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THIS  IS 

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THIS   IS    WASHINGTON    COUNTY 

(lis  First  150  Years  -  1818-1968) 

Published  by  the  Sesquicentennial  Committee  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Washington  County,  Illinois 

Grovf.r  Brinkman,  Editor 
Venice  Brink,  Co-Editor 
Lawrence  Hood,  Co-Editor 
Paul  Sachtleben,  Co-Editor 
David  Watts,  Co-Editor 


Appreciation:  Trie  editors  wish  to  take  the  opportunity  to  sincerely  thank  the  many,  many 
people  who  have  helped  compile  this  book.  You  have  all  been  wonderful, 
with  your  time,  help,  suggestions,  contributions.  We  thank  each  and  every 
one  of  you! 

The  perfect  history  is  yet  to  be  written.  An  editor  cannot  trust  to  myths,  le- 
gends, or  traditions,  but  must  rely  on  facts.  There  are  instances  when  even 
facts  are  clouded  and  obscure.  All  that  remains  is  conjecture. 

In  compiling  this  book  research  has  been  as  thorough  as  conditions  and  time 
warrant.  Oftentimes  the  facts  are  pinned  down  to  the  point  of  happening, 
true,  authentic,  statistical.  But  there  are  statements,  dates,  names,  that  are 
not  this  factual.  The  editors  have  sifted  through  yellowed  papers,  old  records, 
for  long,  long  hours.  Family  trees,  interviews  with  aged  citizens,  and  vari- 
ous other  sources  have  been  resorted  to,  to  bring  you  this  compiliation  of 
Washington  County  history  that  began  long  before  record-keeping  was  the 
precise  thing  it  is  today.  So  if  there  are  vague  passages,  debatable  dates, 
or  other  inaccuracies,  we  beg  your  indulgence.  The  perfect.history,  we'll  re- 
peat,  has  never  been  written. 

The   Editors 


Washington  Countians  Are  Also  "Egyptians 


?? 


There  is  no  question  that  Washington  County  is 
part  of  that  symbolical  area  of  southern  Illinois  called 
"Egypt."  The  name,  used  as  early  as  1843.  is  voiced 
with  pride  by  most  southern  Illinoisans,  but  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  state,  it  is  somehow  looked  down 
upon,  as  our  own  personal  Appalachia. 

The  exact  boundaries  of  Egypt  are  in  dispute.  But 
most  southern  Illinoisans  will  settle  for  that  part  of  the 
state  lying  south  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad, 
which  runs  east  from  St.  Louis,  Mo.  to  Vincennes,  Ind. 

Figuratively,  Egypt  would  be  the  southernmost 
quarter  of  the  state,  that  hilly,  coal-mine-eroded  region 
that  is  also  rich  in  history.  People  are  friendly  in  this 
grassroots  society. 

Perhaps  the  origin  of  the  name  will  always  re- 
main a  puzzle.  There  are  as  many  as  four  versions: 

Egypt  takes  its  name  from  the  location  of  such 
old  world  cities  as  Cairo,  Memphis,  Thebes,  Palestine 
and  Karnak. 

The  area  bears  a  marked  resemblance  to  the 
Nile's  delta. 

The  name  originated  in  the  folklore  and  illiteracy 
of  the  inhabitants,  or  possibly  because  at  one  time 
southern  Illinois  supplied  corn  to  the  rest  of  the  state 
during  a  severe  crop  blight,  playing  good  Samaritan 
to  much  of  the  upstate. 

A  clash  of  dates  discredits  the  first  reason  entire- 
ly. Cairo  was  not  established  until  1837,  Thebes  until 
1844  (even  then  it  was  known  as  Sparrhawk's  Land- 
ing). Karnak  also  is  far  from  a  "very  old"  town.  Alle- 
gation to  the  word,  Egypt,  appears  as  early  as  1843, 
long  before  the  influx  of  settlers  at  any  of  these  places. 

Point  two:  Alleged  similiarity  between  southern 
Illinois  and  the  Nile's  delta  is  totally  absurd!  The  Nile 
delta  is  at  least  150  miles  long,  120  miles  wide.  The 
alluvial  "tip"  of  southern  Illinois  called  Egypt  extends 
for  only  25  or  30  miles  northward  from  Birds'  Point 
at  Cairo,  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Rivers.  The  rest  of  the  area  (northward)  is  rugged, 
hilly,  an  outcropping  of  the  Missouri-Arkansas  Ozark 
chain  of  hogback  hills,  and  bears  no  resemblance  to 
the  Delta  country. 

Point  Three:  No  southern  Illinoisan  will  permit 
the  allegation  that  the  name  originated  from  "the  intel- 
lectual darkness"  of  the  inhabitants,  or  the  folklore  of 


a  backwoods  area.  Southern  Illinois  had  institution  of 
learning  well  in  advance  of  northern  Illinois.  For  in- 
stance. John  Mason  Peck  founded  his  Rock  Spring 
Seminary  near  Belleville  in  1827.  Four  years  later  it 
moved  to  the  Alton  community  to  become  Shurtleff 
College.  McKendree  College,  aged  Methodist  institu- 
tion of  learning  at  Lebanon,  was  established  in  1828. 
Vandalia  had  the  first  historical  society  in  the  state. 
We  were  not  as  "backwoodsy"  as  some  would  have  us 
believe! 

John  W.  Allen  of  Carbondale,  southern  Illinois' 
dean  of  historians,  writing  in  the  Chicago  Schools 
Journal  in  1955,  cited  earlier  and  more  detailed  testi- 
mony. Allen's  source  was  A.  D.  Duff,  prominent  lawyer 
and  judge  of  southern  Illinois,  wdio  contributed  an 
article  on  the  origin  of  Egypt  to  the  Shawneetown  Ga- 
zette in  the  1860's.  According  to  Duff,  the  very  long 
and  severe  winter  of  the  "deep  snow,"  (  1830-31),  de- 
layed planting.  The  following  summer  was  cool,  and  a 
killing  frost  came  early  in  September.  The  corn  crop 
in  central  Illinois  was  a  complete  failure.  The  settlers 
needed  corn  for  feed,  for  seed,  and  for  the  corn-bread 
that  was  staple  fare.  They  resorted  to  the  southern  part 
of  the  state,  where  the  crop  had  matured.  As  a  boy  liv- 
ing on  a  main  road  in  Bond  County,  Duff  said  that  in 
the  Spring  of  1832  he  saw  many  wagons  coming  south 
empty  and  going  back  loaded  with  corn.  These  people 
were  Bible  readers,  and  were  reminded  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob  resorting  to  Egypt  for  grain. 

The  Biblical  reference  is  to  the  famine  that  struck 
the  Mediterranean  world  while  the  tribe  of  Jacob  re- 
sided in  Canaan.  Hearing  of  their  plight,  Jacob's  son, 
Joseph,  who  held  a  high  place  in  Pharaoh's  court,  sent 
money  and  raiment  and  "ten  asses  laden  with  the  good 
things  of  Egypt,  and  ten  she-asses  laden  with  corn  and 
bread  and  meat,"  so  Jacob  could  lead  his  people  to 
Egypt  and  eat  "the  fat  of  the  land."  If  you  care  to 
check,  you'll  find  all  of  this  related  in  chapter  45  of 
the  Book  of  Genesis  in  your  Bible. 

The  baleful  effects  of  the  winter  of  1830-31  in  all 
but  southern  Illinois  is  a  matter  of  historical  record. 
Whether  or  not  you  accept  the  above  as  an  explanation 
as  to  why  Washington  Countians  live  in  Egypt  (with- 
out the  pyramids),  please  don't  say  "Little  Egypt." 
Little  Egypt  was  a  fiery  belly-dancer  at  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago,  and  has  no  refer- 
ence to  the  geographical  Egypt  of  which  southern 
Illinoisans  are  justly  proud. 


.  ////, PALESTINE  ' 
'  NEW  MEMPHIS' 

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< EGYPT,  USA 


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A 


There  is  a  "new  face"  in  Illinois  today,  and  it  is  found  in  Egypt,  of  which  Wash- 
ington County  is  a  part.  One  of  the  finest  shrines  in  America  is  the  Bald  Knob 
Cross  at  Alto  Pass,  shown  here. 


Washington  County  as  a  Territory 

Today  most  of  us  think  of  our  home  county  in  terms  of  the  present, 
as  it  is  today,  but  turning  back  the  pages  of  the  history  books,  Washington 
County  has  quite  a  longevity  record.  For  instance: 

1673  —  Claimed  as  a  French  possession  under  military  rule. 

1721  —    Civil  administration  as  part  of  French  Louisiana. 

1763  —  British  sovereignty,  part  of  the  Western  Wilderness  Territory, 
military  rule. 

1774 — British  military  rule,  Province  of  Quebec. 

1778  —  July  4  —  Proclaimed  part  of  Illinois  Country  of  Virginia, 
civil  and  military  authorities  appointed  by  Gov.  Patrick 
Henry. 

1773  —  Ceded  by  Virginia  to  the  thirteen  colonies  in  common,  still 
unorganized  territory. 

1787 —  Part  of  St.  Clair  County,  Northwest  Territory  of  the  Confed- 
erated American  States,  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Governor. 

1795  —  Mostly  part  of  Randolph  County,  a  small  part  of  St.  Clair 
County,  Indiana  Territory,  U.S.A. 

1800 — Part  of  St.  Clair  County,  Illinois  Territory. 

1818  —  Made  a  separate  county  of  State  (Washington),  including 
all  of  Clinton  County,  Illinois. 

1824  —  December  23  —  Clinton  County  separated,  and  Washington 
County  began  its  existence  in  its  present  form. 


OCTAGONAL  ODDITY  IN  THE  COUNTY 


Southern  Illinois  has  several  round  (  or  octagonal) 
buildings  of  more  or  less  fame,  including  Randolph 
County's  historic  octagonal  schoolhouse,  and  a  round 
ham  in  Marion  County  near  Kell  that  once  was  used  as 
a  marker  in  early-day  aviation.  But  perhaps  the  most 
unusual  of  all  is  the  old  octagonal  house  on  the  out- 
skirts  of  l\ieh\  iew.  \s  this  is  written,  it  was  ready  to  he 
razed:  perhaps  by  the  time  this  sees  print,  it  will 
be  gone. 

One  could  go  quietly  mad.  tracing  the  intricacies 
of  this  old  house.  It  has  a  somber,  haunted  look  that  no 
doubt  would  raise  even  the  critical  eyebrows  of  Alfred 
Hitchcock,  if  he  espied  it. 

The  house  is  the  only  "round"  residence  in  the 
area.  It  is  believed  to  have  been  built  in  1871  by  a 
man  named  Cooper.  If  his  neighbors  thought  the  un- 
conventional builder  had  lost  his  marbles,  they  could 
have  been  right,  for  later  he  did  commit  suicide  in  the 
strange  house  he  built. 

It  seems  the  original  octagonal  house  was  the  idea 
of  an  eastern  phrenologist,  Orson  Squire  Fowler,  back 
in  1854,  Fowler  pointed  out  to  his  critics  that  eight 
walls  in  the  form  of  an  octagon  will  enclose  more  space 
than  four  falls  of  the  same  length,  at  right  angles,  plus 
better  ventilation  and  lighting. 

It  is  known  that  the  Richview  house  was  closely 
patterned  after  Fowler's  ideas,  even  to  the  solid  outside 
walls  which  were  originally  to  have  been  covered  willi 
stucco.  At  one  time  the  house  also  had  a  two-story 
porch. 

One  interesting  feature  of  this  octagonal  house 
plan  was  that  one  could  enter  any  room  with  or  with- 
out the  use  of  the  center  hall.  Upstairs,  the  four  main 
rooms  were  narrowed  somewhat,  to  make  the  two  tri- 
angular rooms  larger. 

\  full,  deep  field-tone  cellar  was  under  the  house, 
and  neighbors  said  it  at  our  time  served  as  a  garage 
for  the  owner's  one-cvlinder  lieo  automobile,  one  of 
the  first  horseless  carriages  in  Richview. 


Back  in  the  gingerbread  era  of  Fowler's  day,  he 
was  listed  as  a  spellbinding  crackpot  who  also  wrote  a 
book,  "Sexual  Science."  a  frank  marriage  manual  of 
no  less  than  930  page-  that  really  lifted  the  roof  off  the 
literary  world  at  that  time  for  its  frankness.  Putting 
into  practice  his  theories  on  promoting  sexual  vigor, 
Fowler  married  three  times,  fathering  three  children 
when  he  was  past  70. 


Washington  County's  only  "round' 
house,   once  the  pride  of  Richview. 


It's  a  bit  sad  to  think  that  such  an  area  monument 
to  architectural  genius  is  going  the  way  of  all  old 
houses,  but  such  is  the  case.  There  is  no  incentive  to 
restore  it. 

If  ever  a  house  had  an  "eight-sided  rumpus 
room."  this  was  it! 


THE    TURBULENT    TWENTIES 


The  violent  chapter  in  American  lawlessness  that  in- 
duced author  Paul  M.  Angle  to  write  his  sensational  best- 
seller, "Bloody  Williamson,"  a  true,  painstakingly  research- 
ed saga  of  southern  Illinois  violence,  did  not  entirely  escape 
Washington  County  in  spewing  its  death  and  mayhem. 

A  front  page  story  in  the  St.  Louis  Globe  Democrat, 
dated  May  22,  1921,  tells  in  detail  of  the  ambush  of  Ku 
Klux  Klan  chief.  S.  Glenn  Young  and  his  wife,  enroute 
to  East  St.  Louis  in  the  big  Lincoln  car  that  had  become 
almost  as  well  known  as  he  was. 

As  he  entered  the  lonely  road  through  the  Kaskaskia 
bottoms,  west  of  Venedy  Station,  a  Dodge  that  had  been 
following  him  started  to  pass  on  the  left.  When  it  drew 
abreast,  its  occupants  poured  a  volley  of  shots  into  the 
Lincoln.  Mrs.  Young  slumped  forward.  Young  skidded  to  a 
stop  and  jumped  from  the  car  attempting  to  fire  at  the 
speeding  Dodge.  Instead,  he  collapsed.  He  had  been  hit  in 
the  knee,  and  one  leg  was  useless.  In  a  short  time  a  passing 
motorist  found  the  wounded  couple  and  took  Mrs.  Young 
to  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  at  Belleville.  Young  followed  in 
his  car,  with  an  unnamed  man  driving.  Mrs.  Young,  hit  in 
the  face  by  shotgun  pellets,  lost  the  sight  of  one  eye.  Young 
had  a  shattered  knee. 

The  second  violence  in  Washington  County,  came  to 
public  attention  on  the  morning  of  February  5,  1927,  when 
a  farmer  walking  across  a  field  near  DuBois,  inside  Wash- 
ington County  borders,  came  across  a  partly  clothed  body. 
Several  bullet  holes  were  visible.  The  man  was  Lory  Price, 
state  highway  patrolman.  Later  the  body  of  the  patrolman's 
wife.  Ethel  Price,  was  found  in  an  abandoned  mine  shaft. 

This  violence,  in  and  so  near  our  county  borders,  was 
the  result  of  an  era  of  lawlessness  that  started  in  the  William- 
son County  coal  field,  back  in  September,  1921,  when  the 
Southern  Illinois  Coal  Company  opened  a  strip  mine  there. 
A  miners'  strike,  and  the  importation  of  strike  breakers  re- 
sulted in  the  Herrin  Massacre  on  June  22,  1922.  when  nine- 
teen men  were  killed  and  one  fatally  wounded. 

On  May  20.  1923,  the  Ku  Klux  Klan  made  its  first 
public  appearance  at  Marion.  A  gathering  of  2000  Klans- 
men,  initiated  two  hundred  candidates  at  a  ceremony  held 
in  a  nearby  field.  On  November  1,  1923.  S.  Glenn  Young, 
hired  by  the  Klan  to  take  charge  of  its  law-enforcement  pro- 
gram in  southern  Illinois,  arrived  in  Williamson  County. 
Bootlegging    raids    started,    with    more    violence,    pistol- 


whippings  and  death,  with  new  hoodlum  faces  on  the  scene 
almost  daily.  A  gang  war  was  soon  underway,  with  such 
familiar  names  as  Art  Newman.  Charlie  Birger.  the  machine- 
gun-toting  Young,  and  dozens  of  others  making  the  head- 
lines as  violence  erupted  over  a  wide  area. 

Armed  men,  bombings,  killings,  roadhouse  raids,  gang 
against  gang,  turned  Herrin  and  Marion  into  armed  camps. 
Joe  Adams,  mayor  of  nearby  West  City,  was  murdered. 
Shady  Best,  a  hangout  for  the  Birger  gang,  was  bombed. 
Four  bodies  were  found  in  the  ruins.  Carl.  Earl  and  Bernie 
Shelton  were  sentenced  to  25  vears  in  the  federal  peniten- 
tiary for  mail  robbery. 

Charlie  Birger  was  arrested  and  charged  with  the  mur- 
der of  Mayor  Joe  Adams.  With  Art  Newman  and  Bay  Hy- 
land.  Birger's  trial  opened  at  Benton  on  July  6.  1927.  The 
jury  found  the  three  defendants  guilty  and  decreed  death 
for  Birger.  life  imprisonment  for  Newman  and  Hyland.  Bir- 
ger's hanging  was  delayed  by  a  stay  of  execution  by  the 
Supreme  Court.  On  October  21,  1927,  another  hoodlum 
named  Rado  Millich  was  hanged  in  the  jailyard  at  Marion. 

The  Supreme  Court  denied  Birger's  appeal  for  a  new 
trial.  The  Illinois  Board  of  Pardons  and  Paroles  refused  to 
intercede  as  well.  Birger.  accordingly,  was  hanged  in  the  jail- 
yard  at  Benton  on  April  19.  1928.  Looking  up  at  the  sky  the 
budding  trees,  his  last  words  were,  "It's  a  beautiful  world." 

Conclusion:  S.  Glenn  Young  and  three  of  his  henchmen 
were  killed  in  a  gunfight  at  Herrin  on  January  24,  1925. 
Carl  Shelton  was  killed  on  his  farm  near  Fairfield  on  Octo- 
ber 23,  1947.  Connie  Bitter  died  in  the  Menard  penitentiary 
on  January  6.  1948.  Bernie  Shelton  was  killed  in  front  of  his 
tavern,  near  Peoria,  on  July  26.  1948.  Earl  Shelton  was  shot 
but  recovered.  On  June  7,  1950,  Boy  Shelton  was  shot  to 
death  on  his  tractor  at  his  Wayne  County  Farm.  A  score  of 
lesser  hoodlums  met  their  death  before  the  carnage  ended. 

The  depression  that  followed  the  stock  market  crash  of 
1929  accelerated  the  reign  of  terror,  already  under  way,  in 
Williamson  County.  It  lasted  for  more  than  twenty-five  years. 

With  the  exception  of  the  two  incidents  mentioned 
above.  Washington  County  escaped  this  feud  and  carnage. 
However,  many  a  senior  citizen  here  today  remembers  the 
many  instances  when  Charlie  Birger.  S.  Glenn  Young, 
Art  Newman,  anil  later  the  Sheltons  were  seen  inside 
count)  hinders,  perhaps  eating  lunch  or  having  a  car  ser- 
viced  at  a  county  garage.  The  guns  were  there,  but  they 
were  never  used. 


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Calamus   Lake   near   Venedy,   named   after  the   Calamus  lilies  that 
grow    here    in    profusion,     is    Washington    County's    lowest    spot. 


HIGH  AND  LOW  SPOT  IN  WASHINGTON  COUNTY 


When  this  writer  was  in  his  teens,  and  the  road  from 
Okawville  to  Nashville  was  dirt  I  or  mud  I  instead  of  con- 
crete, there  is  a  distinct  rememberance  of  the  remains 
of  an  old  coal  mine  on  a  slope  midway  between  \ddieville 
and  the  county  seat,  always  pointed  out  as  "highesl  -p'>t 
in  the  county.  This  supposition  is  in  error  according 
to  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  which  goes  to  show 
that  an  image,  planted  long  enough  in  the  human  brain, 
at  last  becomes  "truth." 

That  government  bureau  noted  for  its  factual  accurac) 
in  measuring  the  terrain  of  the  '  nited  State-,  reveals  thai 
the  highest  spot  in  Washington  County  is  near  the  Fairview 
Church,  on  the  north  edge  of  DuBois  township,  alongside 

Route  51,  about  three  miles  south  of  the    \-hlev  Wye,    fhe 


elevation    here    is   a    Fraction    above    591    feet,   according 
to    a    recent    survey. 

I  he  second  highesl  spot  in  the  county  is  on  the  Harold 
Auld  farm,  west  "I  Oakdale,  where  the  elevation  is  583 
feet  above  sea  level.  I  he  site  is  known  as  "  Quid's  Hill." 

I  be  lowest  spot  in  the  count)  is  a  bod)  of  tvatei 
known  as  *  alamus  I  .ike.  famous  foi  its  annual  paradi  of 
lilies,  located  in  the  Kaskaskia  Bottoms,  about  two  miles 
southwest  "i  Vencd)  Station.  The  elevation  here  is  395  feet, 

Vie  don't  havi   an)  mountains  in  Washington  '  ounty, 
as  .dl  native-  well  realize,  but  we  do  have  a  topograph)  \.n 
tnce  "l    196  feet,  which  is  ample  assurance  thai  most  of 
the   rainfall    in   ihe   count)    eventually   drain-    into   eithei 
the  Kaskaskia  "i  the  Little  Mudd)  Rivers. 


ftp 


The  Wood  Tavern,  shown  here,  was  Nashville's  most  famous  landmark,  until  it 
was  razed  in  1952,  130  years  after  it  was  built. 


Wood  Tavern  at  Nashville  Was  1822  Hostelry 


Without  doubt  many  of  the  early  records  of  Wash- 
ington County  were  lost  in  the  fire  that  destroyed  the 
courthouse  in  1883,  if  indeed  such  records  ever  exist- 
ed. For  instance,  the  only  reliable  history  of  Washing- 
ton County  extant,  published  before  that  time,  makes 
no  mention  at  all  of  the  old  "Half-Way  House,"  later 
known  as  the  Wood  Tavern,  located  on  the  old 
Shawneetown-St.  Louis  trace  back  when  the  city  of 
Nashville  was  only  a  figment  of  the  imagination  in  the 
minds  of  a  bevy  of  terribly-agitated  county  commis- 
sioners. Yet  the  old  tavern  stood  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  Nashville  until  1952,  when  it  was  razed. 

Nor  does  this  same  history  volume  mention— ex- 
cept in  a  fragmentary  way— the  owner  and  builder  of 
the  tavern,  Major  John  D.  Wood,  one  of  the  keenest, 
most  enterprising  businessmen  in  the  county  at  that 
time.  Today,  Wood's  tombstone  lies  neglected  about  a 
hundred  feet  west  of  where  the  old  building  stood. 

The  old  Wood  Tavern,  until  it  was  torn  down  15 
years  ago,  was  believed  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  public 
buildings  in  the  county,  if  indeed  not  the  oldest  along 
the  entire  Shawneetown-St.  Louis  trace.  It  deserved  a 
better  fate  than  it  got. 


In  the  1820's,  and  for  about  ten  years  afterward, 
the  Shawneetown-St.  Louis  trace  was  the  main  east- 
west  artery  across  the  new  state  of  Illinois.  Its  exact 
location  in  Nashville  apparently  is  lost. 

Suffice  it  is  to  say  it  was  somewhere  north  of  the 
Courthouse  square,  to  eliminate  the  hill  on  which  the 
business  part  of  the  city  stands.  This  accounts  for  the 
location  of  the  old  tavern,  about  two  blocks  north  of 
Route  460. 

During  that  time  it  was  the  rendezvous  and  meet- 
ing place  of  politicians  of  every  shade  and  leaning,  of 
every  party,  for  Wood  was  too  keen  a  businessman  to 
dip  into  the  affairs  of  his  guests. 

It  was  said,  but  cannot  be  verified,  that  on  one  or 
two  occasions  during  those  four  agonizing  years  with- 
out a  courthouse,  court  was  held  within  the  walls  of 
the  tavern.  It  was  the  stopping  place  of  circuit-riding 
lawyers  and  preachers,  and  of  the  riders  of  the  pony 
express. 

Dramatists  have  tried  to  weave  into  the  story  a  bit 
of  fiction  that  Abe  Lincoln  was  a  guest  at  the  old 

Continued 


10 


tavern  one  night.  However,  as  far  as  this  researcher 
can  ascertain,  there  is  little  truth  to  the  belief. 

John  D.  Wood  came  to  Washington  County  in 
1821,  in  his  twenty-first  year.  In  common  with  most 
settlers  of  that  period  be  "squatted"  on  a  piece  of 
government  land,  built  his  habitation,  took  his  own 
sweet  time  about  ""proving  up"  on  his  holdings.  Ac- 
cording to  the  available  records  he  did  not  establish 
title  until  eleven  years  had  passed. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  inference  is  that  the  home 


he  built  was  a  halfway  house,  probably  in  1822  or 
1823.  lie  opened  it  up  fur  business  as  soon  a-,  the  roof 
was  on.  For  a  year  or  so  he  farmed  as  a  sideline  but 
gradual!)  worked  up  a  real  estate  business. 

The  next  tin  years  were  the  golden  age  for  the 
tavern.  Hut  when  the  surveyors  laid  out  the  city  of 
\a-h\  die,  thej  e\  idendy  disregarded  the  old  Shawnee- 
town  trace's  meanderings,  placed  the  courthouse 
square  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  thus  relegated  the 
tavern  to  an  ignominious  end. 


The  Ice  Cream  Parlor 


One  might  long  lament  the  passing  of  the  ice 
cream  parlor.  The  present  generation,  and  perhaps 
the  generations  to  come,  will  never  know  its  deep 
significance,  the  niche  it  cut  into  the  life  pattern  of 
people  who  now  consider  themselves  approaching 
senior  citizen  status. 

Today  we  have  the  dairy  drive-ins.  the  malt  shops, 
the  quick-freeze  emporiums,  shops  of  a  hundred  vari- 
ations that  serve  ice  cream.  But  none  quite  had  the 
decor  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  ice  cream  parlor,  circa 
of  1900  and  thereafter. 

The  photo  illustrating  this  bit  of  whimsy  shows  a 
typical  ice  cream  parlor  as  today's  senior  citizens  knew 
it  in  their  youth.  This  one  was  operated  by  two 
brothers,  the  late  John  and  Jules  Faber  in  Okawville, 
who  were  known  far  and  wide  for  the  quality  of  their 
ice  cream. 

No  French  creams,  mousses  or  spumone,  just  g 1 

old  vanilla,  strawberry  and  chocolate  on  occasions! 
The  ten-cent  chocolate  soda  in  those  days  was  compar- 
able to  a  thirty-cent  malt  today.  An  ice  cream  sundae 
was  served  in  a  silver  shell,  topped  with  fruit  that  was 
often  home  preserved. 

Each  town  of  any  note  had  one  or  more  ice  cream 
parlors.  Most  of  the  establishments  made  their  own  ice 
cream.  The  freezer  of  the  Faber  Bros,  was  powered  by 
a  gasoline  engine,  and  when  its  erratic  "put-put-put" 
was  beard  downtown,  everyone  knew  the  brothers  were 
making  a  fresh  batch  of  ice  cream. 

There  was  no  refrigeration  in  those  days  a-  we 
know  it  today.  The  freshly-frozen  ice  cream  was  pack- 
ed in  vaults  <>f  ice,  beavilj  salted  t"  increase  the  freez- 
ing process.  If  you  were  in  the  ice  i  ream  business,  you 
"iced  up"  tin-  cream  at  least  once  daily. 


The  furniture  of  the  ice  cream  parlor  had  its  own 
place  in  the  Americana  of  the  country,  the  wire-legged 
chairs  and  round  tables  having  a  distinction  all  of  their 
own.  Even  today,  the  distinction  remains,  capitalized 
upon  by  the  antique  dealers  who  have  cornered  most  of 
the  existing  furniture  of  that  period. 


imp 


What  was  once  Faber  Bros.  Ice  Cream  Parlor  at  Okaw- 
ville is  part  of  Seibert's  Grocery  today. 

Then  one  day,  something  new  was  added  to  the 
mi  world— the  Eskimo  Pie.  Folks  were  amazed, 
especially  the  children.  How  had  the  ice  cream  been 
imprisoned  inside  it-  chocolate  wrapper? 

The  ice  Me. mi  parloi  .i-  grandfather  knew  it  i^ 
gone.  Perhaps  it  will  return  someday,  under  the  guise 
. p f  twentieth  century  technocracy.  Hut  whether  it  does 
or  does  not.  it  wrote  a  glorious  chapter  all  ovei  the 
land  a-  an  \ rti.-t  i<  in  institution  enjoyed  by  all  of 
the  family. 


II 


McKinley  Station, 
County  "Ghost-town" 

In  southwest  Washington  County  today,  a  big, 
square  frame  building  that  was  once  a  hotel,  is  the 
only  reminder  of  McKinley  Station.  If  Alfred  Hitch- 
cock saw  the  old  hotel  today,  no  doubt  he  would  use 
it  as  a  setting  for  some  bizarre  murder  mystery  to  be 
filmed.  It  would  serve  very  well,  for  it  does  have  a 
ghostly,  bizarre  appearance  and  a  crimson  past. 

McKinley  Station  started  as  a  dairy  venture, 
about  1894.  The  farm  itself  was  a  large  tract,  well  over 
a  thousand  acres.  There  were  four  large  cattle  barns, 
and  a  creamery  that  stood  west  of  the  hotel. 

The  hotel  had  fourteen  rooms,  and  catered  to  city 
people  who  wanted  a  rural  weekend.  The  M.-I.  Rail- 
road stopped  at  a  crossing  just  south  of  the  hotel, 
which  gave  the  place  its  name.  People  who  came  to  the 
hotel  had  saddle  horses  to  ride,  and  indulged  in  var- 
ious rural  activities.  As  many  as  100  cows  were  milked 
here.  There  was  also  a  general  store. 

But  the  entire  venture  was  ill-fated  financially 
and  discontinued  about  1904  or  1905. 


Washington  County  does  not  have  a  bonafide  ghost 
town,  but  this  old  hotel  at  McKinley  Station  is  reminis- 
cent of  a  failure  in  a  previous  generation. 

Today,  all  that  remains  of  the  venture  is  the  old 
hotel,  a  lone  sentinel  on  the  prairie,  alongside  the 
M.-I.  tracks,  southwest  of  Oakdale. 


Negro  Slave  Burials  in  Washington  County 


!£v€7 


David   Watts   of  the  Washington   County  Histor- 
ical  Society,   at  a  Negro  grave,  east  of  DuBois. 


Today,  there  are  still  two  spots  within  Washing- 
ton County  borders,  attesting  to  a  long-past  Negro 
population.  On  a  county  road  about  four  and  one-half 
miles  East  of  DuBois.  a  single  gravestone  reposes  on 
a  knoll,  shaded  by  two  large  trees,  a  mute  reminder 
that  once  this  was  a  cemetery.  The  dimly-etched  name 
on  the  stone  is  that  of  Henry  Lewis.  Lewis  was  a 
Negro,  a  freed  slave,  one  of  several  farm  families  who 
settled  in  this  part  of  Washington  County  about  the 
time  of  the  Civil  War's  windup.  or  perhaps  even  a  few 
years  later.  Once  this  hilltop  cemetery  contained  about 
twenty  marked  graves,  all  Negro,  but  time  has  almost 
leveled  the  scene  to  the  original  terrain. 

About  a  mile  Northwest  of  DuBois,  alongside 
highway  51.  there  is  a  second  Negro  burial,  a  man 
named  Isaac  Umphries,  at  Chapel  Hill  cemetery  there. 

Mr.  Adam  Kerry,  80 -year -old  resident  of  the 
Kerry  School  community,  East  of  DuBois,  distinctly 
remembers  the  time  when  as  a  boy  he  played  with 
other  Negro  children  who  lived  nearby. 

"Most  of  these   Negroes  were  slaves,   recently 

Continued 


Freed,"  he  said.  "The)  purchased  wooded  farm  land 
here  because  land  was  verj  cheap,  each  family  acquir- 
ing a  forty-acre  tract.  I  he)  were  good  people,  elated 
by  their  new  Freedom.  They  worked  hard  to  make  a 
living,  cleared  the  land,  helped  their  white  neighbors 
H  ith  their  crops." 

Mr.  Kerry  remembers  several  occasions  when  he 
drove  a  spring-wagon  pulled  by  a  team  of  mules  which 
served  as  a  hearse,  at  these  Negro  funerals.  The  last 
Negro  burial  in  the  old  cemetery,  Mr.  kern  believes, 
was  that  of  Henry   Lewis,  possibly  in  the  year   I'M  1. 

Most  of  these  Negroes,  he  remembers,  died  of 
tuberculosis  or  dropsy.  Some  of  the  family  names 
were:  White.  Thomas.  C.recn.  I>a\i-.  Merriwether.  I'm- 
phries  and   Lewis.  Lewis  buried  five  of  his  children  in 


the  old  cemetery  before  hi-  own  death  and  burial  there. 

Mr.  Kerry  was  quite  certain,  too.  that  at  one  time 

there  were  eight  Negroes  working  in  the  DuBois  coal 

mine,  rated  "oldest  in  Illinois."  One  b)  one  the  fam- 
ilies died  out.  or  moved  to  other  communities.  Today, 
all    that    remains    of    these    former    Maw-,    are    the    old 

cemetery  markers. 

Mr.  Joseph  I.  Wagner,  who  operate-  Traveler's 
Inn  on  highwa)  51  near  DuBois,  also  remembers  these 
Negro  families.  "The)  were  good  people,"  In-  -aid.  re- 
miniscing.  "We  lived  together  without  an)  trouble 
w  hatsoever. 

I  Lit  Washington  Count)  played  even  a  -mall 
part  in  the  emancipation  of  the  Negro  is  of  historic 
note. 


Famous  Bridge  on  a  Once-Famous  Road 


If  you  were  born  prior  to  W  orld  W  BJ  I.  and  lived 
in  Washington  County,  you  remember  the  Cox  Ferry 
Bridge  that  spanned  the  Kaskaskia  River.  At  one  time 
it  was  an  important  link  between  \\  ashington  and  Clin- 
ton Counties,  and  a  gateway  to  St.  Louis. 

This  famous  bridge,  located  on  the  Mud  Lake-St. 
Louis  Road,  was  at  one  time  the  only  bridge  spanning 
the  Kaska-kia  between  Carlyle  and  New  Athens.  It 
bore  the  brunt  of  traffic  enroute  from  southern  Illinois 
to  St.  Louis. 

\ow  the  bridge  is  gone,  and  so  is  the  old  road. 

When  the  concrete  was  poured  for  Illinois  Slate 
15.  and  a  new  bridge  built  across  the  river,  north  of 
the  Cox  Ferry  site,  the  old  one  soon  fell  into  disuse. 
Even  the  roail  was  soon  forgotten. 

In  1030  a  joint  effort  wa-  made  by  Washington 
and  Clinton  County  historians  to  save  the  old  span,  but 
to  no  avail. 

Before  this  bridge  wa-  erected,  a  ferry  crossed  the 
Ka-ka-kia  here,  known  as  Cox's  Ferry.  It  was  the  only 
crossing  for  the  pioneer  with  his  Conestoga  wagon, 
headed  west,  or  for  the  early  farmer  whose  wagon. 
loaded  with  grain  and  produce,  sought  the  St.  Louis 
markets. 

The  bridge  was  razed  in  L938.  Today,  on  the 
Washington  County  side,  nature  has  reclaimed  the 
road.  On  the  far  side  of  the  bridge  is  the  tin)  commun- 
ity called  Wittenberg.  You  won't  find  it  on  an  Illinois 
road  map.  but  a  cluster  of  house-  on  the  river,  about  a 
mile  southeast  of  New   Memphis  Station,  give  credence 

to  the  community.  I  tere  a  factoi  \  once  stood  that  made 

butcher  blocks  out  of  native  timber.  There  also  was  a 


The  old  Cox  Ferry  Bridge,  razed  in  1938. 

sawmill  and  a  small  hotel  called  Stopovei  House.  W  ben 

the  traveler  to  St.   I.oni-  leached   the  CoX    I  eiT) 

on  the  Ka-ka-kia.  he  usually  figured  his  journe)  was 
half  over. 

13 


Washington  County  in  Grandfather's  Day 


Before  the  Civil  War,  Washington  County  was 
dotted  with  the  one  and  two-room  log  cabins  familiar 
to  this  age.  The  slow,  yet  dependable,  ox  team  was  still 
in  the  barn  lot,  as  well  as  the  wooden  mold-board  plow, 
the  open  fireplace,  and  the  Kentucky  (made  in 
Pennsylvania)  squirrel  rifle.  These  conditions  were 
part  of  life's  pattern  when  the  first  settlers  moved  in. 
There  was  little  change  until  a  few  years  before  the 
war  of  the  states. 

The  log  cabin  will  last  a  long  time  as  an  image 
of  pioneer  America.  It  was  picturesque  to  say  the  least. 
One  end  was  devoted  to  the  open  hearth  and  fireplace; 


the  chimney  usually  made  of  split  sticks,  mortised  with 
clay,  ran  up  on  the  outside.  The  clay  was  first  made 
into  a  kind  of  mortar  or  adobe,  and  with  this  the  sticks 
were  freely  plastered,  to  keep  down  the  fire  hazard  as 
well  as  cement  the  chimney  in  place.  It  was  referred 
to  as  a  chink-and-daub  chimney. 

Usually  the  fireplace  was  so  large  that  backlogs 
for  it  had  to  be  rolled  in  at  the  open  door,  too  big  to 
be  carried.  The  forestick  and  other  pieces  of  wood 
rested  on  the  dog-irons,  so  as  to  be  above  the  hearth 
level.  At  the  sides  of  the  hearth,  on  pegs  driven  in  the 

Continued 

A  pioneer  cabin  prior  to  the  1850's.  Once  Washington 
County  was  clotted  with  one-room  homes  such  as  this. 


logs,  hung  the  various  blackened  put-,  kettles,  skillets. 
There  also  stood  the  cupboard,  usually  made  of 
smoothlv  dressed  walnut.  The  prized  blue-edged  dishes 
and  pewter  were  kept  there.  In  one  corner  usually  was 
i  rude  shelf  resting  on  <>ak  pegs,  upon  which  was  a 
wooden  bucket  filled  with  water  for  drinking  and  cook- 
ing purposes.  A  liottle  gourd,  the  pioneer's  drinking 
vessel,  hung  on  a  nearby  peg.  The  dining  table  was 
usually,  a  dextrousl)  made  affair  with  leaves  that  fold- 
ed so  it  could  be  pushed  against  the  wall  to  save  space. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  fireplace,  generally  about 

si\  feel  off  the  floor,  rested  the  long-barreled  flintlock 
squirrel  rifle,  wooden  pegs  in  the  wall  driven  for  that 
purpose.  The  stock  ran  the  entire  length  of  the  long 
barrel,  was  made  of  white  walnut.  Incessant  use,  added 
to  the  original  polishing  of  the  gunsmith,  made  it 
smooth  as  ivory.  The  mounting  always  was  of  well 
finished  brass.  Near  the  butt  of  the  stock  was  a  cavity 
about  an  inch  long,  covered  with  a  brass  lid,  held  down 
by  a  spring.  This  was  used  to  carry  tallow  with  which 
to  lubricate  the  "patchen"  used  in  loading  the  gun. 

Also  hanging  on  one  of  the  hooks  on  which  the 
heavy  rifle  rested  was  a  bullet  pouch  and  a  powder 
horn.  The  pouch  was  made  of  leather,  usually  buck- 
skin, had  two  or  three  pockets  to  hold  bullets  and 
patchen  cloth.  The  powder  horn  originally  adorned  the 
head  of  a  cow.  The  larger  end  was  closed  and  into  the 
smaller  end  was  fitted  a  stopper,  easily  removed.  Pouch 
and  horn  were  provided  with  leather  straps,  to  be  car- 
ried over  the  shoulder.  A  horn  to  call  the  dogs  usually 
rested  or  was  hung  from  another  peg  on  the  wall.  If 
the  family  was  prosperous,  there  was  often  a  percus- 
sion type  shotgun  in  a  corner,  to  be  used  by  the  hoys 
who  were  not  as  accurate  in  their  shooting  as  father. 

Another  article  of  furniture  in  the  cabin  was  the 
candlestand,  upon  which  usually  reposed  a  worn  copy 
of  the  Bible  and  a  dog-eared  almanac.  The  small  win- 
dows  in  the  cabin  usually  contained  -i\  (>\(t -inch  panes 
of  glass. 

The  door  of  the  cabin  swung  on  wooden  hinges, 
the  only  kind  known,  was  fastened  with  a  wooden  latch. 
The  latch  was  raised  or  lowered  by  a  leather  thong 
which  passed  through  a  hole  and  left  the  free  end 
hanging  outside.  At  nights,  when  the  pioneer  wished  to 
lock  his  cabin,  he  merely  pulled  in  the  latchstring. 

The  bed  usuall)  was  softened  by  a  feather  tick.  \ 

trundel  heel  rolled  under  the  big  bed  in  the  daytime, 
was  pulled  OUt  for  the  children  at  night.  The  flooi  of 
the  better  cabins  was  made  of  unhewn  oak.  a  great 
improvement  over  the  puncheon  floor-  of  an  earlier 


period.  The  loft  usually  was  reached  bj  a  ladder,  where 
the  rafter-  would  be  festooned  with  dried  apples  hung 
on  strings:  dried  pumpkin,  fruits,  peppers,  sage  to 
season  the  meat:  pennyroyal  to  "sweat"  the  sick  ones; 
boneset  to  break  "the  ager";  strings  of  stuffed  sau- 
sage, chunks  of  dried  beef. 

Crowded  as  was  this  cabin,  it  had  at  times  an- 
other article  that  took  up  considerable  floor  space,  the 
loom  to  weave  cloth.  Cumbersome  as  it  was,  the  house- 
wife was  an  artist  on  this  pioneer  contrivance,  and 
from  it  came  the  jeans  worn  bj  the  men.  linsey  for  the 
women,  pretty  coverlets,  counterpanes  and  pillow  cases. 
The  spinning  wheel  was  the  running  mate  of  the  loom, 
and  upon  it  the  carded  wool  was  woven  into  thread. 

Cooking  was  done  almost  entirely  in  iron  pot-,  a 
dextrous  art  for  the  housewife,  who  toiled  with  the 
heavy  utensils,  the  spider,  the  iron  tongs  with  which 
to  pick  up  hot  embers,  the  big  shovel  to  manipulate 
the  wood  fire.  Always  in  the  cabin  was  the  pleasant 
odor  of  burning  wood.  Old-timers  insisted  that  no  meal 
could  ever  approach  the  delicacy  of  one  cooked  at  an 
open  hearth. 

With  the  advenl  of  the  fifties,  matches  started  to 
come  into  more  general  use.  But  before  this  time,  the 
fire  on  the  hearth  never  went  out  unless  by  accident. 
If  it  did,  someone  went  to  a  neighbor's  "to  borrow  live 
coals."  or  if  there  was  DO  neighbor,  or  the  weather 
was  inclement,  a  bit  of  gun  powder  would  be  put  into 
the  pan  of  the  flintlock  rifle,  a  piece  of  cotton  held 
beside  it.  then  when  the  trigger  was  pulled,  a  spark 
from  the  flint  would  ignite  the  powder.  It  in  turn  would 
set  Fire  to  the  cotton,  and  while  this  was  blazing,  it 
would  be  hurriedly  transferred  to  "shavings"  or  other 
easih  inflammable  material  under  the  laid  kindling 
in  the  fireplace. 

Food  in  pioneei  days  was  relatively  simple:  corn- 
bread  and  salt  pork  were  the  staples.  Wheat  bread  was 
practically  unknown  before  the  fifties.  The  children 
ate  corn  mush  and  drank  their  milk  warm  from  the 
cow.  unpasteurized.  In  winter,  kernels  of  com  were 
treated  with  lye.  which  removed  the  hull,  after  which 
the  grains  were  boiled  or  fried.  'I  hi-  wa-  a  whole-ome 

food  that  was  called  "big  hominy."  With  the  coming 
of  the  fir-t  frost,  one  neighbor  would  kill  a  hog.  divide 
it    with   his   friend-.   Week-   later  another   would   kill   a 

beef,  divide  it  likewise.  No  one  had  a  cellar  in  those 
daj  s. 

The  present  method  id  preserving  and  canning 
fruit   and   vegetables   did    not   come   into   vogue   until 

Continued 


15 


The   fence  was   called   a   stake-and-rider   rail   enclosure.    Notice   the   chink-and-daub 
chimney,  the  prairie  schooner  (Conestoga  type)  wagon,  the  shake  roof  on  the  cabin. 


about  the  middle  of  the  fifties.  The  woods  and  prairies 
were  full  of  blackberries,  wild  plums,  crab  apples,  wild 
grapes  and  persimmons.  Pawpaws  were  the  bananas  of 
the  pioneer. 

Soap  was  made  with  lye  and  fat,  a  custom  that 
still  prevails  today  in  a  few  scattered  rural  areas.  The 
lye  was  made  by  leaching  wood  ashes,  and  the  fat  came 
from  saving  all  sorts  of  meat  scraps. 

Many  an  early  Washington  County  settler  had  to 
depend  upon  a  nearby  spring  or  the  '"crick"  for  their 
drinking  water.  The  only  rain  water  collected  was  that 
in  a  barrel,  set  under  the  eaves,  and  generally  full  of 
■'wifrarle  tails"  as  soon  as  the  weather  got  warm. 


The  manner  of  dress  was  simple.  For  everyday 
wear,  men  had  shirts  of  jeans,  cut  loosely;  trousers 
were  called  breeches,  and  vests  were  universally  known 
as  "roundabouts."  An  outer  garment  called  a  "warn- 
mus"  was  also  popular  with  men.  Boots  came  into 
fashion  in  the  early  fifties;  working  men  wore  heavy 
shoes  referred  to  as  brogans.  Clocks  and  watches  were 
rare,  only  professional  people  and  ne'er-do-wells  car- 
ried a  timepiece.  The  pioneer  told  his  time  "by  sun." 

