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Sesquicentennial,  Carmi,  Illinois, 


1816-1966. 


(1966) 


ILLINOIS  HSSTORICAL  SURVEY; 


(^ 


ILLINOIS 

SESQUICENTENNIAL 


W 


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/    ■ 


JliJMO'S  HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


SESQUICENTENNIAL 

CARMi  ILLINOIS 
18I6--I966 


Published  by  the  Carmi  Sesquicentennial  Commission,  Inc. 


J.  Robert  Smith,  President 
C.  F.  Rebstock,  Vice  President 
Mrs.  Allen  Ball,  Secretary 
William  F.  Sharp,  Treasurer 


Mrs.  Douglas  J.  Ames,  Sr. 
Mayor  Laurence  Boehringer 
Mrs.  R.  C.  Brown 
James  Robert  Endicott 


Sam  B.  Hart 

Sam  A.  Hassan 

Mrs.  Ray  A.  McCalhster 

Mrs.  Edwin  Stocke 


Mrs.  Fred  J.  Reinwald,  Chairman 
Mrs.  Robert  Ready  Williams. 


Publication  Committee 
Mrs.  Henry  Lichtman 
Mrs.  Hazel  K.  Munsey 


Mrs.  Henry  J.  Karch 
Miss  E.  Wave  Jamerson 


Business  and  Professional  Women's  Club 


This  souvenir  booklet  of  Canni's  150th  birthday  was  made  possible  by  many  enthusi- 
astic people  —  those  who  graciously  loaned  old  pictures,  women  who  collected  the  photos,  the 
staff  of  the  Carmi  Times,  the  sponsors,  members  of  the  Business  and  Professional 
Women's  Club,  who  enlisted  the  support  of  the  sponsors,  and  the  author,  J.  Robert  Smith. 


iu/miiAe^    dow^H'    i^ne    decadei  ,  .  . 


HOULD  YOU  ASK  ME,  whence   these  stories;  whence 
these  legends  and  traditions — of  the  pioneer  in  buckskin; 

with  the  hitching  racks  and  ox  teams;  of  the  cobblestones  and  candles, 
and  the  grinding  o±  the  com  mill — ^where  the  Little  Wabash  wanders  in  and 
out  of  old  White  County? 

I  should  answer,  I  should  tell  you :  from  the  eager  lips  long  silent ; 
from  the  hist'ry  of  the  county,  from  the  vaults  where  ledgers  moulder; 
from  the  files  of  crumbling  papers. 

Here  we  read  and  pored  and  pondered;  read  some  more  and  then 
recorded.  We  repeat  them  as  we  found  them,  all  these  stories  and  tradi- 
tions. 

Now  we  cherish,  save  and  guard  them. 


Your  Sesquicentennial  book  is  not  a  history. 

Although  it  starts  before  the  beginning  of  Carmi,  no  attempt  was 
made  to  write  a  complete  chronological  story  about  people  and  events  of  the 
past  150  years. 

We  present  here  a  few  glances  backward  down  the  decades ;  attempting 
to  preserve  in  words  and  pictures  the  ways  of  life  of  dear  hearts  and  gentle 
people — our  ancestors. 


5e7 


-yn/u 


n^JLtne    eJ 


III.  H'2r, 


mi 


O/K^mi 


^b 


AM  150  years  old,  and  you  are 
celebrating. 

Oh,  how  the  years  have  sped  by ! 

I  was  bom  in  a  wilderness,  beside  a 
meandering  stream.  Attending  my  birth 
were  pioneers  in  buckskin,  linsey-woolsey 
and  calico.  They  walked  and  rode  horse- 
back from  Carolina,  Kentucky,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Virginia. 


I  was  born  in  Lowry  Hay's  log  cabin 
near  the  Little  Wabash  River.  It  was 
February  8,  1816 — a  cold,  raw  day.  The 
winter  wind  moaned  through  cracks  in  the 
cabin.  Close  by,  the  grist  mill's  water 
wheel  creaked  as  it  turned. 

My  christening  came  on  a  bright  April 
day.  On  the  sixteenth  people  met  at  the 
log  house  of  John  Craw.  Dr.  Josiah  Stew- 
art was  there.  With  him  were  Daniel  and 
Lowry  Hay.  Leonard  White  arrived.  The 
county  had  been  named  for  him.  Now  it 
was  time  to  name  the  town — me! 

I  am  told  that  many  names  were  sug- 
gested. Just  who  opened  the  Bible  I  do  not 
know.  Perhaps  it  was  the  Rev.  John  C. 
Slocumb,  a  Methodist  minister.  Genesis 
46:9  ..  .  Exodus  6:14  .  .  .  Numbers  26:6 
.  .  .  Joshua  7:1,  18  .  .  .  First  Chronicles  2:7, 
4:1,  5:3.  In  all  those  passages  one  finds 
the  name  of  the  son  of  Reuben,  the  grand- 
son of  Jacob,  the  nephew  of  Joseph. 

And  so,  a  log  cabin  settlement  in  the 
forest  was  named  Carmi. 


Who  am  I  ?  For  what  do  I  stand  ? 

I  am  more  than  6,000  people,  and  the 
spirit  of  thousands  of  others  who  lived, 
labored,  loved  and  died  here  the  past  150 
years.  My  sons  and  daughters  remember 
me  with  affection  as  they  have  gone  out 
to  the  far  places  of  the  world.  Many  return 
to  visit  or  retire. 

I  am  a  log  village  on  a  muddy,  rutted 
road,  and  a  modem  city  with  wide,  paved 
streets.  My  way  has  been  lighted  dowTi  the 
decades  by  pine  knots,  candles,  kerosene, 
gas  and  electricity. 

I  can  still  hear  the  whirring  wheel 
spinning  flax  and  wool ;  the  clicking  loom 
weaving  linsey-woolsey;  creaking  wagons 
drawn  by  oxen;  hoof  beats  of  circuit 
riders'  horses ;  the  lonely  howl  of  the  tim- 
ber wolf ;  the  coachman's  horn  as  the  stage 
approaches ;  the  whistle  of  steamboats  on 
the  Little  Wabash. 

I  can  still  smell  venison  roasting  on 
the  spit;  corn  bread  baking  on  the  coals; 
hickoiy  burning  in  the  fireplace. 

My  first  settlers  told  me  about  the 
violent  earthquakes  of  1811  and  1812;  how 
the  ground  shook  and  rocked  and  then 
rolled  like  waves  of  the  sea.  They  told  me 
about  the  "harraken"  of  1815 — a  cyclone 
that  mowed  down  the  forest  in  a  path  a 
mile  wide. 

I  remember  November  12,  1833,  "the 
night  the  stars  fell,"  when  the  wife  of 
Chief  Justice  William  E.  Wilson  went  out- 
side to  gaze  in  wonder ;  to  wash  her  hands 
and  face  with  stars,  as  though  they  had 
been  snow  flakes,  then  bathed  her  baby's 
face  with  Stardust. 

I  am  the  Little  Wabash  River  and 
Shipley  Hill;  'Possum  Road  and  the  old 
Shavraeetown  Trail ;  the  tan  yard  and  dis- 
tillery and  pioneer  ferry. 


I  am  Joseph  Pomeroy  and  Benjamin 
R.  Smith;  Doctors  Josiah  Stewart  and 
Thomas  Shannon,  Daniel  P.  Berry  and 
William  Brimble-Combe,  Frank  Sibley  and 
R.  C.  Brown;  Lieutenant  Governor  Wil- 
liam H.  Davidson  and  Attorney  General 
Ivan  A.  Elliott. 

I  am  Willis  Hargrave,  who  rode  horse- 
back from  Equality  to  find  my  birthplace, 
and  Chamber  of  Commerce  President 
Albert  W.  McCallister,  who  flies  to  distant 
cities  to  look  after  my  interests. 

I  remember  the  men  enlisting  for  the 
Black  Hawk  and  Mexican  wars ;  the  excite- 
ment and  sadness  of  the  Civil  War;  the 
Spanish  war  volunteers  of  1898 ;  the  troop 
trains  of  1917;  the  casualty  lists  of  the 
1940's  and  1950's.  And  now,  Vietnam! 

I  am  Ratcliff  Inn  and  the  Damron 
House;  the  Robinson  home  and  the  Old 
Graveyard;  the  Reinwald  and  Ziegler 
stave  factory  and  the  Staley  mill;  the 
Ainsbrooke  Corporation  and  Sterling 
Aluminum;  the  Innovation  and  Burrell's 
Woods. 

You  can  look  at  me  and  see  State  Sen- 
ator Edwin  B.  Webb  crossing  the  dusty 
street  to  board  a  stagecoach  for  Spring- 
field; U.  S.  Senator  John  M.  Robinson 
riding  in  the  fancy  brougham  he  bought  in 
Baltimore. 

I  am  the  Home  Culture  Circle  start- 
ing a  library  in  1898;  the  Thursday  and 
Friday  clubs  of  years  gone  by ;  the  D.A.R. 
and  its  Memorial  Circle  in  the  Old  Ceme- 
tery. 

I  am  Colonel  John  M.  Whiting  and 
General  Frederick  J.  Karch ;  Congressmen 
John  M.  Crebs,  James  R.  Williams, 
Orlando  Burrell  and  Roy  Clippinger; 
Ephraim  Joy  and  Charles  Berry;  Dr. 
Elam  Stewart,  my  first  mayor,  and  Laur- 
ence Boehringer,  the  present  mayor; 
Nathaniel  Holderby  and  Roy  E.  Pearce. 

I  am  Colonel  Everton  Conger  captur- 
ing John  Wilkes  Booth  and  C.  F.(Bud) 
Rebstock  bringing  a  new  industry  to  town ; 


William  Stewart,  long  at  rest  in  the  Old 
Graveyard,  and  Herbert  G.  Bayley,  devo- 
ting years  to  civic  work. 

I  am  Benjamin  St.  John  and  John  G. 
Powell,  Adam  Miller  and  North  Storms, 
Doctors  J.  I.  Spicknall  and  Ray  McCallis- 
ter, A.  S.  Rudolph  and  Edwin  Stocke.  I  am 
Frank  J.  Foster  and  Allen  Ball. 

I  can  still  hear  Abraham  Lincoln 
speaking  in  Stewart's  Grove  in  1840;  the 
eloquence  of  William  Jennings  Bryan 
down  by  the  depot  in  1896;  the  Missouri 
twang  of  Harry  Truman  beside  the  court- 
house in  1948;  the  clipped  sentences  of 
Dwight  Eisenhower  at  the  back  of  the 
campaign  train  in  1948. 

I  remember  the  covered  bridge  of 
1840 ;  the  flood  of  1913  ;  the  tornado's  roar 
in  1925. 

I  am  the  Historical  Society  saving  Rat- 
cliff  Inn ;  the  Kiwanis  Club  on  Corn  Day ; 
the  Rotary  Club  at  its  annual  barbecue; 
the  Lions  Club  at  its  hamburger  stand  at 
the  White  County  Fair. 

Yes,  I  am  150  years  old — but  I  am 


young 


The  past  has  been  gracious  and  good, 
but  my  eyes  are  on  the  future.  I  cherish 
the  past  but  look  forward  eagerly  to  my 
next  150  years. 

What  will  I  be  in  the  year  2116? 

Look  in  the  mirror. 

There  is  your  answer. 


?<^^£e    tne    veQMvnt/nO' 


ONG    BEFORE    there    was    a 
Carmi,  Indians  lived  here. 

Through  their  village  ran  a  trail  to  a 
ford  in  the  river.  Eastward  it  went 
through  tall  prairie  grass  to  the  Ouabache 
River.  Westward  it  plunged  into  the  deep, 
dark  forest;  forked  southward  to  La 
Belle  Riviere  and  west  to  the  Mississippi. 

Braves  loafed  in  the  sunshine.  Squaws 
skinned  deer,  tended  fires,  carried  water 
from  the  stream,  worked  in  corn  rows, 
picked  pumpkins  and  squash.  Children 
played    with    dogs    and    splashed  in  the 


Shawnees,  Piankeshaws  and  Potawa- 
tomis  prowled  prairie  and  forest,  as  free 
as  foxes  and  deer.  They  left  the  land  un- 
changed. The  river  ran  crystal  clear,  swift 
and  deep.  The  forest  remained  uncut,  un- 
spoiled. 

Giant  oaks,  maples,  walnuts,  chest- 
nuts, sycamores  and  sweet  gums  reared 
skyward.  They  were  so  dense  they  shut 
out  the  light ;  left  the  forest  floor  in  green 
shadow.  Grape  vines  as  big  as  a  man's 
thigh  snaked  high  into  the  trees. 

This  place  was  wildly  beautiful.  Whip- 
poorwills  called.  Beavers  built  dams. 
Wolves  howled.  Passenger  pigeons  flew  in 
flocks  of  millions.  There  were  deer  and 
bears  in  abundance. 

East  of  the  river,  prairie  grasses  rip- 
pled as  the  waves  of  the  sea.  In  spring- 
time the  prairies  glowed  with  scarlet  lilies, 
yellow  cowslips,  sweet  William  and  violets. 
When  the  bluestem  and  Indian  grasses 
grew  in  the  summer  sun  they  were  high 
enough  to  hide  a  man  on  horseback. 

From  the  Ouabache  River  the  prairie 
sea  rolled  westward  to  the  Petite  Oua- 
bache, then  stopped — right  here! 

West  of  the  river  was  the  forest  sea — 
a  mighty  green  ocean  of  trees,  billowing 
and  rolling  in  the  ridges,  hills  and  knobs 
of  southern  Illinois. 

To  the  Indians,  this  land  was  beauti- 
ful, bountiful  and  old  .  .  .  old. 

To  the  pioneers  pushing  westward,  it 
was  wild,  bleak  and  —  new ! 


^ne    6ea4/n/nin^ 


mST  CAME  the  trappers  and 
hunters,  seeking  fur  and  game. 

And  then  the  land-lookers,  wanting  to 
settle.  Daniel  Bain,  a  Revolutionary  War 
soldier  from  Virginia,  pushed  into  this 
area  in  1806.  He  sired  18  children;  was 
step-father  of  six  more. 

Others  built  on  the  Big  Prairie — 
Peter  Kuykendall  in  1808;  Robert  Land, 
Thomas  Miller,  Henry  Jones,  James  Gar- 
rison, Thomas  Gray  and  the  Rev.  Daniel 
McHenry  in  1809. 

Isaac  Veach  arrived  that  year.  He 
turned  his  back  on  the  prairie ;  crossed  the 
Little  Wabash ;  built  his  cabin  on  the  bluff 
overlooking  the  river.  It  stood  just  south 
of  what  is  now  Carmi's  Main  Street  bridge. 

People  kept  arriving  at  Big  Prairie. 
In  1810,  John  Hanna,  Captain  William  Mc- 
Henry, Benjamin  Mobley,  Daniel  Boulting- 
house. 

Perhaps  they  laughed  at  Isaac  Veach. 
Why  didn't  he  choose  rich,  level  land? 
Why  build  a  home  at  the  edge  of  the  for- 
est? 

Most  land-lookers  wanted  not  only 
good  soil  but  running  water.  They  sought 
locations  beside  a  river  or  creek.  That  is 
where  towns  were  started. 

The  year  1811  was  one  of  trouble  and 
terror.  Indians  were  killing  and  scalping. 
Tecumseh  was  trying  to  unite  all  tribes  for 
war.  "This  is  our  land,"  he  told  General 
William  Henry  Harrison  at  Vincennes. 

Potawatomis  started  scalping  in  Illi- 
nois. Gen.  Harrison  planned  an  invasion 
of  Indian  territory.  People  on  the  prairie 
hurried  to  build  blockhouses  for  protec- 
tion. Frightened  families  fled  to  these 
forts  built  by  Robert  Land,  John  Hanna, 
Capt.  William  McHenry,  Hardy  Council, 
Aaron  Williams  and  John  Slocumb. 

Going  to  their  com  patches,  men  car- 
ried guns;  leaned  them  against  stumps. 
They  armed  themselves  before  shepherd- 
ing their  families  to  worship  services  in 
log  cabin  homes. 


The  attacks  did  come.  In  one  raid  on 
a  cabin  near  here  Indians  killed  two  men 
and  wounded  four. 

A  flaming  comet  swept  the  skies  that 
summer.  Worried  settlers  gazed  in  awe 
and  consternation. 

FIERY  SKY,  TREMBLING  EARTH 

Then  came  that  terrifying  December 
16. 

It  was  2  a.m.  Monday.  Settlers  slept. 

