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Pope County 
Notes 



John W. Allen 



Museum of Natural and Social Sciences 
Southern Illinois University 




L I B R.AFLY 

OF THE 
UNIVERSITY 
or ILLI NOIS 

IlllNOlS HISTORICAI WnB 



Pope County 
Notes 

John W. Allen 

Acting Director 

Museum of Natural and Social Sciences 

Southern Illinois University 

Introduction 

Chester F. Lay 

Former President 
Southern Illinois University 

Illustrated Map 

Loraine Waters 



The thix'd in a series of County Histories prepared 
by the author, Randolph County Notes 
and Jackson County Notes pre- 
ceding the present publication. 

Contribution No. 22, Museum of Natural and Social Sciences 

Southern Illinois University 

Carbondale, Illinois 

Approved by the 
Publications Committee 

(Printed by authority of the State of Illinois) 

ADLAI E. STEVENSON, Governor 

State of Illinois 

1949 

I 



(Pref, 



ace 



No history of Pope County has heretofore been published. 
This booklet does not pretend to tell the county's story fully. How- 
ever, it does attempt to assemble materials that may aid in kindling 
an interest in local history. 

The author wishes to acknowledge the countless courtesies 
and kindnesses extended to him by many persons on his numerous 
trips to the region. County officials and others whose work has made 
them acquainted with parts of the county's story have been especial- 
ly helpful. Older persons have contributed from their memories of 
earlier days. All have expressed interest in having even a brief i-ec- 
ord, such as this, publish e^d. 

JOHN W. ALLEN 
April 1948 



n 









With the Ridges and Valleys of Pope County in His Face 

As a high school boy in Golconda, I was thrilled when my father, who 
was County Clerk of Pope County at the time, showed me, with care ap- 
proaching reverence, the old records referring back to the days when Pope, 
like the rest of Southern Illinois, was a part of Virginia. Not only did the 
pioneer move westward to settle Illinois, but also he moved from the south 
ever northward. Judged by its civilized population at that stage, Illinois and 
Southern Illinois were synonymous. The author of this brief history of my 
home County has ably shown the place of Pope County in this westward 
and northward march of the pioneers. 

The world's greatest earth scientists agree with the schoolroom teacher 
that anv real understanding of geography must begin in the school boy's foot 
tracks. ' In the same way, any real feeling and appreciation of the truths of 
history must begin with an understanding and appreciation of the school boy's 
home people and home places. For these reasons, we at Southern are pleased 
to present, for the use of teachers and all those interested in the area served 
by this University, a series of regional histories, of which this is the third. 

This southern area in a northern State has successively based its eco- 
nomy upon the frontiersmen's hunting, fishing, and sustenance farming; sell- 
ing the fine hardwood timber down the rivers; wheat and corn farming; live- 
stock growing after the Kentucky pattern; mining; fruit growing; and mod- 
erate beginnings in manufacturing. With a higher birthrate than that further 
north, and with an exceptionally high percentage of the people with Anglo- 
Saxon background, it is gradually being realized that the richest remaining 
resources of Southern Illinois are the young men and women who constitute 
this area's greatest export crop. 

"Pope County Notes," we hope, will make some contribution toward 
the growth in knowledge and appreciation of their own people by the school 
children of Pope and its neighboring counties. I am entirely confident that 
the manv who have made their way to places of respect and even promin- 
ence in near or far places will read this first history of their home county 
with both homesickness and pride. Once while I was a professor in the troub- 
led Near East my thoughts kept returning to the rugged people and hills of 
Pope and I was struck by the aptness of Omar Khayyam's remmiscences 
when philosophizing : 

"Mvself when young did eagerly frequent 
Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument 
About it and about; but evermore 
Came out by the same door wherein I went." 

Or, as mv father says, in the language of our hills, "You can take 
the boy out of Pope County, but you can't take Pope County out of the boy." 
For all such "boys and girls," we would be proud to know that this simple 
record "pleasures ye." 



February 11. 
CFL:mmp 



1948 



Chester F. Lay 

President 

Southern Illinois University 



HI 



Pope County Notes 



BACKGROUND 

Even to a casual observer many 
localities in Southern Illinois yield 
evidence of the pioneer era. For 
those who observe carefully, a 
wealth of artifacts connected with 
the early years of the region's his- 
tory awaits an opportunity to tell its 
stories. Many log houses that have 
lived from the early years of settle- 
ment still stand. Sunken roadways, 
often desex'ted and overgrown with 
forest trees, mark the early immi- 
grant trails. Old fords indicate the 
places where these roadways crossed 
the streams before bridges were 
built. Numerous abandoned ceme- 
teries, with shapeless and unlettered 
grave markers, reveal the spots 
where the now forgotten pioneer 
was buried. Homely devices and 
strange tools of the first settlers are 
yet to be found in attics and lofts 
where they have lain for a lifetime. 
These and many other evidences 
await the one who would study the 
humble life of those who laid the 
foundation of our state's greatness. 

A knowledge and appreciation of 
the contributions which the pioneers 
made help much toward a better un- 
derstanding of our life today. At 
the same time, it will increase re- 
spect for the skill, the sturdiness, and 
the all-round capabilities that the 



pioneer possessed. The fact that 
they wrought intelligently and well 
will become very evident. 

In some ways, pioneer Southern 
Illinois was kind, but altogether it 
was an exacting and difficult task 
that faced the first settlers. That 
they did their work well and laid a 
solid foundation for the things we 
have today, clearly indicate a high 
degree of intelligence, industry, and 
capability. 

Pope County may well be consid- 
ered typical of a vast area of South- 
ern Illinois hill land. Its relative 
convenience to the Ohio River at a 
time when good roads were practi- 
cally unknown was an advantage. 
The highways to and from numerous 
ferries, across both the Ohio and 
the Mississippi Rivers, led through 
its forests. Its virgin soil, now badly 
eroded and otherwise depleted, pro- 
duced excellent crops. Its spring- 
fed streams assured a bountiful sup- 
ply of good water. These streams 
also furnished power for the grist- 
mills of the pioneers. Its forests 
yielded a practically unlimited sup- 
ply of building materials. In its hill 
lands, malaria was not so prevalent 
as in the lower and swampier lands 
found at many other places along 
the river. This county was an at- 
tractive area for settlers. 



One cannot be positive as to the 
very first ones that came into the 
county. At the time of their com- 
ing, the land had not been surveyed. 
No systematic records were kept. 
Into the unsurveyed wilderness the 
settlers quietly came. Sometimes 
they built homes, cleared a spot in 
the vast forests, and remained as 
residents of the new land. At other 
times they paused for a year or so 
and passed hopefully onward. Oth- 
ers did not halt as they journeyed 
along the lonely woodland trails 
toward points north and west. 

Relatively few people returned 
along the roads that led many to 
the westward. For most persons the 
trails led to new homes and to a 
measure of happiness. Others per- 
ished on the journey and were buried 
beside the trail. Some very old per- 
sons yet recall the sites of these lone- 
ly and generally unmarked graves. 
Most of these burial places are for- 
gotten, as are the names of count- 
less thousands that hopefully plod- 
ded toward the ever-beckoning west. 
Even though only a few names re- 
main, it is not difficult to pause be- 
side a worn and deserted roadway 
that once was an important immi- 
grant trail, and in imagination, see 
the unending stream of people silent- 
ly trooping past. With the passing 
years, the number of people moving 
along these old roadways grew less. 
Some were going by steamboat, and 
others, over the better highways 
farther north. 

As the number of immigrants cros- 
sing the county grew steadily less, 
what might be called isolation came. 



Pope County, once traversed by many 
thousands of immigrants, was defi- 
nitely out of the lines of major tra- 
vel. 

The pioneer environment of Pope 
County was thus left to be influenced 
less and less by new immigration. 
Many of the skills and crafts prac- 
ticed by the pioneers remained in 
use here after their disappearance 
in more accessible regions. Until 
the coming of improved state high- 
ways within comparatively recent 
years, the residents of the rural 
areas of the county clung to much 
of the pioneer culture. Evidences of 
this culture are now fast disappear- 
ing. 

This booklet is written in the hope 
that it may help toward a better un- 
derstanding and greater apprecia- 
tion of the significance of that all- 
but-vanished era. It may thus not 
be out of place to include in this di- 
vision certain general information 
that may serve as a background 
against which the homely informa- 
tion given may be viewed. 

To the middle-aged person who 
grew up in an isolated community of 
Southern Illinois, much of the infor- 
mation concerning pioneer life may 
seem commonplace. Even so, it is 
hoped that such references may 
arouse memories of other days, mem- 
ories from which passing years have 
removed all the sting. 

The pioneers found no houses into 
which they might move. It was 
necessary that such be built. Since 
the forest was all about them, this 
new house would, almost without ex- 



ception, be built of logs. Often it 
would consist of only one room and 
sometimes have only the earth for 
a floor. The usual tools the pioneer 
had available for use in building his 
home and furniture were a chopping 
ax, a broadax, a drawing knife, a 
frow, and perhaps an auger. Trees 
were felled and shaped to their in- 
tended use with the ax and the 
broadax. With the frow, boards were 
rived from some suitable oak near- 
by. With drawing knife, timbers 
were smoothed, where the ax and 
broadax were not suited to the pur- 
pose. And with an auger, not so es- 
sential as the other tools named, 
were bored holes into which pegs 
might be fitted to fasten timbers to- 
gether, or to form legs for the home- 
built furniture. 

Since nails were scarce and often 
difficult to secure, a gimlet was fre- 
quently used to bore holes, into 
which small whittled wooden pegs 
were fitted. The clapboards for the 
roof were held in place by weight 
poles laid on each course and fast- 
ened down with pegs or withes. 
Household furniture was also fa- 
shioned from the forest trees. A 
large slab, smoothed with the broad- 
ax and supported on wooden pegs 
for legs, made a table. Chairs and 
benches were made from short sec- 
tions of logs, or from slabs with legs 
made from pegs smoothed by the ax 
and drawing knife. A single post 
set on the floor or in the gi'ound, 
with rails extending to the walls, pro- 
vided a platform upon which a bed 
could be made. Meals were pre- 
pared at the fireplace which also 
served to heat the house. Many of 



the dishes were also made from 
wood. 

The first crop planted by practi- 
cally every settler was a patch of 
corn. From the corn he grew, the 
pioneer secured feed for his live- 
stock and grain for making his corn- 
meal. Corn whiskey, in common use 
among the pioneers, also came from 
this same source. Wheat was not 
generally grown until some years aft- 
er a settler had established his farm. 
Much of the meat eaten by pioneer 
families came from the wild game of 
the forest. Clothing was coarse but 
durable. That of the men was often 
made from deer skins. For the wom- 
en and children it was generally 
homespun cloth, known as linsey- 
woolsey. When flax or cotton were 
not available, the cloth was "all 
wool." 

Shoes were of rugged construction. 
They were often made by the house- 
holder. At other times a shoemaker 
would come with his rolls of home- 
tanned leather, small bags of wooden 
pegs, some waxed linen thread, a 
small assortment of tools peculiar to 
his trade, and a few lasts over which 
the shoes might be fashioned. Shoe- 
making was essentially a local indus- 
try. During the summer season, 
many persons went barefoot. 

As soon as a few people had set- 
tled in any vicinity, the practice of 
"swapping work" began. A man 
wishing to build a new barn or 
house would invite the men from 
some distance about. Enough help 
was often assembled practically to 
complete the building in one day. 
Failure to receive an invitation to 



such occasions was considered an af- 
front. The occasions were not with- 
out certain social values, since the 
women and children generally came 
along. The children thus met and 
played with other children. The 
women prepared such a noonday 
meal as would be most satisfying to 
men who were engaged at hard man- 
ual labor. The men rolled logs, en- 
gaged in feats of strength, talked of 
the subjects interesting to pioneer 
men, often drank more than was ex- 
actly good for them, and occasional- 
ly had a few fist fights. 

Money was very scarce, and trade 
was usually by barter. Paper money 
was of questionable value. The com- 
mon coin in use was the "rix" dol- 
lar. In order to make change, this 
coin could be broken into eight 
pieces or "bits" along the lines al- 
ready marked on it. From this prac- 
tice the terms "two bits," "four bits," 
and "six bits" were derived. English 
money was sometimes used. 

Cattle, hogs, and horses were al- 
lowed to run at large. In order that 
each one might know his own ani- 
mals, these were branded by the use 
of a hot iron, or were marked by 
cropping and cutting the ears in a 
certain pattern. The ease with which 
livestock could be grown is indicated 
by the fact that beef or pork often 
sold for three cents or even less per 
pound. A first-rate cow and calf 
could be bought for ten dollars. The 
hide from a cow or steer was worth 
as much as the meat. 

Since waterways were ready-made 
routes for transportation of goods, 
settlements naturally began near 



them. With the coming of land 
transportation, the smaller streams 
were crossed at fords. Ferries were 
established across those streams that 
could not be readily forded. With 
the increase of overland transporta- 
tion, bridges came to replace many 
of the fords. The first roadways 
were along winding trails that were 
marked by the blazing of trees. For 
land transportation, wagons and 
carts were commonly used. In some 
cases, the wheels of these vehicles 
were made from short cuts of logs. 
Sleds, lizards, and mudboats were 
also frequently seen. 

The sports and amusements of the 
early day were those in which the 
strength or skill of the individual 
counted most. There were practi- 
cally no organized games, such as 
those known today. Among the 
amusements for men, the shooting 
match was perhaps most common. 
In these matches, the shooting might 
be done at a mark or at a goose or 
turkey that had been tethered to a 
stake. At most of these gatherings, 
fights were common, but these could 
hardly be termed sporting events, 
since gouging and kicking were gen- 
erally allowable. Dances, husking 
bees, and apple parings offered op- 
portunity for boys and girls to meet. 

Soap-making was an activity that 
occurred at least once each year. 
Wood ashes were saved from the 
fireplace and stored in an ashhop- 
per. Meat scraps were also careful- 
ly saved. When soap-making time 
came, usually in the spring of the 
year, lye was leached from the ashes 
in the hopper, and the meat scrap 



was placed in an iron kettle with 
this lye and cooked over an open 
fire until a very potent soap resulted. 
This was about the only soap known 
to the pioneer. 

When compared with the present- 
day methods of giving out punish- 
ment to law violators, those of the 
pioneer seem rather severe. Whip- 
ping was common. At one time in 
Pope County, a person convicted of 
burglary or perjury could be sent- 
enced to receive up to thii-ty-nine 
stripes. For the first offense of 
horse stealing, the punishment was 
not less than fifty nor more than two 
hundred stripes. For a second con- 
viction, the penalty was death. For 
hog stealing, one would receive twen- 
ty five stripes; for altering or de- 
facing brands, forty stripes; and for 
bigamy, from one hundred to three 
hundred stripes. Children or ser- 
vants, convicted of disobedience be- 
fore a justice of the peace, could be 
sent to jail or to a house of correc- 
tion. Should a child or servant as- 
sault or strike his parents or master, 
a court of two justices could sentence 
the offender to receive ten stripes. 
In all cases, where whipping was or- 
dered, the stripes were to be "well 
laid on." 

The pioneer era did not know nor 
require the many kinds of skilled 
workmen of the present day. Per- 
haps the most essential craftsman in 
any early settlement was the black- 
smith. It was he who fashioned the 
tools used by the settlers. The more 
skilled of these men became the gun- 
smiths who made and repaired the 
firearms of the settlers. With in- 



creased settlement, stores were estab- 
lished and tradesmen appeared. 
Many of the tools that had hereto- 
fore been made by the local black- 
smith were to be found for sale in 
these new stores, but the blacksmith 
continued to be an essential crafts- 
man in each settlement. 

In ail early county records much 
space is given to roadways. In or- 
der to secure a new road, the settlers 
desiring it would sign a petition to 
be presented to the county authori- 
ties. If the petition was granted, 
and it usually was, "road viewers" 
were appointed to locate the new 
road. This was done by selecting the 
best available course through the 
woodland and "blazing" the trees 
to indicate the location of the route 
chosen. Little attention was paid to 
land lines; hence old roadways of- 
ten appear to wander from place to 
place. Streams were generally 
crossed at fords; ferries and bridges 
came into common use with increased 
settlement. 

In the early days of Pope County, 
slaves were owned by a number of 
people. An extended account of this 
practice will be found under that 
title in the later text. 

The lot of servants and childi'en 
bound out was often little better than 
that of the slaves. Children or 
younger persons who had no parents 
or others able and willing to care 
for them might be "bound out." The 
term of such service ended at the age 
of eighteen for girls and twenty-one 
for boys. A girl thus bound out was 
occasionally given a small sum of 
money, a Bible, and almost always 
"two dresses suitable to her station 



in life." Boys were generally taught 
a trade and sent to school until they 
learned to read, write, and "cipher 
to the double rule of three." The 
bound boy sometimes received a Bi- 
ble and generally a suit of clothes 
"suitable to his station in life." In 
addition to the above, he occasional- 
ly received a small amount of money, 
as well as a horse, saddle, and bridle. 
Being bound out did not prove any 
great handicap in after life. There 
are numerous instances of children 
who were bound out in their youth 
and who later attained reasonable 
distinction. 

Where white children were "bound 
out" or apprenticed, they always 
seem to have received some money 
or other consideration of value at 
the end of their apprenticeship. In 
the case of Negro children, no men- 
tion is found concerning any payment 
or reward given at the end of the 
period for which they were bound. 
The only consideration indicated in 
such cases was that the child thus 
apprenticed was to be "trained as a 
servant." 

The lot of the poor was not in any- 
way a happy one. In the county rec- 
ords one often finds such references 
as" , a 

pauper, was sold out to the lowest 
bidder to be boarded, clothed, and 
cared for" at the expense of the 
county. The rate for the care of 
these unfortunate persons varied 
from one dollar to three dollars per 
week. This practice was followed 
for many years before the county 
farm or "pauper farm", as it was 
generally referred to, was estab- 
lished. 



Because of the difficulties of tra- 
vel, large crowds were common only 
three times each year, when such 
gatherings took on a county-wide na- 
ture. These were election days, 
court days, and muster days. Elec- 
tion and court days correspond some- 
what with the same events today, 
but muster day was an institution 
that has disappeared. It came from 
the rule that each able-bodied man 
was required to serve in the militia 
and to meet at designated places and 
at stated intervals for military drill. 
Those days saw a motley crowd in 
the county seat. Members of the 
militia, each with his own rifle and 
equipment, came to muster. The of- 
ficers, often wearing uniforms and 
swords, came for their brief day of 
glory. By the close of the day, many 
men had drunk themselves groggy, 
the officers had bawled themselves 
hoarse, and there had most likely 
been a number of fights. Alto- 
gether, the day was a demoralizing 
one. When Andrew Jackson came 
to the presidency, the practice of 
muster day was abolished. It was 
revived for a short time during the 
Mexican War. 

The foregoing affords a few glimp- 
ses of an era that has passed. In its 
history. Pope County has been ruled 
by the Indians, French, English, Vir- 
ginians, and Americans. It was a 
part of the Northwest Territory, and 
later of the Indiana Territory, be- 
fore being known as part of Illinois. 
Across the county and along its bor- 
ders, significant military expeditions 
have moved. Its citizens have parti- 
cipated in the nation's wars. Men 
who have exerted more than passing 
influence on the affairs of the state 



and nation have had their homes 
here. Several industries have risen, 
flourished, and vanished. Flatboats 
and steamboats have plied the 
streams. Pirates, in the early days 
of river traffic, sought refuge in this 
region. 

Pope County has an interesting his- 
tory, and if this booklet and its ac- 
companying map serve to increase 
interest in that history, they Vi'ill 
have served their purpose. 



ANIMALS 

The animal life native to Southern 
Illinois v/a& all important to the peo- 
ple vi'ho lived here prior to the com- 
ing of the white men. To the In- 
dians it was, with maize or Indian 
corn, the major portion of food. The 
Indian does not seem to have been 
bothered much concerning the par- 
ticular animals eaten. At their old 
camp-sites and in the shelter of rock 
ledges where their food was pre- 
pared and eaten, one finds bones of 
practically all the mammals large 
enough to furnish even a few bites 
of food. Turtles, terrapins, fish, eels, 
and mussels were common articles of 
diet. With the abundant animal life 
of Southern Illinois and their ever 
dependable Indian corn, beans, mel- 
ons, pumpkins, and assorted roots, 
the Indians of this area ate about as 
well as those of any region in the 
United States. 

When the white men came, they 
found the same plentiful animal life 
that nurtured the Indian. They bor- 
rowed his food crops and added oth- 
ers of their own. This situation made 
it an attractive area for settlement. 



The native animal life as a source of 
food was almost as important to the 
pioneer as it had long been to the 
Indian. 

As has been stated, the Indian ate 
practically any animal he killed. The 
pioneer was more particular. His 
lood animals were the buffalo, deer, 
elk, bear, raccoon, opossum, rabbit, 
squirrel, and perhaps a few others. 
He did not include animals that are 
generally looked upon as purely 
beasts of prey. The wolves, panth- 
ers, bobcats, minks, foxes, and some 
other such animals were not attrac- 
tive food items for the white man. 
He liked geese and certain ducks 
among the waterfowls. He parti- 
cularly liked wild turkeys. The 
white man sought and killed for food 
the animals he most desired. This 
process also operated to lessen the 
natural food supply of such beasts 
of prey as the country had. With 
the diminishing supply of their na- 
tural prey, wolves, panthers, and 
foxes turned more to the domestic 
animals of the settlers. The settlers 
then became interested in an effort 
to destroy the animals they consid- 
ered harmful. Old county records 
indicate many bounties paid for wolf 
scalps. In some counties the rule of 
the county board concerning the pay- 
ment of a bounty for wolf scalps has 
never been repealed. 

Many stories are told of the set- 
tlers' clashes with wolves and panth- 
ers in particular. The howling of 
the wolf pack or the cry of the 
panther aroused fear and dread in 
the most stouthearted. Tradition re- 
cords stories of the killing of lone 
settlers by such animals. Reverend 



John Crawford writes of quite a bat- 
tle waged by his father, another 
brother, and himself, against a 
panther that was attempting to steal 
their pigs. Their dogs held the ani- 
mal at bay, and the father finally 
killed it with stones. It was several 

years after the settlers came that the 
panthers disappeared, and several 
more before the wolves ceased to 
alarm people and to be particularly 
destructive of livestock. The panth- 
er was often referred to by the pio- 
neer as a "painter" or "painther." 
It was the same animal now occasion- 
ally found in the Rocky Mountains 
and known as the mountain lion. 

The fur bearing animals of the 
region were the beaver, otter, mar- 
ten, raccoon, muskrat, mink, and 
some others less valuable and per- 
haps not so common. These animals 
were also of value to the pioneer, 
since their pelts could be sold for 
needed money or exchanged for 
products that were brought from 
more distant regions. The animal 
life of the area was altogether a 
helpful factor in promoting early 
settlement. 

Many of the native animals have 
entirely disappeared. The buffalo 
was perhaps the first to go. Bear, 
elk, and deer followed later. Otter, 
beaver, and marten vanished early. 
The wolf and panther were de- 
stroyed. Bobcats became, and yet 
are, scarce. Foxes became some- 
what less common, but are now on 
the increase. In recent years, wolves 
have been seen in several localities 
and have been killed or captured in 
a number of places. Deer have been 
brought back and released in the 



hope that they may be protected and 
once more be seen. The wild tur- 
key disappeared a generation or so 
ago. Fresh stock has been brought 
in and released. It is hoped that the 
woodlands may again be the home 
of these attractive birds. Beaver 
have been returned, and their dams 
can be seen at several places. The 
disappearance of some of these na- 
tive animals is to be regretted. Un- 
der proper protection and care, some 
may return, but doubtless others will 
not. 

One of the tragedies of the wild 
life that once flourished in Pope 
County is that of the passenger pige- 
on. Though larger, these pigeons 
closely resembled the mourning 
doves, now relatively plentiful. Very 
old people yet recall seeing them in 
immense flocks that literally dark- 
ened the sky for some minutes at 
a time. They often clustered so 
thickly at roosting time that large 
limbs of the trees were broken by 
their weight. Older people of Pope 
County may refer to one of these 
localities as "the pigeon roost." They 
were so plentiful that farmers 
clubbed them to death at their 
roosts and fed their carcasses to the 
hogs. They began to appear in 
smaller numbers and in a few yeai's 
vanished. So far as is known, the 
last specimen of these birds died in 
the zoological gardens at Cincinnati, 
Ohio, in February, 1914. 



INDIANS 

Pope County, with its varied topo- 
graphy, provided an excellent region 
for animal life. This abundance of 
wild animals that served as food for 



the Indians made it an attractive 
hunting ground lor them. Numerous 
remains indicate that extensive na- 
tive villages existed in this region. 
Space will allow the discussion of 
only a few of the remains to be 
found in the county. After that, the 
firsthand account of one who came 
into intimate contact with the Indi- 
ans of the immediate vicinity will be 
given. 

Kincaid Mounds 
Kincaid Mounds is a group of 
mounds located in the very south- 
ern part of Pope County and in the 
adjoining portion of Massac County, 
most of them being in Massac Coun- 
ty. These mounds were erected by 
a people living in this region before 
the coming of white men. Excava- 
tions and study reveal that they 
served various purposes. Some 
mounds were burial places and, when 
excavated, are found to contain hu- 
man bones and assorted objects 
buried with the dead. In other cases 
the objects found indicate that the 
mounds served as dwelling sites, pla- 
ces of worship, work shops, or for 
the location of some other activity 
that entered into the life of the peo- 
ple who built them. Despite all that 
has been learned, there yet remains 
enough of the mysterious to interest 
almost any who stops to view. 

From these mounds many of the 
tools and implements and much of 
the equipment used by a primitive 
people have been recovered and 
some parts of their way of life re- 
vealed. Much yet remains to be 
learned. 

There are several of these mounds, 
and they have attracted much at- 



tention from the earliest times. Many 
of the smaller mounds were much 
defaced by plowing and by amateur 
archeologists who often did not un- 
derstand the significance of the ob- 
jects discovered. In recent years, 
the University of Chicago has con- 
ducted extensive excavation and 
gathered much significant material. 
These mounds receive their name 
from T. J. Kincaid, an earlier owner 
of the ground on which they are 
situated. Kincaid lived across the 
line in Massac County. 

War Bluff 

War Bluff, several miles almost di- 
rectly north of Golconda, has sheer 
sides on the east, west, and north. 
It is connected with the hill lands 
to the south by a naiTow isthmus 
about 75 feet wide. The area of the 
bluff is about two acres. The rem- 
nants of the wall found there today 
are parts of the original wall. This 
wall is perhaps the least disturbed 
of any similar structure in Southern 
Illinois. The purpose of this enclos- 
ure is not definitely known. It may 
have served as a place of defense by 
the Indians or as a compound into 
which game was driven. On the ex- 
treme north end of War Bluff is a 
place known as Lover's Leap, the 
story connected with it being the 
usual one. 

Old Indian Fort 

Old Indian Fort is shown on the 
Illinois Atlas of 1876. It is also known 
as Indian Kitchen and is located 
about a half mile above Rose Ford, 
on the Raum highway, on the west 
bank of Lusk Creek. This fort re- 
sembles very much the one in Giant 



City Park, the one at Stonefort in 
Saline County, the one at War Bluff, 
north of Golconda, and the one at 
the Pounds in Gallatin County. In 
each case a high bluff or headland 
is connected to the main land by a 
narrow isthmus that once had a wall 
or fortification built across it. 

A Boy's Account 

Only one account concerning the 
actual relations between the early 
settlers and the Indians in Pope 
County has been found. This was 
written by the Reverend John Craw- 
ford, who came with his parents 
when they settled near the mouth of 
Grand Pierre Creek, in 1808. The 
portion of his account concerning the 
Indians is given as he set it down. 

"In the spring of 1808 we left the 
Kentucky shore, and landed on the 
Illinois side of the river at the mouth 
of Grand Pier Creek, some five miles 
above the present site of Golconda. 

"This had evidently been an In- 
dian town; a battle of some magni- 
tude had been fought here. 

"When this valley was brought into 
cultivation, its soil was found to be 
literally filled with musket balls and 
Indian darts. 

"I have in my possession a five- 
pound cannon ball which father 
found in the center of a large oak 
tree. This is preserved as a relic 
of early times, having the priority of 
all others, as it must have been de- 
posited there during a battle between 
the French and Indians before any 
American had seen the Ohio at that 
point. 

On the tops of the surrounding 
hills was demonstrative evidence that 



there had been a great slaughter in 
that valley, each hill presenting a 
large burying-ground, marked by 
large flag-stones in long rows set up 
in their crude state, and over- 
shadowed by large oak trees. 

"The Indian towns at that time, 
were said to be principally on the 
Oca, (Okaw) Illinois, and Tippecanue 
Rivers, but we were surrounded by 
large hunting parties during every fall 
season up to the war of 1812. These 
parties appeared to be very friendly, 
often taking possession of our fire- 
side on chilly and rainy days, which 
was surrendered to them, through 
fear, together with whatever provi- 
sions that were on hand which they 
might require. I often trembled with 
cold and fear and felt the oppression 
of hunger, because of these intru- 
sions to which we were circumstan- 
tially compelled to submit. 

"On one occasion when father had 
gone to Kentucky to mill, mother and 
the children being alone, a very 
large Indian came in with a silver 
ring in his nose as large as the bot- 
tom of a tin cup and demanded his 
dinner. Mother of course spread be- 
fore him all the provisions on hand 
of which he partook freely. He then 
approached the fireside, taking a 
large scalping knife from his belt, 
looking intensely at us children, drew 
it three times across his throat then 
stretched himself full length before 
the fire for a sleep with his knife in 
his bosom. We understood this as 
a warning not to disturb him. We 
all took position in the rear of the 
cabin and endured the cold till he 
concluded his sleep, and at his de- 
parture there was great joy in that 
house. 



10 



"Another scene of horror to us came 
during the occurrence of highwiads 
when some Pennsylvania flatboats 
were diuven into harbor at father s 
landing. Knowing the Indian's great 
love for whisky and our defenseless 
situation, father presented our case 
to the boats' officers and obtained 
a promise not to furnish whisky to 
the Indians, but these boat officers 
proved faithless and when the In- 
dians brought their peltry furs and 
dried hams to exchange for whisky, 
they were furnished in abundance. 
The encampment numbered over 
twenty and was in full view of our 
cabin about four hundred yards off. 
A scene of drunkenness and a great 
war dance ensued. They fought pro- 
fusely among themselves and made 
frequent dashes toward the cabin to 
attack us, but at every onset they 
were repulsed by the sober ones who 
pushed them back often at full 
length and knocked them down with 
whatever came to hand. Father and 
the boys prepared to make the best 
defense possible, but fortunately for 
both parties they were repulsed be- 
fore they reached the cabin. 

"At the declaration of the War of 
1812, these hunting parties were 
called in by runners before the 
whites knew of the declaration of 
war, as there were no mail facilities 
in that region in those days. On 
leaving, they painted themselves and 
assumed a hostile attitude, walked 
with a great air of dignity past the 
cabin, direct to our small boats at 
the shore, our only means of com- 
munication with our few neighbors in 
Kentucky. These they confiscated, 
and with their supplies of game, 
descended the Ohio and ascended the 
Mississippi. 



