Skip to main content

Full text of "Township histories, Peoria County, Illinois; Princeville, Akron, Millbrook, Jubilee, Hallock, Radnor"

See other formats 


Il 


Gc 

977.301 
P39t 
152A863 


GENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


3  1833  00839  9369 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Allen  County  Public  Library  Genealogy  Center 


http://www.archive.org/details/townshiphistorieOOpeor 


TOWNSHIP  HISTORIES 


«         \ 


PRINGEVILLE         AKRON 
MILLBROOK  JUBILEE 

HALLOGK  RADNOR 

Reprioted    by  permission    of    David    McCulloch   aad    Munsell 
Publishing    Co.   from   ** Historical    Encyclopedia    of 
\  Illinois    and    History   of    Peoria    County'* 

(Munsell  Pub'g  Co.,  Chicago,  1902). 


ESSEX  VALLEY 

Partly  taken  from  "History   of   Stark  County"  (M.   A.  Lueson 
4&  Co.,  Chicago,  1887), 


To  the  History  of  Jubilee  Township  is  added  the  text  of  a  booklet  recently 
issued  by  Raymond  Riordon,  Principal  of  Jubilee  College,  telling  of  the  rejuven- 
ation of  Jubilee,  which  all  old  settlers  are  glad  to  see. 


COMPLIMENTS  OF 

AUTEN  &  AUTEN,  BANKERS 

PRINCEVILLE,  ILL.,  and  MONICA,  ILL.  •  :, 

Novejnbcr,  1906. 


moil 


'J 


-4  -i* 


15^4863 


^ 


^^^^  PRINCEVILLE   TOWNSHIP 

<^      Ji  By  Edward  Auten  and  Pkter  Adxen,  Jr. 


3         Seeking  a  free  and   open  country,  Daniel  Prince 
•43  came  from  Indiana,  and,  in  1822,  was  the  first  white 
-^   man  to  live  among  the  Indians  in  what,  three  years 
^    later,  was  the  northern  part  of  Peoria  Countj^     In  a 
^   few  j'-ears  other  white  men,  some  of  them  friends  or 
^  employes  of  Mr.  Prii]ce,  gathered  around  the  attractive 
-M?  timber,  and  the  settlement  became  known  as  Prince's 
^  Grove.    Mr.  Prince,  as  he  drove  into  Peoria  market  in 
the  winter  of  1832-33,  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  John  Z. 
rj,   Slane,  then  a  small  boy  living  in  Peoria:  "The  men 
- '   shouted  that  Prince  was  coming,  and  he  was  a  nabob. 
'  <  Clad  in  a  home-spun  and  home-wove  blue-jeans  ovcr- 
O  ^oat  reaching  to  his  ankles,  with  an  old  felt  hat,  a  com- 
forter over  his  hat,  brought  down  over  ears  and  neck 
and  tied  in  front,  with  long,  large  whiskers,  and  chew- 
ing tobacco.  Prince  came  up  with  his  three-yoke  team 
of  oxen.     His  load  was  hogs,  dressed.     Mounting  his 
wagon  he  slung  off,  first  the  hay  for  the  cattle,  then 
quilt  after  quilt,  and  then  hurried  the  unloading  of  the 
meat.  After  feeding  his  oxen  in  the  rail-fence  enclosure, 
and  perhaps  eating  his  own  lunch  there,  and  perhaps 
lying  on  the  floor  at  the  Indian  store  over  night,  ]\Ir. 
Prince  returned  to  his  home."    Mr.  Prince  is  described 
as  a  modest  man,  tall,  but  stooping,  with  brown  curly 
hair,  red  cheeks,  and  light  e.yes,  probably  blue.     At 
home  he  was  more  easy-going  than  when  seen  in  the 
Peoria  market.    He  was  a  farmer  on  a  large  scale,  fur- 
nishing employment  to  all  who  needed  it,  and  very  gen- 
erous.   Different  men,  who  were  then  boj^s,  tell  of  his 
butchering  a  steer  or  a  hog  and  giving  a  quarter  here 


I 


1.  .•)!/.  To 


,Tr,II.    '-lit   '1-J70 


4  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

and  a  qnarter  there.  If  nny  neighbor  needed  some- 
thing to  eat  and  had  nothing,  iMr.  Prince  furnished  it; 
payment  was  to  be  made  whenever  that  neighbor  found 
it  convenient,  and  if  it  Avas  never  made,  Mr.  Prince  did 
not  complain.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  it  was  for  I 
Daniel  Prince  that  Princeville  Township  and  Prince- 
ville  Village  were  later  named.  His  brother,  Myron 
Prince,  was  an  early  settler  a  few  miles  to  the  north- 
west, later  keeping  a  hotel  in  PrinceviHe,  and  I\ryron 
Prince's  son,  George  W.  Prince,  is  now  Congressman 
from  the  Galesburg  District.  j 

Mr.  Prince's  log  cabin  was  on  Section  24,  a  few  rods 
west  of  Sylvester  and  Elizabeth  Slane's  present  resi- 
dence (1902).  This  was  ''on  the  edge  of  the  timber," 
and  the  next  three  cabins,  remembered  at  this  time, 
were  ''along  the  hollow"  to  the  north  of  Prince's.  One 
was  very  near  Higlee's  jjresent  coal-shaft,  on  Mrs. 
Jacob  Fast's  land,  one  double  cabin  was  at  a  fork  in 
the  ravine  a  few  rods  south,  and  another  a  few  rods 
east  of  that.  All  these  cabins — and,  in  fact,  the  entire 
west  half  of  Section  24 — belonged  to  Mr.  Prince.  The 
cabin  near  Higbee's  coal-sliaft  was  occupied  by  Dr. 
Oscar  Fitzalen  Mott,  of  the  old  "Thomsonian"  school. 
The  double  cabin  had  an  ox-mill  in  one  end  of  it  for 
grinding  corn.  I 

This  was  the  country  in  the  early  day,  up  to  about 
1835  or  183G.    The  Indians  had  left  immediately  after 
the  Black  Hawk   War   of   1832.     The   prairies   grew 
prairie     grass,     rosin-weed,     "red-root,"  and  "shoe-       I 
string."    Near  the  timber  and  in  the  timber  were  often       i 
patches   of  hazel   brush,   sumach,   black-berry   bushes 
and  goose-berry  bushes.     Now  and  then  eight  or  ten,       ^ 
or  a  dozen  deer  could  be  seen  in  the  edge  of  the  hills.       j 
Along  Spoon  River,  tradition  says,  there  were  droves 


PRINCEVILIvE    TOWNSHIP  5 

of  deer  with  sometimes  as  many  as  150  head  together. 
There  were  also  wikl  cats  '*as  large  as  lynxes,"  and 
plenty  of  wolves,  both  the  coyotes  or  prairie  wolves 
and  the  gray  timber  wolves.  The  timber  was  of  large 
growth,  and  had  very  few  small  trees.  Daniel  Prince 
appreciated  the  timber,  and  took  means  to  preserve  it. 
He  plowed  two  sets  of  furrows  and  bnrned  the  grass 
between  them  around  both  the  ** North  Grove"  and 
"South  Grove"  to  protect  from  prairie  fires. 

By  1839  the  country  was  too  thickly  settled  to  suit 
Mr.  Prince.  His  cattle,  roaming  around,  found  neigh- 
bors' hay  stacks  to  hook.  The  neighbors,  in  turn, 
''sicked  the  dogs"  on  Prince's  cattle,  and  he  would 
have  no  more  of  it.  He  moved  in  that  year,  1839,  (or 
1840)  to  ]\Iissouri,  where  the  country  was  free. 

Sometime  prior  to  1837,  Mr.  William  C.  Stevens 
was  riding  from  his  home  at  the  forks  of  the  Kickapoo 
in  Rosefield  Township,  on  horseback  toward  Kock 
Island,  and  admired  the  present  site  of  Princevillc. 
It  was  level  and  high  rolling  ground,  between  the  two 
groves.  Later  he  purchased  the  southeast  quarter  of 
Section  13.  This  joined  on  the  north  the  northeast 
quarter  of  Section  24,  which  was  owned  by  Benjamin 
Clark  and  Jesse  M.  ]\rcCutchen,  land  speculators.  IMr. 
Stevens  and  Clark  &  McCutchen  on  June  22,  1837, 
acknowledged  and  filed  for  record  the  plat  of  original 
Princeville.  The  streets  received  their  names  in  the 
following  manner:  North  and  South  Streets,  from  their 
location  on  the  plat;  Main,  because  Mr.  Stevens  thought 
it  would  be  the  principal  street,  as  is  evidenced  b}^  his 
choosing  it  to  build  on;  Spring,  from  the  spring  near 
its  east  end ;  Walnut,  from  the  fine  trees  below  its  south 
terminus;  French  Street,  for  Stephen  French,  toward 
whose  farm  this  street  led;  Clark,  for  Mr.  Clark  of 


yM 


6  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

Clark  &  McCutclien,  as  he  wanted  each  of  the  three 
partners  to  have  a  street  named  for  himself.  Mr.  j\Ic- 
Cutchen  and  Mr.  Stevens,  however,  did  not  want  their 
names  to  appear  as  streets;  so  Mr.  ]\IcCutchen  named 
his  street  Canton,  in  honor  of  the  town  where  he  lived. 
Mv.  Stevens  named  High  and  Tremont  Streets  to  com- 
memorate a  pleasant  stay  with  a  cousin  of  his,  Simeon 
Short  by  name,  whose  residence,  the  finest  in  the  place, 
occupied  the  corner  of  High  and  Tremont  streets,  at 
Thetford,  Vermont.  Sumner  and  Stanton  Streets,  in 
the  later  Stevens'  addition,  were  named  for  the  states- 
men of  whom  j\Ir.  Stevens  was  a  great  admirer. 

The  village  grew  slowij^  John  Z.  Slane  says  (1902) 
that,  when  he  came  on  January  13,  1841,  the  families 
in  town  numbered  nine,  as  follows:  His  father,  Ben- 
jamin Slane,  William  Coburn,  Peter  Auten,  Samuel 
Alexander,  George  McMillen,  Moses  R.  Sherman,  Jon- 
athan Nixon,  Seth  Fulton  and  William  C.  Stevens.  ^h\ 
Prince,  Elisha  Morrow,  Law^rence  McKown  and  John 
F.  Garrison  had  just  left.  Stephen  French  lived  north- 
west of  the  village.  He  was  the  first  man  to  bring  his 
family  to  the  township,  which  was  in  1828,  and  his  son, 
Dimmick,  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  first  white  male 
child  born  in  the  county.  Thomas  Morrow,  a  settler 
since  1831,  lived  southeast  of  the  village,  and  George 
I.  McGinnis,  a  settler  since  1835,  northeast.  The  two 
last  named,  although  living  in  Akron,  belong  in  Prince- 
ville  history. 