Suddenly,  the  earth  shook.  Cabins 
shuddered.  Logs  creaked.  Cradles  rocked. 
Chimneys  cracked.  Bells  rang.  Clocks  stop- 
ped. Dishes  crashed. 

Cattle  bawled.  Dogs  howled.  Horses 
panicked. 

People  fled  from  their  cabins;  hud- 
dled in  the  cold.  Parents  prayed.  Children 
cried. 

The  ground  rolled  in  waves.  Trees 
blew  up,  cracked,  split,  fell  by  the  thous- 
ands. When  earth  waves  hit  the  tall  tim- 
ber, forest  giants  weaved  their  tops  togeth- 
er, interlocked  their  branches,  sprang  back 
and  cracked  like  whip  lashes. 

The  earth  rumbled,  roared,  split  open, 
raised  in  some  places,  sank  in  others.  On 
the  prairie,  snow-white  sand  shot  up  like 
geysers. 

Along  the  Wabash  and  Little  Wabash 
Rivers  banks  caved  in.  Trees  toppled  into 
the  water.  Mrs.  Edward  McCallister  hur- 
ried her  children  into  a  dugout  canoe, 
pushed  it  into  the  Wabash  River.  Violent 
waves  forced  her  to  struggle  back  to  the 
heaving  land. 

The  earth  shook  all  night  and  the  fol- 
lowing day.  Tremors  continued  for  three 
months,  with  massive  shocks  January  23 
and  February  7. 

The  praying  pioneers  didn't  know  it, 
but  they  had  experienced  the  heaviest 
earthquake  ever  to  shake  the  American 
continent.  It  shook  1,000,000  square  miles ; 
rang  church  bells  in  Boston ;  toppled  chim- 
neys in  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  frightened  peo- 
ple in  New  Orleans,  Washington,  D.  C, 
Louisville  and  Cincinnati. 


WAR  BREAKS  OUT 

While  the  earth  still  trembled  Indians 
harried  the  countryside.  The  War  of  1812 
broke  out.  A  company  of  mounted  U.  S. 
Rangers  rode  into  the  area ;  built  a  block- 
house ;  guarded  the  settlers  for  two  years. 

Men  named  Williams  and  Weed 
arrived  here  in  1812.  They  looked  at 
Veach's  cabin  on  the  river  bluff  and  liked 
the  location.  They  felled  trees,  burned 
brush,  built  a  log  dam  and  ci-ude  water 
mill,  opened  a  trading  post,  started  a  tan- 
nery, added  a  distillery. 

Until  then  the  closest  mill  was  at  New 
Haven.  Now,  from  miles  around  people 
came  to  the  new  mill  on  the  Little  Wabash. 
They  brought  their  com  by  canoe,  on 
horseback  and  on  foot. 

The  late  W.  D.  Hay  talked  with  a 
Wayne  County  man  whose  people  traveled 
to  the  Williams  and  Weed  mill  seven  years 
before  there  was  a  Wayne  County. 

A  certain  settler,  tired  of  pounding  his 
com  into  meal  by  hand  in  an  Indian  mor- 
tar, walked  more  than  30  miles  to  the  mill, 
carrying  a  bushel  of  corn  strapped  on  his 
shoulders. 

It  took  three  days  to  make  the  round 
trip.  He  spent  two  nights  alone  in  the 
woods ;  killed  and  cooked  food  when  hun- 
gry, arrived  home  tired  but  happy. 

Beside  the  mill,  the  tannery  was  turn- 
ing  out  leather.  The  distillery  was  pro- 
ducing whisky.  The  trading  post  was  ex- 
changing powder,  lead,  liquor,  coffee  and 
calico  for  corn,  coonskins,  venison  hams, 
deerskins,  ginseng  and  hogs. 

News  of  this  activity  reached  New 
Haven,  Shawneetown  and  Equality. 
"Hmm-m-m,"  said  folks  down  there,  "is  a 
new  settlement  about  to  start  in  our 
county?" 

LEADERS  WERE  WAITING 

Leaders  of  men  were  living  at  Equal- 
ity, Shawneetown  and  the  U.  S.  Saline  in 
those  days.  Fortunes  were  being  made  and 
lost  at  the  salt  works.  Waves  of  migration 
rolled  westward,  swept  through  the  Wil- 
derness Road  and  down  the  Ohio  River  in 
flatboats. 

Shawneetown  was  the  principal  port 
of  entry  into  the  vast  Illinois  Territory. 
Among  the  impoverished  pioneers  were 
men  of  substance  and  education.  They 
became  the  natural  leaders. 


There  was  Captain  Leonard  White, 
U.  S.  agent  at  the  Saline ;  former  postmas- 
ter there ;  erstwhile  judge  of  the  court  of 
common  pleas. 

James  Ratcliff,  a  Virginia  gentleman, 
succeeded  White  as  postmaster. 

Ratcliffs  father-in-law  was  Colonel 
Willis  Hargrave.  Governor  Ninian  Ed- 
wards appointed  him  commander  of  the 
4th  Regiment  militia.  His  property 
included  numerous  slaves. 

In  the  frontier  excitement  of  Shaw- 
neetown, Equality  and  the  U.  S.  Saline  one 
could  find  Joseph  Pomroy,  John  Craw, 
Lowry  Hay  and  his  nephew,  John;  Har- 
grave's  sons,  George  and  Samuel ;  his  sons- 
in-law,  Ratcliff,  Benjamin  White  and 
James  A.  Richardson. 

There  was  talk  at  Kaskaskia  that  the 
Territorial  Assembly  was  going  to  divide 
Gallatin  County.  Well!  That  would  mean 
a  new  county  seat. 

Big  plans  were  soon  afoot.  Leonard 
White  and  Lowry  Hay  got  their  heads 
together.  They  formed  some  sort  of  part- 
nership. Hay  and  his  nephew,  John,  took 
over  the  Williams  and  Weed  mill,  tannery 
and  distillery. 

White  built  a  log  storehouse  near 
Hay's  mill.  George  Hargrave  started  a 
store  there. 

John  Craw  built  a  two-room  log  house 
back  in  the  woods.  (This  is  now  the  en- 
larged, beautified  home  of  Miss  Mary  Jane 
Stewart.) 

On  October  16,  1814,  John  Hay  en- 
tered the  northeast  quarter  of  Section  13. 
Through  it  ran  the  Little  Wabash  River. 
On  it  stood  the  mill,  tannery,  distillery; 
the  log  homes  of  Craw  and  Veach;  the 
White-Hargrave  store.  (The  greater  part 
of  Carmi  now  occupies  Section  13.) 

OWNERS  WERE  WHITE  AND  HAY 

It  was  soon  learned  that  Lowry  Hay 
and  Leonard  White  were  the  joint  proprie- 
tors of  the  proposed  town  site.  On  Nov. 
29,  1815,  Willis  Hargrave  bought  40  acres 
in  Section  13  and  40  in  Section  14. 

More  and  more  people  were  coming  to 
trade  and  have  their  com  ground.  The 
place  had  no  name.  Settlers  said  they  were 
going  to  Hay's  Mill  or  to  Hargrave's  store. 


And  then  it  happened.  On  December  9, 
1815,  White  County  was  created.  Governor 
Edwards  appointed  the  officials  for  the 
new  county: 

Judges  of  the  County  Commissioners 
Court,  Willis  Hargrave,  Joseph  Pomroy 
and  the  Rev.  John  C.  Slocumb; 

County  clerk  and  recorder,  James  Rat- 
cliff; 

Commissioners  to  fix  the  seat  of  ju! 
tice.  Margrave's  sons-in-law,  Ratcliff  an  1 
Benjamin  White ;  Stephen  E.  Hogg  an  I 
Samuel  Hays; 

Colonel  of  the  5th  Regiment  count, 
militia,  Willis  Hargrave; 

Surveyor,  Lowry  Hay;  sheriff,  Ben- 
jamin R.  Smith;  justices  of  the  peace. 
Lowry  Hay,  William  Nash,  the  Rev.  Dan- 
iel McHenry,  Stephen  Standly,  Thomas 
Rutledge,  Edmond  Covington,  Moses 
Thompson  and  Thomas  Randolph. 

It  was  all  set.  Hay,  White  and  Har- 
grave owned  220  acres.  The  grist  mill  was 
busy.  Cabins  were  going  up.  Why,  the 
place  would  soon  rival  New  Haven  as  a 
trading  center! 

About  this  time  Daniel  Hay  was  on 
the  move  again.  The  34-year-old  Virginian 
was  dissatisfied  with  life  in  Butler  County, 
Kentucky. 

He  had  a  growing  family;  told  his 
wife,  Priscilla,  he  longed  to  go  to  the  Illi- 
nois country,  perhaps  as  far  north  as  the 
Sangamon  River. 

In  the  winter  of  1815-1816,  Hay  sad- 
dled his  horse,  bid  his  family  farewell  and 
rode  northward.  He  would  explore  the  new 
land,  decide  on  a  location,  then  return  for 
his  family. 

He  crossed  the  river  at  Shawneetown ; 
rode  on  to  Equality.  In  the  French  settle- 
ment he  paused  to  listen  to  men  talking 
about  a  new  county  being  organized.  It 
was  named  for  Leonard  White.  And  there 
was  Captain  White! 

Yes,  he  said  he  already  had  interests 
up  there.  On  the  Little  Wabash  River  he 
and  Lowry  Hay  had  a  mill  going.  They 
had  entered  land;  were  going  to  build  a 
town — a  county  seat! 

Why  not  settle  there?  Go  along  with 
us! 

Hay  then  talked  with  Willis  Hargrave. 
Forget  the  Sangamon,  Hay  was  advised. 
Get  in  on  the  ground  floor  of  this  venture. 
We're  leaving  soon. 


One    of    Ci  \\  I 

Revolutionary  War  soldier  who  served  in  the  company  of  his 
father,  Captain  Matthew  Stewart.  The  family  left  North  Carolina 
and  settled  near  Marion,  Kentucky,  before  coming  to  Carmi.  Wiir 
liam  Stewart  was  the  father  of  Dr.  Josiah  Stewart  and  grandfather 
of  Dr.  Elam  L.  Stewart,  Carmi's  first  mayor.  He  died  in  1856  at 
the  age  of  93  and  is  buried  in  the  Old  Graveyard. 

EIGHT  MEN  RIDE  NORTHWARD 

It  was  a  cold  winter  morning  in  1816. 
Eight  men  on  horseback  rode  out  of  Equal- 
ity; took  the  trail  toward  New  Haven. 
Daniel  Hay  was  with  them.  Col.  Hargrave 
led  the  way,  followed  by  Capt.  Leonard 
White ;  Margrave's  sons,  George  and  Sam- 
uel; sons-in-law,  Benjamin  White,  James 
A.  Richardson  and  James  Ratcliff. 

It  was  a  long  ride.  Perhaps  they  dis- 
mounted at  New  Haven  for  rest  and 
refreshments;  talked  with  Joseph  Boone, 
Samuel  Dagley  and  Paddy  Robinson;  then 
pushed  onward  up  the  snowy  trail. 

Dusk  or  darkness  must  have  fallen  by 
the  time  they  arrived  at  Hay's  mill.  Tired 
horses  whinnied  at  the  sig^t  of  candle 
light,  the  smell  of  feed. 

Weary  riders  were  cheered  to  see 
smoke  spiraling  from  cabin  chimneys ;  to 
think  of  hot  com  bread  and  venison  stew. 

Cabin  doors  opened.  People  ran  out  to 
welcome  the  new  arrivals;  ask  for  news 
from  the  outside  world. 


Now !  A  county  seat  must  be  selected. 
Guess  where  it  would  be? 

On  Monday  morning,  Feb.  5,  the  four 
commissioners  met  in  Lowry  Hay's  cabin 
near  the  mill.  They  talked  all  day;  met 
again  Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  discussing 
"the  settlements,  the  geography  of  the 
county,  the  convenience  of  the  people  and 
the  eligibility  of  the  situation." 

By  Thursday,  Feb.  8,  they  had  made 
their  decision;  were  ready  to  draft  their 
report.  The  county  seat  would  be  right 
here  at  this  settlement  without  a  name. 

Now  to  make  it  legal.  The  county  com- 
missioners— Hargrave,  Pomroy  and  Slo- 
cumb — must  meet  and  accept  the  report. 
The  following  Monday,  Feb.  12,  they  went 
to  Hay's  house.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Slocumb 
opened  the  first  county  court  session  with 
prayer. 

20  ACRES  GIVEN  FOR  TOWN 

They  looked  at  a  crude  map  of  the 
large  new  county.  It  extended  from  the 
Wabash  River  westward  into  what  is  now 
Hamilton,  Franklin  and  part  of  Jefferson. 

They  divided  the  area  into  three 
townships — Prairie,  Fox  River  and  West 
— appointed  overseers  of  the  poor,  consta- 
bles and  fence  viewers.  After  a  long  day 
they  adjourned. 


The  next  morning  James  Ratcliff, 
county  clerk,  and  Benjamin  R.  Smith,  sher- 
iff, presented  their  official  bonds.  The 
judges  then  called  for  the  report  of  the 
commission  named  to  locate  the  seat  of 
justice. 


JAMES  EATCLIFF 


Ratcliff,  White,  Hogg  and  Hays 
recommended  for  the  county  seat  a  40- 
acre  tract  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec- 
tion 13;  announced  that  Leonard  White 
and  Lowry  Hay  would  donate  20  of  these 
acres  to  the  county.  A  stake  had  been 
driven  in  the  center  to  mark  the  public 
square. 

The  official  surveyor,  Lowry  Hay, 
was  ordered  to  lay  off  the  town.  Daniel 
McHenry  was  empowered  to  mark  off  lota 
and  sell  them. 

And  so,  a  town  was  bom.  People  didn't 
know  what  to  call  it  .  .  .  Hay's  Mill?  .  .  . 
Hargrave's  Store?  No,  a  new  county  seat 
must  have  a  good  name;  something  with 
a  meaning. 

Did  John  Slocumb  then  start  leafing 
through  his  Bible?  Had  he  met  the  Wells 
family  from  Vermont?  Far  from  their 
Eastern  home,  this  pioneer  family  took  up 
land  in  this  area  just  before  the  town  was 
formally  established.  Carmi  Wells  was  the 
father's  name,  and  the  youngest  of  his 
children  was  named  Carmi. 

The  Wells  family  moved  on ;  settled  in 
Wayne  County,  but  they  left  their  name 
here.  The  parents  died  and  the  grand- 
father came  west  to  take  the  children  back 
to  Vermont. 

Meeting  at  John  Craw's  log  house  on 
April  10,  leaders  decided  to  call  the  town 
Carmi,  a  name  mentioned  eight  times  in 
Genesis,  Exodus,  Numbers,  Joshua  and 
First  Chronicles. 


^ne    ibuf^    a/i'^em    o/nd  p^oti/iciiAed , 


KITE  COUNTY  grew  fast.  By 
1818  it  passed  Gallatin  in  popu- 
lation—3,529  to  3,348— and  was  the  third 
most  populous  county  in  the  state. 

Settlers  poured  into  Prairie,  Fox 
River  and  West  Townships.  The  forest 
echoed  to  axes.  More  and  more  cabins  were 
built  in  Carnii.  The  western  boundary  was 
where  the  Methodist  Church  now  stands — 
but  that  was  'way  out  in  the  country.  And 
the  country  then  was  a  forest ! 

Oh,  the  town  was  thriving.  Lowry 
Hay  added  a  sawmill.  He  and  his  nephew 
shipped  whisky,  pork  and  com  to  New 
Orleans.  The  river  front  was  a  busy  place 
when  flatboats  were  being  loaded. 

James  S.  Graham  started  a  ferry 
close  to  his  hotel;  opened  a  store  and 
blacksmith  shop. 

George  Webb  and  James  Gray  ran 
trading  posts.  They  paid  %\  for  pork  bar- 
rels, 12V^c  a  pound  for  deerskins,  4c  a 
pound  for  hogs. 

Settlers  trading  there  found  these 
prices : 

Bacon  10c  lb.;  eggs  I21/2C  a  doz. ; 
chickens  10c  each ;  tallow  12i/^c  lb. ;  salt  6c 
lb. ;  tea  2  ounces  37c ;  coffee  50c  lb. ;  sugar 
32c  lb.;  soap  25c  bar;  wheat  $1  bu. ; 

Jack  knife  371/2C;  fish  hooks  37V2C 
doz.;  looking  glass  871/20;  flints  25c  doz.; 
lead  25c  lb. ;  powder  $1.25  lb. ;  curry  comb 
371/2C;  nails  25c  lb.;  grindstone  $2.75; 
nails  and  planks  for  coffin  621/2C; 

Socks  87V^c  pair;  buttons  25  and  50c 
doz. ;  flannel  621/2C  yd. ;  broadcloth  $3  and 
$4  yd.;  linen  $1.25  yd.;  silk  $1.50  yd.; 
needles  I21/2C  doz. ;  oilcloth  75c ;  bedspread 
$2 ;  ribbons  25c  yd. ;  indigo  2  ounces  25c. 