This  was  that  era  of  formative  years  in  our  nation 
before  the  days  of  hypertension  and  psychiatry.  Look- 
ing at  the  period  nostalgically,  it  might  be  called  "the 
good  old  days."  But  that,  too,  is  a  matter  of  opinion. 


16 


Sod  and  Soybeans 


Why  did  the  first  settlers  of  Washington  County 
choose  their  homes  along  tin-  timber  edge  rather  than 
on  the  more  fertile  open  prairie?  There  were  at  least 
three  reasons.  The  late  Charles  Baldwin,  an  able  coun- 
ty historian  in  his  day.  explained  it  this  way: 

"First,  the)  were  closer  to  fuel,  water  and  build- 
ing material.  Secondly,  there  was  less  danger  from 
prairie  fires,  sometime-  started  by  accident,  by  light- 
ning,  and  often  l>>  Indians  for  the  purpose  of  burning 
them  out.  Thirdly .  the  plows  of  that  day  were  not  built 
strong  enough  to  busl  the  tough  Illinois  prairie  sod. 
The  first  plows  brought  in  by  the  settlers  had  wooden 
mold-hoards  faced  with  a  few  iron  strips.  They  were 
man-killers,  if  nothing  else. 

"'Time  itself  finally  eliminated  the  first  two  rea- 
sons. Then  a  highly  successful  sod  plow  was  invented 
by  the  first  blacksmith  of  Nashville,  a  mechanical  gen- 
ius named  J.  I..  Runk.  who  for  some  reason  has  gotten 
mighty  little  space  in  the  history  books. 

"Once  he  bad  his  plow  perfected.  Hunk  joined  up 
in  a  manufacturing  project  with  a  group  of  Sparta,  III- 
inois  men  under  the  name  of  the  Sparta  Plow  Com- 
panv.  and  thej  put  over  the  plow  in  a  big  way.  The 
important  feature  of  this  plow  was  a  long,  sloping 
blade  set  vertically  on  the  land  side  of  the  plow-shear, 
which  ripped  through  roots  and  soil,  taking  the  place 
of  the  rolling  coulter  that  came  later.  The  sharper 
this  blade  was  kept  the  better  it  cut.  A  big,  cumber- 
some tool,  it  was,  and  a  man-killer  too.  but  it  turned 
the  sod. 

"After  this  plow  came  into  use.  the  prairies  set- 
tled up  rapidly.  The  B.  &  0.  Railroad  coming  into  Illi- 
nois saw  the  influx  of  New  Yorkers,  many  coming  to 
the  Hoyleton  prairie,  where  the  plow  was  first  put  to 
work.  That  is.  all  but  one  of  them  put  it  to  work  —  a 
man  named  Marx.  Marx'  experience  with  this  sod- 
busting  plow  is  so  unique  it  deserves  a  few  paragraphs 
in  this  book. 

"He  was  a  young  bachelor  from  upstate  New 
i  ork,  knew  nothing  of  farm  work.  He  came  to  the 
country  with  Mr.  and  Mr-.  Ward  Vtherton,  a  young 
couple  also  from  \ru  York  State.  The  two  men  pur- 
chased adjoining  eighties  about  a  mile  and  a  half  west 
of  Grand  Point  creek,  near  the  present  [rvington- 
lloyleton  road.  They  were  to  alternate,  using  the  plow. 

'"  Vtherton's  turn  came  first.  Then  the  next  day  it 
was  Marx1  time.  He  fought  the  plow  all  day,  with  his 
Sunday  shoes  on.  That  night  he  slept,  or  tried  to,  on 
bis  experience.   Next   morning   he  told    Vtherton  his 

land    and    interest     in    the    equipment     were    for    sale, 
cheap. 


'I  don't  mind  the  work."  he  explained,  'nor  the 
two-inch  roots  that  fly  back  and  crack  my  shin-.  I 
suppose  I  could  get  used  to  the  snakes,  and  the  field 
mice  running  up  my  pants'  legs.  But  I've  got  a  new 
corn  on  every  toe,  and  both  heels  are  blistered.  Be- 
sides. I've  ruined  my  shoes,  so  I'm  quitting!1 

"Atherton  bought  him  out.  Marx'  mind  still  must 
have  been  on  his  feet  and  those  ruined  shoes,  for  he 
went   into  the  shoe  business  in  Chicago.  Some  years 


This     composite    photo     is    illustrative     of    Washington 
County's   number   one  farm   crop  —  soybeans! 

later  he  sent  for  Atherton'-  oldest  son,  Frank,  and 
between  them  they  built  the  Marx  Shoe  Company  into 
one  of  the  largest  firms  in  Illinois. 

"Looking  at  the  rippling  green  of  today's  fields  of 
soybeans  in  Washington  County,  the  weedless  black 
loam  that  was  once  prairie  sod,  the  highly  fertilized 
land,  one  seldom  remembers  that  once  this  was  virgin 

soil,  with  the  brome-edge  hip-high,  and  the  "turf" 
SO  lough  that   the  fir-t  plow-  couldn't   pierce   it." 


17 


Washington  County's  Social  and  Economic  Characteristics 


Washington  County  was  formed  in  1817,  includ- 
ing within  its  first  boundaries  the  present  County  of 
Clinton.  Ten  years  later  that  area  was  detached  and 
made  a  separate  county.  Named  for  George  Washing- 
ton, the  county  contains  565  square  miles,  or  a  land 
area  of  362,000  acres,  more  than  85  per  cent  of  which 
is  farmland. 

The  Covington  area  is  the  oldest  in  the  county, 
the  first  county  seat  being  located  here;  first  court  here 
dates  back  to  March  9,  1818.  The  county  seat  was 
moved  to  Nashville  in  1831  because  a  more  centrally 
located  site  was  needed. 

On  June  25,  1831,  the  county  commissioners  con- 
tracted for  the  building  of  a  courthouse,  a  frame  struc- 
ture which  was  used  until  1840,  at  which  time  a  new 
building  was  built  on  the  public  square  at  Nashville 
for  the  sum  of  $4,385.  The  present  two  story  brick 
structure  was  erected  in  1884  at  a  cost  of  $24,999. 
With  remodeling  and  some  expansion,  the  building  is 
still  in  use. 

Nashville,  largest  town  in  the  county,  was  laid  out 
on  June  8,  1830.  Records  show  that  the  proprietors, 
Robert  Middleton  and  G.  Brown,  deeded  a  stipulated 
number  of  lots  to  the  commissioners,  Carter  and 
Whittenberg,  who  were  Tennesseeans,  and  reverenced 
everything  relative  to  that  state.  By  permission  of  the 
proprietors,  they  christened  the  town  New  Nashville. 
But  the  prefix  was  soon  dropped. 

Sixteen  townships  comprise  the  county.  Total 
population,  last  census,  is  13,569.  Six  main  highways 
crisscross  the  county:  U.  S.  460,  and  State  routes  15, 
51,  127,  153  and  177.  Its  railroads  are  the  Illinois 
Central,  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  and  the  Missouri 
Pacific. 

Farming:  A  total  of  328,566  acres  of  the  county 
is  farmed,  with  soybeans  the  top  crop,  ranking  six- 
teenth in  the  state,  with  an  annual  income  of  $4  mil- 
lion. More  than  IVi  million  bushels  of  wheat  are  raised 
yearly.  Annual  income  from  corn  totals  above  $1  mil- 
lion. Dairying  nets  $2  million,  and  livestock  income 
reaches  the  $5  million  figure.  The  county  also  ranks 


second  in  the  state's  yield  of  strawberries,  has  more 
than  30  growers. 

Industries:  Two  major  industries  not  related  to 
agriculture  provide  employment.  Largest  is  Hoben 
Candy  Corporation  at  Ashley,  with  a  yearly  output  of 
more  than  seven  million  candy  bars.  Seven  warehouses 
are  maintained  in  cities  scattered  from  the  East  to  the 
West  coast,  with  exports  going  to  Newfoundland,  Can- 
ada, Puerto  Rico,  the  Dominican  Republic,  Panama, 
the  Virgin  Islands  and  Okinawa. 

The  National  Mine  Service  Company,  located  at 
Nashville,  is  the  other  large  county  industry.  It  manu- 
factures underground  mining  equipment,  with  a  wide 
market. 

Among  other  industries  furnishing  employment 
in  the  county  are  the  Nashville  Milk  Co.,  the  Lorenz 
Bottling  Co.,  the  Venedy  Coal  Co.,  the  county  oil 
fields,  and  the  quarries  at  Covington,  DuBois,  Bolo, 
Beaucoup  and  Nashville. 

Health  and  Welfare:  The  Nashville  Memorial  Hos- 
pital, made  possible  by  a  bequest  in  the  will  of  the  late 
Frederick  W.  Reuter,  a  Nashville  resident;  plus  the 
two  nursing  homes  now  operating  in  the  county, 
Washington  Springs  Nursing  Home  at  Okawville  and 
Friendship  Manor,  Inc.  at  Nashville,  are  important  ad- 
juncts to  the  well-being  of  the  people,  and  also  supply 
jobs  for  various  types  of  personnel. 

The  Washington  County  Tuberculosis  Association 
has  a  well-balanced  control  program,  has  done  a  com- 
mendable job  in  making  available  free  tests  and  chest 
X-rays  for  early  diagnosis  as  well  as  in  providing  sana- 
torium care  for  those  requiring  treatment.  The  county 
is  fortunate  in  its  number  of  resident  physicians. 

Churches  and  Educational  Facilities:  There  are 
41  Protestant  and  6  Catholic  churches  in  the  county. 
Fourteen  school  districts  serve  the  area,  a  reduction 
from  88  in  1940.  All  schools  have  either  a  lunch  or 
milk  program  or  both.  All  have  bus  transportation. 

Three  public  libraries,  one  at  Nashville,  Ashley 
and  Richview;  and  three  weekly  newspapers,  the  Nash- 

Con  tinned 


18 


Washington   County  Lake  is  the  county's  largest  recreational  facility. 


ville  News,  the  Okawville  Times  and  the  Ashley  News 
serve  the  county. 

Wei/are:  The  Illinois  State  Employment  Service, 
through  its  Mt.  Vernon  office,  provides  service  in 
Washington  County  each  Monday,  with  headquarters 
in  the  courthouse.  Itinerant  service  from  the  Federal 
Social  Security  Administration  for  retirees  under  the 
Old  Age,  Survivors  and  Disability  Insurance,  provision 
of  the  Federal  Social  Security  Act,  is  maintained  the 
first  and  third  Wednesday  of  each  month. 

The  Illinois  Veteran's  Commission  also  serves  the 
county  each  Monday,  as  does  driver  license  inspectors 
on  Monday  and  Tuesday  of  each  week. 

The  American  Red  Cross,  Salvation  Army,  and 
American  Cancer  Society  provide  some  types  of  ser- 
vices, but  all  on  a  limited  basis.  \  arious  other  civic 
organizations  and  community  groups  do  a  notable 
work  in  their  respective  communities. 


Recreational  Facilities:  \  total  of  1600  acres  has 
been  purchased  by  the  State  Department  of  Conserva- 
tion for  recreational  facilities.  Fishing,  boating,  camp- 
ing and  picnic  areas  are  available.  This  is  known  as 
the  W  ashington  County  Lake  and  covers  365  acres  of 
pool  area. 

The  Nashville  Memorial  Park  District  has  a  large 
picnic  area,  swimming  pool,  tennis  court  and  a  well 
lighted  ball  park. 

The  fine  shaded  Community  Park  in  Okawville  is 
maintained  by  the  Community  Club  and  is  a  picnic 
area  only. 

Rural  youth  in  particular  participate  in  the  var- 
ious III  clubs  active  in  the  county.  Approximately 
310  county  women  participate  in  the  Home  Bureau 
I  nil  activities. 

\\  .i-hington  County  is  a  GOOD  place  in  which 
to  Live! 


19 


-.  <  - 


The  late  Fred  S.  Russell,  Okawville  Teacher,  digging  out  an  old  boat  from  the 
mud  of  the  Kaskaskia,  later  identified  as  an  old  French  bateau. 


French  Coined  Word  "Okaw" 


To  the  Washington  County  resident,  and  the  form- 
er resident,  everything  is  interesting  that  pertains  to 
his  or  her  childhood  stomping  ground.  As  a  native,  or 
a  former  native,  we  have  every  reason  to  look  with 
justifiable  pride  on  our  State,  and  on  Washington 
County  in  particular.  We  have  many  ''firsts.*' 

Geographically,  our  pride  has  recently  been  up- 
dated in  reference  to  the  Kaskaskia  River.  It  is  being 
straightened,  controlled,  fenced  off  by  a  tremendous 
withholding  dam,  creating  Carlyle  Reservoir.  For  55 
miles,  the  crooked  Kaskaskia  is  getting  its  face  lifted. 
The  river  we've  known  for  over  a  century  for  its  big 
catfish  is  now  feeling  the  inroads  of  industrialization. 
Soon  it  will  be  navigable  from  its  mouth  to  Fayette- 
ville.  As  a  borderline  stream  of  Washington  County,  its 
historic  past  has  never  been  fully  researched. 

The  stream  itself  rises  in  Champaign  County,  near 
Urbana.  In  its  erratic  course,  it  flows  through  twelve 
counties:  Champaign,  Douglas,  Coles.  Moultrie.  Shel- 
by, Fayette,  Bond,  Clinton,  Washington.  St.  Clair, 
Monroe  and  Randolph.  The  tendency  of  its  course  is 
to  the  Southwest,  until  it  empties  into  the  Mississippi 
a  few  miles  from  Chester.  Its  entire  length  is,  roughly, 
100  miles.  In  1837,  a  small  steamboat  ascended  as  far 


20 


as  Carlyle.  Within  a  few  years,  coal  barges  will  use 
it  as  an  egress  to  the  Mississippi. 

Above  us.  at  Carlyle,  the  state's  largest  man-made 
lake  is  now  filling,  spreading  over  26.000  acres.  Below 
us,  at  Baldwin,  the  Illinois  Power  Company  is  current- 
ly building  a  $200  million  power  plant. 

In  its  meandering,  the  Kaskaskia  flows  past  a 
number  of  sizeable  communities.  Urbana,  Tuscola, 
Sullivan,  Shelbyville,  Vandalia,  Carlyle  and  Chester. 
The  two  first  capitals  of  our  state.  Kaskaskia  and  Van- 
dalia, reposed  on  its  banks.  In  its  course  it  is  crossed 
by  a  dozen  or  more  railroads,  is  spanned  by  both  a 
covered  and  a  swinging  bridge. 

Geographically,  the  river  is  the  Kaskaskia.  But 
it  has  been  called  the  Okaw  by  Washington  Countians 
for  long,  long  years.  Near  the  hamlet  of  Roots,  down- 
stream, there  are  two  bridges  spanning  it  within  sight 
of  each  other.  The  highway  bridge  calls  it  the  Kas- 
kaskia and  the  railroad  bridge  labels  it  the  Okaw. 

This  appellation  was  derived  in  somewhat  a  pe- 
culiar manner.  In  the  early  days  when  Illinois  was  part 
of  the  Indiana  Territory,  representatives  were  chosen 
to  attend  the  Territorial  Legislature  at  Vincennes.  The 
inhabited  portion  of  Illinois  at  that  time  was  mainly 

Continued 


composed  of  the  early-day  French  villages.  Ancient 
Kaskaskia,  now  toppled  into  the  river,  was  one  of 
these  places. 

A  trail  led  through  the  state  to  the  territorial  capi- 
tal, known  as  the  Yincennes  Trace.  Legislators  and 
travellers  rode  along  this  famous  trace  on  horseback, 
the  only  means  of  travel  in  those  days  except  afoot. 

The  customary  salutation  and  response  along  ilii- 
route  among  the  French  finally  gave  rise  to  a  new 
word.  Okaw.  Kaskaskia  or  Cascasquia  was  al>l>rc\  iated 
into  ('as  (Kah).  This  was  not  only  true  in  everyday 
parlance  but  many  of  the  old  records  are  dated  at 
"Cas."  Hence,  when  the  French  travellers  along  the 
\  incennes  Trace  would  meet,  and  inquire  about  their 
destination,  those  going  to  the  old  French  village 
would  reply  that  they  were  enroute  to  "au  Cas"  —  to 
Kaskaskia:  '*au"  being  pronounced  as  "o"  and  mean- 
ing "to,"  while  "Cas."  being  pronounced  '"kah"  was 
the  abbreviation  of  Cascasquia. 

The  response  to  "au  Cas."  or  "0  Kah"  was  taken 
up  by  the  English  speaking  travellers,  and  being  some- 


what broadened  by  the  linguistic  change  of  different 
tongues,  finally  became  the  word.  Okaw.  which  has 
clung  to  the  river  for  well  over  a  century. 

That  the  early  French  used  the  Kaskaskia  as  a 
means  of  travel  was  very  definitely  proven  at  Okaw- 
ville.  back  in  the  days  when  the  late  Fred  S.  Russell 
was  connected  with  the  Agricultural  department  of  the 
Okawville  High  School.  Russell,  an  avid  historian, 
solely  by  chance  unearthed  an  old  boat  in  a  sandbar 
of  the  Kaskaskia  north  of  Okawville  one  day.  The 
more  he  dug,  the  more  he  realized  that  it  was  an  old 
bateau,  a  type  of  earl)  cargo  boat  used  by  the  French. 
No  doubt  it  had  been  imbedded  in  the  mud  of  the 
riverbank  for  long,  long  years.  A  freak  of  the  stream 
unearthed  pari  of  the  boat,  and  Kussell  finally  salvaged 
it  in  it-  entirety  to  further  prove  his  claim.  The  wood 
of  the  boat,  its  pegged  construction,  and  general  design 
all  authenticated  his  theory  that  the  craft  one  day  had 
been  manned  by  some  early  French  voyageur  using  the 
river  as  a  highway.  A  photo  of  Mr.  Russell,  digging 
out  the  historical  artifact,  is  published  herewith. 


Liquor  and  Beer  Vaults 

That  grandfather  had  his  '"spirits"  in  pioneer 
Washington  County  days  is  attested  by  several  physical 
remains  of  deep  wine  cellars  and  other  spacious  sub- 
terranean vaults  that  kept  beer  at  drinkable  coolness, 
even  on  the  hottest  of  summer  days. 

The  wine  cellar  seemed  to  be  inevitable  in  a  Ger- 
man community,  a  carryover  from  Old  W  orld  customs. 
The  beer  gardens  are  gone,  but  evidence  of  some  of 
the  cellars  remain.  The  photo  shows  a  well  preserved 
wine  cellar  still  in  existence  in  the  county,  near  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Otto  McClane,  who  reside  in 
Pinch,  a  suburb  of  Okawville.  Once  their  home  was 
known  as  the  Staude  property.  The  wine  cellar  dates 
hack  at  least  three  generations.  It  is  quite  deep,  and 
currently  is  used  for  vegetable  storage.  It>  unusual 
depth  guarantees  cool  temperature  despite  the  season. 

Recently  a  similar  cellar  was  unearthed  on  the 
former  Julius  Temme  farm,  two  miles  west  of  Okaw- 
ville. At  least  two  more  wine  cellar  location-,  are  known 
here.  These  cellars,  walled  and  roofed  with  brick,  were 
known  for  their  fine  arched  ceilings  and  tight  masonry. 


Mr.   Otto  McClane  standing   in   the  wine 
cellar    now    used    to    store    vegetables. 


" 


Hoyleton   Was  Settled  in  1858 


Hoyleton  holds  a  distinction  peculiarly  different 
to  other  communities  of  the  county:  two  Congrega- 
tional ministers,  with  a  colony  of  ten  families,  surveyed 
and  platted  the  town,  contributed  much  to  its  early 
growth.  Rev.  J.  A.  Bent  and  Rev.  Ovid  Miner  and 
their  group  came  from  New  York  state.  Hoyleton,  until 
1860,  was  called  Yankee  Town,  an  appellation  sugges- 
tive of  the  group's  heritage. 

Horace  Wells  had  the  first  residence,  part  of 
which  was  used  as  a  post  office.  The  Congregational 
Church  first  stood  on  the  site  of  the  old  village  ceme- 
tery in  the  northeast  part  of  town. 


Through  the  influence  of  the  Central  Railroad, 
the  Hoyleton  Seminary  was  erected  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Bent, 
Rev.  Ovid  Miner,  and  Henry  Hoyle,  who  donated  the 
bell  in  the  seminary  belfry.  In  fact  the  town  was  named 
after  Hoyle. 

Webb  and  Leslie  had  the  first  general  store;  Dr. 
Welborn  conducted  a  small  drug  store,  later  built  a 
second  store.  Horace  Wells  served  as  first  postmaster. 

Hoyleton's  English  settlers  were  not  adapted  to 
the  agricultural  facilities  of  the  region,  and  one  by  one 

Continued 


Beginning  as  an  orphanage,  the  Hoyleton  Children's  Home  today  is  a  specialized  care 
home  for  neglected  and  dependent  children.  C.  H.  Struckmeyer  served  as  superintendent 
from  1939  to  1952,  followed  by  R.  W.  Bickham,  (1952  to  1959),  Gary  W  Dersch  from 
1959  until  1961.  Rev.  Kurt  W.  Simon  started  as  superintendent  on  September  13,  1961. 


sold  out  to  the  German  immigrants  pushing  in.  who 
incidently.  were  very  much  interested  in  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  rolling  prairie  with  its  deep  sod.  By  1S80. 
the  English  were  gone. 

Although  Hoyleton  was  laid  out  in  1858,  it  was 
not  incorporated  until  1881.  The  first  trustees  elected 
were  Christ  Grabenkrueger.  Wm.  Grote.  Henry  Horst, 
Sr.,  Christ  Krueger.  Fred  Pries.  Sr.  and  Diedricb  Rix- 
mann.  Sr.  The  trustees  then  elected  Christ  Krueger, 
president:  Wm.  Weigel.  clerk:  \\  m.  Heidler,  treasurer: 
Fred  Stallmann,  constable,  and  Carl  Dickmeyer,  street 
commissioner.  Trustee  salaries  in  that  day  were  three 
dollars  yearly. 

Early  streets  were  rough,  muddy  and  dusty  in  sea- 
son: cinder  paths  were  sidewalks.  A  favorite  Sunday 
afternoon  pasttime  was  horse  racing,  not  too  different 
from  our  dragsters  today. 

\^  hat  is  now  the  village  park  was  open  prairie. 
First  sidewalk,  made  of  wood,  was  laid  in  1883.  The 
same  year  a  log  jail  was  built  on  the  Clarence  \^  diking 
property.  But  the  following  year,  because  it  had  not 
been  used,  the  building  was  sold  to  Gottlieb  Struck- 
meyer.  who  later  moved  it  to  his  farm. 

In  1886  the  village  granted  right-of-way  through 
town  to  the  Centralia-Ste.  Genevieve  R.  R.  Co.,  and 
first  trains  were  operated  in  1892  from  Sparta  to 
Ho\leton. 

In  1892  the  officers  of  the  Hoyleton  Cemetery 
Association  appeared  before  the  board  and  presented 
a  petition,  praying  that  the  village  board  take  charge 
of  the  Hoyleton  cemetery,  the  petition  being  accepted. 

The  first  brick  sidewalk  was  laid  in  1896  on  the 
east  side  of  Center  street,  from  St.  Louis  to  Maple 
streets. 

In  1896.  Hoyleton  donated  $100  to  the  village  of 
New  Minden.  to  help  its  people  following  the  tornado 
that  struck  there  so  disastrously. 

The  village  granted  H.  \^  m.  Rixmann  and  Hy.  F. 
Rixmann  the  right  to  build  the  first  telephone  line 
within  the  village  limits.  Time:   1901. 

On  Dec.  1.  1903,  the  village  granted  right-of-way 
on  the  center  of  St.  Louis  street,  from  Fast  to  West 
limits  of  village  (now  Illinois  state  route  1771.  to  the 
Southern  Illinois  Flectric  Railway  Company,  which 
was  to  operate  from  Irvington  to  Belleville,  and  also 
was  to  supply  the  village  with  electricity  for  private 
and  commercial  needs.  The  railroad  never  was  built. 

In  1913  the  village  board  decided  that  the  citizens 
needed  some  kind  of  fire  protection,  anil  an  engine 


I  a  hand  pumper  I  was  purchased  for  $150  and  placed 
in  the  village  hall. 

In  I'M  1.  the  board  passed  an  ordinance  to  post 
speed  signs  near  the  corporate  limits  on  all  roads 
leading  into  the  village,  the  speed  of  autos  and  auto- 
cycles  to  be  6  miles  per  hour.  A  year  later  the  limit 
was  raised  to  10  miles  an  hour. 

An  ordinance  was  passed  in  1919  ordering  that 
all  autos  he  parked  at  a  -15-degree  angle,  with  rear  end 
to  curb.  "Keep  to  the  Right"  posts  were  placed  in  the 
center  of  the  streets  in  1920,  to  be  taken  down  four 
years  later. 

In  1925.  the  village  purchased  a  $1000  Missouri- 
Illinois  Railroad  Bond,  to  help  put  the  road  back  into 
operation. 

The  following  names  of  "First  Settlers"  were 
taken  from  the  poll  books,  and  headstones  in  the  old 
cemetery:  Alexander.  Allen.  Atherton.  Benham.  Bent, 
Benthgsen.  Blakeley.  Bounce.  Braman.  Briggs,  Butler, 
Cartson.  Carter.  Clay.  Chubb.  Davis.  Depug.  Draper. 
Duncan.  Eastman,  Fimison.  Ells.  Ellsworth.  Evans, 
Everest.  Flack.  Forbes.  Gaylord.  Griffin.  Hann.  Henry. 
Higgins.  Hinckley.  Holbrook,  Hoyle,  Houston,  Jen- 
nings. Johnson.  Jones.  Kennedy.  Kirk.  Leach.  Leslie, 
Liseman.  Marsh.  Miller.  Miner.  Miston.  McAuley.  Mc- 
Cracken.  Nesbit,  Rockwell.  Rogers.  Sanderson,  Scott, 
Stevens.  Steward.  Tabb.  Tiree.  Watkins.  Wayman, 
Wells.  Wheeler.  Wightman.  Wellborn.  Webb. 

An  election  was  held  on  March  26.  1881  to  in- 
corporate Hoyleton  as  a  village  under  the  general  in- 
corporation laws  of  Illinois.  37  votes  being  cast.  25  for 
and  12  against.  First  officers  were  President.  Christ 
Krueger;  Trustees,  Henry  Horst.  Sr..  Wm.  Grote. 
Christ  Grabenkrueger.  Diedrich  Rixmann.  Sr.,  Fred 
Pries,  Sr.;  Clerk  Wm.  Weigel,  Sr.;  treasurer.  Wm. 
Heidler. 

As  early  as  1859  a  tax  was  levied  for  School  Dis- 
tric  29.  First  school  directors  were  A.  A.  Briggs.  J.  B. 
Butler  and  C.  N.  Rockwell.  First  school  was  built  at  a 
figure  '"not  to  exceed  $600."  At  first  school  terms  were 
divided.  A  winter  term  began  in  October,  ended  in 
March.  A  summer  term  convened  in  April,  ended  May 
31,  a  procedure  quite  different  from  our  present  school 
system.  This  division  of  terms  was  continued  here  until 
1882.  when  an  eight-month  term  was  instituted. 

Hoyleton's  first  high  school  consisted  of  a  single 
room  in  a  two-room  building  that  also  housed  the  .  th 
and  8th  grades.  In  1936  the  present  two-room  high 
school  building  was  constructed  with  the  aid  of  a  l'\\  \ 
grant,  operating  as  a  two-year  high  school  until  1952. 

Continued 


23 


The  Congregationalists  who  came  to  Hoyleton 
considered  education  a  first  virtue  and  in  1860,  with 
the  cooperation  of  the  Central  Railroad  Company,  built 
the  Hoyleton  Seminary.  It  was  used  as  a  public  school 
building  from  1884  to  1894.  In  that  year  the  seminary 
became  the  Evangelical  Orphan  Home. 


The  old  Hoyleton  Mill.  In  the  photo  are  Julius 
Weigel,  Louis  Weigel,  Ed  Brink,  Wm.  Weigel, 
Sr.,    Senator   Brink   and   James   Sikorski. 


In  1903  the  building  was  enlarged,  to  make  room 
for  the  expanding  orphan  family.  Then  on  June  15, 
1915,  fire  broke  out  in  the  attic  of  this  large  white 
frame  building,  and  it  burned  to  the  ground.  Thus  dis- 
appeared the  last  landmark  of  Hoyleton's  first  settlers, 
the  English  people  who  laid  out  the  village  and  gave 
it  a  name. 

The  history  of  Hoyleton's  Zion  Evangelical 
Church  goes  back  to  1861  when  a  group  of  German 
immigrants  met  in  the  home  of  F.  E.  W.  Brink  to  or- 
ganize a  church  of  their  faith,  in  the  community  called 
North  Prairie. 

In  1862  the  members  decided  to  build  a  church 
on  a  site  presented  to  them  by  F.  W.  Krughoff.  The 
church  was  built,  with  a  high  tower  that  could  be  seen 
at  great  distances.  The  night  following  the  completion 
of  the  bell-tower,  a  destructive  storm  leveled  the  build- 
ing, leaving  nothing  but  a  pile  of  twisted  timbers.  Un- 
daunted, the  demolished  building  was  rebuilt,  and  de- 
dicated in  April  of  1863. 


Immigrants  from  Germany  kept  settling  in  Hoyle- 
ton, and  by  1866  preaching  services  begun  there,  in 
the  building  vacated  by  the  Congregationalists.  It  was 
decided  to  establish  a  new  Evangelical  congregation  at 
Hoyleton.  In  the  summer  of  1867  lumber  for  the  build- 
ing was  hauled  to  the  site  and  foundations  laid.  Then 
a  succession  of  crop  failures  halted  the  work  for  four 
years.  Finally,  in  1870  enough  funds  were  raised  to 
build  a  schoolhouse  which  also  served  as  a  church.  In 
1879  the  new  church  in  Hoyleton  was  completed,  a 
stately,  beautiful  structure.  The  church  at  North 
Prairie  was  torn  down,  its  members  coming  into  the 
Hoyleton  congregation.  The  benches  of  the  old  church 
were  brought  here,  and  its  bell  presented  to  a  congre- 
gation in  Lawrence  County,  Missouri. 

The  new  church  was  dedicated  in  1880.  Rev. 
Frederick  Pfeiffer  came  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  He  is 
given  credit  for  conceiving  the  idea  of  starting  an 
Orphanage  in  1894  in  the  old  Seminary  building. 

A  church  which  at  one  time  served  the  religious 
needs  of  a  number  of  Hoyleton's  early  citizens  was  the 
English  Methodist  Church,  which  closed  its  doors  about 
1890.  The  names  of  some  of  the  early  families  adher- 
ing to  this  church  are:  Atherton,  Clay,  Edmiston, 
Hinckley,  Sanderson,  DePuy,  Duncan  and  Wellborn. 

The  Maple  Grove  Church  was  built  in  1891.  First 
trustees  were  Aug.  H.  Schnake,  W.  J.  Livesay,  J.  W. 
Gillian,  P.  F.  Farmer  and  W.  H.  Randell.  This  church 
served  the  community  over  65  years,  when  on  Sunday, 
March  11.  1956  its  38  members  joined  the  Methodist 
Church  in  Hoyleton. 

The  history  of  Trinity  Lutheran  Church  is  found 
elsewhere  in  this  volume  under  an  article  giving  an 
itemization  of  the  Lutheran  movement  in  the  county. 

The  Hoyleton  Methodist  Church  was  organized  in 
1876.  Since  Nashville  was  building  a  new  Methodist 
church  at  that  time,  the  Hoyleton  congregation  pur- 
chased their  building  and  moved  it  to  Hoyleton. 

In  1902  a  new  church  building  was  built  here, 
and  August  Schmale  bought  the  old  building  and 
moved  it  to  his  farm  as  a  granary. 

The  Hoyleton  church  separated  from  the  Nash- 
ville church  in  1878  and  secured  its  own  minister.  Rev. 
Charles  Rodenberg. 

Continued 


24 


W  hen  the  St.  Louis  German  conference  was  form- 
ed the  next  year,  the  Hoyleton  church  became  affili- 
ated with  that  body.  In  1925  it  became  a  part  of  the 
Southern  Illinois  Conference,  when  the  merger  trans- 
ferred all  German  Churches  of  the  area  to  this  English 
group.  In  1930  the  church  buliding  was  remodeled,  a 
hasement  and  furnace  added. 

Hoyleton 's  present  Evangelical  Orphan  Home  was 
established  in  the  old  seminary  building,  being  dedi- 
cated on  June  3,  1895.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Louis  Beckmeyer 
were  the  first  orphan  parents.  The  Indiana  District 
joined  the  Orphans'  Home  District  in  1903.  making 
necessary  the  addition  of  two  wings  across  the  end  of 
the  building.  The  renovated  and  redecorated  home  was 
rededicated  on  Sept.  27.  1903.  The  Evangelical  Or- 
phans Association  was  organized  to  take  care  I  legally  | 
of  the  many  children  seeking  admittance  to  the  insti- 
tution. The  Iowa  District  joined  in  1911. 

On  June  15.  1915  the  home  was  totally  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  the  children  were  cared  fur  bj  various 
townspeople  until  the  present  structure  was  built.  The 

name  later  was  changed  to  Child  Welfare   Association. 

The  first  bank  at  Hoyleton  was  private!)  owned, 
called,  simply,  the  Hovleton  Bank.  On  Nov.  3.  1906. 
the  Hoyleton  German  Bank  was  organized,  purchasing 
the  private  institution.  Today  it  is  known  as  Hoyleton 
State  and  Saving  Bank. 

The  American  Legion  Post  at  Hoyleton  was  or- 
ganized on  Jan.  22.  1921.  under  the  name  of  Claude 
Earl  Post.  No.  711.  Department  of  Illinois.  It  was 
named  in  honor  of  Claude  Karl,  the  first  to  die  while  in 
the  service  of  his  country  in  World  War  I.  Die  Post 
was  discontinued  in  1930.  then  reorganized  on  Jan.  5, 
l'l.-)  as  Claude  Earl  Post,  No.  887. 

Hoyleton  was  the  birthplace  of  the  Washington 
County  Farm  Bureau,  mainly  through  the  efforts  of 
the  late  Martin  Schaeffer.  After  untold  effort,  the 
County  Farm  Bureau  held  its  first  annual  meeting  at 
Nashville,    Vug.  3.  1926.  The  fir-t  board  of  directors 


was  composed  of  Gorge  J.  Hake.  John  Oroennert, 
H.  D.  Hake.  J.  R.  Hood.  L.  F.  Ochs,  Bert  Pitchford, 
Vmos  1  yons,  D.  \\  .  Dawkins,  Paul  Beckmeyer.  Edgar 
McLaughlin.  E.  \\  .  Lammers,  F.  .1.  Schleifer.  The  of- 
ficers of  this  board  were  President.  J.  R.  Hood:  vice 
president  Ceo.  J.  Hake:  secretary.  1).  W.  Dawkins. 
Offices  were  established  in  the  Nashville  courthouse. 

Hoyleton  has  an  acthe  \merican  Legion  Auxil- 
iary, a  unit  of  the  Home  Bureau,  a  1-H  Club.  Lions 
Club.  Ground  Observer  Corps  and  once  a  Boy  Seoul 
troop. 

Hoyleton  has  the  distinction  of  having  a  game 
that  is  purely  local.  It  was  invented  by  Prof.  Peter 
Fasbender,  years  ago.  still  is  played  by  many  here.  It 
is  called  Napoleon,  and  i-  played  with  dominoes. 

Hoyleton  had  a  brickyard,  established  in  1870. 
Back  in  1912  it  had  a  bakery.  From  1925  to  P>27  it 
had  a  community  newspaper,  the  Hoyleton  Hustler, 
published  by  Edwin  Muenter. 

Grand  Point  Creek,  east  of  Hoyleton.  was  once 
the  site  of  a  large  Indian  village.  It  was  a  very  old 
village  and  i-  said  to  have  been  abandoned  at  the  time 
Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  passed  this  way  in  1779. 

Becords  of  the  Post  Office  Department  show  that 
postal  service  was  established  at  Hoyleton.  Dec.  17, 
1857.  The  following  postmasters  served:  Joe.  A.  Bent. 
1857:  Wm.  E.  Webb.  1858;  Horace  Wells.  1859; 
Delos  Steward.  1863;  Horace  W.  Wells.  1867;  Enoch 
E.  Wellborn.  1JS77:  Christian  L.  krueger,  1885:  Jacob 
Keller.  1889;  Louis  Krueger,  1893;  \.dolphus  Grote, 
1897;  Jacob  Keller,  1901;  Arthur  C.  Beckmeyer.  1915; 
Lawrence  F.  Hake.  1922:  Gustav  C.  Michael.  1930; 
Paul  II.  Sachtlebcn.  1931.  present  incumbent. 

In  1902.  two  rural  routes  were  established,  car- 
riers being  Theo.  Schierbecker.  John  Seyler.  Louis 
Racherbaumer,  Arthur  Rixmann,  Harlan  Gerstkemper 
and  Paul  Lockwood.  Frank  Stahmer,  Wm.  Breuer  and 
Paul  Maschhoff  bad  temporary  appointments. 


25 


THE  BIG  "SHAKE" 


The  Great  Shake,  which  rocked  this  area  of 
southern  Illinois  like  a  bowl  of  jello,  began  on  the 
night  of  December  16,  1811.  It  was  the  worst  earth- 
quake ever  to  strike  the  Midwest.  Had  it  occurred 
today,  the  loss  of  life  might  have  been  chalked  up  in 
hundreds  of  thousands,  with  property  damage  astro- 
nomically high. 

The  only  reason  very  little  has  been  written,  in 
relation  to  Washington  County.  Illinois,  is  explainable. 
The  only  pioneers  here  at  the  time  were  two  hardy 
groups,  the  families  of  David  Lively  and  John  Hug- 
gins.  If  these  families  left  any  written  words  of  their 
experiences  near  what  is  now  Covington  during  the 
ominous  winter  of  the  quake,  it  was  presumably  lost, 
for  the  Indian  massacre  that  wiped  out  these  pioneers 
was  complete  and  terrifying. 

But  even  today.  156  years  after  the  quake,  there 
are  evidences  of  its  fury  still  recognizable  within  the 
county.  There  are  "'flats"  and  "sinkholes"  that  were 
caused  by  it.  Some  geologists  even  believe  it  changed 
the  contour  of  streams,  the  Kaskaskia  River  and  some 
of  the  larger  creeks. 

This  is  borne  out  by  air  photos  of  Washington 
County  terrain,  taken  at  high  altitude,  that  show  the 
present  stream  beds,  and  old  watercourses,  where  the 
streams  cut  new  channels.  Flood  could  have  done 
this,  of  course.  But  there  also  is  the  possibility  that 
this  early  earthquake  was  the  cause. 

Remember  that  it  fashioned  Reelfoot  Lake  in 
Tennessee,  dropping  a  large  area  of  the  terrain  from 
six  to  twenty  feet,  into  which  water  poured  to  form 
this  gigantic  inland  reservoir.  Even  today,  local  fish- 
ermen who  travel  here  annually  for  week-ends,  will 
tell  you  of  the  many  cypress  stumps  protruding  from 
the  lake,  attesting  it  was  once  a  cypress  forest  that 
sank  in  its  entirety. 

This  same  earthquake,  the  epicenter  of  which 
was  in  the  area  of  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  cracked 
walls  and  chimed  clocks  as  far  distant  as  the  Vir- 
ginias. It  reversed  the  current  of  the  Mississippi 
River  for  hours,  formed  new  islands  and  sandbars. 
It  sank  other  islands  and  even  part  of  the  town  of 
New  Madrid. 

The  frontiersmen  at  that  time  were  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  danger  of  losing  their  scalp  to  the  Indians. 
But  facing  the  "Great  Shake"  was  facing  the  unknown. 

A  great  proportion  of  these  early  settlers  had  so 
little  education  that  they  could  not  even  sign  their 
names.  Many  were  superstitious  as  well.   In  this  era 


of  the  American  frontier,  religion  portrayed  the  wrath 
of  God  as  very  real  and  very  near. 

So  it  was  that  terror  was  almost  universal  when 
the  scattered  pioneers  were  routed  out  of  bed  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  December  16,  1811.  With- 
out warning  the  sleepers  were  awakened  by  cracking 
and  groaning  noises,  the  fall  of  stones  from  the  chink- 
and-daub  chimneys,  the  roll  and  pitch  of  the  earth 
under  their  feet.  The  odor  of  sulphurous  gases  filled 
the  air. 

The  settlers  rushed  out  into  the  night,  and  the 
ground  weaved  beneath  their  feet.  Cracks  opened  up, 
widened  into  yawning  chasms.  Many  dropped  to  their 
knees  in  prayer,  thinking  the  end  of  the  earth  had 
come. 

Indeed,  that  night,  and  for  many  nights  in  the 
future  (there  were  172  separate  earthquakes,  all  told) 
many  were  firmly  convinced  that  God  was  visiting 
His  wrath  on  them  for  their  misdeeds.  There  had 
never  been  anything  like  the  New  Madrid  Earthquake. 
Even  after  the  passage  of  months,  some  of  the  settlers 
still  didn't  realize  what  had  actually  happened. 

Had  that  winter  of  earthquakes  happened  today, 
the  loss  in  life  and  property  damage  would  have  been 
little  short  of  amazing.  Witnesses  described  waves  in 
the  ground  like  those  of  the  sea.  Whole  forests  tum- 
bled into  the  rivers.  Landslides  tore  great  hills  and 
ridges  apart.  Banks  of  streams  caved  in:  islands  dis- 
appeared and  new  ones  were  formed.  Cattle  and  horses 
fell  into  the  great  fissures  opened  in  the  earth.  The 
air  reeked  of  strange  fumes.  An  unnatural  darkness 
came  over  the  land  in  the  daytime. 

At  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  first  center  of  the 
shock,  most  of  the  pioneer  town  was  turned  into  rub- 
ble. After  the  first  quake,  only  two  families  remained. 
The  shocks  continued,  in  an  ever  widening  area.  Ge- 
ologists who  have  since  studied  the  evidence  believe 
the  epicenter  moved  from  the  original  point  of  dis- 
turbance to  a  spot  about  twenty  miles  from  the  junc- 
ture of  the  Wabash  and  Ohio  rivers,  at  the  eastern 
perimeter.  Most  of  southern  Illinois  felt  the  shocks, 
which  includes  Washington  County,  but  at  the  time 
much  of  the  area  covered  by  the  quake  was  virgin 
wilderness  and  empty  prairie. 

There  were  no  seismologists  or  geologists  in  the 
area  at  that  time  to  make  recordings  of  the  quakes. 
But  well  educated  men  like  Timothy  Flint,  John  James 
Audubon,  the  naturalist,  and  Daniel  Drake  kept  care- 

Continued 


26 


x- 


This  aerial  photo  of  the  Kaskaskia  River,  in  Washington  County  shows 
some  of  the  original  stream  and  the  present  channel.  Many  geologists 
think   the    1811    earthquake   was  a  factor  in   this   shifting   stream   bed. 


ful  records  of  the  disturbances.  Sir  Charles  I.yell.  the 
great  British  geologist,  came  to  the  area  in  1815  to 
study  the  many  visible  evidences  of  the  quake,  the 
fissures,  the  "sunken  lands."  and  the  "new  channels" 
cut  by  various  streams. 


The  "Great  Shake"  of  1811  is  all  but  forgotten. 
Since  then,  there  have  beer  only  minor  earthquakes 
fell  in  llii-  area  of  the  Midwest.  Hut  geologists  point 
to  the  fact  that  this  i~  "earthquake  country."  So  it  is 
natural  to  ask  a  question:   will  it  happen  again? 


27 


History  of  the  Precincts  of  Washington  County 


The  first  settlements  in  the  county  were  made  in 
what  is  now  Covington  township,  1810-11.  It  was  here 
that  the  Lively  family  was  massacred.  Win.  H.  Bradsby 
in  1818  settled  at  the  crossing  of  the  old  Kaskaskia 
and  Peoria  trail,  where  he  cleared  a  small  farm.  When 
Washington  county  was  organized,  the  county  seat  was 
located  on  this  farm.  In  1819  he  was  appointed  circuit 
clerk  by  Gov.  John  Reynolds.  For  many  years  he  held 


The  first  permanent  settler  in  Plum  Hill  was  Wm. 
Wheeles,  who  came  in  1814  and  settled  on  the  Vin- 
cennes  and  Kaskaskia  trace.  He  was  followed  by  James 
Sawyer  in  1819.  In  1827  Thomas  Atchison  came,  and 
John  Weaver  a  year  later.  Hawkins  Ragland  came  in 
1827.  The  first  school  house,  of  hewn  logs  with  punch- 
eon floor,  was  built  on  the  hill.  It  was  not  replaced 
with  a  frame  building  until  1852.  Isaac  Hale  was  the 


An  old  photo  of  the  courthouse  at  Nashville,  before  the  steel  fence  was  removed. 


the  office  of  circuit  and  county  clerk,  probate  judge, 
county  surveyor  and  postmaster.  He  died  in  Nashville 
in  1839. 

Hartshorn  White  settled  at  Covington  about  1819. 
Jesse  Moore  came  to  the  same  area  in  about  1820.  The 
first  German  settler  in  that  part  of  the  county  was 
F.  W.  Hoffman,  1840.  He  was  followed  in  1841  by 
Frederick  Prasuhn  and  F.  Fllerbusch. 


first  physician.  Chills  and  fever  were  the  prevailing 
diseases,  and  quinine,  calomel  and  jalap  were  the 
standard  remedies  used  by  the  knights  of  the  pillbox. 

Pilot  Knob's  settlement  goes  back  to  1818,  when 
John  Rainey  was  the  first  settler  there.  In  the  same 
year  James  Gordon  settled  there  as  well.  The  first 
schoolhouse  was  built  in  1834,  a  traditional  log  build- 

Continued 


28 


ing.  The  first  school  teacher  was  Horatio  Burns,  a 
grandfather  of  the  former  Squire  John  Burns  of  Nash- 
ville. The  first  physician  to  administer  antidotes  for 
snake  bites,  chills  and  fever,  was  Joseph  Brashin. 