Over  the  line  in  Akron  Township,  about  fifteen  or 
twenty  rods  southeast  of  the  present  Kock  Island  & 
Peoria  Railway  station,  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Section  19,  w^as  a  log  school  house,  very  famous  in  its 
day.  It  accommodated  as  many  as  sixty  scholars,  chil- 
dren coming  from  ^H  directions,  as  far  as  Spoon  River 


PRINCEVILI^E   TOWNSHIP  7 

to  the  nortliwest,  and  the  center  of  Jubilee  Township 
on  the  southwest.  The  first  teacher  here  was  ]\Iiss 
Esther  Stoddard,  and  later  ones  were  Miss  Phoebe 
Stoddard,  Mrs.  Oiive  L.  Cutter,  Jane  Hull,  Theodore 
F.  Ilurd,  Peter  Auten,  B.  F.  Hilliard,  S.  S.  Cornwell, 

Newell,  Isaac  Moss,  and  Daniel  B.  Allen.    This 

cabin  was  also  used  as  a  ''meeting  house"  for  different 
church  denominations,  and  as  a  polling  place  for  all 
voters  in  ''Prince's  Grove  Precinct."  It  was  burned 
about  1849. 

Democratic  and  Whig  politics  w^axed  warm  in  the 
National  election  of  3840,  and  one  old  settler  tells  of 
the  string  of  men  going  all  day  from  the  school  house 
to  Seth  Fulton's  tavern.  The  "bell-wether"  of  one 
party  carried  a  jug  of  whiskey  in  plain  sight  leading 
the  men  on  with  his  shouts,  and  voting  them  in  a  body. 
William  P.  Blanchard  and  Stephen  French  had  been 
elected  the  first  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  1838,  and  they, 
with  the  help  of  the  three  County  Commissioners,  fur- 
nished the  government  for  the  precinct. 

Princeville  Township  was  organized  in  1850,  the 
voting  population  then  numbering  100.  The  first  offi- 
cials were:  Supervisor,  Leonard  B.  Cornwell;  Town 
Clerk,  Jonathan  Nixon;  Assessor,  Seth  Fulton;  Col- 
lector, William  C.  Stevens;  Justices  of  the  Peace,  Wil- 
liam C.  Stevens  and  Solomen  S.  Cornwell;  Constables, 
John  Fulton  and  Jolni  E.  Seery;  Cojnmissioncrs  of 
Highways,  Wm.  P.  Blanchard,  Wm.  P.  Smith  and  Ira 
]\roody ;  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  Solomon  Bliss.  Benjamin 
Slane,  who  lived  over  the  line  in  Akron,  was  elected 
the  first  Supervisor  of  that  township  in  the  same  year. 

The  township  was  now  rapidly  filling  up.  "Con- 
gress land"  on  the  prairie  was  unlimited  at  $1.25  per 
acre.     Military  claims   or  "patent   lands"   had  been 


lli 


8  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

allotted  in  the  timber.  Land  with  timber  near  Princc- 
ville  Village  sold  around  1840  for  $200  np  to  $800  for 
a  quarter  section.  The  open  prairie  was,  by  1850-55, 
selling  for  $400  to  $800  per  quarter.  The  greater  rise 
in  values  did  not  come  until  after  the  Civil  War  and 
the  days  of  tiling.  The  early  *' blind  ditches,"  made 
with  a  ''mole"  drain  machine,  were  not  satisfactory. 
The  mole  was  a  wedge-shaped  iron,  fastened  to  the 
bottom  end  of  a  fiat  and  sharp  bar  of  steel,  which  was 
fastened  to  a  frame.  This  implement  was  drawn 
through  the  ground  by  several  yoke  of  oxen  or  a 
capstan.  Fences,  earliest,  were  of  the  worm-rail  vari- 
ety, then  of  post  and  rail;  on  the  x^rairie,  later,  a 
machine  was  used  to  cut  and  pile  rows  of  sod,  making 
ditches  alongside.  Above  the  sod  was  sometimes  placed 
a  low  fence,  "staked  and  ridered,"  or  stakes  were 
driven  in  the  sod  and  boards  or  wire  attached.  The 
sod  fence  was  not  a  marked  success,  and  smooth  wire 
was  also  a  failure.  After  pine  lumber  came  within 
easy  reach,  fences  were  very  largely,  especially  away 
from  the  timber,  built  of  posts  and  boards.  Before 
many  years  the  osage  orange  tree  was  introduced  as  a 
fence ;  then  came  barbed  wire,  and  very  recently  woven 
wire.  As  tlie  prairie  Avas  fenced,  the  town  records 
show  a  gradual  squaring  of  the  old  Rock  Island  and 
Peoria  State  Road,  and  other  angling  roads,  to  north 
and  south  and  cast  and  west  roads,  mostly  on  section 
lines.  It  was  when  the  Illinois  and  ]\Iichigan  canal  was 
opened,  allowing  lumber  to  come  from  Chicago  via 
l^aSalle  and  the  Illinois  river,  that  building  began  on 
the  open  prairie. 

In  the  fall  of  1847  the  school  was  removed  from  the 
old  log  cabin  in  Akron  to  the  new  stone  school  house, 
which  still  stands,'With  a  frame  part  added  to  it,  on 


PRINCRVIL!.!?    TOWNSHIP  9 

lot  5,  block  13,  on  Canton  Street.  This  was  built  by 
public  donations  of  stone,  lime,  timber,  labor  and 
money,  tlie  only  way  in  which  it  could  be  afforded, 
and  was  then  given  and  owned  as  a  public  school 
house.  B.  F.  Slane  taught  the  first  winter  here  (1847- 
48)  and  John  M.  Henry  the  next.  Women  teachers 
were  hired  for  the  summer  months.  This  house  was 
used  until  the  completion,  in  1873  or  1874,  of  the 
present  brick  school  house.  The  records  show  three 
school  districts  in  the  township  in  1847,  which  were 
gradually  increased  in  number  by  subdivision,  until 
the  present  number,  nine,  was  attained  in  1871. 

Before  the  days  of  ^'district  schools"  supported  by 
public  funds,  were  four  or  five  ''subscription  schools," 
for  which  each  family  ''signed  money."  The  log 
school  house  on  Section  19,  Akron  Township,  was  run 
on  this  plan  at  first.  Another  was  located  in  the  Wil- 
liam P.  Blanchard  neighborhood  on  Section  22;  an- 
other on  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  16;  one  on 
Section  5;  and  one  on  Section  8.  All  of  these  schools 
except  the  one  in  Princeville  village,  were  held  in 
cabins  built  for  dwellings.  One  father  paid  for  a 
year's  schooling  for  his  children,  the  total  sum  of  nine 
dollars  and  thought  this  a  large  sum  to  pay.  lie  had 
ten  children.  After  a  few  years  the  cabin  on  Section 
8  was  superseded  by  a  frame  school  house,  built  from 
lumber  sawed  at  Prince's  sawmill,  and  having  nothing 
but  the  thin  siding  to  keep  out  the  cold.  This  was 
moved  to  the  present  site  of  the  "Moody"  or  Dis- 
trict No.  2  (new  No.  94)  School. 

In  this  same  northwest  corner  of  the  to'wnship, 
along  the  belt  of  timber  bordering  Spoon  Kiver,  set- 
tlements had  been  made  almost  as  early  as  at  Prince's 
Grove.     Hugh  White,,  Christian   Miller,   Sr.,   and  his 


10  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

sons,  Christian,  Henry,  Dan,  James  and  John,  Ira 
]\roody  and  Kobert  Colwell  were  amon^;-  the  earliest 
residents.  James  Morrow  went  from  Prince's  Grove 
to  Spoon  Ixiver  in  1832,  but  the  Indians,  during  the 
Black  Hawk  War,  molested  the  settlers  there,  and  he 
returned  to  Prince's  Grove.  The  foregoing  are  men- 
tioned by  Mrs.  Jane  Smith  (widow  of  John  Smith), 
as  residents  when  she  came  Avith  her  parents,  Walter 
and  Kachel  Payne,  in  1842,  to  Section  7.  Between 
them  and  Princeville,  a  distance  of  six  miles,  the  only 
house  on  the  prairie  was  that  of  John  i\Iiller  on  Sec- 
tion IG.  On  a  line  farther  south  were  the  houses  of 
B.  S.  Scott,  Oliver  T^Ioody,  John  Dukes,  Boling  Hare 
and  James  Debord.  Coal  was  not  yet  known  to  be 
here,  and  some  did  not  know  what  it  was  when  found 
a  few  years  later.  Timber  was  held  high  by  those  who 
owned  it,  and  was  frequently  stolen.  Cutting  from 
land  of  non-residents,  and  from  Government  lands, 
was  common.  Fifty  cents  was  charged  for  a  small 
load  of  wood  on  the  ground,  and  one  dollar  for  a 
walnut  which  would  split  into  four  posts  for  the  cor- 
ners of  a  small  shed. 

On  the  northern  side  of  White  Oak,"  the  timber 
which  extends  into  Princeville  from  Jubilee  Township 
and  the  region  of  the  Kickapoo,  and  on  the  prairie 
adjoining  in  the  central  and  southwestern  parts  of 
the  township,  the  early  settlers  were  Solomon  S.  Corn- 
well,  Wm.  P.  Blanchard,  John  McKune,  Wm.  Parnell, 
Joseph  I\I.endel,  John  Hill ;  and,  a  little  later,  Wm. 
Lynch,  Wm.  Cummins,  John  Nelson  and  Lawrence 
Seery,  Reuben  Deal,  Roger  Cook  and  John  O'Brien. 