FRAME  JAIL,  NO  COURTHOUSE 

A  frame  jail  was  built  (where  the 
Municipal  Building  now  stands)  but  the 
county  still  had  no  courthouse.  Court  was 
held  in  the  home  of  John  Craw. 

The  settlement  had  about  50  families. 
There  were  four  taverns,  operated  by  John 
Craw,  Samuel  Bozeman,  John  Lucas  and 
Phillip  Buckner,  and  three  doctors,  Thomas 
Shannon,  Josiah  Stewart  and  James  E. 
Throckmorton. 

The  new  county  seat  attracted  law- 
yers. Riding  into  town  in  1818  came  John 
M.  Robinson,  24,  member  of  a  distin- 
guished Lexington,  Ky.,  family. 


Out  of  Virginia,  via  Shawneetown, 
came  William  E.  Wilson.  Since  1816  he  had 
owned  land  southwest  of  town.  Now  in 
1819  he  brought  his  family  here.  Soon 
after  arriving  he  was  elected  a  Justice  of 
the  Illinois  Supreme  Court. 

It  was  a  log  cabin  village.  There  were 
no  streets — only  dirt  roads,  with  short 
stumps  standing  in  some  places. 

But  there  were  dreams  of  beauty  and 
gracious  living  even  in  a  backwoods  settle- 
ment. Many  came  here  from  Virginia  and 
the  Carolinas,  where  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  stately  houses.  They  appreciated 
good  architecture,  art,  literature  and 
music. 


ENGLISH  TRAVELER  SURPRISED 

An  English  traveler  found  it  so.  Wil- 
liam N.  Blane  traveled  in  North  America 
in  1822  and  1823 ;  returned  home  to  write 
a  book  about  his  journey.  He  tells  in  detail 
of  a  trip  from  Vincennes  via  Albion  to  St. 
Louis,  then  back  via  Canni  to  New  Har- 
mony. 

"The  whole  part  of  this  part  of  the 
country,"  he  wrote,  "until  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  little  village  of  Carmi,  is  very 
wild  but  thinly  settled,  but  there  is  an 
abundance  of  game. 

"I  passed  in  a  single  day's  ride  as 
many  as  a  dozen  deer  and  five  gangs  of 
wild  turkeys.  There  are  also  great  num- 
bers of  wolves,  wildcats  and  other  ver- 
min." 

Blane  tells  of  riding  into  the  little  log 
village,  looking  for  a  taveni  where  he 
might  spend  the  night.  He  found  one,  "a 
very  comfortable  little  tavern  with  a  blaz- 
ing fire." 


Batcliff  Inn  in  the  ISSCs.  Here  is  an  artist's  conception  of  Carmi's  Main  Street  in  stagecoach  days, 
wlien  Batcliff  Inn  was  new  and  considered  one  of  tlie  finest  liotels  in  Illinois.  Mrs.  Nadine  Cliilders 
won  a  blue  riblwn  for  tliis  painting  in  a  contest  sponsored  by  tlie  White  County  Historical  Society. 
Mrs.  Frances  Bacster  won  a  blue  riblKMi  for  her  painting  of  Eatcliff  Inn  during  the  1880's. 


He  asked  the  landlord  if  there  was 
anything  to  read.  The  host  smiled  and 
bowed ;  returned  with  a  volume  of  Gold- 
smith and  Scotch  novels,  "The  Traveller" 
and  "The  Deserted  Village." 

Blane  expressed  surprise  and  pleasure 
at  finding  books  in  the  log  tavern  in  the 
little  backwoods  village. 

Numerous  settlers  here  were  people 
of  property.  They  owned  slaves,  who 
helped  them  carve  homes  out  of  the  wil- 
derness. In  1818  there  were  52  slaves  in 
the  county,  and  most  of  them  were  in 
Carmi. 

Willis  Hargrave  owned  14 ;  James  Rat- 
cliff,  5 ;  James  Gray,  4 ;  Samuel  Hargrave, 
3.  Lowry  Hay  had  two,  who  worked  at  the 
mill,  tannery  and  distillery.  Two  slaves  of 
James  S.  Graham  ran  his  ferry,  helped  at 
his  store  and  tavern.  Even  John  Slocumb, 
the  minister,  owned  one  slave. 


COURTHOUSE  STARTED 

As  the  town  grew,  better  dwellings 
were  erected.  Leonard  White  built  a  hand- 
some two-story  house  with  ell  and  porches. 
It   was   near   the   ravine   on   Main   Cross 


Street  two  blocks  north  of  the  present 
courthouse. 

White  plunged  into  politics;  defeated 
Hargrave  for  the  State  Senate.  More  law- 
yers arrived.  Edwin  B.  Webb  and  his 
brother  George  were  admitted  to  the  bar. 

The  1820's  found  Carmi  flowering 
into  one  of  the  state's  important  towns. 
The  county  population  grew  to  4,828,  com- 
pared to  Gallatin's  3,155. 

The  Presbyterians  organized  a  church. 
Allen  Rudolph  started  building  a  two-story 
brick  courthouse.  James  Ratcliff  built  one 
of  the  finest  hotels  in  Illinois. 

What  a  sight  the  tavern  must  have 
been — a  two-story  brick  with  a  charming 
Federal  entrance.  "Old  Beaver"  Ratcliff 
was  busy — county  clerk,  probate  judge, 
postmaster,  storekeeper  and  hotel  owner. 

Folks  still  fretted  because  there  was 
no  bridge  across  the  river.  County  offi- 
cials had  been  trying  to  get  one  built  since 
1819.  In.  1829  Allen  Rudolph— still  build- 
ing the  courthouse — gave  a  $500  bond  to 
construct  a  covered  bridge.  'Timbers  were 
hauled  to  the  site,  but  the  project  was 
abandoned.  The  lumber  was  used  to  build 
houses. 


^ne    ^830'i    --a    a/ovMu^    decade  ,   . 


HE  TOWN  kept  growing;  had 
400  residents  in  1830.  In  one 
year  the  county  revenue  totaled  $975.09. 
Dr.  Josiah  Stewart  came  into  court  and 
paid  his  taxes,  exactly  60c  on  40  acres 
adjoining  the  town.  (This  land  is  now  the 
center  of  Carmi's  residential  district). 

A  Yankee  peddler,  Oliver  Holcomb, 
was  charged  $50  for  a  three  month  license 
to  sell  wooden  clocks.  Samuel  D.  Ready, 
Davidson  and  Kearny  and  Wilmans  and 
Weed  paid  $15  for  yearly  licenses  to  sell 
foreign  goods.  A  general  merchandise  li- 
cense cost  $6.  This  included  the  right  to 
sell  whisky  in  amounts  over  one  gallon. 
Stores  dispensing  by  the  drink  or  in  quan- 
tities less  than  a  gallon  paid  $50. 

There  were  several  taverns  in  Carmi 
and  one  at  almost  every  country  crossroad. 


FIRST  COURTHOUSE.  ERECTED  18281831 


SENATOR  JOHN  M.  ROBINSON         SENATOR   EDWIN   B.  WEBB 


ROBINSON  ELECTED  SENATOR 

Excitement  ran  through  the  village  in 
the  winter  of  1831.  A  Carmi  man  was 
going  to  the  U.  S.  Senate ! 

Since  arriving  here  in  1818,  John  M. 
Robinson  had  become  a  noted  lawyer  and 
one  of  the  leading  political  figures  of  Illi- 
nois. The  Legislature  elected  him  to  the 
Senate  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  David  J.  McLean  of  Shawnee- 
town. 

On  a  winter  day  the  coachman's 
horn  sounded  as  the  stage  drew  up  to  the 
Robinson  house.  Out  stepped  the  new  Sen- 
ator, six  feet,  four  inches  tall,  auburn- 
haired,  blue-eyed,  36  years  old. 

Into  the  coach  Yie  helped  his  wife  Mar- 
garet— daughter  of  James  Ratcliff — and 
their  10-month-old  son,  James. 

There  was  more  excitement  in  Canni 
that  summer.  The  new  ccrthouse  was 
almost  completed.  People  stopped  to  stare 
and  admire  it.  Windows  were  being 
installed,  shutters  hung.  The  window  and 
door  frames  were  of  solid  walnut.  Offices 
were  on  the  second  floor. 

The  entire  first  floor,  40  feet  square, 
comprised  the  courtroom.  Two  log  fire- 
places heated  the  chamber. 

To  this  commodious  room  went  the 
settlers  to  sing  and  pray,  dance  the  Vir- 
ginia reel  and  minuet,  stage  home  talent 
plays  and  hold  town  meetings.  For  years 
the  courtroom  was  used  as  a  church,  ball- 
room, theater  and  town  hall. 


History  walks  and  talks  In  this  liouse  to  anyone  who  will  listen.  The  General  John  M.  Robinson  House 
at  the  corner  of  Main  Cross  and  Robinson  Streets  is  one  of  the  oldest  residences  in  Illinois.  Erected  In 
1814  by  John  Craw  as  a  two-room  log  residence,  it  served  as  White  County's  courthouse  prior  to  1828. 
Purchased  in  1835  by  U.  S.  Senator  Robinson,  it  was  enlarged  and  beautified  and  became  the  meeting 
place  of  notable  men,  including  Abraham  Lincoln.  Later  it  became  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert 
Stewart  and  Miss  Mary  Jane  Stewart,  granddaughter  of  Senator  Robinson. 


The  1830's  added  up  to  a  glorious 
decade  for  White  County  political  leaders. 
Robinson,  in  the  Congress,  was  mingling 
with  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  John  C. 
Calhoun,  Davey  Crockett,  John  Quincy 
Adams,  Andrew  Jackson  and  Martin  Van 
Buren. 

Back  home,  others  were  rising  in  state 
politics.  William  E.  Wilson  was  chief  ju.s- 
tice  of  Illinois.  Edwin  B.  Webb  served  four 
terms  in  the  House  with  Abraham  Lincoln, 
became  a  close  friend  of  Abe. 

CARMIAN  WAS  LIEUT.  GOVERNOR 

Unlike  his  tall  brother-in-law.  Senator 
Robinson,  Webb  was  a  small  man.  He  and 
Robinson  were  of  elegant  and  courtly  man- 
ners, true  aristocrats  from  Virginia  fam- 
ilies. 


Others  who  served  in  the  Legislature 
were  Dr.  Josiah  Stewart,  William  Mc- 
Henry,  Nathaniel  Blackford,  William  Eu- 
banks,  John  C.  Goudy,  John  McCown,  Alex- 
ander Phillips  and  Col.  William  H.  David- 
son. 


Davidson  was  a  wealthy  merchant. 
He  moved  his  family  to  Canni  from  Vir- 
ginia in  1830;  took  over  the  Leonard 
White  residence.  Into  the  big  white  house 
on  the  ravine  he  moved  the  expensive  fur- 
niture he  brought  from  the  east. 

Defeating  McHenry  for  the  State  Sen- 
ate, he  was  speaker  of  that  house  in  1836 
when  Alex  Jenkins  resigned  as  lieutenant 
governor.  The  CaiTni  senator  then  moved 
up  to  the  second  highest  post  in  the  state. 


S^^  ^£tncfd7i,  a  mtulae  ei/rul  a,  ct^i/Jieiiion 


S  THE  1830's  faded  a  great 
event  developed.  The  Little  Wa- 
bash was  about  to  be  bridged!  After  20 
years  of  efforts,  success  was  in  sight.  Ben- 
jamin M.  St.  John  was  awarded  a  contract 
in  1839.  He  started  the  following  year. 

Trees  were  felled  in  nearby  woods. 
Heavy  timbers  and  beams  were  hewed. 
Quarrymen  cut  stone  from  the  river 
banks.  Thirty  masons  kept  busy  building 
stone  piers.  The  covered  bridge  was  to  be 
300  feet  long. 

They  worked  fast,  hoping  to  finish  in 
time  for  a  Whig  rally  set  for  September  1. 
The  principal  speaker  was  to  be  a  Spring- 
field lawyer  named  Abraham  Lincoln. 

FLOOD  RUINS  BRIDGE  WORK 

Summer  rains  made  the  river  rise  that 
summer.  The  swirling  waters  swept  away 
the  false  work  from  under  the  east  span. 
Crash !  That  end  of  the  bridge  fell  into  the 
river  and  was  washed  downstream. 

The  Whigs  were  too  busy  to  let  that 
worry  them.  They  sent  word  to  all  the 
counties  in  southern  Illinois ;  urged  people 
to  come  for  the  political  rally  and  barbe- 
cue. 

They  were  whooping  it  up  for  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison  for  President.  Lin- 
coln was  a  candidate  for  Presidential  elec- 
tor; planned  campaign  stops  at  Carmi, 
Shawneetown  and  Albion. 

The  great  day  dawned.  Rain  started 
falling.  Even  that  didn't  dampen  the 
Whigs'  enthusiasm.  Down  muddy,  rutted 
roads  from  all  directions  came  the  people 
.  .  .  walking,  riding  horseback,  in  carts  and 
wagons  drawn  by  horses  and  oxen. 

"Whoopee!"  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler, 
Too!" 

Wagons  and  carts  were  loaded  with 
people  and  provisions.  Beef,  mutton,  poul- 
try, bread,  cakes  and  pies  for  thousands 
were  unloaded  at  Stewart's  grove.  Dr. 
Josiah  Stewart  lived  in  a  double  log  house. 
It  was  'way  out  in  the  country  then,  but 
now  it's  the  corner  of  Third  and  Stewart 
Streets. 

In  the  grove  they  had  dug  a  barbecue 
pit.  It  was  600  feet  long,  two  feet  deep  and 
four  feet  wide.  Live  hickory  coals  filled  the 
trench,  and  over  these  the  meats  were  pre- 
pared. 


Abraham  Lincoln  looked  much  like  this  when  he  came 
to  Carmi  In  1840.  A  member  of  the  Illinois  House  of 
Representatives,  Lincoln  was  31  years  old  when  he  hit 
the  camptaign  trail  for  William  Henry  Harrison  in  the 
"Tippecanoe  and  Tyler,  Too"  campaigrn. 


John  Wilson  was  one  of  the  marshals ; 
deputized  to  conduct  the  Gallatin  County 
delegation  to  the  barbecue  grounds. 

"There  were  hundreds  from  Gallatin 
alone,"  he  said. 

A  great  parade  was  held,  with  the  lead 
taken  by  a  log  cabin  decorated  with  coon- 
skins,  mounted  upon  wheels  and  drawn  by 
many  yoke  of  oxen. 

JUSTICE  WALKS  TO  TOWN 

Chief  Justice  Wilson  walked  to  town 
from  his  farm.  His  wagon  was  drawn  by 
four  yoke  of  oxen.  Their  horns  were  decor- 
ated with  red,  white  and  blue  ribbons. 
They  were  fastened  in  gimlet  holes  bored 
through  points  of  the  animals'  horns. 

The  judge  walked  beside  the  oxen  as 
driver  and  his  wife,  Mary,  sat  in  front  of 
the  wagon,  which  was  loaded  with  pro- 
visions. 

Despite  the  rain,  the  rally  was  a  great 
success.  Lincoln  stood  before  the  huge 
throng  and  spoke  for  more  than  an  hour. 
That  night  he  lodged  at  Ratcliff  Inn, 
where  he  visited  with  his  many  friends. 


The  Whigs  won  a  smashing  victory, 
but  it  was  in  the  face  of  a  creeping  depres- 
sion. All  over  the  nation  banks  crashed, 
factories  closed,  merchants  failed,  farm 
prices  plummeted. 

In  White  County  business  went  bank- 
rupt. Shelves  were  empty.  Stores  closed. 
A  dozen  places  failed  in  Carmi.  Only  G.  W. 
Webb  &  Co.,  Samuel  D.  Ready  and  W.  H. 
Davidson  weathered  the  storm. 

Every  business  in  Grayville  folded. 
The  stores  had  no  merchandise,  the  tav- 
erns no  liquor.  Thirsty  Grayville  men  trav- 
eled to  the  New  Harmony  distillery  or  to 
the  Carmi  taverns. 

Farmers  raised  good  crops,  but  there 
was  no  market  for  them.  Most  were  sold  to 
failing  merchants  who  paid  starvation 
prices  with  worthless  notes. 