Henry  T.  Easl  was  the  first  settler  in  Lively  Grove, 
a  native  of  Tennessee,  who  settled  there  in  1828.  The 
following  year  came  Jesse  Lively,  Wm.  McBride  and 
Absolom  Tidwell.  Samuel  Gibson  settled  here  in  1831. 
He  was  followed  by  Robert  Stewart.  John  Wiley,  James 
Gillespie  and  Archie  Coulter  in  1!!32.  The  first  school, 
a  primitive  log  building,  was  taught  bj  Daniel  Morton. 
The  first  marriage  occurred  in  L834,  that  of  John 
Dickey  and  Jane  Gibson. 

Death  came  quickly  on  the  prairie  and  in  the 
woodsland.  \sa  C.  Fletcher,  29,  a  chain  carrier  for 
government  surveyors,  was  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake,  and 
died  a  few  hours  later.  He  was  interred  on  the  spot,  a 
hill  south  of  the  present  bridge  across  Mud  Creek. 

Prior  to  1837.  the  following  families  were  living 
at  Venedy:  Joseph  Kinyon  Sr..  who  had  two  sons  also 
living  in  this  precinct.  Daniel  and  Joseph  Jr..  and  the 
Richard  Walton  family.  Anions:  the  early  settlers  there 
were  families  by  the  name  of  Jones.  William,  Wilson, 
Brown  and  Dr.  E.  Hale. 

As  early  as  1831.  F.  Nobles  and  a  man  named 
Mayberry  made  settlements  in  the  southeast  part  of 
Hoyleton  precinct.  John  Harr.  Sr.  settled  in  the  north- 
east part  in  1840.  The  first  schools  were  taught  in  pri- 
vate homes.  Edward  Russel  being  the  first  teacher.  In 

1858,  J.  A.  Bent  and  Ovid  Miner,  congregational  min- 
isters, established  a  colony  near  the  center  of  the  pre- 
cinct. New  Englanders,  they  laid  out  the  village  of 
Hoyleton  the  same  year,  built  the  first  church  there  in 

1859.  Through  the  influence  of  the  Central  Bailroad 
Company,  the  Hoyleton  seminary  was  built. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  town  were  Easterners  and 
it  was  called  "Yankeetown."  In  1866.  C.  Krueger  and 
Wm.  Grote  purchased  a  lot  and  erected  a  store.  That 
same  year.  German  settlers  began  coming  in.  and  by 
1870,  most  of  the  original  English  settlers  had  sold  out 
to  the  incoming  Germans. 

The  first  settlers  of  Irvington  precinct  were  a  Mr. 
Scott  and  family  who  came  in  1827.  The  following 
year  came  Richard  and  \bnrr  Joliff.  John  Lock  came 
in  1829,  and  John  Faulkner.  Daniel  Waller,  John  Wil- 
liam--. Thomas  V  Nichols  and  Wm.  Crabtree  the  bil- 
lowing year.  M.  G.  Faulkner  came  in  1831,  and  J. 
Williams  in  1832.  Mosl  of  these  people  were  from 
Kentucky.  Tennessee  and  Indiana,  and  were  hardy, 
honest  and  industrious.  The  fir  —  t  school  was  built  in 
184  1 :  first  teacher  was  W  m.  I  eeper.  Prior  to  that  time 
classes  were  held  in  any  cabin  that  was  vacant.  Illinois 


Agriculture  College  was  incorporated  -it  Irvington  in 
1861.  By  act  of  legislature  in  1867  the  charter  was  so 
amended  as  to  authorize  the  board  of  trustees  t<i  intro- 
duce the  teaching  of  any  and  all  branches  of  science 
usually  taught  in  higher  educational  institution-  of  tin- 
country,  and  to  confer  degrees.  This  institution  was 
discontinued  and  the  propert)  was  later  occupied  by 
the  rludelson  Orphan  Home. 

The  Woodromes  were  the  first  settler-  df  Vshley 
precinct,  coming  in  L825.  W  illiam  and  Burton  Nichols. 
tun  <  Georgians,  came  the  following  autumn.  Soon  after- 
ward followed  Elijah  Smith.  Thomas  Howell  and  the 
widow  McMillan.  The  first  school  taught  in  the  pre- 
cinct was  in  a  log  building,  in  1829,  the  teacher  being 
Jan  is  Jackson. 

James  Severs  is  regarded  a-  the  first  settler  of 
Richview  precinct,  locating  at  Greene  Point  in  1828. 
Samuel  White  and  M.  Castelberry  settled  at  Grand 
Point  in  ]!!:>'>.  Other  early  settlers  with  their  families 
were  William  Nichols.  \sa  Foster.  F.  Smith.  Samuel 
White,  Joseph  Barber.  John  Tate.  Josiah  Thompson. 
Thomas  Livesay.  Wm.  B.  Livesay,  Wm.  II.  White. 
Smith  M<  Williams.  James  (lore.  Matthew  and  IT.  G. 
Whittenberg.  All  the  above  came  prior  to  1840,  most 
of  them  from  Tennessee. 

Washington  Seminary  was  projected  in  1<°>56. 
later  acquired  by  R.  G.  Williams  for  $1500.  The  at- 
tendance was  large,  but  after  graded  schools  were  es. 
tablished,  the  enrollment  decreased.  Some  of  the  pro- 
minent men  in  the  county  were  trained  here.  Richview 
also  maintained  a  fine  public  library,  possibly  the 
largest  in  the  county. 

The  early  settlers  of  DuBois  precinct  were  prin- 
cipally from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  First  settler  was 
George  Palmer  who  came  in  1IJ27.  The  following  year, 
W.  S.  Anderson.  Robert  McCord,  L.  Stewart  and  L. 
Waters  settled  in  this  township.  In  1829  came  David 
Stilley.  H.  Stilley  and  Peter  Sronce.  From  1830  to 
1832  the  following  families  located  here:  Hv.  Bridges. 
Abraham  Phillips.  William  Hilley.  and  Alexander 
White,  a  pioneer  blacksmith. 

The  first  settlers  of  Nashville  precinct  were  Sam- 
uel K.  Anderson,  John  Morgan.  Landon  Park,  a  Negro, 
and  Nicholas  Darter,  Orcenith  Fisher.  David  Ramsey. 

John  I).  \\ I.  Livesa)  Cartel  and  L.  D.  I  ivesay,  who 

settled  at  various  periods  from  L818to  L833. 

Nashville  «.i-  laid  out  by  the  proprietors,  Robert 
Middleton  and  •'..  Brown  on  June  ."..  1830,  and  a  report 
and  plal  of  tin-  city,  was  filed  with  the  commissioners 
b\  \.  W.  Cassada,  count)  surveyor.  The  records  -how 
that  the  proprietors  deeded  a  stipulated  number  of  lots 

Continued 


29 


to  the  commissioners  for  the  use  of  the  county,  and 
used  the  remainder  for  themselves.  David  White, 
Joseph  Whittenberg  and  Livesay  Carter  were  the  com- 
missioners. Carter  and  Whittenberg,  Tennesseeans, 
christened  the  town  "New  Nashville,"  but  the  "new" 
was  soon  dropped.  First  house  was  built  by  Sam  K. 
Anderson.  First  marriage  was  that  of  Rev.  Horatio 
Burns  to  Mrs.  Martha  Morgan,  on  Nov.  22,  1831. 

The  first  settlement  in  Okawville  precinct  was 
made  about  1825.  Among  the  early  settlers  were  the 
Harrymans,  Pitmans,  Wheelers,  Gallraiths.  Chorters. 
Middletons,  Clarks,  Johnsons,  Kisers  and  Whites.  An- 
other group,  coming  later,  included  the  Staudes,  Gar- 
vins,  Hughes.  Williams.  Adams,  all  of  whom  had  fam- 
ilies. Okawville  was  laid  out  as  a  town  by  James  Gar- 
vin and  James  Davis  in  1856.  Previous  to  this,  H.  P. 
Morgan  had  laid  out  the  town  of  Bridgeport,  which 
was  immediately  east,  across  Plum  Creek.  First  school 
was  built  in  1828.  with  Wm.  Boyd  as  first  teacher. 


John  Raney  was  the  first  settler  in  Elkton  pre- 
cinct, a  Tennessean,  who  came  in  1822.  I  A  more  de- 
tailed story  of  Elkton  is  printed  elsewhere  in  this 
book. ) 

Washington  County's  first  court  was  held  March 
9,  1818,  and  called  the  Justice  Court. 

First  Board  of  Commissioners  was  composed  of 
Wm.  Rountree.  John  Kain  and  James  Gilbreath,  elect- 
ed in  1819. 

Wm.  H.  Bradsy  was  first  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court,  appointed  in  1818,  serving  until  1839. 

Daniel  S.  Swearingen  was  the  county's  first 
sheriff,  appointed  in  1818.  served  but  one  year.  First 
assessor  and  treasurer  was  Rufus  Recker,  appointed  in 
1819.  He  resigned  soon  afterward,  for  some  reason. 

Wm.  H.  Bradsby  was  first  county  clerk  (1818), 
also  first  probate  judge  (  1821 1.  Thomas  F.  White  was 
first  county  judge,  John  Crain  the  first  school  com- 
missioner. Wm.  H.  Clayton  was  elected  first  county 
superintendent  of  schools  in  1865. 


County  Weather  Man 

In  the  more  than  forty  years  that  Robert 
Schleifer  of  near  Nashville  served  as  Washington 
County's  official  "rain  gauger,"  he  recorded  more 
than  125  feet  of  precipitation  that  fell  on  the  county. 
The  late  Mr.  Schleifer,  who  worked  under  the  jur- 
isdiction of  the  St.  Louis  Weather  Bureau,  had  his 
testing  equipment  set  up  in  the  yard  of  his  farm 
home,  and  kept  a  complete  record  of  county  rainfall 
for  nearly  half  a  century. 

In  that  time,  his  records  show  periods  of  extreme 
drought,  and  very  unusual  weather  conditions,  in- 
cluding the  visitation  of  several  tornadoes  that  roar- 
ed through  the  county.  Down  through  the  years,  his 
meticulous  methods  in  making  a  daily  weather  re- 
port is  an  example  of  a  man  dedicated  to  his  job. 
Incidently,  there  was  no  salary  involved,  but  with 
Mr.  Schleifer  it  was  a  work  of  love.  He  was  one  of 
t'le  unsung  heroes  of  the  county,  whose  memory  will 
lone  linger. 


30 


* 


/ 


Stacking  wheat  on  a  Plum  Hill  farm  prior  to  the  days  of  the  wheat  combine. 


Nostalgic 

Nostalgia  is  a  word  often  used  in  the  editing  of  a 
county  history.  This  farm  scene,  photographed  on  the 
Ray  Garlich  farm  at  Plum  Hill  before  the  advent  of  the 
comhine,  is  nostalgia  at  its  best. 

The  younger  generation  have  never  thrilled  to  the 
chug-chug  of  an  old  farm  threshing  engine,  coming  up 
the  farm  lane,  pulling  its  separator.  Puffing  black 
smoke  to  the  tune  of  sizzling  steam,  it  was  a  sight  to 
thrill  any  farm  boy.  It  signified  a  long-heralded  event: 
threshing  time.  The  stacked  wheat,  usually  four  stacks 
in  a  rectangular  unit,  spaced  just  wide  enough  for  the. 
separator  to  be  pulled  between,  were  sent  through  the 
separator,  bundle  by  bundle.  The  newly-threshed  wheat 
was  stacked  in  a  conical  strawpile  that  usually  graced 
the  barn  yard  for  most  of  the  winter. 

The  threshing  crew,  following  the  "rig"  from 
farm  to  farm,  usually  got  five  meals  a  day,  lunch  in  the 
morning,  and  another  lunch  in  mid-afternoon.  Tin'-, 
lunch  break  was  even  belter  than  the  coffee-break  of 
today,  for  it  was  a  meal  in  itself,  sausage  and  home- 
baked  bread,  topped  off  with  pie  or  cake. 


Farm  Scene 

The  water  wagon  was  an  institution  in  itself.  The 
man  who  rode  it  had  one  very  important  duty  to  ful- 
fill: keep  enough  water  on  hand  to  feed  the  boiler  of 
the  steam  engine.  Usually  water  was  obtained  from  a 
nearby  creek  or  pond.  \  hand  pump  on  top  of  the 
water  wagon  was  activated  by  hand. 

The  water  boy  was  also  an  institution  at  these 
threshing  rigs.  Carrying  a  two-gallon  jug,  usually  with 
a  corncob  for  a  stopper,  the  boy  made  the  rounds  of 
the  crew,  several  times  daily.  Augmenting  the  water 
jug  at  some  farms  was  another  jug.  with  slightly 
stronger  liquid,  "to  cut  the  dust."  before  the  swig  of 
water.  Kveryone  drank  out  of  the  same  jug. 

Wheal  and  oats  threshing  prior  to  the  advent  of 
the  combine,  was  a  community  affair,  an  example  in 
neighborliness  and  warm,  continuing  friendships.  Each 
community  had  it-  threshing  rig.  One  of  the  most 
popular  type  rips  was  the  Jumbo  steam  engine  ai  d  the 
Harrison  separator,  both  made  al  Belleville,  \nother 
populai  engine  was  the  Gaar-Scotl  and  the  .1.  I.  Case. 


31 


New  Minden,  Town  with  an  Old  World  Culture 


At  the  junction  of  Illinois  routes  127  and  177  is 
New  Minden,  the  one  community  within  Washington 
County  that  reflects  a  noticeable  Old  World  culture. 
Perhaps  ninety  percent  of  its  populace  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  are  of  true  German  descent.  Some  of  them  are 
direct  descendants  of  Fred  E.  Hoffman  and  F.  W.  Pra- 
suhn,  the  first  German  immigrants  to  settle  in  the 
area  (1830-40). 

Like  most  of  the  early  pioneers,  these  men  chose 
homesites  that  were  near  timber,  prairie  and  water. 
The  prairie  was  here,  so  was  the  forest.  Little  Crooked, 
Big  Crooked  and  the  Kaskaskia  were  nearby.  To  the 


east  and  south  the  open  prairie  was  hip-deep  in  grass. 
This  area  still  is  called  New  Minden  prairie. 

Other  immigrants  soon  followed  Hoffman  and 
Prasuhn.  They  built  their  houses  true  to  European  cus- 
toms, with  the  building  close  to  the  street,  and  space 
in  the  rear  for  a  garden,  chicken  house,  a  smoke  house, 
and  perhaps  a  small  barn.  Soon  the  question  arose  of 
naming  the  new  community.  Since  many  of  them  had 
emigrated  from  Minden,  Germany,  they  gave  the  name, 
New  Minden  to  their  village. 

Continued 


The  old  mill  slowly  falling  into  decay  at  New  Minden. 


i-        \  JI;-vm  v  .  i 


I    \ 


9KrF 


^^../-  lutgm&^&^.gi 


•- 


Followed  the  building  of  a  church,  a  parochial 
school,  a  parsonage  for  the  Rev.  M.  Finch,  who  led 
the  Ev. -Lutheran  congregation  until  he  retired  in  1899. 
The  frame  church  was  destroyed  by  a  tornado  in  1896. 
But  by  1900  it  was  rebuilt,  the  center  of  a  parish 
numbering  1.200  people,  although  the  village  itself 
contained  less  than  one-fourth  that  number. 

The  first  settlers  came  to  establish  farms,  as  did 
those  who  followed.  From  the  beginning,  agriculture 
was  the  sole  purpose  of  their  lives.  The  only  movement 
toward  industrialization  was  the  erection  of  two  mills, 
a  grist  mill  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  village,  and  a 
sawmill  to  the  north,  on  Crooked  Creek.  The  grist  mill 
still  stands,  unused  for  years,  but  is  slowly  falling  into 
decay. 

The  railroad  passed  New  Minden  by,  leaving  it  an 
isolated  town,  just  as  it  did  Yenedy.  to  the  southwest. 
[so]  tion  was  even  worse  during  the  winter,  when  mud- 
dy roads  were  a  barrier  to  all  but  emergency  travel. 

But  there  was  no  starvation.  The  German  house- 
wives canned  and  preserved  all  available  fruits  and 
vegetables  in  the  summer,  and  wheat  and  corn  was 
ground  into  flour  at  the  mill.  Crocks  of  sauerkraut  were 
part  of  every  cellar:  smoke  houses  were  amply  stocked 
with  home-killed  meat,  mostly  pork.  Each  farmer 
slaughtered  his  own  meat,  and  the  village  store  traded 
produce  for  other  essentials  of  life.  The  wood  they  cut 
in  the  timber  tracts  was  used  to  heat  their  homes. 

Then,  in  1896,  a  vicious  tornado  completely  dis- 
rupted this  peaceful  community.  leaving  in  its  wake 
only  a  twisted,  tangled  mass  of  debris.  The  church  was 
gone,  so  were  most  of  the  dwellings.  Only  the  stone 
mill  survived  intact. 

But  the  people  rallied,  and  started  to  rebuild.  The 
wooden  church  building  was  replaced  by  a  sturdier 
one.  Then,  in  1907,  came  a  second  storm,  leveling  the 
school  and  several  houses  that  stood  between  the 
church  and  the  store.  And  again  the  people  rebuilt. 

The  pattern  of  the  Old  World  was  still  evident. 
The  shuttered  homes  were  again  close  to  the  streets. 
the  auxiliary  buildings  to  the  rear.  Today,  new  ranch- 
type  dwellings  along  the  highway  have  changed  the 
pattern  somewhat,  but  many  of  the  old  homes  still 
stand.  The  German  language  i-  rarely  heard  on  the 
streets  today  but  that  doesn't  mean  that  the  Old  World 
culture  is  gone.  Fife  patterns  change  more  slowly  in  a 
rural  community  than  in  an  urban  center,  and  New 
Minden  is  one  county  town  where  Old  World  culture 
and  habits  still  cast  a  very  definite  image. 


The  County  "Poor  Far  111" 

It  had  an  ominous  name,  and  hack  in  grand- 
father'- day,  many  a  youngster,  admonished  for  some 
-pending  spree,  was  cautioned  that  "he'd  end  up  in 
the  poor  house!"  But  it  had  it-  worth.  It  was  the 
nursing  home  of  yesteryear,  with  its  own  kind  of 
Medicare.  Dependent  people  of  both  sexes  were 
eared  for  within  its  walls,  fed  and  clothed  at  county 
expenses.  Down  the  lane  was  the  cemetery,  with  its 
simple  grave  markers. 


The  Washington  County  Farm,  south  of  Nashville, 
now  falling  into  ruin.  Here  the  county  cared 
for    its    poor    dependents    in    grandfather's    day. 


The  Washington  County  home  shown  here,  is 
located  three  miles  south  of  Nashville,  i-  no  longei 
owned  by  the  county.  The  building  itself  has  fallen 
into  decay  since  the  abo\e  photo  was  taken.  Vet  even 
in  its  presenl  stage  of  ruin,  it  is  pointed  out  as  the 
"poor  house."  It-  image  will  live  long  after  the  phy- 
sical property  has  returned  to  the  dust. 


33 


V* 


The  Kinyon  Cemetery  as  it  is  today.  A  church  once  stood 
on  this  site,  located  four  miles  south  of  Okawville. 


i 


KINYON  SETTLEMENT 


Very  few  of  today's  generation  know  of  the  exist- 
ence of  Kinyon  Settlement.  But  once  this  site,  four 
miles  south  of  Okawville,  was  the  huh  of  a  community 
of  pioneers  in  which  the  Kinyon  name  dominated.  The 
old  cemetery,  shown  here,  is  slowly  hut  surely  falling 
into  decay.  The  stone  of  John  Kinyon,  left  in  the  photo, 
shows  he  was  horn  in  1805.  That  of  his  wife,  Elvira, 
stands  adjacent  to  the  north.  Once  this  cemetery  was 
the  burial  place  of  the  Friends,  Wilsons,  and  various 


others,  hut  no  burial  has  been  made  here  for  at  least 
half  a  century. 

The  Grand  Prairie  Baptist  Church,  which  served 
the  community,  stood  just  south  of  the  cemetery.  When 
it  was  abandoned,  the  building  was  moved  to  a  nearby 
farm,  where  it  still  is  being  used  as  a  farm  shed. 

The  editor  of  this  book,  luckily,  has  the  old  Bible 
used  in  this  church,  a  gift  of  his  mother,  Mrs.  Sarah 
Jane  Brinkman. 


34 


The  -  Meadow  -  in  ■  the  -  Hole'' 


Perhaps  you  haven't  heard  of  "The-Meadow-in- 
the-Hole."  But  you  have  heard  debates,  pro  and 
con,  whether  George  Rogers  ("lark  and  his  group  of 
"Kentucky's  Long  Knives"  ever  marched  through 
Washington  County,  in  their  trek  from  Kaskaskia  to 
V  incennes. 

In  Clark's  company  was  a  young  soldier,  Maj. 
Joseph  Bowman,  who  kept  a  journal  of  the  historic 
band's  daily  exploits.  Archer  Hulbert.  who  studied  this 
journal  at  length,  writes  in  his  "Historic  Highways  of 
America,"  Vol.  8,  to  the  effect  that  Clark  did  cross 
Washington  county. 

Hulbert  concludes  "that  on  the  eighth  day  of 
February  1779,  enroute  from  Kaskaskia  to  Vincennes, 
Clark  and  his  men  were  out  of  Randolph  County, 
through  the  northwest  corner  of  Perry  County  and 
finally  gained  the  prairie  south  of  Oakdale,  Washing- 
ton County,  at  which  point  Elkhorn  Creek  was  crossed 
at  the  famous  'Meadow-in-the-Hole'  of  old  French  days. 

"This  region  was  also  known  as  Corne  de  Cerf, 
Elkhorn  Prairie,  Elkhorn  Point  and  Ayers  Point.  Prai- 
rie, forest  and  bottom  land  were  not  for  apart  here. 
The  'Meadow-in-the-Hole'  was  a  singular  little  mea- 
dow, fifty  or  sixty  yards  wide,  located  on  a  dry  branch 
of  the  Elkhorn  and  thirty  feet  lower  than  the  surround- 
ing forests— at  what  is  now  Oakdale  on  the  Elkhorn." 

There  has  grown  up  about  the  area  a  legend  that 
Clark  and  his  men  camped  here  overnight.  But  this  has 
surely  been  based  either  on  a  wrong  interpretation  of 
facts  or  romantic  fiction.  The  facts  are  that  "the  first 
night's  camp  was  pitched  probably  in  Flat  Prairie, 
somewhere  in  the  area  surrounding  Coulterville,  likely 
south  or  southwest  of  it  in  Randolph  County." 

The  next  campsite  was  close  to  the  present  town 
of  Richview,  as  Hulbert  again  concludes  from  his  study 
of  the  Journal:  "The  second  night's  camp  may  have 
been  pitched  on  Grand  Point  Creek,  near  Richview: 
and  that  of  the  ninth  on  Raccoon  Creek,  near  Walnut 
Point,  one  mile  north  of  Walnut  Hill." 

If  one  checks  the  incorporated  map.  it  will  be 
noted  that  these  are  somewhat  Nimilar  and  reasonable 
distances  for  the  wet.  muddv  conditions  at  that  early 


part  of  the  year  when  the  weather  could  be  exception- 
ally capricious  in  southern  Illinois. 

On    the    other    hand,    the    'Meadow-in-the-Hole' 

could  very  well  have  been  and  probably  was  used  as 
a  camping  place  by  either  the  Indians  or  the  French. 
It  will  be  remembered  this  was  not  a  new  trail  ('lark 
was  cutting  across  Illinois,  but  one  already  in  exist- 
ence used  by  the  French  as  a  land  route  between  Vin- 
cennes and  Kaskaskia,  which  they  in  all  probability 
learned  from  the  Kaskaskia  Indians,  a  tribe  friendly  to 
them  in  this  era. 


4-i' 


William  Ayers,  founder  of  Oakdale,  is  buried  on  a  knob 
overlooking  the  "Meadow-in-fhe-hole."  George  Rogers 
Clark  marched  through  this  declivity. 


Whether  or  not  Clark  camped  at  the  'Meadow-in- 
the-Hole.'  or  merely  passed  through  the  tiny  valley  "ill 
perhaps  never  he  known  for  certain.  But  all  indications 
point  to  the  fact  that  the  historic  march  did  encompass 
this  bit  of  terrain  inside  Washington  County's  borders. 

Any  citizen  of  Oakdale  will  point  out  'Meadow-in- 
the-Hole'  today.  It  is  much  as  it  was.  back  in  1779. 


35 


The  First  Families  of  Washington  County 


By  Cdr.  Earl  R.  Smith 


On  the  following  pages  are  the  names  of  the  heads 
of  the  families  who  lived  in  Washington  County,  Illinois, 
at  the  time  of  the  taking  of  the  1820  census. 

This  census  was  chosen  for  this  publication  for  sev- 
eral reasons: 

First,  it  was  known  that  some  of  the  families  listed 
here  also  appeared  on  the  1810  and  1818  censuses. 
These  are  identified  by  an  asterisk. 

Second,  the  1820  census  taker,  unlike  some  others, 
gave  the  name  of  the  precinct  (township)  in  which  the 
family  lived.  Since  Clinton  County  was  not  formed  until 
1824,  Carlyle,  for  instance,  is  shown  as  a  precinct  of 
Washington  County,  which  added  a  note  of  interest. 

Finally,  it  was  believed  that  any  reader  who  found 
one  of  his  ancestor's  names  among  the  pioneer  families 
shown  here  might  be  moved  to  explore  his  personal  his- 


tory still  deeper,  and,  using  this  reference  as  a  guide 
might  be  motivated  to  do  some  work  on  his  family  tree 
to  be  deposited  eventually  with  the  Washington  County 
Historical  Society. 

Any  census  or  record  as  old  as  this  one  must,  of 
course,  be  viewed  with  reservation.  The  original  docu- 
ments now  lodged  in  the  National  Archives  at  Washing- 
ton, D.C.,  are  often  hard  to  read.  The  handwriting  is 
often  illegible,  the  spelling  quixotic.  The  early  settlers 
were  just  as  suspicious  of  census  takers  as  they  were  of 
tax  collectors,  and  were  not  above  evasiveness.  Thus 
there  may  be  gaps,  ommissions  and  mistakes. 

Cenerallv  speaking,  however,  most  of  the  names 
and  families  shown  here  are  too  well  known  in  the  cen- 
tury and  one  half  history  of  Washington  County  not  to 
be  quickly  recognized. 


1820  Census  —  Washington  County,  Illinois 


ABBOT,   Christopher 

ABBOT,  John 

ADAMS,  John 
'ALLEN,  Elizabeth 

ANDERSON,  Isaac 

ANDERSON,  James 
•ANRDUS,  Archibald 

ARTHUR,  Samuel 
•APL1NG,   Pleasant 

ATKINS,   Henry 

AYERS,  Rupel 

AYERS,  William 

BAKER,  Elizabeth 

BALES,  Elijah 

BANDY,  Elihu 
•BANKSON,   Andrew 

BARWELL,   Henry 

BATES,  Thomas 

BEGOLE,  Joshua 

BERRY,  Frederick 

BERRY,   Nancy 

BERRY,  William  H. 
•BITTO,  John 

BLACK,  C.  P. 

BLACKMAN,  William 

BOYD,  Joseph 

BRAKE,   John 

BRADFORD,  John 
•BRADSBY,  William  H. 
•BRASELTON,  Benjamin 

BREWER,  Jacob 
•BROWDER,   Jonathan 
•BROWN,  Collier 
•BROWN,  George 
•BROWN,  John 
•BROWN,  Samuel 

BUCK,  James 

BURTON,  Gideon 
•BUTLER,  Charles 


Carlyle 
Carlyle 

Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 
Covington 
Carlyle 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 

Carlyle 
Shoal  Creek 
Covington 
Shoal  Creek 
Covington 
Covington 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 
Covington 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Shoal  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Covington 

Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Carlyle 
Covington 
Covington 
Shoal  Creek 
Carlyle 
Crooked  Creek 


CALLAHAN,   Robert 

CARR,  James 

CARR,   Samuel 

CARRIGAN,  James 
•CARRIGAN,  John 

CARRIGAN,    William 
•CARTER,  John 

CARTER,  Lewsey 
•CARTER,  Richard 

CASTLEBURY,  Meredith 
•CHAFFIN.  Ellis 

CHANDLER,  Anderson 

CHAPIN,  Lounso 

CHAPIN,  Samuel 
•CHESNEY,   Alexander 

CHESNEY,  Benjamin 

CLARK,  John 

COCKRAM,  James 
•COLE,  Edward 

COLE,  Richard 

COOPER,  Herman 

COOPER,  John 
*COX,  Benjamin 
•COX,  Charles 

CRAYTON,  William 
•CREAL,  John 
♦CROCKER,  Arthur 

CROCKER,  Elizabeth 
•CROCKER,  Jacob 
•CROCKER,  William 

•DARNAL,   Isaac 
•DARNAL,  William 
•DAVIS,  Robert 
•DEAS,  John 
DILLON,  Thomas 

EASON,  Pomeroy 
•EDON,   James 

EDWARDS,   Susanna 

ELLIOTT,  E. 
•EVANS,  John 

EVANS,  John  Jr. 


Sugar  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 
Carlyle 
Carlyle 
Carlyle 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 
Carlyle 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 

Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 

Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Covington 

Crooked  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Crooked  Creek 
Covington 
Sugar  Creek 


FRENCH,  Martha 

GILBERTY,  James 
GILLEHAN,  Thomas 
GILMORE,  John 
GODFREY,   Hanson 
GORDON,  James 
•GREEN,  Bowling 
GRIFFIN,   Jepy 

•HAGERMAN,  Benjami 
•HANDY,  John 
•HARREL,  Theophilus 

HARRYMAN,  Charles 
•HAWKINS,   Lemuel 

HERBERT,  Thomas  F. 

HERRIN,  Major 

HERRIN,  Simon 

HERVEY,  John 
•HILL,  Jonathan 

HILLHOUSE,  William 

HITCHCOX,  Stephen 

HILTON,  Seth 

HOCKIN,   Amy 

HOLM  (Hulml,  Peter 
•HUEY,  John 
•HUEY,  Thomas 
•HUGGINS,  David 
•HUGGINS,  Lewis 
•HUGGINS,  William 

HUGHSON,  Isaac 

HUTCHINS,  John  R. 

IRIE,  William 

JOHNSON,  David 
•JOHNSTON,  Hugh 
•JOHNSTON  John 
•JOHNSTON,  John  Sr. 


Crooked  Creek 

Covington 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Shoal  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 

Covington 

Covington 

Sugar  Creek 

Covington 

Crooked  Creek 

Carlyle 

Covington 

Covington 

Sugar  Creek 

Shoal  Creek 

Covington 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Crooked  Creek 

Shoal  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Covington 

Covington 

Covington 

Crooked  Creek 

Covington 

Covington 

Covington 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 

Continued 


36 


JOHNSTON,  John  Jr. 

JOHNSON,  Joseph 
•JOHNSTON,  William 
•JOHNSTON,  William  Sr. 
•JOHNSTON    William  Jr. 
•JONES,  Benjamin 

JONES,  Tepe 
•JORDAN,  Briton 

KAIN,  John 
KENNEDY,  Demsey 
KINTERS,  John 
•KINYON,  Joseph 
KNOWLAN,  Nathaniel 
KRIEL,  John 

•LARD,  John 
•LAUGHLIN,  Lewis 

LEE,  Harvey 

LEWIS,  William 

LINCOLN,  Elijah 

LOUISADA,  Isaac 

LYONS,  Thomas 

McCART,  Edward 

MclNTYRE,  Hugh 

McGIVER,  Samuel 
•MclVER,  Robert 

McCORD,  Charles 
•MeCORD,  David 
•McREAKEN,  James 
•MADDUX,   Alexander 
•MADDUX,  Alexander  Jr. 
•MADDUX,  Gilles 
•MADDUX.   Leonard 
•MADDUX,  Levin 
•MADDUX,  Wingate 
•MADDUX,  Zachanah 

MANNING,  James 
•MARTIN,   Philip 
•MATHENY,  Collins 

MATHROP,  John 

MATHROP,  John  A. 

MEDLEY.  Joel 
•MINSON,  Abraham 
•MIDDLETON,  Rebuen 
•MIDDLETON,  William 

MILLER,  Sarah 

MORE,  Jepy 

MORGAN,  John 

MORTON,  Joseph 

NEAL,  Thomas 
NELSON,  John 
NEWTON,  Charles 
•NICHOLS,  John 

OATS,    Mary 

ORENDORF,  Wm. 
'ORTON,  James 
•ORTON,  John 


Sugar  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 
Covington 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 
Covington 
Covington 


Carlyle 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 

Covington 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 


Crooked  Creek 

Covington 

Crooked  Creek 

Crooked  Creek 

Covington 

Covington 

Sugar  Creek 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Crooked  Creek 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Crooked  Creek 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Sugar  Creek 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Sugar  Creek 

Covington 

Covington 

Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Covington 

Sugar  Creek 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 
Covington 
Carlyle 
Crooked  Creek 

Carlyle 
Carlyle 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 


OUTHOUSE,  Hardy  Sugar  Creek 

OUTHOUSE,  John  Sugar  Creek 

OUTHOUSE,  Meredith  Sugar  Creek 

OUTHOUSE,  Peter  Sugar  Creek 


PATMAN,  Nathan 
•PEIRCE,  Caleb 
•PEIRCE,  David 

POSEY,  Hester 
•POSEY,  Leeaiden 

PHILLIPS,  John 

PIERCE,   Elijah 

PRICE,   Leonard 

PYLE,  Nicholas 

RAMSEY,   John 
RAMSEY,  John  H. 
RAY,  Abram 
REED,  Charles 
REED,  John 

RICKERFUSE,  Christopher 
RIDDLE,  David 
ROBBINS,  Joseph 
ROGERS,  Elihu  B. 
ROLLINS,  Hosea 
ROPER,  David 
•ROUNDTREE,  William 
ROWE,  Hesekiah 
ROWE,  John 
ROWE,  Stephen 
RUPEL,  George 
RYAN,  James  J. 

SAVAGE,   Lydia 

SCOTT,  Isaac 

SCOTT,  William 

SHARP,  Henry 

SHARP,  Jonathan 

SHARP,  Samuel 

SHORT,  Bennett 
•SHORT,   Patsey 

SILKWOOD,  Basil 
•SILKWOOD,  Brazilla 
•SILKWOOD,   Hiram 
•SILKWOOD.  Solomon 
•SIMENS,  Daniel 
■SIMMS,  William 

SLADE,  Charles,  Sr. 

SLADE,  Charles 

SLAVINS,  Steward 
•SMITH,  Asahel 
•SMITH,  John 

SMITH,  William 
•STARNATER,  John 

STRANG,  Daniel 
•STEEL,  William 
•STEVENS,  Charles 

STEWARD,  Peter 
•STEWART,  Samuel 
•SWEARINGEN,  David  S. 

SYMS,  William 


Covington 
Shoal  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Covington 
Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 
Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Shoal  Creek 
Carlyle 

Covington 

Crooked  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 


Sugar  Creek 

Covington 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Covington 

Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Shoal  Creek 
Carlyle 

Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 
Shoal  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Carlyle 
Carlyle 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Shoal  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 


•TAYLOR,  Archibald 
•TAYLOR,  William 

TEMPLE,  James 

THACKER,  David 
•THOMASON,  Richard 
•THOMPSON,  James 

THOMPSON.  John 

THOMPSON,  John  Jr. 

THOMPSON,    William 

THOMPSON,   William   Jr 

TILTON,  Enoch 

TILTEN,  Richard 

TILTON,  John 

TILTON,  Thomas 

TOP,  John 

TOWNSEN,  Edmund 

THOWNSEND,  Martha 
•TURMAN,  Jacob 

•USHER,  Caton 

VIRGIN,  Hyrem 

VANDERGRIFF,  William 

■WADKINS,  Beverly 
•WADSWORTH,  John 
•WADSWORTH,  Thomas 

WALKER,  James 

WALKER,  William 

WALL,   William 

WARREN,  Edward 
•WASHBURN,   Ruth 
•WAT,  Haden 
•WATKINS,  Thomas 

WEBSTER,  Francis 
•WELCH,  John 
•WHELLES,  William 

WHEELES,   Elizabeth 
•WHITE,  Alexander 
•WHITE    David 

WHITE,  David  Jr. 
•WHITE,  Hartshorn 

WHITE,  Joseph 

WHITTENBURG,  Daniel 

WHITTENBURG,  Joseph 
•WILLIAMS,  Aaron 
•WILTON,    Harry 

WITTEN,  Harry 

WOODRUM,  James 
•WOODROM,  John 

WOODROM,   John  Jr. 


Sugar  Creek 

Crooked  Creek 

Covington 

Sugar  Creek 

Shoal   Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Covington 

Covington 

Covington 

Covington 

Carlyle 

Covington 

Covington 

Covington 

Carlyle 

Sugar  Creek 

Sugar  Creek 

Carlyle 

Carlyle 

Covington 


Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Covington 
Carlyle 
Shoal  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Crooked  Creek 
Shoal  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Sugar  Creek 
Covington 
Covington 
Covington 
Sugar  Creek 
Crooked  Creek 
Covington 

Covington 
Covington 

Covington 

Crooked  Creek 
Covington 
Covington 
Covington 


•YARBOROUGH.  Absalom  Carlyle 


37 


Sheriffs  of  Washington  County 


Washington  County  is  justly  proud  in  having  one  of 
the  lowest  crime  rates  in  the  State.  Even  so,  there  is  need 
for  a  county  sheriff,  always  has  been,  always  will  be.  Here- 


with  are   the   men   who   wore    the   sheriff's    bad° 
through  the  years,  one  of  them  to  his  death. 


Daniel  S.  Swearingen,    1818-19. 

Harry  Wilton,  1819-20. 

Boling  Green,   1820-22. 

Joel  Madley,    1822-23. 

John  S.  Carrigan,   1823-24. 

Levin  N.   English,    1824-25. 

Thomas  H.  Moore,  1825-29. 

William  C.   Wallace,    1829-30. 

John  Crain,   1830-36. 

John  White,    1836-40. 

John  H.  McElhannon  (resigned)  1840-45. 

John  N.   Vernor,    1845-48. 

Willis  White,   1848-50. 

Isaac  B.  Jack  (died  in  office)  1850. 

Francis  D.  Taylor  (coroner)    1852. 

John  White,   1852-54. 


Salem  Goodner,   1854-56. 
James  Garvin,    1862-1864. 
James  H.  Sawyer,   1864-66. 
W.  H.  Clayton,   1866-68. 
D.  R.  Meyers,    1868-70. 
John  White,   1870-72. 
James  Garvin,    1872-74. 
Jacob  May,   1874-78. 
William  Lane,    1878-82. 
Charles  Gerstkemper,   1882-86. 
Charles  Gerstkemper,    1882-86. 
O.    P.  Hallem,    1886-90. 
Daniel  AA.  White,    1890-94. 
Gerhard  G.  Schneider,    1894-98. 
August  !H.  Cohlmeyer,   1898-1902. 
J.  M.  Winfree,   1902-06. 


August  H.  Cohlmeyer,  1906-10. 
Henry   F.  Vogelpohl,    1910-14. 
Jacob  K.  May  •    1914-17. 
Henry  Klosterhoff,    1917-22. 
William  H.  May,   1922-26. 
Martin  H.  Petri,   1926-30. 
August  H.  Cohlmeyer,   1930-34. 
J.   U.  Spencer,    1934-38. 
Harry  C.   Anderson,    1938-42. 
Albert  Gorman,  1938-42. 
Theo.  F.  Lehde,   1946-50. 
Albert  Gorman,   1950-54. 
Lee  Bowers,  1954-58. 
Freeman  F.  Kaser,  1958-62. 
A.  Virgil   May.    1962-66. 
Joe  J.   Berry,   present  incumbent. 


*  Jacob  K.  May  was  killed  while  on  duty,  June  20,   1917,  the  only  sheriff 
of  Washington  County  to  lose  his  life  in  executing  his  job  as  a  law  officer. 


Washington   County's   Schools 


In  early  county  history,  schools  were  conducted  by 
churches  or  established  by  communities.  In  the  latter  case, 
buildings  usually  were  constructed  by  donated  labor,  pupils 
charged  on  a  per  capita  basis,  teachers  boarded  free  by 
parents. 

In  1856,  townships  were  divided  into  school  districts, 
usually  four,  but  later  one  or  two  more  per  township  were 
added.  Districts  were  named  and  numbered  by  townships. 
In  1903,  district  numbers  were  changed  so  no  two  numbers 
would  be  alike  in  any  county.  Washington  County  began 
with  number  1  in  the  northeast,  ended  with  86  in  the 
southwest  part  of  the  county.  Hoepker,  number  87,  was 
added  later,  as  were  the  present  high  school  district  num- 
bers. School  terms  were  of  different  lengths,  usually  five 
or  six  months.  Then  came  the  seven  month  term,  which 
was  changed  to  eight  months  by  state  law  in  1929,  and 
nine  in  1955. 

These  early  schools  were  governed  by  a  three  member 
board,  each  township  had  a  three  member  board  of  trustees 
and  a  township  treasurer.  The  County  Superintendent  was 
over  the  entire  county.  In  1889,  the  first  state  course  of 
study  was  printed.  Each  county  had  a  final  examination  for 


its  eighth  grade  pupils,  and  a  county  commencement  for 
those  who  passed.  In  Washington  County,  these  were  broken 
down  to  township  examinations  and  township  graduations 
in  1931.  Today,  each  district  has  its  own  means  of  gradua- 
tion and  commencement  exercises. 

As  late  as  1937  we  still  had  one  teacher  who  taught 
in  a  one-room  school  for  $37.50  a  month,  furnished  his  own 
firewood,  did  all  of  his  own  janitor  work,  and  taught  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty  classes  daily. 

School  Commissioners 

John  Crain  was  appointed  in  1835,  reappointed  in 
1840:  Jacob  Goodner  in  1842;  Z.  H.  Vernor  in  1843:  Harry 
Nevill  in  1847;  Z.  H.  Vernor  in  1853;  Wm.  H.  Clayton  was 
elected  in  1861,  re-elected  in  1865. 

County  Superintendents 

Alden  C.  Hillman.  1866-73;  Samuel  C.  Page.  1873-77 
James  W.  Hudson.  1877-81;  W.  L.  Martin,  1881-90;  L.  H 
Carson.  1890-94:  Robert  Pence.  1894-98;  Jesse  T.  Gibbs 
1898-02:  Charles  L.  Edwards,  1902-06:  Robert  Pence.  1906 
14;  Lee  A.  Friend,  1914-19;  T.  E.  Allen.  1919-31;  C.  A 
Reeder,  1931-39;  Kenneth  E.  Frieman,  1939-. 


38 


County  House  Part  of  "Underground  Railroad" 


The  old  houses  that  played  a  part  in  the  "under- 
ground" movement  of  slaves  during  the  Civil  War  era 
are  just  ahout  extinct,  hut  luckily,  Washington  County 
still  has  a  house  standing  (and  occupied)  that  was 
once  used  to  hide  slaves. 

It  was  huilt  hy  John  Hood  in  1843,  and  stands 
just  off  the  blacktop  road  leading  southwest  from  Oak- 
dale  to  Coulterville. 

Still  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  today,  the 
large  two-story  brick  dwelling  has  two  chimneys,  each 


of  which  served  as  vents  for  three  fireplaces.  Each 
chimney  has  a  fireplace  in  the  cellar,  one  on  the  main 
floor,  and  another  on  the  second  floor.  It  is  an  estab- 
lished fact  that  slaves  were  hidden  here  during  the 
time  of  the  "underground  railroad." 

There  were  other  dwellings  in  the  county  that 
figured  in  the  slave  movement,  but  none  exist  today  as 
an  occupied  dwelling.  The  house  shown  here  is  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hay  Kohring. 


This  house,  built  by  John  Hood,  still  standing,  was  once  part 
of  the  underground  slave  movement  in  Washington  County. 


•.  i^H 


GLIMPSES    OF    OAKDALE'S    PAST 


Attesting  to  the  great  age  of  the  Oakdale  com- 
munity is  the  fact  that  its  cemetery  contains  the  graves 
of  two  Revolutionary  War  soldiers;  the  grave  of  a  vet- 
eran of  the  Blackhawk  War;  one  of  a  Mexican  war 
casualty;  and  no  less  than  thirty-five  marking  the  last 
resting  places  of  Civil  War  casualties.  The  cemetery, 
three  miles  southwest  of  Oakdale,  once  the  sight  of  a 
pioneer  church,  is  still  being  used. 


The  first  church  built  in  the  Oakdale  area  stood  near 
the  present  cemetery,  about  3'/2  miles  southwest  of  the 
town.  This  photo  is  a  reproduction  from  a  small  painting 
hanging  in  the  R.  P.  church  today. 

The  Missouri-Illinois  Railroad  was  built  through 
Oakdale  in  1888.  then  called  the  Chester  &  Centralia. 
Trains  started  running  over  the  new  track  in  1892, 
three  trains  each  way  daily.  With  the  curtailment  of 
railway  mail  service,  the  size  of  the  train  diminished 
to  a  single  car  and  locomotive,  nicknamed  "The  Doodle 
Bug."  It  made  its  last  run  on  March  15,  1954.  The 
road  still  does  a  flourishing  freight  business,  but  Oak- 
dale no  longer  has  a  depot. 

First  all-weather  road  built  out  of  Oakdale  was  in 
1933,  ran  west.  Second  road  was  started  in  1937,  com- 
pleted in  1938,  ran  southeast,  crossing  Route  127.  then 
continuing  east  to  DuBois.  Third  all-weather  road  led 
north  to  Route  460.  The  Oakdale-Coulterville  blacktop 
was  completed  in  1954. 

In  World  War  I,  John  C.  Atchison  was  the  county's 
first  casualty.  He  was  honored  by  having  the  Nashville 
Legion  Post  bear  his  name  (  see  item  elsewhere ) . 

William  Elliot  died  of  influenza  while  in  camp  at 
Mooseheart.  Illinois. 