*'West  Princeville"  may  be  said  to  have  started 
with  the  building  of  the  O'Brien  wagon  and  black- 
smith shops,  in  185G  or    '57.     They  were  located  on 


PRINCEVIIXE  TOWNSHIP  11 

the  south  side  of  the  road  between  Sections  19  and  30, 
about  one-fourth  mile  east  of  the  ]\Iillbrook  line.  Here 
John  0']^rien  and  his  sous,  James,  Joseph  and  * 'Billy," 
manufactured  wagons,  cultivators  and  harroAvs.  Billy 
O'Brien  invented  and  got  a  patent  on  a  three- 
winged  iron  harrow,  which  they  made  in  large  quan- 
tities and  shipped  far  and  wide,  the  famous  ''O'Brien 
harrow."  The  cultivators  were  without  wheels  and 
their  manufacture  Avas  soon  discontinued  on  account 
•of  the  appearance  of  wheeled  cultivators.  The  O'Briens 
sold  out  to  Jesse  Carey  and  moved  to  Kewanee,  w^here 
they  continued  to  m.ake  the  O'Brien  wagons  and  har- 
rows on  a  much  more  extensive  scale.  "William  P. 
Hawver  kept,  in  one  building,  a  grocery  and  shop  for 
making  and  repairing  boots  and  shoes.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded    by     McElhose,  who  conducted  the 

grocery  only.  Robert  Lovett,  father  of  our  present 
County  Judge,  was  a  blacksmith  at  West  Princeville. 

In  1858  the  Mt.  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
was  organized  in  this  same  neighborhood,  meeting  in 
the  Nelson  School  House,  now  District  No.  8  (new 
No.  100).  In  1867  this  society  built  a  church  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  Section  20,  a  little  east  of  West 
Princeville.  This  was  a  frame  building,  32x45  feet, 
costing  about  $2,200.  The  starting  of  Cornwell,  soon 
called  Monica,  on  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 
Railroad,  was  the  quitting  of  West  Princeville.  Nearly 
all  of  the  buildings,  the  church  included,  were  moved 
to  the  new^  town.  But  we  must  go  back  to  the  '50 's 
again  to  tell  of  the  old  "oil  works,"  and  then  de- 
scribe the  days  of  the  war. 

The  oil  factory  was  located  on  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  Section  27,  the  farm  now  owned  by  Joseph  E. 
Hill,  and  the  "oil  company"  owned,  in  addition,  tlic 


12  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

square  40-acre  tract  coruering  with  this  land  on  the 
northeast.  The  refinery  was  a  large  stone  huilding 
in  the  hollow,  wnth  six  or  eight  retorts  close  by.  The 
company  had  a  house  called  the  hotel,  an  office  and 
store  combined,  and  many  small  buildings.  Out  of 
the  18-inch  vein  of  cannel  coal  they  made  a  ''coal  oil" 
similar  to  kerosene,  and  sometimes  had  as  many  as 
30  or  40  workmen.  The  18  to  24  inches  of  bituminous 
coal  on  top  of  the  cannel  was  of  poor  quality  and 
brought  little  or  no  return.  The  oil,  barreled  and 
hauled  to  Chillicothe,  although  sold  at  $1.00  or  $1.10 
per  gallon,  did  not  pay  for  the  cost  of  production,  and 
the  discovery  of  oil  fields  in  Pennsylvania  killed  the 
industry  at  once.  This  was  about  the  year  1859.  The 
buildings  were  gradually  torn  down  or  removed. 

In  the  northeast  part  of  the  township  early  names 
were  the  following:  Wm.  P.  Smith,  ^Moses  and  Carlos 
Alford,  George  Andrews,  Henry  Adams,  Ezra  Adams, 
Frederick  Griswold,  Joseph  Nickerson,  James  Jackson, 
Dr.  Harlan,  John  M.  Henry  and  Godfrey  Fritz.  In 
the  southeast  part  of  the  township  were  the  Boutons, 
Wears,  Slanes,  "Wilsons,  Woodbury,  Little,  Harrisons 
and  Mansfield. 

William  C.  Stevens,  the  founder  of  Princeville  Vil- 
lage, and  Dr.  Charles  Cutter  were,  perhaps,  the  strong- 
est Free  Soilers  in  the  township.  They  voted  for  Van 
Buren,  the  first  Free  Soil  candidate  for  President  in 
1848,  and  often  stood  ill  treatment  for  their  principles. 
Tlieir  fences  were  burned,  their  trees  girdled,  their 
houses  egged,  and  their  jjersons  sometimes  threatened. 
Ichabod  Codding  was  an  Abolition  evangelist.  When 
objection  was  made  to  his  speaking  any  more  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  Mr.  Stevens  said,  "Thank  God, 
I  have  a  place  of  my  own  where  he  may  speak,"  and 


PRINCEVILLI3   TOWNSHIP  13 

after  that  the  speeches  were  in  Mr.  Stevens'  yard. 
Many  runaway  slaves  were  harbored  by  Mr.  Stevens 
and  Dr.  Cutter  and  sped  on  toward  freedom.  Dr.  Cut- 
ter at  one  time  had  as  many  as  six  black  men  hid  in 
the  cellar  of  his  house,  and,  on  a  certain  occasion,  one 
such  refugee  \\as  scarcely  half  an  hour  aAvay,  under 
a  "\vagon  load  of  fodder,  Avhen  his  pursuers  fiercely  de- 
manded him  of  Mrs.  Cutter,  only  to  be  told  there  was 
*'no  such  man  in  the  house." 

When  the  war  broke  out,  the  ''Lucky  Thirteen," 
who  all  came  back,  went  from  Princeville  and  joined 
the  ''Peoria  Battery,"  Battery  A  of  the  Second  Illinois 
Artillery.  In  the  fall  of  1861  two  Princeville  men 
joined  Col.  Ingersoll's  regiment,  the  Eleventh  Cavalry. 
These  two  men,  Stephen  A.  Andrews  and  John  Sheelor, 
immediately  came  back  from  Peoria  on  a  furlough  and, 
in  two  weeks,  took  down  twelve  more  men  w4th  them. 

The  distinctively  Princeville  company  was  started 
in  August,  1862.  On  that  date  Congressman  Ebon 
Clark  Ingersoll  (brother  to  Bob)  came  out  from  Peoria 
to  hold  a  "war  meeting."  Julius  S.  Starr  accompa- 
nied him  in  the  hope  of  getting  recruits  for  a  Peoria 
company,  and  recruit  hunters  were  present  also  from 
Chillicothe  and  other  places.  The  meeting  was  held 
in  the  old  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  then  on  the 
corner  southwest  of  the  public  square.  The  crowd  was 
so  large  that  the  windows  were  taken  out  to  enable  men 
to  hear  on  the  outside.  After  the  speaking  the  crowd 
gathered  on  the  public  square,  when  Clark  Ingersoll 
got  on  a  wagon  and  proposed  a  Princeville  company. 
John  McGinnis  began  fifing,  indicating  that  he  was  go- 
ing, and  led  a  march  around  the  "liberty  pole."  Others 
fell  in,  a  few  at  a  time,  until  there  were  fifty  men 
marching  around  and  around  the  "liberty  pole."  Then 


14  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

they  paraded  to  Dr.  Charles's  office,  got  out  a  table  in 
the  center  of  the  room,  and  signed  the  muster  roll. 
Within  forty-eight  hours  the  roll  was  increased  to  96 
men.  This  was  Company  K  of  the  Eighty-sixth  Regi- 
ment, Illinois  Infantry.  John  F.  French  was  elected 
Captain,  James  B.  Peet,  First  Lieutenant  and  IT.  P. 
Irwin,  Second  Lieutenant.  The  company  was  soon 
ordered  into  camp  at  the  Peoria  Fair  Grounds  and  saw, 
in  all,  twenty-one  engagements,  Chiekamauga,  Mission- 
ary Ridge  and  Kenesaw  Mountain  being  among  the 
niunber.  The  company  was  in  ''Sherman's  i\Iarch  to 
the  Sea."  Somewhere  near  one-half  the  company  sti)l 
survive  (1902),  and  those  residing  at  Princeville  are 
organized,  with  their  comrades,  in  J.  F.  French  Post, 
No.  153,  G.  A.  R.  On  Decoration  Day,  1900,  John  Mc- 
Ginnis  dedicated  in  Princeville  Cemetery,  a  monument 
''In  ]\[emory  of  all  Soldiers  and  Sailors  who,  on  Land 
or  Sea,  periled  Life  for  Liberty  and  Law — 1861-65." 
Princeville  always  honors  her  soldiers,  and  Decoration 
Day  sees  the  gathering  of  several  townships  in  memory 
of  the  dead  and  in  honor  of  the  living. 

An  outgrowth  of  civil  war  conditions  was  the  organ- 
ization, in  August,  1863,  of  the  Thief  Detective  and 
]\Iutual  Aid  Association.  The  demand  for  horses  and 
resultant  high  prices  caused  horse-stealing  to  flourish 
to  an  unpleasant  extent,  and  this  society  was  organized 
to  stop  the  stealing  around  Princeville,  and  to  catch 
the  thieves.  It  accomplished  its  purpose  well  at  the 
time,  and  has  continued  a  strong  society  to  the  present. 
Wm.  P.  Smith,  Solomon  Bliss,  Cliarles  Beach,  Vaughn 
Williams  and  S.  S.  Slane  were  the  originators  of  the 
society.  Wm.  P.  Smith  was  the  first  captain,  followed 
by  H.  F.  Irwin,  John  G.  Corbet,  Solomon  Bliss,  J.  D. 
Hammer  and  S.  S.  Slane,  who  is  now  serving  his  six- 
teenth year  in  that  capacity. 


PRINCEVILLK    TOWNSHIP  15 

Before  railroads  were  built,  Prince ville  was  one  of 
the  stoppinof  places  on  the  stage  routes  running  from 
Peoria  and  Chillicothe,  through  Southampton  to 
Princeville  and  to  the  AVest  and  Northwest.  The 
stage,  which  carried  the  mail  as  well  as  passengers, 
came  at  first  once  a  week,  then  twice,  and  later  three 
times  a  week,  slopping  at  the  Bliss-IMcMillen  Hotel. 