A  few  farmers  floated  their  products 
to  New  Orleans  on  flatboats.  There  they 
found  low  prices,  but  what  cash  they  did 
get  was  in  gold  and  silver.  Returning  they 
brought  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  rice  and  molas- 
ses. 


BRIDGE  COMPLETED  AT  LAST 

The  covered  bridge  was  completed  in 
the  summer  of  1841  but  few  could  afford 
to  pay  the  small  toll  to  cross. 


•'t.;*i> 


The  above  pictures  the  fb-st  covered  bridge  across  the  Little 
Wal>ash  River  in  Carmi,  the  conception  of  Mrs.  Ot.s  vKatherine 
St.  John)  Dill.  Benjamin  M.  S^.  John  was  the  architect  and 
builder. 


By  1842  the  county  was  a  shambles 
commercially.  Three  fourths  of  the  busi- 
ness houses  had  failed.  Everybody  seemed 
to  be  suing  somebody.  Many  lost  their 
farms.  Good  work  horses  were  taken  from 
plows  by  constables  and  sold  at  sales  for 
as  low  as  $8. 

The  suffering  stirred  the  people  reli- 
giously. Revivals  started  all  over  the 
county.  Meeting  houses  were  filled.  People 
were  broke  but  they  clung  to  their  faith. 

The  unrest  caused  a  political  upset.  In 
the  1842  election  Webb  was  defeated  for 
the  Legislature.  John  S.  Lawler,  a  Demo- 
crat, beat  him  by  40  votes. 

Gradually  business  improved.  Prices 
inched  upwards. 

The  Democrats  hoped  hard  times 
would  help  them  win  in  1844,  but  the 
Whigs  staged  a  comeback.  Nobody  came 
back  stronger  than  Webb.  He  won  election 
to  the  State  Senate  and  Lawler,  who  had 
ousted  Webb  from  the  House  two  years 
earlier,  was  defeated  by  Reuben  Emerson. 

By  1849  business  was  humming.  In 
the  midst  of  prosperity,  exciting  news 
came  from  California.  Grold! 

Up  and  down  Carmi's  Main  Street  peo- 
ple gathered  to  talk  about  the  rush  west- 
ward. Gold  fever  broke  out  in  taverns  and 
crossroads  stores. 


S^  ifuMi  ux^  aold .  .  .  >c<?4e4  (tn^t  cCiftt/mi  .   .   . 


HAT  WINTER  Asa  Ross  and 
his  workmen  were  busy  building 
light  wagons.  By  spring,  men  were  buying 
supplies,  bargaining  for  young  oxen.  They 
paid  $30  to  $50  per  yoke. 

On  May  29,  1850,  Carmi's  overland 
wagon  train  was  ready.  Thirteen  men 
were  up  before  dawn.  Wagons  were  loaded. 
Oxen  were  hitched.  Whips  cracked  on  the 
morning  air.  California  or  bust! 

People  cheered  as  tne  oxen  lumbered 
down  the  dusty  street.  The  lead  wagon  was 
owned  by  James  Shipley,  Orlando  Burrell, 
Tom,  J.  S.  and  Len  Ross. 

THREE  MONTHS  ON  WAY 

Next  came  the  wagon  of  Lemuel  Land, 
Tom  Shipley,  Tom  Vines,  and  James  Kil- 
breth.  The  third  was  owned  by  Bill  Little, 
John  Ganley,  Jim  Shipley  and  Sylvester 
Rice. 

Crossing  the  great  plains  and  moun- 
tains, they  passed  skeletons  of  horses, 
oxen  and  cattle  and  broken  wagons.  They 
met  Indians  but,  fortunately,  all  were 
friendly.  After  three  months  they  arrived 
in  California. 


The  Rev.  Alfred  Flower  came  from 
Albion  in  1852  to  hold  a  16-day  meeting 
for  the  Christian  congregation.  His  sister 
took  him  to  PhilUpstown  in  her  carriage. 
There  he  waited  at  the  Hasty  house  for 
the  midnight  stage  from  Grayville. 

It  was  2:30  a.m.  when  the  stagecoach 
rolled  into  town.  The  driver  blew  his  horn 
and  stopped  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  John  M. 
Robinson,  who  was  at  the  steps  to  greet 
the  minister. 

The  meetings  drew  large  crowds  to 
the  courthouse.  The  heat  was  so  oppressive 
that  August  the  people  considered  moving 
to  a  nearby  grove.  However,  Carson  Hay 
had  an  idea.  He  removed  all  the  courtroom 
windows  and  stored  them.  The  shutters 
were  closed  and  the  meeting  room  was 
much  cooler.  For  16  nights — including 
three  Sundays — the  meetings  went  on, 
with  town  and  country  people  filling  the 
courtroom. 

In  1852  the  Methodists  erected  the 
first  church  in  Carmi.  It  was  a  small  brick 
structure  on  Main  Street,  where  the  Ball 
Drug  Store  now  stands.  Methodists  and 
Presbyterians  both  used  the  building. 


Nobody  struck  it  rich.  After  a  year 
they  started  home.  They  boarded  ship  at 
San  Francisco  and  sailed  to  Panama ;  walk- 
ed across  the  isthmus  along  a  narrow 
trail;  took  another  ship  to  New  Orleans; 
came  up  the  Mississippi,  Ohio  and  Little 
Wabash  Rivers  to  Carmi. 

On  the  way,  Lemuel  Land  died  at 
Lake  Charles,  La.  He  was  buried  there. 
Later,  his  family  brought  his  body  back 
to  White  County. 

Carmi  was  growing  apace.  Eyes  of  the 
state  focused  on  the  town  in  1852  when 
Edwin  Webb  was  nominated  for  Governor. 
The  Whigs  named  him  by  acclamation.  He 
was  defeated  by  Joel  Matteson  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic sweep  that  year. 

Religious  life  was  better  organized. 
The  Methodists  formed  a  society  in  1850; 
the  Christians  in  1851.  The  Presbyterians 


had  been  organized  since  1827.  All  three 
denominations  took  turns  meeting  at  the 
courthouse. 

MUSIC  COMES  TO  TOWN 

The  village  resounded  to  music  in 
1855.  The  Carmi  Brass  Band  was  organ- 
ized, with  Prof.  George  Warren,  of  Evans- 
ville,  as  teacher.  John  Craw  was  the  snare 
drummer.  William  Cook  played  the  cornet. 
Michael  Anderson  beat  the  bass  drum. 
Other  musicians  were  H.  L.  Bozeman,  W. 
H.  Phipps,  Thornton  Bozeman,  J.  B.  Craig, 
Otto  Phefflin  and  Walter  A.  Rhue. 

The  town  was  spreading  out.  Attor- 
ney John  M.  Crebs  built  a  large  house  at 
Stewart  and  Jessup.  Two  blocks  south,  at 
Main,  Richard  Jessup  erected  a  two-story 
residence  with  mansard  roof.  John  Storms 
a  large  brick  business  block  on  Main. 


Left  to  rislit:  Florence  1>.  \Mieatcroft,  I>ouise  Cook  Winner,  Mary  Prlscilla  Brown,  Margaret  Patrick 
Kerney,  Alice  Mahala  Organ,  Pattie  Webb  Stewart,  Mary  Patrick  Boyer  and  Harriet  Ellen  Pearce. 


When  the  free  school  law  was  passed 
in  1856,  people  got  busy.  They  elected 
Berry  Crebs,  Albert  R.  Shannon  and  Dr. 
E.  L.  Stewart  to  a  school  board.  Samuel 
Slocumb  erected  a  large  brick  schoolhouse 
on  Fourth  Street.  J.  L.  Waterman  was  the 
first  principal.  The  second  was  N.  B.  Hods- 
don,  with  Miss  P.  L.  Dewey  as  associate 
teacher. 

Before  the  free  school  was  opened  it 
was  a  struggle  for  many  to  get  an  educa- 
tion. The  teiTTi  usually  lasted  three  months 
and  the  cost — $2  to  $2.50  per  teiTn — was 
high  for  many  families. 

Youngsters  were  expected  to  earn 
their  school  money.  They  dug  ginseng, 
gathered  nuts,  chopped  wood,  hunted  rab- 
bits and  caught  coons. 

Orlando  Burrell  chopped  10  cords  of 
wood  for  James  Ratcliff  at  25c  per  cord  to 
pay  for  a  school  term. 


AH,  THE  1850'S 

Life  was  sweet  and  serene  in  the  vil- 
lage in  the  1850's.  "Listen  to  the  Mocking 


Bird"  was  the  song  of  the  day.  Many  a 
Carmi  swain  thrilled  to  the  words  as  he 
stood,  bewhiskered  and  in  swallow-tail  coat, 
beside  the  organ  in  the  parlor  while  a  girl 
played  and  sang. 

It  was  a  time  in  the  best  society  cir- 
cles of  fragile,  low-cut  evening  dresses  of 
gauze  and  illusion,  and  garlanded  wdth 
roses,  violets  and  honeysuckle.  Blossoms 
trailed  on  the  great  distended  skirts,  and 
life  was  colorful  and  gay — even  in  a  village 
of  mud  streets,  with  no  sidewalks  save  for 
a  few  boards  here  and  there. 

Gay  young  blades  succumbed  to  the 
craze  for  mustaches,  and  almost  to  a  man 
had  ceased  to  shave  their  upper  lips. 
Beards  were  plentiful,  and  in  business  and 
professional  circles  men  dressed  in  black 
or  blue  broadcloth  swallow-tail  coats 
adorned  with  bright  buttons. 

As  the  decade  ended,  war  clouds  were 
gathering.  Rumblings  of  the  storm  echoed 
out  of  Springfield  and  Washington. 

The  South  was  threatening  to  secede 
— and  Cai-mi's  many  people  of  southern 
ancestiy  shuddered  at  the  thought. 


fya/it^  and  fi€i 


aee 


"Nothing  is  worse  than  war'!  Dishonor 
is  worse  than  war.  Slavery  is  worse  than 
war." — Winston  Churchill. 


COL.  JOHN  WHITING 


COL.  JOHN  M.  CBEBS 


WENTY-ONE  YEARS  after  he 
spoke  in  Carmi,  Abe  Lincoln  was 
in  the  White  House.  Many  of  his  old 
friends  here  were  dead  —  Robinson,  Rat- 
cliff,  Webb,  Wilson,  Davidson,  McHenry. 

Lincoln  faced  a  seceding  south,  and 
the  cannon  that  fired  on  Fort  Sumter 
reverberated  along  the  Little  Wabash. 

When  news  came  of  Lincoln's  call  for 
75,000  volunteers  excitement  ran  like 
lightning  through  the  village.  Answering 
immediately  were  Orlando  Burrell,  Frank 
Lindsay  and  L.  S.  Rice.  They  hurriedly 
organized  men  who  were  mustered  in  April 
25  as  Company  D,  Eighth  Infantry. 

Meanwhile,  Attorneys  John  E.  Whi- 
ting and  John  M.  Crebs  started  organizing 
a  regiment  of  volunteers.  White  County 
men  thronged  to  the  colors.  Their  Eighty- 
seventh  Infantry  was  formally  organized 
at  Shawneetown  Aug.  16,  1862,  and  mus- 
tered in  Sept.  22. 

Col.  Whiting  headed  the  regiment. 
Crebs  was  lieutenant  colonel.  George  W. 
Land  was  major;  John  D.  Martin,  adju- 
tant; Francis  M.  Coulter,  quartermaster; 
Dr.  Elam  M.  Stewart,  surgeon;  Dr.  Daniel 
P.  Berry,  assistant  surgeon.  The  Methodist 
minister,  Albert  Ransom,  went  as  chaplain. 
Captains  were  James  A.  Miller,  James 
Fackney,  Edmund  Emery,  James  E.  Willis. 
John  H.  Wasson,  Samuel  J.  Foster,  Ross 
Graham,  Benjamin  F.  Brockett,  Sr.,  James 
P.  Thomas,  Martin  Vaught,  Thomas  Eulow 
and  William  T.  Prunty. 


DR.  DANIEL  BERRY 


COL.  EVERTON  J.  CONGEB 


White  County  won  an  eminent  place 
in  the  nation's  record  of  volunteers,  ex- 
ceeding its  draft  quota  by  more  than  700 
men. 

In  blood  and  sacrifice,  the  toll  was 
high  with  about  500  giving  their  lives  in 
the  struggle. 

After  peace  came,  one  more  was  to 
die.  He  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  assassina- 
ted on  Good  Friday  1865  by  John  Wilkes 
Booth  in  Ford's  Theater  in  Washington. 

Once  more  Carmi's  association  with 
Lincoln  was  to  be  recorded  in  the  pages  of 
history.  Commanding  the  troops  captur- 
ing the  fleeing  Booth  was  Col.  Everton  J. 
Conger,  son  of  Carmi's  Rev.  Enoch  Conger 
and  brother  of  Attorney  C.  S.  Conger. 

Returning  veterans  picked  up  the 
threads  of  peace  and  once  again  wove 
themselves  into  the  fabric  of  the  commu- 
nity. 

Carmi  grew,  slowly.  The  little  brick 
church  on  Main  Street  was  abandoned  by 
Methodists  and  Presbyterians.  Both  de- 
nominations had  alternated  in  using  the 
building.  At  the  comer  of  Church  and 
Main  the  Methodists  erected  a  tall  white 
frame  building  with  steeple.  On  First 
Street  the  Presbyterians  built  their  house 
of  worship.  Members  of  the  Christian 
Church  completed  their  new  building  in 
1867. 

Business  flourished  and  the  town 
entered  the  1870's  with  great  expectations. 


^(U^,  lu/^  lown  "  =  fiofia/a4i(>n  -^,29^  . 


This  IS  one  of  the  most  valuable  pictures  of  old-time  Carmi.  It  shows  the  north  side  of  the  courthouse 
square  on  a  snowy  day  in  1875.  The  original  1828  courthouse  was  only  47  years  old.  The  Fireproof 
Building  on  the  opposite  comer  was  new.  Bacli  of  that  buUdlng  stood  a  busy  hotel.  On  the  southeast 
comer,  where  the  Williams  house  now  stands,  was  a  hitching  post. 


y^aA^  S^,  Hir.  Q^oA^^^r^lM^^ 


Horses  pulling:  wagons  plodded  down  snowy,  muddy  Main  Street  in  the  winter  of  1875.  The  tall  spire 
of  the  Methodist  Church  is  seen  at  the  left. 


ARDLY    600    people    lived    in 
Carmi  as  the  1860's  ended. 

The  1870's  brought  a  boom.  Popula- 
tion doubled  in  two  years.  Ephraim  Joy 
and  his  sons,  Thomas  and  Andrew,  came 
from  Bridgeport  and  started  the  Carmi 
Weekly  Times. 

Steamboats  plied  the  Little  Wabash 
and  Skillet  Fork.  The  Cairo  and  Vincennes 
Railroad  was  being  built. 

"Over  200  houses  have  been  built  here 
in  the  last  year,"  said  the  Carmi  Times  in 
1872.  "Several  fine  new  business  houses 
are  in  process  of  construction." 

The  town  had  6  boss  carpenters;  5 
plasterers;  6  bricklayers;  3  blacksmith 
shops  with  2  to  6  smiths  in  each  shop;  3 
wagon  shops ;  2  tin  shops ;  2  saddle  shops ; 
2  shoe  shops ;  2  tailor  shops ;  2  boss  paint- 
ers ;  1  marble  yard ;  2  brick  yards  working 
10  to  20  men ;  2  sawmills ;  1  stave  factory 
with  12  hands;  2  cooper  shops  with  20 
workmen;  1  woolen  factory;  1  foundry;  1 
grist  water  mill;  a  merchant  mill;  8  dry 
goods  stores;  2  shoe  stores;  2  clothing 
stores;  4  family  groceries;  2  drug  stores; 
1  hardware  store;  1  confectionery  and 
bakery. 

J.  M.  Crebs  was  in  Congress.  His  law 
partner  back  home  was  C.  S.  Conger. 

The  Damron  House  was  a  busy  place ; 
offered  good  stabling,  sample  rooms  for 
commercial  travelers  and  a  free  omnibus 
to  and  from  all  trains.  On  Jan.  23,  1873, 
the  Carmi  Times  said :  "A  sister  of  the  late 
Stonewall  Jackson  stopped  at  the  Damron 
House  last  Wednesday.  She  is  on  a  visit  to 
relatives  in  the  county." 


In  the  centennial  year  of  America's  independence — 1876 — Carmi 
built  two  fine  brick  schools,  and  they  were  used  until  they  were 
replaced  in  the  1930's.  At  top,  the  South  Side  School.  Bottom, 
North  Side  School'. 