"The supposed reason why we were 
not massacred was that a family was 
in plain view on the Kentucky shore 
who would have beheld the deed and 
given notice to a settlement of whites 
at the mouth of Cumberland River, 
who could have intercepted them. 
This was the only settlement of much 
strength between Shawneetown and 
Kaskaskia at that time. Since then 
there have been no Indians in South- 
ern Illinois, only as passing through 
under government arrangement." 

EARLY SETTLERS 

Pope, along with some other coun- 
ties in Southern Illinois, had relative- 
ly few very early settlers. It is known 
that some settlers had come into the 
area before 1800, but no land is in- 
dicated as having been settled for 
some years after that. This lack of 
record is due to the fact that the 
United States land offices did not 
open for sale of land in Illinois until 
1814. Those who came before that 
time held no titles to their land un- 
less it was through a grant given to 
someone who had settled and made 
improvements before 1790, or to oth- 
ers who were given land because of 
their having rendered military service. 

Available records show only two 
claims made for the grant of govern- 
ment lands for military services, and 
none are shown based on improve- 
ments made in Pope County prior to 
1790. One of these military claims 
was in Section 19, Township 13S, 
Range 7E, and is included within the 
present limits of the city of Golcon- 
da. This tract is designated as Sur- 
vey No. 690, Claim No. 582. The 
claim was filed by Robert Kidd, who 
transferred his rights to Robert Mor- 



11 



rison by deed made at Kaskaskia, on 
April, 18, 1805. This deed, witnessed 
by William Wilson and Henry Jones, 
is recorded in Deed Record K at 
Chester, Illinois. The land commis- 
sioners, Michael Jones and E. Back- 
us, allowed the claim at Kaskaskia 
on December 31, 1809. After what 
appears as somewhat involved trad- 
ing, the title was secured by Thomas 
Ferguson who operated the ferry 
long known as Lusk's Ferry. It was 
for one-hundred acres "affirmed to 
include the improvements and ferry 
of said Ferguson, called Lusk's 
Ferry, to conform to sectional lines." 
Kidd's claim to land was based on 
his having been a "militiaman en- 
rolled and doing duty in Illinois, on 
the I'st day of August 1790." 

A second claim for one-hundred 
acres located on the Ohio river just 
north of where Bay City now stands 
is shown on the government plat 
book in the Circuit Clerk's office at 
Golconda. The American State Pa- 
pers show that this tract was origi- 
nally claimed by a man named 
Thomas Winn, and that he assigned 
his claim to Pierre Menard who, in 
turn, assigned it to Isaac Fitmore, to 
whom it was confirmed on December 
31, 1809. This tract is recorded as 
Survey No. 696, Claim No. 297. 

The initial settlers who procured 
land in Pope County made their pur- 
chases at the Shawneetown land of- 
fice. Inasmuch as it may be easier 
to follow locations if given in groups 
rather than in order of time, some 
of the earlier entries will be located 
according to the section of the coun- 
ty where they were situated. 



Beginning the record in the north- 
west corner of the county around 
McCormick, the first settler to enter 
land was Gideon Alexander, who on 
May 31, 1836, purchased parts of 
Section 1 and 12, just south of the 
place where the village of Colorado 
was later to be located. On Decem- 
ber 5, 1843, slightly more than seven 
years after the Alexander homestead 
was established, D. Beal, D. B. Grace, 
and George W. Jones purchased land 
in Section 6 of this same township. 
Each bought his land on the same 
day, and it may reasonably be in- 
ferred that they had previously 
planned to live as neighbors. Beal's 
Hollow, which opens into the valley 
where Bell Smith's Spring is found, 
was named for the Beal family men- 
tioned above. Other settlers follow- 
ed in the 1840's, but it was during 
the 1850's that land settlements in 
this region reached the highest peak. 

In the next section south of Mc- 
Cormick, just northwest of present- 
day Glendale, John Witt made a 
purchase of land in Section 20, on 
April 24, 1817. It appears that he 
did not complete payment, as this 
same land later became the proper- 
ty of G. W. Waters. Also, William 
Penny entered land in Section 10 
on February 26, 1818, but there is 
a possibility that he may not have 
completed the purchase, as a note 
on the land book says, "relinquished 
I think." Robert Penny bought land 
in Section 23, about three miles east 
and one mile north of Glendale, on 
April 23, 1818. Others who pur- 
chased land in this area were Right 
Modglin, who entered land in Sec- 
tion 20, about a mile north of Glen- 
dale on January 25, 1819; and James 



12 



Whiteside, who made an entry on 
November 24, 1818, for land in Sec- 
tion 24, about a mile west of the Rou- 
ert Penny property. Also, William 
Modglin located in Section 17, just 
north of the Right Modglin claim, 
on September 1, 1818. Almost twenty 
years elapsed before other claims 
were filed in this region. Lugar 
Wright came in 1837, Samuel Hazel 
and George Walters in 1838, and 
George Laughlin and Alexander 
Murphy in 1839. A few others came 
during the 1840's, and within the 
next decade this section was rather 
fully settled. 

The settlements within the region 
south of Glendale and around Dixon 
Springs were generally located near 
the early roadway leading from 
Lusk's Ferry to Vienna and Jones- 
boro. The first land entry in this 
area was made by Justin Wilson on 
June 27, 1817, in Section 4, about 
two miles north of Dixon Springs. 
Isaac Bozarth bought land in Sec- 
tion 3 about a mile east of Wilson's 
tract one week after Wilson had 
made his entry. In 1818, Samuel 
Alexander settled in Section 3, near 
Bozarth, and William Wilson bought 
land a mile or so northwest of the 
springs. 

Within the present-day Temple 
Hill vicinity, James Richey entered 
land in Section 1, about two miles 
northeast of Temple Hill, on Novem- 
ber 23, 1815. Some three years lat- 
er, Charles Shelby came to live in 
Section 1, near Richey. The next 
person to enter land in this locality 
was Robert Hayes, who filed a claim 
on November 21, 1822. Later, on 
May 20, 1825, James Green entered 



land in Section 3, about two miles 
north and west of Temple Hill. 

Despite the fact that the region 
lying around Oak, Delwood and 
Blanchard was served by two 
branches of the Shawneetown-Jones- 
boro Road, land entries within this 
area were not made until the year 
1837. The initial entry was made by 
Moses Davis, on June 22, 1837, in 
Section 36, about two miles south- 
east of Blanchard. The succeeding 
entries were made by John and 
James Williams, on June 5, 1838. 
John located in Section 13, a mile or 
so southeast of the present post of- 
fice of Oak; and James in Section 24, 
about two miles northeast of Blan- 
chard. Jonathan and Joseph Dior- 
man entered land in Sections 7 and 
17, a short distance southwest of Del- 
wood, on December 10, 1838. John 
S. W. Morse entered land in Section 
17, near them, on December 18 of 
the same year. 

In the Eddyville-Raum area, S. 
Penny and E. Penny entered 
land in Section 18, about one 
and one-half miles south of Ed- 
dyville, on February 16, 1818. Per- 
haps these men did not complete the 
purchase, as a note on the land book 
seems to indicate that the land 
passed to F. Beanard before full pay- 
ment was made. The next entry in 
this region was made by Richard Ful- 
kerson, in Section 25, about two miles 
southeast of Raum, on July 13, 1818. 
No other person bought land in this 
vicinity until James Gilbert located 
in Section 3, just northeast of Eddy- 
ville, on February 8, 1836. During 
the year 1836, John Lauderdale set- 
tled in Section 30, almost four miles 
south of Eddyville; Joseph Hall, in 



13 



Section 13, a mile or so northeast of 
Raum; and Joseph Vaughn, in Sec- 
tion 3, near James Gilbert. 

The next section centers around 
Golconda and Waltersburg, Here, on 
November 3, 1815, James Allcorn 
filed claim to land in Section 19, a 
mile or so southwest of Brownfield. 
The next entry was made in Section 
23, some two miles west of Golconda, 
on April 25, 1817, by a man whose 
name appears to have been Francis 
Glup. William Rambeau and John 
Colver entered land in Section 26 
and 28, on May 6, 1817. In Janu- 
ary, 1818, James King settled in Sec- 
tion 13, a mile or so north of Gol- 
conda. John Crawford located in 
Section 31, near Brownfield, in May 
of the same year. In July 1818, 
James Cogswell purchased land in 
Section 24 near Golconda, and in Oc- 
tober of the same year, James Pit- 
talo (sometimes recorded as Pittulo) 
entered land in Section 17, near Wal- 
tersburg. Isaac Shufflebarger came 
to Section 2, about four miles north- 
west of Golconda, in March 1822. 

In the Rosebud, Homberg, Bay 
City section, George Lusk made the 
first land entry in Section 24, on 
May 6, 1816. According to present- 
day maps, this location was washed 
away by the Ohio River. William 
Dyer entered land in Section 15, be- 
tween Bay City and Homberg, on 
June 3, 1817. Later, on October 13, 
1817, William Cowan entered land 
in Section 10, about a mile southwest 
of Homberg, and Robert Scott, in 
Section 15, a mile or so south of that 
entered by Cowan. Samuel Tanner 
and William T. Shepherd entered 
land in Section 2, about two miles 
east of Homberg, on November 10, 



1817, and William Croncher in Sec- 
tion 9, just south of Homberg, on 
May 11, 1818. 

Within the portion of Jefferson 
Township lying south and west of 
Bay City, John D. Hickman entered 
land in Section 9, on November 9, 

1818. The next entry was made by 
William Griffith in Section 1, near 
Bay City, on March 20, 1822. No 
other entry was made in this section 
until John Kincaid bought land in 
Section 3, on July 5, 1836. 

The Hartsville-Herod area dis- 
closes an initial entry as early as 
September 13, 1815, when Jesse 
Story settled in Section 15, about two 
miles southeast of Herod. After more 
than twenty years, Elbert Rose en- 
tered land in Section 10, east of 
Herod, on July 6, 1836. On July 11 
of the same year, Joseph Lambert 
entered land in Section 5, northwest 
of Herod; and in the following Au- 
gust, Alfred Rose purchased land in 
Section 3, northeast of Herod. 

The eastern section, around Lusk, 
shows the first land entry to have 
been made by Thomas Rose, in Sec- 
tion 34, near the Ohio River, on Jan- 
uary 4, 1836. On June 6 of the same 
year, Randal Towns entered land in 
Section 19, about two miles south- 
west of Lusk. The next day after 
Towns had made his entry, Francis 
Hoff entered land in Section 17, just 
southeast of Lusk; Thomas Fulker- 
son entered land in Section 18, south- 
west of Lusk, on July 5, 1836; and 
on October 11, 1836, James Rose lo- 
cated in Section 34, near where 
Thomas Rose had settled in January 
of the same year. On November 9, 
1836, Reeas Shelby purchased land 



14 



in Section 22, about three miles 
southeast of Lusk. However, it is 
assumed that he did not complete 
payment, as the land passed to 
"Field and Clark." 

Along the Ohio River, and near 
present day Golconda, Thomas Fer- 
guson entered land on July 12, 1814. 
This entry in Section 19 appears to 
be the first made in the limits of the 
present-day Pope County. The sec- 
ond sale in this region was on March 
18, 1815, to Daniel Fields, who 
bought a tract of land located in 
Section 7, about three miles north 
of Golconda. On April 24, 1818. 
William Belford entered land in Sec- 
tion 6, about a mile north of Fields. 
Fourteen years later another entry 
was made by George W. Waters in 
Section 4, about four miles northeast 
of Golconda, where a rock quarry 
has long operated. In June 1836, 
M. M. Rawlings located in Section 5, 
west of Waters. Joel Crosby set- 
tled in Section 6, just west of Rawl- 
ings, on the tenth of the same month. 
By June of 1837 Benjamin Melton, 
Richard Melton, ami William Mod- 
glin had settled nearby. 

In the area lying between Bay 
City and the southern end of the 
County, Reuben Glover entered land 
in Section 30, about five miles south 
of Bay City, on October 5, 1816. On 
October 10 of the same year, John 
Wood entered land in Section 7, 
about one and one-half miles south 



of Bay City. The next entry occurs 
twenty years later, when John H. 
Smith settled in Section 7, near the 
John Wood's tract. 

On October 14, 1814, John Cald- 
well entered land where the village 
of Hamletsburg now stands. In No- 
vember of the same year, Hamlet 
Ferguson settled land in Section 3, 
just north of Hamletsburg, Also, 
John Warwick made an entry in 
Section 20, southwest of New Liber- 
ty, on February 9, 1815. The next 
entry was by J. Hunter and others 
in Section 9, just southwest of Ham- 
letsburg, on August 18, 1820, fol- 
lowed eleven days later by that of 
Benjamin Thompson in Section 6, 
about three miles west of the vil- 
lage. James McCawley settled in 
Sections 28 and 29, southwest of New 
Liberty, on February 13, 1822; and 
Lindsey Wright in Section 4, just 
northwest of Hamletsburg, on Au- 
gust 30, 1836. 

The entries given are offered as 
indication of the earlier settlements 
of the county. It may be repeated 
that the early land entries were 
made slowly until about 1850. At 
that time the settlement rate in- 
creased so rapidly that ten years 
later little government land remained 
unsold. However, a very few such 
tracts remained until about 1890. 
The sale of these last tracts marked 
the end of the public domain in Pope 
County. 



15 



HOW POPE BECAME 
A COUNTY 

The territory included in present- 
day Pope County has been claimed 
by different countries and territor- 
ies, and has been a part of several 
other counties. The Spanish laid 
claim to all the Mississippi Valley, 
basing it largely upon DeSoto's dis- 
covery of the river, in 1542. By rea- 
son of the exploration of Joliet and 
Marquette, in the Mississippi Valley, 
the French claimed the territory. The 
English held it after the French and 
Indian War. It is thus seen that 
Pope County has been claimed by 
three foreign nations. When the 
colony of Virginia was granted a 
charter in 1606, amended in 1609 
and 1612, its north and south boun- 
daries were to be "West and north- 
west." The men promoting the col- 
ony of Virginia naturally interpreted 
this to mean that the northern line 
was to extend in a northwesterly di- 
rection and that the southern line 
extended due west. A glance at a 
map of the United States will show 
that by this interpretation, Virginia 
would include a great part of our 
present day nation, including all of 
the state of Illinois. The colonies 
of Massachusetts and Connecticut 
were granted charters that included 
portions of Illinois, but neither of 
these claims included Pope County. 

For more than a century, the col- 
onies of Virginia, Massachusetts, and 
Connecticut made no effort to settle 
the territory. The Spanish were busy 
in other sections of the Americas and 
gave this region scant attention. 
France gave some effort to the de- 
velopment of the territory and made 
a few settlements in present day Il- 



linois, none of which were in Pope 
County. Though the French did 
relatively little toward actual settle- 
ment and development of the vast 
tei-ritories included in the Mississippi 
and Ohio valleys, they were recog- 
nized as having the most valid claim 
and were in possession. They occu- 
pied the territory until the close of 
the French and Indian War in 1763, 
at which time they ceded their claim 
to the British. By this treaty the 
lands included in Pope County ceased 
to be a part of the French Colonial 
Empire and became British territory. 

The next change in possession 
came through the capture of the 
British posts in this section by George 
Rogers Clark, in 1778 and 1779. By 
the treaty between the American 
colonies and the British at the close 
of the Revolutionary War, the col- 
onies came into recognized posses- 
sion of the area. Virginia's early 
claim had been much strengthened 
by her conquest of the territory, and 
it was governed by men appointed 
by that colony. It remained a part 
of Virginia until that state ceded her 
claim to the newly formed National 
Government, before Maryland would 
ratify the Articles of Confederation. 
The Ordinance of 1787, passed by 
the Continental Congress, set up a 
form of government for the North- 
west Territory, including all the State 
of Illinois. In the division of coun- 
ties, as established in 1790 for the 
purposes of local government, Pope, 
along with almost all of Eastern Il- 
linois and much of the present State 
of Indiana, was included in Knox 
County. This arrangement of coun- 
ties so far as it affects Pope, is 
shown by the map of 1790. 



16 




Counties of Illinois in 1790 

Though other changes in county 
boundaries were made between 1790 
and 1801, present-day Pope still re- 
mained a part of Knox County. On 
February 3, 1801 the Govei-nor of 
Indiana Territory which had recently 
been established, issued a proclama- 
tion that changed the boundaries of 
the counties of St. Clair and Knox 
and established the new County of 
Randolph. This new County of Ran- 
dolph included present-day Pope, as 
well as much other territory of 
Southern Illinois. The county seat 
was located at Kaskaskia. This new 
arrangement of counties is indicated 
by the map of 1801. 




In 1809, Indiana was admitted as 
a state, and the present state of Il- 
linois became a part of the region 
included in a new division known as 
Illinois Territory. Numerous changes 
in county boundaries continued to be 
made, but none affected the region 
of Pope until Ninian Edwards, Gov- 
ernor of Illinois Territory, issued a 
proclamation, on September 14, 1812, 
establishing some new counties. Two 
of the new counties thus established 
were Gallatin and Johnson, each of 
which included a part of present-day 
Pope County. The counties of Illi- 
nois Territory as established by the 
Governor's proclamation are shown 
on the Illinois map of 1812. 




Counties of Illinois 1801 



CovNTies OF Illinois in 1612 



Other changes in county boundar- 
ies followed, and new counties were 
established. These changes did not 
alter the situation so far as Pope 
County was concerned until the ter- 
ritorial legislature, by act of Janu- 



17 



ary 10, 1816, established some addi- 
tional counties. The portion of the 
law of 1816 that is of most interest 
here is as follows: "Beginning on 
the Ohio River where the meridian 
leaves it that divides ranges number 
three and four east of the third prin- 
cipal meridian; thence north to the 
township line dividing townships ten 
and eleven south ; thence east eight- 
een miles; thence to that point on 
the Ohio where the line dividing 
ranges eight and nine leaves it; 
thence down the same to the point 
of beginning shall constitute a sepa- 
rate county, to be called and known 
by the name of Pope." The new 
county was named for Nathaniel 
Pope who had served as secretary 
for Illinois Territory. Pope County, 
as it was then established, is shown 
by the map of 1816. 

In less than one year the boundar- 
ies of the new county of Pope were 
changed when the territorial legisla- 
ture, on December 26, 1816, passed 
an act stating that "Beginning at the 
Rock and Cave (Cave-in-Rock) on 
the Ohio River; thence a straight 
line to the corner of townships num- 
ber ten and eleven south, and ranges 
number seven and eight east of the 
third principal meridian," should be 
the new boundary on the northeast 
side of the county. This was only 
a minor change in the county, since 
the remainder of its boundaries were 
not altered. The eastern boundar- 
ies, as fixed on January 10, 1816, 
and on December 26, 1816, are both 
shown by broken lines on the map 
of 1816. 




ea»> Lint 
W tint 



CouHTics OF Illinois in 1816 

With its boundaries as established 
by the territorial legislature on De- 
cember 26, 1816, Pope County had 
little time to get acquainted before 
another change came. On January 
2, 1818, Union County was formed 
from the western part of Johnson 
County, and Johnson was given a 
strip six miles wide along the west- 
ern side of Pope. Pope County then 
appeared as shown by the map of 
January, 1818. 



s 












RAMOOLPH 

Vna^JACK- 

^C SON 


* 


WHITE 3 
KALLATiy 


Vii 


^^ 



Counties of Illinois 1818 

The boundaries of Pope as fixed 
by the territorial legislature in Janu- 
ary 1818 remained unchanged until 
March 2, 1839. At that time the por- 



tion of Pope County lying east of 
Big Grand Pierre Creek was de- 
tached and designated as Hardin 
County. Pope then appeared as 
shown by the map of 1839. 




CouMTies or Illinois in 1839 

On January 8, 1840, the legislature 
returned to Pope County a small por- 
tion of Hardin County lying east of 
Big Grand Pierre Creek. The east- 
ern boundary of Pope was thus es- 
tablished as it is today, but the 
Southern part of the county was 
changed by legislation enacted on 
February 8, 1843. At that time the 
county of Massac was established 
from portions of Johnson and Pope. 
On March 3, 1843, part of the ter- 
ritory separated from Pope and giv- 
en to Massac less than a month pre- 
viously was returned to Pope. This 
was the last change in the boundar- 
ies of the county. In the one hun- 
dred five years since that time, the 
boundaries of Pope County have re- 
mained as they appear on the his- 
torical map at the end of this book- 
let. 

Thus, present-day Pope County has 
in succession been a claim of Spain, 
a portion of the French and British 
colonial empires, a part of the colony 



of Virginia, a part of the Northwest 
Territory, a part of Indiana Terri- 
tory, and a part of Illinois Territory. 
It was, in turn, included in Knox 
County, Northwest Territory ; and in 
Randolph, Johnson and Gallatin 
Counties, Illinois Territory. It was 
not until January 10, 1816, that a 
separate county was established and 
named Pope, as related in an earlier 
paragraph of this section. 

The first meeting of the men 
designated by the Territorial Gover- 
nor as officials of the new county 
was held on April 1, 1816, at the 
residence of Thomas Ferguson, near 
the present courthouse square in Gol- 
conda, then called Sarahville. Ben- 
oni Lee, who had been especially em- 
powered to do so, administered the 
oath of office to himself, Robert Lacy, 
and Thomas Ferguson, as judges of 
the county court; to Hamlet Fergu- 
son as Sheriff; to Samuel O'Melvany 
as Justice of Peace, Assessor, and 
County Treasurer; and to Thomas 
Browning as Prosecuting Attorney. 

The next actions of the County 
Commissioners' Court were indicative 
of the type of work which occupied 
much of the court's attention for the 
next fifty years. The court first pro- 
vided that a road be opened from 
Sarahville to Colonel Hamlet Fer- 
guson's ferry, and another toward 
Gallatin County. It next appointed 
ovei'seers of the poor for each town- 
ship that had been established. Later 
it licensed taverns and fixed the 
rates the taverns were allowed to 
charge. Next it licensed ferries and 
established ferry rates. It built a 
courthouse, "of good hewn logs and 
shingle roof," twenty-four by twen- 
ty-six feet, with "more detailed spec- 



19 



ifications to be given later." With 
this courthouse it also authorized the 
construction of a substantial jail and 
estray pen. Pope County was defin- 
itely in operation. 



FERRIES 

On the border of Pope County, one 
of the first ferries of which there is 
any record was established by Major 
James Lusk, who procured a license 
from the Kentucky authorities in 
1797. The next year, 1798, Lusk built 
a house on the Illinois side and moved 
to it. He continued to operate the 
ferry until his death in 1803. His 
wife, Sarah Lusk, operated the ferry 
after Major Lusk's death and was 
given a license by William Henry 
Harrison, Governor of Indiana Ter- 
ritory. This license was issued on 
May 7, 1804, and is as follows: 

"Indiana Territory 

William Henry Harrison, Esqr,, 

Governor and Commander in Chief 

of the Indiana Territory 

License is hereby granted to Sarah 
Lusk to keep a ferry across the Ohio 
River in Randolph County, opposite 
to the one formerly kept by James 
Lusk. She, the said Sarah Lusk, en- 
gaging to keep at the said ferry good 
and sufficient boats for the passage 
of travelers, with their horses, carts, 
wagons, carriages, cattle, &c., &c., 
and for which she is to receive such 
toll as may be established for said 
ferry by the Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions for said County. And the said 
Sarah Lusk is also to enter into bond 
as the law directs for the proper 
keeping of said ferry. 



Given under my hand at St. Vin- 
cennes the seventh day of May Anno 
Domino one thousand eight hundred 
and four, and of the Independence of 
the United States of America, the 
twenty-eighth. 

William Henry Harrison 
(Seal) 
By the Governor 

Jno. Gibson, Secretary." 

On Api-il 2, 1805, Sarah Lusk mar- 
ried Thomas Ferguson, and shortly 
thereafter the ferry became known 
as Ferguson's Ferry. 

Ferguson's Ferry competed with 
several other ferries across the Ohio 
River. Perhaps the first of these was 
Ford's Fen-y, about three miles above 
Cave-in-Rock. A second one was es- 
tablished at present-day Elizabeth- 
town. This ferry was kept by James 
McFarland. Samuel O'Mulvaney had 
one at the upper end of Stewart's Is- 
land. The fourth ferry was opera- 
ted by Colonel Hamlet Ferguson in 
the vicinity of Cumberland Island. 
This ferry was made in two stages: 
one being from the Kentucky shore 
to Cumberland Island, and the other 
from Cumberland to the Illinois 
shore. Ebneezer Simpson kept still 
another ferry at New Liberty. 

Several of the men operating fer- 
ries went to some expense and spent 
considerable effort in clearing out 
roads leading to their places. This 
was particularly true concerning 
Lusk's Ferry and Ford's Ferry. In 
the case of Lusk's Ferry, a road was 
laid out from that point to Green's 
Ferry on the Mississippi. The ferry 
of Samuel O'Melvaney was located 
opposite Miles' old ferry and was the 
beginning point for Miles' Trace 



20 



which constituted an early county 
boundary line. O'Melvaney's ferry 
was established on March 5, 1810. It 
later became known as Carr's Ferry. 
A later ferry across the Ohio River 
was Clark's Ferry that operated from 
the south side of Bayou Creek on the 
Kentucky shore to a point about 
three-fourths of a mile south of Bay 
City. These ferries sometimes 
changed names and ownership 
and were often short-lived. The 
most widely known ferry in 
Pope County, without a doubt, was 
Lusk's, later Ferguson's ferry. 

In some cases these ferries were 
propelled by large sweeps operated 
by men. Later, some of the larger 
ferries made use of horsepower. In 
such cases the horse generally 
walked in a tread mill on the deck 
of the ferry, and thus operated a 
paddle wheel. 

Some of these early day ferries 
are still in operation, though under 
different names and ownerships. A 
ferry franchise is even yet consider- 
ed valuable. 



AGRICULTURE 

In most of Southern Illinois the 
first settlers located in the forest. 
After they had provided absolutely 
necessary buildings, their next work 
was to clear and fence a plot of 
ground for cultivation. Farm land 
was often considered as "cleared" 
when the smaller trees — that is, those 
fifteen inches and less in diameter — 
had been cut away and the larger 
ones deadened by girdling. 

In the initial clearing of the wood- 
land for cultivation, much of the tim- 



ber would thus be cut. The one 
clearing land would clear away and 
burn the smaller growth and the 
limbs and brush of the larger trees 
he had cut. This left the larger logs 
yet to be disposed of. A log rolling 
would take care of that part of the 
work. Men living within a reason- 
able distance would be invited to 
come to this event. Their wives and 
children would also come. While 
the men rolled logs, the women pre- 
pared the noonday meal and visited 
together. The children became ac- 
quainted and played such games as 
were common at the time. Log rol- 
ling was a "swap work" affair. Men 
did not expect pay for the work, but 
did expect the ones they helped to 
return the favor when invited. The 
general practice of this "swapping 
work" also came into use in house 
and barn raisings, and occasionally 
in other undertakings where an in- 
dividual could not accomplish the 
task alone. 

On newly cleared ground, the 
trees that had been deadened by 
girdling often stood as dead trees 
for many years. Their fallen limbs 
and the trees themselves as they fell 
occasioned considerable work for 
some years after the ground had 
been put into cultivation. "Picking 
up chunks" was an annual spring 
chore. It was on the cleared and 
fenced ground that the settler grew 
his field crops and much of his food. 

Livestock was turned out to range 
in the woodlands. It was invariably 
the crops that had fences built 
around them; the cattle, hogs, and 
horses ran free. In order to be able 
to identify his stock, the settler 
branded them with a hot iron or 



21 



marked them by cutting their ears to 
a particular pattern. These brands 
and marlcs were registered in the of- 
fice of the County Clerk, and the use 
of a particular mark was reserved to 
the one first registering it. Brands 
were generally made up of the ini- 
tials of the owner. Marks were made 
up of various combinations of pat- 
terns to which the ears of the animal 
were cut. Some of the ear marks 
in common use were the crop, under- 
bit, overbit, hole, and swallowfork. 
Since these marks could be used in 
either the right or the left ear, or 
both, the possible combinations were 
almost limitless. Though a pig may 
put up a vigorous squeal while hav- 
ing his ear trimmed, the operation in- 
conveniences him very little. 

When judged by present day stan- 
dards, most of the livestock of that 
day would be termed as scrub. Hogs 
were "razor backs", which term pret- 
ty well describes their condition. 
They roamed the woods, and often 
lived upon the plants, roots, acorns, 
and nuts that they found there, until 
rounded up and slaughtered. Cattle 
were raised in like manner. At times 
of acute shortages of range, the own- 
er called his stock home to feed it. 
This practice was sometimes used to 
supplement the range and to provide 
a better finished product. This prac- 
tice also kept stock from becoming 
too wild. For this same reason the 
owner would regularly salt his cat- 
tle. Many a pioneer farmer was 
rightfully proud of the lusty calls he 
could make, calls that could often be 
readily distinguished a mile or so 
away. The value of livestock may be 
judged from the fact that a cow with 
calf at side often sold for fifteen dol- 



lars or even less, and pork could be 
bought for three cents a pound. A 
few sheep were grown for wool to 
supply local needs. Wolves, fre- 
quently found until the 1860's, made 
the raising of sheep a hazardous ven- 
ture. 

The first crop generally planted 
was corn. It provided fodder for 
livestock, grain for corn meal, feed 
for farm animals and fowls, and 
mash for the "essential" whiskey. It 
could be planted, cultivated, and har- 
vested with fair success on newly 
cleared ground and among stumps, 
and thus was adaptable to the exist- 
ing conditions. 

Newly cleared ground was gener- 
ally plowed with a particular type of 
new-ground plow. This plow had 
little or no bar on the side opposite 
the moldboard. The plow was most- 
ly of wood, the metal parts being 
the moldboard, the coulter (cutter), 
and a few necessary bolts and rods. 
The moldboard was sometimes of 
wood with only iron strips. The coul- 
ter was designed to cut smaller roots 
and to allow the plow to "ride over" 
larger ones. The plowman needed 
to be wide-awake and agile to pre- 
vent being struck by roots torn loose 
at one end by the plow, or to pre- 
vent being struck by the plow han- 
dles when the point hitched, as it 
frequently did, on some unseen ob- 
struction. Perhaps the experience 
gained in plowing with a new-ground 
plow can never be properly described 
to those who have not engaged in 
that task. Likewise, the memories 
gathered by those who did such work 
will not soon leave them. It is per- 
haps enough to say that it was try- 
ing both to the physical strength and 



22 



to the patience of the performer. If 
the new-ground plow was exceeded 
in its tendency to do the unexpected, 
that distinction perhaps should go to 
the double-shovel plow used in the 
later cultivation of the crop. The 
hand hoe was much used in cultiva- 
tion of the corn crop. 

Practically every farmer thought 
corn should be "chopped out" and the 
stumps "grubbed around" at least 
once each season. This task was car- 
ried out in late July or in August, 
when the corn was tall and the days 
were hot. Corn was "cut up" when 
it had sufficiently ripened, and ar- 
ranged in shocks. Fodder would be 
"shucked out" later, generally dur- 
ing a period of damp weather in the 
winter. General use was made of 
large baskets of oak splits, for cai'ry- 
ing corn about to feed livestock. A 
familiar figure on almost any farm- 
stead at that time was that of the 
farmer, going across the barnlot with 
one of these baskets, often holding 
as much as a bushel, or carrying an 
immense bundle of shock fodder on 
his shoulder. 