In  World  War  II,  Army  pilot  Curtis  Torrens  died 
over  Foster  Field,  Texas,  on  July  20,  1942,  when  his 
plane  exploded,  to  become  the  county's  first  World 


War  II  casualty.  I  The  Washington  County  Blue  Book 
lists  Pvt.  Otto  Stein  of  Lively  Grove  township  as  the 
first  killed  in  action,  which  is  correct,  however  Pvt. 
Torrens  was  the  first  war  casualty ) . 

S/Sgt.  James  Howard  McClay  died  in  action  near 
the  Rhine  River,  Germany,  on  December  19,  1944. 

Dale  Taft,  ironically,  was  killed  on  D-Day. 

Robert  Craig  was  killed  in  France  in  February, 
1945. 

Elmer  Shubert  was  killed  in  action  on  Leyte,  in 
the  Pacific  theatre. 

Schools:  The  first  school  was  located  on  the  John 
Hood  farm,  section  27.  Another  was  built  in  Elkton 
the  same  year.  When  the  town  of  Oakdale  was  sur- 
veyed, the  R.  P.  Church  was  built  in  1868  and  school 
held  in  the  basement.  It  remained  so  until  a  grade 
school  was  established  in  1875.  Two  years  later  50 
pupils  were  enrolled,  with  J.  C.  Thompson,  teacher.  In 
1882.  there  were  two  teachers,  W.  R.  Maxwell  and 
Miss  Lizzie  Ramsey.  A  two-year  high  school  opened 
in  1922,  increased  to  a  three-year  school  in  1924,  was 
discontinued  twenty  years  later.  A  new  grade  school 
building  was  built  in  1961,  consolidation  of  the  dis- 
trict having  taken  place  in  1948.  Ed  Hudspeth  was  the 
first  bus  driver,  starting  from  that  date. 

The  U.  S.  Mail:  The  first  mail  delivered  to  Oak- 
dale was  brought  without  doubt  by  the  post  riders  on 
horseback,  and  then  picked  up  by  the  settlers.  Wm. 
Avers  is  thought  to  have  kept  some  kind  of  post  office 
in  his  pioneer  store. 

History  tells  us  that  in  1830.  Thomas  Bird  estab- 
lished a  post  office  at  Ayers  Point  ( later  called  Oak- 
dale ) .  Isaac  Perlie,  the  first  postmaster,  came  this 
same  year. 

Between  this  time  and  the  date  Oakdale  was  sur- 
veyed, it  seems  that  post  office  service  was  discontin- 
ued. W.  R.  Ardery  was  postmaster  in  his  store  building 
in  1!',77.  first  reference  to  the  resumation  of  mail  ser- 
vice. Ray  Kirkpatrick  started  in  the  Ardery  building. 
1911-13.  Kirkpatrick  built  the  building  just  west  of 
the  bank,  and  moved  the  postoffice  there  in  1913, 
where  it  remained  for  five  years. 

Agnes  Maxwell  was  postmaster  in  a  residential 
room  where  Chas.  Brammeier  now  resides.  Lester 
Guthrie  had  the  office  next  in  his  drugstore  (1922). 
Madge  Guthrie  served  in  same  building  (1927).  Daul- 
ton  Rohde.  Jr.  had  the  office  in  the  front  part  of  the 
Borcherding  store  in  1915.  Ed  Luczaj  started  here  as 
postmaster.  Dec.  1.  1947.  then  moved  to  the  Woodside 
building  in  June.  1952.  where  he  is  postmaster  at  the 
present  time. 

Continued 


40 


Rural  Mail  Carriers:  Alonzo  Robertson  carried 
mail  from  Oakdale  to  Elkton.  Following  Robertson, 
I. on  Hunter  carried  it  I  star  route  i.  Hunter  was  also 
the  first  mail  carrier  after  the  rural  free  delivery  was 
started,  prior  to  L905.  Ed  Renter  started  in  L905,  re- 
tired in  1935.  Daulton  Rohde.  Sr.  served  from  Jan.  16. 
1915  to  Aug.  23,  1947.  His  son.  Daulton  Rohde,  Jr.. 
succeeded  him.  and  is  the  present  carrier. 

A  Feu  Firsts:  Charley  Bailey  had  the  first  car  in 
Oakdale.  a  Stanley  Steamer.  Theo.  Brown  also  was  an 
early  car  owner,  and  before  his  death  was  in  much 
demand  as  a  man  who  could  "witch"  both  water  and 
oil.  Charles  Huston  had  an  International  2-eylinder, 
with  solid  rubber  tires,  carbide  lights,  rubber  bulb 
horn  (about  19051.  Conrad  Bassler  purchased  a  simi- 
lar car.  later  sold  it  to  Dave  Smith. 

Lawrence  Hood  owned  the  first  radio,  about 
1922.  He  also  installed  radios,  the  first  one  being  a 
one-tube  Crosley.  at  the  Geo.  Borcherding  home.  John 
Kleinschmidt  had  the  second  set.  an  Atwater-Kent. 
Robert  Osborn  had  the  first  3-tube  set  that  operated  a 
loudspeaker.  Arnold  Wilson  owned  the  first  TV,  back 
in  1948. 

Doctors:  Dr.  A.  D.  W.  Leavens.  Dr.  J.  R.  Beady. 
Dr.  S.  G.  Arnett  were  the  community's  physicians 
i  1879).  Dr.  II.  L.  Cault  served  here  in  the  eighties. 
Dr.  T.  G.  Tibby  was  here  for  some  time,  moved  to 
Kansas  in  1890,  later  returned.  Dr.  Ceo.  R.  Hays 
served  from  L890  to  1906.  Dr.  Th.  F.  McConaghie, 
L905  to  bis  death  in  1939.  (Thomas  Fulton  Mc- 
Conaghie was  born  near  Oakdale  Nov.  30,  1  <"> 7 2 .  join- 
ed the  U.  1'.  Church  in  his  youth.  He  attended  Pleasant 
Hill  rural  school  and  Sparta  high  school.  After  a  course 
at  Normal  University  at  Carbondale,  he  entered  medi- 
cal college  at  St.  Louis  I  .  Interspersed  with  his  school- 
ing he  also  taught  in  the  Stone  Church  area  for  a  time 
Upon  graduation  in  1904  he  started  practice  at  Sornan- 
auk,  III.,  then  the  following  year  bought  the  practice 
of  Dr.  Hayes  at  Oakdale  and  remained  here  the  rest 
of  his  life.  Few  were  the  homes  in  this  community  that 
didn't  at  some  time  benefit  by  his  ministry  of  healing  I . 

Telephones:  The  year  1903  saw  the  first  tele- 
phones in  the  community,  and  were  locally  owned. 
There  was  a  gradual  deterioration  id  service  until  1953 
when  it  was  discontinued  entirely.  The  community  was 
without  service  until  1955  when  the  RE  \  installed 
modern  dial  service.  Following  served  as  switchboard 
operators:  John  Mckean.  1903-11;  Mrs.  Mary  Jane 
Kirkpatrick,  I'M  1-33;  Chas.  Brammeier,  1933-43;  \1- 
bert  Ibendahl,  194346;  Mrs.  Carol  Krehr,  1947;  John 
Brammeier,  1948;  Bay  Kirkpatrick  to  termination  of 
service. 

Electricity:  The  middle  1920s  saw  a  few  privately 
owned   electric   system,   but    it    was  not   until   October. 


1930,  that  Illinois  Power  built  a  line  into  Oakdale. 
Later  1!L  \  built  power  line-  to  serve  the  area  farmers. 

/  eteran  M ail  Carrier:  Daulton  L.  Rohde.  Sr..  be- 
gan carrying  mail  on  route  1  out  of  Oakdale  on  Jan. 
16,  L915.  The  route  ran  to  Elkton,  Lively  Grove,  on  to 
Casper's  Point  I  also  called  Suzanne  and  Clapboard 
Town  I.  From  there  it  went  north  to  the  crossroads, 
east  to  what  is  now  Route  153,  thence  to  the  township 
line,  finally  to  Rroadhollow.  past  the  Hibbard  school, 
then  south  and  east  past  Oakdale  cemetery,  back  into 
Oakdale. 

The  winter  of  1915  brought  axle-dccp  mud.  often 
requiring  two  teams  daily  to  cover  the  28-mile  route. 
A  sheephide  was  used  on  the  floor  of  the  wagon  as  a 
foot  warmer,  with  a  lighted  lantern  set  under  the  lap- 
robe  to  keep  the  carrier  warm.  By  1918,  a  car  was 
used  when  the  roads  permitted.  In  1934,  when  Fdw. 
Renter  carried  on  route  2,  and  resigned,  the  two  routes 
were  thrown  together,  making  it  a  52-mile  daily  stint. 
Mr.  Rohde  carried  mail  for  more  than  32  years,  his 
last  trip  on  August  23,  1917.  He  died  four  days  later. 


fmmi 
Iliiiiljllll 


The  William  Ayers  house,  last  used  as  a  dwelling 
in  1900,  was  the  home  of  Oakdale's  first  family. 
Ayers    came    to    Washington    County    in    1823. 

Today  this  route,  carried  by  Daulton  Rohde.  Jr., 
has  73  miles.  1 7t>  boxes,  serving  196  families.  Ken- 
neth \\  .  Hood  is  the  assistant  carrier. 

Hall  Park:  \flcr  the  Oakdale  boys  came  home 
From  Woild  Wai  II.  they  organized  a  softball  team. 
played  in  the  Nashville  league  for  two  seasons.  Later 
thej  leased  ground  and  established  a  ball  diamond 
with  flood  lights.  |'la\  started  here  in  1947.  They  pur- 
chased a  public  address  system  in   1948.  Iti   1950,  the 

Continued 


41 


club  purchased  the  six  acres  that  now  comprise  the 
park.  It  was  financed  by  donations,  fish  and  chicken 
suppers  that  are  now  an  annual  affair.  There  are  usual- 
ly games  at  the  park  five  nights  a  week,  everyone 
cooperating  in  this  worthwhile  sport  for  both  adults 
and  children  of  the  community. 

Times  Change!  Back  in  1937,  the  hitching  racks 
at  the  W.  C.  Woodside  store  were  lined  with  rigs,  as 
farmers  brought  in  their  eggs,  cream  and  chickens; 
often  the  store  remained  open  for  as  late  as  1 1  o'clock 
on  two  nights  of  the  week.  Mr.  Woodside  still  runs 
this  general  store,  however  the  appliance  department 
has  been  acquired  by  Ed.  Hudspeth. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  when  M.  Fox  was  tax 
collector  in  1883,  the  amount  collected  was  $526.29  in 
the  township. 

When  Herman  and  Orval  Frieman  purchased 
Charles  Brammeier's  garage  and  blacksmith  shop  in 
1934,  they  got  alcohol  for  cars  in  5  gallon  cans  from 
Mascoutah.  Business  was  slow.  One  day's  sale  amount- 
ed to  a  single  gallon  of  kerosene,  sold  at  10c.  The 
garage  ran  a  special  on  gasoline,  7  gallons  for  a  dollar. 

The  Camp  Spring  Milling  Co.  of  Nashville  open- 
ed a  wheat  buying  station  at  Oakdale  about  1890. 
Through  a  succession  of  different  owners,  the  business 
is  still  operating.  It  is  currently  being  operated  as  the 
Oakdale  Grain  Company. 

Each  community,  before  the  turn  of  the  century, 
bad  its  village  blacksmith.  Oakdale  had  the  well  re- 
membered George  J.  Decker,  who  came  in  1906. 

D.  Rixman  and  four  of  his  sons  were  the  first  to 
put  the  chain  store  idea  into  practice  here,  building 
and  operating  seven  lumber  yards,  one  of  which  was  at 
Oakdale.  The  yard  was  sold  in  1945  to  a  group  of 
Nashville  businessmen.  Since  1956  the  yard  has  been 
under  the  management  of  the  Addieville  Lumber  Co. 

The  late  Edward  F.  Reuter,  who  carried  mail  at 
Oakdale  for  thirty  years,  went  through  an  era  that  took 
him  from  horseback,  to  mail  buggy  and  finally  to  an 
automobile  on  his  rural  route.  A  good  Samaritan,  he 
kept  a  diary  of  all  the  cherished  events  of  his  territory, 
including  the  exact  number  of  births  and  deaths  dur- 
ing his  tenure  as  a  carrier. 

Among  the  store  owners  at  Oakdale,  down 
through  the  years,  were  Dave  McClay,  Morrison  and 
McKean,  Dick  Garnholz,  Geo.  Borcherding,  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Oats  who  later  sold  to  Joe  Maxwell;  Dave 
Smith,  Tom  D.  McClurkin,  William  and  John  Klein- 
schmidt,  W.  C.  Woodside,  A.  J.  Gamble,  Lyle  Torrens. 
First  pioneer  store  was  operated  by  Wm.  Ayers. 


Stuart  Carson  operated  a  restaurant  here  in  the 
1920's;  Ralph  Shreman  once  had  a  plumbing  and  tin 
shop  here. 

W.  G.  Ardery  and  a  brother  built  a  general  store 
at  Oakdale  soon  after  the  town  was  surveyed,  back  in 
1879.  A  man  named  Smith  operated  a  cream  buying 
station,  the  building  being  destroyed  by  a  fire  when  a 
stove  exploded.  This  is  the  only  building  in  the  sur- 
veyed part  of  town  destroyed  by  fire. 

Once  Oakdale  had  a  Woodmen  Hall,  used  for 
many  years. 

Farm  Bureaus  First  President:  Mr.  J.  R.  Hood, 
father  of  Lawrence  R.  Hood,  a  co-editor  of  this  book, 
was  the  first  president  of  the  Washington  County  Farm 
Bureau,  elected  in  1926,  serving  for  three  years.  In 
those  days  the  value  of  the  county's  farm  crops  ranked 
67th  among  the  101  counties,  with  corn  ranking  81st, 
wheat  ninth.  There  were  only  225  acres  in  soybeans  in 
Washington  County  at  that  time.  There  were  still  8480 
horses  in  the  county,  with  13,390  milk  cows. 

Present  Pastors:  Rev.  Charles  Starrett  is  present 
pastor  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Rev. 
Philip  Brunn  at  the  United  Presbyterian  building. 

Coincidently,  three  of  Oakdale's  merchants,  all 
died  within  a  short  time  of  each  other,  John  Klein- 
schmidt  in  1937,  Jack  Gambill  in  1938,  and  George 
Borcherding  in  1939. 

An  annual  Harvest  Home  Picnic  that  was  started 
here  in  1893  was  held  each  summer  for  53  years. 

A  man  named  Lancaster  started  a  private  bank  in 
the  Ardrey  building  in  1914.  The  Oakdale  State  Bank 
started  Dec.  28,  1920. 

John  Brammeier  operated  a  blacksmith  shop  in 
the  Frieman  garage  building  from  1936  to  1946. 

Nearby  Elkton's  present  population  is  25,  repre- 
senting a  gradual  decline  over  the  years. 

A  tax  receipt  issued  to  Robert  Keer,  Pilot  Knob 
township,  in  1854  shows  taxes  for  $1.07  for  80  acres 
of  land.  Ten  years  later  it  had  jumped  to  $1.97. 

The  Oakdale  Covenanter  Church  (Reformed 
Presbyterian)  is  one  of  four  in  Illinois,  a  single  church 
at  Chicago,  one  at  Sparta  and  Houston.  There  are  62 
in  the  nation. 

When  Elizabeth  McClelland,  wife  of  James  Mc- 
Clelland took  ill  and  died  of  cholera  on  Aug.  28,  1852, 
her  husband  had  to  bury  her  himself.  Neighbors  would 
bring  food  to  the  lane,  but  all  were  afraid  of  the  dread 
disease.  The  husband  and  two  daughters  survived.  The 
ruins  of  the  old  house  in  which  she  died  is  still  stand- 
ing, southwest  of  Oakdale. 


42 


OKAWVILLE  BATHS  DATE  BACK  TO  1867 


[B! 


ill  e  III'Lili  illTFn 


Okawville's  medicinal  springs  also  have  a  cen- 
tennial, for  the  first  small  hath  house,  after  the  dis- 
covery of  the  springs,  was  built  here  in  1867.  A 
larger  Original  Hotel  followed,  in  1871.  It  was  des- 
troyed by  fire  in  1892,  and  the  present  building  shown 
here  replaced  it.  It  is  the  oldest,  largest  hotel-bath- 
house in  the  county. 


The  Washington  Hotel,  for  yen-  a  friendly  com- 
petitor,  has  been  converted  into  the  Washington 
Springs  Nursing  Home. 

By  analysis,  the  medicinal  spring  water  of  Okaw- 
ville  is  almosl  identical  to  the  water  at  the  famous 
Arkansas  -|>a. 


43 


The  Lutheran  Movement  in  Washington  County 


The  Washington  County  Historical  Society  is  in- 
debted to  Rev.  P.  F.  Harre,  pastor  at  New  Minden,  for 
this  short  biographical  sketch  of  the  Lutheran  congre- 
gations within  the  county. 

St.  Salvador  Lutheran,  Venedy  (1842) 

German  Lutherans  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Ven- 
edy, then  called  Elkhorn  Prairie,  in  1938-39.  They 
were  interested  in  obtaining  a  Lutheran  pastor.  Oc- 
casional trips  were  made  to  St.  Louis  to  sell  their  pro- 
duce and  buy  supplies.  On  one  of  these  trips  they  met 
members  of  a  group  of  Saxon  Lutherans  who  had  come 
to  St.  Louis  in  1839.  Through  these  people  they  got  in 
contact  with  Dr.  F.  C.  Walther,  who  was  instrumental 
in  providing  a  pastor  for  them  in  the  person  of  Rev. 
Ottomar  Fuerbringer.  Pastor  Fuerbringer  organized 
these  Germans  into  a  Lutheran  congregation  in  1840. 
The  worship  services  were  held  in  the  village  of  Johan- 
nisburg,  in  a  building  that  doubled  for  church  and 
school.  Dissension  rose  among  the  members  on  matters 
of  Christian  doctrine  and  practice:  part  of  the  congre- 
gation remained  faithful  to  the  Lutheran  Confessions 
and  seceded  from  this  congregation  in  1842,  and  or- 
ganized the  San  Salvador  Lutheran  congregation  in 
the  village  of  Venedy. 

St.  John's  Lutheran,  New  Minden  (1846) 

Since  1 840,  Lutheran  settlers  had  come  to  North 
Prairie,  a  farming  area  north  of  Nashville.  They,  too, 
sought  the  services  of  a  Lutheran  pastor.  These  people 
also  made  occasional  trips  to  St.  Louis  for  business 
purposes,  and  there  made  contact  with  the  Saxon  Luth- 
erans. Through  the  services  of  Dr.  F.  C.  Walther  they 
obtained  a  pastor  in  the  person  of  Rev.  C.  F.  Scholz. 
The  organization  of  St.  John's  congregation  was  ef- 
fected by  Rev.  Buenger  of  St.  Louis,  shortly  before  the 
coming  of  Pastor  Scholz  to  New  Minden  in  1846. 

Ebenezer  Lutheran.  Okawville  (Grand  Prairie— 1853) 

Quite  a  few  of  the  members  who  belonged  to  the 
Venedy  congregation  lived  on  the  east  side  of  Elkhorn 
Creek,  some  at  great  distances,  in  those  days  of  the 
horse  and  buggy.  Other  Lutherans  settled  even  further 
east  on  the  open  prairie.  These  people  organized  a  new 
congregation  in  what  was  known  as  Grand  Prairie,  2V; 


miles  southwest  of  Okawville  in  1853.  This  congrega- 
tion was  dissolved  in  1948  when  the  membership  join- 
ed with  \  enedy  and  Okawville  Lutheran  congregations. 

.S/.  Peter  Lutheran.  Nashville  (Hahlen—1858) 

Some  members  of  the  Ebenezer  congregation  lived 
as  far  distant  as  Plum  Hill  and  beyond,  much  too  far 
to  attend  church  and  school  regularly.  This  group,  with 
other  Lutherans  who  had  settled  on  farms  southwest 
and  west  of  Nashville  combined  and  organized  the  St. 
Peter  congregation  at  Hahlen  in  1858. 

Olive  Branch  Lutheran.  Okauville  (1865) 

Lutherans  living  east  of  Okawville.  holding  mem- 
bership in  Ebenezer  congregation  southwest  of  there, 
found  it  very  inconvenient  to  negotiate  the  distance  to 
church  and  school  at  Ebenezer,  and  organized  their 
own  congregation,  giving  it  the  name  of  Olive  Branch, 
in  1865.  This  tiny  community  was  also  called  Frogtown. 

St.  Luke's  Lutheran,  Covington  (1884) 

Quite  a  few  members  belonging  to  St.  John's  con- 
gregation at  New  Minden  who  lived  on  the  west  side  of 
Crooked  Creek,  frequently  found  muddy  roads  and  a 
flooding  creek  a  hindrance  in  attending  school  and 
church.  This  group,  with  members  of  the  Olive  Branch 
Lutheran  congregation  who  lived  north  and  northwest 
of  Covington,  decided  to  organize  a  new  congregation 

at  Covington.  This  organization  was  effected  in  1884. 
They  called  the  new  church  St.  Luke's. 

Trinity  Lutheran,  Hoyleton  (1867 ) 

Lutherans  in  and  near  Hoyleton  first  held  mem- 
bership in  St.  John's  congregation  at  New  Minden.  As 
their  numbers  increased,  they  requested  a  peaceful  re- 
lease from  the  New  Minden  congregation  to  organize 
their  own  church  at  Hoyleton.  Their  request  was  grant- 
ed, and  the  organization  of  Trinity  Lutheran  there  took 
place  in  1867. 

Trinity  Lutheran,  Nashville  (1887) 

Some  Lutherans  had  moved  to  Nashville  and  took 
out  membership  in  St.  Peter's  (Hahlen)  southwest  of 

Continued 


44 


-f- 


&*: 


i*  ***  ■  »',ix ' 


i 


Ebenezer  (Grand  Prairie)  Lutheran  Church,  shown  here,  was  torn  down  soon  after  the 
congregation  dissolved  in  1948.  The  site  was  about  2T/2  miles  southwest  of  Okawville. 


the  city.  Others  came,  some  from  neighboring  areas  to 
spend  their  retirement  years  in  Nashville:  some  fur 
employment.  All  of  them  found  it  difficult  to  attend 
services  regularly  at  St.  Peter's,  and  to  bring  theii 
children  regularly  to  school  there  hecause  of  weather 
and  roads.  The  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  began  to  conduct 
services  in  Nashville,  and  Trinity  congregation  was 
organized  there  in  1887  as  an  independent  congrega- 
tion. 


Immanuel  Lutheran.  Okawville  f  1008) 

Some  members  of  Ebenezer  congregation  lived  at 
Okawville,  and  others  nearby.  Members  of  Khenezer 
and  othei  nearb)  congregation  members  who  had  re- 
tired in  Okawville  found  it  difficult  to  drive  out  to 
Ebenezer  church  and  school  regularly,  and  requested 
the  right  to  organize  their  own  congregation  in  town. 
Their  wish  was  granted  and  Immanuel  Lutheran  ecu. 
gregalion  was  organized  in  1908. 


45 


OKAWVILLE  -  VILLAGE  AND  TOWNSHIP 


The  first  settlement  in  Okawville  township  was  about 
1825.  Among  the  early  pioneers  were  the  Harrimans,  Pat- 
mans,  Wheelers,  Galbraiths,  Charters,  Middletons,  Morgans, 
Clarks,  Johnsons,  Kizers,  Whites.  Later  another  group  set- 
tled here,  the  Staude,  Hugh,  Gavin  and  Adams  families. 

Evidently  the  first  business  man  in  Okawville  precinct 
was  Robert  Hugh,  who  opened  a  store  in  his  home  in  1838. 
Early  records  state  the  location  was  "about  one  mile  east  of 
the  present  village."  Hugh  sold  staples  such  as  coffee,  tea, 
salt,  sugar  and  whiskey,  then  regarded  as  a  necessity  for 
malaria  and  snakebite.  Hugh,  a  Kentuckian,  remained  at 
this  location  three  years.  He  had  served  in  the  Black  Hawk 
War,  and  in  1841  moved  northeast  of  Okawville,  where  he 
became  an  extensive  landholder. 


\P^ 


MimUmmvTr 


Although  there  are  no  records  to  prove  it,  the  building  shown  here, 
the  Blumenhorst  Bakery,  is  the  oldest  commercial  building  in 
Okawville  still  in  use.  It  is  past  the  century  mark.  Other  buildings 
entitled  to  the  "old"  tag  is  the  Hohlt  building,  once  known  as 
"The  Blue  Goose,"  and  Old  Rock  Inn.  The  Tscharner  Mercantile 
building  and  the  Klauke  store  building  were  also  in  the  "old" 
category.   Both   have  now  been   leveled. 


Okawville  township's  first  church  was  erected  in  1844,  at 
a  site  then  known  as  Morgan's  cemetery.  The  church  build- 
ing was  later  moved  about  a  mile  west  and  converted  to  a 
school.  Among  the  first  recorded  deaths  in  the  township 
was  that  of  John  Morgan,  the  man  who  donated  the  ground 
for  the  cemetery.  It  was  supposed  that  he  was  the  first  man 
to  be  interred  in  his  own  cemetery.  But  when  his  grave  was 
dug,  they  came  upon  a  coffin  of  a  previous  burial. 

The  first  steam  mill  was  built  by  James  Turnbolt,  com- 
pleted in  1845.  It  stood  on  a  hill,  east  of  the  village,  later 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Jack  McNail,  and  he  removed  it  to 
Mascoutah.  A  man  named  Alexander  brought  in  the  first 
crude  reaper  in  1839.  James  Garvin  purchased  the  first 
buggy.  James  Lyons  erected  the  first  brick  dwelling  in  1847, 


making  the  bricks  in  his  own  kiln.  The  first  saw  mill  went 
into  operation  in  1839.  The  first  well  dug  in  Okawville  is 
now  covered  by  the  post  office  building. 

The  town  of  Okawville  was  laid  out  by  James  Garvin 
and  James  Davis  in  1856.  Prior  to  this  time,  the  town  was 
called  Bridgeport.  Among  the  men  responsible  for  the 
growth  of  Okawville  in  the  early  days  were  Judge  H.  P.  H. 
Morgan,  Julius  F.  Zetzsche,  Hy.  Wlecke,  Job  Harryman, 
Herman  Schulze,  Green  P.  Harbin. 

The  community  east  of  Plum  Creek,  now  called  Pinch, 
in  the  pioneer  days  was  known  as  Okaw.  At  one  time  there 
were  no  less  than  seven  bridges  spanning  the  creek  in  the 
Okawville  area. 

Okawville  once  had  three  flour  mills,  plus  a  small  custom 
mill.  The  Lammers  mill  was  built  about  1855.  The  Stone- 
wall Jackson  mill  was  erected  on  the  Morgan  land  in  Pinch 
during  the  Civil  War  era.  The  Harbke-Wright  mill  was  near 
the  site  of  the  Original  Hotel.  The  Lammers  mill  was  later 
abandoned,  and  the  others  burned. 

Before  the  advent  of  wells,  cisterns  and  city  water, 
pioneer  residents  of  Okawville  washed  their  clothing  at  a 
"wash-hole"  in  Plum  Creek,  located  near  the  present  site 
of  the  Route  177  highway  bridge. 

Rudolph  Plegge  lived  near  the  present  site  of  the 
Original  Hotel.  When  he  dug  a  well,  the  high  mineral  con- 
tent of  the  water  was  noted.  Dr.  James  Mcllwain,  Sr.  had 
the  water  analyzed,  and  it  was  found  to  be  very  similiar  to 
the  famous  Carlsbad  waters  of  Europe.  The  small  bath  house 
that  was  started  here  at  that  time  is  a  forerunner  of  the 
Original  Mineral  Springs  hotel  and  bathhouse  of  today. 

The  Methodist  Church  was  started  during  the  Civil 
War  years,  and  its  unfinished  walls  were  untouched  until 
the  war  ended.  Next  came  the  St.  Petri  Evangelical  Church, 
in  1864,  followed  by  St.  Barbara's  Catholic  Church  and 
lastly  by  Immanuel  Lutheran. 

Oldest  business  building  in  Okawville.  until  its  razing 
several  years  ago  was  the  annex  to  the  north  of  the  Tschar- 
ner Mercantile  Building,  also  a  memory.  The  Blumenhorst 
Bakery  building  is  conceded  as  the  village's  most  ancient 
building  today. 

The  Biedefelt  hotel  and  store  was  located  at  the  spot 
where  the  Washington  Annex  was  later  built  I  now  the 
Washington  Springs  Nursing  Home ) .  The  drug  store  and 
office  of  Dr.  R.  C.  Poos  stood  just  south  of  the  present  Old 
Rock  Inn  building.  Dr.  James  Mcllwain.  Sr.  and  Dr.  James 
Mcllwain,  Jr.  had  joint  offices  in  what  is  now  the  Winkel- 
mann  building:  Dr.  H.  Schmidt  had  an  office  in  what  is 
now  the  Pettersen  Electric  Shop. 

In  1871  the  half-cent  piece  was  still  in  circulation,  as 
attested  by  an  order  made  out  to  William  Kugler  for  road 
work  in  the  amount  of  $17.37%.  In  1874.  the  town  pur- 
chased a  carload  of  "sidewalk  lumber."  attesting  that  the 
first  walks  were  definitely  not  concrete.  In  1876.  S.  C. 
Krebs  charged  the  town  one  dollar  for  the  use  of  his  shop 

Continued 


46 


for  election  purposes.  In  1877.  the  board  of  trustees  made 
a  motion  to  appropriate  $25  t"  purchase  suitable  fire  Fight- 
ing equipment.  Saloons  For  the  first  time  were  ordered  to 

close  on  election  day  in  1877. 

The  Okawville  of  today  i-  far  removed  from  these  pio- 
11, -t  i  efforts.  \n  admirable  place  to  live,  its  low  tax  rate  and 
freedom  from  financial  difficulties  attest  to  sound  manage- 
ment. It-  fine  schools  and  churches  are  comparable  to  big 
city  life,  with  an  added  friendliness  found  only  in  the  -mail- 
er town.  Government  consist-  ol  a  mayor  and  six  aldermen, 
a  police  department,  a  fire  department.  The  town  is  served 
by  Illinois  Tower  Company,  the  Ulini  State  Telephone  Co., 


a  city-owned  watei  system,  and  a  modern  sanitary  sewerage 
disposal  system.  Interstate  M  »ill  soon  augment  it-  present 
highway  outlets. 

It-  fine  organizations  include  the  Okawville  Commun- 
ity Club,  chartered  in  1937;  Okawville  American  Legion 
Posl  233,  chartered  May  1924;  Okawville  American  I  egion 
Auxiliary,  chartered  June  1926;  Washington  Count)  Bai 
racks  WW  I.  chartered  in  1954;  Washington  County  Bar- 
racks Auxiliary.  Jan.  1959;  Okawville  Lions  Club,  Sept. 
I"  10;  Okawville  PTA,  May  1956;  Okawville  Women's  Club, 
chartered  in   1926. 


ST.    ANTHONYS    CHURCH,    LIVELY    GROVE 


The  Catholic  Parish  of  St.  Anthony's  at  Lively  Grove 
was  started  in  1868  at  the  time  when  its  territory  was  under 
the  Alton  Diocese  I  Bishop  Henry  Junker),  who  was  under 
the  appointment  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  The  1868  date  is  estab- 
lished bv  testimony  of  Rev.  Wendelin  Gillin. 

\ndrew  Johnson  was  President  of  the  United  States. 
Only  three  years  before.  Abraham  Lincoln  had  been  assas- 
sinated. 

St.  Anthony's  Parish  began  when  the  pastor  of  St. 
Libory.  Rev.  Henry  Jansen.  made  a  recommendation  that 
the  Low  Germans  who  resided  in  the  Lively  Grove  area  since 
1860  should  build  their  own  church  as  they  were  complain- 
ing about  the  road  leading  to  St.  Libory  Catholic  Church  to 
which  parish  these  Catholics  went  to  church  each  Sunday. 

Up  to  1868.  the  Catholic  families  of  Lively  Grove  went 
to  church  at  St.  Libory,  and  after  the  pastor  there  recom- 
mended that  the  17  families  of  Lively  Grove  build  their 
own  church,  they  did  just  that.  This  was  the  start  of  the 
parish  of  Lively  Grove;  1868  was  the  date  when  this  first 
church  was  built. 

With  aid  from  the  St.  Libory  parish,  the  Lively  Grove 
people  built  their  own  small  wooden  church  which  lasted  20 
years.  They  also  built  a  small  frame  school  for  $100.  After 
20  years,  they  turned  this  wooden  church  into  a  school  and 
Sister's  residence  combined.  The  Sisters  of  the  Ruma 
Motherhouse  taught  in  this  parish  from  time  to  time  up  to 
1963,  when  they  left  for  other  fields  of  work.  The  first 
school  building  had  been  removed  from  the  scene  at  Lively 
Grove  parish  for  some  time. 

The  first  Priest  to  have  services  in  Lovely  Grove  was 
Rev.  Jansen.  pastor  of  St.  Libory.  who  took  care  of  the  new 
parish  for  the  first  year  of  its  existence.  His  assistant.  Fr. 
Tuerk,  also  helped  out  from  time  to  time  for  Sunday  Mass 
during  the  first  year. 

During  the  span  of  one  hundred  years  of  this  parish, 
there  were  consistently  about  l.">  families  listed.  During  this 

century,  approximately  five  children  were  born  in  the  parish 
each  year. 

The  first  pastor  to  reside  here  was  lather  Ho-mueller. 
who  came  in  1860  and  built  the  fir-1  pastoral  residence.  It 
was  a  small   frame  building.   Constructed   in    1869:    it   no 


longer  exists.  The  present  pastor's  residence  was  built  in 
1902  by  Rev.  W.  Gillen. 

The  Catholic  school,  which  everyone  in  the  Lively 
Grove  area  remembers,  was  built  in  1912  during  the  pastor- 
ate of  Rev.  Wendelin  Gillen.  A  -isters'  home  was  built  also 
at  this  time.  The  school  closed  in  1963  and  both  this  build- 
ing and  the  si-ters'  home  were  removed  in  1965.  The  same 
year  the  new  air-conditioned  hall  was  constructed  under  the 
pastorship  of  Key.  Paul  W.  Stauder. 


St.  Anthony's  Catholic  Church  at  Lively  Grove,  and 
the  two  linden  trees  that  Father  Gillen  brought  from 
Germany  65   years  ago,   and  planted  himself. 

While  all  the  old  building-  have  -ince  been  removed, 
there  still  stands  in  front  "f  the  present  church  (see  photol 
the  two  linden  trees  "Inch  I'athet  Gillen  planted  there  him- 
self, lb-  brought  these  trees  from  Germany  65  years  ago. 

The  present  brick  church  which  towers  over  the  corn 
field-  id  Lively  Grove  wa-  built  in  1887  under  the  pastor- 
ship of  Rev.  Longinus  Quitter.  At  thi-  time  the   Vlton  Dio- 

Continuril 


47 


cese  was  divided  into  the  Diocese  of  Springfield  and  the 
Diocese  of  Belleville.  Lively  Grove  continued  its  history  in 
the  latter.  Bishop  John  Janssen  was  the  first  Bishop  of  this 
diocese  (incidently,  not  the  same  Father  Jansen  who  was 
pastor  at  St.  Libory  and  who  recommended  that  Lively 
Grove  have  its  own  parish). 

St.  Anthony's  is  now  under  the  spiritual  leadership  of 
Bishop  Albert  R.  Zuroweste  of  Belleville,  with  Rev.  Paul  W. 
Stauder  its  pastor  since  1963. 

During  its  century  of  existence,  Lively  Grove  parish 
has  been  authorized  by  the  following  Popes  in  Rome:  Pope 
Pius  IX,  who  authorized  the  parish  to  begin  in  1868;  Pope 
Leo  XIII,  Pope  St.  Pius  X,  Pope  Benedict  XV,  Pope  Pius 
XI,  Pope  Pius  XII,  Pope  John  XXIII  and  the  present  Holy 
Father,  Pope  Paul. 

The  following  priests  have  served  Lively  Grove:  Rev. 
Henry  Jansen.  pastor  of  St.  Libory,  with  his  assistant,  Rev. 
Tuerk;  Rev.  Rosmueller,  Rev.  A.  Busch  (buried  in  the  ad- 
jacent cemetery  I ;  Rev.  Carl  Roesner;  Rev.  Longinus  Quit- 
ter (who  built  the  present  church  and  also  is  buried  in  the 


cemetery;  Rev.  B.  Reusch,  Rev.  Wendelin  Gillen  (who  built 
the  present  rectory ) ;  Rev.  Clemens  Bellmann,  Rev.  Henry 
Alberg,  Rev.  John  Jantzen,  Rev.  Bernard  Kunkel,  Rev.  John 
Jantzen,  Rev.  Edwin  Arentsen,  Rev.  Melvin  Haas,  and  Rev. 
Paul  W.  Stauder,  who  built  the  new  hall  in  1965. 

Many  of  the  pioneers  of  this  parish  have  gone  to  their 
eternal  reward.  Their  remains  lie  buried  in  the  cemetery 
beside  the  church.  Many  of  these  people  with  their  own 
hands  helped  build  the  present  church.  I'm  sure  that  when 
the  first  member  of  this  small  parish  was  buried  in  the 
cemetery,  Sophie  Maxander  by  name,  whose  tombstone 
stands  as  evidence  of  her  death  in  1870,  little  did  the  people 
of  this  community  think  that  this  parish  would  survive  one 
hundred  years.  May  all  the  souls  of  the  pioneers  rest  in 
peace,  and  may  the  present  living  witnesses  of  this  church 
and  God's  truth  carry  the  torch  farther  so  that  we  in  our 
generation  can  say  that  we  took  our  turn  in  history  to  bridge 
the  gap  between  our  forefathers  and  our  successors  and  con- 
tinued the  span  of  time  for  great  things  to  come  in  the 
future  for  this  community  of  Lively  Grove. 


Stone  Church 


A  Thumbnail  Sketch 


Today,  Stone  Church  is  a  small,  unincorporated  com- 
munity of  less  than  a  dozen  houses,  centered  about  its 
modern  E.  &  R.  Church.  Once  there  was  a  large  store,  a 
creamery,  a  blacksmith.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Jasper  started 
a  general  merchandise  store  there  in  1877,  moving  into  a 
building  owned  by  the  Zerse  Brothers.  They  conducted  the 
store  for  55  consecutive  years,  surely  a  record  of  note.  Be- 


''^W 


Today,  Stone  Church  community  is  cenferer.1  about  its  modern 
church,    replacing    an   old    sandstone   building  that  burned. 


fore  the  rural  mail  service,  a  post  office  was  also  operated 
in  the  store.  Mr.  William  Fox,  who  operated  the  creamery, 
also  brought  the  mail  from  the  L  &  N  trains  at  Venedy  Sta- 
tion to  the  Jasper  store  for  distribution. 

This  hamlet  in  southwest  Washington  County  was  first 
known  as  Elkhorn  Prairie.  Later  the  name  was  changed  to 
Petersburg,  a  short-lived  appellation  because  a  town  was 
already  claiming  that  name,  farther  upstate.  The  final 
change  gave  the  community  the  name.  Stone  Church.  Its 
first  church  building,  which  was  later  gutted  by  fire,  was 
of  native  stone,  erected  in  1858,  so  the  new  name  was  fitting 
to  say  the  least. 

Despite  its  physical  smallness,  the  Stone  Church  com- 
munity had  a  native  son  who  won  world-wide  prominence, 
the  late  General  Walter  Krueger,  who  commanded  the  Sixth 
Army  in  the  Pacific  during  World  War  II,  and  won  the 
Distinguished  Service  Cross  for  his  enviable  record.  Mrs. 
Fred  Runge  (the  late  Annie  Jasper)  recalled  that  General 
Krueger  came  to  the  Stone  Church  community  as  a  boy, 
with  his  mother,  a  sister  and  a  brother,  from  Germany.  The 
family  lived  there  for  about  eight  years,  and  he  was  con- 
firmed in  the  local  church,  after  which  they  moved  to 
Indiana.  Krueger  and  General  Douglas  MacArthur  were 
bosom  friends  of  more  than  40  years'  standing. 


48 


CROPS  -  PAST  AND  PRESENT 


As  always,  throughout  the  timbered  sections  of  the 
Midwest,  the  first  crop  was  corn,  food  for  man  and  heast. 
Often  it  was  planted  between  stumps  by  hand,  the  source  of 
meal,  hominy,  the  grains  parched,  and  the  green  ear  for 
corn-on-the-cob. 

As  clearings  expanded  and  more  horsepower,  or  ox- 
power,  was  available,  wheat  was  grown  for  a  cash  crop.  But 
first  there  had  to  he  a  market,  often  as  far  distant  as  75 

miles,  reached  by  wagon  trails  only. 

Conditioning  the  land  for  crops  continued.  As  more 
animal  power  and  simple  tools  were  available,  the  pioneers 
in  this  county  also  grew  cotton,  hemp,  and  finally  oats  for 
livestock  feed.  Between  1840  and  the  Civil  War,  horse- 
drawn  tools  were  greatly  developed.  The  first  mowers  or 
reapers  and  sulky  plows  showed  up  and  farming  was  no 
longer  merelv  for  subsistence  but  became  an  industry.  After 
the  Civil  War.  even  bigger  and  better  horse  drawn  imple- 
ments appeared.  More  prairie  was  put  under  cultivation. 
Cotton  disappeared,  oats  became  very  important  for  in- 
creasing horsepower  fuel;  then  rye  and  syrup  sorghum  as 
well  as  cowpeas  first  appeared  on  the  scene. 

From  then  until  about  1930.  the  three  big  crops  in 
Washington  County  were  soft  red  winter  wheat,  oats  and 
corn,  but  livestock  hay  was  important  too.  Cotton  and  hemp 
cntirelv  disappeared,  rye  remained  minor.  The  hay  was 
first  wild  grass,  then  came  timothy,  redtop,  red  clover 
and  cowpeas. 

In  this  period  there  were  two  fruits  grown  quite  ex- 
tensively, apples  and  pears.  Both  fruits  were  dried,  made 
into  cider  and  butter.  The  wheat  varieties  included  Red 
Sea.  Turkey  Red  and  later  Fultz.  In  corn,  the  dent  replaced 
the  flint  and  it  was  often  strawberry.  Reid's  yellow  dent, 
Bloody  butcher.  Boone  county  white.  Oats  was  black,  white 
or  red.  From  1900.  dairying  grew  in  importance  each  year. 
Both  corn  and  sunflowers  were  grown  for  silage,  arid  alfalfa 
first  appeared  as  a  hay  crop.  Dairying  reached  its  peak 
in  the  1930s. 

This  period  also  marked  the  first  big  effort  at  fruit 
growing,  winter  apples,  peaches  and  strawberries,  all  of 
which  grew  in  importance  until  about  1925.  when  a  gradual 
decline  started. 

These  years  also  marked  the  introduction  of  the  soy- 
bean as  a  hay  crop  only.  Liming  the  soil  was  started  by  a 
few  experimenting  farmers,  and  the  first  traitors  appeared. 
Cowpeas  outdistanced  some  of  the  minor  hay  crops.  Ex- 
tensively grown  in  the  count]  were  New  Era,  Whippoorwill 
and  the  Clay  varieties.  Another  crop  that  had  quite  a  vogue 
from  about  1880  to  1900  was  the  castor  bean,  grown 
mostly  for  its  oil. 

The  introduction  of  Missouri  Beardless  barley  led  to  a 
rapid  increase  of  that  crop  in  the  1930s  for  stock  feed. 
Today  very  little  is  grown.  The  coming  of  better  tractors 


and  implements,  and  the  combine  as  well,  soon  got  rid  of 
the  horse  as  a  work  animal,  and  with  it  went  the  oats  crops. 
The  cowpea  declined,  and  although  this  county  developed 
a  special  market  for  seed  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  that  too 
declined  and  by  1945  a  cowpea  field  was  a  rarity.  Timothy 
hay  also  disappeared  with  the  horse,  leaving  red  clover  and 
alfalfa  as  the  hays  for  dairying. 


Harvesting  wheat  in  the  county  fifty  years  ago. 

After  1930.  hybrid  vellow  dent  corn  replaced  all  other 
corn.  Sorgo  became  fairly  important  for  silage,  augmenting 
corn.  Sunflowers  as  a  silage  crop  and  poultry  feed  practical- 
ly disappeared  as  a  farm  crop.  After  the  second  world  war 
dwarf  milo  maize,  a  grain  sorghum  that  can  be  combined, 
became  an  important  crop  for  livestock  feed,  but  is  now  on 
the  declirre.  \1iiiil:  Beans,  grown  quite  extensively  in  several 
townships,  has  also  declined.  (  In  case  you  don't  recognize 
the  name,  this  is  the  type  of  bean  so  important  in  Chinese 
cookery,  the  bean  sprout).  Syrup  sorghum  in  the  county 
practically  disappeared  after  1950.  This  also  is  true  of  oats, 
cowpeas.  hay  soybeans,  timothy  and  rye. 

Sweel  clover  was  introduced  as  a  honey  plant  in 
the  1900s.  In  the  1920s  it  came  into  great  prominence  as 
a  "plow  under"  soil  improvement  crop.  I.espedeza  was 
grown  a  great  deal  for  both  -oil  improvement  and  hay  but 
has  about  passed  from  tin-  scene.  Two  pasture  grasses  have 
achieved  some  use  since  I'M."),  fescue  ami  bromegrass.  As  of 
this  year  i  1967  i  the  three  big  crops  arc  hybrid  yellow  dent 
lorn,  light  colore.!  oil  soybeans  and  soft  winter  wheat.  New 
and  improved  varieties  arc  now  much  more  frequently 
brought  into  general  use  for  some  specific  reason,  and  cer- 
tain varieties  often  pass  from  the  scene  in  a  few  years.  \ll 
other  crops  have  cither  disappeared  entirely,  or  have  become 
verv  minor  in  either  acreage  or  value. 


49 


m 


Zion  E.   and   R.   Church,  built  for  $25,000,   still   re- 
mains one  of  the  outstanding  edifices  in  the  county. 