THE  BEV.   EPHRAIM  JOY 


The  long:  covered  bridge  last^nl  only  38  years.  Completed  ill  1841, 
it  was  razed  in  1879  and  this  splendid  iron  span  was  built. 


At  Viskniskki's  St.  Louis  Store  coffee 
3old  four  pounds  for  $1 ;  sugar,  six  pounds 
for  $1 ;  coal  oil,  40c  gal. ;  crackers,  12c  lb. ; 
rice  I2V2C  lb. ;  cheese,  20c  lb. ;  cod  fish,  8c 
lb. ;  cured  ham,  15c  lb. ;  a  broom,  20c ;  bar 
of  soap,  5c ;  pickles,  10c  doz. 


At  Christmas  time  in  1872  Mr.  Ma- 
lone's  book  store  advertised  "Secrets  of 
the  Convent  and  Confessional,"  "Mormon 
Wife,"  "Three  Years  in  a  Man-Trap,"  and 
"Laws  of  Health  and  the  Human  Form." 

The  Carmi  Times  personals  column 
had  these  items :  "Mating  time  now.  Splen- 
did skating.  Egg-nog  times  are  here.  Sev- 
eral of  the  boys  were  on  a  glorious  bust 
Christmas  day.  Fireworks  were  heard  all 
over  town  the  past  week.  Bustles  are  said 
to  have  proved  useful  during  the  late  slip- 
pery times." 

In  spite  of  the  building  and  progress, 
Carmi  was  still  a  mud  street  town.  Hogs 
wallowed  in  Main  Street  mud  holes.  A  log 
cabin  still  stood  where  the  Radio  Building 
now  stands  at  Main  and  Walnut. 

Farmers  coming  to  town  for  supplies 
often  found  their  wagons  mired  deep  in 
mud.  It  took  an  entire  day  to  come  to  town 
and  return  home.  Some  stayed  overnight. 
Graham's  two-story  hotel  was  where  the 
Innovation  now  operates. 

Food  was  plentiful  and  cheap.  A 
housewife  could  buy  a  basketful  of  back- 
bones and  spareribs  at  Byrd  Patrick's  pork 
house  for  a  dime. 

And  then  the  village  became  a  town. 
The  people  voted — 135  to  106 — to  incor- 
porate. In  a  lively  election  Dr.  Elam  L. 
Stewart  was  elected  mayor,  defeating  Ross 
Graham. 

As  the  town  grew  the  Free  School 
became  crowded.  Two-story  brick  school- 
houses  were  built  on  the  North  and  South 
sides. 

The  covered  bridge  was  demolished 
and  an  iron  bridge  built. 

The  White  County  Fair  was  organ- 
ized. The  Fair  Association  bought  40 
acres  'way  out  in  the  country  west  of  town. 

Business  and  agriculture,  education 
and  religion  were  flourishing  as  Carmi 
greeted  the  1880's. 


DE.  ELAM   L.   STEWABT 
Carmi's  First  Mayor 


JAMES   FACKNEY 


^eia  cou/jf^honAe,  a/)^d  cl  cclleae  . 


ARMERS  COMING  to  Carmi  in 
the  ]880's  were  astonished  at 
the  changes.  Their  wagons  and  buggies 
rumbled  over  the  new  iron  bridge. 

The  present  city  park  at  Main  and 
Main  Cross  Streets  was  a  hitching  yard. 
There  they  tied  their  horses.  Across  the 
street  the  1828  courthouse  was  being 
razed.  A  new  two-story,  towered  court- 
house was  being  planned. 

The  town's  population  had  doubled 
again !  From  its  1,294  residents  of  1873  the 
figure  rose  to  2,512  in  the  1880  census. 

The  George  S.  Staley  mill  was  big 
business  then.  Every  day  it  turned  out  100 
barrels  of  flour  and  50  barrels  of  meal. 

Harvey  Crozier  came  to  town  and 
opened  a  large  grocery  at  First  and  Smith 
Streets.  A  fine  confectionery  was  started 
on  Main  by  William  Dietz. 

There  still  were  vacant  lots  on  Main 
Street.  They  were  popular  meeting  places 
for  boys  playing  marbles  and  men  holding 
political  rallies. 

The  town  had  crept  westward  and 
extended  to  Plum  Street.  There,  on  the 
southwest  comer,  was  built  a  two-story 
brick  college  with  a  tower.  It  was  the  new 
home  of  the  Southern  Illinois  Normal 
School  and  Commercial  College. 

The  school  had  been  burned  out  ear- 
lier when  a  fire  swept  the  Brockett  build- 
ing on  Main  Street. 


CAR  Mi     WAT£«     SAiiiimg 


The  town  made  progi'ess  through  the 
decade  with  mayors  named  Orlando  Bur- 
rell,  George  Wissinger,  Frank  E.  Hay,  Dr. 
John  M.  Minick  and  Simon  Grant. 

Carmi  was  a  rough  town  in  those 
days,  especially  on  Saturday  night.  Saloons 
were  crowded  and  fights  were  frequent  on 
the  streets.  The  Dollar  Courier  reported  a 
general  free-for-all  one  Saturday  night 
with  50  men  engaged  in  combat.  Police 
were  overpowered  and  no  arrests  were  per- 
mitted. 

The  newspaper  reported  that  a  burg- 
lar reached  into  Tom  Ary's  sleeping  room 
and  pulled  out  a  vest.  In  the  pockets  he 
found  $50  and  Ary's  false  teeth.  The  vest 
and  teeth  were  found  hanging  on  a  tree 
north  of  the  railroad  shops  several  days 
later. 

The  1880's  closed  with  C.  S.  Conger 
being  elected  circuit  judge  and  .James  R. 
Williams  going  to  Congress. 


JUDGE  C.  S.  CONGER 


CONGBESS>LAN 
JAIVIES  B.  WILLIAMS 


i  This  home  and  general  store  of  Mrs.  Mary  Shannon  Williams'  father, 
Albert  R.  Shannon,  was  replaced  by  tlie  Victorian  residence  of  Con- 
Igressman  and  Mrs.  James  R.  Williams.  It  is  now  occupied  by  Mrs. 
|Robert  Ready  Williams. 


John  D.  Martin's  largre  resid^ice  was  <m  Court  Square. 


The  BjTd  L.  Patrick  family  lived  in  this  house  on  Main  Street,  close 
to  the  present  site  of  the  Carmi  Theatre.  This  picture  was  taken  in 
1888.  The  house  was  moved  to  Robinson  Street  and  is  now  the 
Archer  Apartments. 


Be^dence  of  George  E.  Staley,  the  miller. 


ff^-*-<J      ^Mf^      f-^^Sfc- 


Bcnwmber  the  days  of  the  dill'  pickle  barrel?  And  the  hoarhouiid 
candy  in  glass  jars?  And  the  cracker  barrel  and  pot-bellied  stove? 
And  old  Dobbin  pullfng-  the  delivery  wagron?  You  could  see  them 
■n  at  Harvey  Crozier's  New  York  Grocery  Store,  top  right,  at 
Smitti  and  First  Streets  back  in  the  ISSCTs.  Driving  the  wagon  is 
Everett  M.  Robinson.  Facliig:  the  wag:on  is  Henry  Stockhowe.  To 
the  rigrht  of  Stockhowe  Is  Fred  Barth.  Center,  rlgrht,  the  ZiegrJer 
and  Beinwald  stiave  factory,  a  big:  industry  here  In  the  eighties 
and  nineties.  Second  man  on  left  is  George  Schauiierger,  fattier 
o<  Mrs.  Laurence  Boehringer.  Bottom  right,  the  Zlegler  and  Bein- 
wald sawmill.  Sectmd  frmn  left,  behind  vragon,  is  Frank  Leathers. 
At  right,  man  standing  in  wagon  in  shirt  sleeves  Isl  Ike  Leathers. 
On  far  right  is  Ekios  Leathers.  Second  fr<mi  right,  Granville 
McMnrray. 


S^n.  In^^e  w^n/deif^t  nlne^^/ 


"All,  all  are  gone,  the  old  familiar  faces.' 


HE   PEANUT   roaster   chuffed 
in  front  of  William  Dietz's  Main 

Street  Confectionery.  The  toy  clown  on  it 

bobbed  up  and  down. 

A  caisson  with  a  Civil  War  cannon 
stood  in  front  of  the  Fireproof  Building. 

A  dashing  young  doctor  from  Austra- 
lia, William  Brimble-Combe,  made  his 
rounds  in  a  fancy  buggy,  pulled  by  a  black 
horse  named  Joe  Lee. 

Fred  Bair,  Ed  Mead,  Miss  Stella 
Schoemann  and  many  others  sped  up  and 
down  the  dusty  streets  on  bicycles. 

"Kid"  Hacker  wore  a  sandwich  board 
advertising  Coca-Cola  in  front  of  Dietz's. 

It  was  a  colorful,  gracious,  delightful 
decade;  the  days  of  the  Gibson  Girl  with 
pompadour  hair-do,  puffed  sleeves  and  bil- 
lowing skirts. 

Oh,  the  Nineties  were  gay,  all  right! 
Dances  and  kissing  games  became  popular. 
Women  started  using  face  powder;  colors 
and  bright  prints  for  dresses;  large 
brooches  and  lavaliers. 

In  tune  with  the  times,  men  wore 
striped  and  checked  suits,  gaudy  ties, 
fancy  vests,  heavy  watch  chains,  mus- 
taches and  derby  hats. 


RatoUff  Inn  was  old  in  lo^i.  xi.  had  been  standing:  for  69  years  in 
this  picture.  Adjoining:  to  rlg:lit  is  A.  Willis,  ptiotographer.  Next  is 
Stinson  Bros,  store. 


Miss  Stella  Schoemann  riding:  a  bicyde  on  Church  Street  in  1896. 

E  mw wwi  111 ff^im  m-ffiti''^**^ 


William  Dietz'  peanut  roaster  in 
1896. 


Kid  Hacker  advertising:  CocarCoIa  in  front  of  the  Dietz  restaurant 
in  1896. 


Best-seller  novels  became  popular. 
People  avidly  read  "The  Prisoner  of 
Zenda,"  "Trilby,"  "Quo  Vadis,"  and  "When 
Knighthood  Was  in  Flower." 

The  town  continued  growing,  with 
2,755  residents  in  1890.  During  the  decade 
the  mayors  were  Simon  Grant,  owner  of  a 
brickyard;  George  Wheatcroft,  sawmill 
owner ;  Attorney  Jasper  Partridge,  George 
Ziegler,  manufacturer  of  staves,  barrels 
and  lumber;  Harvey  H.  Crozier.  merchant 
and  grain  dealer. 

It  was  an  era  of  lively  tunes,  at  home, 
on  the  street  and  in  the  theater.  Young 
and  old  liked  to  gather  in  the  parlor 
around  the  reed  organ  and  sing  "Bicycle 
Built  for  Two,"  "After  the  Ball,"  "Sweet 
Marie,"  "Ta-ra-ra-ra  Boom  de-ay,"  "The 
Bowery,"  "Sidewalks  of  New  York,"  and 
"Hot  Time  in  the  Old  Town  Tonight." 


Civil  War  cannon  in  front  of  Fireproof  Building-  at  Main  and  Main 
Cross  Streets. 


Ed  Mead  on  a  wheel  on  Church  Street  in  1896. 


Fred  Bair  bicycling-  on  Main.  Residence  on  left  was  that  of  W.  R. 
Archer;  right,  Joe  F.  Williams^ 


Horse  and  buggy  doctor  of  the  1890's.  Dr.  William  Brimble-Combe,  who  came  from  Australia,  sits 
in  his  buggy  behind  Joe  Lee  on  the  river  bank  near  the  iron  bridge. 


William  Jennings  Bryan  as  he  appeared  In  Carml  In  1896. 

Charles  P.  Berry  bought  the  Carmi 
Courier.  Wust  and  Faulkner  built  the  first 
electric  light  plant.  Two  new  banks  were 
organized — the  First  National,  headed  by 
James  A.  Miller,  and  the  Farmers  and 
Merchants,  with  William  R.  Cochran  as 
president. 

The  Methodists  and  Presbyterians 
built  new  churches  and  Mrs.  Morris  Blas- 
ker  organized  the  Home  Culture  Circle  at 
her  home  on  West  Main  Street. 


Surrey  with  the  fringre  on  top  —  and  old  Dobbin  doesn't  mind  the 
muddy  road  as  he  cHp-clops  toward  the  Ea.st  Main  Street  bridge 
in  Tarmi. 


Orlando   Burrell,   sheriff,   county 
judge.  Congressman,  mayor. 


In  a  political  upset,  Orlando  Burrell, 
former  sheriff,  county  judge  and  mayor, 
defeated  James  R.  Williams  for  Congress 
in  1895,  but  Williams  staged  a  comeback 
in  1899  and  went  on  to  national  prom- 
inence. 

William  Jennings  Bryan  came  cam- 
paigning in  1896.  He  spoke  on  a  flag- 
draped  platform  near  the  depot  and  was 
photographed  on  the  street  with  numerous 
Carmi  people. 

The  streets  were  still  muddy  or  dusty, 
depending  on  the  weather. 

Shoppers  thronged  to  the  stores  own- 
ed by  L.  Haas,  Morris  Blasker,  Stinson 
Brothers  and  A.  Schoemann.  For  fancy 
groceries  they  went  to  J.  J.  Birdsong,  Witt- 
mer  and  Machenheimer,  Stockhowe's  New 
York  Grocery  and  B.  L.  Patrick's.  T.  W. 
Brown  had  a  busy  meat  market  on  Main, 
where  the  Hirsch  store  now  stands,  and 
on  the  Standard  Oil  comer  we  now  know 
stood  the  fenced-in  residence  of  the  J.  F. 
Williams  family. 

Will  Rice  had  a  thriving  tobacco  bus- 
iness. W.  A.  Ball  opened  his  drug  store  on 
Church  Street,  close  to  a  rising  young  den- 
tist. Dr.  A.  S.  Rudolph. 

The  Kerney  and  Stinnett  mill  was  a 
big  business  on  the  river  front  and  Steven 
Eckerle's  brick  and  tile  works  was  boom- 
irtg. 

"Remember  the  Maine!"  was  the  cry 
in  1898  when  America  went  to  war  with 
Spain,  and  once  more  Carmi  men  answered 
the  call  to  the  colors. 


Fun  at  Dtetz's  in  1895.  Oh,  that  was  the  place  to  go  70  y(>ars  ayol  Posing  clotkvvise,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Claude  M.  Barnes,  Mr.  and  IVIrs.  Berry  Crebs,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  Crebs,  Stella  Haas  and  her 
brother,  Erwin,  Miss  Molly  Stewart,  Joe  Williams.  The  woman  left  center  is  unidentified. 


In  the  old  Opera  House  in  1898.  These  civic  leaders  presented  a  play,  "The  Destriek  Schul,"  for  the 
Home  Culture  Circle  in  ite  efforts  to  raise  money  to  start  a  pubUc  library.  The  old  Opera  House  was 
on  tlhe  second  floor  of  what  is  now  the  Carmi  Furniture  Store.  Pictured  left  to  right  are,  bottom  row: 
Will  Tully,  Bob  Silliman,  Ira  Funkhouser,  Dr.  Daniel  Berry,  George  Meridith,  Will  Smith  and  Dr. 
Berry  Crebs.  Second  row:  Mrs.  Albert  Schoemann,  Mrs.  Mark  Blasker,  Mrs.  Tom  Poynton,  Mrs.  George 
Meridith,  Mrs.  Tom  Hutchins,  Mrs.  Perry  WTiite,  Mrs.  Ira  Funkhouser  and  Mrs.  Bateliff  Webb.  Third 
row:  Mrs.  Dave  Rickenbach,  Miss  Laura  Stinnett,  Miss  Ira  Clayton,  T.  W.  Hall,  Mrs.  Sophia  Miller, 
Mrs.  W.  C.  Smith,  A.  L.  Patrick,  Mrs.  R.  E.  Pearce,  Bradford  Powell  and  Miss  Jane  Craw.  Fourth  row: 
Mrs.  Felix  Viskniskki,  Sheriff  Tom  Hutchins,  Mrs.  Tom  Hall,  Mrs.  Burnett  and  Mrs.  P.  A.  Pearce.  Top 
row:  John  Crebs,  Mr.  Burnett  and  Dave  K.  Rickenbach. 


.-> 


i^~;-:  ;,.:-;spf§ 


"^^A 


HE     OLD    century    ended    on 
Sunday. 