Pumpkins were planted in almost 
all cornfields. These were used to 
feed livestock, were cooked for table 
use, and were cut into strips and 
dried, to be cooked later in the win- 
ter. They were also made into pump- 
kin butter. Melons were also grown 
in the fields of corn, along with many 
beans for which the corn stalks pro- 
vided support. 

When time came to gather corn, 
it was sometimes "jerked" or "snap- 
ped" and brought to the barn or to 
the crib of fence rails, with husks 
still on it. Husking bees might then 



occur. At these times the neighbors, 
mainly the younger people, met for 
an evening of jollity. Captains were 
selected, sides were chosen, the corn 
was divided into two approximately 
equal piles, and all set to work with 
a will. The side finishing its por- 
tion first was declared winner. Per- 
haps one incentive to greater effort 
was the custom of allowing any 
young man finding a red ear to kiss 
the girl of his choice. It might be 
of interest to know that in the mixed 
varieties of corn then common, red 
ears were not so scarce as they are 
today. After husking was finished, 
a dance invariably followed. 

Potatoes were an early and staple 
crop. The soil of Pope County was 
found to be excellent for their pro- 
duction. One of the early agricul- 
tural products shipped from the 
county was potatoes. These were 
often shipped by flatboats to the 
market at New Orleans. 

Wheat was not generally grown 
until settlers had become more estab- 
lished. This may be explained par- 
tially by the difficulty of harvesting. 
The hand sickle was in universal use 
until 1830 or later. By this method, 
the grain stalks were gathered in 
one hand and cut by the sickle held 
in the other. These handfuls were 
piled together until there were 
enough to make a bundle. These 
,vere then tied together with a wisp 
of straw. 

About 1830, the grain cradle was 
introduced and slowly came into 
general use. With the cradle a 
strong and active man could cut some 
two acres of wheat in a long day. 
Though this was a slow method, it 



23 



was many times more ei'l'icient than 
the hand sickle method. The work 
of a second helper was necessary to 
bind this wheat into bundles. The 
grain was sometimes threshed by 
flailing. At other times it was 
tramped out by horses or cattle driv- 
en over it. By use of a pitchfork, 
perhaps made from a forked limb, 
the straw was removed. The grain 
and chaff remained on the threshing 
floor. These were then separated by 
winnowing, that is, by pouring the 
mixed grain and chaff from pans or 
baskets at some place where there 
was sufficient breeze to blow the 
chaff away. If a sufficient natural 
breeze were not available, a large 
fan made of a sheet or blanket would 
be used to fan the grain as it was 
poured from containers. All of this 
meant much labor and may, in part 
at least, explain the reason for the 
somewhat slow introduction of wheat 
into general use as a farm crop. 

A generation or so later, one finds 
reapers and crude threshers coming 
into use. Though these did much 
to lighten the labor of harvesting 
wheat, it was many years before 
hand methods that had been in use 
for centuries disappeared. 

The earlier farmer sowed his 
small grains by broadcasting; that 
is, he walked back and forth across 
the field and scattered the seed by 
hand. By the 1860's drills for plant- 
ing grain were in use. In 1869, the 
Golconda paper carried an item stat- 
ing that wheat sowed by a drill was 
best. It was more evenly distributed 
over the ground and was not so like- 
ly to freeze out. This same paper, 
published in 1887, carried an adver- 
tisement stating that grain cradles 



could be bought in Golconda. All 
this indicates that the more primitive 
methods had not entirely passed. Old 
sickles, grain cradles, and an occa- 
sional flail are found even today 
where some pioneer farmer left them 
in his barn or attic. Youngsters are 
often puzzled by their queer appear- 
ance and know little or nothing con- 
cerning the manner in which they 
were used. 

Oats, rye, and barley came into 
use as field crops some years later 
than wheat. Small amounts of buck- 
wheat were grown in the 1860's and 
later. In the same issue of the Gol- 
conda paper that tells of drilled 
wheat's being best, there is another 
item stating that bugs could be kept 
from the vines of melons and cu- 
cumbers by planting a few seeds of 
buckwheat in the patch. 

At earlier times, a considerable 
amount of cotton was grown for the 
market. As late as 1876, a large 
cotton gin was in operation near the 
Pope-Massac line. 

On many farms were small plats 
of flax, turnips, cabbage, tobacco, 
broomcorn, hops, castor beans and 
other crops. 

Orchards were planted by numer- 
ous early settlers. They were not 
beset with insect pests so much as 
they are today. The early orchards 
contained apples, pears, cherries, and 
peaches. The latter two were not 
nearly so numerous as the apples and 
pears. Not many plums were grown, 
since an abundance of the wild va- 
rieties could be had for the gather- 
ing. Fruit varieties then widely and 
favorably known are now only the 
memories of older persons. The 



24 



names of Northern Spy, Ben Davis, 
Fall Pippin, Fall Wine, Pearman, 
Rambo, and American Golden Rus- 
sett, now seldom heard, will stir the 
memories of older persons. 

There are many who insist that the 
apples of that day, though they were 
not so lai'ge nor so attractive in ap- 
pearance, were even better flavored 
than present day ones. That may be 
true or it may be that the memories 
are tinged with a long-vanished, boy- 
ish appetite. 



ROADWAYS 

The first roads in the Pope-County 
territory were those leading from the 
early ferries on the Ohio toward im- 
portant points to the north and west. 
They were often kept in repair by 
the owners of the ferries, in order to 
attract travellers to their places of 
business. It is recorded that some of 
the roads leading from Lusk's Ferry 
were laid out and opened by Major 
Lusk to secure business for his ferry 
at Golconda. 

The first authentic map yet found 
that shows roadways of present-day 
Pope County is the postal map issued 
in 1841. This rnap was made by Da- 
vid H. Burr, geographer of the House 
of Representatives. Although it was 
issued in 1841, the information on 
which it was based evidently was 
gathered two or three years prior 
to that time. This map shows a main 
highway entering the county south- 
west of present day Bay City and 
proceeding in a northeasterly direc- 
tion to a place near the Ohio River, 
about two miles north of the village. 
The road then followed along the 



river through the present town of 
Golconda and left the county about 
the northeast corner of S34, T12S, 
R3E. This was the main highway 
leading from Fort Massac to Rock 
and Cave. 

Another impoi'tant road was the 
one leaving the Fort Massac-Rock 
and Cave road about two miles north 
of Golconda and going west. It 
passed a short distance north of Dix- 
on Springs and continued toward Vi- 
enna and Jonesboro. A third road 
left the Ohio river at about the same 
place, proceeded in a northwesterly 
direction, passed the present village 
of Eddyville, and left the county 
near the northwest corner. This 
road led from Golconda, or Lusk's 
Ferry, to Frankfort and on to Kas- 
kaskia. A fourth main highway en- 
tered the county about two miles 
north of the present village of Robbs 
and proceeded in a northeasterly di- 
rection to S24 in TllS, R5E. At this 
point the road forked; one branch, 
continuing in the same genei'al di- 
rection, passed about a mile south 
of present Delwood and a mile north 
of Oak, and left the county near the 
northwest corner of SI, TllS, R6E. 
The south branch of this road passed 
about one-half mile south of Oak, 
crossed Gibbon's creek a short dis- 
tance north of Herod, and left the 
county about a half mile south of 
the northeast corner. Both branches 
of this road led to Shawneetown and 
appear to have offered a choice of 
roads, depending upon the weather 
or season. There were doubtless 
many other roads in the county at 
the time, but these were the roads 
over which the mail was transported. 
It was over these roads that the ear- 



25 



ly-day stage coaches were driven. 
Some very old persons recall the last 
of these coaches and knew the men 
who drove them. Judged by present 
day standards, they were uncomfor- 
table and slow. Despite this, they 
served their purpose well, and the 
tradition of them even yet adds gla- 
mour to the age they served. 

The tendency in laying out these 
earlier roads was to follow as direct 
routes as conditions warranted. Since 
there were very few fenced farms, 
land lines were generally ignored, 
high hills and swamps avoided, and 
streams crossed at points where they 
could be most easily forded. With 
the establishment of farms and the 
building of fences, many old road- 
ways were changed to follow land 
lines. In many places in the coun- 
ty, one may yet see the deeply worn 
trails of old roadways, some of which 
were deserted a century ago. 

Since bridges were practically un- 
known, larger streams were crossed 
by ferries and smaller ones by fords. 
A ford was necessarily located at 
some shallow point on the stream, 
where sloping banks permitted wa- 
gons to enter the stream and be 
pulled up on the other shore. In 
some places where a solid bottom 
could not be found, floors of logs and 
poles were laid in the bed of the 
stream. These were often held in 
place by cross poles that were fast- 
ened down by forked posts. This 
same method of crosslaying with logs 
and poles was used in swampy and 
miry spots. It was called corduroy. 
Though it was a serviceable road, it 
was a rough one. 



A number of the fords established 
at an early day are still in use. They 
soon became landmarks and were 
often used as points from which oth- 
er places were located. One of the 
well-known fords of the county is 
Maynor's Ford, named for Calvin 
Maynor who lived nearby. This ford 
is across Hayes Creek, about one and 
a half mile southeast of Eddyville. 
Another one, across Lusk Creek, 
about three miles east and slightly 
south of the village of Lu.sk, is known 
as Rose Ford. It takes its name from 
one of the men who lived in the vi- 
cinity. 

At the point where the very early 
roadway crossed Bay Creek, about 
four miles west of Eddyville, one 
finds another old ford named for 
David Watkins who lived there. John 
Anderson gave his name to the ford 
aci-oss Lusk Creek north of Walters- 
burg. Porter's Ford was on Lusk 
Creek about three miles north of 
Waltersburg. Hanson's Ford across 
Lusk Creek is another ford that has 
been used for many years. It was 
named for George Manson, who lived 
near it. Carvel Ford on the old road- 
way from Eddyville to Clendale was 
named for Smith Carvel, who had 
a blacksmith and wagon shop at that 
place. This was an important shop, 
and many wagons were made there. 

The.se are only a few of the fords 
that were used by the citizens of 
Pope County. As bridges were built 
and the location of roadways 
changed, some of the old fords were 
no longer used and have been for- 
gotten. As one wanders along some 
stream, he occasionally sees a deep- 
ly worn but abandoned and over- 
grown roadway leading to a likely 



26 



crossing place. On the other bank 
of the stream, he sees the same evi- 
dences of an old roadway's leaving- 
the stream. When carefully sought, 
the interesting story of these old 
fords can be uncovered. 



CHURCHES 

Ministers and missionaries doubt- 
less visited Pope County prior to 
1811, but the first known record of 
a minister's working there was made 
in that year. This man had come 
from eastern Kentucky, from the vi- 
cinity of Cumberland Gap, by way 
of the "Wilderness Road." It is said 
that he arrived at Lusk's Tavern, 
then called Fiddler's Green, on the 
same day that the first steamer, the 
New Orleans, stopped there on its 
way down the Ohio River. This man, 
James MacGready, was of Presby- 
terian faith, traveling, as he stated, 
"for observation and opportunity." 
The people of the settlement later 
known as Sarahville urged the Rev- 
erend MacGready to stay in town 
and preach for them. This he con- 
sented to do, but it is not known how 
long he stayed. Records, later than 
those of the coming of Reverend 
MacGready, made occasional allu- 
sions to other preachers. 

The work of Reverend MacGready, 
who later established Sharon Church 
near Enfield, Illinois, or that of some 
other Presbyterian minister who 
came to Golconda, shortly bore fruit 
in the establishment there, in 1819, 
of the present Presbyterian church, 
now the oldest organized church of 
that faith in the state of Illinois. This 
church, of sixteen members, was or- 
ganized on October 24, 1819, by Rev- 



erend Nathan B. Darrow. A copy of 
the record of this organization serv- 
ice is given in the next paragraph. 

This day a number of persons con- 
vened at the Courthouse in Golcon- 
da, for examination preparatory to 
the planting of a church in this place. 
Sixteen persons, whose names are 
hereafter recorded, gave in their 
names for members in a Presbyter- 
ian church in this place, and after 
inquiry respecting their belief and 
practice, it was resolved to be plan- 
ted in a church state tomorrow. Ac- 
cordingly, on Lord's Day, the 24th 
of this month, after a discourse from 
Rom. 4th chapter, the church was 
planted by the persons aforesaid 
making the following Confes.sion and 
Covenant. (These are omitted at 
this place from the record consul- 
ted.)**** They are, therefore, here- 
by declared a regular member of 
the church of Jesus Christ, and as 
such recommended to the fellowship 
of sister churches and to the atten- 
tion of the Ambassadors of Jesus. 
By me, 

N'n B. Darrow, V. C. M., 
"Missionary for Connecticut." 

The orginial members of this 
church were as follows: James E. 
Willis, Eliza Willis, Joshua Scott, 
Jane Scott, David B. Glass, Francis 
Glass, Agnes Glass, George Hodge, 
John Hanna, Margaret H a n n a, 
George H. Hanna, William P. Han- 
na. Jane Hanna, James H. Hanna, 
Benjamin Spilman, and Nancy R. 
Spilman. Benjamin Spilman became 
a rather prominent churchman in 
later years and was a teacher in the 
academy or college established at 
Equality. 



27 



In the early years of this church, 
the congregation had two places of 
worship, one being in the village of 
Golconda and the other in the coun- 
try on the Vienna road. In earlier 
years, the meetings in Golconda were 
held in the court house or school 
house or in a Union church. This 
plan of meeting seems to have been 
carried on until 1869, when the pres- 
ent building was erected. 

The meeting place of the congre- 
gation in the country was in the home 
of Francis Glass, where meetings 
were held until about 1832. They 
were next held at the house of Da- 
vid B. Glass, some four miles west 
of Golconda, until about 1840. At 
that time. Bethel church was built. 
Though never entirely finished, it 
was used until about 1858 when it 
was sold and the proceeds used in 
building a church called Bethany. 
The title to this church was with the 
Cumberlands, but the building was 
used also by the Presbyterians until 
about 1877. During the next year, 
the Presbyterians built a church 
called Prospect. It was located near 
the middle of the N. W. quarter of 
S33, T13S, R5E. Another church 
named Grove had been erected in 
1871, about three miles southeast of 
Prospect church. It was soon aban- 
doned, and the members re-united 
with the Golconda church. 

The history of another early 
church, which may be considered as 
typical of the first churches of the 
county, is that of Olive General Bap- 
tist Church. This church was foun- 
ded near present day McCormick by 
Elder William Hurt, in 1855. The 
six members uniting to form it were 



Nathan Bramlet, Mary Bramlet, Gil- 
bert Penell, Matthew Bracewell, Ir- 
ene Bracewell, and Matilda Brace- 
well. 

The beliefs of this group — and 
these seem to be typical of the gen- 
eral church beliefs of the period — 
are rather clearly shown by the con- 
fession of faith adopted. These arti- 
cles of confession are, briefly, as fol- 
lows: 

1. The new testament is the only 
safe rule of conduct. 

2. There is only one true God. 

3. All people are fallen and de- 
praved. 

4. A 1 1 salvation, regeneration, 
sanctification, resurrection, as- 
cension, and intercession come 
from the death, resurrection, 
ascension, and intercession of 
Christ. 

5. One who endures to the end is 
saved. 

6. Punishment of the wicked is 
eternal. 

7. Communion is only with those 
baptised by immersion. 

8. The sanctity of Sunday, the 
first day of the week, is affirm- 
ed. 

9. There is to be a resurrection of 
the body. 

10. All should be tender and af- 
fectionate, one toward another. 

In order that the business should 
be transacted in an orderly fashion, 
the following "Rules of Decorum" 
were adopted by the church: 

1. All meetings will be opened and 
closed by prayer. 

2. Only one person may speak at 
a time. 



28 



3. One must not interrupt the 
speaker. 

4. The speaker must adhere to the 
subject. 

5. No one may speak more than 
three times on any one subject. 

6. There must be no whispering 
and laughing. 

7. Members sliall be addressed as 
'"brother" or "brethren." (It 
seems strange that "sister" or 
"sisters" were not included.) 

8. No one may absent himself 
without the permission of the 
moderator. 

These articles of faith and rules of 
decorum were signed by Wm. Hurt 
as moderator and Matthew Bracewell 
as clerk. The church formed at that 
time is still in existence and appears 
to be a reasonably prosperous coun- 
try church. 

In many of the communities, the 
church services were held in the 
same building used for school pur- 
poses. The description of an early- 
day church building is, therefore, 
about the same as that of an early- 
day school. The buildings were 
most likely of logs; the benches, of 
slabs or half logs, were supported on 
wooden pegs that served as legs. As 
the congregation grew and became 
somewhat more prosperous, benches 
or pews were built. Some of these 
hand-made seats are yet to be seen 
in country churches. Such church 
services as were held at night were 
generally announced for "early can- 
dlelight." The light for these serv- 
ices was supplied by a grease lamp, 
or candles, and in season, was helped 
by the light of the fire place. It was 
not unusual for the only illumination 



to be that used by the minister to 
allow him to read the scriptures. The 
congregation thus sat in semi-dark- 
ness. 

The teacher's desk often served as 
the pulpit. In some instances, a 
special stand was built. When heat 
was required, it was supplied by a 
fire place or, at later times, by a 
stove. In cold weather this healing 
was uneven, and it was not unusual 
to see members of the congregation 
quietly moving back and from the 
fire or edging up to it. 

There were generally three serv- 
ices on the week-end, but these serv- 
ices v/ere often held only once each 
month. The Saturday afternoon 
service, usually at about two o'clock, 
was looked upon as the business 
meeting of the church. At that time 
such business as should come before 
the church was transacted. Members 
were disciplined, letters granted, 
members received, plans for future 
church programs formed, or other 
business matters attended to. The 
Sunday morning and Sunday evening 
services were those in which the ma- 
jor sermon efforts were made. The 
sermons were generally of the revival 
type and placed much more emphasis 
on the fate awaiting the unsaved soul 
than do those of the present day. It 
was not unusual for the sermon to 
last for an hour or more. 

As was stated earlier, the preach- 
ers were often men of only average 
learning. They spoke the language 
of the common man in the commun- 
ity, frequently making very liberal 
use of 'ah,' 'and-ah,' and other su- 
perfluous words. There was con- 
siderable prejudice against an edu- 



29 



cated minister. Peter Cartwright, 
one of the most noted frontier 
preachers, in his sermons and writ- 
ings often expresses disapproval of 
book learning. It must be admitted 
that many of the ministers of that 
period were earnest and consecrated 
men and often weielded great influ- 
ence. They were usually poorly paid, 
receiving only a free-will offering. 
If it had not been that on week days 
they were farmers, merchants, doc- 
tors, or tradesmen of some kind, the 
work of the ministry could hardly 
have been carried on. 

The social aspects of the church 
at that time were greater than those 
of today. The crowd would gather 
long before church services were to 
begin. They used this interval in 
visiting and talking. The actual 
church services generally began by 
the singing of a song. At that time 
most of those present would troop 
into the church, find themselves 
seats, and settle down to await the 
sermon. After church there would 
be more visiting, but since appetites 
had generally become acute, this vis- 
iting would not be unduly prolonged. 

The songs used in the services 
were more solemn and sedate than 
the congregational songs of today. 
Song books were not so common as 
they now are. It was not unusual 
to have the preacher or some song 
leader announce the hymn and line 
it; that is, sing a line of the hymn, 
allow the congregation to repeat the 
line, and continue the process, until 
a "verse" had been completed. The 
portion of the song thus rehearsed 
would be repeated in its entirety. As 
books became more common, this 



practice of lining the hymn became 
unnecessary. Even then, few of the 
song books carried the music. Since 
no instruments were in common use 
in the earlier church, it was not un- 
usual to find that the one leading 
the singing used a tuning fork, from 
which he secured the proper pitch 
and relayed that pitch to the con- 
gregation. Some time later, song 
books with shaped notes came into 
use. With the help of singing 
schools, the method of singing was 
somewhat changed. Prayers called 
forth more than ordinary vehemence, 
and numerous instances are on rec- 
ond where the prayers could be 
heard a mile or so away. 

When Sunday came, the people 
invariably put on their clean or Sun- 
day clothes. Men often took their 
weekly shave. Shoes or boots were 
shined, children were carefully scrub- 
bed, the boys had their hair 
"roached," the girls and women put 
on their prettiest dresses, and all 
went to church. Many ministers de- 
nounced an occasional tendency of 
some woman to dress in what might 
then be considered as too striking a 
manner. There are numerous in- 
stances of such disapproval in the 
sermons and writings of Peter Cart- 
wright, mentioned earlier. In most 
early churches it was the practice for 
men and women to sit on opposite 
sides of the house. In the corner 
next to the minister, on the side oc- 
cupied by the men, one might expect 
to see the "pillars of the church." 
This was known as the "amen" cor- 
ner, doubtless from the fact that at 
times during the sermon some one 
seated there frequently approved the 
utterance of the preacher by fer- 



30 



vently saying "amen." In the cor- 
responding corner on the opposite 
side, one might see the elderly and 
more important women of the con- 
gregation, but one seldom heard 
"amens" coming from that corner. 
When people lived beyond reason- 
able walking distance of the church, 
they might be seen coming on horse- 
back or in wagons that were often 
drawn by oxen, and later in buggies 
or carts: some also used mud boats, 
and sleds. Basket dinners and all- 
day services were frequent. In the 
wagons were liberal paddings of hay 
on which a number of people could 
be seated. During the services, the 
horses or oxen were unhitched and 
tied to the wagons. When this was 
done, the hay padding for the return 
trip was often thinned considerably. 
Such expressions as "Come and go 
home with us for dinner" were often 
heard, and it was not unusual for 
about half the people going to church 
to go home with the other half. Such 
visits were repaid, perhaps, on the 
next meeting day. A bucket of wa- 
ter and a drinking gourd were avail- 
able for the thirsty, and a pitcher 
and glass were often to be found 
convenient to the minister. 

When church was out and people 
started to leave for home, it was not 
at all unusual to see a sizeable group 
of boys line up beside the doorway, 
particularly at the evening service. 
They were waiting to "see the girls 
home." The aspiring boy would 
leave his group and surprise the girl 
of his choice with a rather common 
expression, "May I see you home?" 
If it was agreeable, the girl would 
reply, "Yes;" if not, she would say, 
"No," and the boy was "sacked." 



This called forth some laughs and 
perhaps deterred the boy in his so- 
cial progress. 

Some people, generally young 
men, seemed to go to church for no 
other purpose than the social con- 
tacts that they might make. It was 
not unusual to see a group of these 
young men standing, throughout the 
services, just outside the church win- 
dows or doors. 

With each year came the church 
revival or portracted meeting. At 
such times, if interest were aroused, 
there would be large crowds and a 
considerable amount of enthusiasm. 
The successful minister generally 
"sprinkled" a liberal amount of 
brimstone and told a number of 
deathbed stories. As the interest 
and enthusiasm mounted, shoutings 
were frequent. More of the shout- 
ing came from women than from 
men, but the shouting of men was not 
unusual. In some instances, the great 
excitement of the meetings induced 
epidemics of "jerks." In such cases 
the victim was seized with convul- 
sive jerkings of the body that were 
rather alarming to observers, and 
often rendered the person incapable 
of controlled movements. 

In some instances, the places of 
meetings were under sheds erected 
for the purpose. At the present time 
such buildings are termed taber- 
nacles, but they were then generally 
designed as sheds. Services might 
even be held under a brush arbor, 
that is, under a rude shelter made by 
piling leafy branches on an elevated 
platform. This arbor sometimes ex- 
tended over the entire congregation; 
at other times, only over the pulpit 



31 



and the seats nearby. Seats were 
generally rude benches made of 
planks or puncheons laid across 
logs. In some cases these camps 
would be set up in a rather military 
fashion, with guards, assembly calls, 
and other characteristics common to 
a military post. Sunday School did 
not become common until about the 
time of the Civil War. Even then, 
some sects did not receive it very en- 
thusiastically. 



SCHOOLS 

The first official record found 
concerning schools in Pope County 
is that in the minutes recorded for 
the meeting of the Board of County 
Commissioners, held at Golconda, on 
June 14, 1825. At that meeting were 
presented a number of petitions, 
signed by residents of different vi- 
cinities, and asking for the establish- 
ment of school districts. The first 
one recorded was a petition to estab- 
lish a school district with boundaries 
as follow: 

"Beginning at Golconda, thence up 
the Ohio River so as to include Sam- 
uel Alexander thence with the Shaw- 
neetown road to the Saline road 
thence with Stucken path to Church's 
Ford on Lusk Creek, thence on a di- 
rect line so as to include William 
Rondeau thence to the Ohio River on 
Lack's (or Jack's) Landing includ- 
ing Smith's Mill, thence up said river 
to place of beginning. Therefore or- 
dered by said court that the afore- 
said boundaries constitute the first 
school district of Pope County." 

Although some of the landmarks 
mentioned in the above description 
can not now be definitely located, it 



can be determined that the district 
described was some five or si.x miles 
square, or about the size of an ordi- 
nary rural voting precinct of today. 

At this same meeting a second pe- 
tition was evidently allowed, but it 
does not seem to have been recorded. 
The next district which was estab- 
lished and which had boundaries giv- 
en is designated as the third school 
district in the county. The boundar- 
ies of this third school district were 
as follow: 

"Beginning at the mouth of Big 
Creek, thence up the same to half a 
mile above the Salt Petre cave thence 
westward to include Mr. Asa Da- 
vises' thence southerly to the Ohio 
River to include Mr. Alexander Park- 
inson and Alex Blair, thence up the 
same to place of beginning to be 
styled and called the 'Monroe School 
District.' " The boundaries of another 
school district are given, the fourth 
one in Pope County. This district 
lay east of Big (Grandpierre) Creek. 
At that time this territory was a part 
of Pope County but was placed, a 
few years later, in a newly created 
county of Hardin. Since only a small 
part of the district is in present-day 
Pope County, a detailed account of 
this district will appear in the Hardin 
County Notes. 

It will be seen that all of these 
districts were extremely large when 
compared with present-day ones. It 
was not then unusual for a school 
district to extend three miles or more 
in practically all directions from the 
school. This large area was neces- 
sary in order to secure sufficient rev- 
enue to pay school expenses. Even 
then, expenses of early schools were 



32 



not large if measured by present- 
day standards, since many of the 
teachers were paid $20.00 or less 
per month. Several early-day con- 
tracts for teaching in Southern Illi- 
nois have been found, providing a 
salary of only $16.00 per month. 

The pay of the teacher was often 
made in produce of the community 
and in a small amount of money. The 
things mentioned as acceptable for 
payment of the teacher's salary were 
coi'n, wheat, venison, deer skins, ba- 
con, cattle, and hogs. These were 
generally to be taken "at current 
market price." In communities where 
such could be done, teachers often 
loaded this produce on a flat boat 
and took it to New Orleans. In some 
cases it was sold to local dealers. In 
addition to the small income from 
taxes to support the earlier schools, 
parents paid an additional fee, ac- 
cording to the number of pupils at- 
tending from their home. The above- 
described schools should be thought 
of as the first regularly organized 
districts and not necessarily as the 
first schools existing in the county. 
It is recorded that an old sailor 
named Pittulo was teaching in the 
vicinity of Golconda in 1800, and 
that he taught some years thereafter 
in the same vicinity. It was this 
teacher that gave the name of Fid- 
dler's Green to the tavern built at 
the site of Golconda, in 1798, by 
Major James Lusk. This man 
"boarded around;" that is, he went 
from home to home for various 
lengths of time, staying at each place 
somewhat according to the number 
of pupils attending from there. He 
thus stayed twice as long at a place 
where there were four pupils as at 



where there were only two. This 
teacher received most of his salaiy 
in skins and pelts which he conver- 
ted into money by selling them to 
fur dealers who came to the town 
once or twice a year. He also added 
to his income by selling vegetables 
to keel boat men. 

The schools of the early day dif- 
fered greatly from those of the pres- 
ent day. They were generally log 
houses. Sometimes the house would 
be a settler's deserted cabin. One 
such school standing until recently 
and typical of the schools at that 
time may well be described in order 
that the reader may visualize others. 

This house was built in 1838 of 
logs that had been smoothed on two 
sides. In size it was about 16 by 
20 feet. It was chinked with short 
pieces split from blocks, and daubed 
with a mixture of clay and lime. The 
finished walls, both inside and out- 
side, were the logs with their chink- 
ing and daubing. The floor was 
made of puncheons, that is, slabs 
split from a large log. These slabs 
were smoothed on one side by the 
use of a broad ax or adz and the 
edges straightened. Such floors were 
somewhat rough and open, but they 
were substantial. In some early 
school houses no floor was made, the 
earth being used instead. The roof 
was made of clapboards that had 
been rived from some convenient oak 
tree. Because of the scarcity of 
nails, it was not unusual to have a 
roof of this kind held on by weight 
poles; that is, a course of boards was 
laid and held in place by a pole. 
These poles were fastened with hic- 
kory withes or perhaps pegged in 
place. 



33 



In some instances these school 
houses had no ceilings. Wherever a 
ceiling was found, it often consisted 
of long clapboards, perhaps four or 
six feet long, laid on log joists. It 
was not unusual for one to look up- 
ward in one of these school houses 
and see through both the ceiling and 
the roof. 

Such buildings were heated by 
fire places, built in the side or in the 
end of the house. These fire places 
were built of stone or more often of 
logs lined with stone and clay, and 
had a stick-and-clay chimney. These 
stick-and-clay chimneys were simple 
pens of double walls extending to 
about the roof level. They were 
plastered inside and out with clay 
in order that the chimney would not 
burn down. It was not unusual to 
see places where the clay had crum- 
bled away from the sticks and a hole 
had been burned. These fire places 
were no puny affairs and often ac- 
commodated logs four feet or more 
in length. It was occasionally a part 
of the teacher's task to provide the 
necessary fire wood. This was not 
so bad as it sounds, perhaps, since 
the forest nearby provided a source 
of timber. 

In the old building mentioned in 
a previous paragraph, there were two 
windows, one in each end, about two 
feet wide and four feet high. These 
windows and the light from the fire- 
place provided the illumination. On 
dark days it must have been a dimly 
lighted school room. 

Seats for the school room were 
made from logs that were split in 
half. The split surface was smooth- 
ed, holes were bored in the rounded 



side, and pegs of suitable length to 
provide seats for pupils of different 
sizes were inserted to serve as legs. 
There were no backs to these seats 
and no desks on which the books 
might be placed or writing done. The 
writing desk was generally a smooth 
slab placed on large wooden pins 
set in the wall. Pupils who wished 
to write went to this desk. Some- 
times two writing desks of different 
heights were provided for the larger 
and the smaller pupils. At other 
times, the shorter pupils had to stand 
on a block or some other object to 
bring them up to the level of the 
desk. Fools cap paper was in com- 
mon use and derived its name from 
the fact that teachers sometimes fa- 
shioned a pointed cap from it and 
placed it on the head of some pupil 
who did not learn his lesson in a sa- 
tisfactory manner. 

On a shelf near the doorway one 
found the water bucket. This wood- 
en bucket and the ever-present 
handled gourd for use as a dipper 
were standard equipment. "Going 
after a bucket of water" was almost 
always a welcome escape from regu- 
lar schoolroom work. These trips 
to the well or spring, often as far as 
a quarter of a mile away, were nev- 
er more hurried than the teacher de- 
manded that they be. 