ADDIEVILLE  NAMED  AFTER  WOMAN 


The  village  of  Addieville,  centrally  located  in  Wash- 
ington County,  on  the  L  &  N  railroad  and  state  route  15, 
was  named  after  a  woman,  Mrs.  Addie  Morrison,  whose  hus- 
band donated  the  land  upon  which  the  town  was  built. 

Addieville  is  a  residential  community,  its  well  kept 
homes  and  good  streets  is  a  mark  of  its  German  heritage. 
Population-wise,  the  village  has  seen  little  fluctuation.  The 
1930  census  showed  283  people;  the  1940,  272;  the  1950, 
the  same;  the  1960,  231. 

Its  local  school,  now  being  expanded,  is  a  consolida- 
tion, comprises  the  former  districts:  Grattendick  46,  Half 
Acre  68;  part  of  Black  Jack  69;  east  part  of  Zetzsche  63; 
east  part  of  Helbig  64,  now  all  incorporated  into  the  parent 
district  47. 

Life  in  the  community  centers  about  its  spacious 
church,  Zion  E.  and  R.  and  its  companion  church  hall, 
used  for  various  parish  activities.  Rev.  Kenneth  Kramer  is 
resident  pastor. 

The  Gaebe  Elevator  has  been  a  landmark  at  Addieville 
since  1883,  founded  by  the  late  Henry  and  John  H.  Gaebe. 
Senior  citizens  still  remember  the  popular  Bouquet  brand 
of  flour  made  here,  widely  sold  up  and  down  the  L  &  N. 
Making  of  flour  was  discontinued  in  1945. 

Ben  H.  Gaebe  is  mayor  of  the  community. 

The  memory  of  the  late  John  Meyer,  Sr.,  Washington 
County's  last  Civil  War  veteran,  still  lingers  in  the  minds 
of  many  Addievillians.  Meyer  was  noted  for  his  auto  driving 
facility,  even  past  the  age  of  90.  Dr.  L.  P.  Schroeder  was  a 


50 


doctor  at  Addieville  for  more  than  forty  years.  Another  well 
remembered  physician,  Dr.  H.  Schmidt,  later  moved  to 
Okawville. 

One  of  the  photos  illustrating  this  article  shows  the 
L  &  N  depot  at  Addieville,  long  a  landmark.  But  by  the  time 
this  book  sees  print,  the  depot  will  get  the  axe,  according  to 
present  plans  of  the  railroad. 


Addieville's    t&N    depot,    shown    here    with   the    silos   of    the 
Gaebe   Elevator  in   the   background,   is  soon   to  get  the  axe. 


A  HOYLETON  MAN'S  BID  FOR  FAME 


The  late  Emil  Mottert  of  Hoyleton,  with  a  violin  he  made 
of  toothpicks,  and  a  saxophone  of  corn  stalks  Both 
instruments   are    now    in   the    Ripley    Museum   in    Florida. 


The  late  Emil  Mottert  of  Hoyleton.  pictured  here, 
won  national  acclaim  in  a  very  unusual  way.  Mr. 
Mottert  ran  a  shoe  repair  shop,  was  a  hobbyist  of 
great  patience  and  skill.  In  his  spare  time,  he  marie 
musical  instruments  out  of  outlandish  material.  For 
instance,  the  violin  pictured  here.  ua~  made  of  tooth- 
picks. Thousands  <>f  ordinary  toothpicks,  all  glued 
into  a  solid.  The  saxophone  was  made  of  cornstalks. 
Mottert  also  made  various  other  instruments  of 
equally  "different"  materials,  a  bass  fiddle  from  a 
hull's  hide,  a  mandolin  from  a  gourd,  and  a  flute 
from  a  pig's  windpipe. 


His  fame  spread  to  Hollywood.  Paramount  News 
sent  a  camera  and  sound  crew  to  Hoyleton,  to  photo- 
graph  Mottert  playing  bis  unusual  instruments.  Later, 
the  newsreel,  in  color,  had  a  "world  premiere"  at  the 
Main  Theatre  at  <  ►kawville. 

latei.  the  u  or  Id-renowned  Robert  Ripley  of 
"Believe  It  01  Not"  Fame,  accepted  Mr.  Mottert's  un- 
usual musical  instruments  for  permanent  exhibition 
in  the  Riple)   Museum  in  Florida. 


»<V^ 


51 


Only  Indian  Atrocity  in  County 


The  Massacre  at  Lively  Spring 


People  travel  far  to  visit  historic  shrines,  monu- 
ments and  memorials,  traverse  a  dozen  states  to  stand 
at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  a  canyon,  or  a  waterfall,  yet 
paradoxically,  only  a  very  few  people  of  Washington 
County  have  seen  the  memorial  that  for  years  has 
marked  the  site  of  the  massacre  of  the  John  Lively 
family  near  Covington. 


Lively  Spring,  much  the  same  today  as  it 
was  back  in  1810  when  it  was  used  by  the 
Lively-Huggins  family  for  their  water  supply. 

There  is  a  reason  for  the  above  statement.  All 
through  the  years,  since  the  monument  was  erected  30 
years  ago,  only  an  indistinct  foot-trail  led  to  the  spot, 
a  condition  the  Washington  County  Historical  Society 
hopes  to  amend  shortly. 

Lively  Spring,  the  site  of  the  massacre,  is  located 
east  of  Covington,  north  of  Crooked  Creek.  Roughly 
the  spot  is  almost  due  east  from  the  Covington  quarry. 

Forget  the  present  for  a  moment  and  let  us  grow 
reminiscent.  Picture  a  hilly  woodland  of  scrub  oak  and 
elm,  ash  and  hickory,  with  a  good-sized  creek  mean- 
dering through  the  valley.  Even  today  it  is  as  isolated 
as  it  was  in  1810,  when  upon  the  slope  facing  the 
spring,  a  new  settler's  mud-chinked  cabin  greeted  the 
morning  sun. 


Historians  differ  on  the  Lively  story  and  much 
must  be  left  to  the  imagination.  But  here  is  the  gist  of 
the  much-told  tale. 

Two  brothers-in-law,  John  Lively  and  David  Hug- 
gins,  residing  in  Randolph  county,  decided  in  1810 
they  would  move  eastward  to  find  better  grazing  for 
their  expanding  herds  of  livestock.  They  were  hardy 
pioneers,  industrious  and  unafraid. 

The  place  decided  upon  was  near  Crooked  Creek, 
about  two  miles  above  the  spot  where  the  creek  emp- 
ties into  the  Kaskaskia  river.  The  country  was  rolling 
timberland,  interspersed  with  grassy  prairies.  A  nearby 
spring  provided  ample  drinking  water.  Here  they  built 
their  log  homes  and  barns,  planted  their  small  fields 
and  began  the  busy  life  of  a  pioneer  homesteader. 

Always  there  was  the  fear  of  an  Indian  uprising, 
but  both  Lively  and  Huggins  were  unafraid,  relying  on 
their  guns  and  dogs.  Nearby  was  an  Indian  trace,  over 
which  roving  bands  traveled  north  and  south,  but  the 

Continued 


The  marker,  erected  in  1937. 


52 


■ 


-<--4^*l. :   jit  *  -  '  .--    '*•'•'  -' 


Gary   Strieker  of   Okawville   looks   at  the 
five   crude   stones   that  mark  the   graves. 


two  pioneers  disregarded  any  signs  of  danger  at  the 
time. 

In  the  spring  <>f  1813  it  became  evident  that 
trouble  with  Indian-  was  inevitable.  For  a  time  they 
were  afforded  protection  by  a  small  company  of  Rang- 
ers, but  after  a  time  this  proved  to  be  inadequate,  and 
both  Lively  and  Huggins  began  to  discuss  plans  to 
move  back  to  Randolph  county. 

Remember,  at  this  time  these  two  families  were 
the  onlv  settlers  within  the  county.  \t  last  Huggins 
decided  to  leave,  but  Lively  said  he  would  stay,  despite 
the  facl  that  the  nearest  settlers  were  at  Shoal  Creek, 
to  the  northeast,  and  Hill's  Station,  to  the  south.  With 
Lively  and  his  wife  was  a  hired  man.  plus  the  four 
children.  two  suns  and  two  daughters. 

After  the  Huggins  family  left.  Lively  lived  un- 
molested at  the  spring.  He  had  a  corral  into  which  he 
nightly  drove  his  livestock.  In  July,  the  stock  began  to 
grow  restless,  and  lively  realized  prowling  Indians 
were  the  cause.  He  decided  t<>  move  out  at  mice  and 
sent  the  hired  man  and  one  son  to  round  up  the  live- 
stock. 

The  hired  man  and  the  boy  had  gone  only  a  short 
distance  when  they  beard  the  sound  of  shots  and  yells 

of  Indians,  from  the  edge  of  the  forest  the)  saw  the 
carnage  taking  place,  the  burning  of  the  buildings,  the 


death  of  the  family.  The  hired  man  and  the  one  Lively 
boy  made  their  escape,  finally  getting  help  from  the 
rangers,  who  returned  to  the  spot,  buried  the  bodies, 
and  pursued  the  Indians  to  a  place  called  Buckingham 
Branch,  where  thej  were  supposedly  killed. 

With  the  Indian  trouble  seemingly  over.  David 
Huggins  and  his  f.imilv  returned  to  the  spring  in  1816, 
and  lived  out  their  days  there.  He  left  a  large  family. 

As  long  as  people  can  remember,  the  site  of  the 
massacre  has  been  known  as  Lively  Spring.  I  lie  cabin 
sites  are  here,  several  marked  graves.  ;m  old  Indian 
wash  pond,  and  the  spring,  still  gushing  forth  dear 
water. 

Historians  differ,  too.  as  to  which  tribe  killed  the 
Lively  family.  The  Illini  were  five  tribes  in  a  federa- 
tion, the  Tamaroa.  the  Michigamies.  K.isk.iskiis.  IVor- 
ias  and  Cahokias.  The  red  men  frequenting  this  sec- 
tion were  also  known  as  the  Meadow  Indians.  The 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  farther  to  the  north,  were  marauding 
redskins,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  war  party  of  this 
nation  dipped  this  far  south  to  test  the  mettle  of  its 
warriors. 

The  tablet  marking  the  site  of  the  massacre  was 
designed  by  the  late  Oren  Brandis  of  Nashville.  Funds 
were  raised  by  public  subscription.  Recently  Nashville 
Boy  Scouts  cleaned  the  site,  an  act  that  is  commend- 
able. 


t'ii.'M 

\\  ffl'Wr#i   '     y\  \    '      til 

mm  L'lfer  t*! 


**'    **i»Ut4 


tu    «±. 


fry    ,>r  ***i?»»-Xr.TTS*,e' 


,< 


fw^s^^y'i^ 


The    old   Indian   wash   pond,    north  of  the   site,   in  use 
by    the    Indians   long    before    the    white    men    come. 


53 


RELIC  OF  ANOTHER  DEFENSE  PROGRAM 


Arthur  Lehde  of  Beaucoup,  writing  in  the  Nashville 
Journal,  at  the  time  that  newspaper  was  so  ably  edited  by 
Joseph  B.  Campbell,  has  this  to  say  about  the  old  Phillips 
blockhouse,  southeast  of  Nashville: 


The  blockhouse  itself,  back  in  1954,  when  it  was  still  in- 
tact. One  of  two  wells  was  under  the  porch.  Notice  both  the 
gun  loopholes  and  the  ventilation  openings  in  the  walls. 

Half-hidden  in  the  high  weeds  surrounding  a  vacant 
farm  house  two  miles  south  and  west  of  Beaucoup,  there 
remains  a  mute  reminder  of  the  defense  program  of  more 
than  a  century  ago  —  a  thick-walled  grayish-tan  stone  block- 
house. Since  late  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, its  37  shoulder-high  loopholes  have  stared  —  their  gaze 
transfixed  in  stone  —  across  the  surrounding  countryside  as 
if  seeking  the  whereabouts  of  some  lurking  red-skinned 
savage.  It  was  this  blockhouse  that,  approximately  120  years 
ago,  made  it  possible  for  the  earliest  white  settlers  to  estab- 
lish their  homes  in  what  was  then  a  hostile  Indian  country. 

At  that  time  the  Indian  menace  here  was  especially 
pronounced  because  Washington  County  was  not  only  the 
home  of  several  Indian  tribes,  hut  was  passed  through  by 
trails  which  Indians  living  to  the  east  and  south  used  on 
their  journeys  to  either  Fort  Kaskaskia  or  Fort  St.  Louis  on 
the  Mississippi  river.  Common  to  both  the  native  and  tran- 
sient Indians  was  the  feeling  that  white  men,  coming  from 
the  East  where  the  Great  Spirit  lifted  the  dawn,  had  come 
to  push  the  Indians  back,  to  cut  off  the  timber  and  plow 
the  prairies,  to  destroy  the  hunting  grounds,  and  to  other- 
wise glut  the  treasures  of  the  earth; 

All  of  these  things  the  red  men  resented  and  bitterly 
opposed.  Often  their  resentment  led  to  such  brutal  and 
bloody  massacres  as  the  Lively  killing  in  1813  in  which  five 
members  of  that  family  residing  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  county,  lost  their  lives.  Temporarily  this  massacre 
halted  the  tide  of  white  immigration  into  Washington  Coun- 
ty, a  tide  that  was  resumed  with  renewed  vigor  in  1817. 


During  the  next  three  years  several  families  made 
Beaucoup  the  nucleus  of  settlement,  but  even  in  this  com- 
munity numerically  the  strongest  in  the  county,  the  pioneers 
were  extremely  Indian  conscious.  Noting  this  apprehensive- 
ness,  Col.  John  Phillips,  who  located  in  1819  just  west  of 
one  of  the  much  used  trails  of  the  day,  built  in  addition  to 
his  home  and  log  barn  a  sturdy  stone  blockhouse  which 
went  a  long  way  toward  convincing  the  red-skinned  warriors 
that  the  white  men  had  come  to  slay,  and  that  if  fight  them 
they  must,  they  were  prepared  to  do  so. 

Fashioned  from  irregular  shaped  blocks  of  the  slabby 
limestone  found  outcropping  in  nearby  streams  and  cement- 
ed with  mortar  made  from  lime  burned  at  a  surface  lime- 
burning  kiln  located  in  the  timber  several  hundred  yards 
from  the  Phillips  home,  the  blockhouse  was  truly  a  remark- 
able piece  of  masonry. 

The  walls  of  the  structure  which  is  about  16  feet  long 
and  15  feet  wide,  are  18  inches  thick  and  are  made  of  three 
vertical  layers  of  limestone.  Passing  through  each  of  the 
side  walls  at  an  angle  of  30  degrees  are  13  shoulder-high 
loopholes;  nine  others  pierce  the  end  wall  at  more  nearly 
a  right  angle.  Another  row  of  holes  18  inches  above  the 
side  loopholes  was  evidently  put  there  for  the  purpose  of 
ventilation  since  the  blockhouse  has  no  windows  and  only 
one  door. 

This  doorway,  still  framed  by  the  original  hand-hewn 
oak  timbers,  was  strategically  placed  only  a  few  feet  from 
the  rear  door  of  the  house.  Moreover,  the  heavy  blockhouse 
door  was  hung  in  such  a  way  that  it  afforded  protection  to 
anyone  drawing  water  from  a  well  only  a  step  outside  the 
doorway.  Thus  insured,  in  the  event  of  a  siege,  an  adequate 

Continued 


if; L 


'  -V  SK 


Today  the  old  blockhouse  is  all  but  gone.  The  one 
corner  of  the  walls  still  standing  is  being  exam- 
ined by  Randy  Jones,  St.  Clair  County  historian. 


54 


i\TM 


The   Phillips  residence,   to  »he   south  of  the  blockhouse   is  en- 
tirely gone  today.  This  photo  was  taken  about  25  years  ago. 

supply  of  water  at  all  times  was  within  reach.  And  since  the 
Phillips  family  used  the  blockhouse  as  a  smokehouse  it 
was  always  amply  provisioned. 

When  fully  garrisoned  with  a  rifleman  at  each  of  its 
37  loopholes,  this  structure,  sturdy  enough  to  resist  the 
elements  for  well  over  a  century,  was  doubtlessly  well  nigh 
impregnable,  especially  when  it  is  remembered  that  anv 
potential  attacker  in  that  day.  red  or  white,  would  have 
been  armed  with  a  bow  and  arrow  or  the  long  muskets 
of  the  frontiersmen. 

There  is  no  record  of  this  blockhouse  ever  having  been 
used  in  a  battle.  a  fait  which  is  inconsequential  because 
it  served  its  purpose  in  giving  the  white  man  .1  sense  of 
security  in  a  frontier  region,  and  it  fully  convinced  the 
Indians  of  the  futility  of  carrying  on  warfare  against 
such  heavy  odds. 


\\  ith  the  passing  of  the  Indian  menace  and  the  coming 
of  more  pioneer  families,  the  importance  of  the  old  block- 
house naturall}  dwindled.  Some  years  after  it  was  no  longer 
needed  a-  a  fort,  is  loophole-  were  plastered  shut  on  the 

inside  with   mortar   and   clay.    I  hereafter    it    was   11-ed   only 

a-  a  smokehouse. 

I  Editor's  Note:  lodav.  as  the  photos  -how.  the  old  block- 
li"ii-r  1-  |ii-t  about  gone,  a  deplorable  fact,  for  here  is  a 
landmark  that  bad  vast  possibilities  at  restoration.  In  (act, 
it  i-  the  only  ruin  within  Washington  County  that  has  a 
direct  relation-hip  to  the  counts'-  earliest  days  when  two 
enemies  were  present,  the  red  man  and  the  land  itself,  i 


j 


The  huge  log  barn  stood  to  the  northeast  of  the  dwelling  and 
blockhouse,  possibly  one  hundred  feet  distant.  Today  it  is  no- 
thing but  a  ruin,  although  some  of  the  hond-adzed  logs  are 
in   a     remarkable     state     of    soundness,     dry,     hard,     unrotted 


The  Washington  County  Tuberculosis  Association 


In  researching  the  very  creditable  work  of  the  Wash- 
ington Countv  Tuberculosis  Association,  an  interesting  -ta- 
tistic  was  revealed:  Washington  County  is  second  highest 
in  the  state  in  percentage  of  residents  pa-t  age  65.  So  it 
would  seem  that  if  you  wish  to  live  long,  live  in  this  county. 

The  Washington  Countv  Tuberculosis  Association  wa- 
organized  on  June  S,  1941  by  citizens  concerned  with 
the  report  that,  based  on  tbc  county's  tuberculosis  death 
rate,  it  probably  had  as  many  a*  25  active  TR  cases  in  need 
of  care. 

The  major  aim  of  the  association  i-  to  interest  the  gen- 
eral public  in  the  solution  of  the  TB  problem  for  it-  own 
protection.  A  Tuberculosis  Ia\  promotion  in  the  county 
was  adopted  November  3,   1942. 

The  subsequent  program  of  the  association  include-: 
TB   education    in   schools,   grades  8-12    inclusive;    general 


education  on  TB;  tuberculin  testing  with  emphasis  on 
adult-:  maintaining  a  reactor  register.  Incidently  the  county 
was  one  of  the  first  to  sel  up  and  maintain  this  service, 

and  has  been  given  state  honor-  repeatedly. 

The  Washington  County  Tuberculosis  Sanatorium  Board 

ini/ed  on  Decembei  9,  1942.  It  consists  of  three 

members,  appointed  by  the  County  Board  of  Supervisiors. 

Its  responsibility:   to  administer  the  tuberculosis  tax 
to  provide  sanatorium  care  for  tuberculosis  patients:  chest 

\  i  i\  -  foi  reai  toi^  to  tuberculin;  after-care  for   patient-  dis 

charged  from  the  sanatorium;  and  prophylactic  medication 
lor  the  infected  v.  hen  indicated. 

The   editor-    of    this    volume    -alute    the    dedicated    men 
and    women    who    have    made    tin-    health    program    possible 

within  this  county,  maintaining  and  building  it  stronger, 
down  through  the  ye  irs. 


55 


HISTORY    OF    PILOT    KNOB    PRECINCT 


Pilot  Knob  precinct  takes  its  name  from  the  high  hill 
or  knob  which  is  situated  near  its  center.  It  is  well  watered 
and  drained  by  Locust  Creek.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  settled 
portions  of  Washington  County.  The  first  settlement  was  in 
1818,  and  the  first  settler  was  John  Rainey,  who  settled  on 
the  old  Hood  place,  west  of  the  Knob.  In  the  same  year, 
James  Gordon  settled  on  the  Rainey  place.  Rainey  and 
Gordon  were  the  only  settlers  until  1819,  when  a  man 
named  Afflack  settled  at  Three  Mile  Prairie,  but  remained 
but  a  short  time.  Benjamin  Bruten  settled  at  the  same 
prairie  in  1819,  from  which  it  took  its  name,  being  known 
as  Bruten's  Prairie  for  many  years  afterward.  William  Min- 
son  settled  there  at  about  the  same  time. 


This  photo,   taken  in   1939,  shows  Oak  Grove  cemetery,   on  the 
old    Nashville-Pinckneyville   road,   where   the   oil    boom    started. 

In  1832  Robert  Burns  settled  north  of  Locust  Creek 
point;  James  Gordon  near  the  Lane  place,  and  John  Frank- 
lin the  old  James  Adams  place.  In  1828,  Alexander  Hodge, 
Jonathan  King  and  Col.  M.  Hall  settled  near  the  knob,  and 
in  1830  the  McElhanon  family  came  from  Randolph  county 
and  settled  here.  The  Maxwells  came  about  the  same  time. 
Very  few  of  these  old  families  remained  in  the  precinct.  In 
1837  the  Hutchings  came,  and  in  1836  Hugh  Adams  made 
a  permanent  settlement.  The  first  school  house  was  built  in 
1834,  on  section  27.  It  was  the  traditional  log  building  with 
puncheon  floors  and  greased  skins  for  lights.  The  first  school 
was  Horatio  Burns.  The  first  spread  of  the  gospel 
was  made  by  Methodist  circuit  riders  in  1833,  preaching 
held  at  the  home  of  settlers.  The  Baptists  built  the 
first  house  of  worship  in  1852;  it  burned  in  1870  and  was 
rebuilt  in  1872.  known  as  Concord  Baptist  Church.  The 
first  marriage  was  that  of  John  Crane  and  Mary  Gordon 
!.   Wm.   Rainey  was  the  first  storekeeper,   starting 


in   1835,  selling  the  usual  staple  articles,  which   included 
whiskey,  then  regarded  as  a  necessity. 

Robert  Curreck  brought  in  the  first  reaper  in  1854. 
First  horse  mill  to  grind  wheat  and  corn  was  erected  by 
Richard  Cole  in  1835.  Joseph  Bradshaw  was  the  first 
physician. 

In  the  late  1800s,  Pilot  Knob  was  divided  into  four 
sections,  determined  by  geographical  terrain.  Cordes  Prairie 
was  the  northwest  portion  of  the  township:  Oakdale  Prairie 
the  southwest;  the  south  pari  to  the  east  was  known  as  Three 
Mile  Prairie.  The  northeast  portion  of  the  township  was 
known  as  Locust  Creek  Point,  or  merely  "The  Point."  hav- 
ing derived  its  name  from  that  portion  of  land  that  was  cut 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  township  by  Locust  Creek. 

Cordes  was  the  only  town  in  the  township,  deriving  its 
name  from  the  siding  on  the  M.  and  I.  railroad.  Once  this 
community  had  a  store,  a  blacksmith  shop  and  a  church. 
The  siding  was  used  in  the  early  part  of  the  century  to  bring 
limestone,  feeds  and  other  commodities  to  the  trading  area. 

The  early  settlers  were  of  German.  Polish  and  Irish 
descent,  all  conservative,  and  very  religious.  They  cleared 
their  land  and  were  among  the  first  to  make  extensive  use 
of  limestone  as  a  soil  builder.  Today  it  ranks  as  one  of  the 
three  highest  in  the  county  in  dairying. 

Pilot  Knob  presently  is  in  two  grade  school  districts, 
the  west  half  in  Oakdale  District  1,  and  the  east  half  in 
Nashville  Consolidated  49.  All  of  the  township  is  in  Com- 
munity High  School  District  99,  and  the  Kaskaskia  Junior 
College  area. 

The  township,  located  within  one-half  mile  of  the  Wash- 
ington County  Conservation  and  Recreational  lake  district, 
is  serviced  by  Illinois  Power  Company  and  REA  Tri-County 
Electric  Cooperative  for  electricity:  and  Illinois  Bell  and 
Egyptian  Telephone  Cooperative  for  telephones.  The  oil 
revenues  in  the  township  has  contributed  substantially  to  the 
economy  during  the  past  25  years. 

Three  years  ago,  AT&T  erected  a  large  communication 
tower  alongside  the  Oakdale  blacktop  (see  article  else- 
where), which  contributes  to  the  economy  with  an  assessed 
value  of  over  $400,000.  The  Oscar  Decker  and  Son  orchard, 
only  one  in  the  township,  has  been  in  operation  since  1890, 
with  over  1500  apple  and  peach  trees. 

The  township  is  partially  in  the  Park  District  and  the 
Rural  Fire  District;  and  all  in  the  Washington  County 
Hospital  District.  Its  population  in  I960  was  364,  with 
210  registered  voters. 

An  old  landmark  remembered  by  pioneers  was  the 
Lueker  blacksmith  shop  on  the  old  Pinckneyville-Nashville 
road,  about  a  mile  north  of  the  Perry  County  line.  The  shop 
was  started  by  Mr.  Fred  Lueker,  Sr.  in  1887  and  served  the 
area  until  1924.  The  first  post  office  was  also  at  this  point. 

Continued 


56 


Oldest  farm  home  in  the  township  i-  the  residence  of 
Mr.  ami  Mrs.  Fred  Buhrman.  The  160-acre  trad  of  land  on 
which  the  home  stands  u.i-  claimed  from  the  government 
mi  April  24,  L820  by  Hugh  Adams,  with  more  acreage  ac- 
quired Liter.  The  house  was  buill  about  L850  with  an  inter- 
loi  king  sandstone  foundation.  The  two-story  brick  house  has 
outside  walls  varying  in  thickness  from  I-'  to  Id  inches. 
Bricks  at  the  time  were  hauled  from  St.  Louis  by  horse  and 
wagon.  Its  location  is  <m  the  old  Nashville-Pinckneyville 
road,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  Oak  Grove  cemetery. 

Later  this  land  was  purchased  l>\  the  late  l>.  B.  Hol- 
ston's  father  and  i-  now  owned  by  his  grandchildren,  the 
Holston-W  ati-  heir-.  In  the  fall  of  1885,  Fred  and  Wilhel. 
mina  Buhrman  and  their  eight  children  moved  from  North 
Prairie  to  this  farm.  They  were  the  grandparents  of  Fred 
Buhrman  who  now  resides  here.  Three  generations  of  the 
Buhrman  and  rlolston  family  have  been  tenants  and  Kind 
lords  here  for  more  than  .'in  years.  Fred  and  Lottie  Buhrman 
are  the  third  generation  living  here,  since  their  marriage 
32  years  ago. 

The  Churches:  St.  John'-  L\  angelical  Church  of  Conies 
Prairie  was  founded  in  the  early  L890s  and  dissolved  in  the 
mid-thirties.  Later  the  church  was  sold  and  St.  John'-  Ceme- 
tery Association  formed,  including  members  of  St.  Luke's 
Evangelical  Church  of  Nashville  Prairie,  which  has  pre- 
viously dissolved.  Aftei  dissolution,  the  Cordes  membership 
joined  St.  Paul'-  at  Nashville,  St.  John'-  at  Plum  Hill  or 
United  Presbyterian  al  Oakdale. 

Concord  Baptist:  \t  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  war. 
eliminating  threat  of  Indian  trouble,  pioneers  came  into 
southern  Illinois.  Sm.  rlutchings  was  one  of  the  early  pio- 
neers in  Perry  county  and  an  elder  son,  John  R.  rlutchings 
later  moved  to  a  community  then  called  pound  Prairie,  mar 

the  northern  border  of  the  county.  \  brother-in-law,  Thomas 
H.  B.  Jones,  settled  at  Three  Mile  al  about  the  same  time, 
rhese  two  men.  feeling  the  need  of  Baptist  teaching  in  the 

fall   of    1841,   called    Peter    Hauler,    then    residing    some    18 

miles  south  of  this  community,  to  hold  a  revival.  Early  rec- 
ords show  that  then-  were  -i\  charter  members  of  the  newly- 
organized  Concord  Church:  John  H.  rlutchings  and  wife. 
Thomas  11.  R.  Jone-  and  wife  and  I.  Stilley  and  hi-  sister- 
in-law.  John  II.  rlutchings  vsa-  the  first  pa-tor.  Eli  rlutchings 
gave  land  for  the  cemetery  and  \\ .  \\ .  Hutching-  donated 
the  church  site  plot.  The  initial  church  was  a  small  log 
building  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  replaced  with  a 

frame  structure.    \   third,  -till   larger  church   wa-  later    hnilt. 

served  until  1924. 

Reminiscing  about  the  early  days  of  the  church,  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  families  did  not  -it  together  as 
they  do  today.  Men  entered  at  one  door,  women  at  another; 
they  sal  on  opposite  sidi  -  of  the  room.  Stoves  were  two  box 
stoves  that  burned  wood.  I  he  singing  was  different  also. 
The  preacher  would  read  one  line,  then  the  people  would 

sing  it.  I  Stialh   there  were  more  o\  team-  and  wagons  in  the 

church  yard  thin  cars  today.  Sti  iw  w.i-  pul  in  the  wagon 
hed-  to  keep  the  people  warm,  ["hey  came  from  mile-  a  round 
to  attend  services;  those  who  did  not  have  rigs,  walked, 
often   carrying   their   good   -hoe-,   which   were   not   put   on 


until  they  reached  the  church.  By  the  turn  of  the  century, 
newcomers  to  the  area  were  non-Baptist,  and  -lowly  the 
church  lost  it-  membership.  In  1924  it  moved  to  a  new 
location  at  Rice. 

(  >ak  ( .ro\,-  l'ie-|i\teiian:  Mernlier s  of  this  organization 
were  taken  entirely  from  the  roll  of  the  Nashville  Presby- 
terian Church,  mainly  the  families  of  Hugh  Adams,  J.  nun- 
can.  I.  Wilson,  Mrs.  Anderson,  John  Boyle  and  George 
Hendi  rson,  a  tol  il  of  25.  Preaching  by  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter- had  been  kept  up  at  the  residence  of  Hugh  Adams  for 
over  30  years.  \  church  building  was  erected,  dedicated  m 

the  fall  of  1872,  wa-  discontinued  in  1911,  the  plat  deeded 
to  the  Oak  Grove  Cemetery  Association,  for  some  time  the 
old  huilding  served   for  funerals  and  special   meeting-,  then 

was  dismantled  in  the  summer  of  1925. 

Rural  Schools:  There  were  live  rural  districts  in  Pilot 

Knoli  township,  Luney  district  57.  where  the  land  wa-  ac- 
quired from  Robert  and  Margaret  l.une\  in  1859.  The  first 
huilding  here  hurried.  In  1948  the  district  was  consolidated 
with  Oakdale. 

Kerr  district  56,  where  the  land  was  acquired  from 
[verson  Jones  in  1856.  This  school  was  known  as  the  Central 
School  until  the  turn  of  the  century  when  the  name  was 
changed  to  Kerr.  It.  too,  consolidated  in   1948. 

Adams  district  55.  where  the  land  was  acquired  from 
John  C.  Llwcll  in   L870.  The  fir-t  school  was  a  log  huilding 


'-» 


This  huge  fwo-story  brick  house,  occupied  by  Fred  and  Lottie 
Buhrman,  is  conceded  to  be  the  oldest  dwelling  in  Pilot  Knob  town- 
ship.   Its   bricks  were  hauled   from  St.   Louis   by   horse  and  wagon. 

dubbed      I  Og  I  ollege."    \  second  huilding  was  luiilt  in  later 

years  District  is  now  consolidated  w  ith  Nashville. The  build- 
now  owned  by  the  township,  serves  as  a  town  hall. 

Dolly    Warden    district    fid.   located    on    the    Pilot    Knoh- 

Bolo  township  Line;  land  was  acquired  from  Amos  and 
Rebecca  1  laxbeard  in  1885.  Now  annexed  to  Nashville. 

Continued 


57 


Slade  district  59  was  the  first  school  in  the  township, 
a  subscription  school.  The  log  building  was  named  after 
Jack  Slade.  who  owned  the  land  before  it  was  later  acquired 
from  David  H.  and  Mary  Boyle  in  1886.  Slade  was  the  last 
school  to  annex  to  Nashville  in  1950. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  before  the  free  school 
system,  the  only  method  of  learning  was  the  subscription 
school.  If  the  parent  couldn't  afford  to  pay,  there  was  no 
school  for  his  children.  At  that  time  most  of  the  land  in  the 
township  was  worth  about  $4  per  acre.  A  good  teacher 
earned  possibly  $30  a  month.  Most  of  them  were  limited 
in  knowledge  as  well.  The  subscription  school  usually  was  a 
log  building,  about  20x24  feet.  Seats  were  split  logs.  Stake- 
and-rider  fences  were  used  almost  exclusively  to  enclose 
farm  land.  The  Bible  was  usually  used  as  a  text  book  in 
many  of  these  early  schools. 

Township  Government:  First  records  of  Pilot  Knob 
township  government  date  back  to  1883.  when  Win.  Miller 


was  the  first  supervisor  and  Thomas  Kerr  the  first  town 
clerk.  Money  was  very  short,  and  the  township  roads  were 
allotted  as  little  as  $200  yearly  for  their  upkeep.  Then  when 
the  oil  boom  hit  Pilot  Knob  county,  it  enabled  the  road 
commissioners  to  buy  a  caterpiller  motor  grader  out  of 
tax  funds,  and  today  the  township  has  some  of  the  finest 
roads  in  the  county. 

Oil  Boom:  The  year  of  1939  was  the  year  of  the  big 
oil  strike,  when  the  famous  "Cemetery  Field,"  south  of 
Nashville  was  stretching  south  for  miles,  with  new  wells 
going  down  at  the  rate  of  30  to  40  monthly.  Such  names  as 
Blankenship,  Cochrane  and  Hubbard  were  suddenly  house- 
hold words.  The  scene  of  Oak  Grove  cemetery,  after  the 
strike,  was  a  country  road  with  cars  parked  bumper  to 
bumper  for  miles  as  thousands  of  spectators  crowded  into  the 
area  to  see  the  oil  strikes.  Today,  28  years  later,  the  field  is 
still  on  the  pump,  although  tapering  off  to  a  marked  degree. 


The  Illinois  Agricultural  College  at  Irvington 


In  the  present  tumult  about  Federal  aid  to  education, 
it  may  surprise  some  to  learn  that  Federal  aid  to  education 
I  with  some  sti  ings  attached  )  began  well  over  150  years  ago. 
In  1816.  the  government  with  benevolent  paternalism  do- 
nated an  entire  township  to  the  Territory  of  Illinois,  to  be 
used  onlv  for  establishment  of  colleges  or  seminaries,  and  on 
entering  statehood  another  township  was  presented  in  like 
manner. 


JW 


Modern,   fast-growing   Irvington   today. 

Our  early  politicians,  taking  rather  a  dim  view  of  edu- 
cation  in  general,  perhaps  because  of  the  pro-slavery  lean- 
ings of  many  of  them,  immediately  proceeded  to  sell  these 


townships  at  the  sacrifice  price  of  $1.25  per  acre  to  get 
some  ready  cash  easy  to  their  hands.  They  placed  the  nearly 
$60,000  thus  acquired  in  a  general  education  fund,  and 
then  proceeded  to  borrow  from  it  for  general  state  use  at 
a  very  low  interest  rate. 

It  may  also  be  a  little  surprising  that  people  with  some 
interest  in  general  education  got  organized  and  proceeded 
to  do  some  very  effective  lobbying  by  1830.  Leaders  in 
this  activity  were  not  only  the  rather  few  teachers  and 
professors  in  the  state  but  a  number  of  prominent  leaders 
of  several  churches,  as  well  as  one  politician  of  note.  Judge 
Sidney  Breese.  and  later  on.  the  Prairie  Farmer,  as  well  as 
an  organization  called  the  Industrial  League  of  Illinois. 

Beginning  in  1833,  these  groups  staged  a  yearly  edu- 
cational convention  in  the  state  capitol  at  Vandalia,  and 
apparently  made  it  hot  for  the  legislators.  In  1854  they 
won  their  first  victory,  the  creation  of  the  office  of  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction.  Then  in  1855  they  won  pas- 
sage of  the  basic  bill  which  created  public  schools  in  Illinois. 
They  had  other  goals  as  well,  a  state  agricultural  school,  a 
state  normal  school  for  training  teachers. 

In  1861  they  attained  the  agricultural  school  when  the 
legislature  created  the  Illinois  Agricultural  College.  Nine 
men  were  named  trustees  of  a  corporation  chartered  for  the 
purpose  of  instruction  in  science  and  agriculture,  practical 
and  scientific,  as  well  as  the  mechanical  arts.  The  capital 
stock  was  fixed  at  $50,000  in  shares  of  $100  each.  The 
legislature  also  discovered  that  1 \  2  sections  of  the  long-ago 
federal  college  gift-land  remained  unsold  in  Iroquois  Coun- 
tv,  and  it  was  turned  over  to  the  corporation.  They  also 
provided  for  the  corporation  to  make  a  full  biennial  report 
to  the  legislature  when  in  session:  financial  position,  pro- 
gress, number  of  pupils  and  the  residence  of  each. 

Continued 


58 


It  might  be  construed  that  tlii-  was  quite  a  project  to 
undertake  in  the  firsl  yeai  oi  the  (  i\il  War,  but  the  trustees 
never  wavered  in  their  ta-k-.  even  though  then-  were 
irritating  delays. 

It  seems  one  of  the  leading  spirits  on  the  board  was 
Mr.  Thomas  Quick  of  Irvington,  who  very  quick!)  con\  inced 
his  fellow  trustees  tint  li i~  home  town  of  irvington  was  jusl 
the  place  for  the  college,  rathei  a  surprising  thing  consider- 
ing there  were  representatives  from  Mi.  Vernon,  Centralia 
and  other  enterprising  towns,  with  Irvington  a  little  known 
farming  village  of  some  300  people. 

The  gift  land  was  sold  foi  (58,000,  and  a  considerable 
sale  of  stock  was  made.  Ml  money  was  deposited  in  the 
hank  of  Mr.  \.  1>.  llav  at  Centralia,  uho  was  treasure!  of 
the  trustees.  \  ">|in  ai  re  farm  was  purchased  al  the  edge  of 
Irvington,  the  idea  being  to  provide  jobs  for  worthy  and 
need]  students.  It  took  time  to  erecl  suitable  buildings  and 
secure  a  faculty,  but  fi\e  years  later,  on  September  10,  1866, 
the  school  opened  with  Rev.  I.  S.  Mali. in  as  president  One 

of  the  faculty  of  six  was  Mr.    11 a<  Quick  of  Irvington, 

the  guiding  genius  of  the  corporation  who  was  to  head  the 
law  department  when,  and  if.  it  was  organized. 

\  boarding  ball  and  dormitory  had  been  erected  bul 
there  was  an  overflow  of  students,  numbering  over  three 
hundred,  which  taxed  the  capacity  of  Irvington  to  house. 
Suddenly  then'  was  a  building  boom  to  accommodate  par- 
ents who  moved  to  Irvington  to  be  with  their  children 
while  school  ua-  in  session. 

\t  the  opening  of  the  second  year,  a  new  president, 
Rev.  D.  P.  French,  took  charge.  He  was  succeeded  in  1  <". T  1 
by  Rev.  \.  (".  Hillman  who  served  until  1874.  \t  that  time 
Rev.  P.  W.  Philips  took  over  and  remained  until  the  un- 
timely demise  of  the  institution  in  1<">77. 

The  trustees  for  some  unknown  reason  never  made  the 
required  biennial  report  to  the  legislature  as  required  by 
the  charter.   Neither  did  the  charter  require  the  bonding 

of  the  treasurer.  \ml  now  M>.  Hay's  hank  failed  and  the 
nearlv  $60,000  on  deposit  then-  was  lost  not  one  cent 
being  recovered. 

One  assumes  the  impression  that  the  corporation  pre- 
sumed it  could  make  ,i  lot  of  money  and  continue  practically 
independent  of  the  state,  snubbing  the  legislature.  Bul  now 
the  onlv  source  of  income  was  tuition  and  sale  of  farm  pro- 
duce, which  wa-  nevei  enough  to  pay  the  bills.  Vnd  now. 
instead  of  a  benevolent  legislature  ready  to  fool  these  hills. 
that  body  began  to  \  iew  the  corporation  as  a  very  neglectful 
and  negligent  group  who  had  not  fulfilled  their  obligations 
as  officers  in  what  was  at  least  a  quasi-state  institution. 

The  upshot  of  it  all  was  the  enacting  of  a  law  by  the 
legislature  which  stated  thai  if  the  treasure!  of  said  board  of 

trustees  did  nol  make  a  full  and  complete  report  in  three 
months  to  the  state  auditor,  to  account  for  all  state  gifts, 
other  moneys  and  chattels,  then  the  attorney  general  of 
the  state  should  take  steps  to  secure  whal  he  could  of 
the  remaining  assets. 

To  add  insult  to  injury,  the  snubbed  legislature  pro- 
vided that  any  such  fund-  secured  were  to  be  presented  to 
a  new  southern  Illinois  Normal  University  to  be  presently 


T1h>  Catholic  Church 
in  Washington  County 

Although  a  Catholic  edifice  was  nol  the  lirsl  religious 
building  to  be  built  in  Washington  County,  Catholicism  it- 
self was  administered  as  a  religion  l>\  the  Jesuits  in  the 
Illinois  Country  long  before  any  othei  group  started  a  Pro 
testant  Church.  Evidently  these  same  French  voyageurs 
used  the  Kaskaskia  Rivet  on  the  north  borderline  of  the 
county  as  theii  "highway"  long  before  the  Firsl  white  family 
permanently  settled  in  the  ana  thai  later  became  this  county. 

Today  there  are  Catholic  (  hurches  al  Nashville,  Okaw 
ville,  DuBois,  Posen.  Radom  and  Lively  Grove  Hie  aged 
Frame  church  building  al  Posen  has  recently  been  razed  to 
make  way  Foi  a  new  bi  ick  structure. 

St.  Barbara's  lOkawville):  The  early  •  atholii  settlers, 
mostly  immigrants  From  Germany  and  Ireland,  arrived  aboul 
l,".(iii.  The  nearest  Mass  al  thai  time  was  al  St  I  ibory,  In 
tin'  group  were  such  family  name-  as  Schlich,  [Yost,  licit/. 
I  Lilian-.  McLaughlin,  Rossel,  Hughes,  Koch,  Wier,  Voegele, 
Stuebe,  Schott,  Helfich,  Sommer,  Neunlisl  and  several 
others.  The  settlement  in  1867  wa-  attended  L\  II.  lanssen 
of  st.  Libory,  w In ■  celebrated  Mass  in  the  home  of  John 
licit/,  a  practice  thai  was  continued  until  a  church  was  built. 

The  first  resident  pa-tor  at  Okawville  was  Ferdinand 
Mumborn,  who  move. I  here  from  Mi.  Vernon  on  May  30, 

1904.  He  u.i-  succeeded  by   Henry    \lthoff  on  Octobei  _'<'. 

1905.  The  fii-t  Catholic  Church,  a  brick  structure  thai  seat- 
ed  125,  was  erected  in  1868  al  a  cosl  of  $800.  It  was  re- 
modeled later  al  .i  cosl  of  $700.  \  new  bell  was  a  ;jift  of 
('.  Eschmann.  In  1907  the  church  was  reroofed  and  Frescoed. 

St.  Barbara's  new  Catholic  Church  fthe  current  build- 
ing) was  dedicated  on  October  18,  1921,  when  the  Rl  Rei 
Henry  Vlthoff.  Bishop  of  the  Belleville  Diocese,  and  a  Form- 
er pastoi  of  this  parish,  conducted  the  services.  It  was  quite 
an  undertaking  For  a  congregation  of  only  18  families  to  erect 
a  church  i  osting  (20,000,  all  of  which  is  paid  or  pledged. 

established.  In  short,  the  treasurei  didn't,  and  the  attorney 
general  did,  and  the  Vpril  HIT.",  term  of  circuit  court  of 
Washington  County  vested  the  title  to  the  land  and  build- 
the  state.  Vccordingly  the  state  sold  the  farm.  Vfter 
claim-  against  the  school  were  liquified,  the  nel  proceeds 

-  1.000,  which  was  put  in  the  endowment  fund  to  the 
new  university  al  <  larbondale. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Clark,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  occupied 
the  buildings  foi  a  shorl  time  as  an  academy,  bul  it  too 
failed.  The  Baptist  Church  later  purchased  it,  to  become 
the  Huddleston  Orphan's  Home,  until  thai  institution  was 
moved  to  <  enti  I    b     the  buildings  were  razed. 

Possibly  the  mosl  noted  person  connected  with  the  old 
school  was  Di  sen  French  who  began  hi 

then    and  went  on  to  long  tenure  at  SI1   .  where  he  pil 

in   several   scientific   fields,  achieving   international   fame. 
While   al    Irvington    he   began   to   systematically    botanize 
this  county,  some  of  hi-  original  specimens  still  being  in 
-  e  al  •  larbondale. 


59 


GEORGETOWN  VERSUS  NASHVILLE 


When  Clinton  County  was  separated  from  Washington 
in  1827,  it  was  decided  to  move  the  county  seat  nearer  the 
center  of  the  newly-mapped  county.  The  commissioners 
chose  a  spot  about  four  miles  west  of  Nashville,  to  he  called 
Georgetown.  But  all  the  new  "town"  ever  had  was  a  flag- 
pole, two  wells  and  some  platted  lots.  The  county  seat 
continued  at  Covington. 