The  public  square,  now  covered  with  growing  trees 
and  familiarly  called  the  Park,  was  given  to  the  vil- 
lage by  its  founder,  Mr.  Stevens.  In  1874  an  attempt 
was  made  by  the  officials  to  mar  the  square  by  locating 
on  it  the  village  hall  and,  as  was  reputed,  a  calaboose. 
Injunction  proceedings  were  started  by  Peter  Auten, 
in  company  with  ]\Ir.  Stevens  and  other  citizens,  to 
block  the  intended  purpose,  and,  on  the  testimony  of 
the  donor  that  he  had  given  the  square  to  be  an  open 
space,  park  or  square,  '^for  light  and  air,  and  to  be  for 
the  beauty  of  the  village  and  the  health  of  its  inhabi- 
tants," a  perpetual  injunction  was  granted. 

Mr.  Stevens  was  also  generous  with  his  land  for 
church  and  school  sites.  He  gave  the  lot  for  the  stone 
school  house  so  long  as  used  for  a  school  site,  and  the 
right  of  reversion  he  gave  up  on  condition  that  the 
new  brick  school  house,  then  building,  should  have  a 
front  on  the  north,  architecturally  equal  to  the  front 
as  planned  for  the  south  of  the  building.  He  wanted 
the  front  on  the  north  side,  but  the  directors  insisted 
on  the  south  front.  Main  Street,  he  said,  would  have 
no  front,  and  the  other  and  only  front  would  look  out 
on  ''Mosquito  Swale"  and  ''Carrion  Hollow;"  his  ref- 
erence was  to  a  swampy  place  suitable  for  breeding 
mosquitoes,  and  a  hollow  where  the  dead  horses  of  the 
neighborhood  had  formerly  been  deposited — each  of 
which  was  south  of  auclnot  far  distant  from  the  new 
school  site. 


iJ  x^-^ix 


16  TOWNSHIP     HISTORIES 

Princeville's  markets  in  the  early  day  had  been 
Peoria,  Laeon  and  Chillieothe.  The  price  of  hogs  in 
the  Peoria  market  varied  a  great  deal;  sometimes  the 
buyers  would  say,  *' Seventy-five  cents  for  a  hog,  big 
or  little — tumble  them  off."  Ox  teams  sometimes  drove 
to  Chicago  with  wheat,  bringing  back  lumber,  salt  and 
clothing.  The  windows,  doors  and  casings  for  Dr. 
Charles  Cutter's  house  were  thus  carted  from  Chicago, 
and  also  the  shingles  for  the  first  Presbyterian  Church. 
Other  lumber  was  obtained  at  saw-mills,  on  Spoon 
River  and  Kickapoo  Creek.  Grist-mills  familiar  to  all 
old  settlers,  were  Cox's  Mill  and  the  Rochester  Mill 
on  Spoon  River,  the  Spring  Valley  Mill,  Evans'  Mill 
in  Radnor  Tow^nship  and  IMiles's  ]\Iill  at  Southport, 
Elmwood  Township. 

Mills  closer  to  Princeville  were  *'Jimmie"  Jack- 
son's *Svhip-saw"  mill,  Erastus  and  Thompson  Peet's 
saw-mill,  James  Harrison's  saw  and  grist-mill,  and 
Hawn's  Mill,  all  in  Akron  Township,  and  Hawn's  mill 
within  the  village  limits.  Hitchcock,  Voorhees  &  Seed 
erected  a  large  grist-mill  in  1867  or  '68,  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  Section  19,  Akron  Township,  which 
was  operated  later  by  Hitchcock  &  Voorhees,  and  by 
Daniel  Hitchcock  alone.  It  burned  about  1884.  John 
Bowman  operated  a  saw-mill  for  several  years  in  the 
triangular  piece  of  ground  east  of  the  railroad,  north 
of  Block  One. 

The  first  railroad  assured  Princeville  Township 
was  the  Peoria  &  Rock  Island,  now  called  the  Rock 
Island  &  Peoria.  It  was  built  between  1868  and  1870, 
the  township  giving  it  $50,000  in  bonds.  The  Buda 
Branch  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  Railroad, 
projected  a  little  later,  was,  however,  completed  first, 
and   it  received  no   bonus   from   the   township.     The 


PRINCEVILI.E    TOWNSHIP  17 

Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Kailroad  crossed  the 
township  from  east  to  west  in  1887,  making  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  at  Princeville,  and 
with  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  at  Monica. 

Monica  was  platted  first  under  the  name  of  Corn- 
well,  in  honor  of  Solomon  S.  Cornwell.    The  name  was 
soon  afterward  changed  to  Monica.     It  is  located  on 
Section  21,  on  the  divide  between  Spoon  River  and 
Kickapoo  Creek,  giving  it  a  good  drainage.    The  "Q" 
Road  had  been  built  two  years  before  this  station  was 
given.     One  theory  is  that  the  company  were  angry 
because  no  bonds  had  been  voted  them,  and  they  gave 
the  township  no  depot  until  the   competition  of  the 
Peoria  &  Rock  Island  forced  them  to  it.     The  post- 
masters in  succession  have  been  W.  W.  Hurd,  L.  L. 
Campbell,  P.  R.  Ford,  Etta  Lincoln,  Jane  Ford  and 
Gr.   R.   Campbell,   the   present   incumbent.     The   first 
general  store  was  built  and  started  by  Andrew  D. 
Rogers,   on  the   southwest   corner   of  Block  9.     This 
building  was  burned   in   1890,   and  the  same   corner 
burned  again  in  1896.    The  third  building  is  the  present 
large  store  of  Mrs.  Wilts.     In  1897  one  of  the  three 
grain  elevators  burned.    But  one  strange  thing  in  the 
history  of  Monica  is  that  no  dwelling  detached  from 
stores,  has  ever  been  burned.     The  boarding  house  at 
the  oil  factory  was  moved  to  IMonica  and  used  as  a 
hotel,   and  still   stands,   remodeled,   on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Block  14,  the  residence  of  Lemuel  Auten. 
The  next  hotel  w^as  P.  R.  Ford's,   which  burned   in 
1884.     The  next  was  R.  M.  Todd's,  built  in  1888,  now 
managed  by  G.  A.  Keith  as  ''The  Empire.'*     W.  P. 
Hawver  moved  from  "West  Princeville  w^hen  Monica 
was  only  surveyed  in  the  oats  field,  and  has  been  a 
merchant  there  ever  since. 


18  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

The  Mt.  Zion  ]\Ietlioclist  Episcopal  Church  building 
was  moved  from  West  Princeville  in  1877,  and  en- 
larged and  repaired  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,300.  The 
church  was  a  part  of  the  Princeville  M.  E.  charge 
prior  to  1894.  In  September,  1894,  it  was  organized 
and,  with  Laura  (of  Millbrook  Township),  became  the 
Monica  charge.  Rev.  Thos.  J.  Wood  was  the  first  pas- 
tor, followed  in  succession  by  Revs.  P.  S.  Garretson, 
1895;  O.  M.  Dunlevy,  1896;  H.  C.  Birch,  1898;  II.  C. 
Gibson,  1900;  James  G.  Blair,  1901.  The  Monica  Blue 
Ribbon  Club,  in  the  '70 's,  was  a  very  large  and  enthusi- 
astic Temperance  Society.  Monica's  population  now 
is  about  225,  wath  the  following  persons  in  business,  be- 
sides those  already  mentioned:  W.  W.  Day,  grain 
and  lumber;  J.  D.  Rathbun  and  J.  F.  Kidder,  general 
merchandise;  Alice  Wilts,  general  merchandise  and 
hardware;  Auten  &  Auten,  bankers  (Lemuel  Auten  in 
charge);  William  Saunders,  restaurant;  D.  W.  Gross 
and  W.  P.  Jones,  physicians;  George  Conover,  black- 
smith; Walter  Byrnes,  barber;  Wm.  George,  harness; 
R.  M.  Todd,  livery;  J.  DufTy,  agent  Chicago,  Burling- 
ton &  Quincy  Railroad ;  James  Curren,  agent  Santa  Fe 
R.  R. ;  A.  J.  Hayes  and  Miss  Jennie  Burns,  principal 
and  assistant,  Monica  schools. 

** White's  Grove,"  to  the  west  and  north  of  Monica 
(named  from  Hugh  White),  may  be  said  to  have  set- 
tled rapidly  after  the  coming  of  Esq.  Joseph  Arm- 
strong in  1856.  The  White's  Grove  Baptist  Church 
was  organized  December  9,  1871,  with  fourteen  mem- 
bers. The  pastors  have  been  in  succession:  A.  D. 
Bump,  1872;  J.  M.  Stickney,  1873;  E.  M.  Armstrong, 
1876;  J.  M.  Bruce,  1882;  E.  M.  Armstrong,  1883-85; 
A.  R.  Morgan,  1886-90;  T.  Phillips,  1891;  S.  Gray, 
1894-98;  E.  Quick,  1901.    Jackson  Leaverton  has  been 


PR1NCEVII,LE    TOWNSHIP  19 

Superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school.  The  church  now 
numbers  22  members. 

The  early  Princeville  community  seems  to  have 
been  more  orderly  and  law-abiding  than  the  average 
frontier  town.  The  ''Atlas  Map  of  Peoria  County" 
says  of  Princeville  Township:  *'It  is  settled  mostly 
by  high-toned,  moral  and  religious  people,  who  came 
from  the  Eastern  and  Southern  States.  Of  the  nine- 
teen townships  in  Peoria  County,  its  people  rank  first 
in  education,  religion  and  public  spirit."  It  is  not 
known  now  who  may  have  been  the  author  of  this 
sketch,  but  his  remarks  were  not  far  out  of  the  way, 
even  including  Peoria  Tow^nship  among  the  nineteen. 