If any writing was done in the seat 
where the pupil sat, he used a slate. 
By to-day's standards, these slates 
were rather unsanitary, for after a 
child had written on a slate, it had 
to be erased. He accomplished this 
by spitting rather liberally on the 
slate and using the palm of his hand 
to remove the writing. In order to 



34 



dry any surplus moisture, the sleeve 
of the forearm was sometimes used. 
For pens and ink, the source of sup- 
ply was local. Ink was made of oak 
galls and copperas. Pens were made 
from the wing feathers of geese. It 
was not unusual for the teacher's 
ability to make pens from these 
feathers to be considered one of his 
major qualifications for the job. 
Writing paper was more expensive 
and was not so freely used as at the 
present time. 

The games the pupils played were 
usually those in which the skill or 
the strength of the individual coun- 
ted most. They were not the orga- 
nized games known today. They in- 
cluded bull pen, wolf on the ridge, 
hat ball, old sow, shinny, cat, sling 
dutch, move up, lap jacket, leap frog, 
one-and-over, stink base, and whip- 
cracker. Most of these games were 
much too vigorous and rough for the 
girls, who were sometimes admitted 
to such games as cat or wolf-on-the- 
ridge. Generally, however, the girls 
played ante over — often called 
andy over — London Bridge, drop the 
handkerchief, rope skipping, or some 
form of singing game. Some of the 
games played by the boys were rath- 
er trying to those who engaged in 
them. An illustration of such a game 
was the one known as lap jacket. 
In this game, each one of the pair 
engaging secured a switch, often a 
handful of the buckberry shrub that 
grew along the fence rows. They 
then clasped left hands and pro- 
ceeded to switch each other thor- 
oughly. Though the game was known 
as lap jacket, the rules generally re- 
quired that the switching be done 
above the knees and below the waist. 



These switchings were often severe, 
and the contestants left the game 
considerably striped. Should one of 
the contestants decide that he had 
been "bested", he indicated the same 
by a pre-arranged call, like "enough" 
or "calf rope." A simple cry of "oh" 
was also regarded as a surrender. A 
simple description of the games then 
played but now practically forgotten 
would take half the space of a book 
of this size. 

On some of the Friday nights there 
were spelling matches or meetings 
of a literary society. In the spelling 
matches, two captains chose sides, 
naturally beginning with the best 
spellers available, and dividing all 
contestants into two numerically 
equal groups. It was not long until 
the poorer spellers were eliminated, 
since a contestant must "set down" 
when he missed a word. As the num- 
ber of spellers yet in the contest 
grew less, the interest mounted, 
reaching its climax when only two 
were left. The one who could "spell 
down the school" enjoyed quite a 
reputation, being much admired by 
some and perhaps cordially despised 
by others. At times, instead of two 
captains choosing the team, a speller, 
usually a poor one, was designated 
to start the contest. He naturally 
chose an opponent that he thought 
he could outspell. The survivor in 
turn chose another opponent. This 
was continued until only two were 
left. The results arrived at in each 
case were the same. 

In the case of the literary socie- 
ties, one could expect a paper some- 
what like a newspaper in its com- 
ments upon local events and persons. 



85 



This was generally meant to be hu- 
morous. By some of the comments 
on local incidents and persons, ill 
feelings were aroused. There were 
always recitations or declamations, 
a few songs, perhaps a dialogue or 
two, and often a paper — by the stan- 
dard then used, a learned one. After 
this, there was generally a debate in 
which teams were pitted against each 
other and before judges chosen from 
the group assembled. Questions for 
debate were "Resolved that pursuit 
is more pleasant than possession;" 
"Resolved that water is more useful 
than fire;" "Resolved that Lincoln 
was greater than Washington;" "Re- 
solved that the American Indian has 
been mistreated;" or some other such 
subject. In these debates many a 
young man received a training that 
afterwards helped him as a minister, 
as a lawyer, or as some other servant 
in public life. 

Another type of meeting held in 
the school houses was the singing 
school. In these schools the singing 
master often came into the communi- 
ty as an itinerant and remained to 
teach a school. His equipment for 
this work consisted of nothing more 
than a tuning fork, an ability to sing, 
a few song books, and a chart on 
which some bars of music were writ- 
ten. In these schools the young peo- 
ple of the community learned to sing 
and to enjoy the social aspects of 
their lives, for, naturally, after the 
school, the girls were "seen safely 
home." These singing schools were 
continued until recent years. Uncle 
Burton Holloway, of Eddyville, now 
past eighty years old, is one of the 
men remaining who taught many 
such singing schools. 



Another school, similar to the sing- 
ing school already mentioned, was 
the writing school. This, like the 
singing school, was a subscription af- 
fair, open to all those who would pay 
a fee for the privilege of attending. 
The penmanship taught was com- 
monly referred to as Spencerian and 
had many a flourish and scroll. Old 
copy books from that period are yet 
to be found in trunks and attics. 
They are admired for the excellent 
figures, flourishes, and fancy letter- 
ing they exhibit. 

In the matter of text books there 
was little uniformity. The one book 
that was deemed an essential for 
every pupil was a spelling book. Al- 
most without exception this was Web- 
ster's Blue Back Speller. A little 
later, with the advent of McGuffey's 
Readers, more uniformity in the mat- 
ter of readers came. In the earlier 
schools it was not uncommon for the 
pupil to bring whatever reading ma- 
terial the home afforded. This might 
be a Bible, Rollin's Ancient History, 
a newspaper, or almost any other 
book in circulation in that section. 
There were few arithmetic texts; 
hence these books were generally 
made by the teacher or pupil. Num- 
erous home made texts are yet to be 
found in attics and old trunks. One 
was thought to be a good mathema- 
tician when he could "cipher to the 
double rule of three" — that is, com- 
pound proportions. For the more 
advanced pupils, grammar became an 
important subject. From it, they not 
only learned the fundamental struc- 
tures of the language but also de- 
veloped an ability to reason and to 
argue. 



36 



Art, as it exists in public schools 
to-day, was banned. The little bit 
of such work done was that which 
the pupil did while the teacher was 
not looking. At times he even used 
the teacher as the subject for his 
not-too-complimentary sketches. Some 
decorative penmanship in which 
birds were prominent was expected 
at almost any school. Work of this 
type was done by the more skillful 
of the students in the writing clas- 
ses mentioned earlier. 

Physiology and hygiene were then 
practically unknown. Geography was 
often very sketchy, and sometimes 
the book used was a small one with 
an accompanying book of maps. The 
text in geography was unvarying in 
its methods of treatment of different 
countries. History was rather brief- 
ly dealt with and seemed to empha- 
size war more than anything else. 
Except for those who were to be- 
come lawyers, doctors, ministers or 
teachers, a rudimentary knowledge 
of the Three R's — "reading, riting, 
and rithmetic" — was about all that 
was considered essential. 

In many of the earlier schools, the 
pupils were encouraged to study 
aloud, and the hum of the school 
could be heard for a great distance. 
It was thought to be the best way 
for a pupil to learn. It also enabled 
the teacher to tell whether the pupil 
was actively at work. A teacher soon 
became like a trained choir leader, 
rather capable of selecting and list- 
ening to almost any voice he chose. 
Since all were studying aloud, the 
noise did not bother anyone partic- 
ularly. 



Most of the teachers of the early 
day were men. They were often itin- 
erants, teaching a term or two in a 
place and moving on. In addition 
to a rudimentary knowledge of the 
common subjects, one of the qualifi- 
cations deemed essential at that time 
was the ability to inflict corporal 
punishment. The idea of "no lick- 
ing, no larning" was generally ac- 
cepted. On a peg behind his desk 
the teacher kept the switches neces- 
sary to apply the corporal punish- 
ment in the approved manner. The 
pupil who did not receive an occa- 
sional flogging was looked upon as 
unusual. Many a pupil thought the 
day had been lost if he did not re- 
ceive a reasonable switching. Wom- 
en teachers were an exception, but 
an occasional one with more daring, 
tact, and ingenuity than the average, 
became well known for her success- 
ful work. It is a far cry from those 
schools to the ones of this day. Their 
defects and limitations were glaring; 
yet they are not to be laughed to 
scorn. They produced the men and 
women who made America great. 
Perhaps their stern regime was not 
so badly fitted to the world in which 
they existed. No thinking person 
would wish to call them back, but 
that same person will look upon them 
as the rather solid foundation upon 
which the schools of today are built. 

A careful study of the early re- 
ports of the schools in Pope County 
reveals much interesting information 
concerning early schools, but the 
space available here limits the 
amount of such information. 



37 



GRIST MILLS 

One of the first tradesmen to op- 
erate in any regular way in the fron- 
tier settlement was the miller. The 
citizens required bread ; and to sup- 
ply that universal need, grist mills 
soon appeared. Before the arrival 
of a miller, each family was forced 
to contrive in some manner for the 
preparation of its breadstuff. Dif- 
ferent methods were employed. In 
the Midwest, corn was in general use 
for breadstuff before wheat came 
into use. One of the very earliest 
methods of preparing cornmeal was 
the use of the stone mortar and pes- 
tle, the Indian mill. Into the smooth 
hollow of the mortar, a small quan- 
tity of corn was placed. This corn 
was crushed by pounding and grind- 
ing with a smooth ended stone. Meal 
produced in this manner was not so 
fine or so smooth in texture as corn- 
meal of today. It contained more 
small particles of stone and more 
bran than the meal of to-day. Nev- 
ertheless, it was a simple way to pro- 
duce breadstuff. 

Another early method of making 
meal was an adaption from the stone 
mortar and pestle. In this adaption, 
a section of a log or the top of a 
stump was hollowed out by burning 
or by gouging with a chisel or a 
sharp stone. If it were a section of 
a log that had been hollowed out. 
this section would be placed upright 
in the ground with the hollowed end 
up, and at a convenient height. The 
log might be eighteen inches or more 
in diameter. The hole that had been 
hollowed out sometimes held a peck 
or more of shelled corn A rather 
heavy section of a log, with a roun- 



ded end that fitted rather snugly 
within the hollow of the section first 
mentioned, was then used in place 
of the stone pestle of the Indian Mill. 
Since this pestle was too heavy to be 
handled by one person, it was sus- 
pended from the limb of a tree or 
end of a limber pole. By this meth- 
od the pestle could be forcibly 
brought down upon the grain in the 
hollow of the mortar The spring- 
iness of the limb would then hoist 
the pestle for the next stroke. These 
m'ills were in common use by isolated 
settlers. 

Another device used by the pio- 
neers was a grater. For a grater, a 
sheet of metal, often from a can or 
bucket, was perforated by a hammer 
and a sharpened nail. The metal 
sheet was then bent into an approxi- 
mate half oval, the rough side out, 
and attached to a board. The lower 
end of this board was placed in a 
pan or upon some smooth surface 
like a table top. Held in this posi- 
tion the ear of corn was rubbed 
across the roughened metal. This ac- 
tion produced meal, but somewhat 
slowly. The grater was most com- 
monly used in the fall of the year 
with corn not fully hardened. Some 
people looked forward with pleasur- 
able anticipation to the first bread 
to be made each fall from "gritted" 
meal. 

The next step in the development 
of the mill was the hand mill. These 
mills included two small but other- 
wise regular millstones. Into the 
top of the upper stone, a shallow 
hole was drilled near the edge, and 
the end of a staff set into it. The 
upper end of this staff was then at- 
tached to the limb of a tree or to 



38 



some overhead timber in the house. 
While one person might operate such 
a mill, two generally worked at it. 
Both helped in turning the crank. 
One of the operators poured corn 
into the center hole in the upper 
stone. As the corn worked its way 
to the edges of these stones, it was 
ground into meal and fell upon the 
table or stump. Though this mill 
was not so good nor so productive as 
the mills operated by horse or water 
power, it was an advance over the 
mortar and pestle, or the Indian type 
of mill. 

Another type of mill that came 
into early use was the band mill. This 
mill was operated by horse or ox 
power. An upright shaft was set 
up, perhaps fifteen or twenty feet 
from the mill stones. Cross arms 
were attached to this shaft, and a 
wheel closely set with upright pegs 
built upon them. Around these pegs 
and around a wheel on a shaft ris- 
ing from the upper millstone, a twis- 
ted rawhide belt was passed. As the 
horse or ox walked around, the main 
shaft was turned. By means of the 
rawhide belt, the shaft moving the 
millstones was turned. By the use 
of a smaller wheel on the mill stone 
shaft and a larger one on the main 
or drive shaft, the turning of the 
stones could be speeded up. Some 
mills were operated by means of 
gears made by setting pegs in wheels 
attached to shafts. This allowed 
various arrangements to be made for 
connecting the powered shaft to the 
shaft moving the millstone. It also 
made the use of the treadmill for 
horses or oxen more practicable. 



The mills described heretofore 
were generally smaller ones. What 
may be thought of as the next step 
in the development of the grist mill 
was the machines operated by water 
power. These were located upon 
streams where sufficient fall and 
volume of water furnished necessary 
power. 

In the operation of these mills, 
three types of wheels were used. The 
most picturesque one and the one 
with the appearance of which most 
people are familiar, was the overshot 
wheel. In this one, the water passed 
over the top of the wheel, and its 
weight for the entire fall over the 
wheel was used. A second type was 
the breast or undershot wheel. In 
this one, the water flowed against 
the wheel at or below the center of 
its height and passed thence beneath 
the wheel. This wheel did not re- 
quire So great a fall of water as did 
the overshot but did require more 
water to secure the same amount of 
power. The breast or undershot 
wheel was also picturesque in ap- 
pearance but hardly so picturesque 
as was the overshot. The turbine 
was the least picturesque of the three 
wheels but was perhaps the most ef- 
ficient one. This type was enclosed 
in a circular box into which water 
was admitted at the top, and from 
which it escaped only by the move- 
ment of the vanes of the wheel into 
the open space in the lower part of 
the box. It operated in the same 
manner as the meter which measures 
the amount of water used by a house- 
holder in any city. 

Because suitable sites for water- 
mills were not plentiful and, when 
found, were often remote from set- 



39 



tlements, they were forced to give 
way to steam powered mills when 
such became available, but the steam 
mills can never replace the legend 
of the watermill. 

"Going to mill' was a somewhat 
significant event. The sacks of 
shelled corn were loaded into an ox 
wagon or placed across the back 
of a horse, and the trip began. Since 
it was often necessary to go several 
miles, the start was generally made 
before daybreak. Upon arrival at 
the mill, one found others already 
there. He then "waited his turn." 
This often required an all-day wait 
— and sometimes longer. 

This waiting was not always un- 
pleasant. It afforded an opportunity 
to meet and get acquainted with oth- 
er settlers, to learn of the happen- 
ings for many miles around, or even 
to glean news of national events. 
When boys were sent to mill, they 
often used the waiting time to play 
with other boys there on similar mis- 
sions. They sometimes swam, or 
fished in the millpond, or roamed 
over the surrounding countryside or 
in the woodland. In this manner, 
the tedium of waiting was lessened. 

These mills sometimes provided a 
meeting place for the militia when 
all able-bodied men of military age 
were required to meet for regular 
drill and be ready to defend the 
settlement against the Indians or 
other sources of danger. Sometimes 
elections were also held at these 
mills. Pioneer merchants found such 
places desirable spots for the location 
of their stores. Other tradesmen 
sometimes located nearby. The pio- 
neer distillery was served by the 



gristmill and so was usually located 
near one. Often the same person op- 
erated both the mill and the distil- 
lery. Thus it can be seen that the 
gristmill was more than a mere place 
to grind corn into meal. It was the 
center around which numerous acti- 
vities gathered. These early mills 
were sometimes combined grist and 
saw mills. 

Pope County had its quota of early 
mills. The springs and creeks in 
the more hilly sections provided some 
excellent sites. These first mills are 
often difficult to locate with reason- 
able exactness, however; neither is 
it easy, definitely, to fix the years 
they were in operation. The Rev- 
erend John Crawford, then a boy 
who moved with his father to a place 
on Grand Pierre Creek near its 
mouth, in 1808, tells in his writings 
that they were forced for some years 
to cross the Ohio and travel about 
twenty miles into the State of Ken- 
tucky to a horse mill, to have corn 
ground into meal. This indicates that 
no such mills were accessible in that 
region. 

One of the earlier mills mentioned 
in the county records is that of Ran- 
som Peters, in June, 1817. This mill 
is mentioned again on August 22, 
1818, when a jury was appointed to 
view a mill seat for Peters on a "fork 
of Lusk Creek." At the same time, 
a jury was appointed to view a mill 
seat for William Cowan on Lusk 
Creek. In 1821, a similar jury was 
appointed to view a mill seat on Big 
Creek in Section 22 Tils, R8E, for a 
man named Spyars Singleton. On 
July 4, 1821, a man named Smith had 
a mill on Big Creek, "near where Si- 
mon Armstrong now lives." A man 



40 



named Chipps operated a mill on 
Grand Pierre in 1825, but its loca- 
tion is not indicated by the county 
records. At this same time mention 
is made of Twitchell's Mill, then in 
Pope County, but later in Hardin. 
This mill was of more than ordinary 
significance and operated for a num- 
ber of years. Another watermill was 
located near Porter's Ford across 
Lusk Creek, about three miles north 
of Waltersburg. It served the people 
over a considerable area and became 
a somewhat important business cen- 
ter. Robert M. Hamilton, seventy- 
six years old, told in 1945 of having 
played about this mill as a boy. He 
jokingly said that a hungry boy could 
eat the meal as rapidly as the mill 
ground it — at least, until he starved 
to death. 

A few years later a German im- 
migrant named Wolrab established 
a mill in what is present-day Hardin 
County. This mill operated success- 
fully for many years. It was one of 
the last watermills to exist in South- 
ern Illinois. Its story will be told 
more fully in the Hardin County 
Notes. 

Other mills followed, some being 
watermills and some, steam. A man 
named William Drumm operated 
mills in the vicinity of present-day 
Herod. His mill, with an undershot 
wheel, was located on Grand Pierre 
Creek, at the lower end of the mill- 
pond or lake that is still to be seen. 
Some of the timbers of this mill are 
yet found embedded in the earth at 
the millsite. Later, Drumm moved 
his mill to Gibbon's Creek, south of 
Herod. In addition to having been 
a miller, he is recalled by older per- 
sons as an excellent old time fiddler. 



Another mill was operated by 
Joseph Broadway on Hayes Creek, 
southwest of Eddyville. This mill 
was one of the largest watermills in 
Pope County, grinding as much as 
one hundred twenty-five bushels of 
grain in a day. It was in operation 
from about 1875 to 1876, perhaps 
longer. According to local tradition, 
it ground only corn. 

Another early mill was located on 
Lusk Creek about one and one half 
miles west of Raum, where the old 
roadway from Lusk's Ferry to Frank- 
fort crossed the stream. Still another 
was located about two miles north- 
west of Brownfield, but it is not 
known by what power it was opera- 
ted. According to tradition, this mill 
was at one time operated by a man 
named Bagly and was both a saw- 
mill and a gristmill. The name of 
Bagly is also associated with a mill 
that stood near Glendale. Accord- 
ing to local reports, this mill was op- 
erated by steam power. The mill 
was once owned by a man named 
George Kimbell — or Kimmel — and 
began operation about 1869. 

Still another watermill, a mile or 
so southwest of Lusk, was established 
by Columbus Wilson. This mill was 
sold to Riley Barker and later passed 
into the possession of Nelson Conley. 
After he sold the mill to Barker, Wil- 
son went to Eddyville and there op- 
erated a grist and sawmill and later 
a wool mill. This wool mill was still 
later moved to a pond about a half 
mile west of the village. 

The first mill to operate in the vi- 
cinity of present day Eddyville was 
a horse mill that was located on 
Frieze Hill. This mill was operated 



41 



by Eddie Fulgham. It is said that 
it was a small affair, some twelve 
or fourteen feet square, and that the 
shaft to which the horse was hitched 
was fifty feet or so from the build- 
ing. The power was transmitted by 
a belt. The next mill at Eddyville 
was operated by James Mason, at 
the lower pond on the east side of 
the present roadway. This was a 
steam mill which ground both meal 
and flour and had sieves for bolt- 
ing. Tom Cullom later secured it 
and moved it into Eddyville. With the 
improvements made by Cullom, it 
became an excellent mill. Numer- 
ous other small mills were in opera- 
tion at various times and places in 
the county. 

These, in brief, are some of the 
highlights of the story of milling in 
Pope County. They do not include 
accounts of the many sawmills that 
have operated in countless places 
since the task of clearing away the 
forests began. 



SLAVERY AND NEGRO 
SERVITUDE 

A great deal of interesting infor- 
mation lies unnoted in the county 
records of Southern Illinois. In 
searching these records for data con- 
cerning the history of various coun- 
ties, the author has found numerous 
references to slavery and to other 
forms of negro servitude in this sec- 
tion of the state. The most valuable 
information is, of course, to be found 
in the records of the older counties. 
For example, a careful inspection of 
the first four deed books of Pope 
County reveals many recordings con- 



cerning negro slaves and servants. 
A pait of the information gathered 
from these books is presented here 
in the belief that it will prove help- 
ful to those interested in the history 
of slavery in Southern Illinois, for 
the Pope County records are typical 
of those in other older counties of 
this part of the state. These records 
reveal that the practices relating to 
slavery in Southern Illinois, did not 
conform to the statutes enacted for 
its regulation. They also indicate 
that public officials were aware of 
the inconsistencies, even participating 
in them. 

It may be well here to view brief- 
ly the general history of slavery in 
Illinois. With such knowledge in 
mind, the information regarding in- 
consistencies may be better under- 
stood. 

It appears that the first negro 
slaves of present-day Illinois were 
those brought from San Domingo, 
by Phillippe Francois Renault. These 
slaves, numbering several hundred, 
reached Illinois about 1720, perhaps 
in the latter part of 1719. Some of 
them were used in Renault's mining 
ventures in northwestern Illinois and 
in Missouri. Others were used in 
farming operations about the now- 
vanished village of St. Phillippe, in 
Monroe County. In addition to these 
imported slaves, a number of Indi- 
ans were also held in bondage. How- 
ever, the total number of slaves held 
in the territory seems to have shown 
little increase after 1720. According 
to the Jesuit Relations, records kept 
by the Jesuit priests, there were only 
300 negroes and 60 Indians held as 
slaves in 1750. 



42 



When this territory was ceded to 
England in 1763, the English did not 
interfere with the practice of slav- 
ery. Hence, when Virginia came into 
possession of the territory now in- 
cluded in Illinois, at the end of the 
Revolutionary War, nothing was done 
to restrict the existing practice. 
When Virginia ceded the territory to 
the newly-formed federal govern- 
ment, she stipulated that the French, 
the Canadians, and other inhabitants 
of Kaskaskia and of other villages 
in the territory should be allowed to 
retain their properties and "ancient 
privileges." The Ordinance of 1787 
provided that there should be no slav- 
ery nor involuntary servitude "other- 
wise than in the punishment of crime, 
whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted." However, both 
Governor St. Clair, of the Northwest 
Territory and Governor Harrison, of 
the Indiana Territory, held that this 
did not affect slaves held in the ter- 
ritory prior to 1787, but both agreed 
that additional slaves could not be 
brought in. The law barring intro- 
duction of more slaves was evaded 
by the practice of indentui'ing neg- 
roes brought in after the ban had 
been placed. 

Indiana Territory, of which Illinois 
was then a part, legalized this prac- 
tice by action of the Governing Coun- 
cil and by action of the territorial 
legislature, in 1803, 1805, and 1807. 
By these acts it was legally permis- 
sible to indenture negro men up to 
the age of thirty-five and negro wom- 
en up to that of thirty-two years, 
though indentures were generally for 
longer terms, on some occasions for 
as long as ninety-nine years. These 



regulations were adopted by Illinois 
Territory upon its separation from 
Indiana, in 1816. 

The Illinois Constitution of 1818 
forbade slavery, but it did not regu- 
late specifically against the slavery 
already established. To evade this 
provision of the new constitution, the 
practice of indenturing was contin- 
ued, but it was legal to indenture 
a servant for only one year. In some 
instances the constitutional provision 
against slavery was simply ignored. 
Children born to indentured negro 
servants could be indentured, the 
boys until they were twenty one 
years old and the girls until they 
were eighteen. Few paid heed to 
this limit of time. Indentures al- 
ready in force were not interfered 
with in any way. 

The legislature of the new state in 
March, 1819, re-enacted the princi- 
ples of the earlier territorial laws. 
These laws passed by the first Gen- 
eral Assembly became known as the 
Black Laws. Under the provision of 
this act, a negro could not become a 
resident of the state unless he had 
a certificate of freedom from a court 
of record. Without such a certifi- 
cate, the negro could be sold for one 
year. Should he have the required 
certifiaate and be admitted to the 
state, he still could not bring suit, 
testify in court when a white person 
wa.s concerned, or vote ; nor was he 
allowed to travel, except in very re- 
stricted areas. The whole plan seems 
to have been intended to drive free 
negroes into voluntary indentures. 
The colored person's plight was in- 
deed a sorry one. 



43 



Travelers crossing Illinois with 
their slaves and other property often 
expressed a desire to settle, but 
some hesitated to do so because of 
the ban on slavery. This situation 
led those citizens of Illinois who fa- 
vored slavery to demand a conven- 
tion to amend the State Constitution 
and make slavery legal. Such a 
convention was voted by the Legisla- 
ture in 1824. In the general election 
that followed, August 2, 1824, there 
were 4,972 votes for slavery and 
6,640 against it. Pope County cast 
273 votes for and 124 against. 

This election did not end slavery 
in Illinois. In some counties, princi- 
pally in the southern part of the 
state, indentured servants and slaves 
were held after 1824. This is shown 
by numerous certificates of freedom 
executed after that date. Though 
the insitution of slavery was definite- 
ly disappearing, the genera! attitude 
toward the negro could hardly be 
termed favorable. 

In 1862, the people of Illinois 
voted, by a majority of 100,000, to 
refuse admission to negroes. At the 
same time they voted, by a majority 
of 176,000, to prohibit negroes from 
voting or holding office. In 1862, a 
negro in Hancock County was arres- 
ted for being in the state ten days 
and intending to remain permanent- 
ly. He was found guilty and fined. 
Interested citizens appealed his case 
to the State Supreme Court, which in 
1864 upheld the verdict of the lower 
court. 

Such incidents as these reveal more 
clearly, perhaps, the general feeling 
towards negroes than does the fact 
that the legislative acts of 1865 ra- 



tified the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and 
Fifteenth Amendments to the United 
States Constitution and repealed the 
"Black Laws" of 1819 and similar 
laws added in 1853. 

The forgoing brief outline of the 
general history of slavery and the 
treatment of negroes in the State 
of Illinois, furnishes a background 
for a more detailed study of negro 
servitude in Pope County. The first 
entry concerning a negro servant in 
the records at Golconda is a docu- 
ment filed on June 25, 1816, about 
six months after the formation of the 
county. By this indenture, Silvey, 
a negro woman about twenty-four 
years of age, had, on June 22, 1815, 
bound herself to sei've John Morris 
of Gallatin County, then including 
portions of Pope, "for a term of forty 
years next ensuing." Silvey received 
"$400.00 in hand paid, receipt of 
which is hereby acknowledged." She 
was also to receive "good and suf- 
ficient meat, drink, lodging, and ap- 
parel, together with all other need- 
ful conveniences fit for such a ser- 
vant." Silvey pledged herself "faith- 
fully to serve, obey, not absent her- 
self from her work and not to em- 
bezzle or waste or lend her master's 
propei'ty." With this indenture, a 
bond was filed and signed by John 
Morris, and one surety, guaranteeing 
that Silvey would not become a pub- 
lic charge of Pope County. Except for 
length of service pledged, this inden- 
ture complied with the law of Illinois 
Territory at that time. In its form 
it is typical of such contracts. 

In the majoi'ity of indentures re- 
corded, an entry similar to the one 
where Silvey acknowledges the re- 
ceipt of a certain sum of money, "in 



44 



hand, paid, the receipt of which is 
hereby acknowledged" will be found. 
It is seriously to be doubted whether 
the negro actually received the mon- 
ey. 

The second entry noted on the rec- 
ords of the county was a "Bill of 
Bargain and Sale" that states, 

"Know ye all men by these presents 
that I, Jessie Jones, of the State of 
Kentucky and county of Galdwell, 
have this day bargained and sold 
and delivered unto Thomas Fergu- 
son of Illinois Territory and County 
of Johnson, a certain negro man 
named Jeffery about 30 years of 
age, and for consideration of the sum 
of five-hundred and twenty-five dol- 
lars." 

This bill of sale was filed in the 
office of Joshua Scott, recorder of 
Pope County, on November 28, 1816. 
Since this document is an outright 
bill of sale, it did not conform to the 
legal requirements of Illinois Terri- 
tory. A later paragraph will indi- 
cate the manner in which this ap- 
parent failure was rectified. 

The next entry noted concerning 
a servant in the records of the coun- 
ty is an indenture acknowledged be- 
fore Wm. Greenup, County Clerk of 
Randolph County, and dated Decem- 
ber 17, 1810. It was not recorded 
in Pope County, until November 28, 
1816. By this indenture, similar in 
form to the one between John Mor- 
ris of Gallatin County and the negro 
woman named Silvey, George, a neg- 
ro man about twenty-one years of 
age, for a consideration of "Five hun- 
dred dollars, lawful money of the 
United States" bound himself to serve 
David J. Black for the term of sixty 



years. It will be noted that this in- 
denture exceeds the legal limit by 
forty-seven years. 

The next entry indicates a method 
approximating outright slave trade 
in the Illinois Territory, since the 
consent of the servant is not indi- 
cated as having been secured. In this 
case, Louis LaChapelle of Randolph 
County had Isaac, a negro man about 
twenty-three years of age, bound to 
him for a period of forty years for 
an indicated consideration of $500. 
This indenture was acknowledged be- 
fore Wm. Greenup, County Clerk of 
Randolph County, Illinois, on Febru- 
ary 3, 1815. La Chapelle then made 
a notation on the indenture as fol- 
lows — 

"For value receive (sic) I assign 
over all my write (sic) to the within 
indenter (sic) unto Thomas Fergu- 
son and hath (sic) this day delivered 
the above indentere (sic) servant as 
the above indenters (sic) calls for 
as witness and seal this 7th day of 
June, 1815. L. Chapelle." 

Another record indicates the out- 
right purchase of a slave by Thomas 
Ferguson, a citizen of Pope County. 
This slave, Toney, had been pur- 
chased by Richard Thomas Porter 
of Edgecomb County, in North Caro- 
lina, for "200 pounds currency of 
North Carolina." Porter was "to 
have and hold forever." Then on 
April 26, 1809, the following trans- 
action was recorded; "For value re- 
ceived, I, Richard Thomas Porter — 
do assign over all my writ (sic) — 
to Thomas Ferguson." — Porter also 
"will warrant and defend title." This 
transaction evidently took place in 



45 



Pope County, since it was acknow- 
ledged before Joshua Scott, who was 
then serving as county clerk. 

