequate support." One of the earliest 
of these evanescent publications was the Ku Klux Rulletin, which first 
made its appearance on oNIay 7, 1869, with the motto "'Chide mildly 
the erring." The editorial staff was announced as "White Alligator," 
"Rattling Skeleton" and "(irand Cyclops," supposed to have been 
Chailes \V. Wright, Albinus Nance (afterward governor of Ne- 
braska) and Thomas Sballenberger. The Bulletin was pui)lished at 
Toulon and in the salutatory its principles were set forth as follows: 
"Our Rulletin is not a religious paper. Others may prate of the 
orthodox, the martj^rs and the clergy; of the peace and happiness of 
religion, and spiritual comfort; but we ])refer to deal with the human 
creatures al)o