Taking  the  Civil  War  as  a  dividing  line  between 
early  and  present  Princeville  history,  no  question  of 
greater  import — even  to  Princeville 's  welfare  to-day — 
could  be  raised,  than  the  personal  character  for  godli- 
ness, integrity  and  learning  of  the  quiet,  determined 
teachers.  They,  from  time  to  time,  settled  and  taught, 
labored  and  made  homes,  and  left  their  impress  on  the 
young  in  this  now  thriving  town.  Among  these 
teachers  there  are  still  remembered  the  names  of  An- 
drews, Aldrich,  Allen,  Auten,  Breese  (the  first  Pres- 
byterian pastor),  Burnham,  Carlisle,  Clussman,  Cooper, 
Cunningham  (pastor  and  teacher).  Cutter,  Cutler, 
Egbert,  Foster,  Farwell,  Goodale,  Hinman,  Kimball, 
Means,  INIunson,  Noj^es,  Page,  Julia  Rogers,  Ann  Rog- 
ers, Stanley,  Stone,  White,  Wright,  and  others,  no 
doubt  as  significant  but  not  now  recurring  to  memory. 
Private  schools  were  conducted  at  different  times  by 
Mrs.  Hannah  Breese,  first  in  a  little  building  on  lot  6 
or  7,  Block  9 — conceded  to  be  the  first  frame  building 
in  Princeville,  and  near  the  west  end  of  the  large  Hitch- 
cock building — and  later^  in  her  home,  now  the  resi- 


20  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

dence  propert}^  owned  by  'Mrs.  Willard  Bemiett,  on  the 
Princeville-Akron  township  line  about  80  rods  north 
of  Canton  Street;  bj^  i\Irs.  Lydia  Auten  at  her  home; 
by  Miss  Julia  Rogers  in  the  little  house  occupied  by 
Guy  Bouton  on  North  Street,  north  of  lot  3,  Block  1 ; 
by  Mrs.  Ann  Kogers  at  tlie  home  of  her  brother-in-law, 
Peter  Auten;  by  Miss  Lizzie  Farwell,  at  the  home  of 
Wm.  C.  Stevens;  and  perhaps  by  others.  Mr.  Wm.  C. 
Stevens,  already  mentioned  as  the  founder  of  Prince- 
ville  Village,  was  a  gentleman  of  education,  culture 
and  public  spirit,  and  was  prominent  in  all  educa- 
tional and  public  matters. 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1856  that  the  demand  for 
higher  education  encouraged  I\Ir.  ]\rilton  S.  Kimball 
to  start  a  school  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  which. 
later  developed  into  the  first  Princeville  Academy.  A 
two-story  frame  building  was  erected  on  the  south  side 
of  Main  Street  on  lots  3  and  4,  Block  14,  just  east  of 
the  present  public  school  square.  Pev.  Jared  M.  Stone 
and  Rev.  William  Cunningham  were  other  successful 
principals.  The  academy  flourished  with  a  large  at- 
tendance, drawn  from  wide  territory.  The  war,  how- 
ever, virtually  killed  the  school.  The  building  was 
sold  and  moved  to  Canton  Street  for  store  purposes,  it 
being  the  building  long  occupied  by  E.  C.  Fuller,  now 
by  J.  L.  Searl's  grocery,  located  on  the  west  side  of 
lot  7,  Block  12. 

A  number  of  the  pupils  of  this  old  academy,  with 
other  citizens,  some  of  whom  had  gone  East  to  college, 
in  later  life  desired  a  similar  academy  for  their  chil- 
dren. As  a  result,  another  Princeville  Academy  was 
started  in  1887,  being  conducted  until  1000  by  chang- 
ing Boards  of  Management,  who  bore  the  responsibility 
and  constant  expense  of  the  school.    Sessions  were  held 


PRINCEVILLE    TOWNSHIP  21 

the  first  year  in  the  old  Seventh  Day  Adventist  church ; 
the  next  two  years  in  the  new  chaise!  rooms  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  from  1890  on,  in  the  Second  M.  E. 
church  building,  purchased  by  Edward  Auten  for  the 
purpose.  A  still  greater  number  of  young  people  from 
the  later  academy  w^ere  fitted  for  college  study.  The 
principals  of  the  later  academy  were,  in  succession: 
James  Stevens,  1887;  C.  F.  Brusie,  '88;  B.  M.  South- 
gate,  '90;  Edwin  B.  Gushing,  '91;  H.  W.  Eckley,  '93; 
T.  H.  Rhodes,  '94;  Ernest  W.  Gushing,  '9G;  Royal  B. 
Gushing,  '97 ;  J.  E.  Armstrong,  '99-1900. 

The  Princeville  public  schools  have  grown  and  im- 
proved. A  high  school  course  is  offered,  including 
Latin  and  twelfth  grade  work,  under  the  x^rincipalship 
of  William  M.  Beale.  The  four  large  assembly  rooms 
of  the  brick  building  are  taxed  by  the  ten  upper  grades, 
and  the  primary  grades  occupy  Edward  Auten 's  acad- 
emy building,  inider  the  able  instruction  of  IMiss  M.  E. 
Edwards.  IMiss  Mina  Edwards,  Miss  Etta  Powell  and 
Mr.  Harry  O'Brien  are  the  teachers  of  the  intermediate 
and  grammar  grades.  The  Board  of  Directors  is  as 
follows;  H.  J.  Gheesman,  President;  E.  D.  Minkler, 
Secretary,  and  David  Kinnah. 

The  Presbyterian  Ghurch,  organized  August  16, 
1834,  as  Prince's  Grove  church,  was  the  first  to  have 
a  house  of  worship.  The  log  school  house  became  too 
small  for  the  meetings,  and  a  frame  structure  was 
built  in  1844  in  the  southeast  corner  of  block  12.  This 
was  built  at  a  great  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Stevens, 
Thomas  Morrow,  Dr.  Gutter,  Erastus  Poet  and  others. 
Thomas  Morrow,  Erastus  Peet  and  William  Glussman 
each  hauled  a  load  of  lumber  from  Ghicago.  It  was  a 
great  day  when  the  chinch  building  was  ''raised." 
The  entire  community  assembled,  the  men  and  boys 


-nil     fv; 


A       -1 


22  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

to  aid  in  the  raising,  and  the  women  and  girls  to  pro- 
vide the  refreshments.  This  house  was  used  by  the 
church  society  until  September  6,  1866,  when  the  main 
part  of  the  present  church  was  dedicated.  The  chapel 
rooms  were  added  in  1888  and  $1,000,  bequeathed  by 
Miss  Mary  C.  Clussman,  was  expended  for  installing 
new  seats,  furnaces  and  other  repairs  in  1899.  The 
ministers  in  succession  Iiave  been:  Calvin  W.  Bab- 
bitt, 1835-38;  George  G.  Sill,  1838;  Ilobert  F.  Breese 
(first  pastor)  1843-51;  Robert  Cameron,  1851-57;  Geo. 
Cairns,  1857-58;  Jared  M.  Stone,  1858-64;  Wm.  Cun- 
ningham, 1864-71;  Arthur  Rose,  1871-77;  Samuel  R. 
Belville,  1877-86;  Charles  M.  Taylor,  1887-95;  D.  A.  K. 
Preston,  1896-97;  Charles  T.  Phillips,  1897—.  The  Sun- 
day-school Superintendent  at  present  is  C.  J.  Chees- 
man. 

Rt.  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Illi- 
nois, preached  occasionally  in  the  stone  school  house. 
A  Congregational  organization  existed  for  a  short  time 
with  the  Rev.  B.  F.  Worrell  as  pastor,  sometime  in 
the  '50 's. 

.The  Christian  Church  society  flourished  in  the 
*50's,  with  a  building  on  Canton  Street  (lots  5  and  6, 
block  14,  just  east  of  the  present  public  school  square), 
the  building  later  being  removed  and  used  as  the  old 
village  hall.  The  membership  of  this  church  was  large- 
ly merged,  early  in  the  '60 's,  into  the  Seventh  Day  Ad- 
ventist  Church,  Vviiich  was  starting  new.  The  latter 
society  purchased  the  first  M.  E.  church  building  in 
1866  and  used  it  until  about  1888.  Since  then  the  soci- 
ety has  most  of  the  time  met  at  the  home  of  Elder 
L.  D.  Santee.  Familiar  names  in  this  church  were  the 
Blanchards,  Blisses,  Vaucils,  Merritts  and  others. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  had  services 
in  Princeville  almost 'from  the  beginning  of  the  settle- 


PRINCEVILI^K  TOWNSHIP  23 

ment.  The  "circuit  riders"  preached  first  in  Aunt 
Jane  Morrow's  fine  log  cabin  (a  palace  among  log 
houses),  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  30,  Akron 
Township ;  then  in  the  old  log  school  house,  and  later  in 
the  stone  school  house.  They  came  once  a  month  and 
later  twice  a  month,  as  their  circuits  were  shortened. 
The  first  JM.  E.  church  building  was  begun  in  1853  and 
finished  in  1854,  on  lots  1  and  2,  block  16,  the  building 
later  being  sold  to  the  Seventh  Day  Adventist  Church, 
and  now  a  barn  on  the  south  side  of  South  Street, 
south  of  lot  5,  block  24,  The  next  church  was  built 
about  1867,  on  lots  7  and  8,  block  24  (Edward  Auten's 
Academy  building),  and  was  used  until  the  erection 
of  the  present  edifice,  corner  of  South  and  Clark 
Streets,  in  1889.  The  early  preachers  up  to  1856, 
some  of  them  circuit  riders,  were.  Revs.  Pitner,  AYhit- 
man,  Cummins,  Hill,  Beggs,  Chandler,  Luccock,  Koyal 
(Sr.),  Royal  (Jr.),  Stogdell,  Jesse  Craig,  Gregg,  Grun- 
dy, Gaddis,  Reack,  Morse,  Appleby,  Dodge,  Giddings, 
Rhodes  and  Mills.  The  list  from  1856  on,  is  as  follows, 
the  date  after  each  man's  name  being  that  of  his 
coming:  Revs.  J.  S.  Millsap,  '56;  E.  Keller,  '59;  W.  J. 
Beck,  '60;  G.  W.  Brown,  '62;  S.  B.  Smith,  '64;  S. 
Cavet,  '66;  G.  W.  Havermale,  '68;  M.  Spurlock,  '69; 
E.  Wasmuth,  '70;  J,  Collins,  '73;  W.  B.  Carithers,  '74; 
W.  D.  H.  Young,  '77;  S.  Brink,  '78;  J.  S.  Millsap,  '81; 
M.  V.  B.  White,  '82;  H.  M.  Laney,  '83;  P.  W.  Merrell, 
*85;  Alex  Smith,  '88;  R.  B.  Seaman,  '93;  J.  D.  Smith, 
'96;  J.  E.  Conner,  '97;  John  Rogers,  '99;  R.  L.  Vivian, 
1901. 