David Black then appeared with 
a "slave" named George, whom he 
had purchased from Thomas Dunder- 
son of Christian County, Kentucky, 
on November 19, 1810, for $400.00. 
This slave was sold to Thomas Fer- 
guson on April 2, 1811. In the next 
recorded transaction, Wiley Davis of 
Eddyville, Kentucky, assigned his in- 
terest in Letty, a "slave" about twen- 
ty years old, and son about one year 
ten months old, to Ferguson. In the 
following entry, Ferguson bound a 
negro named Anthony for thirty 
years in return for "a certain lot 
numbered 163 in Sarahville" — now 
Golconda. Anthony was to have im- 
mediate possession and "enjoy the 
rents and profits" during his term of 
servitude. The value of these lots 
must have been negligible, since lots 
161 and 168, fully as well located, 
sold within a year from the time of 
Anthony's indenture for $3.00 each. 
On July 17, 1816, Jeffery, mentioned 
in the second entry on the county 
records and previously referred to 
as having been "bought" from Jesse 
Jones by Thomas Ferguson, volun- 
tarily bound himself to Ferguson for 
a period of thirty years for lot num- 
bered 167. This lot was not trans- 
ferred to Jeffery until December 1, 
1821, more than five years after he 
had signed the indenture. On July 27, 
1816, Lettie or Lettice, a negro wom- 
an about twenty-eight years old, was 
bound to Thomas Ferguson for a pe- 
riod of thirty years for lot numbered 
166 in Sarahville. The lot mentioned 
was not transferred to Lettie until 
December 1, 1821. Next is a bill 



of sale whereby John Ditterline, on 
December 18, 1816, transferred his 
rights to Mary, "A slave for life," 
to Ferguson, for a consideration of 
$500.00. This transaction took place 
in Pope County, as evidenced by its 
acknowledgment before Joshua Scott, 
County Clerk for Pope County. 

In April 1817, Anthony, Lettie, 
Jeffery, and George agreed to go to 
Missouri Territory with Ferguson. If 
this trip was made as indicated, it 
would appear that Lettie and Jef- 
fery were later safely returned to 
Illinois, since lots 166 and 167 were 
transferred to them on December 1, 
1821, but no later mention of either 
Anthony or George is found on the 
records. 

Other indentures followed. Betty, 
a negro woman about twenty-two 
years of age, bound herself to Sam- 
uel Langdon for a period of sixty 
years, for a consideration of $400.00. 
This indenture was acknowledged 
before Robert Lacey, Judge of the 
County Court, on February 8, 1817. 
Nancy Williams, a negro woman 
from Missouri Territory, bound her- 
self to Jacob Robinson for a term of 
twenty years for a consideration of 
$500.00. This indenture was execu- 
ted before Joshua Scott, County 
Clerk of Pope County. In April, 
1817, Daniel and Vina bound them- 
selves to Joshua Scott, county re- 
corder, for forty years. The consid- 
eration named in each case was 
$400.00. These indentures for Dan- 
iel and "Vina were acknowledged be- 
fore Joshua Scott, county clerk, to 
whom they were also bound. Both 
indentures were witnessed by Pru- 
dence M. Rose and Polly Pankey. 



46 



On August 20, 1817, Anny bound 
herself to Isom Clay for sixteen 
years for a consideration of $400.00. 
One week later, David Turner and 
Millie, both "late out of Jefferson 
County, Virginia," bound themselves 
to David Covi^an for fifty years. A 
consideration of $400.00 is named in 
each case. On January 6, 1818, Ju- 
dith, about seventeen years old, "last 
(sic) of the territory of Missouri," 
bound herself to William Wilson of 
Pope County, Illinois Territory, for 
a period of ninety-nine years. For 
this term of service she is supposed 
to have received $400.00. On Feb- 
ruary 13, 1818, Linda, a Negro wom- 
an about nineteen years old, "last 
(sic) out of Missouri Territory" like- 
wise bound herself to William Wil- 
son for a period of ninety-nine years 
for a named consideration of $400.00. 
These indentures would have expired 
on February 13, 1917. 

A negro boy named Anthony, 
about eighteen years old, was sold 
on December 14, 1820, by John 
Henry of Pope County to Elizabeth 
Henry of Logan County, Kentucky, 
for the sum of $612.00. This bill of 
sale was certified by Craven P. Hes- 
ter, a Justice of the Peace for Pope 
County. This definitely indicates 
that the sale took place in Illinois. 
It should be noted that Anthony had 
not previously appeared in the rec- 
ords of the county as a slave. 

According to tradition, and occa- 
sionally by written implication, other 
outright sales of slaves occurred in 
Pope County after the admission of 
Illinois to statehood. One instance 
that indicates an outright sale was 
the settlement of the estate of Lar- 
kin Kesterson, who died on May 25, 



1829. In his will, Kesterson provi- 
ded "that his said executor shall sell 
his two negro men, Macklin, and 
Frank, together." This provision of 
the will was carried out by Robert 
Kesterson, father of the deceased 
and executor of his will, when the 
negroes were sold in November 1829 
for $325.00. It should also be noted 
that Macklin and Frank were not 
previously recorded in the circuit 
clerk's records as slaves. 

These instances of unrecorded 
slaves held by Kesterson, as well as 
the case of Anthony, cited in the 
preceding paragraph, coupled with 
unverified traditions, would seem to 
indicate that there were numerous 
other slaves owned in Pope County. 
Negro indentures were not found on 
the deed records of the Circuit 
Clerk's office after this date, though 
they are referred to in other county 
records. 

A new turn of affairs is indicated 
in an entry dated August 19, 1823. 
At that time, William Beam emanci- 
pated and issued certificates of free- 
dom to twelve slaves as listed be- 
low: 

Abraham — about sixteen years old. 

Martin — nine years old. 

Gilbert — about twenty-one years 
old. 

Cunningham — about eight years 
old. 

Sam — about twelve years old. 

Thomas — nine years old. 

Hetty — six years old. 

Lotty — about seventeen years old. 

Nelly — about forty years old. 

Rody — about thirteen years old. 



47 



Luckey — about twenty-two years 
old. 

Nancy — about sixteen years old. 

These are the first emancipations 
found recorded in Pope County. The 
certificates are signed by Beam, with 
his mark, and are witnessed by Ed- 
mund Richmond. 

The next recorded emancipations 
were made on February 13, 1830, 
when Wiley Jones granted freedom 
to "Chaney, a woman of color, about 
twenty-six years old, of low stature" 
and to her children, Anne, Judah, 
James, and Alfred. All this was "for 
and in consideration of faithful serv- 
ice." The emancipations made by 
Beam and Jones were evidently to 
slaves or servants held in Pope Coun- 
ty- 

The records of Fannie Mac, "A 
woman of color" and of her son "A 
man of color" are somewhat singu- 
lar. Fannie Mac purchased her son, 
Caesar, a slave, from Stephen Smel- 
ser of Calway County, Kentucky, for 
the sum of $550.00. A short time 
afterwards, that is, on January 29, 
1836, she, "for love and affection," 
emancipated Caesar. During the in- 
tervening period, Fannie Mac thus 
held her own son as a slave. 

A slightly different case was that 
of a slave named Lewis, brought from 
Arkansas to Pope County for the ex- 
press purpose of emancipation, on 
March 15, 1838. The next year a 
somewhat similar case is found in 
which Eli Roden of Pope County, 
formerly of Arkansas, emancipated 
"Mary Ann, a woman of color, a 
slave" and her children, Melvina 
about four years old, Margaretta 



about three years, and Henrietta 
about one year old. 

David A. Smith, on March 22, 
1817, secured the approval of an 
Alabama Court and freed his slaves 
William, William's wife, Isabel, and 
their six children. 

These certificates of freedom were 
filed for record in Pope County on 
November 22, 1838. 

Other certificates of freedom for 
former slaves appear on later Pope 
County records. Thus, on May 10, 
1845, "Moses, a man of color", after 
extended and complicated legal pro- 
cedures, established the fact that 
he had purchased his freedom, along 
with that of his wife and son, from 
their Tennessee owner for $1,450.00. 
In these proceedings, Moses was rep- 
resented by "next friend" John Step- 
henson. These certificates were filed 
in Pope County and indicate that 
these Negroes became residents 
there. 

On the same date. May 10, 1845, 
"Jerry, a colored man," filed his cer- 
tificate of freedom in Pope County 
after he had failed to secure passage 
to Liberia, from Hardeman County, 
Tennessee. On May 27 of the same 
year, Winnie, who had, after in- 
volved court procedures in Missouri 
and in Kentucky, won her freedom, 
filed the certificate in the office of 
the recorder in Pope County. The 
records in this case cover some ten 
pages and indicate that Winnie had 
been held illegally in slavery for 
some years. 

Slaves were evidently held in Pope 
County until a comparatively late 
date. This is Indicated by the fact 



48 



that Lucinda, and her eight children, 
indicated as "slaves", were freed by 
the will of Wm. R. Adams, on De- 
cember 28, 1846. 

One of the most interesting certifi- 
cates filed during this period is the 
one by Matthew Scott, on Septem- 
ber 22, 1846. In this certificate, the 
freedom of Scott and his family, con- 
sisting of a wife and nine children, 
is established along with the fact 
that Scott had received a military 
discharge from the "company of 
Captain William McCalley in the 
General Jackson War." 

On July 31, 1850, Patsey, who had 
been born free in Vii'ginia, estab- 
lished the fact in Pope County by 
registering her certificate in the re- 
corder's office. On the same day, 
Theodore Mundle, through an affi- 
davit filed by Robert T. Leeper, es- 
tablished the fact that he was a free 
Negro and had lived with his mother 
in the county for the past five years. 

In the inspection made, no latter 
records of certificates of freedom 
were found on the records for Pope 
County. 

In all cases concerning the freeing 
of slaves, a somewhat detailed de- 
scription is given. This procedure 
was used so that the one emancipa- 
ted could be readily identified. In 
the case of slaves or servants brought 
into the state and indentured, it was 
required that bonds be furnished, 
guaranteeing that such Negroes 
would not become a public charge 
of the county. Laws of the period 
also required that similar bonds be 
filed for Negroes being emancipated. 
In some instances this requirement 



was fulfilled. In other instances no 
record of a bond occurs. It was in 
compliance with this demand that 
William Beam, on August 19, 1823, 
filed bond for $13,000.00 with the 
County Court. 

The foregoing instances are cited 
as being indicative of the course of 
slavery in a typical Southern Illinois 
county. Other uncited records of 
slaves and indentured servants are 
to be found in various Pope County 
I'ecords. A rather careful search 
fails to reveal the later disposition 
of those bound to a term of service. 
The records do not show that these 
servants and slaves were freed when 
the periods for which they were 
bound expired. Tradition likewise 
fails to provide an answer. 



FLATHEADS AND 
REGULATORS 

The pioneer was often a venture- 
some and independent individual. 
This was natural, too, since the wild 
and unsettled sections appealed most 
strongly to such persons. Because 
these early settlers were as they 
were, and lived in an area where or- 
ganized local government and law 
enforcement facilities had not come 
to function too well, it is not strange 
that the more law abiding settlers 
became impatient with the law 
breakers whose actions were injur- 
ious or disturbing. This often led to 
independent, or extra-legal groups, 
organized to enforce their conception 
of law. The history of the entire 
West is replete with examples of 
these groups. 



49 



When such groups were organized 
and began to function in any area, 
it was not unusual to find the more 
lawless elements strengthening their 
own organizations. There would 
thus be two opposing but equally de- 
termined groups. These conditions 
led to a state that resembled a local 
civil war in this county. The law en- 
forcement groups sometimes began 
the use of what might easily be 
termed extra-legal methods, and 
passed beyond the control of the 
more conservative element that had 
promoted their organization. Some 
then began to use the group to pro- 
mote their own purposes, or to visit 
punishment upon those they disliked. 

Such practices made for two 
groups that were almost equally law- 
less in their methods and objectives. 
Instead of a law enforcement group 
and a definitely lawless gang, there 
were two gangs about equally law- 
less in their methods. Pope County 
affords a typical example of this 
course of events. 

Though the operations of the 
groups, known as Flatheads and 
Regulators, covered more than Pope 
County, it appears that their begin- 
ning in Southern Illinois was in the 
county of Pope as it was then con- 
stituted. It also appears that, in the 
beginning, the Flatheads were re- 
cruited mostly from the more lawless 
part of the population, and that the 
Regulators came from those who 
wished to see a more efficient en- 
forcement of the law. The condi- 
tions leading to the organization of 
the Regulators may be attributed to 
the inability or lack of desire of the 
regularly constituted authorities to 
perform their duties. 



One of the first incidents that in- 
dicated the alignment of the groups 
that were later to wage what was 
almost a civil war, was that having 
to do with a group led by a man 
named Sturdevant, and centering 
about a blockhouse he had erected in 
what was then a part of Pope but 
now of Hardin County. Around this 
place a group of counterfeiters are 
said to have operated. The exact 
location of Sturdevant's fort is not 
known, but on October 17, 1820, a 
man named Roswell Sturdevant dee- 
ded a part of Sec. 2, T12S, R8E to 
Samuel O'Melvaney. This deed was 
witnessed by James Steel and Mer- 
rick Sturdevant. This description 
applies to land about where Rosiclare 
now stands. According to tradition, 
this roughly corresponds to the site 
of the fort. In the earlier stages of 
the venture, Sturdevant seems to 
have done the counterfeiting of bank 
notes and to have given them to con- 
federates to pass outside the state. 
For these counterfeit notes the con- 
federates are said to have paid Stur- 
devant at the rate of $16.00 in legal 
money for each $100.00 of the coun- 
terfeit currency. The operations of 
this band do not seem to have 
aroused active opposition until the 
practice of passing the money local- 
ly was begun. When those accused 
of passing the counterfeit money lo- 
cally were arrested, the resulting 
trials seemed almost always to have 
resulted in a hung jury, a mistrial, or 
some such action that many persons 
looked upon as a miscarriage of jus- 
tice. 

In an effort to strengthen the law 
enforcement program, a committee 
composed of -Joseph Pryor, Dr. Wil- 



50 



liam Sims, Rev. William Rondeau, 
Hugh McNuelty, Major John Raum, 
and perhaps of others, was formed. 
This committee seems to have been 
an advisory and controlling body, 
and was formed to direct the activi- 
ties of others. At about this time, 
and doubtless upon the advice of this 
committee, a band of men was 
formed and proceeded to attack the 
band of counterfeiters at Sturde- 
vant's blockhouse. Spies had inform- 
ed the counterfeiters that an armed 
group was coming to attack them. 
In the battle that followed, accord- 
ing to tradition, three members of 
Sturdevant's band were killed. A 
small cannon in the possession of the 
counterfeiters was brought into ef- 
fective use, and the law enforcement 
group was held at bay. Messengers 
were dispatched to bring reinforce- 
ments. While the attacking party 
was awaiting the additional help, 
night came on, and the counterfeiters 
made their escape. 

For a short time following this 
event, conditions remained quiet. The 
next epidemic of lawlessness began 
with considerable horse stealing, with 
which the earlier practice of counter- 
feiting was soon included. To these 
practices of horse stealiag and coun- 
terfeiting, that of kidnapping free 
Negroes and of selling them to slave 
dealers was shortly added. Anyone 
informing the authorities concerning 
the men supposedly guilty of the 
crimes mentioned might expect his 
property to be burned or his very 
life to be in jeopardy. One person 
accused of the kidnapping of free 
Negroes confessed and implicated 
others. He died quickly after tak- 



ing a drink of whiskey given to him 
by a man suspected of being engaged 
in the same illegal practice. 

In 1846 a man named Sides, who 
had received some money from an 
estate that he was administering, was 
beaten, along with his wife, and left 
presumably to burn in his home that 
was set on fire. A heavy rain put the 
fire out. The victims were revived 
and told their story. This incident 
seems to have been the decisive one 
in the open and somewhat public 
functioning of the Regulators. Hun- 
dreds of men joined the organiza- 
tion, ostensibly to carry out the or- 
ders of the governing council. The 
sheriff was to be "advised" concei'n- 
ing the release, on bond, of any ac- 
cused men. Some men suspected in 
the Sides incident were arrested. No 
bonds were allowed, and they were 
kept under close guard by the Regu- 
lators. When time came for the 
trial, a change of venue took it to 
Johnson County. According to some 
reports, the Flatheads intended to 
use force to free the accused as they 
were being transferred to Vienna. 
Because of the heavy guard under 
which they were moved, such could 
not be done. In the Vienna trial, six 
men were convicted and given prison 
terms. Four of them died in the 
penitentiary. 

Like most extra-legal groups 
formed to take the law into their 
own hands, the Regulators soon got 
out of control of the calmer element 
that directed their formation and 
early work. They became tyrannical 
and fanatical, often adminstering 
beatings and torture to those they 
suspected, or toward whom they had 
formed a dislike. They forced the 



51 



>j^'^^ 



.H^"* 
.^<.^^'*- 



*>>^ 



.^0^^ 



resignation of Circuit Judge Scate, 
intimidated and coerced law enforce- 
ment officers, rescued fellow Regu- 
lators who had run afoul of the law, 
and appointed justices before whom 
accused persons were tried. They 
whipped, as well as tarred and 
feathered people whom they ad- 
judged as deserving punishment. In 
short, they became as lawless as the 
element they had organized to regu- 
late. 

A plea was sent to Govei-nor Ford, 
asking for the State Militia to be 
sent into the county. Militia from 
adjoining counties refused to serve. 
Dr. William Gibbs of Johnson Coun- 
ty was sent by the governor to try 
to compose the difference. The State 
Legislature gave the problem much 
attention. A new and special dis- 
trict court was established to try 
such cases. It aroused considerable 
opposition, and its legal validity was 
challenged. Though this court met 
at Benton, in 1847, and several men 
were held to appear before it, there 
seems to be no record of its final ac- 
tion. After many years of strife and 
considerable loss of life and property, 
cooler heads came to prevail, and by 
1850, peace and quiet reigned. Mob 
law had been a failure. People in 
large numbers came to settle in 
Pope County, and its progress during 
the next ten years was marked. 



POLITICS 

Records indicate that the citizens 
of Pope County have at all times tak- 
en politics rather seriously. The mea- 
ger records indicate that in the elec- 
tion of August 1824, when the prop- 
osition of amending the state consti- 



tution to permit slavery in Illinois 
was to be voted upon, there was a 
sharp division of sentiment in the 
county. The majority was favorable 
toward slavery. 

Again, the mounting political feel- 
ings throughout the nation in the pe- 
riod immediately preceding the Civil 
War were clearly reflected. In the 
senatorial campaign of Lincoln and 
Douglas in 1858, the division was 
sharp and somewhat bitter, but defi- 
nitely favorable to Douglas. That 
feelings were freely, though slight- 
ly unmetrically, expressed is indica- 
ted by one of the campaign songs 
published in the Herald, on Septem- 
ber 23, 1858. A copy of the song 
is given here. 

A DITTY FOR THE TIMES 
by Hackberry 

AIR — "Pop Goes the Weasel." 

Poltitics is now a theme 
For all to talk and think on. 
While out upon the changing scene 
Pop ! goes Aby Lincoln. 

He to fight the "Giant" tries, 
While Danites he relies on — 
Trumbull "crams our throats with 

lies" 
Pop ! they're worse than poison. 

As he rants and raves away, 
Some exclaim, "O, fie! man;" 
Others simply smile and say, 
"Pop! what a lie-man!" 

Lincoln says the darkies are 
Our equals by creation — 
O'er our eyes to pull the har, 
Pop — the Declaration! 

On his platform he can't stand. 
And when the people hoot him. 



52 



While in their eyes he's throwing 

sand — 
Pop! goes a plank to suit 'em. 

Lovejoy the first Lieutenant is, 
Of all his thimble-riggers — 
While underground that road of his 
Pop — away the niggers! 

Though for a preacher he was raised, 
He's bound, with expedition. 
If he doesn't mend his ways. 
Pop! into peridition. 

The Danites hate the "Giant" brave, 
And niggerism wink on; 
Finding "Dug" has dug their grave, 
Pop! They're out for Lincoln! 

Office-holder brave and true 
Who don't support the "Ranger" 
Dougherty and all his crew — 
Pop ! his head's in danger. 

When the Lincoln-Douglas debate 
occured at Jonesboro, several people 
from Pope County attended. The 
only known name of anyone going is 
that of E. E. Trovillion, who made 
the journey in a wagon, going by 
way of Columbus, Old Grantsburg, 
Vienna, and on to Jonesboro. It is 
reported that he took several others 
with him. That Pope County was 
definitely favorable toward slavery 
as shown by the election is not sur- 
prising. It is explained by the fact 
that numerous Negroes were at one 
time held as slaves or bond servants 
in the county. 

The presidential election of 1860 
was an animated one, and numerous 
stories concerning it are still to be 
heard. In February, 1929, a list of 
the men who voted for Lincoln in 
1860 was published in the Golconda 
paper. According to this list, Lin- 



coln received only nineteen votes. 
There could be some mistake in these 
figures, since published returns for 
the presidential election that year 
show many more Lincoln voters. 
Even at its best, however, the Lincoln 
vote was, relatively, very small. 

The following is a list of these 
voters as published in the Golcon- 
da paper in 1929: John M. Boi- 
court, J. Hillis Hall, Joshua Craig, 
Jonathan C. Williams, Thomas Mc- 
Gowan, J. W. Y. Hanna, W. S. Hodge, 
Dr. John P. Hodge, Thomas Bell, 
A. D. Pierce, E. E. Trovillion, Ed 
Palmer, Glen Wright, F. M. Clana- 
han, George D. Waters, Wesley Booz- 
man, Shanz Golightly, William R. 
Whiteside, and Mathew Bracewell. 

With the list of names as pub- 
lished, a brief record of the part 
played by some of these men after 
the 1860 campaign was given. J. 
M. Boicourt entered the service and 
became Captain of Company G. 6th 
Illinois Cavalry. He was a member 
of General John B. Grierson's com- 
mand that made one of the most cele- 
brated cavalry raids of history when 
it ravaged the territory from La- 
Grange, Tennessee, to Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana. Boicourt had been post- 
master but resigned the position to 
enter the army. Upon his return to 
Golconda, he was re-appointed post- 
master and served until his death. 

J. Hillis Hall was for a long time 
a leading citizen in Golconda and 
succeeded in accumulating a sizable 
fortune for that day. Joshua Craig 
was editor of the Herald Enterprise. 
Jonathan C. Willis later became 
sheriff of the county. After this, he 



53 



moved to Metropolis. He served as 
Revenue Collector for the 13th dis- 
trict. During the Civil War he was 
on General Grant's staff. Thomas 
McGovi'an was for a number of years 
one of the prominent business men of 
Golconda. For many years, J. E. Y. 
Hanna was a teacher, civic leader, 
and county surveyor. 

Captain W. S. Hodge was at one 
time sheriff of the county. His son, 
John H. Hodge, later became Coun- 
ty Superintendent of Schools. Dr. 
John P. Hodge was a leading physic- 
ian and prominent citizen of the 
area. Major A. D. Pierce became 
sheriff and one of the leading mer- 
chants of the town. E. E. Trovillion 
was a successful business man. Ed 
Palmer was a prominent farmer liv- 
ing near Glendale. Glen Wright was 
also a prominent farmer and the 
father of Captain Robert M. Wright, 
U. S. Army. F. M. Clanahan became 
widely known as "Fox Clanahan" be- 
cause of his love for fox chasing. 
George W. Waters became a prom- 
inent farmer and leading citizen of 
the county. 

The records do not indicate any 
later fame attained by Leslie Booz- 
more beyond the fact that he lived 
near Dixon Springs and that his wife 
was a writer of some note. Shanz 
Golightly operated a mill for wheat 
and corn at Bay City. William R. 
Whiteside, farmer of Glendale, was 
the father of Attorney J. Ado White- 
side. Matthew Bracewell lived in the 
northwestern corner of the county. 
He told of being personally assaulted 
at the polls when he cast his vote. 
Bracewell lived to a ripe old age and 
vowed that he never for one moment 
regretted the way he voted. His son. 



William, was a volunteer in the Civil 
War. Thomas Bell left no later rec- 
ords. 

The first issue of the Golconda 
Herald — that is. Volume 1 Number 
1, issued in 1857 — frankly and forci- 
bly set forth its political beliefs. An- 
other paper, the Pope County Tran- 
script, established by J. M. Boicourt, 
in late 1862 or early 1863, was rabid- 
ly union and stoutly suppoi'ted Presi- 
dent Lincoln and his party. This pap- 
er evidently did not continue many 
years, for there is record that an- 
other paper. The Enterprise, began 
publication in 1886 and announced 
itself as definitely Republican. This 
definite commitment of the papers 
of that day to an active part in poli- 
tics need not be interpreted as in- 
dicating more than the usual prac- 
tice. Practically all papers at that 
time were avowedly political and 
did nothing to conceal the fact. 

It should be noted, however, that 
when the Civil War did come. Pope 
County definitely and consistently de- 
fended the cause of national union. 
Its military contributions to the union 
cause certainly need no apologies. 

The general interest in elections 
did not always require a Democrat- 
Republican issue. That of temper- 
ance and prohibition has furnished 
material for some animated cam- 
paigns. The writer was unable to 
secure the exact dates when these 
campaigns were waged, but it must 
have been in the first decade of the 
1900's, since one of the authors has 
been absent from Golconda since 
about that time. To indicate the 
general pattern of such campaigns, 
two of the songs used are given here. 



54 



THE TEETOTALERS ARE COMING 

Tune — "The Campbells are Coming." 
By A. H. Buel 

The teetotalers are comin O Ho O 

The teeotalers are comin O Ho O 

The teetotalers are comin 

Old Alchy to rout 

The teetotalers are comin O Ho O. 

We have entered the field with our 

armours bright, 
To fight the old demon with all our 

might 
By the help of God, Oh here we come 
To save you from the tyrant Rum 

Chorus (First Verse) 

King Alcohol disputes our ground 
And says that he will wear the 

crown 
Give him the crown. Oh! That won't 

do 
To have you lost in Brandy stew. 

Know in our midst the enemy is sta- 
tioned 

To fill our country with black dis- 
sipation. 

To put you in chains and stone you 
with crime 

And throw you to waller along with 
the swine. 

The ladies already have entered the 

field 
The cause of temperance they never 

will yield. 
With pledge in hand they nobly wait. 
To save you from the Drunkard's 

fate. 

The ladys are coming O Ho O 

The ladys are comin O Ho O 

The ladys are comin 

Old Alchy to rout 

The ladys are coming O Ho O. 



BLESSINGS OF TEMPERANCE 
By Isaac McCoy, A. M. 

What blissful sounds have broken, 

Along the distant main. 

The tidings. Hear them spoken — 

There's joy in every strain; 

O'er every sea and ocean. 

O'er every land, behold. 

Health, peace, and true devotion. 

The Temperance theme have told. 

Long night had rapt creation 
In darkness shades of woe; 
And tears and lamentation. 
From countless hearts did flow. 
But hark! What note of gladness 
The Patriot's bosom thrills? 
Tis Temperance, cheering sadness 
And soothing sorrow's ills. 

Then Hope from Heav'n descending. 
Her beams on nature flung; 
Her thousand anthems, blending, 
With Freedom's muse she sung. 
Columbia woke to glory. 
Her Temperance banner waved. 
Her millions learn'd the story; 
And Heav'n and Virtue saved. 

Whatever the issues at stake, it 
seems that the voters of Pope Coun- 
ty have acted with directness and 
have not been hesitant in voicing 
their convictions, nor in acting upon 
them. 



BLACKSMITHS 

One of the first and very neces- 
sary craftsmen was the blacksmith. 
This local workman's shop was the 
source of practically all iron work 
required in the making of farm tools. 
He layered axes and sometimes even 
made the entire ax. Hoes, frows, 
log hooks, plows, butcher knives. 



55 



door hinges, latches, andirons, 
wedges, hammers, chisels, and many 
other tools and devices came from 
his shop. 

The more skilled smiths often 
turned their hands to the making of 
rifles. Even today one may find 
in an attic or somewhere about an 
old homstead, a rifle that was made 
by such a gunsmith. These firearms 
should not be looked upon solely as 
a means of recreation. They were 
useful to the pioneer in the defense 
of his livestock against wild animals 
and, upon occasions, in the defense 
of his home. A considerable propor- 
tion of his meat supply was secured 
from the game he killed. These men, 
the gunsmiths and blacksmiths, were 
skilled craftsmen and useful citizens. 

Some of the early blacksmiths and 
wagon shops operating in Pope Coun- 
ty were those of Willie Story, John 
Willis, John H. Baugher, and Daniel 
Sanders, who operated shops in Gol- 
conda. Harris Leonard also operated 
a carriage shop there. Jess Reynolds 
had a shop at Bay City, and J. B. 
Russel had one at Glendale. Num- 
erous other shops were scattered over 
Pope County at a very early date. A 
considerable amount of wagon repair 
work is even yet done at Eddyville. 

One of the very few gunsmiths, 
Mr. Walters, still using the methods 
and tools of the pioneer craftsman, 
occasionally plies his trade at Wal- 
tersburg, on the Vienna-Golconda 
highway. 



WHITESIDE'S TANNERY 

Whiteside's tannery is shown on 
an atlas published in 1876. It took 
its name from George Whiteside 
who operated it for a number of 
years. There were twelve or more 
pits, each about four feet wide, about 
the same in depth, and of varj'ing 
lengths. The pits were lined with 
heavy oak planking and were tight 
enough to hold water. 

Some of the pits contained a mix- 
ture of wood ashes and water, or 
lime and water. Into these the hides 
were placed and allowed to soak for 
the necessary time. Upon removal 
from this solution they were carefully 
scraped, so that all hair was remov- 
ed. They were washed, to remove 
the lye or lime, then were placed in 
another pit with alternate layers of 
tan bark that had been somewhat 
finely ground. Water was poured 
over these layers of hides and tan- 
bark, until all was covered. Here the 
hides were allowed to soak until they 
had been fully tanned. 

After they were removed from the 
pits, the hides were drawn back and 
forth across the sharp edge of a 
plank, or whipped about a beating 
post until they had become as lim- 
ber as desired for their intended pur- 
pose. Some leather, like that to be 
used for shoe soles or some parts of 
harness, was not so treated. After 
drying, the leather was ready for 
sale. 

After it was tanned, leather was 
dyed to desired color. This was 
sometimes done by use of dubbin, a 
mixture of oils and animal fats com- 



56 



bined with lampblack or other color- 
ing matter. At other times, oxgall 
was used for dyeing. 

The bark for tanning came from 
oaks. Trees were sometimes cut only 
for the bark they afforded. Gener- 
ally the tanbark was secured from 
trees cut for barrel staves or for 
lumber. Since a number of stave 
factories operated in communities 
nearby, much tanbark was obtained 
from them. If cut in the early spring 
months after the sap had begun to 
flow, bark could be easily peeled. 
This bark was collected and hauled 
to the tanner. There it was laid on 
a circular track having a stone floor. 
Around this track a heavy stone, 
fastened to a horsepowered sweep, 
was rolled. Bark was kept on the 
track and in the path of the wheel 
until it was ground finely enough to 
be used in the tanning pits. An in- 
dividual wishing to tan only a few 
hides might pound his tanbark with 
a stone maul. 