By  this  time  the  county  was  fast  being  settled  and  this 
inauspicious  effort  to  create  a  new  town  created  a  lot  of 
dissatisfaction.  It  seems  that  the  landowners  at  Georgetown 
expected  to  make  a  killing,  but  only  produced  a  fizzle.  There 
also  arose  a  heated  rivalry  between  the  two  largest  settle- 
ments. Beaucoup  and  Elkhorn.  and  politicians  had  to  tread 
warily  on  the  county  seat  issue.  Here  the  enterprising  settlers 
of  the  central  section  proposed  they  lay  out  a  town  and 
make  it  the  county  seat.  The  first  to  settle  were  Tennes- 
seeans  and  they  proposed  the  name.  New^  Nashville.  Their 
problem  was:  how  to  raise  enough  money  to  buy  the  govern- 
ment owned  land.  The  stupendous  sum  needed  was  $100., 
almost  as  much  as  was  collected  in  taxes  in  the  county's 
first  year  of  existence. 


J 


This  is  downtown  Nashville,  offer  the  disastrous 
fire    of    1912.    (Taken    from    an    old    postcard) 


When  a  money-raising  delegation  journeyed  south 
three  miles  to  the  cabin  of  David  Pulliam.  who  was  reported 
as  a  man  with  cash  on  hand,  perhaps  the  men  got  too 
insistent  in  their  entreaty  for  financial  help.  For  at  last 
Pulliam  threw  his  old  hat  on  the  ground,  exclaiming:  "I 
wouldn't  give  my  old  hat  for  all  Nashville  will  ever  be!" 

Pulliam  didn't  help,  but  Robert  Middleton  and  \^  m.  G. 
Brown  of  St.  Clair  county  did.  They  journeyed  to  Kaskaskia. 
purchased  the  ground  from  the  government,  and  had  a  sur- 
veyor. A.  W.  Casad  lay  out  the  town.  The  date  was  June  8, 
1830.  Twenty  acres  was  donated  for  county  use.  and  a  free 
lot  was  offered  to  the  first  man  who  would  build  a  home. 
Sam  Anderson  hauled  in  an  old  log  cabin  from  the  woods, 
but  the  judges  ruled  him  out  and  gave  the  prize  to  the  Rev. 
Orceni:h  Fisher  who  in  the  meantime  threw  up  a  two-story 
dwelling.  Sometime  later  he  opened  the  first  store,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  William  Motor  Sales  building. 


The  county  commissioners  then  moved  the  county  seat 
from  Covington  to  Nashville,  and  contracted  with  Thomas 
Moore  to  build  a  courthouse,  which  lasted  ten  years.  A  little 
later.  N.  Mitchell  began  another  store  which  he  soon  sold 
to  John  Wood.  Later.  Wood  with  fifty  other  men  from  the 
county,  were  mustered  in  to  help  fight  the  Black  Hawk 
War.  He  returned  as  Major  Woods. 

The  Methodists  started  their  church  in  1832.  The  vear 
before,  the  town's  first  physician  arrived.  Dr.  Maxwell  Pep- 
per, who  also  served  in  the  Black  Hawk  War  as  company 
surgeon.  Joseph  Dennis  started  the  first  hotel  on  two  lots 
for  which  he  paid  $15.  In  1833  Zenas  Vernor  opened  the 
first  blacksmith  shop,  and  David  Ramsev  the  first  tannerv. 
The  next  year,  Vi  ood  and  Mitchell  also  opened  a  wool  card- 
ing mill,  and  Stephen  Oaston  began  operating  his  cotton 
gin.  A  little  later.  Murphy  and  \\  atts  opened  their  grist  mill 
on  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Kaskaskia  and  Chester  streets. 

The  first  child,  a  son.  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David 
Underwood  in  1932.  The  first  school  teacher  was  Rev. 
Horatio  Burns,  who  also  had  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  bridegroom  in  the  precinct,  his  bride  being  Mrs.  Martha 
Morgan.  But  the  first  marriage  in  Nashville  was  that  of  John 
Woods'  daughter.  Susan,  and  Mr.  Champness  Ball.  The  first 
atlornev  was  Ephriam  Kilpatrick. 

In  1840,  Malachi  Jenkins  began  a  larger  hotel.  The 
same  year.  Jacob  Runk  invented  the  sulky  plow  and  began 
his  plow  factory.  But  he  wasn't  apparently  alone  in  the 
invention,  and  he  lost  a  lot  of  money  in  patent  fights.  His 
plow  was  awarded  first  premium  at  the  state  fair  in  Decatur 
in  1063.  He  also  made  the  first  steel  mouldboard  prairie 
breaker  plow,  presumably  for  a  customer.  Mr.  Forman. 

In  1848.  a  large  contingent  of  men  from  the  county 
served  in  the  Mexican  War.  taking  part  in  some  of  the 
longest  campaigns. 

In  1851.  with  Amos  Watts  as  financial  backer,  the  first 
newspaper  appeared,  with  a  succession  of  editors.  It  had  a 
meteoric  career,  first  as  the  Monitor,  the  Democrat,  the 
Washington  County  Herald,  the  Jacksonian.  finally  expiring 
in  1866  as  the  Constitution.  One  reason  was  that  the  victor- 
ious Republicans  in  1862  began  the  Nashville  Journal,  with 
Sheriff  James  Garvin  as  owner.  Later  the  first  German  paper 
appeared,  the  Nashville  Zeitung.  followed  shortly  by  the 
Volksblatt,  which  survived  until  1920.  There  was  also  for 
some  years  a  German  public  school.  John  Huegely  started 
his  mill  in  1853. 

The  second  courthouse  was  built  in  1810.  the  third  in 
1855.  This  being  in  the  days  of  open  range  law.  one  of  the 
duties  of  the  sheriff  was  to  impound  stray  livestock  and  ad- 
vertise them  for  sale.  The  pound  was  between  the  courthouse 
and  East  Court  street.  This  came  to  an  end  in  18.70.  In  1882 
the  courthouse  burned  to  the  ground  and  was  replaced  in 
1883  by  the  present  building.  On  a  minor  note,  the  first 

Continued 


60 


city  dump  was  along  the  creek,  easl  oi  the  700  block  of 
South  Kaskaskia. 

\.  D.  Haj  and  sons  opened  the  first  bank  in  L869.  The 
first  Masonic  Lodge  was  organized  in  1847.  Ii\  1871  Nash- 
ville  had  a  large  German  population  which  supported  .1 
thriving  Turner  Society  and  had  theii  own  hall.  In  1883 
they  celebrated  the  bicentennial  of  the  arrival  of  the  ship, 
S.  S.  Concord  al  Philadelphia,  which  in  1683  brought  the 
first  German  emmigrants  to  Vmerica. 

I.  Henr)  Duekei  opened  his  implement  and  wagon 
shop  in  1867,  followed  by  the  establishment  of  the  Hassinger 
Carriage  Works  in  ll'.TO.  In  |;;77.  Petei  Peters  opened  the 
Nashville  Foundry  and  Machine  Shop,  and  several  main 
street  buildings  -till  have  iron  posts  marked  "Nashville 
Foundry."  Ihi-  enterprise  stood  .it  the  northeast  cornel 
of  \\.  Maple  ind  Grand. 

rhe  Wagenhals  Furniture  Factory,  steam  powered,  be- 
gan in  1870,  located  south  of  Chestei  street,  between  Mill 
and  Kaskaskia.  Brick  was  made  locally  in  al  least  five  brick- 
yards, the  last  and  largest  of  which  survived  until  in  the 
L920s,  located  south  of  the  1.  S  \  tracks, easl  of  the  elevator. 
It  was  called  the  Nashville  Pressed  Brick  Co.  Oscar  Brand- 
1 1< >t ~- 1  and  II.  1  .  Brink  are  the  only  persons  -till  living 
who  worked  there. 

\r.ir  the  turn  of  the  centry,  Nashville  had  two  hip 
Hour  milk,  tin-  Huegely  and  the  Camp  Spring,  which  made 
~nfi  wheat  flcinr  and  exported  it  on  a  large  scale  to  the 
southern  states  and  even  I  entral  Vmerica.  This  trade  ended 
during  the  depression  years  of  the  1930s.  The  old  Huegely 
mill  burned  in  1935,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Huegely 
elevatoi  and  the  other  by  the  Nashville  Milling  Co. 

Uso  at  the  turn  of  the  century  a  group  "I  Nashvillians 
organized  and  operated  an  electric  power  plant  j n~t  wesl  of 

the  Greemt I  cemetery,  also  operated  an  ice  plant.   Ire 

making  continued  until  the  middle  1930s,  but  powei  ceased 
to  flow  some  years  before  that,  and  it  ■  > r  1 1 \  served  as  a  sub- 
station foi   the  Southern   Illinois  Powei   Co.  It  i-  said  the 

fii-t    automobile    run    in    Nashville    was    Owned    l<\     a    Mr. 

Peeples,  who  was  manage]  oi  the  plant.  I  he  same  promoters 
used  the  powei  house  lake  and  a  nearby  mineral  spring  as 
a  summei  resort,  and  erected  a  large  two  story  building, 
with  an  encircling  porch,  for  a  resorl  hotel.  ["hey  secured 
contracts  with  several  St.  Louis  fraternal  organizations  to 
provide  vacations  for  their  members,  bul  the  Carlsbad,  as  it 
was  e.dled.  1,,-t  it-  popularity  and  the  building  was  destroyed 
h\  fiie  erne  wintei  night  in  the  early  1900s.  The  bottled 
mineral  water  somehow  nevei  made  a  large  market. 

Mr.  \\  m.   Sieveking,  win'  ua-  OV«   90  when   h<-  retired 

in  1938,  f"i  many  years  operati  d  a  Feed  mill  ,n['\  i  ider  press 
on  \\  esl  Goodnei  street.  Being  of  an  experimental  nature, 


he  once  ran  a  batch  of  carrots  through  the  mill  and  pressed 

them,  discovering  thai  carrot  juice  was  quite  g I.  and  that 

it  also  made  an  excellent  jelly,  so  perhaps  Nashville  was  the 
scene  oi  the  firsl  vegetable  juice  extraction  in  the  nation. 

To  backtrack  a  bit,  in  L876  Nashville  staged  a  monster 
I  ourth  oi  luly  celebration  to  celebrate  the  centennial  year, 
with  a  great  variety  of  at  traction-,  including  athletic  events 
and  a  reception  al  the  Buckeye  Hotel  foi  Vbnei  Fai  kson,  a 
Negro  resident  of  the  city,  born  in  177i>.  ulm  was  also  cele- 
brating hi-  centennial,  the  only  man  in  the  county  to  do 
so  at  that  time:  however  since  then,  there  have  been  several 
of  both  sexes  who  have  made  it. 

•  tut  on  Easl  St.  Louis  street  was  one  of  the  firsl  brick  - 
yards,  also  the  Nashville  creamery,  the  Lungstraus  Brewery 
and  latei  the  -team  laundry.  \n  old  dwelling  located  at  the 
-ite  oi  the  presenl  Bracy  -tore  was  the  location  of  a  laundry 

i  ited  hef,, re  World  Wai  I  by  the  only  Chinese  residents 

of  Nashville.  Latei  the  old  house  was  torn  down  and  the 
present  building  was  erected  to  house  a  branch  of  the 
Chestei  Knitting  Mill-  in  the  early  1920s.  Their  chief  pro- 
duct, cotton  hosiery,  soon  suffered  a  fatal  I, low  when 
feminine  tastes  changed  to  -ilk. 

\l-o  gone  today  are  the  cigai  maker-,  the  harness 
makers;  Grovei  Hassler's  father,  who  learned  the  trade  as 
a  boy  in  Germany,  once  made  some  ware-  for  Queen  Vic- 
toria  of  England  when  -he  visited  some  of  her  German 
cousins.  Nashville  al-,,  had  a  shoemakei  al  one  time  who 
had  nearly  a  dozen  people  working  for  him. 

During  the  presidential  campaign  between  Blaine  ami 

Cleveland  in  the  L890s,  politics  became  really  hot  hen-,  one 
of  the  events  being  a  huge  all-, lav  rally  by  the  Republicans, 
with  .1  torchlight  parade.  Hearing  of  the  event,  an  enter- 
prising young  man  named  Harry  Sternberg,  noting  that 
Nashville  had  no  restaurant,  rented  an  empty  -tore  building 
on  Main  street,  set  it  up  a-  a  restaurant,  hired  no  less  than 
fifi\  women  t"  bake  pie-  f,,i  him.  -locked  up  on  coffee, 
and  at  a  price  ,,f  a  nickel  f.,i  a  hunk  of  pie  and  coffee. 
made  a  handsome  profit. 

It    i-  -aid  a   wolf  den   ua-   loi  ale, I    jii-1    northwest   of  the 

courthouse,  in  Nashville's  infancy,  ["here  were  -till  a  few- 
wild  turkeys  hen-  in   L898.  In   1906,  what  wa-  supposedly 

the  la-i  deei  shol  in  the  county  ».i-  -hipped  from  DuBois 
I,,  (  III' 

Perhaps  the  rreatest  military  forces  ever  to  pa--  through 
the  county  ua-  the  <li\  long  passage  "f  the  First  Vrmored 
Division  in  the  summei  of  1939,  on  maneuvei  from  Fort 
Km  ■  ■.  Kentucky  to  Fort  Riley,  Kansas,  with  the  first  scouts 
coming  through  early  in  the  morning  and  the  last  reai 
guard  late  in  the  evening,  quite  a  contrast  to  the  | 
of  thai  intrepid  hand  of  men.  the  Kentucky  I  ong  Knives, 
mi, lei  General  ' Rogers  <  lark,  so  many  years  before. 


61 


The  Icarians:  Five  French  Families  in  Washington  County 


In  1851,  five  French  families  banded  together  and 
came  to  Washington  County,  settling  in  Section  36.  Lively 
Grove  township,  in  the  area  that  was  later  called  West 
Grandcote.  There  is  nothing  too  unusual  about  this  immi- 
gration except  they  were  Icarians.  The  county  had  a  sprink- 
ling of  several  nationalities  at  this  time,  but  these  people, 
members  of  a  society  founded  in  the  U.  S.  by  the  French 
social  reformer,  F.tienne  Cabet.  were  definitely  the  first  sect 
to  settle  within  the  county's  borders. 


..'..':,• 


This  copy  of  an  old  woodcut  shows  Nauvoo  when  it  was 
at  its  peak,  rated  the  largest  city  in  Illinois  The  Temple 
was  the  most  imposing  structure  in  the  Midwest.  The 
Icarians  who  came  to  Lively  Grove  first  lived  at  Nauvoo. 


At  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  far  upstate,  the  Mormons  had  been 
driven  out,  the  Prophets  killed  by  an  angry  mob.  the  Mor- 
mon Temple  destroyed.  The  Mormon  exodus  was  already 
underway,  and  the  town  they  built  on  the  Mississippi  river 
was  dead  and  vacant.  The  Icarians  simply  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity to  move  in  before  the  weeds  started  growing  in  the 
streets. 

But  their  system  of  government,  under  Cabet,  didn't 
woik.  The  sect  broke  up.  Some  moved  to  St.  Louis.  One 
young  couple,  deeply  distressed  because  their  children  all 
died  in  infancy,  sought  this  county  as  their  future  home,  far 
away  from  the  river  lowlands  and  the  fever-infested  swamps. 
Four  more  young  couples  joined  this  family,  and  they 
divided  a  tract  of  land  so  each  received  80  acres,  and  built 
their  homes  here  so  they  would  be  neighbors.  They  pros- 
pered, enjoyed  their  new  democratic  freedom.  Three  of  these 
couples  had  ten  children  each.  Musically  inclined,  they 
loved  to  dance,  some  of  them  still  in  possession  of  the 
violins  they  brought  from  France. 

Today,  there  is  still  evidence  of  these  family  strains 
within  the  countv.  Mrs.  Frances  Karg  and  her  family  are 
direct  descendants  of  these  French  immigrants.  In  the  ceme- 
tery near  Coulterville  there  are  Icarian  graves,  and  recently 
at  St.  Louis,  the  grave  of  Etienne  Cabet.  the  early  French 
leader,  was  honored  by  the  St.  Louis  French  Society,  Mrs. 
Karg  being  an  invited  guest  at  the  ceremonies. 

The  original  Icarians  settling  near  Lively  Grove  were 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benoit  Favre.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Victor  Pertuisot, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bernard  Bouas.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jean  Bonnat, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baptiste  Etienne  and  Mrs.  Etienne's  father, 
Mr.  George  Gobel. 


The  Historical  Society  of  Washington  County,  Illinois 


Winston  Churchill  once  said:  "Nothing  is  final;  change 
is  unceasing."  This  must  be  fact,  for  each  generation 
records,  by  written  work  or  photo  what  happens  today, 
realizing  full  well  that  never  again  will  the  subject  be  quite 
the  same.  This  desire  to  record  for  posterity  the  happenings 
of  today  began  thousands  of  years  ago,  and  will  continue 
so  long  as  man  exists. 

In  Washington  County  on  November  2,  1965,  a  gather- 
ing of  28  interested  citizens  concluded  it  was  time  to  estab- 
lish an  organization  which  would  encourage  the  study  of 
local  historv  and  attempt  to  obtain  and  preserve  items  of 
interest  of  this  and  past  generations  for  the  education  and 
interest  of  generations  to  come. 

Mr.  Ernst  Michael,  chairman  of  the  Washington  County 
Board  of  Supervisors,  appointed  Mr.  Venice  Brink,  David 
Watts  and  Lawrence  E.  House  of  Nashville;  Grover  Brink- 
man  of  Okawville;  Miss  Claudine  Coulter  of  Oakdale;  Mrs. 


Edgar  Ibeudahl  of  Pilot  Knob  township,  and  Mrs.  Willis 
Coulter  of  Lively  Grove  to  serve  as  the  first  Historical 
Society  Committee  with  a  request  that  the  organization  be 
properly  incorporated  in  this  State.  This  was  accomplished 
on  March  18,  1966,  and  "The  Historical  Society  of  Wash- 
ington County,  Illinois"  became  active. 

The  Board  of  Supervisors  on  July  12,  1966  appointed 
Mr.  Lawrence  E.  House,  Society  President,  and  Mrs.  Edgar 
Ibendahl,  Society  Secretary  to  act  as  a  Steering  Committee 
to  establish  the  Washington  County  Sesquicentennial  Com- 
mission, which  is  the  organization  responsible  for  the 
publication  of  this  book. 

This  Commission  was  chosen  at  a  public  meeting  on 
January  10,  1967.  with  Mr.  Arthur  L.  Koetting.  Jr.  of 
Okawville  as  chairman:  Norman  Karg  of  Lively  Grove  as 
vice-chairman;  Mrs.  Don  Thompson,  secretary:  and  Wilbert 
H.  Sachlleben,  treasurer. 


62 


History  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Nashville 


On  August  23.  L873,  a  group  of  Baptists  led  by  Rev. 
W.  II.  Carner  met  in  the  M.  E.  Church  .it  Nashville  to 
organize  a  Baptist  Church.  Rev.  \\ .  II.  Hutchings  was 
elected  moderator  and  .1.  M.  Mason,  clerk.  Tin-  charter 
members  were:  K.  I  .  Mason,  EUen  Mason,  James  lrvin. 
Lucy  lrvin.  N.mcy  Wright,  Lucj  Walker,  Laura  J.  Mason, 
J.  M.  Mason.  Klizabeth  Gozney  ami  Jan.    II.  Rountree. 

<  in  November  3,  1873,  Rev.  II.  II.  Carnei  was  called 
as  tlir  first  pastor.  Other  ministers  who  have  served  this 
church  arc  tlir  Rev.  J.  C.  Wilson,  I.  \.  Schofield,  \.  J.  De- 
lano, J.  C.  Harris,  I.  S.  Reynolds,  \\  .  I  ■'.  \\  i-e.  Alexander 
Rhine.  W.  W.  Williams,  Charles  E.  Hut.  R.  II.  I  laxon, 
E.  B.  Hibbitts,  T.  M.  Hire.  John  C.  Kanarr,  II.  E.  Pettus, 
Julian  E.  Vtwood,  E.  E.  Rice,  E.  I  .  Wendell,  .!.  C.  Meier, 
M.  E.  Powley,  H.  P.  Spiller,  W.  \.  Ward,  0.  S.  1  ..\  lor.  Rex 
Brown,  Abraham  Wright,  0.  R.  Steiner,  W.  \.  Gray,  R.  W. 
Pruett.  Ceo.  B.  Leathers.  Walter  Miller.  Carl  I •'.  Newland, 
Paul  Hall,  Bertie  Smith.  C.  E.  Mclntyre,  Leroy  Marvel. 
Raymond  Mc  \fee. 


The  first  church  building  was  erected  in  1874  at  a 
cost  of  $2,91  L68.  In  September  of  the  same  year  the  church 
was  admitted  into  the  Nine  Mile  Baptist  Association.  The 
first  reference  to  a  Sunda)  School  is  election  of  officers  on 
June  23.  1833.  J.  M.  Thomson  was  elected  superintendent. 
Others  who  served  in  this  capacity  to  date  are:  J.  C.  I  ade, 
J.  M.  Mason,  Jos.  Morris,  Wm.  Reidelberger,  Harry  Stern- 
berg, W.  II.  Hughes,  I  va  I.  Luke,  W.  L.  Hendricks,  Alonzo 
Small.  \\  .  C.  Gholson,  Royal  Bryan,  Floyd  Oholson.  James 
Gillespie.  Howard  M.  I  'ox,  K.  \.  Small,  Calv  in  I '.ade.  Chester 
Moss,  Edward  I  .  Kemper,  Jr..  Chester  Moss. 

In  the  summer  of  L925,  a  basement  and  other  im- 
provements were  made  at  a  cost  of  83,200.  The  church  had 
ioriL'  Felt  the  need  of  more  room,  and  in  1948  an  educational 
annex,  consisting  of  13  classrooms,  pastor's  study  and 
church  office  was  made  possible  by  a  legacy  from  Mr.  W.  L. 
Troutt,  the  entire  building  program  costing  about  S26,000. 
I  lie  church  today  ha*  22  I  resident  members. 


VINTAGE    OF    1904    (OKAWVILLE) 


This  old  photo,  taken  about  1904,  has  nostalgia 
that  will  be  shared  by  mam  senioi  citizens.  The  man 
behind  the  bar  is  the  late  Henry  Klauke,  one  of  the 
pioneers   of   Okawville. 

Mr.  Klauke  was  horn  at  Blutzen,  Hanover.  Germany, 
came  to  America  as  a  young  man.  Foi  a  time  he  worked 
on  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  Okawville,  and  at  one  time 
also  made  his  livelihood  as  a  commercial  fisherman  at 
Reel  Foot  Lake.  Tennessee. 

He  remembered  the  time  a  siege  ol  i  bolera  broke  out 
in  the  area,  took  a  heavy  toll  of  life.  In  one  day.  Okaw- 
ville had  eight  funerals. 

When  a  young  man.  he  purchased  a  store  at  Okawville 
from  Henry  Temme.  who  was  the  father  of  the  late  Julius 
Tenune.  long  an  assessor  of  \\  ashington  County.  For  years 
the  huge  brick  two-Story  building  near  tin-  depot  was  a 
landmark  in  Okawville.  The  front  section  housed  the  tavern, 
the  remainder  of  the  floor  given  over  to  a  general  store. 
The  family  resided  on  the  top  floor.  The  building  was 
built  by  Mascoutah  brick  masons,  who  also  laid  the  bricks 
at  the  Okawville  grade  school  thai  originally  stood  on  the 
block  now  occupied  by  the  city  municipal  building. 

Mr.  Klauke  -tailed  in  business  in  Okawville  about  the 
same  time  the  L&JN  railroad  was  built  through  the  county. 
\t  that  time  it  was  called  the  Southeastern.  Between  the 
Klauke  store  at  the  depot  and  "downtown"  Okaw- 
ville, a  mile  to  the  north  was  virgin  forest  connected 
onlv  with  a  dirt  road. 


If  you'll  examine  this  photo  with  a  magnifying  glass, 
you'll  see  that  one  side  of  the  beer  cooler  has  various  hits 
of  writing  on   it.  in  chalk.  This  was  the  amount  of  money 


The  late  Henry  Klauke  behind  the  bor  in   1904. 

certain   customers    owed     Mr.     Klauke,    rather    a    novel 
method  of  bookkeeping. 

The    Klauke    sloie.    built    in     1873,    was    a    landmark    at 
Okawville   until    it    was   ra/cd    in    1965. 


63 


TOO  SHORT  TO  CLASSIFY 


Hugh  P.  Green,  grandfather  of  Atty.  P.  E.  Green  of 
Nashville,  was  at  least  one  county  man  who  went  to  Cali- 
fornia in  the  gold  rush  of  1819.  accompanied  by  a  Mr.  Lane. 
Upon  his  return  via  boat,  he  turned  in  his  gold  dust  at  a 
U.  S.  Mint  and  purchased  160  acres  of  land  in  the  county, 
which  is  still  in  the  family  name. 

Anson  A.  Hinkley.  of  DuBois  township,  one  of  the  first 
growers  and  packers  of  fine  fruit  in  the  county,  was  also  a 
Conchologist  of  note.  In  spite  of  his  agricultural  interests, 
Mr.  Hinkley  never  forgot  his  work  in  this  scientific  field, 
and  was  known  as  one  of  the  leading  Conchologists  of  the 
world,  making  many  extended  trips  to  Mexico  and  Central 
America.  Ironically,  his  death  occurred  of  a  heart  attack 
while  he  tried  to  extricate  his  car  from  a  mud  hole  on  a 
rural  road  west  of  DuBois.  He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  DuBois  State  Bank. 

The  First  Presbvterian  Church  of  Nashville  was  organ- 
ized by  pioneer  Presbyterians  of  Scotch  descent,  in  1832. 
It  was  called  Elkhorn  Presbyterian,  located  at  Sawyer's 
Point,  four  miles  west  of  Nashville.  After  Nashville  had  been 
established  as  the  county  seat,  the  meeting  place  was  re- 
moved to  the  nearby  town  and  the  name  changed.  Here  a 
frame  building  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  present  city 
hall  in  1851,  at  a  cost  of  $1,400.  The  present  building  was 
dedicated  June  19.  1885. 

An  item  concerning  the  Nashville  Creamery,  dated 
May  20,  1887.  shows  the  firm  received  5.000  pounds  of 
milk  that  day.  Farmers  received  80^  per  hundred  pounds. 
The  butter  churned  from  the  milk  was  on  the  market  at 
22^  per  pound. 

A  Dr.  Lucas  in  1853  had  a  small  drug  store  in  Ashley 
before  the  community  was  legallv  laid  out  as  a  town.  Tru- 
man Gilbert  opened  a  store  in  1854.  P.  M.  and  E.  McNail 
built  the  first  sawmill  there:  later  a  small  grist  mill  was  at- 
tached, and  a  woolen  card-mill.  In  1866.  Coffey.  Brown  and 
Harrison  erected  a  large  mill,  and  in  1873  J.  L.  Post  started 
a  second  flouring  mill,  as  well  as  a  fruit-drying  facility. 
First  bank  was  opened  by  Pace  Bros,  in  1877.  First  news- 
paper was  the  Ashley  Gazette,  started  in  1857:  Robert  Flem- 
ing next  started  a  paper  called  "The  Experiment,"  and 
David  Benton  edited  the  Ashley  Herald.  A.  W.  O'Bryant 
took  over  the  Ashley  Gazette  in  1876.  First  regular  school 
was  taught  in  a  log  building  that  had  been  the  James  Wood- 
rome  residence,  in  1829:  first  teacher  was  Jarvis  Jackson. 

The  original  members  of  the  Pilot  Knob  Methodist 
Church,  which  closed  in  1961,  were  German  immigrants.  A 
tornado  destroyed  the  first  church  building  before  it  was 
completed,  a  second  church  was  erected  in  1890.  Truman 
Brandt  was  the  last  minister  to  serve  the  church.  In  August, 
1965,  a  cemetery  association  was  formed,  to  maintain  the 
cemetery  on  the  grounds  where  the  church  once  stood.  The 
original  church  bell  has  been  enclosed  in  a  shelter  here.  A 


marble  slab  bears  this  inscription:  Bell  mounted  by  trustees 
of  Pilot  Knob  Cemetery  Association  in  memorial  of  early 
Methodist  founders. 

Mr.  Jack  D.  Huggins.  Belleville.  Illinois  public  account- 
ant, claims  as  his  great-great-great  grandfather.  Robert  Hug- 
gins,  and  his  great-great-great  grandmother.  Kate  Lively. 
The  Lively-Huggins  family  were  the  principals  in  the  Lively 
Indian  Massacre  near  Covington. 

Paul  L.  Poirot,  of  Irvington-on-the  Hudson.  New  York, 
where  he  edits  the  national  magazine.  The  Freeman,  a  form- 
er Beaucoup  boy.  writes  the  editors  as  follows:  "Remember 
that  the  true  history  of  Washington  County  is  in  the  records 
of  those  who  lived  their  lives  there,"  then  cites  the  fact  that 
his  parental  grandparents  fled  oppression  in  Europe  to  settle 
and  raise  their  family  in  Washington  County,  where  his  84- 
year-old  father.  E.  W.  Poirot  last  year  was  visited  bv  the 
teacher  who  taught  him  in  the  first  grade  at  Pleasant  Grove, 
between  Hoyleton  and  Beaucoup. 

A  draw  running  through  the  southwestern  part  of  Nash- 
ville was  once  called  the  Tennessee  River  because  many  of 
the  city's  first  settlers  came  from  that  state. 

Long  years  ago.  Peter  Bieser  was  known  as  "the  blind 
city  clerk"  at  Nashville. 

Although  only  incorporated  since  1929.  Radom  has 
been  in  existence  since  1856.  when  the  hamlet  was  laid  out 
by  two  New  \  orkers.  on  land  purchased  from  the  I.  C.  rail- 
road. One  of  these  men  was  no  other  than  General  G.  B. 
Turchin.  The  other  was  Nicholas  Nichalski.  The  town 
grew  to  a  peak  population  above  300,  but  gradually  de- 
clined. Joseph  Gloskowski  was  the  first  railway  agent  and 
postmaster.  St.  Michael's  Catholic  Church  there  is  an  out- 
standing edifice. 

Wamac,  at  the  border  of  three  counties,  and  getting 
its  name  from  the  first  two  letters  of  Washington,  the  first 
two  of  Marion  and  the  "c"  from  Clinton,  had  the  honor 
of  having  the  first  woman  voter  in  Illinois.  She  was  Mrs. 
0.  W.  Coleman,  who  voted  on  July  5,  1913  at  the  first 
election  after  Woman  Suffrage  was  made  legal  in  the  state. 
This  also  was  the  first  election  held  in  the  newly  formed 
town  of  Wamac. 

In  1894.  Coxey's  Army  camped  on  Crooked  Creek,  on 
its  way  to  the  capitol  at  Washington,  in  one  of  the  first 
"protest  marches"  to  make  the  headlines.  Jacob  Sechler 
Coxey.  popularly  known  as  "General  Coxey,"  later  ran  for 
U.  S.  President,  was  defeated.  Coxey's  grandiose  plan  was 
to  put  all  unemployed  at  building  roads. 

\^  hen  the  Nashville  Fire  Department  sold  its  old  pump- 
er, back  in  the  thirties,  it  was  purchased  by  Oscar  Decker,  a 
farmer,  who  used  it  to  irrigate  his  fruit  orchards. 

Continued 


64 


The  late  Julius  Temme,  long  an  assessoi  of  Okawville 
township  was  conceded  to  be  the  tallesl  man  in  the  county. 

He  stiMul  six  feet.  seven  inches  in  his  stocking  feet. 

St.  Luke  Church  .u  Covington  was  built  in  1885;  St. 
John's  ('.lunch  at  I'lutn  Mill  was  huilt  in  1854,  upon  four 
acres  of  land  given  by  J.  I ■'.  Mangenalker;  St  Paul's  I  .  \  R. 
Church,  southwest  of  Okawville,  was  built  in  1850. 

Nashville  was  honored  by  a  visit  from  Charles  A.  Lind- 
bergh, who  stopped  there  to  \  i-.it  relatives  -non  after  his 
record  trans-oceanic  (light  in  1927. 

In  llllil).  \shlev  had  1  dry  goods  stores,  2  grocery 
Stores,  3  hardware  stores,  a  furniture  store.  .'?  blacksmith 
shops,  1  nulls,  a  jeweler,  meat  market.  3  restaurants.  2  shoe 
shops,  3  livery  stables  and  3  grain  dealers.    There  were  also 

two  Methodist  churches,  a  Baptist,  Christian  and  Universa- 
lis! church. 


Haley's  Comet,  still  remembered  by  many  of  the 
county'-  senioi  citizens,  was  visible  here  in  1910.  At  the 
time,  many  predicted  the  end  oi  the  world. 

Without  doubt,  Judge  W.  P.  Green  held  the  county 
record  for  elective  judicial  office,  being  elected  in  1910 
and  retiring  in  1950. 

limestone,  secured  from  the  state  penitentiary  at  Ches- 
ter, was  first  spread  on  the  Minkley  farm.  Ashley,  in  1907, 
inaugurating  the  movement  of  soil  improvement  that  has 
continued  ever  since. 

St.  Ann's  Catholic  Church  at  Nashville  started  as  a 
mission  from  Okawville.  Its  first  building  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  Today,  its  fine  church  and  school  is  considered  one  of 
the  outstanding  achievements  of  a  dedicated  parish. 


OKAWVILLE'S    BAPTIST    CHAPEL 


The  Okawville  Baptist  Chapel  had  its  birth  in  the  home 
of  Thomas  \Y.  I.uker  on  Februarv  21.  1905.  with  eleven  in 
attendance,  under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  John  Wittmer, 
superintendent  of  missions  of  the  Nine  Mile  Association. 
There  wen-  seventeen  present  in  the  meeting  on  the  Follow- 
ing Sunday.  On  March  7.  1965  services  were  moved  to  the 
Riechman  building  near  the  depot,  On  September  I.  1965 
this  building  was  purchased.  The  Sunday  School  was  of- 
ficially organized  into  classes  and  departments.  (Ilher  Bap- 
tist churches  contributed  to  the  development  of  this  new 
charge.  When  the  mission  came  under  the  sponsorship  of 
the  Beaucoup  Baptist  Church  of  Pinckneyville,  the  charter 
membership  »a-  established  in  this  union  with  the  mother 
church,  ["here  were  20  charter  members.  The  mission  con- 
tinued with  supply  preachers  and  an  interim  pastor,  Ernest 
Queen  of  DuQuoin. 

In  September,  1965,  Rev.  Bill  Williams  was  called  as 
pastor,  assuming  his  duties  on  October  31.  With  his  wife, 
Beverly  and  daughter.  Julie,  he  moved  into  the  newly  re- 
rhodeled  parsonage,  above  the  chapel,  in  November. 

During  the  pasl    I!,  months.  Sundaj   scl I  enrollment 

has  grown  from  In  to  65,  and  sixteen  new  members  have 
joined  the  church,  nine  bv  letter  from  other  churches  anil 
seven  bv  baptism.  The  chapel  held  its  initial  \  aealion  Bible 
School  in  1966,  with  10  enrolled,  anticipates  an  even  larger 
enrollment  tin-  ve.u.  \  strip  of  ground  immediately  ad- 
joining the  chapel  in  the  rear  has  been  purchased.  \  revival 
Was  held  in  \pril.  another  i-  anticipated.  The  mi  — ion  is 
looking  forward  to  the  d.iv  when  the  body  will  be  strong 
enough  to  constitute  a  church. 


The   Okawville    Baptist   Chapel. 


65 


METHODISM-AND    WASHINGTON    COUNTY 


We  do  not  know  who  was  the  first  Methodist  to  set 
foot  in  Washington  County.  It  might  have  been  Captain 
Joseph  Ogle,  one  of  Ceorge  Rogers  Clark's  soldiers,  who 
so  well  liked  the  land  he  had  helped  conquer  from  the 
British  that,  along  with  a  group  of  veterans  of  that  cam- 
paign, he  returned  and  settled  in  Monroe  and  St.  Clair 
counties,  between  1782  and  1785.  Ogle  was  a  Methodist 
and  one  of  the  first  zealous  religious  leaders   in    Illinois. 

It  could  also  have  been  Rev.  Hosea  Riggs.  an  early 
Methodist  preacher  in  Illinois.  It  is  known  that  Riggs 
journeyed  to  Mount  Gerizim.  Kentucky,  where  the  western 
conference  of  the  Methodist  Church  was  holding  its  annual 
session,  and  appealed  for  official  help  to  meet  the  oppor- 
tunities and  challenges  in  the  new  land. 

The  conference,  which  at  that  time  covered  all  Metho- 
dist endeavor  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  responded  by  ap- 
pointing Benjamin  Young  a  missionary  to  Illinois.  The 
date  was  1803,  and  Young  could  well  have  been  the  first 
Methodist.  Also,  it  could  have  been  the  veteran  sin-splitter, 
the  Rev.  Jesse  Walker,  who  was  appointed  the  first  pre- 
siding elder  of  what  was  called  the  Illinois  District  of  the 
Methodist  Conference,  in   1806. 

The  first  county  records  we  have  tell  of  Methodist 
class  organization  in  Beaucoup  township  in  1819,  led  by 
three  local  preachers  who  had  settled  there,  Mr.  James 
Walker,  Mr.  Daniel  Whittenberg.  and  Mr.  Rhodum  Allen. 
Soon  there  was  an  increasing  number  of  Methodists  here, 
and  for  years  the  Beaucoup  community  was  a  strong  Metho- 
dist center.  A  camp  meeting  was  annually  held  there  on 
the  spot  where  the  present  Beaucoup  Mehodist  Church 
stands,  continuing  for  years. 

By  this  time.  Methodism  in  Illinois  had  five  circuits 
served  by  ordained  ministers.  Since  1815  the  church  here 
had  been  part  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  Washington 
County  being  included  in  the  Okaw  circuit.  Sometime 
later,  Orcenith  Fischer,  local  preacher,  settled  in  Nash- 
ville township,  built  the  first  dwelling  there  in  1830.  In 
1824,   all   of   Illinois,   had   its   own   Methodist   conference. 

The  Nashville  Methodist  Church  dates  from  1832. 
Many  of  these  first  Methodists  were  people  of  Irish  descent 
who  came  from  Tennessee,  and  among  their  leaders  were 
such  men  as  Dempsey  Kennedy,  a  well-to-do  planter  who 
came  north  to  get  out  of  a  slave  state  because  slavery  had  no 
place  in  his  religion.  After  his  arrival  here,  he  freed  his  slaves. 

Washington  County  was  part  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  Meth- 
odist Circuit  until  1837  when  it  separated  to  become  the 
Nashville  Circuit.  Liberty  Church  in  section  24.  Beaucoup, 
was  started  in  1831.  Richview  Church  in  1842  and  Ashley 
in  1840. 

In  the  autumn  of  1844.  Nashville  was  the  scene  of  an 
event  which  has  had  considerable  weight  on  the  Methodist 
Church  nationally.  Possibly  this  was  the  most  important  his- 
torical event  that  ever  occurred  in  this  county. 


In  the  Spring,  the  general  conference  of  the  church  had 
met,  with  the  slavery  issue  the  focal  point  of  contention. 
Soon  an  impasse  developed  to  the  point  where  it  was  clear  a 
division  of  the  church  was  inevitable.  The  southern  section 
which  threatened  to  secede  wanted  to  take  with  them  half  of 
all  the  nationally-owned  propertv  of  the  church,  its  publish- 
ing house  and  colleges.  No  definite  conclusion  was  reached, 
and  it  was  left  to  the  action  of  the  various  other  conferences 
as  to  which  plan  should  be  approved.  The  Illinois  delegation 
had  been  divided. 

When  the  conference  met  in  Nashville,  there  was  one 
noted  person  present,  all  prepared  to  sway  the  conference  to 
the  view  that  southerners  would  be  secessionists  if  they 
broke  the  unity  of  the  church. 

This  was  the  Reverend  Peter  Cartright.  the  veteran  cir- 
cuit rider,  who  had  fled  Kentucky  years  ago  because  it  was  a 
slave  stale.  Cartright  was  noted  for  never  mincing  words,  for 
being  a  gifted  speaker,  an  untiring  servant  of  the  church,  al- 
beit in  hot  water  at  times  for  his  propensity  to  mix  religion 
and  politics,  having  served  as  legislator  for  some  years. 

The  conference  voted  to  sustain  Cartright  and  demand 
that  the  church  nationally  defend  itself  against  all  secession- 
ists. As  this  was  a  first  annual  conference  of  the  church,  its 
action  had  a  great  effect  on  all  the  other  succeeding  ones, 
and  a  large  majority  followed  suit.  Thus,  a  first  division  was 
formed  on  a  national  scale  over  the  slavery  question  in  a 
large  religious  denomination.  The  form  it  took  was  influ- 
enced by  the  action  of  the  Illinois  conference  in  Nashville. 

In  1852  the  Southern  Illinois  Conference  was  created 
bv  dividing  the  Illinois  Conference,  and  even  before  this,  the 
German  immigrants  in  the  area  started  work  for  a  separate 
district.  The  Rev.  William  Heminghaus  was  the  first  among 
these  men  in  this  countv.  His  group  was  organized  in  Nash- 
ville in  1853.  with  the  Rev.  Peter  Hehners  as  pastor,  includ- 
ing members  from  Nashville.  Little  Prairie,  North  Prairie 
and  other  nearby  communities  in  the  circuit.  The  Nashville 
First  Church  became  a  station,  apart  from  the  circuit  in 
1857.  Before  the  Civil  War,  churches  had  been  organized  in 
Irvington  and  Okawville. 

When  the  war  broke  out.  the  Southern  Illinois  Confer- 
ence was  strongly  pro-L/nion  despite  the  fact  that  many  of 
its  members  were  of  southern  descent.  Many  of  these  fami- 
lies, be  it  remembered,  had  come  to  Illinois  to  flee  slavery, 
and  some  strongly  opposed  it. 

The  Southern  Illinois  Conference  furnished  more  chap- 
lains to  the  Lnion  Army  than  did  many  larger  groups.  When 
the  war  ended,  however,  a  feeling  persisted  by  many  that  the 
church  had  gotten  into  politics  too  much  with  its  strongly 
pro-LJnion  stand,  these  families  banded  into  groups  seek- 
ing separate  organizations.  They  were  about  to  effect  a  mer- 
ger when  it  was  learned  that  the  M.  E.  Church  South  would 
welcome  them.  This  was  an  answer,  and  it  was  agreed  they 

Continued 


66 


would  become  a  pari  of  the  Illinois  conference  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  South.  A  first  session  of  this  group  was  hold  on  Oc- 
tober 1<>.  L867  at  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Nashville, 
Bishop  I>.  S.  I toggetl  presiding. 

County-wise,  a  group  had  been  in  existence  since  L864, 
and  in  L867  the)  erected  a  building,  Liter  took  the  name  of 
Forman  Memorial  Church. 

After  the  Civil  War,  Methodist  churches  were  organized 
in  DuBbis,  Bethel  (section  32,  Beaucoup  Township);  Pleas- 
ant Grove  (section  -'.  Beaucoup  township);  Locust  Creek 
(section  35,  Nashville  township);  an.!  Maple  Grove  in  (sec- 
tion 2''.  Irvington  township).  I  here  also  wa-  .1  rather  short- 
lived congregation  in  Hoyleton  which  wa-  larger)  sui 
1p\  Bethel  Methodist  Church  of  the  German  conference,  due 
to  the  German  infiltration  in  that  community.  German 
churches  were  also  organized  at  North  Prairie.  1  section  20, 
Hoyleton  town-hip  1.  ami  at   Pilot   Knob. 

All  of  these  various  groups  reflected  an  expanding  pop- 
ulation atul  the  ilesire  to  have  a  church  nearby,  due  to  trans- 
portation \  ia  horse  anil  Im 


The  German  congregations  of  Southern  Illinois  hecame 
a  part  of  the  Southeast  German  Conference  in  L864,  and  a 
feu  years  later  joined  the  German  Conference  "f  St.  Louis. 

Assimilation  into  American  life  ami  World  War  I 
brought  about  the  en. I  of  need  F01  such,  ami  in  1926  it  was 
merged  in  the  geographical  conferences.  The  foui  German 
Methodist  churches  in  the  county  joined  the  Southern  llli- 
nois  conference.  Changing  time-  ami  especially  the  ail  vent  of 
the  automobile  brought  about  the  end  of  some  "f  the  -mall 
er  churches.  In  I'M''  there  was  a  union  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
ami  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  into  the  Methodist 
Church.  Once  again  there  "a-  only  one  Methodist  bod)  in 
\\  ashington  <  lounty. 

In  1953,  the  three  separate  congregations  in  Nashville 
merged  into  one.  named  Grace  Methodist  Church. 

Toda)  then-  an-  Methodist  congregations  in  Nashville, 
Okawville,  Hoyleton.  Irvington,  Richview,  Ashley,  Beaucoup 
and  DuBois. 


Okawville's  Post  Office  Through  the  Years 


I'niipie  as  it  sound-.  Okaw ville's  fir-t  po-trnastei  was 
a  woman.  Mary  \.  White,  who  assumed  office  \ugust  1. 
1884.  The  post  office  at  that  earl)  date  was  located  in  that 
segment  of  the  community  called  "South  Okawville,"  evi- 
dently  nut  within  the  town  it-elf.  Mrs.  White  served  until 
Ma)    '■!     1889,  when  -he  was  succeeded  b)   Hy.  Strauss, 

whose  term  for  some  reason  was  "f  -holt  duration,    \pril   1. 

1889  toll,,,,-  L5,  1889. 

Herman  Schulze  assumed  office  June  1.  188'),  served 
until  June  30,  1893,  "hen  Mrs.  White  came  hack  into  the 
service,  starting  July  1.  1893,  terminating  August  31,  1897. 

Thomas  Cantrell  was  Okawville'-  next   po-tma-ti 
suming  duties  September  1.  1897,  t..  December  31,  1907. 

The  post   office   at    that    time   wa-    in   a    mom    north   of  the 

Moehle-Tscharner  store,  the  former  hank  building,  Hanover 
and  St.  Louis  streets. 

Geo.  F.  Tscharner  succeeded  Cantrell,  assuming  duties 

January  I.  1908.  I  ntil  June  1909,  Okawville  wa-  a  Fourth 
class  office,  hut  in  Jul)  "f  that  veat  it  wa-  advanced  to  third 
class,  maintaining  that  status  for  15  years. 