Catholicity  came  to  Princeville  wdth  the  early  Irish 
and  German  settlers,  At  that  time  there  was  no 
Catholic  church  nearer  than  Kickapoo  or  Peoria,  to 
which  places  they  w^ere^  accustomed  to  drive.     While 


24  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

the  present  Peoria  Diocese  was  part  of  the  Archdiocese 
of  Chicago,  the  Catholic  people  of  Princeville  Township 
were  ministered  to  by  priests  irom  Peoria  City.  On  Sep- 
tember 7,  1867,  the  Rev.  J.  Murphy  was  appointed 
first  Eector  of  the  Princeville  Parish,  and  his  succes- 
sors have  been  in  turn.  Father  Albrecht,  Rev.  Chas. 
Wenserski,  Rev.  Father  iMoore,  Very  Rev.  J.  Canon 
Moynihan,  Rev.  H.  Schreiber  (1881),  Rev.  P.  A.  Mc- 
Gair  (1884),  Rev.  C.  A.  Hausser  (1891),  Rev.  C.  P. 
O'Neill  (1901)  to  the  present  time.  It  was  in  Father 
Murphy's  time  that  the  old  Presbyterian  church  was 
purchased  and  made  into  a  Catholic  house  of  worship. 
Father  Albrecht  built  the  present  rectory,  and,  during 
Father  McGair's  time,  was  erected  the  present  beauti- 
ful brick  church  for  *'St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods." 

The  first  paper  published  in  Princeville  was  the 
'^ Princeville  Weekly  Citizen,"  by  G.  T.  Gillman, 
which  started  in  the  summer  of  1868  and  lasted  six 
months.  The  next  was  the  "Princeville  Times,"  by 
C,  A.  Pratt,  established  in  July,  1874,  and  run  four 
months.  The  next  was  the  ''Princeville  Independent," 
the  beginning  of  the  present  "Princeville  Telephone." 
Editors  in  succession  have  been  J.  E.  Kjiapp,  Llarch 
10,  1877;  J.  G.  Corbet,  September  29,  1877;  J.  G.  Cor- 
bet and  H.  E.  Charles,  October  13,  1877 ;  J.  G.  Corbet 
and  P.  C.  Hull,  October  18,  1878;  J.  E.  Charles  and 
P..  C.  ITiill  (P.  C.  Hull,  Editor),  October  3,  1879;  J.  S. 
Barnum,  B.  J.  Beardsley,  Beardsley  Bros.  (B.  J.  and 
G.  L.),  and  the  present  owners,  Addison  Dart,  Harry  D. 
Fast  and  Keith  C.  Andrews.  The  "Princeville  Re- 
publican" was  started  February  2,  1898,  by  George  I. 
McGinnis,  and  has  continued  a  prosperous  weekly 
under  his  direction  to  the  present  time.  The  "Prince- 
ville Academy  Sol", ran  as  a  school  monthly  ironi  1893 
to  1900. 


PRINCEVILI.E    TOWNSHIP  25 

After  the  platting  of  original  Princeville  in  1837, 
additions  were  made  and  subdivisions  surveyed  ad- 
joining, as  occasioii  required.  The  original  village 
is  five  blocks  square,  with  the  park  in  the  center. 
W.  C.  Stevens'  subdivision  on  tlie  south  and  west  was 
platted  in  1864  (plat  filed  in  1869) ;  lot  27  of  this  sub- 
division was  re-subdivided  into  several  smaller  lots 
in  1877,  and  some  of  them,  in  turn,  were  included  in 
1887  in  McGinnis  &  Russell's  addition.  Lots  15  and 
16  of  the  first  subdivision  were  platted  in  1897  into 
Hoag  &  Ward's  addition.  On  the  east  of  the  village, 
in  Akron,  Day  &  Hitchcock's  addition  was  laid  off  in 
1869.  This  was  at  the  time  of  building  the  Peoria  & 
Rock  Island  Railroad,  and  the  lots  were  disposed  of  at 
a  great  auction.  People  thought  that  Princeville,  hav- 
ing a  railroad,  was  destined  to  be  a  city,  and  paid 
prices  far  in  advance  of  values  thirty-three  years 
later,  in  1902.  The  promoters  of  the  addition  re- 
served some  of  the  best  lots  that  they  might  themselves 
*'get  the  benefit  of  the  rise,"  but  they  missed  it  in  not 
selling  all  out  at  first.  W.  C.  Stevens's  addition  on  the 
west  (including  the  school  house  square)  was  platted 
in  1871,  and  part  of  it  vacated  in  1877. 

/'Timber  Subdivisions"  of  two  and  one-half  and 
five-acre  lots,  were  made  by  Stephen  French  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  Section  13  in  1854  and  1857;  by 
heirs  of  Thomas  Morrow  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 
Section  12  in  1869;  and  by  William  Morrow  on  Sec- 
tion 19,  Akron  Township,  in  1876.  The  lots  in  all  of 
these  subdivisions  were  disposed  of  at  public  auctions. 
Farmers  found  it  more  necessary  then  to  have  timber 
to  use  than  they  do  now  in  the  days  of  lumber  yards 
and  wire  fences. 

The  first  burying  ground  in  Prince's  Grove  was  on 


26  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIEvS 

Section  25,  near  its  north  line,  and  about  sixty-four 
to  seventy-one  rods  west  of  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  section,  where  a  few  sunken  graves  may  still  be 
distinguished.  The  number  of  people  buried  here  is 
variously  estimated  at  from  ten  to  twenty-five.  In 
the  White's  Grove  district  a  burying  ground  was 
■located  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  8,  about 
fourteen  rods  from  the  north  line  (twelve  rods  from 
the  road)  and  thirty-five  rods  west  of  the  east  line  of 
said  quarter  section.  Thirteen  graves  may  now  be 
distinguished.  The  present  cemetery  in  the  northwest 
part  of  the  incorporated  village  was  first  used  in  1844, 
the  first  burial  being  that  of  a  daughter  of  George  I. 
McGinnis,  named  Temperance,  who  died  September 
14th  of  that  year.  For  many  years  graves  were  placed 
at  random,  when,  in  1864,  the  survey  into  lots,  paths 
and  driveways  was  mad.).  The  original  cemetery  has 
been  enlarged  by  three  or  four  successive  additions. 
The  Catholic  cemetery  on  Section  7,  Akron,  was  laid 
out  in  1875. 

Early  stone  quarries  were  those  of  B.  F.  and  J.  Z. 
Slane,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  Section  24;  of  Austin 
and  T.  P.  Bouton,  on  Section  25,  and  the  smaller  one 
of  Thomas  Morrow  on  Section  12.  The  Slane  brothers 
quarried  both  sandstone  and  limestone,  burning  the 
latter  into  lime.  This  was  a  grey  lime,  suitable  for 
everything  but  a  white  finish.  Limestone  was  also 
used  in  Princeville  from  the  quarry  of  James  Byrnes 
in  White  Oak,  Jubilee  Township. 

During  the  first  few  years  of  the  settling  of  the 
township,  coal  was  not  known  to  be  here,  and  when  it 
was  first  dug  up  or  seen  lying  on  top  of  the  ground,  its 
utility  was  not  known.  Mr.  Archibald  Smith  remem- 
bers very  distinctly  the  first  load  hauled  to  the  school 


,,T^       i-i;1f        M; 


[\  V) 


PRINCEVILLE    TOWNSHIP  27 

house  on  Section  8 — he  thinks  in  the  year  1847 — hauled 
by  Sam  "White  from  the  James  Morrow  farm  on  Section 
18.  It  was  then  called  "stone-coal.*'  Charles  Plum- 
mer  later  operated  a  bank  on  the  same  farm  and  Wm. 
Hughes  had  a  famous  bank  on  Section  7.  At  some  of 
the  coal  banks  the  settlers  would  go  and  dig  for  their 
own  use  as  they  pleased.  In  the  later  years  coal  has 
been  mined  in  various  parts  of  the  township,  shafts 
being  the  thickest  north  of  Princeville  Village.  The 
banks  now  operating  (1902)  are  those  of  Jackson 
Leaverton,  on  Section  18 ;  of  Graves  Bros.,  on  Section 
10;  of  W.  C.  Richer  and  of  Eobert  Taylor  (on  the 
Alford  farm)  on  Section  11 ;  and  of  Higbee  &  Cutler, 
on  Section  24 — the  last  mentioned  being  within  the 
corporate  limits  of  Princeville,  and  employing  the 
largest  number  of  men. 

Brick  yards  were  operated  by  Erastus  Peet  and 
George  I.  ]\IcGinnis  in  the  early  days  on  Sections  30 
and  7,  respectively,  both  in  Akron.  James  B>Tnes  of 
Jubilee  Township,  James  Rice  and  W.  H.  Gray  fur- 
nished brick  for  some  of  the  stores  now  standing. 
Gray's  brick  yard  was  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
callage,  northwest  of  the  cemetery,  where  an  excava- 
tion in  the  hillside  may  still  be  seen.  It  was  brick 
made  by  Gray  that  went  into  the  present  school  build- 
ing. E.  Keeling  started  a  brick  yard  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  Section  12  in  1887.  He  sold  out  in 
1892  to  Edward  Hill,  who  has  ever  since  manufactured 
and  sold  a  large  quantity  of  brick. 

Princeville  Village  was  incorporated  first  as  "The 
Town  of  Princeville,"  under  a  special  charter,  April 
15,  1869,  and  again  as  "The  Village  of  Princeville," 
under  the  general  law,  March  24,  1874.  The  incor- 
poration was  started  by.tlie  temperance  people  to  en- 


28  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

able  the  villnf?e  to  control  its  own  liquor  traffic,  and  as 
they  hoped,  to  eradicate  the  saloons.  The  anti-license 
party  carried  the  first  election,  but  failed  from  1870 
to  1878,  when  they  again  came  into  power,  this  time 
for  a  term  of  two  years.  The  license  party  ruled 
from  1880  to  1883,  the  anti-license  from  1883  to  1885, 
and  then  it  was  a  constant  struggle,  with  varying 
results,  until  1895.  Beginning  with  ]\Iay  1st  of  that 
year  the  anti-license  party  lias  been  in  control  con- 
tinuously to  the  present  time.  R.  P.  Ilsnry,  F.  B. 
Blanchard,  J.  B.  Ferguson,  Edward  Auten,  John  F. 
Bliss  and  Milton  Hammer,  in  the  President's  chair, 
and  others,  have  been  ''war  horses"  in  the  fight 
against  saloons.  In  the  later  j^ears  there  have  been 
different  citizens'  leagues,  furnishing  money  and 
moral  support  for  prosecutions.  The  temperance 
people,  from  the  beginning  of  their  efforts  to  prohibit 
the  sale  of  liquors,  up  to  the  present  time,  have  always 
found  in  Frank  C.  Hitchcock,  entrenched  in  the  castle 
which  his  father  built  and  denominated  ''Almost  a 
new  Jerusalem,"  a  foeman  worthy  of  their  steel.  Af- 
fable, gentlemanly,  and  self-contained,  he  has  com- 
batted  the  advance  of  temperance  reform  both  at  the 
elections  and  as  a  salesman  at  his  place  of  business. 
Often,  when  the  temperance  people  felt  sure  of  suc- 
cess as  to  an  election,  or  as  to  the  result  of  a  prosecu- 
tion brought  against  him  for  selling,  have  they  found 
his  success  complete.  But  notwithstanding  his  ability 
and  prowess,  he  has  a  number  of  times  met  defeat. 
If  he  has  sold  in  the  last  few  years  it  has  been  with- 
out legal  sanction  and  to  a  very  limited  patronage  of 
men  believed  to  have  been  long  ago  confirmed  in  their 
habits.  It  is  believed  that  not  manj^  drunkards  are 
now  being  made  from  clean  young  men  in  the  village. 