Local shoemakers and harness mak- 
ers used some of the leather. Some 
of it went upon the market and was 
aften transported to New Orleans 
or other points by flatboat. Cattle 
were generally cheap, and a tanned 
hide was often worth more than the 
remainder of the animal. 

Carl Maynor operated a black- 
smith and wagon shop at the same 
location as Whiteside's Tannery. Both 
these ventures seem to have pros- 
pered. 



MINES AND MINERALS 

The mining industry of Pope Coun- 
ty has extended over quite a long 
period of time and been somewhat 
varied, but never extensive. On some 
of the early maps of the county, 
"Iron Ore" is indicated. Some of 
these places where coal or iron was 
found, and perhaps mined to a very 
limited extent, are indicated on the 
accompanying map. These iron de- 
posits were not impoi^tant and have 
never been mined, as they were in 
Hardin county around the Illinois 
Furnace of Martha Furnace. Coal 
findings have been of little impor- 
tance. In a few places, out-croppings 
were found and some mines opened. 
Apparently there have been no tip- 
ple mines. Most of the operators 
sold the coal to those who came for 
it in wagons. Some of these mines 
are located on the map, but none of 
them seem to be still in operation. 

Deposits of kaolin and other clays 
used in industry have been found in 
Pope County. One of the largest of 
these kaolin mines was located be- 
side the Eddyville-Golconda road 
where it crosses Lusk creek. This 
mine had been operated for several 
purposes. At one time it was desig- 
nated as "lead diggings", and a 
quantity of lead was mined. As the 
supply of lead diminished, the mine 
was turned to production of red iron 
oxide. It then turned to clay mining. 
A considerable village was located 
there, and Alonzo Frieze operated 
a hotel and store. At one time the 
mine employed a number of foreign- 
ers. There were several major acci- 
dents at this mine. Some men were 



57 



crushed to death by falls of clay, and 
others by an explosion. Operations 
ceased many years ago. 

Some early spar mines were opened 
in Pope County. The one designated 
as Empire Spar Mine was opened 
before 1876 and worked for several 
years. As its products grew poor, it 
was discontinued and later revived 
with the discovery of a better vein. 
It was deserted a second time and 
once more revived. It is still operat- 
ing. 

The Grand Pierre Lead Mine was 
operating in 1876. Perhaps the most 
extensive coal mine of the county was 
one operated by Frank Durfee, near 
Blanchard. This mine supplied some 
householders, along with schools and 
churches. The coal came from an 
outcropping on a hillside. Durfee's 
mine also supplied some coal to the 
company engaged in construction of 
the new railway known as the Edge- 
wood Cut-Off. So far as can be 
learned, no coal mines were operat- 
ing in the county in 1946. 



COTTON 

According to Mr. T. B. Holloway, 
living near Eddyville in 1946, a large 
cotton gin was operated by Josh Tay- 
lor at a place about four miles south 
and two miles west of Bay City, in 
the 1870's, and for some years there- 
after. Mr. Holloway remembers go- 
ing with his father. Josh Holloway, 
who then lived about one mile north 
of Rock, to take cotton to Taylor's 
place. This was a journey of some 
eighteen miles, but it was the most 
convenient place at which one could 
have cotton ginned. 



In earlier days many people grew 
small patches of cotton to be used in 
home weaving. This cotton was some- 
times picked from the seeds by hand. 
In other cases a rude gin was made 
and used in the home. The main part 
of these homemade gins consisted of 
two wooden rollers, similar to those 
of a clothes wringer but much small- 
er, being only about one-half inch in 
diameter. These rollers allowed the 
cotton fibers to enter and be drawn 
through but did not allow the seeds 
to enter. Two persons worked at one 
of these small gins. While one op- 
erator turned the crank at the end of 
one roller and held the unginned cot- 
ton against the rollers, the other 
turned a crank at the opposite end 
of the other roller and helped by 
pulling the ginned cotton from the 
rollers as it came through. By use 
of this simple machine, cotton fibers 
were removed from the seeds much 
more rapidly than by hand. Parts of 
one of these primitive hand gins were 
secured from Rev. Wesley Jackson 
at McCormick, along with a detailed 
description that enabled the author 
to complete working drawings for the 
reproduction of such a device. 

Cotton from the small plots grown 
by the householders was used for 
home weaving. It was carded and 
spun into thread to be used as warp 
in making of the cloth known as lin- 
sey-woolsey. The term linsey-wool- 
seey was derived from the fact that 
such cloth was originally made of 
linen warp and wool woof. The term 
soon came to be applied also to a 
cotton warp and wool woof cloth. 



58 



TAVERNS 

One of the duties of the early- 
County Commissioner was to fix tav- 
ern rates. Since all taverns were li- 
censed by the county board and the 
rates that they might charge their 
customers were fixed by the same 
board, such records do much to indi- 
cate the location of different settle- 
ments and lines of travel. 

The following are typical of the 
rates charged in April, 1816, at tav- 
erns in Pope County. Breakfast, din- 
ner or supper 25c ; lodging, each per- 
son, I2V2C; whiskey and peach bran- 
dy one-half pint, 37V2c; horse kept 
and fed corn or oats and hay or fod- 
der, 37V2C; a single feeding for horse 
1214. The licenses charged for the 
privilege of operating a tavern in 
1816 varied from $4.00 to $8.00, evi- 
dently depending upon the size of 
the tavern. 

Tavern rates in 1812 were as fol- 
lows: Breakfast or supper 25c; lodg- 
ing 12Vo; horse to hay at night 25c; 
for feed and corn I2V2C; French 
brandy, 50c one-half pint; whisky 
one-half pint, 1214c; taffia or rum 
per one-half pint, 37i/4c; peach bran- 
dy, 37V2C; and cherry bounce, 25c 
one-half pint. Comparison of these 
prices with those of 1816 shows sub- 
stantially the same charges. Hov/- 
ever, taffia and cherry bounce had 
disappeared from the list of liquors 
available. One wonders just what 
they were. 

It should be remembered that tav- 
erns were often important as gather- 
ing places. They were stopping 
places for stages; they often held the 
postoffice; they frequently had a 



store connected with them; they 
were, therefore, convenient gathering 
places for travelers and politicians. 
The tavern keeper was a man of con- 
siderable influence. 



SUGAR CAMP 

Sugar camps were located at vari- 
ous places in Pope County, one being 
about a mile northwest of Raum, in 
a region where maple trees were 
plentiful. It was in full operation 
until at least the middle 1880's. T. 
B. Holloway remembers distinctly 
when this camp was operated. An- 
other such camp was the one near 
Bethesda church, about three miles 
southeast of Raum, on Little Grand 
Pierre Creek. In the Golconda paper 
of February 14, 1887, an advertise- 
ment appeared, stating that Tom 
Abbot wished to buy all maple sugar 
made in the county. 

When one considers that loaf sug- 
ar — that is, sugar closely resembling 
the dark brown variety sometimes 
found on sale today — cost about 50 
cents a pound, it can be readily un- 
derstood why maple sugar was made. 
For the making of maple sugar, a 
section of woodland containing many 
sugar maple trees was selected. This 
was generally in some fertile valley. 
If the grove selected was not easily 
accessible from the home of the one 
making the sugar, a cabin and other 
camp necessities were built. Fire- 
wood was gathered; the necessary 
kettles, buckets, sleds, carrying-yokes, 
troughs and barrels were assembled ; 
and other preliminary preparations 
completed. 



59 



In early spring, the householder 
watched closely to see when the sap 
began to rise in the maples. This 
was generally in late P'ebruary or 
early March. As soon as conditions 
warranted, work began. Trees were 
"tapped" by having holes bored into 
them. These holes sloped down, 
slightly. Into them, spiles or tubes, 
generally made of sections of alder 
from which the pith had been re- 
moved, were closely fitted. These 
tubes were allowed to project six or 
eight inches from the tree trunk. Un- 
der the end of each spile, a wooden 
trough or bucket was set. By use of 
large buckets and a carrying-yoke, 
or by use of barrels and a sled, the 
sap was collected as often as was 
necessary. It was carried to the place 
where kettles had been arranged for 
boiling the sap. Here, boiling and 
skimming began. If syrup was de- 
sired, the boiling was discontinued at 
the time when a proper consistency 
had been reached. If it was planned 
to make sugar, the cooking was con- 
tinued until a soft brown sugar re- 
sulted when the thickened syrup was 
cooled. 

This work of making maple syrup 
and sugar was carried forward vig- 
orously for the two weeks or so that 
the sap flowed freely. Coming as 
it did at the end of the winter, the 
making of maple sugar took on some 
of the aspects of a holiday. 

STEAMBOATS 

Since the Ohio River flows along 
much of the border of Pope County 
and no railroads came through the 
County until a comparatively late 
date, steamboats and river traffic 



were important factors in the coun- 
ty's development. With the decline 
of river traffic, it became less impor- 
tant but remained the main source 
of commercial transportation with 
outside territory for a long time. This 
is indicated by the fact that the Gol- 
conda paper on September 11, 1887, 
carried advertisements of the Mem- 
phis-Cincinnati Packet Company, in 
which the company advertised that 
four of its boats would stop regularly 
at Golconda, the downriver stops be- 
ing made on Monday and Friday 
nights, and the up-river stops on 
Thursdays and Sundays. 

A floating saw mill was owned and 
operated by Leo Bauer in the Gol- 
conda vicinity, about 1865. Another 
Bauer, Ottoman, of Golconda, bought 
a steamboat and named it the "Monie 
Bauer" for his daughter. With old- 
er people, the echoes of steamboat 
whistles still arouse memories of the 
days when Golconda was a busy river 
port. 



DISTILLERY 

Several early-day distilleries oper- 
ated in Pope County. One stood near 
the present Old Home Church in the 
Eddyville vicinity, and was operated 
by a man named Gus Henry. "Uncle" 
Burton Holloway tells of seeing the 
log trough, holding perhaps 100 gal- 
lons, in which mash was allowed to 
ferment before distillation. Most of 
the whiskey was made from corn. 
Since whiskey was quite generally 
used and found a ready sale, the corn 
could be marketed much more con- 
veniently in this manner. Made into 
whiskey, it could be transported in 
much less space. Local potteries pro- 



60 



duced the jugs required. With the 
planting of orchards, the manufac- 
ture of brandy became common and 
helped considerably in providing a 
market for the surplus fruit. Since 
practically no insect pests then 
plagued the owner of an orchard, 
fruit growing was not beset with so 
many difficulties as it is today. Thus 
the distilling of brandy was a com- 
mon industry. 

The pioneer distiller paid a very 
small tax on his product. It was 
priced accordingly, and whiskey 
could be had for one dollar, or less, 
per gallon. 

These early distilleries were often 
located near a grist mill where corn 
could be ground for the mash. This 
arrangement allowed the miller to 
turn his surplus product to a nice 
profit. Owners of larger orchards 
might also turn distillers, in order to 
dispose of their surplus fiuiit. 



STREAMS AND LAKES 

Springs 

There are some widely known 
springs in Pope County. One of these 
is Bell Smith Springs, about four 
miles west and slightly north of 
Eddyville. The region about Bell 
Smith Spring has long been noted for 
its beautiful scenery, and for several 
generations, people have gone there 
to picnic. It is still a popular picnic 
ground. 

This spring was named for a man 
named Bell Smith who lived nearby 
and who at one time owned the land 
on which the spring is located. For 
many years, his name was visible 
where he had carved it in the rock 



just above the spring. The wall 
where the name was carved is thickly 
covered with moss, and now it is only 
by careful searching that the name 
can be found. 

Another widely known spring is 
one located some two miles north of 
Golconda, on a farm now owned by 
Ray GuUett. Quite an interesting 
story is connected with this spring. 
According to the story, a band of 
men had robbed a bank in Kentucky 
and secured a large amount of mon- 
ey. A man named Hudson, who was 
a pilot on an Ohio River steamboat, 
owned the place. His brother had 
a hand in the robbery and buried the 
money on the farm. The robber told 
his pilot brother of the treasure and 
promised that he would some day 
indicate the hiding place. Before this 
was done, the robber brother died 
with yellow fever, however; so the 
treasure is still buried near the 
spring. 

The present owner, Ray Gullett, 
often has visitors who wish to dig for 
the treasure. In response to their re- 
quests, Mr. Gullet anwers calmly, 
"Now boys, I am interested in that 
treasure; I know just about where it 
is, and some day when I am not too 
busy, I am going to dig it up" — and 
continues to sit on his porch. 

According to another story, one of 
many in that locality, a local citizen 
was told by some .strangers that if he 
would place his gold in a leather belt, 
allow them to "bless" it, and then 
wear the belt during the night, he 
would dream of the location of the 
above-mentioned treasure. He took' 
his gold, put it in the belt, allowed 
the strangers to say some mystic 



61 



words over it, and buckled it about 
himself. As morning neared and no 
dreams had come, this gentleman be- 
gan to be somewhat worried and de- 
cided to take a peek at the gold that 
he had. The peek revealed the fact 
that the belt was filled with leaden 
washers. The strangers and his gold 
were gone. 

There are numerous other stories 
of buried treasure to be heard along 
the river regions of the county. 

Round Pond 

Round Pond, so named because of 
its general shape, is indicated as a 
pond on the Illinois map of 1876. On 
some later maps and on the geologi- 
cal survey it is indicated only as a 
marsh. This is the result, perhaps, 
of its having been partially drained. 

Big Pond 

This pond or lake is shown on the 
1876 map. It is indicated as being 
about one-fourth mile wide and five 
or six miles long. On later maps it 
is indicated as a marsh. Early set- 
tlers called this and much of the ter- 
ritory lying about it the "Nigger 
Wool Swamps." It was an excellent 
fishing place in early days. 

Black Bottom 

On many of the early maps of 
Pope County, one finds a portion of 
the southern part designated as 
"Black Bottom." Different explana- 
tions are offered for this name. Some 
say that it was given because a num- 
ber of Negroes settled in that region. 
Others claim that it was so named 
because of the black soil. The lat- 
ter explanation seems to be the better 
one, even though several families of 



Negroes have resided in that area. 
It was once a swampy region with 
much dark water moss. This fact is 
advanced, also as an explanation for 
the name of the area. It, too, was 
occasionally referred to as the "Nig- 
ger Wool Swamps." Today practi- 
cally all of it has been drained, and 
it constitutes an excellent farming re- 
gion, except for periodical overflows. 
This is the most fertile soil of the 
county. Old men tell of the time 
when these swamps were first 
drained and excellent corn crops 
were gathered from broadcast seed- 
ing. 

Clear Lake 

Clear Lake was located and named 
on the map of Pope County, in 1876. 
By some, it is explained that it was 
named because of the clear water. 
It was an excellent fishing place. A 
later drainage system practically 
eliminated this lake. 

Creeks 

Alcorn Creek empties into the Ohio 
River about two miles north of Ham- 
letsburg and opposite Dog Island. 
Tradition has it that it was named 
for a man named Alcorn, who had 
settled near it. Allen's Branch flows 
north from the vicinity of McCormick 
and empties into Little Saline River 
near the northern boundary of the 
County. Through a considerable por- 
tion of its length, its valley is narrow 
and rather picturesque. This creek 
takes its name from one of the ear- 
lier residents of the area. Burden 
Creek, once known as Halfway 
Branch, rises east of McCormick and 
flows north into Little Saline River. 
It takes its name from Wm. Burden. 



62 



who lived near the Eddyville-Stone- 
fort road. The Burden house was 
still standing in 1946. 

Copperous Branch flows into Lusk 
Creek a short distance downstream 
from the point where the Eddyville- 
Golconda road crosses it. This stream 
gets its name from the fact that its 
waters taste rather strongly of cop- 
peras. In earlier days, when Lusk 
Creek was forded just below the 
point where Copperous Branch en- 
ters it, the horses and oxen refused 
to drink the distasteful water. Travel- 
ers would drive up the bed of Lusk 
to a place above the point where the 
branch entered and allow their ani- 
mals to drink. Some people felt that 
the water of this spring possessed 
medicinal properties. 

Gibbon's Creek has carried several 
names. It was once known as Drumm 
Creek because of the fact that Phil 
Drumm had a grist mill on the 
stream. It was also called Drumm's 
Branch of Sugar Creek at another 
time. The present name of Gibbon's 
Creek is for a man of that name, an 
early resident of the area. 

Hunting Branch flows into Bay 
Creek near Bell Smith Spring. Its 
name comes from the fact that it 
was along this branch that an excel- 
lent early hunting ground lay. 

Quarrel is an unusual name to as- 
sign to a creek and easily arouses 
curiosity as to why it is so named. 
Two explanations are offered by 
older residents in the area. Accord- 
ing to one of the stories, the rocky 
bed of the creek and the several 
falls that occur in it, make it a very 
noisy stream after any heavy rain. 
Its name thus comes from its being 



so noisy. According to another story, 
an old couple who lived near the 
place where the gravel road crosses 
the creek quarreled almost continual- 
ly, and from that situation came the 
name. 

Sugar Camp Creek takes its name 
from the fact that a camp for the 
making of maple sugar was once lo- 
cated there. Such a camp was op- 
erated by a Mr. Shufflebarger, about 
two miles east and south of McCor- 
mick. The name of Sugar Creek is 
one that often occurs and seems al- 
ways to indicate an area where ma- 
ple sugar was made. 

These illustrations explain the ori- 
gin of some of the names. Others 
easily suggest the sources of their 
names, but still others remain ob- 
scure. No satisfactory explanation 
is found for Big Bay or Grand Pierre, 
though a tradition exists that Grand 
Pierre came from an early French- 
man of the region, a part of his name 
being Pierre. In some old records 
this name is spelled "Grandpear" or 
"Grampear." 

When Randolph County was or- 
ganized as pai-t of the Northwest 
Territory, one of the townships of 
the county was Grand Pierre. This 
would tend to indicate an early, 
somewhat concentrated settlement in 
the area. 

Dams 

Ohio River dams are rather recent 
structures. Only one such dam oc- 
curs on the border of Pope County. 
This is designed as Dam Number 51 
and is located just below Golconda. 
It regulates the depth of water where 
the rapids once occurred at lower 



63 



river stages. By means of gates and 
locks, boats are passed over the shal- 
low stretch of river at all times of 
the year. 

An ingenious forcing of the water 
to flow through a controlled device 
in the dam known as the "bear trap" 
makes the gates of the locks operate 
properly, and the boats pass through. 
Though they are large structures and 
are designed for the passage of the 
largest river boats and barges, these 
locks will also operate for the indi- 
vidual who chances to come that way 
in a rowboat. They are a great aid 
in the promotion of river traffic. 

When watermills were established 
on several streams of Pope County, 
it was often necessary to build a dam 
across the stream in order to have a 
sufficient head of water. Permission 
to build such dams was granted by 
the county officials to mill owners 
upon proof that such a dam would 
not damage property belonging to 
others. 

SURFACE FEATURES 

Caves 

There are many places designated 
as caves in Pope County. Very often 
they are not true caves but are only 
overhanging rock ledges. One such 
cave was alluded to in the discussion 
of Money Cave Hollow. Another 
cave is located in Gum Springs Hol- 
low. It is said that this cave once 
had weird drawings on its walls. 
Another cave, known as Murray's, is 
about two miles south of Olive 
church. A third cave, known as Mc- 
New Cave, is in Jackson Hollow. A 
family named McNew once lived in 
this cave, and a son named Jake is 



said to have been born there. May- 
nor Cave is located about one mile 
south of Eddyville. This cave is re- 
ported to be a dry one and is said, 
even yet, to be only partially ex- 
plored. Freeze Cave is located near 
Freeze School. Very early county 
records refer to Salt Peter Cave on 
Big Creek but do not definitely fix 
its location. 

Sheridan Cave 

On the west side of War Bluff 
and well toward the bottom, is a 
cave, or over-hanging ledge. This 
cave is perhaps 25 feet long and 8 
feet high, and extends 10 or 12 feet 
beneath the bluff. Earliest tradition 
indicates that a wall was found across 
the open side of this cave. It was 
in this cave that Tom Sheridan, who 
later became county superintendent 
of schools and "a practicing attorney 
in Vienna, was born. In addition to 
the other incidents related concerning 
this cave, there is also the buried- 
treasure story, and many men have 
gone to dig in various places about 
the cave and along the bluff for trea- 
sure they are sure is buried there. 
No one has reported finding it. 

Hills and Hollows 

The hills and hollows of Pope 
County have taken their names in 
many cases from settlers who lived 
nearby, or from activities carried on 
in the vicinity. 

Near the north end of the County 
is Bear Track Hollow. According to 
local explanations, this hollow is so 
named from the fact that the last 
bear tracks to be seen in Pope Coun- 
ty were found there. At one time it 
was known as Sugar Camp Hollow. 



64 



This name came from the fact that, 
at one time, a sugar camp had been 
located at the mouth of it. 

Near Bear Track Hollow is Guip 
Williams Hollow. It was named for 
a man called Guip Williams, who 
lived near the head of it. Both of 
these hollows are rocky and present 
a wild appearance. Each is infested 
with rattlesnakes, and for that rea- 
son, most people stay away from 
them during the summer months. 

Cedar Bluff 

The name "Cedar Bluff" appears 
first on a map made in 1876. Pres- 
ent-day maps do not carry the name. 
The bluff is covered with cedar trees 
that present a most attractive ap- 
pearance during the winter months. 
It is still referred to by many peo- 
ple as Cedar Bluff, 

Dog Hollow 

This hollow is shown and named 
on the geological maps but is not 
shown on other maps. It is a short 
distance north of Oak church. Ac- 
cording to the story current in that 
region, this hollow received its name 
from the following incident. Two 
young men had seen their girls safe- 
ly home from a church service. They 
were returning at a late hour through 
the hollow. By their story they were 
pursued by a headless dog. Thus 
the hollow received its name and has 
ever since been called Dog Hollow. 

Harper's Knob 

The name of Hence Mountain ap- 
pears first on a map published in 
1876. This hill has had several dif- 
ferent names. At one time it was 
called Williams Mountain for a fam- 



ily who lived near the east end of 
it. Later it was called Carter Hill, 
for Jack Carter. Then afterwards, it 
was owned by Hence Gibbs and was 
designated Hence Mountain. It is 
now a part of the Shawnee National 
Forest. This is the highest elevation 
in southern Illinois, being about thir- 
ty feet higher than Bald Knob in 
Jackson County. 

Kate Reid Hollow 

Kate Reid Hollow is in the north 
end of the County and takes its name 
from a woman who lived in the vi- 
cinity. This name was also applied 
to the branch that flows through the 
valley. 

Massac Bluff 

Massac Bluff is shown and named 
on the Illinois Atlas of 1876. It is 
three-fourths of a mile south of Rock, 
The church at the foot of this bluff 
was once known as Pine Hollow and 
is said to have taken that name from 
a large, lone pine that stood in the 
hollow. 

Millstone Knob 

Millstone Knob is shown on the 
1876 map of Pope County. It is 
said to have taken its name from the 
fact that millers once got mill stones 
from a quarry there. A number of 
the early mills in Pope County are 
said to have been equipped with mill- 
stones from this source. According 
to another explanation, it was so 
named because of the resemblance it 
bears to a millstone, when viewed 
from a distance. 

Money Cave Hollow 

Money Cave Hollow is shown on 
the Illinois Atlas map of 1876, This 
place takes its name from the fact 



65 



that a man who once lived there en- 
gaged in counterfeiting. According 
to the story current, this man went to 
Grantsburg and bought a suit of 
clothes, paying for it with counter- 
feit money. The merchant detected 
the spurious money and had the cul- 
prit arrested. In fact, he had been 
arrested sevei-al times previously but 
had managed to escape, being assis- 
ted by friends who smuggled him 
saws hidden in the soles of their 
shoes. On this occasion he failed to 
escape and was sent to prison for 
his crime. 

Pittulo Bluff 

Pittulo Bluff is shown on the map 
of 1876. It takes its name from a 
man who homesteaded nearby. On 
some records the name is given "Pit- 
talo." 

Potato Hill 

There are two stories explaining 
the name of Potato Hill. According 
to one story, it looked very much 
like the old-fashioned potato hills or 
mounds used by farmers for storing 
potatoes during the winter. 

According to another story, it was 
named because many potatoes were 
grown in the vicinity. It is not a 
very large hill. Either of these ex- 
planations sounds plausible, for it is 
a recorded fact that James Wallace 
lived in that vicinity and grew many 
potatoes. 

Sand Hill 

Sand Hill is shown and named on 
the Geological Survey maps of this 
region. According to local explan- 
ations, this hill received its name be- 
cause of the fact that there is much 



soft sandstone exposed on its slopes. 
This sandstone washes away easily, 
and after rains, much sand may be 
found drifted at the foot of the hill. 
The view from the crest of this hill 
is a magnificent one. It was here 
that Matthew Bracewell home- 
steaded land and built his house. 

Thacker's Gap 

Thacker's Gap is one of the most 
convenient passages through the hills 
extending across northern Pope 
County. It received its name from 
Ben Thacker who lived in a hewed 
log house about one-fourth mile off 
the present highway, on the old road 
that led toward Hart's store. Thac- 
ker chose this location because there 
was a large spring nearby. Through 
this gap passed one of the early im- 
migrant trails leading toward the 
St. Louis area. 

Islands 

There are several islands on the 
Ohio River along the border of Pope 
County. One of these, Golconda Isl- 
and, is indicated on the 1876 map. 
On earlier maps it is shown as a dis- 
tinct island. On later maps and on 
the geological maps, it is indicated 
as attached to Kentucky. This island 
is known locally as Rondeau Island, 
which name appears as older than 
Golconda Island. The name. Ron- 
deau, was the name of an early set- 
tler of the region. 

Cumberland Island is located near 
the mouth of the Cumbei'land River, 
from which it takes its name. An 
early ferry used this island as an 
intermediate stop in crossing the 
Ohio. 



66 



Stewart Island marks the location 
of an early-day ferry, operated by a 
man named O'Melvaney. This ferry 
passed from Bayou Creek (Smith- 
land, Kentucky) across the river but 
did not stop at the island. 

Three Sisters Island is shown on 
the 1876 map as separate islands. At 
the present time it is shown as one 
island though it still bears the name 
of "Three Sisters." 

Price Island, or Pryor Island, is 
located about two miles below Gol- 
conda. This island is said to take 
its name from a man named Pryor 
who lived on the Illinois shore near 
there. He was the father of Rev- 
erend Dan Pryor, a Baptist minister, 
and Reverend R. M. Pryor, a Presby- 
terian minister. 



MADSTONES 

The "madstone" is an interesting 
object in Pope County and indicates 
a fairly firm belief of many people. 
Such a stone is now in the possession 
of John Bushman, who lives north of 
Golconda. This stone is very black, 
fibrous in appearance, and somewhat 
like a piece of cannel coal. It is ir- 
regular in shape, about one half inch 
in length, and slightly less in width 
and thickness. According to tradi- 
tion, this stone has been widely 
known for a century or so in the re- 
gion of Golconda and of much of 
Southern Illinois. It is said to have 
been found originally in a mine in 
Italy. In Pope County it has figured 
in several law suits. In one such 
suit, in the March term of 1911, a 
man named John Breedlove asked 
that a receiver be appointed and that 



the stone in question be sold and a 
division of the proceeds made. 

Breedlove, insisting that he had an 
equity in the stone, brought suit 
against Susan Boos, Maggie Meyer, 
Will C. Gullett, Charles Gullett, and 
John Gullett. In this suit, Breedlove 
stated that this Madstone was 
brought to Illinois from the state of 
Tennessee by his paternal grandfath- 
er, Matthew Trovillion, "more than 
40 years ago." He also contended 
that this stone had been awarded, 
by a court decision issued about 1892, 
to two families in turn. He further 
stated that proceeds from the appli- 
cation of the stone amounted to more 
than $300.00 yearly, and that it had 
proved effective in all except one 
of the hundreds of applications. In 
this case, a man named Lentzen, who 
had been badly bitten about the face, 
died on his way to an Evansville 
hospital. Mr. Breedlove's suit did 
not secui'e him an equity in the stone 
nor in the possession of it. This stone 
for many years has attracted persons 
bitten by dog thought to be rabid, 
or by poisonous snakes and insects. 

According to information given by 
Mr. Bushman, present possessor of 
the stone, the wound to which it is 
applied must be an open one. The 
stone is applied to the wound and 
allowed to remain an hour, unless 
it drops off sooner. It is then placed 
in clear water and allowed to remain 
there until it starts to give off bub- 
bles. Then it is again applied to the 
wound. This process is repeated un- 
til the stone no longer adheres. An 
old issue of the Golconda paper re- 
counts a trip made by Mr. W. V. 
Nelson, of Hamletsburg, to the mad- 
stone. On this trip the horse that 



67 



Mr. Nelson borrowed to take his wife 
to the stone died in Golconda. This 
story appears in the Golconda Her- 
ald, for April 18, 1887. In this case, 
the stone is reported to have ad- 
hered eight times. 

With the introduction of the Pas- 
teur treatment for rabies prevention, 
the stone has been used less and 
less, until today it is seldom in use. 

Other madstones have been re- 
ported for this vicinity, but none of 
them seem to enjoy such wide pres- 
tige as this one. 



NEWSPAPERS 

The first newspaper of which 
there is record in Pope County was 
the Herald. The date of its estab- 
lishment may be fixed with reason- 
sonable accura<5y as November 1857, 
from the fact that its issue of Feb- 
ruary 7, 1889, is marked as Volume 
32, number 14. At this time it was 
consolidated with the Enterprise, 
which was marked Volume 2, number 
41. The Enterprise was established 
as a Republican paper and adver- 
tised that it had new and complete 
equipment. Another old paper of 
the county was the Pope County 
Transcript. This was published by 
J. M. Boicourt and Volume 1, number 
13, is dated March 18, 1863. Mr. 
Boicourt's paper, The Transcript, was 
very partisan to the union cause dur- 
ing the Civil War. 

One of the interesting issues of a 
Southern Illinois newspaper is the 
Herald Enterprise of February 4, 
1937. On that date, the Ohio River 
flood had closed the printing shop, 
and the paper was mimeographed. 



TOWNS AND 
POST OFFICES 

Allard 

The post office of Allard was 
established on January 12, 1900, and 
David N. Allard was appointed post- 
master. The records do not show 
that another postmaster was ap- 
pointed at a later date. An order 
was issued on October 9, 1907, clos- 
ing the post office and directing that 
the mail be sent to Flatwood. This 
post office of Flatwood was doubt- 
less in Johnson County. The order 
for the forwarding of mail was to 
take effect on October 31. 

Allen Springs 

A post office, known as Allen 
Springs, was located about one mile 
south and a half mile east of Dixon 
Springs. Various old maps show dif- 
ferent locations, doubtless indicat- 
ing the movement of the office to 
the residences or stores of those serv- 
ing as postmaster. On some maps 
and in some records it is indicated 
as "Allen Springs"; on others it is 
set down as "Allen's Spring." The 
post office was first established on 
August 5, 1857, with George M. Al- 
len as postmaster. The postmasters 
who served there are indicated by 
the following list, which also gives 
the date of each appointment, 

George M. Allen — August 5, 1857. 

James R. Anderson — November 4, 
1857. 

R. H. Modglin— August 10, 1858. 

James P. Anderson — November 1, 
1859. 

W. J. Leigh — June 15, 1864. 

T. S. Barton — August 16, 1864. 



68 



Discontinued — April 17, 1865. 