Carmi  people  held  watch  parties  and 
church  services  as  they  bid  farewell  to  the 
1800's.  Church  bells  rang  in  an  era  of 
peace  and  gracious  living. 

LfOwry  Hay,  James  Ratcliff  and  the 
other  pioneers  of  1816  would  have  rubbed 
their  eyes  in  astonishment  if  they  could 
have  seen  "their  town"  84  years  later. 

Carmi's  population  had  risen  to  2,939 ! 
Life  was  pleasant  and  serene.  Food  was 
abundant,  inexpensive  and  good.  Business 
was  booming.  Carmi  was  the  trade  center 
for  a  large  area. 

In  the  first  decade  of  the  new  cen- 
tury, two  new  banks  were  opened  —  The 
National  Bank  of  CaiTni  in  1900  with  John 
M.  Crebs  as  president  and  the  White 
County  Bank  in  1904,  headed  by  Frank  E. 
Pomeroy. 

Durable,  dependable  old  Orlando  Bur- 
rell  was  mayor  again  at  75  and  he  served 
until  he  was  81.  Under  his  administrations 
Main  Street  was  paved  with  cobblestones 
from  Main  Cross  to  Church.  Tom  Poynton 
poured  many  concrete  sidewalks  to  replace 
board  walks. 

Electric  arc  lights  flickered  at  night. 
By  day  the  drays,  wagons  and  buggies 
clattered  over  the  cobblestones.  Hitching 
racks,  blacksmith  shops  and  livery  stables 
were  busy  places. 

The  horse  was  king.  Harness  shops, 
sales  stables,  feed  stores  were  open  early 
and  late.  All  over  town  residents  had  their 
own  stables  and  carriage  houses.  Buggies 


could  be  bought  for  as  little  as  $60.  Some 
bought  carriages  costing  as  much  as  $400, 
with  rubber  tires  and  graceful  oil  lamps. 

The  1900's  arrived  with  people  sing- 
ing "I  Wonder  Who's  Kissing  Her  Now," 
"A  Bii'd  in  a  Gilded  Cage"  and  "By  the 
Light  of  the  Silvery  Moon."  Carmi  i)eople 
were  reading  "The  Virginian,"  "Alice  of 
Old  Vincennes"  and  "The  Little  Shepherd 
of  Kingdom  Come." 

Men  started  shaving  off  their  mus- 
taches and  beards.  Gillette  invented  the 
safety  razor. 

Dressmaking  was  big  business  and  so 
was  the  millinery  trade.  Women  wore 
fancy  lace  and  scrim  dust  ruffles  to  pro- 
tect their  dresses.  Waists  and  sleeves  fit- 
ted tightly. 

It  was  a  decade  of  great  events  nation- 
ally. The  Wright  brothers  proved  that  an 
airplane  would  fly.  A  one-cylinder  Packard 
crossed  the  continent  in  61  days.  President 
McKinley  was  assassinated  and  Teddy 
Roosevelt  came  to  power. 

"Motormania"  hit  the  country.  A  Reo 
auto  could  be  bought  for  $650  and  Ransom 
E.  Olds  planned  to  build  430  one  year.  The 
two-cylinder  Maxwell  runabout  was  an 
immediate  hit. 

On  the  river  bank  near  the  bridge 
Joseph  Weigant's  mill  ground  busily  away. 
West  of  there,  where  the  Rice  Motor  Com- 
pany now  operates,  James  Cullison's  gen- 
eral store  was  taking  in  poultry  and  eggs 
in  trade. 

Bernard  Haen  and  his  young  partner 
El-nest  Wehrle  had  a  bakery  on  Brick 
(Church)  Street  and  the  Jahlreiss  bakery 
was  operating  on  Main. 


Gone   are   tiie    drudg^ing    women — they    sing-    and    smile 
instead, 

And  the  cruel  song  of  the  whetstone,  HIce  the  ghosit  of  the 
past  is  dead; 

The  wheat  is  ripe  in  the  upland,  and  the  hay  is  snug  in  the 
mow. 

And  tiie  mily  song  as  the  days  go  by  is  the  purr  of  the 
ccKDiMne  now. 


'Way  l>acli;  there's  where  I'd  love  to  be, 
Shet  of  each  i'esson  and  hatefui  ruie, 

When  the  whole  round  world  was  as  sweet  to  me 
As  the  big  ripe  apple  I  brung  to  school. 


Party  time  on  Stewart  Street.  The  Ail>ert  Schoemann  home  at  Tliird  and  Stewart  Streets  was  a  social 
center  in  the  1890's.  This  picture  of  young  people  there  was  talten  in  1892. 


Jack  Cross  was  running  a  restaurant 
at  Main  and  Walnut  (where  the  First 
National  Bank  now  stands)  and  next  door 
was  Hugh  Trammell's  barber  shop.  Jasper 
Dale's  Drug  Store  was  where  the  Shoe 
Mart  now  stands,  and  the  Halk  Auto  loca- 
tion then  was  Schumaker's  clothing  store. 
East  of  that  was  the  popular  confectionery 
of  William  Dietz,  now  busier  than  ever  as 
King's  Confectionery. 

Lee  Rose  had  a  barber  shop  next  to 
Dietz,  and  where  Sam  Ziegler  now  does 
business  was  Blasker's  Di-y  Goods  Store. 

Sonny  Gumberts  had  a  saloon  in  an 
old  frame  building  on  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent White  County  Bank  and  in  the  same 
block  was  the  L.  Haas  store. 

Carmi  ladies  thronged  to  Mrs. 
Kuykendall's  milliner>'  shop,  where  the 
White  County  Abstract  Company  now  op- 
erates, next  to  the  City  Park. 

It  was  a  decade  of  fun  and  frolic.  The 
B.N.K.  Club  staged  shows  at  the  Opera 
House  for  the  benefit  of  the  Village  Im- 
provement Association.  Folks  thronged 
to  the  White  County  Fair  in  their  buggies 
and  caiTiages.  The  Thursday  and  Friday 
Clubs  attracted  the  cream  of  society. 

Nickelodeons  drew  people  to  flicker- 
ing moving  picture  shows.  It  was  a  period 
of  ragtime  music  and  Sousa  the  march 
king. 

People  sang  and  hummed  "Won't  You 
Come  Home,  Bill  Bailey?",  "The  Good  Old 
Summer  Time,"  "Sweet  Adeline,"  "Meet 
Me  in  St.  Louis,"  and  "Shine  On,  Harvest 
Moon." 

Attorney  F.  M.  Parish  and  Claude  M. 
Barnes  followed  Burrell  as  mayors.  Barnes 
was  a  wealthv  land  owner  and  merchant. 


ROY  CLIPPEVGER 

Editor,  CongTessman,  Civic  Leader 

He  pushed  the  paving  of  streets  and  for 
general  improvements. 

On  May  6,  1909,  a  23-year-old  news- 
paperman came  to  town.  Although  there 
were  two  newspapers  here  already — the 
Carmi  Times  and  the  White  County  Demo- 
crat— Roy  Clippinger  started  the  Carmi 
Tribune  in  partnership  with  Lawrence  M. 
Ross. 


Those  Easter  bonnets  I  Ladies  and  little  girls  knew  that  the  place  to  go  was  to  Mrs. 
Kuykendall's  millinery  shop.  It  was  a  popular  place  in  the  first  decade  of  this 
century.  The  building  on  Main  beside  the  park  now  iS  occupied  by  the  White  County 
Abstract  Company. 


KriiM  1  tiie   brass    lamps   on 

those  wonderful  MaxweDs?  SttD 
in  his  teens,  Matthew  Land  driv«8 
the  family  auto  alon^:  a  oountry 
road. 


Clipping«r  had  started  setting  type  at 
10  years  of  age.  He  worked  for  the  Norris 
City  newspaper  owned  by  his  father,  A.  C. 
Clippinger,  then  launched  out  for  himself 
in  Carmi. 

A  bom  leader,  Clippinger  was  so  in- 
dustrious he  worked  day  and  night.  With- 
in two  years  he  had  merged  his  paper  with 
the  Carmi  Times.  He  operated  the  Tribune- 
Times  until  1929,  when  it  merged  with 
Judge  C.  S.  Conger's  White  County  Demo- 
crat. Clippinger  and  Conger  were  partners 
for  several  years  in  the  Carmi  Democrat- 
Tribune.  The  judge  then  sold  his  interest 
to  Clippinger. 

Editing  the  only  newspaper  in  the 
county  seat,  Clippinger  continually  pushed 


for  Carmi's  improvement.  He  got  a  bridge 
built  at  New  Harmony,  organized  and 
headed  the  Greater  Weeklies  of  America, 
converted  his  newspaper  into  a  daily  and 
was  twice  elected  to  Congress. 

When  he  died  Dec.  24,  1962,  he  left  a 
new  Carmi  Times,  a  daily  newspaper.  He 
had  been  an  editor  here  for  53  years  and  a 
newspaperman  for  66. 

As  the  first  decade  of  the  new  cen- 
tury closed,  Taft  was  President,  the  first 
model  T  was  catching  the  public's  fancy, 
the  city's  population  had  dropped  a  little 
and  people  were  singing  two  of  the  most 
popular  songs  ever  viritten,  "Let  Me  Call 
You  Sweetheart"  and  "Ah,  Sweet  Mystery 
of  Life." 


Washington's  birthday  party  about  1905,  in  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Frank  E.  Hay.  Members  of  the  DAB  and  Thursday  Club  are 
identifled  as,  front  row  sitting,  left  to  right:  Mrs.  Virginia  Malt- 
by  (non-member),  Mrs.  Claud  Barnes,  Mrs.  John  M.  Creljs,  Mrs. 
J.  W.  Maffitt,  Mrs.  Jolm  C.  Powell  and  Mrs.  Charles  P.  Berry. 
Back  row,  standing,  left  to  right:  Miss  Mary  J.  B.  Stewart,  Miss 
Catherine  McOilntock,  Mrs.  Berry  Crebs,  Miss  Annie  Cong'er,  Miss 
Molly  Stewart  and  Mrs.  Boy  E.  Pearce. 


THE  FRIDAY  CLUB  IN  1906  —  Lai  Tlie  ladies  were  lovely  60 
years  ago.  Back  row:  Pearl  Bice  Ziegler,  Bemieee  Schoemann, 
Evelyn  Viskniskki  McCave,  Kate  Pomeroy  Wilson,  Nellie  Boyer 
Pearce,  Grace  Caley  Dietz  and  Ella  Berry  Barnes.  Middle  row: 
Elmma  Smith  Boyer,  Lena  Patrick  Conger,  Vera  Viskniskki, 
Eileen  Tuck  Martin,  Anna  Tente  Boyer,  Ethel  3Iartin  Bullard  and 
Lilly  Smith  Bich.  Front  row:  Stella  Schoemann  Singer,  Helen 
Conger  Haas  and  Ekina  Haas. 


Many  still  living  remember  the  wonderful  Innovation,  meeting  place  for  courtin'  or  a  Coke;  to  listen  to  music  amid  the  palms; 
to  order  a  cherry  phosphate  from  the  wondrous  soda  fountain. 


^eace^il.  twneS^l,  tuma/e/rU  li/me^ 


T  WAS  A  pretty  little  country 
town  in  1911.  Shade  trees  lined 

the  streets,  offering  cool  comfort  on  hot 

and  lazy  summer  days. 

The  player  piano  became  popular  and 
phonographs  were  all  the  rage.  Ragtime 
music  swept  the  country,  with  people  sing- 
ing "Alexander's  Ragtime  Band,"  "Ballin' 
the  Jack,"  "Bugle  Call  Rag,"  "Lonesome 
Rag,"  and  "Everybody's  Doing  It  Now." 

Carmi  young  people  took  up  a  new 
dance  craze,  the  fox  trot,  and  they  hum- 
med and  sang  "Oh,  You  Beautiful  Doll" 
and  "I  Want  a  Girl  Just  Like  the  Girl." 
Sweet  songs  of  the  times  were  "Mother 
Machree,"  "Little  Grey  Home  in  the 
West,"  "When  Irish  Eyes  Are  Smiling," 
"After  You've  Gone,"  and  "The  Sweet- 
heart of  Sigma  Chi." 

Although  the  population  had  fallen 
(to  2,833)  for  the  first  time  since  1890, 
business  was  good  and  times  were  prosper- 


Into  office  as  mayor  in  1911  went 
Thomas  H.  Land,  owner  of  farms,  a  grain 
business  and  a  dealer  in  loans.  Canni  al- 
ready had  elected  descendants  of  pioneers 
as  mayors.  Dr.  Elam  L.  Stewart,  elected  in 
1873,  was  a  grandson  of  William  Stewart 
who  came  here  in  1816. 

Frank  E.  Hay,  elected  in  1885,  was  a 
son  of  Daniel  Hay,  who  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  town. 

In  the  1911  election  the  people  chose 
the  great-grandson  of  Robert  Land,  who 
came  from  South  Carolina  and  settled  on 
the  Big  Prairie  in  1809,  six  years  before 
White  County  was  created. 

Mayor  Land  had  married  Ada  C.  Mel- 
rose, of  Grayville,  and  their  children  were 
Matthew  and  Elizabeth  (Mrs.  J.  Robert 
Smith) . 

In  those  serene  years  before  World 
War  I  the  railroad  depot  was  one  of  the 
gathering  places  of  the  town.  People 
thronged  there  to  see  who  left  and  arrived 
on  trains  for  St.  Louis,  Evansville  and  Chi- 
cago. 

The  1913  flood  caused  widespread 
damage  and  townspeople  crowded  to  the 
river  front  to  watch  the  swirling  waters. 


WHITE  COUNTY  CENTENNIAL  CEUEERATION  AND  MOOSE 
CARNIVAL,  AUGUST  3-8,  1814,  CAHMl,  ILUNOIS 


T  w  WAV  pxfc*>uk»*'         c^A'ictr-  <i.  af?ovt 
Boscoe  co;«>!AN  xiusti.  »»!;«£» 


r«£DC.  fu«f 


The  manager  of  the  telephone  com- 
pany, John  C.  Stokes  was  elected  mayor — 
and  that  was  the  year  Carmi's  Anti-Saloon 
League  paraded  down  Main  Street,  flags 
flying  and  a  band  playing,  to  protest 
against  the  liquor  traffic. 

Harking  back  to  pioneer  days,  the 
town  held  a  White  County  Centennial  Cele- 
bration and  Moose  Carnival  August  3-8, 
1914.  The  committee  included  T.  W.  Hay, 
president;  Roscoe  Cochran,  Fred  C.  Punt- 
ney,  Charles  G.  Brown,  Hersel  M.  Archer, 
Harry  White  and  William  B.  Hartwick. 

Postcards  issued  by  Kelley  Staiger 
honored  early  pioneers  named  Daniel  Mc- 
Henry,  Robert  Land,  Noah  Kuykendall, 
Henry  Jones  and  John  Hanna. 

On  Monday,  June  21,  soon  after  dawn, 
Mrs.  Carson  Hughes  was  in  her  yard  on 
West  Main  Street  close  to  the  iron  bridge. 
She  heard  a  crashing  noise,  looked  up  and 
saw  the  west  span  of  the  bridge  collapse 
and  fall  into  the  river.  Miss  Effie  Gray 
(Mrs.  Herbert  Bruce)  and  Charlie  Green 
had  just  crossed  safely  when  the  bridge 
crashed. 

News  of  the  disaster  spread  fast. 
Small  boats  were  assembled,  then  larger 
ones,  to  accommodate  the  public.  Business 
men  held  conferences  with  county  and  city 
officials.  A  pontoon  bridge  was  hurriedly 
built.  By  Oct.  6  a  contract  was  awarded  for 
a  new  span,  which  was  dedicated  August 
8,  1916.  It  was  called  the  Rainbow  Arch 
bridge,  made  of  88  tons  of  steel  and  10,000 
bags  of  cement ! 

It  was  a  time  of  peace  and  plenty,  but 
Europe  was  at  war  and  its  influence  was 
felt  in  Carmi.  Farm  prices  rose  and  there 
was  a  demand  for  land,  horses  and  mules. 
U.  S.  industries  boomed. 

People  started  singing  an  English  war 
song,  "Tipperary,"  and  President  Woodrow 
Wilson  was  trying  to  keep  America  out  of 
the  war. 

All  of  a  sudden,  life  changed.  No  long- 
er were  people  singing  "Pretty  Baby," 
"The  Missouri  Waltz,"  and  "When  You 
Wore  a  Tulip."  America  went  to  war.  Men 
we~e  drafted.  Army  camps  opened.  Now 
it  was  "Over  There,"  "You're  in  the  Army 
Now,"  "K-k-k-Katy,"  "Goodbye  Broadway, 
Hello  France,"  and  "Hinkey  Dinkey  Parlez 
Vous." 