PRINCEVILIvE   TOWNSHIP  29 

For  a  time  some  of  the  highly  respected  business  men 
not  only  voted  against  the  anti-license  party,  but  ran 
on  the  other  ticket,  and  served  as  license  councilmen. 
Later  many  changed,  and  even  of  the  few  highly  re- 
spected ones  still  voting  for  license,  very  rarely  is 
one  found  to  allow  his  name  on  that  ticket. 

The  anti-license  administrations  since  1894  and 
1895  have  carried  on  the  policy  of  making  permanent 
improvements  in  the  shape  of  brick  sidewalks  and 
graveled  roads.  The  community  has  felt  satisfied 
with  this  method  of  government,  and  has  given  the 
anti-license  party  a  steadily  increasing  majority,  until 
in  1901  there  was  not  even  any  license  ticket  nomi- 
nated. The  present  village  officers  (May,  1902),  are 
P.  H.  Cutler,  President;  S.  A.  Andrews,  F.  M.  Beal, 
Geo.  Corbet,  A.  C.  I\roffit,  Peter  Auten,  Jr.,  and  Wil- 
liam Berry,  Trustees;  F.  W.  Cutler,  Clerk;  R.  J.  Ben- 
jamin, Magistrate;  and  the  following  appointive  of- 
iicers:  J.  H.  Kussell,  Treasurer;  James  Walkington, 
Marshal;  James  Cornish,  Street  Commissioner.  The 
first  towm  hall  was  the  old  Christian  church,  previ- 
ously mentioned  in  this  article,  purchased  by  the  vil- 
lage in  1873.  The  present  brick  hall,  consisting  of 
'Council  room,  fire  engine,  calaboose  and  upper  hall, 
was  erected  in  1891,  at  a  cost  of  about  $5,000.  The 
$4,400  of  bonds  issued  for  this  hall  are  now  paid  off, 
-and  the  village  has  an  outstanding  bonded  indebted- 
ness at  the  present  time  of  $3,300,  incurred  for  part  of 
"the  cost  of  brick  sidewalks.  The  old  plank  walks 
-are  being  replaced  as  they  wear  out  by  brick,  until 
now  there  are  about  50  blocks  of  brick  walk  and  an 
■equal  amount  of  plank  walk,  kept  in  a  fair  state  of 
repair.  An  effort  has  been  made  each  year  to  gravel 
some  of  the  roads  leading  out  of  town.     In  1901  the 


t)iii^ 


30  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

last  of  them  were  completed,  in  that  year  about  $600 
being  appropriated  by  the  Villaj:,'e  Council,  and  an 
equal  amount  being  donated  by  the  business  men  and 
the  farmers  who  were  benefited.  A  local  telephone 
exchange  was  installed  in  1901  by  W.  M.  Keck.  It 
is  likely  that  the  building  of  permanent  sidewalks  will 
cc])tinue  and  that  electric  lights  and  waterworks  will 
only  be  questions  of  time. 

Just  as  this  article  is  prepared  for  the  press  it  is 
announced  that  temperance  parties  have  procured  a 
8ix  years'  lease  of  the  Hitchcock  ** castle"  and  made 
other  arrangements  which,  it  is  believed,  will  end  a 
part  of  the  liquor  selling  in  town.  Another  item  of 
latest  news  is  that  parties  are  now  asking  for  an  elec- 
tric light  franchise  and  contract  from  the  village 
board. 

The  village  has  issued  two  editions  of  revised  ordi- 
nances, one  in  the  winter  of  1877-78,  when  J.  B.  Fer- 
guson was  President,  J.  G.  Corbet,  E.  C.  Fuller,  J.  F. 
Carman  and  V.  Weber,  Trustees,  and  H.  E.  Burgess, 
Clerk;  the  other,  in  1899-1900,  when  Milton  Hammer 
was  President,  N.  E.  Adams,  C.  J.  Cheesman,  Peter 
Auten,  Jr.,  A,  C.  Sutherland,  Thos.  Blakewell  and 
W.  S.  "Weaver,  Trustees,  and  F.  D.  Goodman  and  P.  W. 
Cutler,  Clerks  (Goodman  resigning  and  Cutler  suc- 
ceeding). The  first  fire  company  was  organized  in 
tlie  winter  of  1875-76,  and  continued  until  1899. 
Its  first  members  were  John  G.  Corbet,  C.  F. 
Beach,  A.  D.  Edwards,  Robert  PfeifTer,  William 
Russell,  J.  B.  Ferguson,  Charles  Blanchard,  C.  N. 
Pratt,  H.  E.  Burgess,  William  McDowell,  H.  A.  Simp- 
son, n.  E.  Charles.  It  had  in  its  charge,  first,  a  chem- 
ical extinguisher;  and  later,  a  chemical  and  hand  rail 
force  pump,  which  is  still  in  use  by  the  new  fire  com- 


PKINCEVILLE    TOWNSHIP  31 

paiiy  organized  in  1900,  The  large  fires  that  are  re- 
membered now  are:  The  Rowley  &  Hitchcock  hotel, 
about  1854,  located  on  tlie  site  of  the  Krebsbach  prop- 
erty, lot  8,  block  2,  recently  purchased  by  Mrs.  R.  E. 
Dickinson ;  of  the  Alter  store  bnilding,  probably  in 
the  fall  of  1874,  on  the  pi-esent  site  of  J.  B.  Ferguson's 
store,  and  that  of  June,  1875,  which  burned  Thomas 
Allwood's  store  buildings,  Hammer  &  May's  double 
building  and  V.  Weber's  shoe  store  on,  and  south  of 
the  present  site  of  German  &  Friedman's  large  store; 
the  burning  of  Daniel  Hitchcock's  steam  mill  in  1884; 
of  A.  C.  Sutherland's  grain  elevator  in  1893;  and  of 
the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  depot  on  March  11,  1902. 

The  first  store  in  Princeville  was  kept  by  Elisha 
Morrow  on  block  9,  probably  lot  8,  in  a  little  red 
frame  building.  This  was  the  first  frame  in  the  vil- 
lage, and  was  covered  with  siding  cut  from  native 
logs  with  a  cross-cut  saw.  William  C.  Stevens  and 
his  brother  Amos,  were  in  a  hurry  to  have  the  store 
started,  and  spent  three  weeks  making  the  siding. 
Elisha  Morrow  w^as  no  relation  to  the  other  well 
known  ]\Iorrows,  but  was  a  brother  of  Amos  Stevens's 
wife.  The  next  store-keeper  "was  William  Coburn,  in 
a  small  building  on  lot  7,  block  2.  He  sold  out  his 
goods  to  one  Ellsworth,  wiio  in  turn  sold  to  W.  C. 
Stevens.  Mr.  Stevens — to  ''hold  the  village  together," 
as  he  said — kept  store  in  the  front  room  of  his  resi- 
dence. He  would  take  orders  for  handkerchiefs  and 
various  articles,  and  then  drive  to  Peoria,  getting  the 
goods  that  were  ordered  and  only  a  few  others.  Other 
very  early  merchants  in  the  Coburn  store  building 
were  Greenleaf  Woodbury,  Myron  Prince,  Rowley  & 
Hitchcock,  and  J.  W.  Cue.  Mr.  Que  died  May  21, 
1852,  from  Asiatic  cholera,  the  only  death  ever  known 


32  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIKS 

to  have  occurred  from  that  disease  in  this  neighbor- 
hood. His  wife,  Jerusha  T.  Gue,  continued  his  busi- 
ness in  the  east  one  of  the  store  rooms  on  lot  1,  block 
18,  now  occupied  by  Blanchard  &  Sons. 

About  1851  a  man  by  the  name  of  Gray  commenced 
a  grocery  and  notion  trade,  but  soon  abandoned  it. 
In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  Eldridge  &  Parker 
built  an  up-and-down  board  store  building  on  lot  1, 
block  17,  where  the  Park  Hotel  now  stands.  Among 
the  business  men  during  the  decades  of  1850,  1860  and 
1870,  were  Thomas  Allwood,  John  T.  Lindsay,  A.  G. 
Henry,  D.  W.  Ilerron  and  George  W.  Emery,  drugs; 
Iliel  Bronson  and  John  11.  Russell,  groceries;  Bolirer 
&  Ferguson  and  Charles  and  Joseph  German,  hard- 
ware; Hammer  &  May,  furniture;  Isaac  Bohrer,  grow- 
er of  Osage  Orange  hedge  plants;  John  Alter,  A.  G. 
Persons,  G.  W.  Hitchcock,  Day  &  Hitchcock,  A.  D. 
Sloan,  Cecil  Moss,  Wm.  Simpson  and  Solomon  God- 
frey, general  stores;  William  DeBolt,  shoemaker; 
Henry  Clussman,  Weber  &  Bachtold,  shoes;  John  E. 
Hensler  and  J.  L.  Blanchard,  lumber. 