Re-established — October 16, 1865. 

James S. Anderson — October 16, 
1865. 

Discontinued — January 16, 1866. 

Re-established — February 7, 1876. 

William J. Baker — February 7, 
1876. 

Pinckney L. Baker — March 10, 
1880. 

William J. Baker, March 23, 1880. 

William I. Cox — November 18. 
1883. 

John T. Farmer — October 19, 1886. 

Soloman Dilaplain — November 24, 
1886. 

James A. Whiteside — April 14, 
1889. 

William I. Cox — November 8, 
1893. 

William A. Henley — August 2, 
1897. 

Brovi'nlow Cox — January 19, 1898. 

William I. Cox — March 17, 1908. 

Discontinued — February 7, 1928. 

Azotus 

Azotus appears on Geological Sur- 
vey maps, but does not appear on a 
map made in 1876. The strangeness 
of the name, Azotus, elicits many 
inquiries concerning its origin. This 
post office took its name from a 
church, still in existence. The church, 
in its turn, was named for the Bibli- 
cal city, Azotus, that stood near the 
Mediterranean Sea and almost di- 
rectly west of Jerusalem. The post 
office named Azotus was established 
on August 17, 1895, and Luther 
Hodge was appointed postmaster. Lu- 
ther Hodge was succeeded by John 
R. Hodge, on May 23, 1901. John 



R. served about two months only and 
was succeeded by Nathaniel L. Go- 
lightly, who became postmaster on 
July 26, 1901 and served until De- 
cember 29, 1905, when Eli P. Hodge 
became postmaster. The post office 
was discontinued by an order issued 
on April 2, 1910., and mail was or- 
dered sent to New Liberty. 

Bay 

Another early post office of Pope 
County was established on June 4, 
1846, and Alexander Jenkins was 
appointed postmaster. Jenkins served 
until the post office was discontinued, 
on March 2, 1857. The author has 
not been able to secure definite in- 
formation concerning the location of 
this post office. Tradition vaguely 
locates it near the Ohio River, in the 
vicinity of Bay City. 

Big Bay 

One of the early post offices estab- 
lished in Pope County was that of 
Big Bay, located near the present site 
of Dixon Springs. This post office 
was established on May 7, 1835, and 
King Hazle was appointed postmas- 
ter, for which position he was re- 
quired to furnish a bond for $300. 
The post office was discontinued on 
November 2, 1835. This office and 
another at Golconda are the only 
ones appearing on a map published 
in 1841 and showing the post offices 
and postroads of Pope County. Its 
appearance on the official postal 
map based on data gathered about 
1838, seems to indicate its existence 
at that date; yet the postal records 
in the national archives indicate 
that it was closed in 1835. 



69 



This name of Big Bay has also 
been used to designate a creek that 
flows a short distance south and west 
of the place where the early post 
office was located. It was used to 
designate the stream as early as 
1809, since a land claim for military 
service was confirmed to Isaac Fits- 
worth on December 31 of that year, 
with the statement — "affirmed at the 
mouth of Big Bay on the Ohio." 

In some very early census reports 
for southern Illinois, Big Bay is men- 
tioned, but no definite location is 
given. 

Blanchard 

The village of Blanchard grew up 
near the residence of J. B. Blanchard. 
A store and post office were once lo- 
cated there, and a rather dense rural 
population lived in the vicinity. J. B. 
Blanchard, the man from whom the 
village took its name, was a rather 
unique character. He was a farmer, 
a country doctor, a preacher, and an 
enthusiastic fox-hunter. The tradi- 
tion of the powerful and deep voice 
sometimes leading a church hymn, 
at other times urging a pack of 
hounds in the chase, linger, still. The 
school at Blanchard once had as 
many as sixty or seventy pupils. 
When the Shawnee National Forest 
was established, nearly all of the 
people sold their land to the Federal 
Government and moved away. In the 
winter of 1944-45 there was no 
school, since there were no pupils of 
school age in the district. The first 
frame church in Pope County is said 
to have been located at this place. 
It later burned. 



A post office was established there 
on December 22, 1893, and William 
D. Smith was appointed postmaster. 
The succeeding postmasters with the 
dates of their appointments are given 
below. 

John L. Ragan — September 4, 
1895. 

James P. Williams—July 22, 1897. 

Ezra Harl^March 5, 1898. 

Richard S. Hart— March 5, 1898, 

Joel F. Stone— October 19, 1915. 

John B. Owen — October 11, 1918. 

James R. Wasson — Appointed on 
December 15, 1921, but declined the 
office. 

Discontinued on March 31, 1922. 

Breckenridge 

On October 14, 1857, the post of- 
fice of Breckenridge was established 
at a point on the Ohio River about 
two miles above Bay City, and John 
D. Rose was appointed postmaster. 
On August 27, 1860, Rose was suc- 
ceeded by James M. McCormick. 
This post office was discontinued on 
February 6, 1864, and mail was or- 
dered sent to Bay City. An examina- 
tion of county records has not re- 
vealed that a village was ever plat- 
ted at Breckenridge. 

Broad Oak 

Broad Oak post office was estab- 
lished on June 13, 1849, and George 
W. Walters became the first post- 
master. He was succeeded by James 
M. Gulp, on February 14, 1854. Gulp 
served until October 21, 1856, when 
the post office was discontinued. The 
demand for a post office at this place 
led to the re-establishment of an of- 
fice on December 23. 1856, slightly 



70 



over two months after it had been 
closed; and Philip Adar was appoin- 
ted postmaster. He served until 
April 23, 1859, when Adam W. Hill 
assumed the office. On November 
12, 1860, Thomas Stone became post- 
master and served until February 19, 
1861, when Clyde Glendale was ap- 
pointed. The date of the closing of 
this office is not known, but it ap- 
pears that Glendale was the last man 
to serve as postmaster. No informa- 
tion has been found that will defi- 
nitely locate this office. 

Carrsville 

Though no place named Carrsville 
has been located in Pope County, a 
story appearing in the Golconda pa- 
pers in late December of 1887 seems 
to indicate that such a place existed. 
This story, although it may refer to 
the town of that name in Kentucky, 
is a good one and is included here. 
The incident alluded to occurred on 
Christmas Eve, 1887. On that after- 
noon two young men, wishing to have 
some excitement and "start some- 
thing," planned to meet in the most 
public place in the village and ap- 
pear to have a quarrel. This they 
did. When they met, a few sharp 
words were exchanged. Each drew 
his revolver, previously loaded with 
blanks, and began to fire at the oth- 
er. The results were more than they 
expected. Friends, seeing what they 
thought was a battle in progress, 
promptly joined in the fray. More 
revolvers appeared, and increased 
firing began. Others rushed home to 
secure their firearms. Some seized 
rocks and began to hurl them. The 
result was a general melee. Hap- 
pily no one was killed, though some 



were injured. The young men 
"started something." 

Colorado 

Colorado was located in Pope 
County a short distance south of the 
Saline County Line, in Section 1, 
Township IIS and Range 5E. It has 
never been more than a country post 
office and grocery store. The first 
office was established on April 19, 
1880, and John A. Stalions was 
named postmaster. John T. Stalions 
succeeded him on October 14, 1901. 
Another Stalions, William R., suc- 
ceeded John T. on October 7, 1904, 
but John T. once more became post- 
master on November 14, 1907, and 
served until September 30, 1910. At 
that time, Samuel S. Stalions suc- 
ceeded him. The Stalion succession 
was broken when Mason B. Morse 
became postmaster, on May 6, 1911. 
He served until April 30, 1917, when 
the office was discontinued and the 
mail was sent to Stonefort. 

County Line 

A post office known as County 
Line was established on June 20, 
1858, and Daniel L. Mattice was ap- 
pointed postmaster. Mattice served 
until June 8, 1859, when the office 
was discontinued. This office was 
located somewhere in the western or 
northern part of the county. 

Delwood 

Delwood is now only a country 
store and filling station. A post of- 
fice was once located there, having 
been established on February 3, 1896, 
with William R. Stalions as postmas- 
ter. William R. was succeeded by 
Samuel S. Stalions, on January 7, 



71 



1904, but returned to the office on 
December 2, 1907, to serve until No- 
vember 30, 1923, at which time 
Clarence S. Barger took over the of- 
fice. Mrs. Allie Randolph became 
postmistress on February 15, 1930, 
and apparently served until the of- 
fice was closed, some years later. 

It may be interesting to note that 
William R. and Samuel S. Stalions 
are also listed as postmasters at Col- 
orado, another post office of Pope 
County. 

Dixon Springs 

Dixon Springs takes it name from 
William Dixon who once owned the 
land there. It has long been used 
as a place for reunions, picnics, and 
outings. To some of these reunions, 
many former residents of the area 
regularly return, to meet old friends. 
The post office in this vicinity has 
borne several names. It was first 
established as Big Bay, on May 7, 
1835. This post office was short- 
lived and was discontinued on No- 
vember 2, 1835. The next post of- 
fice at or near this place was known 
as Resort. This office was estab- 
lished on February 1, 1896, with 
Walter Clements as postmaster. He 
was succeeded by James A. White- 
side, on July 22, 1897. The name 
again was changed to Dixon Springs 
on February 11, 1905 but Mr. White- 
side continued to serve as postmaster 
until October 3, 1913, when James 
A. Graves took charge. Graves was 
succeeded by Isaac N. Clements, on 
March 3, 1919. The post office is 
still in operation. Dixon Springs now 
has a country store, a hotel or club- 
house, and a swimming pool. It is 
a popular place for picnics and out- 



ings. The scenery about the springs 
is delightful. This site has recently 
been acquired by the State of Illinois 
and will be developed as a state 
park. 

One of the unique sights at Dixon 
Springs is that of three churches that 
stand almost side by side. All are 
still functioning. Across the nar- 
row valley, north of these three 
churches, is the rather well-preserved 
log building that once housed one of 
the church organizations. There are 
thus four rural church buildings in 
a distance of less than a quarter of 
a mile. 

Eddyville 

The first post office established 
at Eddyville was known as Book. It 
is reported that when men met to 
consider the establishment of this 
post office, no name had been selec- 
ted. In the home where they met 
there was a considerable collection of 
books. Some one suggested that the 
name Book be given the post office. 
This was done, and Sylvester Ful- 
gham was appointed postmaster, 
June 26, 1861. He was succeeded 
by the following men. 

John Jenkins, October 16, 1861. 

David Bozarth, October 13, 1865. 

Rufus Hall, September 20, 1866. 
The post office of Book was dis- 
continued on August 24, 1869, to be 
re-established on October 18 of the 
same year, under the name Eddy- 
ville. This name was for Edward 
Fulghum, who owned the land where 
the office was located. A list of 
later postmasters is shown below. 

John D. Rose — October 18, 1869. 



72 



Jasper N. Maynor — March 28, 
1870. 

R. G. Metlton— October 21, 1869. 

David Shufflebarger — July 20, 
1877. 

David S. Barger — August 17, 1877. 

Elizah B. F. Ginshaw — July 26, 
1878. 

George W. Whiteside — January 7, 
1881. 

John W. Robinson — February 2, 
1881. 

William B. L. Biggs — November 2, 
1881. 

John Whiteside — November 25, 
1881. 

Jasper N. Maynor — September 22, 
1882. 

George S. Borger — September 4, 
1883. 

George Shufflebarger — Septem- 
ber 27, 1883. 

Elizah B. F. Ginshaw — January 2, 
1886. 

J. Green Whiteside — November 19, 
1889. 

William D. Beames — October 14, 
1893. 

Richard M. Fulkerson — February 
16, 1895. 

Mitchell T. Chancey — October 27, 
1895. 

Albert N. Lauderdale — August 10, 
1914. 

Mrs. Orilla C. Hollaway — Decem- 
ber 18, 1922. 

Jesse T. Ragan — October 7, 1929. 

Jesse T. Ragan — October 23, 1929. 

Erastus Barger — March 11, 1930. 

A wool mill was established at Ed- 
dyville about 1880 and operated for 
some twenty years, closing about 



1900. The mill, which used horse 
power, was first operated by Colum- 
bus Wilson. The first church, Meth- 
odist, was organized by B. W. Holla- 
way under a shed, about 40 by 80 
feet. The first church building was 
erected about 1872. The upper floor 
of this first church was occupied by 
a Masonic Lodge. The old building 
has long since disappeared. A Bap- 
tist church was established at Ed- 
dyville about 1890. Knox Trovillion 
and Bert Baker were two of the early 
pastors. An interesting story is told 
concerning the ringing of the bell in 
the present Baptist church. Accord- 
ing to this story, the bell has been 
rung each New Year's Eve for more 
than fifty years by "Uncle" Bill 
Cross, who comes to the church each 
New Year's Eve and at the hour of 
midnight begins to ring the bell and 
thus welcomes in the new year. 

A grist mill once stood on the top 
of Frieze Hill. It was owned by Ed- 
die Fulgham. This first mill was op- 
erated by horse power. The horse 
walked in a circle, turning a sweep 
that transmitted power to the shaft 
which turned the mill stones by 
means of a large pulley and leather 
belt. The mill house was small, be- 
ing only about twelve feet square. It 
ground both corn and wheat but did 
not bolt the ground wheat. The next 
mill was operated by James Mason, 
at the lower pond on the east side 
of the road. This one was operated 
by steam power and had sieves. Tom 
Culloms later came into possession of 
the Mason Mill and moved it into 
Eddyville where it was improved and 
operated for a number of years. 



73 



Eddyville was at one time an im- 
portant tobacco market. Much to- 
bacco was bought, placed in hogs- 
heads, and taken to the Ohio River 
for shipment. According to some 
traditional accounts, these hogsheads 
had axles arranged and were rolled 
by mule or ox power to the shipping 
point on the river, where they were 
loaded on steamboats. 

Glendale 

The village of Glendale was sur- 
veyed on January 8, 1861, by J. E. 
Y. Hannah for George W. Waters. 
The plat was filed on February 1 of 
the same year. One of the earliest 
industries located in Glendale was 
a grist mill. This mill stood about 
seventy yards below the present-day 
bridge and was operated by George 
Kimball. 

A post office was established in 
Glendale on February 19, 1861, and 
Thomas Stone was appointed post- 
master. The postmasters who suc- 
ceeded him, with the dates of their 
appointments, are listed below: 

George Waters — September 4, 
1861. 

John R. Kerrell — November 25, 
1862. 

Morris Dinkelspell — August 2, 
1867. 

Charles H. Sheldon — February 10, 
1869. 

J. R. Kurrell— August 28, 1871. 

John B. Russell— April 11, 1876. 

F. M. Croy— July 10, 1877. 

William A. Mangum — November 
19, 1877. 

John R. Kerrell — May 6, 1878. 

Willis Story— June 26, 1882. 



Benjamin M. Palmer — May 7, 
1884. 

Edwin M. Palmer, Jr. — May 20, 
1889. 

Sarah C. Palmer — February 17, 
1890. 

Zachariah C. Simpson — October 
30, 1893. 

Milo Palmer — December 9, 1898. 

Mattie E. Palmer — March 8, 1901. 

Mattie E. Haynes — September 11, 
1901. 

Sarah C. Palmer— March 30, 1905. 

Edward C. Walter— March 5, 1907. 

Lewis Austin — September 8, 1909. 

James Walter Chisler — November 
5, 1920. 

Golconda 

The first recorded residents on the 
site of the present city of Golconda 
were Major James Lusk and his fam- 
ily. Lusk, who had been given the 
title of Major for his services at the 
Battle of Cowpens, came from Ken- 
tucky in 1796 and located near the 
Ohio River, just across from the 
mouth of Lusk Creek. His property 
in Kentucky fronted on the river, so 
it was natural that he began to ferry 
travelers across. He received a ferry 
license from Kentucky, in 1797. 
Major Lusk wished to move across 
the river into present-day Illinois but 
was somewhat discouraged by Gen- 
eral William H. Harrison, governor 
of the territory. It was Harrison's 
wish to offer the Indians living in 
the region no offense until they could 
be removed by treaty. 

Lusk grew impatient at the waiting 
and crossed the river into Illinois, 
then a part of Indiana Territory, in 



74 



1789. With materials secured most- 
ly from keel boats, he built a com- 
fortable and somewhat commodious 
two-story house, near the bank of the 
river and east of the present city. 
This became known as Lusk's Tavern. 
It was also referred to as Fiddlers' 
Green, a name given by a man named 
Pittulo, who had been teaching in 
the vicinity since about 1800. A num- 
ber of other people who had come 
with Lusk from the Waxhaw settle- 
ment in the Carolinas also crossed the 
Ohio and took up residence in the 
immediate vicinity. Several mem- 
bei's of the group, led by Lusk, later 
became prominent in the early af- 
fairs of Pope County. Among others 
were Robert Lacey, Benoni Lee, 
Shadrack Waters, Thomas Ferguson, 
his brother, Hamlet Ferguson, and 
Hector Pittulo. 

Major Lusk continued to operate 
the ferry across the Ohio and to give 
much attention to the opening of 
roadways to the west and north. 
While at his work in opening a road- 
way toward Green's Ferry on the 
Mississippi, he became sick and died 
at Golconda, in 1803. Upon the 
death of Lusk, his wife, Sarah, con- 
tinued to operate the ferry, securing 
a license to do so from Governor Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, in 1804. On 
April 2, 1805, Mrs. Lusk became the 
wife of Thomas Ferguson, who had 
come to the country with the Lusk 
party. 

Ferguson was a man of consider- 
able influence and property. He se- 
cured possession of the land where 
the ferry landing was located, on the 
Illinois shore. When a town was 
platted in 1816, Ferguson appeared 



as owner of practically all the town 
lots and land surrounding the town. 
The town was designated as Sarah- 
ville, named for Ferguson's wife, the 
former Sarah Lusk. 

The name of Sarahville did not 
endure for long. In the minutes of 
June 24, 1817, is the following en- 
try: "Ordered that town at the seat 
of Justice of Pope County be called 
Corinth in the room of Sarahville at 
the request of the proprietors." This 
entry occurs on page 78, of a book 
which was evidently used to record 
notes at the actual session of the 
court, and from which the permanent 
records were written. In the official 
and continuous records of the court 
proceedings is the following entry 
under the same date — June 24, 1817: 
"Ordered that the town now called 
Sarahville, the present seat of Jus- 
tice of Pope County, hereafter be 
called Golconda at the request of 
the proprietors." 

There is no other entry concerning 
the change in name from Sarahville 
and no explanation of the manner in 
which Corinth was dropped and Gol- 
conda substituted. The word, Gol- 
conda, appears to have been written 
by another person than the one regu- 
larly recording the proceedings. It is 
also in a much bolder and more 
prominent style and is underlined. 
However the change was affected, 
Sarahville evidently became Corinth 
before it was called Golconda. Since 
only one of the county judges, Be- 
moni Lee, ever signed the minutes of 
the meeting of June 24, 1817, and 
since it was the practice for at least 



75 



two of the three judges to sign, the 
manner of the change becomes even 
more puzzling. 

Postal records in the National 
Archieves show that a post office 
called Ferguson's Ferry was estab- 
lished in 1812 or 1814, and that 
Thomas Ferguson was appointed 
postmaster. Ferguson served until 
July 18, 1817, when Joshua Scott, 
then also serving as county recorder, 
became postmaster. On June 15, 
1820, he was succeeded by Amassa 
Davis. Davis apparently served un- 
til the name of Ferguson's Ferry was 
dropped, in 1825. 

The name of Golconda as a post- 
office first appears on September 7, 
1825, when Charles Dunn became 
postmaster. The following list in- 
dicates the others who served during 
the first century of the Golconda of- 
fice, and the dates of their appoint- 
ment. 

James Rankin — September 27, 
1834. 

John Raum — November 26, 1834. 

Edward Dobbins — September 5, 
1836. 

Samuel Roper — September 25, 
1837. 

James Finney — October 6, 1838. 

Wesley Sloan — June 24, 1840. 

John Raum — May 30, 1850. 

Joseph A. Hall — July 6, 1853. 

John Raum — March 20, 1854. 

Theodore Steyer — June 10, 1854. 

William L. South— April 2, 1855. 

John M. Boicourt — April 26, 1856. 

Mosov G. Bird — June 3, 1885. 

John M. Boicourt — April 24, 1889. 

Reappointed — January 16, 1892. 



Lewis McCoy — January 3, 1894. 
John C. Baker — January 10, 1898. 
Francis Baker — March 17, 1911. 
Wm. S. Jenkins — June 15, 1911. 
I. M. Runsey— July 31, 1913. 
Francis Baker — April 1, 1922; 
April 20, 1922. 

Although the record of its begin- 
nings is somewhat fragmentary, Gol- 
conda slowly emerged. First it was 
known as Lusk's Tavern, and often 
commonly referred to as Fiddlers' 
Green. A few years later, and for 
only a brief time, it was designated 
as Sarahville. Then came, for at 
least a very brief day, the name of 
Corinth, which quickly yielded to 
Golconda. 

In 1807, the settlement consisted of 
three small stores, one tavern, one 
grocery or saloon, and about twenty 
dwellings. The town was not then 
platted, and the houses were not 
built in any ordered arrangement. In 
1816 the plat of Sarahville was re- 
corded. In 1817 it was replatted and 
changed somewhat from the first 
platting. Though there have been 
some additions to the city, this sec- 
ond platting is the one now used, 
and the stone from which the town 
is laid out may still be seen at the 
southeast corner of the square. 

When Pope became a county, the 
first meetings of the officials were 
held at the residence of Thomas Fer- 
guson. On September 4, 1816, a 
contract was made for the erection 
of a courthouse, 24 feet by 26 feet, 
to be built of logs. This house was 
to be two stories high, the bottom 
story of ten feet and the upper one, 
six feet, with two doors and five win- 



76 



dows. Three of the windows were 
to be upstairs and large enough to 
have nine lights each. This coui't- 
house was to be chinked with stone 
and daubed with clay and lime, half 
and half. 

By 1832, this courthouse was con- 
sidered outmoded, and a two-story 
brick one was built. The present 
courthouse was built in 1871. 

Golconda has seen the rise and 
decline of river traffic. It was a 
stopping place for flatboats and keel- 
boats. The first steamboat to ply 
the Ohio stopped there in the winter 
of 1811. For more than a century 
steamboats stopped regularly. The 
river showboat came, had its day of 
glory, and passed. Many thousands 
of emigrants crossed by its ferry, 
plodding their way to a beckoning 
West. The Cherokee Indians, on their 
sad trek from their homes in Georgia 
to the Indian Territory, crossed there. 
The legend of Sarah Lusk clusters 
about this point. Stories of buried 
treasures abound. Practically the 
entire roster of pioneer crafts and 
industries came, prospered for a 
while, and passed from existence. Its 
sons have gone forth to write their 
names prominently on the pages of 
history. Golconda has many a story 
to tell to a willing listener. 



Gowanville 

This village once stood north of 
Golconda and about one-half mile 
off the paved highway leading to 
Elizabethtown. It was named for 
the Goin family. A post office was 
established there on April 7, 1900, 
and Samuel Goin was appointed post- 
master. The office was discontin- 



ued on August 25, 1903, and mail 
was sent to Golconda. It is inter- 
esting to note the various spellings 
of Goin, Gowin, and Gowanville as 
they occur in different records. 



Halltown 

Halltown is located about one mile 
north of Golconda, near the old fair 
ground. It was surveyed by J. E. 
Y. Hannah on August 12, 1868, and 
the plat was filed for record ten days 
later. At the present time, a few 
houses and a filling station mark the 
site. No records of a post office at 
this place have been found. 



Hamletsburg 

The town of Hamletsburg, which 
takes its name from Hamlet Fergu- 
son who once operated a ferry there, 
was surveyed by J. E. Y. Hannah for 
Robert Ferguson as proprietor, on 
September 8, 1859. The plat was 
recorded in the Circuit Clerk's office 
on the same day. Charley Wool- 
ridge and Charley McGee had Han- 
nah make a plat of an addition to 
the town on April 9 and 10, 1884. 
This plat was filed for record in May 
of .the same year. On September 2, 
1824, a second plat was filed. 

The first post office, spelled Ham- 
letsburgh, was established on Feb- 
ruary 2, 1885, and Fred L. Ashwill 
was appointed postmaster. The suc- 
ceeding postmasters are listed below, 
with the dates of their appointments. 

James L. House — March 17, 1888. 
John F. Fisher — April 3, 1889. 
Philip B. Clark — August 5, 1896. 
Samuel W. Neely — July 22, 1897. 



77 



Samuel W. Neely— May 23, 1906. 
George McCawley — May 5, 1931. 

The spelling of the post office 
name was changed from Hamlets- 
burgh to Hamletsburg on August 5, 
1893. 



Hartsville 

Hartsville is now a small collection 
of houses on the old Herod-Golcon- 
da road, about four miles southwest 
of Herod. A post office and two 
country stores were once located 
here. This was the division point 
for the mail between Harrisburg and 
Golconda. This mail was carried 
for some time by "Uncle Alf Unsell." 
At times, Mr. Unsell carried the mail 
on mule-back, going from Hartsville 
to Golconda and returning on one 
day, and from Hartsville to Harris- 
burg and returning on the second 
day. The post office was established 
on April 17, 1882, and Marion M. 
House was appointed postmaster. 
The other men who served as post- 
masters at Hartsville and the dates 
of their appointments are given be- 
low: 

William B. L. Biggs — February 25, 
1884. 

William Moser— March 2, 1887. 

John S. Johnson — December 5, 
1889. 

Lilly Robertson — November 20, 
1893. 

John S. Johnson — December 1, 
1897. 

Val Wasson — December 3, 1904. 

Monroe W. Dixon — September 11, 
1905. 

Gertie Reins— June 16, 1906. 



John S. Johnson — March 16, 1910. 
This office was discontinued on 
January 15, 1915. 

Hartsville was once an important 
trading center, and Hart's Store was 
widely known. An important early 
blacksmith shop, where many wagons 
were made, operated here. The first 
store building used by Hart is yet 
standing, in 1947, as is also the large 
shed where farm implements were 
sold. 



Herod 

The town of Herod, located in the 
opening through the hills and known 
as Thacker's Gap, has been a trading 
post since about 1880, when George 
Smith established a small store there. 
Before the establishment of a store 
at this point, Phil Drumm had opera- 
ted a water mill in the vicinity. An 
early Baptist church was also es- 
tablished there. 

The first post office, known as He- 
rod Springs, was established on April 
19, 1888, and David W. Herod, Sr., 
was appointed postmaster. On May 
8, 1888, he was succeeded by Daniel 
W. Herod, Jr., and he in turn, by 
John A. L. Herod, on March 13, 
1890. The name of the post office 
was changed from Herod Springs to 
Herod, on July 26, 1895, and Charles 
Oatman was appointed postmaster. 
The postmasters that later served at 
Herod are listed, with their dates of 
appointment: 

Charles Sauty — December 1, 1899. 
William Partain — January 24, 
1920. 

Jesse A. Crabb — January 6, 1903. 



78 



Byron E. Hart — April 2, 1909. 

Ethel H. Randolph — March 1, 
1913. 

John R. Hart — August 15, 1919. 

Shuma E. Schrall — January 15, 
1921. 

The post office was discontinued 
on September 15, 1922, and it was 
ordered that the mail be sent to 
Monolith, the location of which the 
author has been unable to establish. 
This office of Monolith must have 
been in Saline County, since no men- 
tion of it has been found in the pos- 
tal records of Pope. 

The post office was re-established 
on May 17, 1930, when Mrs. Auda 
P. Ferrell was appointed postmis- 
tress. On April 29, 1931, she was 
succeeded by Mrs. Eunice H. Joiner. 



Hodgville 

The post office of Hodgville was 
located in Section 33, about one mile 
south of Brownfield. It was estab- 
lished on January 19, 1899, and John 
W. Hodge was appointed postmaster. 
Others who served later and the 
dates when they were appointed are 
given below. 

Delia Hodge — March 13, 1900. 
Charles E. Baker — July 31, 1900. 
Jesse I. Baker — March 24, 1903. 

The office was discontinued on 
October 28, 1903. 

Holmes 

On November 14, 1905, a post of- 
fice was established in the vicinity 
of Homberg and named Holmes. 
Joseph M. Baker was appointed post- 
master. The name of this post of- 



fice was changed to Paul on Octo- 
ber 1, 1906. James P. Williams be- 
came postmaster on March 16, 1910, 
and Ada I. Marberry succeeded him 
on August 15, 1912. The office was 
ordered discontinued on November 
15, 1917, and mail was sent to Gol- 
conda. 



Homberg 

The town of Homberg, sometimes 
spelled "Hombirg" and at other times 
"Homburg" takes its name from 
Fritz Homburg, an immigrant from 
Germany. The village was surveyed 
on November 8, 1902, by H. J. Tay- 
lor, for John R. Homburg and Sarah 
J. Homburg. The plat was filed for 
record on the same day it was sur- 
veyed. So far as the records indi- 
cate, there was no post office at this 
place that carried the name of the 
village. 

Jones 

The post office of Jones was estab- 
lished on April 24, 1900, with Ger- 
tie Jones as postmaster. An order to 
discontinue this post office was is- 
sued on September 11, 1901, and 
mail was to be sent to Ozark. It will 
thus be seen that this post office ex- 
isted for less than a year and a half. 
It was located in the vicinity east of 
MeCormick. 

Louis 

A post office was established at 
Louis, on October 27, 1884, with Wil- 
liam R. Stalions as postmaster. It 
was discontinued on January 22, 
1886, and mail was ordered sent to 
Stonefort. 



79 



According to tradition, this office 
was located between Ozark and Del- 
wood, but was nearer the latter. It 
may be of interest to note that Wil- 
liam R. Stalions, named as the first 
postmaster here, also served in that 
position at Colorado and at Delwood. 
With him, being postmaster was al- 
most a habit. 

Lusk 

The village of Lusk is shown on 
the 1876 map of Illinois and on later 
ones. It was at one time a rather 
prosperous village and had a large 
blacksmith shop that built wagons. 
At present it has a small stone and 
blacksmith shop where an old gen- 
tleman does repair work on farm 
implements. The first store in Lusk 
was kept by J. R. King who was later 
followed by Pankey, by William Hed- 
rick, and by the present James Buc- 
hanan. The early blacksmith shop 
was operated by David King and by 
a man named Upchurch. Dutton Cha- 
pel Church is nearby. Floyd Cemetery 
is a short distance north. The post 
office was established at Lusk on 
November 14, 1860, and James Floyd 
was appointed postmaster. The list 
of postmasters who served there and 
the dates of appointment are given 
below: 

James B. Floyd — March 2, 1874. 

Dr. George B. Rawlings — Novem- 
ber 23, 1874. 

William W. Diorman — October 16, 
1879. 

Joel A. Hart — November 1, 1886. 

John G. Cullum — August 26, 1887. 

Discontinued — September 14, 1887. 

Re-established — November 14, 
1887. 



George W. Diorman — November 
14, 1887. 

Martha J. Diorman — November 26, 
1888. 

William Hedrick — November 7, 
1891. 

Green Story — April 25, 1894. 

James M. Buchanan — August 14, 
1894. 

James R. King— May, 1898. 

James Pankey — October 29, 1906. 

James H. Buchanan — April 17, 
1908. 

The post office was again discon- 
tinued on October 31, 1913, and the 
mail ordered sent to Golconda. 