Mayor  Frank  Sibley,  just  elected,  re- 
signed and  left  his  medical  practice  to  en- 
ter the  army.  Ralph  Benson  became  mayor 
in  his  place. 

Land  prices  soared.  Farmers  worked 
day  and  night  to  raise  food.  Troop  trains 
rolled  away  from  the  Carmi  depot  to  the 
cheers  and  tears  of  friends  and  loved  ones. 


Fighting  the  saloons  in  1913 — flags  waving  and  bands  playing, 
the  drys  marched  down  Main  Street  April  15,  1913,  in  a  protest 
against  the  liquor  traffic  Many  children  joined  members  of  the 
Anti-Saloon  League  in  the  march. 


Carmi   celebrating   and   i>aradiiig  on  Armistioe  Day,   November 
11,  1917. 


It  was  an  era  of  glucose  in  place  of 
sugar,  Khaki  and  rolled  puttees.  Liberty 
loan  drives  and  the  disastrous  influenza 
epidemic. 

When  it  was  all  over,  Carmi  joined  in 
nation-wide  rejoicing.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  November  11,  1918,  news  came  of 
the  German  surrender. 

A  parade  was  organized.  That  after- 
noon Main  Street  was  crowded.  People 
cheered  and  sobbed  with  joy  as  they 
watched  the  decorated  wagons  and  cars 
and  marching  throngs  proceed  down  Main 
Street. 

The  happy,  tuneful,  turbulent,  violent 
decade  ended  with  Tom  W.  Hall,  banker, 
taking  over  as  mayor. 


^ne 


looa^'^/n^ 


(me/nii^ 


HEY  STILL  call  it  "the  Roaring 
Twenties,"  but  the  decade  didn't 
start  out  that  way. 

The  war  songs  faded.  People  adjusted 
to  peace ;  had  a  yearning  for  "the  good  old 
days."  After  their  sacrifices  in  Europe, 
Americans  started  singing  "Let  the  Rest 
of  the  World  Go  By,"  and  "There's  a  Long, 
Long  Trail  A-Winding  Into  the  Land  of 
My  Dreams." 

In  1920  Carmi's  population  was  the 
lowest  since  1880,  down  to  2,667.  Nobody 
worried  because  business  was  good.  Dr. 
Sibley  was  mayor  again  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  W.  F.  Elliott,  auto  dealer,  and 
Fred  J.  Reinwald,  feed  and  grain  mer- 
chant. 

People  played  Mah  Jong,  listened  to 
radios  with  horn  speakers,  read  headlines 
about  the  Ku  Klux  Klan  and  the  death  of 
President  Harding. 

Suddenly,  the  "good  old  days"  were 
only  a  memory.  The  jazz  age  dawned! 
CaiTni  girls  discarded  ankle-length  skirts 
and  bunchy  waists.  The  flapper  appeared 
with  bobbed  hair,  skirts  to  the  knees  and 
rolled  silk  hose. 

Stately  waltzes  and  polkas  gave  way 
to  the  Charleston  and  Black  Bottom.  Ru- 
dolph Valentino  was  the  Sheik;  Colleen 
Moore  played  at  the  Main  Theater  in  "Fla- 
ming Youth;"  Bayleys  sold  Ford  run- 
abouts for  $265. 

Sweet,  slow  songs  of  1920  were  "Whis- 
pering," "My  Little  Margie,"  and  "Tuck 
Me  to  Sleep  in  My  Old  'Tucky  Home."  Now 
it  was  "Yes  Sir,  That's  My  Baby,"  "Dood- 
ley  Doo,"  and  "Jada." 

A  Kiwanis  Club  was  organized  and 
Attorney  Joe  A.  Pearce  was  the  first  pres- 
ident. Dr.  Ray  McCallister  opened  a  dental 
office  in  Norris  City  before  moving  to 
Carmi. 

The  worst  disaster  of  the  decade  came 
Wednesday,  March  18,  1925,  when  a  tor- 
nado roared  across  the  county,  killing  27 
and  injuring  126.  It  destroyed  110  houses 
and  took  a  damage  toll  of  $750,000. 


JUDGE  C.  S.  CONGER 

That  was  the  year  10,000  people  came 
here  to  celebrate  the  opening  of  the  hard 
road. 

The  Strand  Theater  opened  with  Mae 
Murray  playing  in  "The  Merry  Widow." 
Rebstock  Brothers  were  selling  the  Star 
auto.  Clara  Bow  was  the  "It"  girl.  Fire 
swept  a  block  on  Main  Street.  Talking  pic- 
tures thrilled  the  country. 

Daredevil  Olson  sat  on  a  flagpole  high 
over  Main  Street.  Phil  Hanna  presided 
over  the  hanging  of  Charlie  Birger.  Lou 
Emmerson  defeated  Len  Small  for  Gover- 
nor. W.  A.  Ball  opened  his  Main  Street 
drug  store. 

The  Canni  weekly  newspapers  mer- 
ged, with  Roy  Clippinger  and  C.  S.  Conger 
as  partners. 

The  new  age  with  faster  tempo 
wrought  changes  in  town.  With  better 
roads  and  many,  many  more  autos,  the 
horse  and  buggy  almost  vanished.  More 
farm  people  moved  to  town.  The  popula- 
tion started  rising;  reached  2,925  by  the 
close  of  the  decade. 


This  picture  was  taken  at  100th  anniversary  celebration  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  1927.  Front  row, 
left  to  right:  l>Irs.  Ethel  Bee,  Miss  Enid  Lewis,  Miss  Rose  Mary  Bee  and  Mrs.  Charles  P. 
Berry;  second  row:  Dr.  Berry  S.  Crei)S,  R.  F.  Hurley,  Mrs.  Charles  Glbbs,  Mrs.  W.  A.  Bali,  Miss  Molly 
Stewart,  Robert  Finch  and  Ivan  McCalilster;  tliird  row:  William  C.  Smith,  Lillie  Campbell,  Mrs. 
Frank  C.  Sibley,  Mrs.  W.  G.  Boyer  and  Charles  Randolph;  fourth  row:  William  Ball,  John  M. 
Crebs,  Zachary  Boyer,  Henry  Lewis,  Chauncey  Stewart  Conger  and  Joe  Fleming  Williams.  Only  six 
pictured  here  are  still  living:  Rose  Mary  Bee,  Enid  Lewis  Thuermer,  Mrs.  Charles  Gibbs,  Ivan  McCal- 
Uster  and  Lillie  Campl>ell  Siliiman. 


In  1927  the  Presbyterians  celebrated 
their  centennial.  A  pageant  depicted  the 
church's  founding,  with  21  in  the  cast. 
They  were:  Mrs.  Roy  E.  Pearce,  C.  S.  Con- 
ger, W.  C.  Smith,  John  M.  Crebs,  Mrs.  W. 
A.  Ball,  Dr.  B.  S.  Crebs,  Joe  F.  Williams, 
R.  F.  Hurley,  Z.  T.  Boyer,  Ivan  McCallister. 
Mrs.  L.  C.  Berry,  W.  A,  Ball,  R.  E.  Finch, 
Mrs.  Charles  Gibbs,  Mrs.  Frank  C.  Sibley, 
Charles  T.  Randoph,  Miss  Lillie  Campbell, 
Miss  Mollie  Stewart,  Herbert  Bayley  and 
Mrs.  W.  G.  Boyer. 

The  "talkies"  came  to  the  Strand  The- 
ater in  "Broadway  Melody."  Dr.  R,  C. 
Brown  moved  here  from  Eldorado. 


Oh,  it  was  a  tuneful,  colorful  decade 
with  such  songs  as  "My  Blue  Heaven," 
"Girl  of  My  Dreams,"  "Old  Man  River," 
"Stardust,"  "Tea  for  Two,"  "Only  a  Rose," 
"Valencia,"  and  "Happy  Days  Are  Here 
Again." 

Do  you  remember? 

Ah,  yes,  and  do  you  remember  the  om- 
inous signs  as  the  20's  faded?  The  stock 
market  crashed  October  24,  1929,  bringing 
a  fearful  panic  that  caused  the  depression 
of  the  1930's. 


^y^ 


'ii/^n  cou/n^u  ^ow/n  lo  imctM  cltu 


ISTORY  never  ends,  but  books 
do.  This  one  is  coming  to  a  close. 

In  the  36  years  between  1930  and  1966 
Carmi  changed  from  a  country  town  to  a 
small  city.  The  population  rose  from  2,998 
to  6,200. 

Flappers  and  "sheiks"  of  the  Roaring 
Twenties  are  grandparents  now.  They've 
told  their  children,  now  tell  grandchildren, 
of  the  days  gone  by — when  the  New  Har- 
mony bridge  was  dedicated  in  1930  .  .  . 
jobless  men  walked  the  streets  in  depres- 
sion years  .  .  .  com  fell  to  13c  a  bushel  .  .  . 
banks  closed  ...  the  WPA,  PWA  and  CCC 
pumped  money  into  the  economy. 

Carmi's  three  banks  reopened  after 
a  holiday;  people  played  miniature  golf, 
worked  jigsaw  puzzles,  pushed  for  pro- 
gress under  Mayors  Fred  J.  Reinwald,  Kel- 
ley  P.  Staiger,  Jesse  Grissom  and  Dr. 
George  T.  Proctor. 

They  built  two  new  schools  and  went 
through  the  decade  singing  "Night  and 
Day,"  "Easter  Parade,"  "Who's  Afraid  of 
the  Big,  Bad  Wolf,"  "We're  in  the  Money," 
"Love  in  Bloom,"  "Pennies  from  Heaven," 
"A-Tisket  A-Tasket,"  "Beer  Barrel  Polka" 
and  "God  Bless  America." 

Business  was  gradually  improving  in 
the  late  30's  when — boom ! 

Oil !  Who  would  have  dreamed  that  a 
billion  dollars  in  petroleum  lay  under 
White  County? 

Excitement  ran  through  Carmi  like 
summer  lightning.  Strangers  in  western 
hats  and  high-heeled  boots  thronged  the 
town.  The  courthouse  and  streets  were 
crowded  by  lease  hounds.  Abstract  offices 
and  new  restaurants  opened.  In  20  years 
6,000  producing  wells  were  completed. 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement  and 
prosperity.  Pearl  Harbor  was  bombed. 
America  was  at  war  again. 

For  four  years  the  casualty  lists  pour- 
ed in.  There  were  war  bond  drives,  scrap 
metal  campaigns,  rationing  resti'ictions. 

Through  the  war  years  C.  F.  (Bud) 
Rebstock  was  mayor,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  A.  J.  (Gus)  Brandt. 


rVAN  A.  ELUOTT,  SR. 
Attorney  General  of  Illinois  1949-195S 

In  the  midst  of  blood,  sweat  and  tears, 
people  sacrificed  and  sang  "White  Christ- 
mas," "You'd  Be  So  Nice  to  Come  Home 
To,"  "Oh,  What  A  Beautiful  Morning," 
"Malrzy  Doats,"  "Surrey  With  the  Fringe 
on  Top,"  "Cruising  Down  the  River,"  and 
"Sioux  City  Sue." 

Hitler  killed  himself.  Germany  sur- 
rendered. Atomic  bombs  brought  the  Jap- 
anese to  their  knees.  Then  came  the  "cold 
war"  instead  of  peace  and  it  extended 
through  war  in  Korea  and  Vietnam. 

Roy  Clippinger  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress in  1945  and  1947.  Harry  Truman 
came  to  town  campaigning  in  1948  and 
Ivan  A.  Elliott,  Sr.  was  elected  Dlinois 
Attorney  General. 

A  modem  bridge  was  built  across  the 
Little  Wabash.  A  new  municipal  building 
was  erected  at  Main  and  Main  Cross 
Streets. 

J.  Robert  Randolph  took  over  as 
mayor.  He  paved  streets,  enlarged  the  util- 
ity plants,  watched  Carmi's  1950  popula- 
tion of  5,522  rise  to  over  6,200  before  the 
decade  ended. 

Laurence  E.  Boehringer,  a  business 
man  who. was  skilled  in  municipal  affairs 
after  years  on  the  City  Council,  was  elect- 
ed mayor  in  1964. 

The  little  log  village  of  1816  was  only 
a  memory. 


Ratcliff  Inn — before  and  after!  Dilapidated,  decrepit,  ill-treated  and  ugly,  Ratcliff  Inn  was  to  be  razed  in  1960  and 
the  property  converted  into  a  parking  lot.  The  White  County  Historical  Society  raised  enough  money  by  public 
subscrfptSon  to  save  the  historic  buUding  where  Lincoln  lodged  in  1840.  The  Society  paid  $15,000  for  the  property 
and  spent  $16,000  restoring  the  building.  On  the  second  floor  is  the  White  County  Museum.  Here  members  of  the 
Society  hoM  their  meetings.  Two  first  floor  offices  are  rented.  When  the  property  is  debt  free  the  entire  building 
will  be  used  for  a  museum.  Restoring  the  inn  put  Carmi  on  the  Lincoln  Heritage  Trail,  and  it  is  visited  by  many 
tourists. 


Caiml's  official  fla^,  deslgTied  by  James  William  Henning, 


LAURENCE  C.  BOEHBINGEB 
39th  Mayor  of  Carml 


Three  hundred  students  in  a  massed  band  opened  Carmi's  Sesquicentennlal  February  26  with,  a  concert,  playing  for  the  first  ttme 
"The  Lincoln  Heritage  Trail,"  a  concert  march  composed  by  Professor  Paul  W.  Shahan,  of  Murray  State  University. 


Hail  to  the  Queen  and  her  court!  It  was  style  show  and  beauty  time  in  Carmi  March  5.  Three  clxapters  of  Beta 
Sigma  Phi  Sorority  and  the  Home  Culture  Circle  sponsored  the  event.  Celebrating-  the  150th  birthdays  of  both 
UTilte  Coiuity  and  Camu,  all  girls  of  the  county  were  welcomed  to  compete  in  the  beauty  contest.  Out-of-county 
judges  selected  these  winners:  Center,  Miss  Marcella  Tate,  Grayville,  first;  left,  Judy  King,  Carmi,  fourth;  Shar- 
on Wilson,  Grayville,  second;  rig^ht  of  Queen,  Alice  Morris,  Norris  City,  third;  Martha  Morrillv  Carmi,  fifth. 


A  Sesquicentennial  triumph !  Just  before  the  Easter  season  started  the  Sesquicentennial  Chorus  presented  Handel's 
"Messiiah"  to  a  capacity  audience.  The  oratorio  was  directed  by  John  W.  Brown.  Mrs.  Ray  McCallister  was  general 
chairman  and  Miss  Dorothy  Mann  was  co-chairman. 


See  the  dam  in  the  Little  Wabash?  Close  by,  the  cMy  utilities  pi  a 
and  l)eyond,  a  residential  area  of  north  Carmi. 


<'    F.  Rebstook's  plane  was  about  to  cross  South  Church  Street 
\\  hen  he  toolt  this  picture  of  downtowTi  Camu. 


The  railroad  and  U.  S.  460  meet  west  of  town,  showing  the  plants 
of  Sterling-  Aluminum  and  Weeks  3Ianufactiiring  Co.  Beyond,  the 
blue  of  Griffith  Lake  and  a  residential  area. 


The  high  school  and  athletic  fii-ld  ilmniiiatt'  lliis  picture  of  a  sec- 
tion of  west  Carmi.  Lower  right,  College  Boulevard  of  Montgomery 
Circles.  Upper  part  shows  many  residences. 


Jia. 


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m. 


ui^e    /S7'i 


1873  Dr.   E.   L.   Stewart,   doctor,   drug- 
gfet,    postmaster. 

1875  Ross  Graham,   attorney. 

1877  I^roy  L.  Staley,  miller  and  gro- 
cer. 

1879  Dr.   ChrLstian    Cook,    physician. 

1881  Orlando  Burrell,  contractor, 

county  judge  nine  years,  sheriff 
four  years.  Congressman  two 
years,  mayor  three  more  years. 

1883  George  W.  Wissinger,  druggist. 

1885  Frank  E.  Hay,  banker. 

1887  Dr.  John  M.  Minick,  physician. 

1889  Simon     Grant,     owner    of    brick 
yard. 

1891  Simon  Grant. 

1893  George  D.  Wheatcroft,  owner  of 
sawmill. 

1895  Jasper   Partridge,    attorney. 

1897  George    C.    Ziegler,     partner     in 
barrel  and  stave  factory. 

1899  Harvey  H.  Crozier,  grain   dealer. 


1901 
1903 
190.T 
1907 
19C9 

1911 

1913 

1915 
1917 


1919 
1921 
1923 
1925 
1927 


Orlando   Burrell. 