Tschamei  -erve.l  until  lime  16,  L913,  when  he  was 
succeeded  b)  W  m.  I •'.  Ilagehu-ch.  who  took  office  June  17, 
1913,  continued  in  that  capacity  until  August  IT.  1921.  The 

office  wa-  now    in  the  W.  < '..  Frank  building,   Front  &  Wal- 
nut -licet-,  having  moved  there  in    1915. 

I.  \\  .  Miller  succeeded  Hagebusch,  serving  until  June 
2  1.  1930,  whin  he  wa-  succeeded  b)  Chester  \.  Bailey 
(June  24,  L930  to  lul)  31,  1934  I,  when  Frank  H.  Morgan 
took  over  the  duties,  sen  ing  until  July  31,  1949. 

\rthur   I  .   Koetting,  Jr.,   the   present    incumhent.  started 
his  dutie-    August    1.    I'M').    The  move  to  the  new    post  office 

building  on  Nashville  &  High  streets  took  place  May    11. 
I960.  The  office  i-  now   advanced  to  second  class    Mi 
Kathleen  Grattendick  ami   Mr-.   Bertha   Schwankhaus  are 
assistants.  Stanley  W  .  Garbs  i-  the  rural  carrier. 

b  II.  Strickei  md  Wm.  I.  Lohmeier,  both  de- 
ceased, -erveil  long  tenure-  a-  rural  carrier-  OUl  of  the 
local  office,  with   I  red   Schorfheide  a-  assistant.    August 

Grefe  currentlv   i-  the  assistant  carrier. 


67 


THE  WASHINGTON  COUNTY  HOSPITAL 


Washington  County  is  one  of  the  few  counties  in  the 
state  that  can  boast  it  has  a  $750,000  modern  hospital,  debt 
free.  (Actual  cost  of  hospital,  including  new  equipment  that 
has  been  added  is  $754,224.92  ) . 

No  tax  was  collected  to  pay  the  hospital  cost.  The  only 
tax  is  a  small  operational  tax  charged  to  people  in  the  hos- 
pital district.  All  memorials,  donations,  and  funds  that  are 
received  go  toward  future  expansion  and  added  equipment, 
to  better  serve  the  medical  needs  of  the  entire  county. 

Here  is  rather  an  amazing  statistical  tabulation: 

Hospital  site  I  5  acres  I  was  donated  by  Amos  H.  Watts 
and  Wadsworth  W.  Watts;  Rueter  estate,  $194,283.88: 
pledges  and  donations  from  organizations  and  individuals 
of  Nashville  and  Washington  County,  $287,613.97;  Hill 
Burton  Federal  Crant,  $183,000:  City  Government  of  Nash- 
ville, $97,500;  Memorials.  $17,943.73. 

The  hospital  has  37  beds  with  four  extra  in  time  of 
overflow.  Several  times  during  the  past  year  all  beds  have 
been  full. 


There  were  112  births  at  the  hospital  in  1963;  104  in 
1964;  100  in  1965;  82  in  1966,  and  48  (so  far)  in  1967, 
making  a  total  of  446. 

Total  patients  average  daily  census:  16.5  in  1963;  21.8 
in  1961:  19.1  in  1965;  21.1  in  1966;  24.9  in  1967.  Total 
admissions.  3,686.  Total  dollars  medical  service  rendered, 
1966,  $251,722.27.  The  hospital  has  65  full  time  and  five 
part  time  employes.  Five  county  doctors  are  on  the  staff,  as 
well  as  32  consulting  physicians,  and  three  dentists. 

The  Bridget  Hughes  Hospital 

Nashville's  first  hospital,  started  as  a  $5,000  corpora- 
tion in  1907.  was  through  an  initial  gratuity  of  Bridget 
Hughes,  whose  will  left  most  of  her  estate  for  that  purpose. 
The  hospital  I  now  the  Farm  Bureau  building )  was  opened 
in  the  fall  of  1910,  with  25  beds.  As  an  early  hospital,  it 
did  an  admirable  job,  but  was  forced  to  close  during  the 
summer  of  1922.  Bridget  Hughes,  whose  life  was  the  hard 
work  of  a  domestic,  also  left  small  sums  to  several  county 
churches  and  the  orphanage  at  Hoyleton. 


Revolutionary  War  Burials  in  the  County 


According  to  Harriet  J.  Walker's  much-used  record 
of  Revolutionary  Soldiers  Buried  in  Illinois,  published  in 
1918,  upon  the  anniversary  of  Illinois'  first  one  hundred 
years,   there   were   four   recorded    burials    in    Washington 

county,  as  follows: 

GEORGE  BROWN  was  from  Virginia,  born  in  Chester- 
field county  in  1752.  He  enlisted  in  Charlotte  county  March. 
1780,  serving  two  months  with  Capt.  Thomas  Williams: 
again  in  1781  for  two  months  under  Capt.  Dudley  Barrel 
and  Col.  Peter  Muhlenberg:  again  he  served  for  two  months 
under  Capt.  Pickeway  and  Col.  Holt  Richardson.  He  re- 
moved to  Washington  county.  Illinois,  where  he  died  March 
21.  1842.  He  was  pensioned. 

JAMES  CRABTREE  was  from  Virginia,  where  he 
served  in  the  war  as  ensign  in  the  Washington  county  line 
of  troops.  He  came  to  Washington  county,  Illinois,  and 
died  there.  He  was  pensioned. 


CONRAD  GOODNER  was  from  North  Carolina,  and 
served  from  that  state.  He  came  to  Illinois,  settling  in  St. 
Clair  county,  but  removed  to  Washington  county,  where 
he  died.  He  was  pensioned. 

THOMAS  McCLERKEN  was  from  Chester  county, 
Camden  district.  South  Carolina.  He  removed  to  Kentucky, 
and  from  there  to  Indiana,  and  thence  to  Washington  coun- 
ty. Illinois,  where  he  died,  and  is  buried  near  Sparta.  A 
stone  tells  of  his  being  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  Each  year 
the  Grand  Army  post  places  flowers  on  his  grave.  At  the  age 
of  95  years  he  applied  for  a  pension,  but  doubtless  died 
before  it  was  granted.  "County  and  Family  Histories." 

There  have  been  unconfirmed  stories  of  other  Revolu- 
tionary War  burials  in  Washington  County,  in  unmarked 
hi  forgotten  graves.  Perhaps  some  of  this  is  true,  but 
as  far  as  the  editors  of  this  book  can  attain,  there  are  no 
records  of  the  same. 


68 


History   of   St.   John's 
Church,   Johannesburg 

Early  in  the  1800$,  Napoleon  had  most  of  Europe 
anxious  and  afraid.  Because  of  war,  poverty  and  fear 
of  the  future,  many  German  people  came  to  America 
in  an  effort  to  find  freedom  and  a  better  life.  Some  of 
these  German-  who  came  from  Hanover  and  West- 
phalia in  the  northern  part  of  the  province,  settled  in 
the  Johannisburg  community.  Their  faith  was  that  of 
the  Evangelical  Church  of  Prussia,  which  was  a  union 
of  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  faiths. 

These  people  organized  the  Independent  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  St.  Johannes  Congregation  here  in 
1837.  (The  first  written  history,  by  Rev.  \dolf  Diet- 
rich, begins  in  L883,  however  judging  by  the  first  list 
of  children  who  were  baptized,  it  is  concluded  that 
the  congregation  existed  as  early  as  111.37.  I  The  first 
church  building  was  of  logs,  erected  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  present  park  block.  It  also  served  a-  a 
schoolhouse,  where  the  children  were  taught  the  C.er- 
man  language  and  the  Christian  religion  from  the 
Lutheran  catechism  and  the  Bible. 

In  1842  the  church  in  Vened)  separated  from  the 
Johannisburg  congregation.  \  disagreement  about  the 
hvmn  books  is  given  as  the  reason  for  the  separation. 
This  group,  in  turn,  joined  the  Missouri  Svnod  of 
the  Lutheran  Church. 

St.  John's  congregation  continued  to  grow.  \  new 
church  building  was  completed  and  dedicated  on  Palm 
Sunday,  \pril  L3,  1851.  This  building  did  ool  have 
a  steeple,  and  the  bell  was  hung  in  a  wooden  frame 
alongside  the  church. 

In  1<357  some  of  the  members  of  St.  John's  who 
lived  in  Elkhorn  Prairie  separated  from  the  mother 
church  and  organized  the  St.  Peter's  Church  and 
school  there.  This  was  a  friendly  separation,  because 
of  distances  involved.  This  new  community  was  fir-t 
called  St.  Petersburg  hut  later  changed  it-  name  to 
Stone  Church. 

In  1865  the  old  log  schoolhouse  was  found  in- 
adequate and  a  new  brick  building  was  built.  The 
present  park  was  laid  out  in  1878. 

In  1883  the  steeple,  with  two  rooms,  was  added 
to  the  church  building,  increasing  it  to  it-  present 
length.  In  1891  the  building  was  renovated  and  arched 
windows  set  in.  In  the  same  year  the  fii-l  pa-tor  of  the 
Evangelical  Svnod  of  North  \merica  was  called.  I  p  to 
this  time  the  pastors  were  "free"  ministers.  This  new 
Evangelical  pastor  was  Rev.  C.  I.  Knicker,  who  in- 
troduced the  Evangelical  Hymnal  and  Catechism. 

In  189.3  the  present  parsonage  wa-  built,  super- 
ceding  a  small  building  of  two  room-.  Later  a  kitchen 


*agr 


St.  John's  Church  at  Johannisburg, 
before   the   fence   was   removed. 


and  two  rooms  were  added.  In  I ' '  1  2  the  brick  school- 
linii-e  was  partially  destroyed  in  a  heavy  rainstorm.  It 
was  decided  to  huild  a  new  frame  building,  larger 
than  the  old  structure. 

In  1913  the  Ladies  \id  Society  was  organized 
while  Rev.  Ih.  I  hilau  was  pastor.  This  group  financed 
the  renovation  of  the  church  interior  in  1925.  <>n 
October  3.  ]"37.  St.  John's  joined  the  South  Illinois 
Synod  of  Evangelical  and  Reformed  Churches.  In  1918 
the  church  interioi  was  again  redecorated,  a  utility 
room  added  and  a  furnace  installed. 

In  1959  St.  John's  formed  a  "charge"  with  St. 
Peter's  al  Stone  Church,  in  which  they  agreed  to 
-hare  one  pastor.  New  E.  &  R.  hymnals  were  pur- 
chased  in   L961. 

Herewith    i-    the    li-t    of    pastors    who    served    the 

congregation:  Ottomar  Fuerbringer,  Vim.  Frank.  Wm. 
Flickinger,  Christoph  II.  Erni,  R.  Knoll.  Gustav  Staig- 
er,  Gusta\  Seydel,  P.  Lorentzen,  Vdolph  Von  Menger- 
shausen,  Carl  Munter,  P.  \\  .  Schaefer,  Vdolf  Dietrich. 
Adalbert  Hammerschmidt,  \\  .  Weber,  \.  Ilauft,  C.  J. 
Knicker,  I  .  Hugo,  \.  Seffzig,  IV.  Hempelmann,  Wm. 
Schuessler,  P.  Krickhahn,  Chr,  Bendigkeit,  J.  Krause, 
Theo.  Otto  Uhdau,  Theophil  Wittlinger,  Fred  Hock. 
Dr.  Theol.  <'.  Schieler,  Herman  Erber,  Rev.  I 
Rheinhold  Schmiechen,  Carl  \.  I.  Buck,  J.  M.  Hertel, 
Edwin  Eigenrauch,  \\.\u^  M.  Nottrott. 

litor's  Note:  Photogenically,  the  Johannisburg 
church  easilj  i-  a  "prize"  in  the  county,  its  simple 
yet  dominant  architecture  reminiscent  of  an  age  that 
i-  fast  disappearing  from  the   Vmerican  scene). 


69 


COAL  .  .  .  AND  WASHINGTON  COUNTY 


Coal  has  been  part  of  Washington  County's  in- 
dustry for  decades.  The  Number  Six  vein  is  too  deep 
within  county  borders  for  the  inroads  of  the  big  strip- 
ping shovels,  but  deep-shaft  mines  have  tapped  this 
vein  at  various  spots,  to  consistent,  long-lasting  com- 
mercial profit.  Some  of  the  county  coal  mines  have 
been  short-lived,  others  just  the  opposite.  The  Bois 
Coal  Company  mine,  closed  in  September  1961,  long 
a  Landmark  at  DuBois,  was  the  oldest  mine  in  Illinois. 


S*MWfe 


closed  about  1939,  after  an  old  oil  well  flooded  the 
tunnels,  making  operation  unprofitable.  This  mine, 
alongside  the  L&N  tracks  east  of  the  depot,  once 
served  as  a  coaling  station  for  the  railroad  before  the 
days  of  the  diesels.  Nothing  remains  of  the  mine  today. 

Ashley  had  a  deep-shaft  mine,  south  of  route 
460,  but  it  has  been  closed  for  a  long  time. 

Okawville's  first  coal  mine  was  sunk  near  the 
spot  where  the  state  highway  building  now  stands.  It 
went  down  to  the  No.  6  vein,  but  the  coal  here  had  a 
bad  fault,  about  two  feet  of  slag  mixed  in  the  vein,  so 
really  only  about  four  feet  of  coal  could  be  mined. 
The  mine  closed  shortly  after  World  War  I  as  an  un- 
profitable operation.  It's  hoisting  engine  and  cages 
were  purchased  by  the  new  mine  at  Venedy. 

Okawville's  second  mine,  sunk  southeast  of  the 
L&N  depot,  on  what  is  now  the  Riechmann  land,  had 
a  short  life  as  well,  closing  in  1941,  about  two  years 


The  Venedy  Coal  Company  Mine,  only 
remaining  mine  in  Washington  County. 


The  Clarkson  mine  at  Nashville  before  it  was  dismantled. 


Nashville,  currently  without  a  coal  mine,  has  had 
two  deep-shaft  mines  in  its  past.  The  old  Huegely 
Mine,  south  of  present  Illinois  Highway  460,  near  the 
Missouri-Illinois  tracks,  is  little  more  than  a  memory. 

Nashville's  second  mine,  operated  by  the  Nich- 
olson  Coal  Company,  later  selling  out   to  Clarkson, 


after  it  started  operation.  The  shaft  here  went  down 
to  the  No.  6  vein,  but  a  fault  in  the  coal  seam  made 
mining  unprofitable.  All  that  remains  of  this  mine 
today  is  a  pile  of  rubble  that  was  once  part  of  the 
boiler  room. 

Continued 


70 


The   DuBois  mine  before  if  was  abandoned. 


Washington  County's  only  operating  coal  mine 
today  is  the  deep-shaft  mine  of  the  Venedy  Coal  Com- 
pany, currently  employing  22  men.  The  mine  was 
started  by  the  Adolph  Brockschmidt  family,  Ed.  Petri. 
William  Bergmann  and  Herman  Ma-chuff,  back  in 
1921,  mining  its  first  coal  in  1922.  The  shaft  here  is 
260  feet  deep,  to  the  No.  6  vein,  which  at  this  point 
often  reaches  a  depth  of  eight  feet.  The  Scanlan 
Brothers  took  over  the  operation  of  the  mine  in 
July,  1946.  Recently  the  mine  set  a  production  rec- 
ord of  210  tons  of  coal  in  a  single  day. 

The  twin  shafts  of  the  Darmstadt  Coal  Company, 
started  about  L910,  were  so  near  the  county  line 
in  \\  ashingon  County  that  the  mine  produced  coal 
from  both  this  county  and  St.  Clair  County. 

The  No.  5  Mine  of  the  Centralis  Coal  Co..  locale. I 
just  inside  Washington  County  borders  at  Wamac,  is 


the  only  mine  within  the  county  ever  suffering  a 
major  tragedy.  On  Much  26,  1947,  a  dust  explosion 
al  3:30  trapped  nearly  130  men  in  the  tunnel-.  When 
the  dc.nl  were  brought  up  from  the  smoking  death- 
trap, one  by  one.  the  total  finally  reached  111.  rated 
as  one  of  the  worst  mine  disasters  in  Illinois.  Operat- 
ing full  blast  in  the  war  year-,  with  little  thought  for 
the  safet)  of  the  men.  accumulation  of  coal  dw-t  in 
the   tunnel-   finally   triggered   the   blast 

A  county  miner.  Ted  Keil  of  DuBois.  labelled 
"No.  U2"  las  between  life  and  death  for  months, 
finalK    recovered,  and  went   hack  to  work  in  the  -arc 

shaft.  Later  No.  5  was  closed,  it-  shaft  filled  and  all 
topside  rigging  removed.  In  Foundation  Park,  Cen- 
tralia,  a  bronze  plaque  todaj  lists  the  name-  of  the 
111    men  win.  died  in  this  holocaust.  The  Btorj   of 

Continued 


71 


"Old  No.  5,"  and  the  needless  death  of  111  miners, 
has  been  the  subject  of  many  articles  in  national 
periodicals,  down  through  the  years. 

If  there  is  any  romance  connected  with  the  grim 
task  of  mining  coal,  it  goes  to  the  little  mine  at  Du- 
Bois,  closed  in   1961,  called  the  oldest  mine  in  the 


Ted  Keil,  survivor  of  the  No.  5  disaster,  check- 
ing names  of  the  111  dead  on  Centralia  plaque. 


state.  The  shaft  went  down  during  the  days  of  Lincoln, 
so  narrow  that  the  mine  mules  had  to  be  set  on  their 
haunches  to  make  the  trip.  Located  alongside  the  Ill- 
inois Central  tracks,  the  mine  saw  the  birth  of  the 
famous  Hayes  ten-wheelers,  and  no  less  a  personality 
than  the  legendary  Casey  Jones  rode  the  high  iron 
past  it.  The  mine  was  never  modernized.  Miners  op- 





I 


<M/& 


*^*^  <•<-***..   ^h™ 


All  that  remains  of  Okawville's  last  coal  mine. 


rf-iJ:'"*, 


*W*' 


erated  with  open-flame  lamps  on  their  caps,  used 
pick  and  shovel  methods  to  mine  coal.  A  serious 
cave-in  at  shafthead  finally  closed  the  mine.  Today 
the  shaft  has  been  filled,  all  the  top  rigging  removed. 

There  have  been  several  other  attempts  at  coal 
mining  within  county  borders,  none  of  which  reached 
the  commercial  stage. 

In  addition  to  the  mines  mentioned  here,  there 
also  is  a  "natural"  coal  mine  in  the  county,  almost 
forgotten  today.  At  a  spot  on  the  Kaskaskia  river, 
known  as  Coal  Stone  ford,  Covington  township,  a 
natural  out  cropping  of  coal  was  mined  by  the  pio- 
neers when  the  river  was  at  low  stage.  The  vein  still 
is  visible,  but  can  be  viewed  only  during  mid-summer 
when  the  river  stage  is  extremely  low. 


72 


IT  HAPPENED  HERE  OVER   100  YEARS  AGO 


By  Cdr  Earl  R.  Smith 


T.  W.  Smith  opened  a  law  office  and  announced 

he  would  take  clients  in  Madison,  Washington.  Bond, 
and  St.  Clair  Counties.  May  2>).  1»19. 

Dr.  John  H.  Lamhert  of  Carlyle  in  Washington 
County  was  agent  to  collect  neighborhood  news  for 
the  Edwardsville  "Spectator"  and  to  receive  payment 
for  subscriptions  to  that  paper  in  his  county.  June 
5.  1819. 

Chester  Ashley  opened  a  law  office  in  Wash- 
ington County.  June  5.   L819. 

The  town  of  Carlyle  advertised  that  it  was  very 
much  in  need  of  a  shoemaker  and  cobbler.  June  18, 
1819. 

Harry  Willton  and  Elizabeth  Allen,  both  of  Wash- 
ington County,  were  married  by  Lewis  Laughlin, 
Esquire,  on  August  22.  1819. 

John  I^ee  and  Beulah  Burton  were  married  by 
Mr.  Laughlin  on  September    1.   181'). 

The  property  of  Jacob  Meyer,  deceased,  was  sold 
at  public  auction.  September  2.">.    181'). 

Nathaniel  S.  Benton.  Attorney,  announced  that 
he  would  take  clients  in  \\  asbington  County.  Feb- 
ruary. 1820. 

John  Kain.  a  County  Commissioner,  approved  a 

bill  in  bankruptcy  filed  by  John  Martin.  Hi-  assignee 
was  Harry  Willton.   March    I.    1820. 

Mr.  Kain  also  approved  a  bill  in  bankruptcy 
filed  by  Joseph  loss.  His  assignee  was  George  Pogue. 
March  3.  1820. 

The  Honorable  William  H.  Bradsbv.  Clerk  of 
the  County  Commissioners  Court  of  Washington  Coun- 
ty, announced  the  sale  at  auction,  on  the  3rd  Monday 
of  April.  18.20.  of  the  goods,  chattels  and  credits  of 
Walter  Hull,  deceased. 

The  state  census  <>f  1820  -bowed  thai  Washington 
County  bad  a  population  of  1,514  whites  and  33 
colored    people. 

A  group  of  Washington  County  citizens,  headed 
by  Thomas  F.  Herbert.  Chairman,  and  Thomas  Lawr- 
ence. Secretary,  met  in  the  Carlyle  Hotel  and  adopted 
a  resolution  to  wear  crape  on  the  left  arm  for  thirty 
days  to  mourn  the  death  of  the  national  hero,  Com- 
modore Stephen  Decatur.  April   1"..   1820. 


On  June  13,  1820,  it  was  announced  thai  one 
of  the  recent!)  established  post  roads  in  Illinois  would 
run  from  Kaskaskia,  b\  the  Irish  Settlement.  Coving- 
ton. Carlyle,  and  Penyville,  to  VandaJia. 

\   summons  was  served  on  Stephen   Easton  to 

appeaj  in  the  Washington  County  Circuit  Court  in 
Covington  to  -bow  cause  why  his  wife,  Polly,  should 
not  be  granted  a  divorce.  July   7,   1820. 

Benjamin  Mills  was  a  practicing  attorney  in 
Washington  County.  When  in  Greenville  on  business 
and  while  attending  court  be  was  the  house  guest  of 
Doctor  Perrine.  August  9,  1820. 

On  Thursday,  August  17.  1820.  Daniel  McKinnev 
of  Jefferson  County  was  married  to  Fanny  Williams  of 
Washington  County  by  William  Vandergrift,  Esquire. 
The  wedding  took  place  at  the  Eagle  Salt  Works 
near  Carlyle. 

Washington  County  was  represented  in  the  State 
Senate  by  Zach  Maddox  and  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
senatives  by  Charles  Slade.  September  12,  1820. 

Candidates  for  Congress  were  Mr.  Cook  and  Mr. 
Elias  Kent  Kane.  It  was  rumored  that  the  latter  had 
the  support  of  the  slavery  party.  October  10,  1820. 

Nearlj  everybody  in  Washingon  County  read  the 
Edwardsville  "Spectator."  The  Editor  announced  that 
there  would  be  no  edition  published  for  the  first  week 
of  February,  1821,  because  he  had  loaned  too  much 
of  his  printer's  ink  to  a  neighboring  newspaper  and 
had  not  been  paid  back  in  time  to  go  to  print. 

On  February  20,  1821,  it  was  announced  that 
the  Honorable  William  H.  Bradsbv  had  been  elected 
Judge  of  the  Washington  County  Probate  Court. 

\n  editorial  dated  February  20,  1821,  expressed 

the   view    that   entirely    too   many   counties   were    being 

formed  in  Illinois  and  that  several  applications  to  form 
-till  more  had  been  "rejected  by  the  good  sense  of 
the  legislature." 

On    Man  h    I  I.    1821,   there   arrived    at    the   Town 

of  Carlyle  in  Washington  Count]  tin-  elegant  barge 
"Eliza  Martin",  burthen  about  130  tons,  owned  by 
lain.-  Strode  of  Virginia  and  laden  with  75  tons  of 
metal  bu   the  Eagle  "-aline. 

On    February    15,    1822,    Barton   Gilbreath    was 

married  in  Mr-.  Tayloi  in  Covington. 

Continued 


73 


At  Carlyle  on  May  7,  1822,  John  W.  Skipmore 
was  married  to  Sarah  Ann  Foss,  daughter  of  John 
Foss,  formerly  of  Baltimore,  Maryland. 

William  H.  Bradsby,  Esquire,  allowed  himself  to 
be  named  a  candidate  for  election  to  the  office  of 
Major  General  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
resignation  of  General  Moore.  June  22,  1822. 

On  February  4,  1823,  the  Senate  confirmed  the 
nomination  of  James  Temple  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  Washington  County. 

It  was  learned,  on  April  19,  1823,  that  Colonel 
Bankston,  Senator  for  Washington  County,  had  suc- 
cessfully blocked  a  move  to  create  a  new  county 
of  which  Carlyle  would  have  been  the  center.  The 
Senator's  action  was  based  on  the  fear  that  the  move 
had  been  the  result  of  an  unholy  bargain  with  certain 
members  of   the   conventionist    ( slavery )    party. 

It  was  discovered  that  the  water  from  a  certain 
well,  situated  on  a  high  ridge  in  the  prairie  near  to 
the  road,  leading  from  Carlyle  to  Shawneetown,  had 
the  same  properties  as  sal  cartharticus  amarus  (Epsom 
salts)  and  should  be  an  excellent  source  of  revenue  for 
the  community.  November  8,  1823. 

On  October  12,  1824,  Colonel  William  H.  Brads- 
by  of  Covington  was  a  candidate  for  Elector  of  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President.  His  instructions  were  to  vote 
for  Henry  Clay  for  President  and  Mr.  Sanford  of  New 
York  for  Vice  President. 

On  October  19,  1824,  Henry  Sharp,  Esquire,  of 
Washington  County,  was  a  candidate  for  Elector,  with 
instructions  to  vote  for  Henry  Clay  for  President  and 
for  "some  tried  Republican  as  Vice  President." 

Representing  Washington  County  in  the  Fourth 
General  Assembly  (  November  23,  1824)  were  Colonel 
Bankston,  Senator,  and  Philo  Beers,  Representative. 
Mr.  Beers  was  appointed  to  a  committee  to  investigate 
other  members  to  determine  if  each  had  satisfied  the 
statutory  requirement  of  residency  in  their  respective 
counties. 

On  Saturday,  December  11,  1824,  Mr.  Beers  pre- 
sented a  remonstrance  of  sundry  citizens  of  Wash- 
ington County  against  a   division  thereof. 

On  December  21,  1824,  the  public  learned  of  the 
final  outcome  of  the  General  Election  for  and  against 
a  proposed  convention  which  had  for  its  purpose  an 


Amendment  to  the  Illinois  State  Constitution  to  make 
it  a  slave  state.  The  results  showed  that  the  citizens 
of  Washington  County  had  voted  112  For  and  173 
Against  the  convention. 

On  Wednesday,  December  22,  1824,  a  bill  was 
passed  to  form  a  new  county,  to  be  named  Clinton, 
out  of  parts  of  Washington,  Bond  and  Fayette.  Among 
those  voting  in  favor  of  forming  the  new  county  was 
Colonel  Bankston,  Senator  for  Washington  County. 

In  the  Fifth  General  Assembly  Washington  Coun- 
ty was  represented  in  the  Senate  by  Joseph  A. 
Beaird  and  in  the  House  by  Charles  Slade.  Septem- 
ber 29,  1826. 

The  local  representatives  for  collecting  news  and 
receiving  payment  for  subscriptions  to  the  Columbus 
(Sparta)  "Herald"  were  David  F.  White,  Postmaster 
at  Beaucoup:  John  White,  Sheriff  at  Nashville;  and 
William  Boyd,  Postmaster  at  Nashville.  September 
13,  1839. 

James  McClurken.  living  in  Elk  Horn  Prairie,  14 
miles  west  of  Nashville  on  the  headwaters  of  Mud 
Creek,  offered  a  $5  reward  for  the  return  of  a  black 
mare  which  had  strayed.  Mr.  McClurken  was  the 
owner  of  the  steam  mill.  January  3,   1840. 

Several  complaints  were  registered  with  the  Post- 
master at  Beaucoup  because  the  Columbus  (Sparta) 
■"Herald"  had  not  arrived  on  time.  Friday,  January 
10,  1840. 

The  local  representatives  for  the  Sparta  "Demo- 
crat" were  Z.  H.  Vernor,  Postmaster  of  Nashville,  and 
D.  S.  White.  Postmaster  of  Beaucoup,  Friday,  May 
8,  1840. 

On  March  6,  1841.  Henry  Huggins  of  Bolo  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  S.  Curtis  in  Nashville,  by  Justice 
of  the  Peace  James  Burns.  The  groom  was  born  in 
Illinois,  the  bride  in  Tennessee. 

On  April  4.  1852,  William  Huggins  was  married 
to  Margaret  Bird  by  Samuel  Pyatt,  Justice  of  the  Peace 
in  Perry  County,  Illinois.  I  Ed.  Note.  Robert  Huggins, 
who  migrated  to  Perry  County  around  1800  from  Pee 
Dee,  South  Carolina,  and  who  married  Kate  Lively, 
was  the  father  of  James  Huggins.  This  James  was  the 
father  of  William,  who  married  Margaret  Bird.  Wil- 
liam had  a  son,  David,  who  had  a  son.  David,  who  was 
the  father  of  Jack  D.  Huggins.  CPA  of  Belleville, 
Illinois,  who  currently  audits  public  accounts  in 
Washington  Countv. ) 


74 


WASHINGTON  COLNTY  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


By  the  Ordinance  <>f  17!'.7.  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory was  declared  free.  Bui  the  existing  slavery  in  the 
old  French  settlements  was  not  touched,  and  in  the 
days  of  the  Illinois  Territory  slaver)  was  brought  in 
from  the  south  under  the  subterfuge  of  calling  slaves 
"indentured  servants." 

When  Illinois  sought  admission  to  the  Union,  the 
only  debate  in  Congress  was  over  the  question  whether 
Illinois  was  actually  a  slave  state.  1  be  pro-slavery  ele- 
ment was  strong,  and  the  first  legislature  passed  a  set 
of  laws  that  were  as  oppressive  on  colored  people  as 
those  of  any  southern  state.  Efforts  were  made  to  pro- 
tect and  increase  existing  slavery. 

\i  cording  to  the  old  records,  there  were  a  few 
slaves  in  Washington  County,  but  most  of  the  people 
who  first  settled  here  had  done  so  to  get  away  from 
slave  territory.  The  slave  element,  realizing  that  most 
of  the  incoming  immigration  was  anti-slavery,  made 
a  last  effort  to  make  the  state  slave.  This  clement, 
controlling  the  legislature  bj  political  knavery,  pushed 
through  a  hill  to  have  a  special  election  relative  to  a 
state  constitutional  convention  which  they  expected 
to  control. 

The  election  was  held  in  Jul)  of  1 ! .12 1  and  was 
a  very  hot  one.  But  when  the  votes  were  counted,  it 
was  defeated  by  almost  four  to  one.  in  a  total  vote 
several  times  as  hig  as  in  the  presidential  election 
a  few  months  later. 

Washington  Count]  voted  against  the  convention 
173  to  112.  Nevertheless,  Illinois  had  many  com- 
mercial ties  with  the  South,  and  anti-slaver)  views  were 
unpopular  in  the  large  towns.  But  the  tide  of  emigra- 
tion was  rolling  in.  and  most  of  the  newcomers  were 
anti-slavery,  especially  the  Germans  who  poured  into 
the  county,  starting  about   1!',.!7. 

The  old  pro-slavery  element  gave  them  a  cold  re- 
ception. A  political  movement  called  the  American 
Party  began  in  the  South  and  spread  into  the  North 
as  a  secret  society  called  the  "Know-Nothings,"  whose 
aim  it  was  to  stop  emigration,  fostering  slavery.  It 
polled  a  fair-sized  third  party  vote  in  \\  ashington 
County  in  two  national  election-.  On  the  other  hand. 
the  German  settlers  were  befriended  l>\  some  of  the 
older  anti-slavery  families  from  Tennessee. 

The  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  in  the 
185()s  brought  the  situation  to  a  climax.  The  abolition- 
ists in  the  count)  organized  stations  on  the  "under- 
ground railroad"  to  help  slaves  escape.  One  branch 
entered  the  count)  and  brought  slaves  to  a  station 
near  Oakd.de.  I  rom  here  the)  wen-  moved  to  a  station 
just  east  of  Nashville,  operated  by  the  Henry  family. 


The  next  move  was  Elichview,  where  they  were  put 
aboard  Illinois  Central  trains  hound  north. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  pro-slaver)  element  and 
those  who  profited  h\  it.  sometimes  threatened  people 
who  were  outspoken  abolitionists.  They  also  tried  to 
capture  escaping  slaves  and  return  them  to  their  own- 
ers for  rewards. 


The   late   John   Meyer  of   Addieville,   la»t 
Civil  War  Veteran  in  Washington   County. 


But  as  far  as  can  be  determined,  the  county  under- 
ground railroad  lost  only  one  man  in  the  area.  He  W8S 
shot,  northeast  of  Nashville,  and  grisl)   as  it  sounds 

today,   his   head   was   severed   and  sent   hack   south    for 
the  one  thousand  dollar  reward. 

The  outbreak  of  the  <'i\il  War  revealed  that  the 
people  of  Washington  Count)  were  overwhelmingly 
for  the  Union.  There  were  <.\er  1,200  enlistments,  a 

Continued 


75 


rather  amazing  figure  for  a  small  county.  The  list 
shows  a  very  large  number  of  Scotch-Irish  and  Ger- 
man names. 

Over  two  hundred  soldiers  from  the  county  lost 
their  lives  in  the  war,  either  on  battlefields,  or  from 
illness  or  accident.  Battlefield  promotions  were  com- 
mon in  the  Civil  War.  Thomas  Seawell  of  Nashville, 
for  instance,  was  promoted  to  brevet  Brigadier  General 
before  he  was  24  years  old.  The  pro-southern  element 
in  all  the  bordering  states  north  of  the  Ohio  organized 
a  secret  group  most  commonly  known  as  The  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Circle,  an  organization  which  engaged 
in  various  anti-Union  and  treasonable  activities. 
Further  south  in  the  state  they  blew  up  railroad 
bridges,  killed  Union  men,  threatened  their  families, 
and  in  one  instance  even  stopped  court  proceedings. 

The  Army  had  to  guard  the  Illinois  Central  bridge 
over  the  Big  Muddy  river  the  entire  time  of  the  war. 
When  the  draft  began,  they  tried  to  obstruct  it  and 
sheltered  draft  evaders  and  deserters. 

In  Washingon  County,  where  they  had  very  little 
support,  they  met  at  night  in  a  clearing  in  the  Elkhorn 
Bottoms,  west  of  Plum  Hill.  Thus  northern  states  were 
divided  into  military  departments,  with  troops  always 
present,  and  ticklish  situations  arose  over  the  division 
of  authority  between  civil  and  military.  In  the  summer 
of  1864,  the  people  of  Nashville  awoke  one  Saturday 
morning  to  find  the  city  under  martial  law,  held  by 
a  squadron  of  Union  Cavalry,  who  invaded  the  town 
looking  for  deserters,  draft  evaders  and  others  sus- 
pected of  treason.  It  is  said  that  several  such  hurriedly 
left  town  in  women's  garb.  The  troops  took  others  into 
custody  before  leaving  on  Monday. 

What  seems  rather  amazing  today  is  the  fact  that 
the  census  of  1880  showed  800  Negro  residents  in  this 
county,  with  a  scattering  in  every  township.  One  wo- 
man, a  Mrs.  Rivers,  who  had  come  through  this  county 
as  an  escaped  slave  on  the  underground  returned  to 
Nashville  and  for  years  worked  for  the  Needles  family. 
Another,  still  remembered,  was  Peter  Parley,  who 
lived  in  New  Minden  and  for  years  was  an  engineer 
for  a  threshing  crew. 

The  returning  soldiers  organized  a  veterans'  or- 
ganization called  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  or 
GAR,  with  a  women's  auxiliary  called  the  Women's 
relief  Corps.  This  became  a  powerful  group  in  both 
county  and  state  politics,  and  was  one  of  the  chief 
mainstays  of  the  Republican  Party,  which  with  few 
exceptions  carried  this  county  by  a  good  plurality 
from  1860  on.  Both  groups  lasted  until  after  World  War 
I,  the  Women's  Relief  Corps  until  the  middle  1920s. 

The  last  surviving  Union  veteran  in  the  county 
was  John  Meyer  of  Addieville,  who  lived  an  active 
life  until  well  after  ninety. 


T'-v. 


The  new  A.T.&T.  microwave  tower  is 
a  landmark  in  Pilot  Knob  township. 


The  Oakdale  Microwave 
Radio  Relay  Tower 

The  Oakdale  microwave  radio  relay  tower  pic- 
tured here  is  located  ten  miles  south  of  Nashville,  in 
Pilot  Knob  township,  a  facility  of  the  Long  Lines 
Department  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company,  a  new  landmark  in  the  county. 

It  is  one  of  many  similar  installations  spaced  at 
twenty  to  thirty  mile  intervals  along  a  route  from 
Butler,  Pa.  to  Oakland,  Calif. 

The  307-foot-high  tower,  situated  on  a  ground 
elevation  of  535  feet,  has  been  in  service  since  1965, 
and  provides  message  and  network  video  service  to 
St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City. 

The  poured  concrete  building  adjacent  to  the 
tower  is  air  conditioned  to  maintain  a  constant  inside 
temperature  of  75  degrees  for  the  equipment.  It  con- 
tains a  diesel  engine  alternator  which,  in  an  emer- 
gency, would  provide  it  with  three  week's  power  sup- 
ply. Eight  people  are  employed  at  the  installation. 


76 


WOODEN  SHOES 


Today's  generation  rarely  sees  a  wooden  shoe 
being  worn.  Hut  at  the  turn  of  the  century,  up  until 
the  early  twenties,  wooden  shoes  were  worn  on  many 
Washington  County  [arms,  especial!)  1>\  the  oldei  folk. 
They  brought  the  shoes  from  their  native  Germany, 
and  the  habit  was  deeply  inrooted,  slow  to  die. 

One  of  the  artisan-  who  made  wooden  shoes  in 
the  eounty  was  the  late  Christ  Lohmeier,  who  resided 
near  Okawville.  Mr.  Lohmeier  learned  the  trade  as 
a  boy  in  his  native  Germany,  and  when  he  settled 
in  the  eounty.  he  found  there  was  a  stead)  market 
for  his  product.  He  made  wooden  shoes  for  nearly 
sixt)   years. 

The  photo  showing  him  making  a  pair  of  shoes 
out  of  maple  blocks  was  taken  long  years  ago.  He 
could  fashion  a  shoe  out  of  a  block  of  maple  in  less 


than  an  hour.  Some  of  the  shoes  he  made  are  col- 
lectors'  item-  today.  Hi-  artistry  died  with  him.  and 
the  clap-clapping  wo.hI.-ii  shoe  toda)  i-  nothing  hut 
.1  nostalgic  memory. 

I  he  shoe-,  had  their  purpose.  The]  wire  easy 
to  -lip  into,  or  out  of.  I  he  wearer  never  brought) 
them  inside,  hut  left  them  on  the  step.  They  were 

waterproof,  and  were  worn  until  the  patina  of  use  was 
a  dull  sheen  of  darkness.  They  were  excellent  to  ad- 
minister  a  swift  kick  to  the  side  of  some  recalcitrant 
heifer  refusing  to  stand  still  to  he  milked.  Walking 
had  its  own  impact  when  the  -hoc-  were  worn.  The 
initial  wearer  walked  something  like  a  'luck  because 
of  the  stability  of  the  shoe,  vet  the  user  soon  learn- 
ed the  "swing"  necessary  to  their  use. 


The  lafe  Christ  Lohmeier,  who  for  sixty  years  made  wooden  shoes  in  the  county. 


"The  Plague"  in  Washington   County 


On  a  blacktop  road  leading  north  from  German- 
town  is  a  huge  cross  standing  in  a  pasture,  a  memorial 
to  the  dread  years  of  a  cholera  epidemic  in  this  part  of 
the  state.  Many  people  pass  here,  but  very  few  seem  to 
know  the  story  of  the  cross.  Factually,  it  has  been  there 
for  over  a  century. 

The  story  of  this  cross  began  in  the  terrible  chole- 
ra epidemic  years  of  1831-49,  when  people  died  like 
flies  in  southern  Illinois.  St.  Louis  had  601  deaths  in 
a  single  week.  An  entire  farm  family  of  ten  were  wiped 
out  over  night  at  Eagle  Prairie  near  Lebanon.  Coulter- 
ville,  Fayetteville,  Mascoutah,  Okawville,  Germantown, 
Breese  and  Carlyle,  all  had  staggering  death  tolls.  No 


one  knew  how  to  stop  the  epidemic.  Called  the  Black 
Plague,  it  raced  through  the  country  like  a  prairie  fire. 

People  sprayed  the  premises  with  lime;  fires  were 
fed  with  sulphur;  even  boiling  vinegar,  tar  and  burn- 
ing coffee  was  used,  all  to  no  avail. 

It  was  during  these  days  that  John  Altepeter,  a 
Germantown  farmer  and  father  of  a  large  family,  made 
a  covenant  with  God:  spare  his  family,  and  he  would 
erect  a  fitting  monument  for  all  time  as  evidence  of 
his  faith. 

Miraculous  as  it  sounds,  the  Altepeter  family  were 
spared.  The  father  went  out  to  the  woods  lot,  hewed 

Continued 

Site  of  a  cholera  death  in  Washington  County. 


out  a  cross  from  two  stalward  limbs,  and  mounted  it  in 
his  farm  pasture,  facing  the  road,  so  all  could  see.  The 
cross  has  been  there  ever  since.  Wooden  ones  rotted 
away  and  were  replaced.  Now  the  cross  is  of  durable 
concrete. 

On  this  side  of  the  river,  in  Washington  County, 
the  plague  struck  just  as  disastrously.  It  caught  the 
pioneer,  heading  west  in  his  Conesloga  wagon;  it  trap- 
ped the  pioneer  in  his  log  cabin.  Many  of  the  trailside 
graves,  which  were  unmarked,  have  since  heen  lost. 
Many  of  the  county's  early  cemeteries  have  burials 
that  were  the  result  of  "the  sickness." 

The  disease  struck  hard  in  the  Klkton  community, 
where  it  was  labeled  as  spotted  fever,  an  eruptive  dis- 
ease, accompanied  by  high  temperatures.  Today  it 
might  have  fallen  under  the  label  of  cerebrospinal 
meningitis  and  typhus.  The  date  here  was  1862. 

Rhoda  Rountree  Rohde  died  here  on  April  8, 
1862,  leaving  a  small  baby.  Philip  Reuter  lost  several 
children,  two  dying  in  one  day.  A  son,  Gustav,  age 


time  survived  but  was  stricken  blind.  It  was  not  un- 
common at  that  time  to  luuv  two  or  even  three  chil- 
dren in  a  single  grave. 

Oldtimers  in  the  Rlkton  community  tell  of  the 
"death"  of  a  mother  who  was  being  prepared  for 
burial,  when  a  faint  pulse  was  noticed.  The  woman 
recovered. 

There  is  still  standing  in  the  rountv  the  ruins  of 
an  old  house  in  which  a  woman,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mc- 
Clellan,  died   of  cholera    in    I  <"..">  1 .    The  house,  shown 

here,  is  a  ruin,  located  between  Mckinlev  Station  and 

Oakdale. 

Space  does  not  permit  the  expansion  of  this  article 
on  "the  sickness,"  exploring  the  many  incidents  of  per- 
sonal loss  as  loved  ones  succumbed  to  the  disease. 
Remember,  there  were  DO  antibiotics  in  those  days;  the 
practicing  physicians  knew  little  relative  to  a  strange 
epidemic  People  fell  sick  one  day,  were  interred  the 
next.  These  were  times  of  trial  that  will  long  be  re- 
membered in  history. 


TWO  NEGROES  HANGED  AT  NASHVILLE  IN  1892 


There  are  a  few  senior  citizens  residing  in  V  ash- 
ington  County  who  will  recall  the  sensational  murder 
of  Marcus  Deitsh  at  Richview  on  the  night  of  Decem- 
ber 26,  1891.  Deitsh  was  an  itinerant  peddler  who  re- 
sided at  Richview  and  hawked  his  wares  in  the  area.  A 
Russian  Jew  by  birth,  he  was  a  familiar  figure  to 
many.  He  was  genial,  well  liked,  and  didn't  mind  the 
name  of  "Mike,  the  little  Peddler,"  that  his  customers 
pinned  on  him.  He  did  a  flourishing  business. 

Then  one  morning  his  body  was  found  in  a  path- 
way near  his  boarding  bouse,  his  skull  bashed  in,  and 
his  throat  cut.  Evidently  he  had  been  murdered  for 
his  money,  as  he  usually  carried  a  sizeable  sum 
on  his  person. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  guilty  parties  were 
arrested,  Tom  Davis  and  Henry  Dicker-on.  two  ne- 
groes who  lived  in  Richview.  They  were  lodged  in  the 
county  jail  at  Nashville,  and  the  long  prosecution  be- 
gun. Thev  were  finally  sentenced  to  be  banged,  and 
before  going  to  the  gallows,  made  a  full  confession 
of  the  crime. 

They  bad  waylaid  Deitsh,  beat  him  down  with 
club-,    before    they    robbed    him.     Eater,    fearing    he 


might  regain  consciousness,  they  crept  back  to  the 
scene  and  cut  his  throat  with  a  jackknife. 

The  Iwo  were  banged  at  11:2''  a.m.,  Saturday, 
Ma\  1  1.  1802.  from  a  scaffold  built  within  an  en- 
elosure  in  the  courtyard  at  Nashville.  Sheriff  Sam 
W  bite  was  in  charge  of  the  hanging. 