McCormick 

McCormick is a small village that 
was established by "Uncle Mack" 
McCormick, whose real name was 
Christian L. McCormick. It is re- 
lated that McCormick came to this 
locality as a wagon peddler. After 
his establishment of McCormick's 
store there, a man named Lem Dunn 
set up a grist mill and a hoop mill. 
Many hoop poles, cut in the vicinity, 
were split and shaved on the site 
where Mr. Jackson's barn now 
stands. A stave mill was also loca- 
ted a short distance from McCor- 
mick, on the road toward Glendale. 

The first post office was estab- 
lished at McCormick on September 
16, 1889, with Christian L. McCor- 
mick as postmaster. The other post- 
masters at McCormick are indicated 
on the following list with the dates 
of their appointments: 

Peter Morris — November 4, 1908. 
Burt Bynum — November 24, 1914. 
William H. Bryan — May 3, 1915. 



80 



John I. Baker — October 29, 1918. 
Dewey McCormick — August 13, 
1919. 
Arthur McCormick — May 17, 1923. 

The office was discontinued on 
August 31, 1926, and mail was sent 
to Stonefort. 



Mealer 

The post office named Mealer, 
somewhere between Eddyville and 
Delwood, was established on July 
27, 1900, with Meredith Mealer as 
postmaster. It did not operate long 
and was discontinued on October 1, 
1900. According to local stories, 
this place was also referred to as 
Slapout. This name came from an 
oft-repeated remark of the merchant 
who kept a small store there. When 
asked for any article not in stock, 
his usual reply was, "I am slap out 
of that!" 

New Liberty 

The Village of New Liberty is lo- 
cated in Section 16, Township 16 
South, Range 17 East. While a post 
office had existed in that vicinity 
for some time, it was not until March 
6, 1860, that J. E. Y. Hannah, Coun- 
ty Surveyor, made a plat for the 
village. This plat was recorded on 
the day it was made. One of the 
residents of New Liberty, in 1876 
was J. H. Jacobs, proprietor and 
captain of a steamboat operating on 
the Ohio River. 

Several years before the village 
appeared, a post office had been es- 
tablished, on September 11, 1848, 
and Samuel F. Simpson appointed 
postmaster. Other postmasters who 



served there and the dates of their 
appointments are indicated in the 
following table: 

James J. Shemwell — November, 30, 
1848. 

George W. Neely — June 28, 1854. 
Joshiah Dayhuff — December 2, 
1854. 

John F. Stewart — June 2, 1858. 

J. A. Sheerer — September 4, 1866. 

Ebeneezer Simpson — October 28, 
1869. 

James B. Angely — January 25, 
1871. 

John W. Ashwill — January 2, 
1872. 

Milo Velvey — September 3, 1875. 

John W. Ashwill — November 9, 
1876. 

Ephrain B. Shearer — November 17, 
1879. 

John W. Ashwill — August 10, 
1881. 

Fred L. Ashwill — April 26, 1883. 

Discontinued — September 7, 1885. 

Re-established — June 17, 1889. 

Elisha Baugh — June 17, 1889. 

Warren P. Rankin — December 26, 
1889. 

Robert F. Owen — October 28, 
1893. 

John W. Adamson — May 2, 1896. 

Sarah E. Lewis — July 15, 1898. 

Lorenz O. Harris — March 4, 1915. 

Bedford E. Henley— July 6, 1920. 

Newport 

A post office known as Newport 
was established on April 1, 1837, 
and Williston F. Read was appointed 
postmaster. This post office opera- 



81 



ted until October 2, 1838, when it 
was discontinued. The exact loca- 
tion of the office is not known, but 
it is thought to have been on the 
Ohio, in the vicinity of Bay City. 



Oak 

Oak is shown on the Illinois Atlas, 
issued in 1876. At that time it was 
one mile south of the present post 
office. The first office was estab- 
lished at Oak, on October 30, 1860, 
with James Dixon as postmaster. The 
list of those serving there later and 
the dates of their appointments are 
listed below: 

Norman Finney — August 4, 1863. 

George W. Owen — September 7, 
1865. 

William J. Wilson — February 5, 
1867. 

Thomas D. Gossage — February 24, 
1868. 

Jeremiah Williams — October 3, 
1871. 

T. Gowen — March 5, 1874. 

George W. Gapage — April 6, 1874. 

Discontinued — May 22, 1876. 

Re-established — November 27, 
1876. 

Robert W. Albert — November 27, 
1876. 

James B. Floy — December 17, 
1877. 

George W. Waddell — January 3, 
1881. 

Aden C. Alexander — January 3, 
1881. 

William Parks — November 23, 
1882. 

Carroll F. Baker— October 11, 
1886. 



Elijah McAnnally — December 17, 
1886. 

Elbert J. Hancock — February 21, 
1890. 

Sidney B. Hancock — March 24, 
1892. 

Jasper N. Hart— August 15, 1895. 

Richard Hawkins — December 13, 
1901. 

Joshua Hart — December 2, 1902. 

George G. Harl^-May 5, 1919. 

Mrs. Julia Fulkerson — January 24, 
1924. 



Ora 

The post office named Ora, near 
the northeast corner of the county, 
was established on August 21, 1901, 
and Daniel N. Cox was appointed 
postmaster. Other postmasters at 
Ora are shown on the following list : 

James P. Williams — October 31, 
1904. 

William W. Williams— July 7, 
1906. 

Fannie Estes — October 4, 1907. 

On April 29, 1908, this office was 
ordered closed and mail sent to 
Hicks. 



Orville 

Orville was located about three 
miles north of Golconda, near where 
the present highway bends to the 
northwest. The post office was es- 
tablished on April 26, 1869, with 
Richard Fulkerson as post master. 

It was discontinued on April 12, 
1871, and re-established on June 14, 
1876, with William R. Storey as post- 



82 



master. Alexander N. Couley became 
postmaster on October 8, 1877. 

Though this post office was dis- 
continued, the exact date of discon- 
tinuance could not be found on the 
postal records. 

Poco 

Poco was located about four miles 
west and two miles north of Ham- 
letsburg, near the site of the old cot- 
ton gin. The post office was estab- 
lished on May 2, 1884, and Philip 
G. Reynolds was appointed postmas- 
ter. He was succeeded by J. Clabe 
Reynolds, on January 6, 1906. The 
office was discontinued on March 
30, 1906, and mail sent to New Lib- 
erty. 

Ragan 

A post office named Ragan was 
established on February 19, 1898, 
but according to postal records, this 
post office was never placed in op- 
eration in Pope County and was dis- 
continued on June 23, 1898. Its lo- 
cation is not definitely fixed, but 
tradition has it located near the 
Pope-Johnson County line, in the vi- 
cinity of Ozark. There is some claim 
that it was located in Johnson Coun- 
ty. Since it is listed on the postal 
records among the post offices of 
Pope County, it may be safely in- 
ferred that it was on the Pope Coun- 
ty side of the line. 

Raum 

The town of Raum, named for Cap- 
tain John Raum of Golconda, secured 
its name through the efforts of John 
G. Anderson, who was appointed 



postmaster when the office was es- 
tablished, March 18, 1883. William 
H. Carr, the second postmaster, was 
appointed on July 21, 1899. The 
office was ordered discontinued on 
January 23, 1904, and re-established 
on June 14, 1904, with James Buc- 
hanan as postmaster. It was again 
discontinued on March 8, 1905, only 
to be re-established on June 8, 1905, 
with Frank A. King as postmaster. 
He was succeeded by Richard R, 
Taylor on August 5, 1912. The of- 
fice was again discontinued on De- 
cember 15, 1920. It was later re- 
established for the third time. 



Renshaw 

Renshaw was a flag station on the 
branch line of the Illinois Central, 
about three miles east of Reevesville. 
It was named for the Reverend El- 
mer E. Renshaw. A post office was 
established there on December 27, 
1902, and Renshaw was the first 
postmaster. Upon the death of Rev- 
erend Renshaw, his widow, Rachel 
C. Renshaw, became postmistress, on 
March 1, 1905. Beginning February 
4, 1907, she also served as Rachel 
C. Walker, after her marriage to a 
man named Walker. Ray Ball be- 
came postmaster on October 8, 1913. 
The post office was later discontin- 
ued. 



Rising Sun 

A post office was established at 
Rising Sun, located about two miles 
north of Waltersburg, on the old 
roadway, on November 22, 1895, and 
George G. Hertter became postmas- 
ter. This post office was diseontin- 



83 



ued by an order dated November 28, 
1906, and mail was sent to Golcon- 
da. 



Robbs 

Robbs was named for Albert L. 
Robbs on whose land it is located. 
Indeed, Mr. Robbs practically owns 
the town. Once a farmer, he became 
interested in selling washing ma- 
chines and clothes wringer. The wash- 
ing machines were of the plunger 
type, made of a funnel shaped piece 
of metal on the end of a broomstick. 
Robbs proved an excellent business 
man, and through the sale of these 
washers and wringer, through the es- 
tablishment of agencies for their sale, 
and through numerous other business 
ventures, he accumulated consider- 
able wealth. This town, practically 
all owned by one individual, is in 
that way a rather unique one. 



Rock 

Rock has never been much more 
than a few houses. It is said to have 
been given its name because of a 
large cluster of rocks near the site 
of the village, that, according to tra- 
dition, was first known as Birdseye. 
The post office was established there 
on September 9, 1853, and John El- 
lis was appointed postmaster. Suc- 
ceeding postmasters and their dates 
of appointment are given below: 

John W. Parmley — August 18, 
1879. 

James T. Grisham — May 7, 1884. 

John W. Parmley — November 8, 
1887. 

Reuben H. Chrisman — December 
24, 1889. 



Milo Austin — November 20, 1893. 
James O. Grisham — July 26, 1897. 
Andrew J. Caldwell — December 
29, 1900. 

Flavius M. Palmer — April 6, 1909. 
Andrew J. Caldwell — May 4, 1911. 
Milo Austin — May 9, 1913. 
Fae Caldwell— July 31, 1914. 
John W. Ellis— June 29, 1916. 

This office was discontinued and 
mail sent to Golconda, on November 
15, 1917. 

Rock Quarry 

Rock Quarry was located in Pope 
County, down the river a short dis- 
tance from Shetlerville. 

A post office was established there 
on September 12, 1850, and John 
Diorman was appointed postmaster. 
It was discontinued on December 17, 
1852, and re-established on Septem- 
ber 19, 1853, with Richard Ferguson 
as postmaster. The post office was 
again discontinued on October 16, 
1855, to be re-established on Septem- 
ber 22, 1858, with John Maloney as 
postmaster. He was succeeded by 
James Belford on June 22, 1859. The 
post office was again and, finally, 
discontinued on November 10 of that 
year. This place takes its name 
from the fact that in early days a 
stone quarry was located there. 

Rosebud 

Rose Bud began its existence with 
a name of two words. It was estab- 
lished on August 10, 1869, with A. 
G. Cheney as the first postmaster. 
He was succeeded by William King, 
on May 23, 1870. The name was 



84 



changed to one word, Rosebud, on 
June 13, 1894, and Hallie L. Bird 
was appointed postmaster. On Sep- 
tember 21, 1897, John L. King be- 
came postmaster; he was followed 
by William King, November 28, 
1904; and he, in turn, by Thomas A. 
King, September 23, 1915. 

Shandsville 

Shandsville was located about five 
miles west and three miles north of 
present day Hamletsburg, near the 
Massac-Pope County Line. The first 
post office was established there on 
June 15, 1870, and J. N. Shemwell 
was appointed postmaster. He was 
succeeded by Augustus Helcher on 
June 6, 1873. The post office was 
discontinued on November 16, 1875. 

Stouts 

Stouts was established as a post 
office in Pope County on September 
3, 1872. The office was discontin- 
ued on August 8, 1874. No record 
of its location has been found. 

Tansill 

This village was located about one 
and one-half miles southeast of Hom- 
berg, on the north side of Bear 
Creek. At the present time, a store 
is about all that marks the place. The 
first post office was established on 
July 7, 1884, with John Barnett as 
postmaster. Other men who served 
as postmasters there, with the dates 
of their appointments, are listed be- 
low: 

Newton Gilbert — November 20, 
1889. 

John R. Scott — December 24, 1890. 



Discontinued and mail sent to Rose- 
bud — February 29, 1896. 

Re-established and Thomas F. 
Cromeenes appointed postmaster, De- 
cember 11, 1897. 

This office was again ordered dis- 
continued on December 2, 1906, and 
the mail sent to Golconda. The order 
to discontinue, however, was rescin- 
ded on December 14, 1906, before 
the date set had arrived for the of- 
fice to cease service. On December 
24, 1906, Syrus T. Cromeenes became 
postmaster. The office was finally 
discontinued and mail ordered sent 
to Golconda, on July 31, 1907. 



Temple Hill 

Temple Hill is shown as a church 
and a lodge hall as early as 1876. 
The post office was established on 
January 12, 1888, with Thomas S. 
Holifield as postmaster. Other per- 
sons who were in charge of this of- 
fice are indicated in the list below: 

Eugene S. Welton — August 23, 
1890. 

William C. Holmes — August 18, 
1894. 

Eugene S. Welton — February 4, 
1897. 

William C. Holmes — July 31, 1907. 

Mark C. Welton — December 5, 
1912. 

William C. Holmes — August 17, 
1914. 

Mrs. Madge King — December 1, 
1927. 

This office was discontinued on De- 
cember 13, 1927. 



85 



Underwood 

The post office of Underwood was 
located in the northwest portion of 
the county. It was established on 
May 1, 1902, and the name of the 
postmaster was given as Pierce A. 
Underwood. Underwood's first name 
must have been in error, for the name 
of the postmaster appeared as Prince 
A. Underwood on May 19, 1902. The 
post office was discontinued on June 
24, 1903, and mail ordered sent 
to Ozark. 

Walnut Shade 

Walnut Shade post office was es- 
tablished in the Eddyville area on 
June 19, 1854, with Burton W. Holl- 
oway as postmaster. The office was 
discontinued on a May 1, sometime 
during the 1860's, the last figure on 
the date not being legible on the 
postal records. 

Waltersburg 

The village of Waltersburg was 
named for a family that settled in 
that vicinity. It soon became a pros- 
perous trading center. At one time 
much tobacco was grown in his vi- 
cinity, and Waltersburg became an 
important market for this crop. Much 
tobacco was packed in hogsheads 
here and taken to Golconda for ship- 
ment by river. 

On June 12, 1878, the first post 
office was established and called 
Wallersburg, with Andrew J. Walker 
as postmaster. The name of the 
post office was changed on July 1, 
1878, to Waltersburg, and Adolph 
W. Walter appointed postmaster. 
The next mention of this post office, 
found in the postal records, was a 



notice indicating its discontinuance, 
on November 30, 1917. The mail 
was ordered sent to Golconda. It 
should be noted from this record that 
Adolph W. Walters was postmaster 
for more than thirty-nine years. 

Wool 

Brownfield, Old Brownfield, Co- 
lumbus, and Wool are all names used 
to indicate the same place. The name 
of Wool was given to the post office 
located at or near Columbus. In later 
years this place became known as 
Brownfield. With the founding of 
the village on the railroad, the older 
place became known as "old" Brown- 
field. It was named for John Brown, 
a local merchant, who operated a ho- 
tel and kept a dry goods store. The 
town of Brownfield was platted by 
John H. Sharp, a civil engineer, and 
Thomas F. Dunn and N. B. Bland 
became proprietors. This plat was 
prepared April 8, 1902, and filed 
for record in the County Clerk's of- 
fice, April 22, 1902. The village is 
located in the SE14 of the NE14 of 
836, T13S, R5E. New Brownfield 
was platted by T. D. Waters on May 
25, 1903, and filed for record on 
April 20, 1908. This town of New 
Brownfield is located on the rail- 
road. 

The village of Columbus is shown 
on the 1876 atlas with the name of 
the post office as Wool. It is loca- 
ted about the center of Section 30. 
The village of Columbus was sur- 
veyed by J. E. Y, Hannah, and the 
plat was filed on January 18, 1871. 
This post office of Wool is said to 
have been named for a General 
Wool. 



86 



Green's old mill was located near 
Brownfield. It was on Big Bay Creek 
in the NE14 of S36, and on June 13, 
1820, that Green was given permis- 
sion to build a dam 7 feet 6 inches 
high. 

The post office. Wool, was estab- 
lished August 5, 1857, with Joshua 
M. Ragsdale as postmaster. The other 
persons who served as postmasters at 
Wool are given below, with their 
dates of appointment: 

John T. Hielerman — May 16, 1863. 
John R. Brown — April 30, 1872. 
John T. Baldwin — December 15, 
1884. 

Maggie Brown — January 2, 1885. 

It was discontinued and mail sent 
to Brownfield on August 27, 1892. A 
new post office, Brownfield, which 
took the place of Wool, was estab- 
lished on the same day. While it bore 
the name Brownfield, the following 
persons served as postmasters: 

Maggie Brown — August 27, 1892. 
William J. Parmley — March 16, 
1894. 

Maggie B. Reeves — February 9, 
1898. 



Elish W. Green — December 
1902. 



6, 



The office was discontinued on 
July 9, 1906, and mail sent to Gol- 
conda. This office was evidently re- 
e.stablished, however, since W. C. 
Wierville was appointed postmaster 
on July 10, 1911. 

Another post office known as New 
Brownfield was established a short 
distance from the old town, Janu- 
ary 10, 1903, and Thomas F. Dunn 
was appointed postmaster. He was 
succeeded on January 24, 1907, by 
Wesley W. Wierville. The post of- 
fice was discontinued on July 10, 
1911, and the mail sent to Brown- 
field. 



ZIon Hill 

Zion Hill post office, which may 
be somewhat indefintely located 
about six miles west of Eddyville and 
near the Johnson-Pope County line, 
was established on June 15, 1857, 
and William Wooten appointed post- 
master. The office was discontinued 
on December 19, 1862. 



These notes have been written with the full realization that many in- 
cluded subjects deserve a more thorough treatment. Also there are numerous 
other items that merited inclusion if the allotted space had permitted. If these 
fragments of Pope County's story and the map included in the booklet help to 
increase interest in local history, they will have served their purpose. The story 
of the county deserves a more nearly-complete treatment. 



87 



REFERENCES 



Alvord Clarence W. (Editor-in 
Chief). Centennial History of Illi- 
nois. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois 
Centennial Commission, 1920. 

American State Papers, Public Lands. 
Washington, D. C; Duff Green, 
1834. A complete set of these pa- 
pers are available at the Southern 
Illinois University Museum. 

Atlas of the State of Illinois. Chica- 
go: Union Atlas Company, 1879. 

Blue Book of the State of Illinois. 
Compiled by James A. Rose, Sec- 
retary of State (Printed by au- 
thority of the State of Illinois), 
1905. 

Chapman, Mrs. P. T. A History of 
Johnson County, Illinois. Herrin, 
Illinois: Herrin News Press, 1925. 

Crawford, Rev. John. "Early His- 
tory-Frontier Life." Six-page man- 
uscript. Southern Illinois Museum, 
Carbondale, Illinois. 

Davidson, Alexander and Stuve, 
Bernard. A Complete History of 
Illinois from 1673 to 1873. Spring- 
field, Illinois: Journal Company, 
1874. 

Golconda Weekly Herald (Continued 
as the Herald Enterprise). Office 
of the Herald-Enterprise Publish- 
ing Company, Golconda, Illinois. 



Hand, John P. "Negro Slavery in 
Illinois." Transactions of the State 
Historical Society. Springfield, Il- 
linois, 1910. 

Harris, N. D. The History of Negro 
Servitude in Illinois. Chicago: A. 
C. McClurg, 1904. 

Herald-Enterprise. Office of the 
Herald-Enterprise Publishing Com- 
pany. Golconda, Illinois. 

Illinois in 1837; A Sketch Descrip- 
tive of the Situation, Boundaries, 
Face of the Country. Philadelphia: 
Augustus Mitchell and Gugg and 
Elliot, 1837. 

Journal of the Illinois State Histori- 
cal Society. Illinois State Histori- 
cal Library Publication. Spring- 
field, Illinois. 

Minutes of the Olive General Bap- 
tist Church. Church Clerk, Mc- 
Cormick, Illinois. 

McCoy, Theodore, "Notes on Pope 
County." Unpublished papers. A 
part of these notes are in the 
Southern Illinois University Mu- 
seum and part of them are re- 
tained by Theodore McCoy, Gol- 
conda, Illinois. 

Norton, A. T. History of the Pres- 
byterian Church in the State of 
Illinois. St. Louis: W. S. Bryan, 
1897. 



88 



Page, O. J. History of Massac Coun- 
ty, with Life Sketches and Por- 
traits. Metropolis, Illinois, 1900. 

Public Records of Pope County, Il- 
linois (1816-1865). Including 
Deed Records, Land Entry Book, 
Government Surveyor's Plat Book, 
Circuit Court Records, and Mis- 
cellaneous Records. Office of Cir- 
cuit Clerk, Courthouse, Golconda, 
Illinois. 

Public Records of Pope County, Il- 
linois (1816-1865). Including The 
Proceedings of the County Com- 
missioners Court, The County 
Court, the Probate Court, Report 
of the School Commissioner, and 
Miscellaneous Records. Office of 
the County Clerk, Courthouse, 
Golconda, Illinois. 

Public Records of Gallatin County 
(1812-1865). Similar to Pope 
County records listed above. 
Courthouse, Shawneetown, Illinois. 

Public Records of Johnson County 
(1812-1865). Similar to Pope 
County records listed above. 
Courthouse, Vienna, Illinois. 

Public Records of Randolph County 
(1790-1865). Similar to Pope 
County records listed above. 
Courthouse, Chester, Illinois. 

Records of the Court of Common 
Pleas. Office of Circuit Clerk, 
Courthouse, Randolph County, 
Chester, Illinois. 



Record of the Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions. Office of Circuit Clerk, 
Courthouse, Randolph County 
Chester, Illinois. 

Register of Slaves. Office of County 
Clerk, Courthouse, Randolph 
County, Chester, Illinois. 

Smith, George Washington. A His- 
tory of Southern Illinois. Chicago: 
The Lewis Publishing Company, 
1912. 

The Biographical Encyclopaedia of 
Illinois of the Nineteenth Century. 
Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing 
Company, 1875. 

Transactions of the Illinois State His- 
torical Society. Illinois State His- 
torical Library Publication, Spring- 
field, Illinois. 

U. S. Postal Guides (Prior to 1873). 
Revised and Published Quarterly 
by Authority of the Post Office 
Department, Library of Post Of- 
fice Department, Washington, D. 
C. 

U. S. Postal Records. Industrial Rec- 
ords Office, National Archives, 
Washington, D. C. 

The author has also interviewed 
numerous older settlers in the area. 
Wherever such information has been 
used, it has been carefully checked 
and verified. 



89 



INDEX 



Numbers and letters in parantheses refer 
to illustrated map at end of book. 



Agriculture 21 

Alcorn Creek (C-5) 62 

Allard 68 

Allen Branch (A-1) 62 

Allen Springs (A-3) 68 

Amusements - 4 

Anderson's Ford (B-2) -.- 26 

Animals 7 

Azotus (B-5) 69 

Bagly's Mill 41 

Band Mill 39 

Barker's Mill 41 

Baskets 23 

Bay 69 

Bay City (B-4) 69 

Bear Track Hollow (C-1) 64 

Bell Smith Spring (A-1) 61 

Big Bay (A-3) 69 

Big Bay Creek 69 

Big Pond (A-4) 62 

"Binding Out" 6 

Black Bottom (A-3) 62 

Blacksmiths 5, 55 

Blanchard (B-1) 70 



"Boarding Around" 33 

Book (Post Office) 72 

Boundaries of County 18 

Brands and Marks of Cattle _ .21 

Breadstuff 38 

Breckenridge 70 

Broadcasting Seeds 24 

Broad Oak - 70 

Broadway's Mill (A-2) 41 

Brownfield (A-3) 86 

Brush Arbors 31 

Burden Creek (A-1) .62 

Buried Treasure (C-3) (C-5) 61, 64 

Carr's Ferry 21 

Carrsville 71 

Carvel's Ford (A-2) 26 

Caves - 64 

Cedar Bluff (A-1) __... 65 

Cherokee Indians 77 

Chipp's Mill 41 

Chopping Out Corn 23 

Churches 27 

Clapboards 3 

Clear Lake (C-6) 62 



91 



Clearing Ground 21 

Clothing 3 

Coal (A-1) (B-1) (B-2) -57 

Colorado (A-1) -- 71 

Columbus — 86 

Conley's Mill 41 

Copperous Branch (B-2) 63 

Corduroy Roads 26 

Corinth 75 

Cutting Up Corn 23 

Cotton 24, 58 

Cotton Gin (B-5) 58 

Counterfeiting 65 

County Officials' First Meeting .19 

County Line 71 

Courthouse 76 

Cowan's Mill 40 

Creeks 62 

Crowds 6 

Cullom's Mill 42 

Cumberland Island (C-6) 66 

Dams 63 

Deadening Trees 21 

Debating Societies 35 

Delwood (B-1) 71 

Distilleries (B-2) .-. 60 

Dixon Springs (A-3) 72 

Dog Hollow (B-1) 65 

Dress 3 

Drinking Gourds ^-_.34 

Drumm's Creek (C-1) 63 



Drumm's Mill (C-1) 41 

Durfee's Mine (A-1) .— . 58 

Early Settlers 11 

Eddyville (B-2) — 72 

Empire Mine (C-1) ..- : 58 

Ferries 20 

Hamlet Ferguson's Ferry (C-6) -20 
James Ferguson's Ferry (C-3) .—20 

Feuds 49 

Fiddler's Green 75 

Flatheads and Regulators 49 

Food of Indians 7 

Food of Pioneers 7 

Ford's Ferry 20 

French 16 

Fruits — —-24 

Fulgham's Mill (B-2) _ ..— 41 

Furniture 3 

Games _- — 35 

George Rogers Clark 16 

Gibbon's Creek (C-1) 63 

Glendale (A-2) ^ 74 

Golconda (C-3) 74 

Golconda Island -. 66 

Gowanville (C-2) 77 

Grain Cradles 23 

Grand Pierre — 63 

Grand Pierre Mine (B-2) 58 

Grater 38 

Green's Mill 87 

Grist Mills 38 

Gulp Williams Hollow (C-1) 65 



92 



Gullet's Spring (C-3) 61 

Gunsmiths - 56 

Halfway Branch , 62 

Halltown 77 

Hamletsburg (C-6) 77 

Hand Mills .— ...38 

Harper's Knob (C-2) 65 

Harrison, William Henry 20, 75 

Hartsville (C-1) 78 

Harvesting 23 

Hence Mountain (C-1) 65 

Herod (C-1) 78 

Hills and Hollows 64 

HodgvilLe 79 

Holmes 79 

Homberg 79 

Horse Mill 39 

House Raising 2 

How Pope Became a County 16 

Hunting Branch 63 

Husking Bees 23 

Indian Mill 38 

Indian Forts 9 

Indian Kitchen (B-1) 9 

Iron (A-1) (B-3) 57 

Islands 66 

Jones 79 

Kaolin (A-1) 57 

Kate Reed Hollow (A-1) 65 

Kincaid Mounds (C-6) 9 

Land Claims 11 



Lead (B-2) 58 

Lights 29 

Lincoln 53 

Literary Societies 35 

Little Saline River (A-1) 62 

Livestock -22 

Logrolling 21 

Louis . 79 

Lusk (C-2) 80 

Lusk Creek 63 

Lusk, Major James 74 

Lusk, Sarah 20, 75 

Lusk's Ferry (B-3) 20 

Madstones - 67 

Manson's Ford 26 

Maple Sugar 59 

Marking Stock 21 

Massac Bluff (A-3) ..„ 65 

Maynor's Ford (A-2) 26 

McCormick (A-1) ...80 

McFarland's Ferry 20 

Mealer 8 1 

Miles' Ferry 20 

Miles' Trace 20 

Military Claims 11 

Militia 6 

Millstone Knob (A-2) 65 

Mines and Minerals 57 

Money 4 

Money Cave Hollow (B-3) 65 

Negroes 42 



93 



New Liberty (C-6) -- 81 

Newport 8 1 

Newspapers 68 

Nigger Wool Swamp (A-3) 62 

Oak (B-1) 82 

Old Brownfield (B-3) 86 

Olive General Baptist Church 

( A-1 ) 28 

O'Mulvaney's Ferry (C-5) 20 

Ora 82 

Orchards 24 

Ordinance of 1787 16 

Orville 82 

Panthers 7 

Passenger Pigeons 8 

Peter's Creek Mill 40 

"Picking up chunks" 21 

Pittulo Bluff (B-3) 66 

Plowing New Ground 22 

Plows 22 

Poco ^ 83 

Politics 52 

Poor Persons 6 

Porter's Ford 26 

Porter's Ford Mill (B-3) 41 

Post Offices 68 

Potatoes 23 

Potato Hill (C-1) 66 

Price Island 67 

Prior Island 67 

Punishments, Legal 6 

Punishments, School 37 



Quarrel Creek — 63 

Ragan _ 8 3 

Raum (B-2) 83 

Renshaw (A-3) 83 

Resort 72 

Revival Meetings 31 

Rising Sun 83 

Roadways — 5, 25 

Robbs (A-2) 84 

Rock (A-3) 84 

Rock Quarry (C-3) 84 

Rondeau Island 66 

Rosebud (B-4) 84 

Rose Ford (B-2) 26 

Round Pond (C-6) 62 

Sand Hill 66 

Sarahville 75 

Sawmills 42 

Settlers, early 11 

Shandsville 85 

Sheridan's Cave 64 

Shoemaker 3 

Sickle . ^-24 

Singing Schools . 36 

Singleton's Mill 40 

Slavery and Negro Servitude 42 

Slaves, Kidnapping 51 

Smith's Hill 40 

Soapmaking . 4 

Spanish 16 

Spar 58 



94 



Spelling Matches 35 

Steamboats 60 

Stewart Island (C-5) 66 

Stock Marks 21 

Stouts 85 

Stump Mills 38 

Sturdevant's Fort 50 

Sugar Camps (B-2) 59 



Sugar Camp Creek ..^ 
Sugar Camp Hollow 

Sugar, Maple 

Swapping Work 

Tanbark 

Tanneries . 

Tansill (B-4) 

Taverns 

Temperance 



Temple Hill (A-4) _ 
Thacker's Gap (C-1) 
Three Sisters' Island 

Threshing 

Tobacco 



63 

64 

59 

3 

56 

56 

85 

59 

54 

85 

78 

67 

23 



-74, 86 



Treadmills 39 

Transportation 4 

Twitchell's Mill 41 

Underwood 86 

Virginia 16 

Visiting 31 

Wagon Makers 56, 57 

Walnut Shade ^_86 

Waltersburg (B-3) 86 

War Bluff (B-2) 9 

Watermills 39 

Watkins' Ford 26 

Wheat 23 

Wild Animals 7 

Williams' Mountain (C-1) 65 

Wilson's Mill 41 

Wolrab's Mill 41 

Wolves 7 

Wool (Postoffice) 86 

Wool Mill (C-2) _-73 

Writing School 36 

Zion Hill 87 



95 



UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISURBANfl 

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POPE COUNTY NOTES CARBONDALE 



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