Orlando   Burrell. 

Orlando  Burrell. 

F.  M.  Parish,  attorney. 

Claude  >1.  Barnes,  furniture  deal- 
er, land  owner. 

Thomas  H.  Land,  grain  dealer, 
farm  owner. 

John  C.  Stokes,  manager  of  tele- 
phone company. 

Dr.  Frank  Sibley,  physician. 

Dr.  Frank  Sibley,  who  resigned 
to  go  to  army.  Vacancy  fille<l  on 
January  7,  1917,  by  Rallph  Ben- 
son, who  was  in  the  milling  busi- 
ness. 

Tom  W.  Hall,  banker. 
Dr.  Frank  Sibley. 
W.  F.  Elliott,  auto  dealer. 
W.  F.  Elliott. 

Fred  J.  Reinwald,  poultry  and 
feed  dealler. 


1929  Fred  J.  Reinwald. 

1931  Kelly  P.  Staiger,  photographer. 

1932  Je^se  Grissom,  poultry  dealer, 
former  sheriff,  took  over  Febru- 
ar>-  23,  1932,  after  an  election 
contest. 

1933  Kelly  P.  Staiger. 
1935  KeUy  P.  Staiger. 

1937  Dr.  George  T.  Proctor,  dentist, 

1939  Dr.  George  T.  Proctor. 

1941  C.  F.  >IBud)  Rebstock,  auto  deal- 
er, oil  and  gasoline  distributor. 

1945  C.  F.  (Bud)  Rebstock. 

1919  A.  J.  Brandt,  farm  implement 
dealer. 

1953  A.  J.  Brandt. 

1957  J.  Robert  Randolph,  engineer, 
auto  dealer. 

1961  J.  Robert  Randolph. 

1965  Laurence  C.  Boehringer,  semi-re- 
tired business  man,  auto  sales- 
man. 


CABMI   MEN  WHO 
SERVED  IN  CONGRESS 

Senator  John  M.  Robinson 

1831  ■  1842 
Representative  John  M.  Crebs 

1869  -  1873 
Representative  James  R.  Williams 

1889  -  1895  and  1899  -  1905 
Representative  Orlando  Burrell 

1895  -  1897 
Representative  Roy  Clippinger 

1945  -  1949 


COUNTY  AND  PROBATE 
JUDGES 

James   Ratcliff    1816-1848 

Solomon  Vories  1848-1852 

Reuben   Emerson    1852-1856 

William  P.  Garrison   1856-1864 

George  Williams  1864 

William  Thomas  1864-1868 

Samuel  H.  Martin 1868-1873 

Orlando  Burrell 18741882 

James  R.  WiUiams   1882-1886 

Benjamin  S.  Organ   1886-1890 

James  C.  Pearce 1890-1898 

John  N.  Wilson  1898-1906 

Thomas  G.  Parker 1906  1907 

Julius  C.  Kem  1908 

John  A.  Lopp 1909 

Julius  C.  Kem 1909-1914 

James  M.  Endicott 1914-1918 

Ulys  Pyle 1918-1922 

James  A.  Walsh 19221926 

F.  M.  Parish 1926-1934 

C.  S.  Conger   1934-1942 

Charles  T.  Randolph  1942-1946 

Max  Endicott      1946-1 964 

January  1,  1964  the  County  Judge 
became  Associate  Circuit  Judge. 
Max  Endicott   1964- 

CIRCUIT  CLERKS 

James    Ratcliff    1816-1848 

Solomon  Vories  1848-1856 

J.  B.  Hinde       - 1856-1868 

John  D.  Martin  1868-1872 

Thomas  K.  Wilson 18721876 

R.  F.  Stewart  1876-1879 

Frank  L.  Stewart 1880 

J.  H.  Shipley  1880-1881 

John  D.  Martin  1881-1888 

George  R.  WiUiams 1888-1896 

John  E.  Stewart   1896-1900 

Charles  E.  Hill   1900-1908 

William   Poynton    19081916 

Otis   Downen    1916-1920 

Newt   Arbaugh    19201924 

Frank   McGhee    1924-1940 

C.  C.  Morris 1940-1944 

MiUage  Carter  1944-1960 

J.  Gordon  Dagley 1960-1964 

WiUiam  Sharp  1964- 

SCHOOL  SUPERINTENDENTS 

R.  S.  Graham    1860-1863 

J.  I.  McClintock 1863-1869 

Ahart  Harsha 1869-1873 

James  I.  McClintock 1877-1885 

Commodore  White  1885-1891 

Thomas   Fuller    18911895 

Everett  McCallister   1895-1907 

Val  W.  Smith 1907-1914 

James  Smith    1914-1915 

Charles  Mossberger 1915-1919 

D.  L.  Bovd   1919-1923 

R.  E.  McKinnies  1923-1927 

Harry  E.  Puntney 1927-1939 

Hubert  Sutton    1939-1951 

Walter  L.  Puckett 1951-1955 

Harry  E.  Puntney 1955-1959 

Richard   Travis  1959- 


STATE'S  ATTORNEYS 

Thomas  C.  Brown 

John  M.  Robinson 

Edwin  B.  Webb 

Aaron  Shaw  

Edwin   Kitchell   

L.  J.  S.  Turney 1851-1852 

James   S.   Robinson   1852-1860 

John  M.  Crebs 1860-1864 

Thomas  S.  Casey   1864-1868 

R.  W.  Townsend 1868-1872 

J.  I.  McClintock   1872-1876 

P.  A.  Pearce 1876-1884 

John  W.  Hon  1884-1888 

P.  A.  Pearce 1888-1892 

Francis  M.  Parish 1892-1896 

Isaac  Spence    1896-1904 

William  L.  Martin 1908-1912 

C.  S.  Conger,  Jr. 1912-1913 

Joe  A.  Pearce 19131920 

Charles   T.    Randolph    1920-1924 

Joe  A.  Pearce 1924-1928 

James  M.  Endicott  1928-1932 

H.  C.  McKinney 1932-1936 

Ivan   A.   Elliott    19361942 

Albert  McCallister   1942-1948 

Kenneth  Pearce 1948-1952 

William  South   1952-1956 

Henry  Lewis    1956- 

SCHOOL    COMMISSIONERS 

John  Phipps   1835-1846 

Wm.  S.  Hay 1846-1847 

Heni-y  P.  Anderson   1847-1848 

Alex  F.  Trousdale 1848-1851 

R.  S.  Graham 1851-1860 

TREASURERS 

Daniel  Hay   1816-1819 

Benjamin  R.  Smith   1819 

John  McHenry  1819-1824 

James  Higginson    1824-1828 

George   McHenry    1828-1830 

David    Philips    . 18301832 

Nathaniel  Blackford     .,       1832-1834 

John  McCoun     _    _    1834-1836 

Nathaniel    Blackford    1836-1838 

Milton  B.  Gowdy 1838-1840 

William  Little    "- 1840-1 844 

James  T.  Ratcliff 18441849 

D.  Hay   1849-1851 

Joseph   Meador   1851-1853 

J.  B.  Byram   1853-1857 

J.   S.  Anderson    1857-1859 

Thomas  J.  Renshaw 1859  1863 

A.  R.  Logan   1863-1867 

Michael  S.  Brockett 1867-1869 

James  B.  Allen  1869-1871 

B.  F.  Logan      '  1871-1877 

James  H.  Shipley  1877-1878 

E.  W.  Gaston  1878-1882 

A.  S.  Harsha   1882-1886 

S.J.Wilson 18861890 

Thomas  J.  Mathews 18901894 

L.  S.  Blue  - .    .    1894-1898 

William  A.  Raglin 1898-1902 

George  W.  Clark 1902-1906 

John  Wilson   1906-1910 

Jess  Grissom   1910-1914 

Fred  Puntnev 1914-1918 

Charles  Frazier  1918-1924 

Edwin   Soence    1924-1926 

W.  W.  WiUiams 1926-1930 

Edwin   Spence    1930-1933 

Martin    Ziegler    1933-1934 

Paul  A.  Ziegler 1934-1938 

W.  L.  Gowdy  1938-1942 

Baylus  Hargrave    1942-1 946 

Roscoe  Duckworth  1946-1950 

Walter  Brown 1950-1954 

W.  D.  Morris   19541958 

Raymond   Spence    1958-1962 

J.  T.  Gwaltnev  1962- 


SHERIFFS 

Benjamin  R.  Smith   1816-1820 

Daniel  Hay   1820-1824 

George  B.  Hargrave   1824-1830 

Hosea  Pearce  18301840 

John  Phipps   1840-1846 

John  B.  Blackford 1846-1848 

Abraham  C.  MiUer   1848-1850 

D.  G.  Hay  1850-1851 

George  R.  Logan   1851-1853 

WilUam  S.  Eubanks 1853-1856 

John  G.  PoweU 1856-1858 

T.  W.  Stone 1858-1860 

John  G.  Powell  1860-1862 

T.  W.  Stone   1862-1864 

Thomas  J.  Renshaw 18641866 

J.  D.  Martin   1866-1868 

D.   P.   Eubanks    1868-1870 

Hail  Storms 1870-1874 

Thomas  I.  Porter  1874-1878 

D.  P.  Eubanks 1878-1880 

Leroy  L.   Staley   1880-1886 

Orlando  Burrell 1886-1890 

Wyatt  WiUiams 18901894 

John  B.  Hutchison  1894-1898 

Gene  Ackman 1898-1902 

Joe    Connery    1902-1906 

Jess  Grissom   1906-1910 

Charles  Frazier  1910-1914 

George  Morgan  1914-1918 

Charles  Gibbs 1918-1922 

Oscar  PhiUips 19221 926 

Jess  Grissom    1926-1930 

Charles  Gibbs 1930-1934 

Chester   Pyle    1934-1938 

Tommy  Thomas   1938-1942 

Noel  McCuUough    1942-1946 

Kenneth  Cole   1946-1950 

J.  D.  (Bud)  Griffith 1950-1954 

Kenneth  Cole     _   19541958 

Norwood  F.  Proctor 1958-1962 

Charles  Frazier -..1962- 

CORONERS 

T.  W.  Stone     1850-1854 

T.  R.  McClelland 1854-1856 

Samuel  Moore   1856-1860 

E.  W.  Gaston  1860-1862 

Wesley  Hilliard  1862-1864 

M.  M.  Doyle  1864-1866 

Wesley  HiUiard  1866-1874 

Gilbert    Asbery    1874-1876 

Jonas  J.  Hon   1876-1878 

A.  G.  Foster 1878-1880 

William  Truex  1880-1892 

Barnabas  B.  York 1892-1896 

R.  A.  Mayhew  1896-1900 

James  A.  Bo.yer 1900-1904 

George  Staiger   1904-1906 

Pierre  DeLain    1906-1908 

J.  A.  Boyer  19081920 

Clinton  Staley 1920-1924 

J.  A.  Boyer 1924-1928 

Leroy  Stein -.   1928-1932 

R.  C.  Brown   19321936 

Leroy  Stein  1936-1942 

I.  E.  Turner    -  -     1942- 

W.  O.  Walker       1942-1944 

Herman  Kittinger .-  19481956 

Milas   Cozart    1956-1964 

Bernard   York    - .   1964- 

COUNTY  CLERKS 

James  Ratcliff 1816-1848 

Isaac  MitcheU 18481851 

R.  S.   Graham   _ .1851-1864 

John  G.  PoweU  1864-1870 

William   H.    Pearce    18701880 

John  R.  KuykendaU 1880-1890 

WilUam  P.  Tuley   1890-1899 

Edgar  Brown     1899-1906 

Matthew  Martin    1906-1926 

Clyde  P.   Stone   19261933 

Raymond    Austin    1933-1942 

Charles  B.  Lamp    1942-1954 

John  L.  Whetstone 1954- 


DEDICATION 

When  Ccfrmi's  Bicentennial  is  celebrated  in  the  year  2016,  eyes  will  turn  to  this 
page   of  Cormi's   Sesquicentennial   book,  "Glimpses  Down  the  Decades." 

They  will  see  the  names  of  those  who  sponsored  this  book  by  paying  $25  each 
to  help  defray  the  cost  of  publication.  Because  of  their  generosity  no  advertisements 
were  necessary. 

In  appreciation,  the  Cormi  Sesquicentennial  Commission  dedicates  this  book 
to  them. 


Ainsbrooke  Corporation 

Mrs.  Douglas  J.  Ames,  Sr. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen  Ball 

Mrs.  Lizzie  Barnes 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert  G.  Boyley 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laurence  C.  Boehringer 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  R.  C.  Brown 

Frances  Land  Calvert 

Carmi  Furniture 

Cormi  Nehi  Bottling  Company 

Carmi  Times 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Otis  Dill 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ivan  A.  Elliott,  Sr. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ivan  A.  Elliott,  Jr. 

Elizabeth  Crebs  Evans 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walter  E.  Finch 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Frazier 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hugh  K.  Hale 

Mrs.  John  O.  Hancock  and  Family 

Elizabeth  Land  Horrell 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herman  Kittinger 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  S.  Land  and  Bill 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  S.  Land 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Lewis 

Flora  Blasker  Lichtman 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Albert  W.  McCallister 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herman  Pollard  and  Wayne 

Mrs.  Helen  Hanna  Pearce 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  A.  Pearce 

The  Frank  E.  Pomeroy  Family 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Madison  Pomeroy 

M.  Pauline  Pomeroy 

Judge  Ulys  Pyle 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  F.  Rebstock 

Mildred  Land  Reinwald 

Elizabeth  Land  Smith 

Sterling  Division  of  Federal-Mogul 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Edwin  Stocke 

Ann  Land  Taylor 

Louise  Land  Twilla 

Two  Tony's  Smorgasbord 

East  Main  Street,  Carmi 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  J.  Wallace 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ivan  White 
Williams  Amusement  Company 
Senator  and  Mrs.  Paul  A.  Ziegler 


TIMES    TO    REMEMBER 


WINTER 

SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  26, 
Carmi  Township  High  School  — 
White  County  Massed  Band  Festival, 
with  300  high  school  and  junior  high 
musicians  from  Grayville,  Crossville, 
Norris  City,  Omaha,  Enfield  and 
Cormi.  Premiere  performance  of  the 
"Lincoln  Heritage  Trail"  concert 
march  composed  for  Carmi's  Sesqui- 
centennial. 

SATURDAY,  MARCH  5,  Wash- 
ington School  gymnasium  —  Style 
show  with  old  and  new  fashions, 
sponsored  by  three  chapters  of  Beta 
Sigma  Phi  Sorority  and  the  Home 
Culture  Circle;  beauty  contest  to 
choose  the  Sesquicentennial  Queen, 
Miss  Marcella  Tate,  of  Grayville. 

SPRING 

SUNDAY,  MARCH  27,  Washing- 
ton School  gymnasium — Community 
presentation  of  "The  Messiah"  two 
weeks  before  Easter,  with  over  100 
voices  and  15  members  of  the  Evans- 
ville  Philharmonic  Orchestra.  John 
W.  Brown,  director,  Mrs.  Ray  McCal- 
lister,  general  chairman.  Miss  Doro- 
thy Mann,  co-chairman. 


MAY  13-15 — Spring  convention 
of  the  Illinois  State  Historical  Society, 
with  tours,  receptions  and  banquets. 
Principal  speaker,  Chet  Huntley,  of 
NBC  News. 

SUMMER 

MONDAY,  JULY  4— All-day  cele- 
bration of  old-fashioned  Fourth  of 
July  at  White  County  Fairgrounds. 
Sponsored  by  Carmi  Civil  Defense. 
Festivities  and  barbecue  all  day, 
with  fireworks  display  at  night. 

SATURDAY  &  SUNDAY,  AU- 
GUST 13  and  14— Old-time  thresher- 
men's  reunion  at  White  County  Fair- 
grounds. 

WEDNESDAY,  AUGUST  17  — 
Special  Sesquicentennial  show  at 
White  County  Fair,  headlined  by  Jo 
Ann  Castle  of  the  Lawrence  Welk 
Show. 

FALL 

FRIDAY  5c  SATURDAY,  OCTO- 
BER 14  AND  15  —  Fall  festival  with 
shows,  tours,  contests,  climaxed  by 
Kiwanis  Corn  Day  and  historical 
parade. 


CARMI  TIMES  PRINT