///  Earlier  Death  Sentence 

While  this  was  the  first  judicial  execution  ever 
held  in  Washington  County,  it  was  not  the  first  death 
sentence  imposed  here.  In  1862,  James  Ambrose  was 
Sentenced  to  be  hanged  in  Nashville  for  the  murder 
of  an  uncle  in  St.  Clair  County  the  year  previously. 
Amos  Watt-  wa-  then  State's  Attorney,  and  Salem 
Coodner  was  sheriff,  \mbrose  bad  killed  bis  uncle 
with  a  shotgun.  The  county  jail  then  stood  in  the 
southeast  i  ornei  of  the  public  square,  and  a-  the  scaf- 
fold wa-  being  erected  in  sight  of  the  condemned  man's 

cell,  he  swore  repeatedlj  that  it  never  would  be  used. 

lie  wa-  right  in  hi-  belief,  for  the  day  before  the 
execution.  <.o\.  ^  ate-  of  Illinois  commuted  hi-  sen- 
tence to  life  imprisonment.   He  was  pardoned  eight 

..    UTS   later,  and   returned   to  work   as  a  carpenter.   Hut 

ironically,  he  was  caught  In  a  falling  wall  soon  after- 
ward and  killed. 


79 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  RICHVIEW 


Let's  turn  the  clock  backward  a  century  or  more, 
and  retrace  the  steps  of  those  men  and  women  who 
built  our  first  communities,  churches,  schools  and 
stores.  Old  Richview  was  laid  out  in  1839  by  Wm- 
Livesay.  In  early  days  it  was  called  Richmond.  First 
settler  was  James  Severs.  Following  close  upon  his 
footsteps  came  Joseph  Barber,  Asa  Foster,  John  Tate, 
James  Gore  and  H.  0.  Whittenberg.  They  built  the 
first  school,  a  log  structure,  at  Grand  Point. 


Cornelius  Dorsey  opened  the  first  store.  Richview 
grew,  soon  had  five  stores,  two  blacksmith  shops,  a 
wagon  shop,  and  three  physicians. 

In  1852,  when  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  laid 
their  tracks  through  the  county,  the  site  was  about  one- 
half  mile  east  of  Old  Town.  In  1854,  the  railroad 
company  started  a  new  addition  to  the  town,  built  a 
depot,  and  called  the  station  Richview.  One  of  the  old 
residents  who  was  living  at  that  time  told  how  the  en- 

Continued 


Presumably  the  oldest  building  still  standing  in  Richview,  still  in  use, 
is  the  Reed  Grocery,  shown  here.  Operated  by  Delmar  Reed,  who 
has  been  there  for  57  years,  the  building  is  about  115  years  old. 


tire  populace  of  Old  Town  came  down  to  see  the  first 
train  pass  through. 

The  new  town  took  runt,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
two  separate  communities,  I  'Id  [own  and  new.  had  a 
combined  population  of  a  thousand,  with  the  following 
business  places:  House  and  Bingham,  Joel  Edmiston, 
C.  W.  Oppenlander,  \\  .  \\  .  Shanks,  Samuel  G.  House. 
Cooper  and  \\  all.  and  I..  II.  Barners,  all  in  the  general 
store  business.  \\  .  S.  Merrill  had  a  drug  store:  B.  F. 
Willis,  hardware:  Wm.  Sproul  and  John  II.  Vtkins, 
furniture:  R.  B.  Keyes,  undertaker.  II.  P.  Ingram  and 
J.  Dillingham  had  meat  markets:  \.  I',  late.  \\  n\. 
Sproul  and  James  W  ithchurch  had  blacksmith  shops. 

L.  Benjamin  and  Morgan  Woolle)  had  a  flour  mill; 
S.  J.  Chapman,  a  castor  oil  mill:  rlolcomb  &  Cooper 
ran  the  exchange  hank:  S.  P.  Cooper  was  proprietor  of 
the  Richview  House:  E.  Harvev  ran  the  \merican 
House,  ami  S.  T.  Howard  and  John  Bell  were  lumber 
dealers. 

Professional  men  included  Drs.  W.  H.  Burns, 
H.  B.  Lucas.  G.  W.  Downey  and  J.  B.  Houston.  John 
Breeze  was  the  town  lawyer:  K.  Wright  was  police 
magistrate.  Ceo.  T.  Hoke  was  justice  of  the  peace  and 
notary  public. 

Grand  Lodge  No.  152.  of  the  Illinois  Order  of 
Masons,  was  once  the  most  flourishing  lodge  in  the 
county. 

\nother  historic  institution  at  Richview  was 
Washington  Seminary,  projected  l>\  a  few  leading  citi- 
zens who  desired,  as  stated  in  their  first  deed,  to  es- 
tablish a  school  of  elevated  character  to  diffuse  the 
fine  benefits  of  higher  education.  \s  an  incentive,  the 
Illinois  Central  donated  75  lots  upon  which  the  school 
was  to  be  built.  These  lots  sold  in  June,  1857.  for 
$4,000. 

The  foundation  was  laid  in  October,  1857.  The 
lower  story  was  divided  in  two  rooms,  and  a  grade 
school  opened.  \.  E.  Way.  assisted  by  his  sister.  Mrs. 
Cope,  were  the  teachers  for  two  years.  Miss   Minnie 

Graham,  later   Mrs.   M ly,  also  taught.   Prof.  H.  C. 

Hillman  assisted  Mrs.  Cope,  and  a  Miss  Irwin  followed. 
But  the  building  was  found  to  be  too  large  and  expen- 
sive, and  by  a  vote  of  the  district  the  trustees  sold  the 
seminary  to  l>.  <>.  Williams  for  (1500  on  Vugust  22. 
1864.  It  was  resold  to  S.  J.  P.  Anderson,  D.  D.,  of  St. 
Louis  in  1870.  later  resold  by  his  heirs  to  Re\ 
Clark  of  Sterling.  111. 

The  seminary   was  incorporated   in    1865  with   a 
board  of  30  trustees,  with  power  5  to  grant  de.  • 
had  a  full  college  charter.  It>  students  were  taught  cur- 
rent educational  courses,  as  well  as  geometry,  naviga- 
tion, survey  ing,  astronomy,  chemistrj .  Latin  and  Creek. 

The  first  church  in  Richview  was  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  organized  at  the  home  of  Samuel  White. 


later  the  first   Methodist   Episcopal  church  was  built 
in  (  Md  Richv  iew. 

The  first  Baptist  church  was  organized  in  1855. 
Elder  Wm.  Mitchell  was  the  fir-t  pastor.  Membership 

Was  53. 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in 
original  members  being  25.   The  brick  building  they 

erected  was  dedicated  in  1865. 

The  Richview  Phoenix,  first  newspaper  here,  was 
published  by  M.  L.  McCord  in  1856,  and  continued 
until  March  1858,  when  the  press  was  moved  to 
Centralis. 


A  Hamlet  Called  Plum  Hill 


The  small  community  of  Plum  Hill  is  without 
doubl  the  onl)  hamlel  of  its  size  in  the  county  with 
two  places  of  worship.  The  ->t.  John'-  E.  and  R.  Church 

building  i--  in  the  renter  of  the  photo  as  the  camera 
[aces  south,  and  the  former  Bielefeld t  store,  now  a 
meeting  place  of  Jehovah's  Witnesses,  is  in  the  far 
right.  Bus)   route   k>0  intersects  the  two. 


31 


THE   BROCKSCHMIDT   ANVIL 


Washington  County  has  several  unusual  memor- 
ials, but  the  one  that  really  is  unique  is  shown  here,  the 
Brockschmidt  family  anvil,  now  permanently  mounted 
at  the  gateway  to  the  Brockschmidt  village  park  at 
Venedy. 

The  700-pound  anvil  was  brought  to  this  country 
well  over  a  century  ago  from  Germany,  the  three 
months  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  being  by  sailboat. 

The  anvil  has  been  in  the  Brockschmidt  family 
well  over  a  century,  is  heavier  than  those  in  use  today. 
It  also  is  shaped  differently. 

The  Joseph  Kinyon  family  was  the  first  to  settle 
in  the  area  that  later  became  Venedy.  in  1822.  Fifteen 


years  later,  G.  H.  Brockschmidt  bought  out  Kinyon's 
land  interests,  and  became  the  first  German  settler 
here,  if  not  the  first  in  the  county. 

Brockschmidt  came  from  a  little  town  in  Germany 
called  Vene.  He  merely  added  the  "dy"  and  Venedy 
was  born. 

There  is  no  "spreading  chestnut  tree"  shading  the 
old  anvil  today,  but  it  is  reminiscent  of  the  pioneers 
who  labored  hard  to  change  the  brome-sedged  prairies 
of  this  county  into  fertile  farms.  The  anvil  in  its  gold 
paint  is  reminiscent  of  an  age  that  is  gone,  growing 
more  valuable  with  the  passing  of  the  years. 


82 


PIONEER  BURIAL  SITE 


The  photo  on  this  page  shows  all  that  is  left  of  an 
old  pioneer  burial  plat  known  as  the  Weaver  Cemetery. 
When  this  writer  was  a  boy,  there  were  a  number  of 
graves  here.  But  since  then,  vandals  and  time  itself, 
have  all  but  destroyed  the  old  cemetery. 

The  location  is  five  miles  south  of  Okawville, 
about  a  half  mile  south  of  Illinois  460,  in  what  is  now 
the  Schuetz  pasture,  on  tiie  right  side  of  the  blacktop 
road  leading  south  from  what  is  known  locally  as  Ead's 
Corner.  The  burial  site  was  on  a  hill  facing  Weaver 
Creek. 


The  creek  itself  was  named  after  the  Weaver 
families  who  settled  on  it.  It  is  a  tributary  of  the  Elk- 
horn,  and  crosses  Plum  Hill  township  from  east  to 
west.  Sometime  ago,  vandals  threw  most  of  the  stones 
into  the  creek,  but  Mr.  August  Schuetz  retrieved  most 
of  them  and  piled  them  back,  under  a  tree  where  the 
original  graves  were  located.  The  Weaver  name  has 
died  out  in  the  area  of  the  county  where  these  first 
settlers  carved  out  their  homesteads  from  the  forest. 


The    Weaver   Cemetery   —   after   a   century  of   neglect. 


nH  % 


.,  < 


.  ,-■■ 


- 

- 

V 


&&**. 


Beaucoup  Once  Largest  Town  in  County 


Following  closely  upon  the  Lively  Massacre  near 
Covington,  the  settling  of  Washington  County  took  on 
considerable  speed.  The  most  rapid  growth  areas  cen- 
tered around  Beaucoup,  four  miles  east  of  Nashville, 
and  in  the  Elkton-Oakdale  area,  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  county. 

According  to  old-time  records,  there  was  con- 
siderable rivalry  between  these  two  settlements,  both 
as  to  size  and  in  religion.  In  the  Beaucoup  area  the 
Methodists  predominated.  At  Elkton,  the  Baptists  had 
the   plurality.    At   Oakdale,   the   first   settlers   were 


members  of  one  or  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  Scotch  Covenanters  (the  Reformed 
Church),  or  the  United  Presbyterian. 

On  the  whole,  this  was  a  healthy  cleavage,  al- 
though there  were  times  when  denominational  differ- 
ences even  influenced  politics.  For  instance,  in  the 
political  campaign  of  1826,  the  candidates  were  asked 
to  declare  themselves  in  advance,  concerning  the  site 
for  the  new  county  seat. 

Continued 
The  L&N  depot  at  Beaucoup  before  it  was  razed. 


k 


WW 


By  the  time  Illinois  was  admitted  as  a  State  in 
L818,  Beaucoup  probably  was  the  largest  community 
in  the  county,  although  there  are  no  existing  records  to 
prove  it.  Its  roster  is  replete  with  such  family  names  as 
White,  Whittenburg,  Livesay,  Lyons,  Henry,  Ander- 
son, Jack,  Walker  and  others.  Many  of  these  names 
have  come  down  through  the  history  of  the  county  to 
the  present  day. 

In  the  Elkton-Oakdale  area  were  the  \vers. 
Evans,  Rountree,  Maxwell.  MeClurkin.  Hood,  and  Mc- 
Cord  families,  most  of  them  represented  in  our  present 
generation. 


William  Avers  was  the  first  settler  I  1816)  in  the 
Elkton-Oakdale  area,  and  among  the  fir-t  in  the  coun- 
ts llr  Stopped  For  a  time  on  F.lkhorn  Creek,  near  a 
road  that  led  to  present  Fayetteville,  and  not  far  from 
the  site  that  later  became  the  village  of  Elkton.  He 
afterwards  moved  to  Vyers  Point  (Oakdale),  which  is 

located  on  an  old   Indian  Trace  that  now  is  known  88 

the  \  incennes-Kaskaskia    Trail,   [ncidently,  this  was 

the  route  traversed   h\   early    Pony    Express  riders  be- 
tween \  incennes  and  Fort  kaskaskia. 


The  Organ  in  the  Venedy  Church 


Without  douht,  one  of  the  most  historic  pipe 
organs  in  the  state  graces  the  balcony  of  the  San 
Salvator  Ev. -Lutheran   Church   at   Venedy.   Recently 

restored,  the  organ  has  an  historic  background  that 
adds  to  its  charm. 

Delving  into  the  records  of  the  Missouri  Synod 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  it  was  found  that  the  organ 
was  brought  from  Germany  to  St.  Louis  in  Ui.'V)  bv 
the  Saxon  Fathers,  along  with  four  church  bells  and 
three  bolts  of  cloth  to  be  used  for  vestments.  In  first 
destination  was  the  Old  Trinity  Lutheran  Church,  then 
located  on  Fourth  Street  near  the  St.  Louis  riverfront. 

Evidently  it  was  the  first  organ  used  by  the  Mis- 
souri Synod  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  a  fact  that  en- 
hances its  value  today. 

When  a  new.  larger  Trinity  Church  was  built  in 
St.  Louis  at  Grand  and  Soulard,  it  was  found  the 
organ  was  not  large  enough  for  the  new  building,  so 
it  was  put  up  for  sale.  San  Salvator  Church  at  \  enedj 
purchased  it.  through  the  efforts  of  its  pastor,  the  late 
Dr.  C.  F.  V  .  Walther. 

Six  Venedv  farmers  volunteered  to  -end  over 
wagons  and  teams  to  St.  Louis,  to  bring  the  organ  to 
its  new  home.  The  year  was  1<>65,  and  our  counti  \  wa- 
in the  last  days  of  the  Civil  War.  The  trek  to  St.  Louis 
via  horse  and  wagon  was  a  momentous  journe)  for  the 
six  farmers,  involving  a  week'-  time  and  several  over- 
night stops  enroute. 

The  organ  has  been  at  Vened)  ever  since. 

Back  in  L963,  the  congregation  was  about  ready 

to  scrap  the  ancient  musical  instrument.  Pipe-  were 
off-key,  some  didn't  even  respond.  Tin-  organ  hadn't 
been    tuned    since    World    \\  .11     i.     I  In-    debate     LTOSe 


whether  it  should  be  rebuilt  or  replaced  with  a  new 
electronic  type  instrument. 

Then  an  organ  specialist.  Richard  Hosier,  exam- 
ined the  ancient  organ  and  labeled  it  '"finest."  It  was 
rebuilt,  its  891  pipes  cleaned  and  re-glued.  Inside  its 
mechanism  were  found  the  skeletons  of  four  birds, 
main  insects,  and  the  dust  of  years.  Hosier  set  a  value 
of  S2u. (10(1  on  the  organ.  That's  a  tidy  sum  for  an  art 
object  that  almost  went  into  the  junk  pile! 


The  late  Rev.  E.  J.  Saleska.  former  pastor  at  Venedv 
the    keyboard    of   the    historic    pipe    organ. 


65 


Where  Two  Railroads  Cross 


Ashley  Once  "Trail's  End"  For  War  Refugees 


If  Ashley  hadn't  been  exactly  98  miles  from 
Cairo,  it  still  might  be  nothing  more  than  a  whistle 
stop  of  the  St.  Louis  Division  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad.  But  in  that  statistical  fact  lies  a  story,  musty 
with  age,  but  most  appropriate  for  this  history  of  the 
county. 

During  the  Civil  War,  with  most  of  the  South 
devastated,  refugees  started  the  slow  trek  North.  Real- 
izing there  was  a  better  future  for  these  luckless  peo- 
ple north  of  the  Mason-Dixon  line,  the  Government 
promised  free  railroad  fare  for  one  hundred  miles 
north  of  this  line. 

Ashley,  strung  along  the  newly-laid  tracks  of 
the  Illinois  Central,  was  the  ''jumping  off"  place  for 


many  of  these  refugees.  Daily  they  came  in  droves, 
riding  freight  trains,  and  huddled  in  cattle  cars,  to 
get  away  from  the  poverty  of  the  South. 

The  people  of  Ashley  suddenly  found  themselves 
responsible  for  the  care  of  a  long  line  of  refugees. 
Feeding  them  was  the  big  problem;  finding  housing 
was  another.  Most  were  penniless,  with  their  meager 
belongings  in  carpet  bags. 

At  the  time,  the  John  Robinson  Shows,  one  of 
the  larger  circuses  of  the  day,  heard  about  the  plight 
of  these  people  and  donated  two  hundred  dollars 
worth  of  food,  which  saved  many  a  life  until  an  ad- 
justment could  be  made  in  this  strange  territory. 

Continued 

Where  the  L&N  and  the  Illnois-Central  cress  at  Ashley. 


■$*B!£&'*-*r 


*>_> 
£ 


•#?: 


Today,  the  I.  C.  and  the  L.  &  X.  Railroads  cross 
at  Ashley,  the  only  place  in  the  county  where  two 
major  railroads  cross. 

Men  toiled  with  wheelbarrows  and  spades  to 
build  the  right-of-ways  through  virgin  forest  and  un- 
broken prairie  sod.  An  old  record  at  Ashley  shows 
that  a  crew  of  about  a  hundred  men  worked  for  weeks 
to  complete  the  earthwork  at  Double  Rock  Creek,  to 
the  north. 

The  first  locomotives  were  fired  with  cordwood, 
which  was  stored  at  convenient  spots  along  the  right- 


of-way.  \t  fir>t  the  newly  laid  road  was  without  rock 
ballast,  and  mud  splashed  over  the  coaches  during  the 
wet  runs,  while  in  dry  seasons,  the  passing  of  a  train 
set  up  a  dust  cloud  that  could  be  seen  for  miles. 

The  train  consisted  of  two  or  three  freight  cars,  with 
a  combination  baggage-passenger  car. 

Even  today,  more  than  a  century  later,  one  finds 
names  sprinkled  throughout  the  Ashley  area,  reminis- 
cent of  those  early  way  days  when  the  most  important 
item  in  the  day  was  a  morsel  of  food. 


ST.  CHARLES  OF  BORROMEO,  DuBOIS 


St.  Charles  of  Borromeo  Roman  Catholic  Church 
at  DuBois  has  been  visited  by  tourists  from  all  over  the 
nation  because  of  its  unusual  beauty.  Its  twin  spires 
rise  116  feet  and  dominate  the  tiny  town.  The  brick 
structure  is  131  feet  long,  80  feet  wide,  and  58  feet 
high.  A  combination  of  Roman  and  Byzantine  archi- 
tecture, its  pictorial  windows  are  art  treasures.  The 
present  pastor.  Rev.  Paulin  Dobkowski.  succeeds  the 
late  Msgr.  Jos.  Ceranski,  who  served  the  parish  for 
61  consecutive  years,  until  his  death  in  1962  at  the 
age  of  88.  In  fact,  Msgr.  Ceranski  helped  build  the 
huge  church,  working  with  the  carpenters  and  masons, 
day  after  day. 

The  name  of  the  town,  DuBois,  is  French,  but  the 
community  is  predominantly  Polish,  with  a  slow  infil- 
tration of  Cerman.  In  fact,  the  town  has  two  names. 
On  the  Illinois  road  map  it  is  listed  as  DuBois.  But 
until  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  razed  its  depot  here, 
it  was  called  Bois.  The  Post  Office  directory  of  Post 
Offices  spells  DuBois  as  one  word,  as  do  several  map- 
makers.  But  the  new  official  highway  map  of  Illinois 
spells  it  Du  Bois. 

The  community,  first  called  Coloma,  was  formed 
by  a  tight  group  of  ten  Polish  -  Catholic  families,  who 
fled  Europe  to  escape  the  Prussian  Kulturkamph,  and 
the  religious  persecution  imposed  by  the  Cerman 
Chancellor,  Bismarck.  Even  today,  the  Poles  predom- 
inate. The  names  on  the  rural  mail  boxes  are  tongue- 
twisters.  But  the  younger  generation  rarely  use  the 
mother  tongue. 

St.  Charles  Church  towers  over  the  town  like 
some  giant.  About  200  families  in  the  farm  area  sur- 


rounding it  are  its  mainstay.  Currently  there  are  126 
pupils  in  its  school,  taught  by  three  sisters  of  Notre 
Dame.  \  arious  writers,  enthusiastic  about  the  church, 
have  labelled  it  "The  Cathedral  of  the  Prairie." 


St.  Charles  Borromeo  Roman  Catholic  Church  af 
DuBois,  and  (inset)  the  late  Msgr.  Joseph  Cer- 
anski   who    served    that    charge    for    64    years. 


87 


OLD     SALEM     CEMETERY 


This  volume  is  devoting  considerable  space  to  old 
Washington  County  cemeteries  for  one  reason  if  noth- 
ing else:  a  matter  of  historic  record,  long  neglected. 
One  of  these  pioneer  burial  grounds  is  Old  Salem, 
described  here.  Located  in  the  extreme  southwest  part 
of  Washington  County,  seldom  visited  except  by  area 
residents,  it  is  nonetheless,  a  large  cemetery,  replete 
with  the  names  of  many  veterans  of  the  different  wars, 
and  once  the  site  of  a  church.  Burials  are  still  made 
there.  The  cemetery  is  fenced,  and  given  more  care 
than  most  old  burial  plats. 

The  oldest  document  pertaining  to  this  cemetery 
and  church  is  in  the  possession  of  Willis  Coulter,  ceme- 
tery trustee,  and  is  dated  February  17,  1838,  showing 
its  great  age. 

According  to  the  Cyclopedia  Manual  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America,  the  Salem 
Church  once  standing  adjacent  to  this  cemetery,  was 
organized  in  1844  as  an  Associate  Reformed  Church, 
and  disbanded  in  1867. 

The  Mud  Creek  congregation  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Church  was  organized  on  June  1,  1871,  dis- 
banded in  1880.  Evidently  both  these  congregations 
used  the  same  church  building,  although  there  is  no 
record  to  prove  it. 

The  late  Dr.  S.  Cameron  Edmiston  of  Los  Angeles, 
California,  reminisced  at  length  about  ihe  Old  Salem 
Church,  which  he  had  attended  as  a  boy: 

"The  old  church  on  Mud  Creek  is  no  more,  but 
the  cemetery  is  still  there,  occupied  by  many  of  our  old 
neighbors.  In  a  recent  visit  there,  it  wasn't  difficult  to 
close  one's  eyes  and  visualize  those  scenes  of  long  ago, 
the  farmers'  rigs,  the  horses  tied  to  the  trees,  tails 
swishing  at  the  insects  bothering  them;  the  drone  of 
the  preacher's  voice,  and  the  singing  of  the  Psalms.  At 
intermission,  the  old  folk  would  huddle  together  in 
eager  friendship,  telling  of  their  joys  and  problems. 
Perhaps  a  boy  and  a  girl  would  walk  down  the  hill, 
hand  in  hand,  the  beginning  of  a  romance. 

"It  was  an  attractive  church  for  its  day.  had  three 
windows  on  two  sides,  with  a  double  door  at  the  front, 
and  a  wide  aisle  up  the  center,  with  pews  on  either 
side.  There  was  a  raised  dias  for  the  preacher,  and  to 
his  left  was  a  chair  for  the  precentor  who  lined  the 


Psalms  for  the  congregation  to  sing,  two  lines  at  a 
time." 

Five  soldiers  of  the  War  of  1812,  James  C.  Ken- 
nedy, Daniel  McMillan.  Sr.,  John  Wylie.  Francis  B. 
Green  and  James  Gillespie,  Sr.  are  interred  here,  show- 
ing the  age  of  this  burial  ground. 

Following  are  the  list  of  Civil  War  soldiers  in- 
terred here:  Thomas  J.  Smith,  Joseph  Mulholland, 
William  E.  Paul,  William  C.  Crain,  John  Dickey, 
Samuel  W.  Dickey,  James  Riley  Coulter,  Christopher 
Kingston,  David  Slater,  Daniel  Gibson.  James  K.  Mc- 
intosh, Joseph  Patton,  Travis  Thompson.  Samuel  Gib- 
son, John  Paul,  J.  M.  Skelly,  James  B.  Lyons,  William 
Gibson,  David  East,  Silas  East.  John  Hair.  William 
McMillan,  David  McKinley,  Samuel  Dickey  and  W.  H. 
Kennedy. 

There  are  no  World  War  I  soldiers  buried  here, 
and  a  single  interment  of  a  \S  orld  War  II  casualty,  the 
grave  of  James  Gillespie,  1913-1965. 

One  of  the  oldest  stones  still  standing  here  is  that 
of  Martha  Hemphill,  wife  of  William  M.  Hemphill, 
who  died  January  4,  1839  in  her  33rd  year. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  mistakes  in  grammar 
on  the  epitaph.  The  word  Heaven,  for  instance  is  spell- 
ed "Heven."  Several  other  words  I  if  you  use  a  magni- 
fying glass )  you'll  find  are  spelled  phonetically. 

Services  are  still  held  at  Old  Salem  on  Memorial 
Day.  under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Legion  of 
Marissa  and  other  interested  persons. 

A  document  dated  January  10,  1848,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Miss  Clara  Mathews  of  Marissa,  is  of  inter- 
est. It  reads  as  follows: 

"We.  the  undersigners  promise  to  pay  the  sums 
next  to  our  names  for  the  ministerial  labors  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Harshaw  at  the  Salem  Meeting  House  on  Mud 
Creek:  John  R.  Lyons  $5.00;  Henry  L.  McGuire  $8.00; 
Thomas  Gillespie  $5.00:  a  man  named  East.  $3.00; 
Arch  McFie  $3.00;  James  Mclntire  $5.00;  Anny  Mc- 
Guire $1.50:  John  Craig  $2.00;  William  McKee  $2.00, 
H.  L.  McGuire  for  1849,  $5.50." 

There  are  over  300  stones  in  Old  Salem.  Herewith 
is  a  list  of  the  family  names  taken  from  the  stones 
still  in  existence: 

Continued 


88 


Anderson,  Brown.  Campbell,  Grain,  ("arson.  Case, 
Curtis,  Coulter,  Dickey,  Daniel,  East,  Elliott,  Green, 
Gibson.  Goodman.  Gillespie.  Hamilton.  Hair.  Hemp- 
hill, Howard.  Henderson,  Hill,  Kane.  Kennedy,  Kings- 
ton, Lyons,  Logan.  McMillan.  MacFie,  McGuire,  Mc- 
Dougall.  McDowell.  McLaughlin.  McKinley.  Mcintosh, 
McClinton.  Morrow.  Mulholland.  Morton.  Mearns.  \e- 
vin,  Patton.  Prest.  Rainy,  Paul,  Steward.  Stephenson, 
Smith.  Slater.  Skelly.  Shankland.  Shanklin.  Thompson. 
Wallace,  Wilson  and  Wylie. 


On  Mud  Creek,  which  is  an  east-west  stream 
through  Lively  Grove  township,  is  still  visible  one  of 
the  largest  Indian  mounds  in  the  county,  mute  evidence 
that  a  prehistoric  culture  thrived  here,  long  before  the 
first  white  pioneers  moved  in. 

Geographically.  Old  Salem  Cemetery  is  slightly 
northeast  of  Marissa,  within  Washington  County 
borders. 


Old  Salem  Cemetery,  in  the  extreme  southwest  corner  of 
Washington  County,  is  a  spot  very  few  residents  know  even 
exists,    although    Memorial    Services    are    held    here    yearly. 


rm 


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DARK  DAYS 


■- .  yii 

- .-v\*  IK  ^1 


Washington  County,  with  the  rest  of  the  nation, 
went  through  a  depression  during  the  tumultous  thir- 
ties that  still  shows  its  scars.  Perhaps  you're  too  young 
to  rememher.  But  many  of  the  readers  of  this  book 
still  poignantly  rememher.  There  were  bread  lines 
and  bankruptcies.  Financiers  jumped  out  of  windows 
when  the  stock  market  crashed. 

Photo  shows  Supervisor  John  Grattendick  and 
helper,   with    a   shipment    of   food   for    the    indigent. 


Yes,  it  got  that  bad! 

But  Washington  County,  staple  and  economically 
conservative,  got  off  lightly.  No  one  actually  starved 
to  death.  There  were  no  jobs.  And  then  the  WPA 
came  along.  America  pulled  itself  out  of  the  muck 
by  its  own  bootstraps. 

Bemember? 


90 


MOMENTOUS  DAY! 


The  late  afternoon  of  March  15,  1938  will  long 
he  remembered  in  \\  ashington  County.  For  suddenly 
there  was  a  cry  of  "Tornado!"  and  there  it  was,  roar- 
ing  and  hissing,  rolling  up  from  the  southwest.  The 
funnel  was  pronounced,  a  spiral  of  death  from  the 
hlack  cloud  above  to  the  ground  below. 

People  at  Okawville  stood  enthralled,  watching 
the  whiplash  of  the  funnel,  spewing  up  debris  as  it 
moved  over  the  prairie.  Each  time  it  struck  a  farm- 
stead, there  was  a  whirling  mass  of  debris  and  sliat- 
tered  buildings. 

Death  was  moving  over  the  prairie,  inexorable, 
cutting  a  swath  of  destruction  as  the  storm  moved 
into  the  northwest. 

And  then,  miracle  of  miracles,  as  the  funnel  ap- 
proached the  L&N  section  houses  on  the  southwest 
outskirts  of  Okawville.  it  suddenly  whipped  up  into 
the  cloud-mass,  disintegrated.  There  was  the  clatter 
of   falling   bricks    from   chimneys,   the   roar   of   wind 


high  in  the  cloud,  then  a  great  silence,  as  if  the  town 
itself   was   suddenly   wrapped   in   a   giant  vacuum. 

But  death  had  passed  it  by! 

Soon  the  reports  drifted  in.  of  farm  damage  to 
the  southwest:  the  church  was  leveled  at  Darmstadt; 
Belleville   was   hard-hit. 

On  a  farm  near  St.  Libory,  a  cow  moved  about, 
with  a  long  piece  of  wood  impaled  in  her  back:  straws 
were  driven  deep  into  tree  trunks;  chickens  were 
alive,  but  denuded  of  their  feathers.  The  freaks  of 
the  storm  were  amazing.  Death  and  destruction  told 
of  its  fury.  But  by  the  grace  of  God  Okawville  escaped. 

Such  is  the  fury  of  a  tornado. 

There  have  been  other  tornadoes  and  storms  in 
W  ashington  County,  down  through  the  years.  There 
will  be  storms  iti  the  future.  Man  talks  much  about 
the  vagaries  of  the  wind,  the  weather,  but  somehow 
it  is  bigger  than  he  is,  despite  all  his  twentieth-cen- 
tury technocracy. 


p 

Venedy  Mill  still  a  County  Landmark. 

VENEDY  MILL  NEARING  CENTURY  MARK 


The  large  flour  mill,  now  being  updated  at  Ven- 
edy, is  a  product  of  another  century.  The  first  mill  was 
erected  in  the  year  1859  by  J.  F.  Brockschmidt  and 
company.  It  was  operated  by  this  firm  for  two  years, 
then  became  the  property  of  the  Brockschmidt  Broth- 
ers. It  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1873,  rebuilt  the  same 
year.  The  substantial  brick  structure  still  stands,  and 
is  used  daily. 

From  1873  to  1879  the  mill  was  owned  and  oper- 
ated by  the  firm  of  J.  F.  Brockschmidt  and  Son.  Dur- 
ing those  years  it  had  a  capacity  of  200  barrels  of  flour 
in  a  day.  After  1879  the  property  stood  idle  for  about 
ten  years.  Then  in  1890  it  was  remodeled  to  a  roller 
system  and  was  operated  by  Herman  Rede  and  Wil- 
liam Meyer.  When  Rede  died  two  years  later,  Peter 
Jost  took  his  place. 

During  the  five  years  that  Jost  was  in  the  firm 
William  Sieving  was  a  miller  apprentice.  In  1897  the 
firm  dissolved  and  William  Meyer  became  the  sole 
owner. 


On  January  7,  1898,  disaster  struck  the  mill  when 
the  twin  boilers  blew  up.  Fortunately  the  blast  occurred 
when  the  mill  was  idle,  and  there  were  no  casualties. 

The  mill  stood  idle  until  the  turn  of  the  century. 
On  July  1,  1900,  the  work  of  remodeling  and  repairing 
was  started,  and  by  August  15  the  mill  was  back  in 
operation.  From  this  time  until  1923  it  operated  on  a 
reduced  scale  of  about  a  hundred  barrels  of  flour  daily. 

Then  came  World  War  I,  and  again  the  mill  was 
idled.  Finally  acquired  by  Wm.  Noser,  the  mill  was 
sold  to  the  Huegely  Elevator  Co.  of  Nashville  in  1946. 
Today,  the  same  is  operated  as  a  feed  warehouse  and 
service  institution  by  the  Washington  County  Service 
Company,  with  Stanley  Schuessler  as  manager.  The 
huge  brick  building  is  a  landmark  in  Washington 
County,  and  seems  about  as  rugged  today  as  it  was 
when  it  was  built. 


92 


THE  WATER  WITCH 


A  county  history  would  not  l>e  quite  complete 
without  mention  of  its  native  water  witches,  irre- 
gardless    of    whether    or    not    you    believed    in    the 

"science.'"  Washington  County  had  its  share,  down 
through  the  years,  still  has  a  few  devoted  followers 
of  the  willow  twig. 

Pictured  here  is  the  late  Joe  Palek,  Sr.,  who 
was  known  as  one  of  the  best.  With  a  peach  twig  held 
before  him,  as  shown  in  the  photo,  he  would  start 
walking.    And    suddenly    the    peach    twig    would    dip 


sharply  downward,   quiver   and   twitch   in  his  hands. 
Invariably   there   was   water   where   he   indicated. 

There  were  a  dozen,  more  or  less,  all  with 
a  certain  degree  of  fame.  Some  people  scoffed,  others 
believed.  But  whether  or  not  you  believed,  the  water 
witch  was  often  called.  \\  ashington  County,  rural  as 
it  is.  has  more  than  the  usual  number  of  wells.  Each 
farm  has  at  least  one.  most  of  them  quite  deep,  to 
assure  good,  cold,  germ-free  water.  The  water  witch 
of  the  past  century  located  many  of  these  subter- 
ranean streams. 


The  late  Joe  Palek  Sr.,  witching  water  on  a  farm  near  Plum  Hill. 


w"gw^  \ 

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"'2 

The  community  life  of  Elkton  today  centers  around  this  church. 


Elkton  Once  Was  Thriving  Community 


Although  Elkton  today  is  a  small  roadside  com- 
munity, almost  forgotten  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
county,  its  life  centered  around  the  Union  Church,  it 
once  was  a  thriving  place. 

The  town  itself  was  laid  out  by  Henry  H.  Talbot 
and  James  Steel,  Jr.  in  1837.  John  Raney  was  the  first 
settler  in  Elkton  Precinct  in  1822.  He  located  on  the 
old  Vincennes-Kaskaskia  Trace  about  two  miles  from 
Mud  Creek.  He  was  followed  by  William  Rountree. 
St.,  a  year  later.  Rountree,  a  Virginian,  settled  in  sec- 
tion 16,  present  site  of  the  village.  He  died  at  his 
homestead  there  in  1859,  left  a  large  family. 


A  first  settler  in  Elkhorn  Prairie,  the  Hon.  James 
M.  Rountree  was  later  state's  attorney  of  Washington 
County. 

His  father,  Greenville  Rountree,  came  to  this 
same  prairie  in  1816.  lived  there  all  his  life,  had  eight 
children,  died  in  1860. 

A  post  office  was  established  by  Thomas  Rird  in 
1850  at  Ayers  Point,  to  the  east,  now  Oakdale. 

Elkton  once  maintained  three  general  stores,  kept 
by  J.  Blum.  August  Fisher  and  Henry  Dunkhorst,  who 
also  was  an  early  postmaster.  There  also  was  a  harness 

Continued 


94 


shop,  two  blacksmith  shops,  a  hotel.  The  two  physi- 
cians were  Dr.  R.  E.  \  ernor  and  Or.  S.  F.  Wehr.  A 
later  (and  final  I  physician  at  Elkton  was  Dr.  Jack. 

There  also  were  two  churches.  The  old  brick  Ev.- 
Lutheran  church  stood  just  west  of  the  Lathrup  pro- 
perty. The  I  nion  Church  i  still  in  use  I  was  built  in 
1875.  Trustees  at  that  time  were  L.  R.  Kinyon.  Dr. 
J.  J.  Troutt  and  C.  M.  Hawkins.  The  last  trustees  elect- 
ed were  John  Reinhardt.  A.  C.  Shubert  and  Charles 
Rezba.  Sunday  School  is  still  held  lure,  with  John 
Reinhardt  as  superintendent. 

West  of  Lively  Grove  was  a  church  known  as  the 
Baptist  Church  of  hlkton.  Later  it  was  reorganized  and 
services  shifted  to  the  Elkton  L  nion  Church. 


The  Elkton  Lodge  No.  153,  I.O.O.F.,  was  organ- 
ized Oct.  10.  1871.  Charter  members  were  M.  Fox, 
R.  B.  Mane.  H.  F.  Dancke.  Hy.  Bollmeier.  E.  Hulse- 
mann  and  H.  Hahne. 

The  land,  now  the  Yenedy  Coal  Company,  was 
once  owned  by  John  Kinyon  in  L833.  He  sold  out  and 
went  to  Missouri,  then  returned  and  settled  in  Elkhorn 
Prairie,  in  the  area  that  is  now  the  Yenedy  community. 
Joseph  Kinyon  was  another  pioneer  settler  in  the  Elk- 
horn  Prairie.  He  once  operated  a  horse-driven  mill. 

The  first  store  in  Elkton  was  opened  in  the  resi- 
dence of  William  Rountree  by  H.  H.  Talbot;  the  last 
store  in  Elkton  was  owned  and  operated  by  George 
Rezba  in  the  old  Blum  building.  —  Contributed  by 
Mollie  I  Kinyon  I  Rezba. 


"Long  -  Sweet  en  in" 

Great-great-grandmother  called  it  "long  -  sweete- 
nin'."  Grandmother  referred  to  it  as  sorghum.  Grand- 
father called  it  molasses,  and  planted  the  sugar  cane 
needed  for  its  making. 

\t  one  time.  Washington  County  had  several 
sorghum  mills  that  operated  each  Autumn,  squeez- 
ing juice  from  the  sugar  cane  brought  in  to  the  mill, 
then  cooking  it  into  sorghum.  Very  few  county  homes 
were  without  it. 

But  today,  sorghum  has  lost  much  of  its  pop- 
ularity. The  mills  are  sone  —  at  least  most  of  them. 
If  you  look  long  enough,  you  might  find  sorghum  on 
the  supermarket  shelves,  but  only  in  limited  quantity. 

America's  taste  for  cane  sorghum  has  waned,  for 
no  apparent  reason.  It  is  a  healthy  product,  tasty  too. 
But  corn  syrup  has  taken  its  place  on  the  breakfast 
hotcakes. 

Other  legumes  have  taken  the  place  of  sugar  cane 
on  most  farms.   If  it   is  raised,   it   is  a  minor  item. 

The  photo  illustrating  tlii-  page  was  taken  years 
ago,  when  the  Juenger  Sorghum  Mill,  in  the  south- 
wot  part  nf  the  county,  was  at  its  heydey.  Farmers 
brought  their  sugar  cane,  stripped  and  topped,  to  this 
mill  in  great  quantity.  \n  old  steam  threshing  engine 
supplied  the  power,  a-  well  as  steam  fur  the  cooking 


vats.  The  cane  was  first  fed  into  a  crusher  that  ex- 
tracted the  juice.  Then  the  juice  was  cooked,  and  by 
a  process  of  evaporation,  turned  into  a  golden  syrup. 
Some  day.  perhaps,  the  cane  syrup  will  come 
back  in  a  dressed-up  can  or  bottle.  But  today  its  pop- 
ularity  has  waned.   What   a  pity! 


Ill  Memoriam 


Check  any  obituary  column,  and  you'll  find  the 
great  and  near-great,  those  rugged  individuals  who 
through  faith  and  hard  work,  undying  enthusiasm, 
and  the  will  to  "build  a  better  mousetrap,"  find  them- 
selves at  last  on  that  enviable  plateau  called  success. 
The  people  listed  on  this  page  deserve  our  respect, 
even  though  the  recognition  is  posthumous.  Perhaps 
we've  missed  some.  If  we  have,  the  editors  assure 
you  it  was  not  intentional: 

Louis  L.  Bernreuter,  who  served  as  Circuit  Judge 
in  southern  Illinois  for  over  thirty  years. 

Major  Herrin,  first  purchaser  of  government  land 
in  Washington  County,  settling  near  what  is  now 
Plum  Hill,  in  1815. 

Reuben  Wheeless,  early  settler  of  Nashville 
ship,  first  cousin  of  President  Andrew  Johnson. 

William  Bradsby,  first  circuit  clerk,  county  clerk, 
probate  judge,  surveyor  and  physician  in  Washing- 
ton County. 

Ptolemy  Hosmer,  attorney  and  representative  in 
the  State  Assembly. 

Andrew  Bankson,  one  of  the  county's  earliest 
settlers,  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1818. 

Major  John  Wood,  one  of  first  settlers  of  Nash- 
ville, builder  of  the  Wood  Tavern,  long  a  famous  half- 
way house  on  the  Shawneetown-St.  Louis  Trace;  vet- 
eran of  the  Blackhawk  War. 

Thomas  Seawell,  made  a  brevet  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral on  the  Civil  War  battlefield,  died  at  the  age  of 
25,  while  home  on  furlough  at  Nashville. 

Abner  Jackson,  a  freed  slave,  native  of  North 
Carolina,  who  celebrated  his  100th  birthday  in  1876, 
and  had  a  part  in  the  4th  of  July  Centennial  Celebra- 
tion in  Nashville  that  year,  as  one  of  the  oldest  men 
in  the  county. 

William  A.  Rodenberg,  son  of  a  German  Metho- 
dist minister,  spent  his  boyhood  in  the  county,  served 
as  Representative  in  Congress  prior  to  World  War  I. 

John  Calvin  Atchison  of  Oakdale  township,  the 
first  man  from  Washington  County  to  lose  his  life  in 
World  War  I.  He  enlisted  in  the  Second  Marines  on 
May  27,  1917,  and  embarked  for  France  in  Septem- 
ber of  that  year.  On  April  13,  1918,  he  was  hospital- 
ized, having  been  the  victim  of  a  German  gas  attack. 
He  returned  to  action  after  several  weeks,  and  was 
seriously  wounded  on  June  3.  A  leg  wound  necessi- 
tated amputation,  and  eleven  days  later  death 
claimed  him  at  the  age  of  23.  He  is  buried  in  France. 

June  Smith,  native  of  Irvington,  who  rose  to  the 
high  office  of  Justice  of  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court. 


Thomas  B.  Needles,  first  Republican  County 
Clerk,  U.  S.  Marshal,  Indian  Territory,  member  of 
Dawes  Commission  which  terminated  tribal  govern- 
ment of  the  five  civilized  Indian  tribes  in  Oklahoma,- 
state  representative,  state  senator  and  auditor. 

Ralph  L.  Maxwell,  orphaned  when  his  father 
lost  his  life  in  a  Nashville  coal  mine  accident,  be- 
came a  Circuit  Judge,  later  Justice  of  the  Illinois 
Supreme  Court;  died  in  office  in  the  sixth  year  of 
his  term. 

Zenas  H.  Vernor,  pioneer  settler  of  Nashville,- 
State  Representative  and  member  of  the  Constitution- 
al Convention  of  1848. 

Francis  G.  Blair,  native  of  Nashville,  served  as 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  in  the 
1920s. 

Frederick  E.  W.  Brink,  who  emigrated  to  Wash- 
ington County  from  Minden,  Germany  in  1845;  resi- 
dent of  Hoyleton;  served  two  terms  as  State  Senator. 

George  H.  French,  one  of  the  faculty  at  the  Ir- 
vington State  University,  later  going  to  SIU  at  Car- 
bondale;  noted  botanist  and  authority  on  insects,- 
served  as  Assistant  State  Entomologist,  holder  of 
many  scientific  degrees  and  author  of  numerous  sci- 
entific books,-  did  pioneer  research  on  cause  and  treat- 
ment of  epilepsy  and  Bright  s  disease,-  lived  to  be 
ninety. 

John  Meyer  of  Addieville,  last  surviving  Civil 
War  veteran,  who  lived  to  the  ripe  age  of  97  years, 
four  months  and  26  days.  He  died  December  9,  1  939. 

Dr.  Simeon  P.  Schroeder  of  Nashville,  first  phy- 
sician in  Illinois  to  successfully  operate  on  an  ab- 
cessed  lung. 

Morris  A.  Kugler,  Okawville,  president,  Illinois 
Telephone  Association,-  director,  Lions  International 
1954-56. 

Homer  Edmonds,  Ashley,  first  reported  casualty, 
World  War  II  (Bataan). 

General  Walter  Krueger,  former  Stone  Church 
boy,  Commander  of  the  Sixth  Army  in  the  Pacific, 
World  War  II,  awarded  the  Distinguished  Service 
Cross  by  General  Douglas  MacArthur.  He  was  one- 
time commandant  at  Jefferson  Barracks.  The  Krueger 
family  lived  in  the  Stone  Church  area  for  about  eight 
years. 

Dr.  Paul  Schroeder,  Nashville  —  served  under 
the  Gov.  Henry  Horner  administration  as  State  Psy- 
chiatrist; served  as  psychiatrist  in  the  Nuremberg 
trials  of  World  War  II.  Before  his  death,  won  national 
and  international  fame  in  the  field  of  neurology  and 
psychiatry. 


96 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

"^WASHINGTON  COUNTY  NASHVILLE 


3  0112  025399368