The  hotel  business  started  in  Princeville  witli  Seth 
Pulton's  tavern,  a  log  building  on  block  9,  probably 
lot  3,  built  in  the  '30 's.  He  kept  the  first  tavern  in 
Peoria,  and  came  from  there  to  Princeville.  His 
Princeville  tavern,  ''The  Traveler's  Home,"  was  a 
*' two-roomed  log  house — one  of  the  rooms  above  the 
other,"  with  a  lean-to,  also  of  Jogs.  William  Coburn, 
in  1840,  built  a  part  of  the  "Rowley  &  Hitchcock" 
hotel  on  block  2,  and  called  it  the  "Rising  Sun."" 
Myron  Prince,  Thomas  Myers,  G.  Woodbury,  Cyrus 
Beach,  a  man  na)ned  Blue,  John  ]\Ioore,  Rowley  & 
Hitchcock  and  Ashford  Nixon  all  kept  tavern  here — 
Rowley  &  Hitchcock  erecting  a  large  addition,  with 


PRINCI5VILLE;   TOWNSHIP  33 

hall  above,  the  building  having  burned  when  occu- 
pied by  Ashford  Nixon.  A  few  years  later  Sanford 
M.  Whittington  erected  the  present  building,  a  much 
smaller  one,  on  the  same  site,  for  hotel  purposes  but, 
so  far  as  learned,  it  has  never  been  used  for  a  hotel. 
The  site  of  tlie  present  Arlington  House,  lot  5,  block 
11,  has  been  used  for  hotel  purposes  ever  since  1848. 
Captain  John  Williams  kept  tavern  in  the  E.  Russell 
house  from  that  year  to  1855.  In  the  latter  year  Wil- 
liam Owens  bought  the  entire  south  half  of  the  block 
and  replaced  the  dwelling  by  a  larger  hotel  building. 
After  conducting  the  hotel  for  eight  years  he  sold  to 
John  Baldwin  in  1863.  James  Kice  became  landlord 
in  1865,  and  continued  until  1889,  except  such  times 
as  he  leased  to  John  G.  Corbet,  Thomas  Painter,  Lucius 
Wilkington  and  James  Rice,  Jr.  Mr.  Rice  sold  out  in 
1889  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  C.  AVashburn.  On  the  corner 
to  the  south,  the  present  site  of  Conklin's  store,  was 
a  hotel  run  at  different  times  by  Solomon  Bliss  and  G. 
W.  McMillen.  R.  P.  Cooper  built,  for  a  hotel,  the 
house  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bigg,  which  was 
then  on  lot  3,  block  17,  the  site  of  David  Kinnah's 
present  residence.  W.  G.  Selby,  about  1869,  built  the 
two-story  part  to  the  building  on  lot  1,  setting  the 
Eldridge  &  Parker  store  to  the  south  of  its  old  loca- 
tion for  an  *'L."  He  first  conducted  an  implement 
store  and  later,  with  Mrs.  Selby,  operated  the  Eureka 
Hotel.  After  Mr.  Selby 's  death,  ]\Irs.  Selby  conducted 
the  business,  recently  as  the  ''Park  House,"  until  the 
spring  of  1902,  when  she  leased  the  building  for  the 
same  purpose  to  ]\liss  Katie  Schneider. 

One  industry  that  flourished  in  Princeville  before 
the  days  of  steam  factories  and  cheap  machinery  else- 
where was  wagon-making.    AVhen  Daniel  Prince  came 


34  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

back  from  Missouri  in  1842,  to  collect  some  old  debts, 
he  took  home  Avith  him  a  wagon  made  by  John  Lewis 
and  ironed  by  Ebenezer  Russell.  Later  wagon-makers 
and  wood-workers  were  Beach  &  Benton  (possibly 
before  Lewis),  McMillen  &  Persons,  J.  T.  &  J.  H.  Rus- 
sell, Williamson  Vancil,  Wayne  Dixon,  Joseph  German 
and  Aaron  Moffit.  The  Russells  and  J.  L.  Blanchard 
(part  of  the  time  in  partnership),  occupied  a  large 
tliree-story  factory  built  by  jMcMillen  &  Persons,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  village  hall,  with  blacksmith 
or  iron  shop  to  the  east,  and  large  warehouse  to  the 
north.  Later,  J.  A.  &  0.  S.  Pratt  conducted  the  black- 
smithing  part,  and  Moffit  &  Dixon  made  the  wood- 
work of  wagons. 

Blacksmiths,  worthy  of  mention  as  old  settlers, 
are  Ebenezer  Russell,  Wm.  Owens,  Allen  &  Griffin, 
Davis  Bristol  and  Nathaniel  Mitchell.  Ebenezer  Rus- 
sell was  the  first  blacksmith  and  secured  a  free  lot 
from  Mr.  Stevens  as  the  ''first  artisan"  of  his  trade 
to  come  to  the  town.  William  Owens  spent  his  life 
in  this  village  from  1844  to  1902,  in  his  prime  playing 
an  important  part  in  the  material  advancement  of  the 
village,  and,  in  his  venerable  age,  wielding  the  sledge 
vigorously  and  industriously — always  highly  re- 
spected. Nathaniel  Mitchell  was  a  fine  workman  of 
iron  and  steel,  and  had  a  passion  for  gunsmithing — so 
much  so  that  he  "would  make  horse-shoeing  wait  any 
time  to  repair  a  gun."     Other  early  mechanics  were 

Jonathan   Nixon,  cabinet  and  coffin  maker,  

Armstrong,  Jehiel  Bouton  and  John  Dale,  carpenters, 
John  Taylor,  mason,  and  James  McDowell,  pji inter. 

Princeville's  first  doctors  were  Mott,  iMorrow  and 
Waters.  The  first  two  would  hardly  be  called  prac- 
ticing physicians,  but  would  go  and  attend  a  neighbor. 


princeviIvLe;  township  35 

Waters    was    a    ' 'water     and    herb     doctor — chiefly 

water."    Dr.  Moss  was  the  first  regular  phj^si- 

cian,  and  Dr.  Charles  Cutter  the  next.  Dr.  Cutter's 
son  writes:  ''His  practice  sometimes  extended  from 
Lawn  Ridge,  in  one  direction,  to  French  Grove  in  the 
other;  and  his  meager  remuneration,  when  there  was 
pay  at  all,  sometimes  taking  the  bulky  form  of  corn 
in  the  ear,  and  even  of  labor  in  his  own  fields,  as 
return  for  successfully  ushering  into  the  world  infant 
Princevillians,  and  for  other  professional  services." 
The  next  to  come,  in  order,  were  Israel  G.  Harlan, 
Robert  F.  Henry,  L.  M.  Andrews,  George  W.  Emery, 
Watkins  Warren,  T.  E.  Alyea,  M.  S.  Marcy,  C.  H. 
Wilcox  and  W.  J.  Price. 

The  Postmasters  from  the  earliest  time  to  the  pres- 
ent have  been  as  follows,  very  nearly  in  the  order 
given,  and  perhaps  w4th  some  omitted;  Stephen 
French,  William  Coburn,  W.  C.  Stevens  (at  various 
times),  George  W.  Hitchcock,  L.  B.  Dslj,  John  W. 
Auten,  Mrs.  Mattie  Snediker,  M.  M.  Blanchard,  L.  A. 
Blanchard,  J.  M.  Sabin,  H.  E.  Burgess,  A.  D.  Edwards, 
J.  S.  Barnum,  A.  Cowan,  Frank  Boutou,  Marie  Henry, 
H.  J.  Cheesman. 

Peter  Auten  and  George  W.  Alter  established  a 
bank  in  1872,  under  the  firm  name  of  Auten  &  Alter. 
Mr.  Alter  dying  the  same  year,  Edward  Auten  became 
a  partner,  and  the  firm  has  remained  Auten  &  Auten, 
with  no  change  of  partners  to  the  present  time.  Peter 
Auten  was  aged  ninety  years  and  seven  months  on  the 
first  day  of  May,  1902,  and  is  yet  clear  in  mind,  though 
feeble  in  body.  He  is  the  oldest  resident  of  the  village, 
and  it  is  believed  of  the  township. 

The  People's  Bank  was  conducted  by  R.  C.  Henry 
and  W.  B.  Kaiser  from  1892  to  1893  or  '94. 


;  aeba..o 


36  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

The  grain  and  live  stock  bnsinesses  are  those  which 
have  been  an  index  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the 
farmers  of  Princeville  and  Akron  Townships,  and 
consequently  of  the  business  men  of  Princeville.  As 
is  the  case  with  many  prairie  towns,  Princeville 's 
commercial  life  depends  on  the  farmers'  corn,  oats, 
hogs  and  cattle,  and  Princeville  is  in  the  midst  of 
splendid  territory.  Shipments  from  Princeville  in 
the  year  1901  were  34-1  cars  of  grain  and  107  cars  of 
live  stock,  and  the  Village  of  ^Monica,  four  miles  dis- 
tant, near  the  center  of  the  township,  probably  about 
the  same  amount  of  produce.  This,  too,  is  with  other 
shipping  towns  as  close  as  Wady  Petra  and  Stark,  4 
and  5  miles  respectively,  Duncan  5V2  miles,  Edel- 
stein  7  miles,  and  Dunlap  8  miles.  The  poultry 
and  egg  business  in  Princeville  in  one  year  amounts  to 
$15,000  to  $20,000.  Besides  the  farmers'  produce, 
which  many  towns  rely  on  for  their  prosperity,  Prince- 
ville has  a  set  of  enterprising  merchants.  The  general 
stores  agreed  in  1896,  perhaps  forced  to  do  so  by  the 
stringent  times,  to  sell  for  cash  only.  The  resulting 
low  prices,  combined  with  the  healthy  rivalry  and 
hearty  spirit  of  co-operation,  have  built  up  a  trade  for 
Princeville  that  draws  from  the  former  territorj'  of 
Toulon,  Wyoming,  Elmwood,  Peoria  and  Chillicothe. 

The  brief  article  on  Princeville  Township  in  His-, 
tory  of  Peoria  County  (Johnson  &  Co.,  1880)  gives  a 
partial  list  of  Princeville  business  men  in  1880  as  fol- 
lows: F.  B,  Blanchard,  Wm.  Simpson  and  Otto  Dav- 
ison, dry  goods;  J.  H.  Russell,  Garrison  &  Fuller  and 
Emmet  lUingworth,  groceries;  Peter  Auten  and  son 
in  banking;  Solomon  Bliss  and  D.  W.  Herron  in  drugs; 
C.  W.  Russell  in  hardware;  Valentin  "Weber  in  boots 
and  shoes;  James  B.  Ferguson  in  jewelry;  J.  G.  Cor- 


PRINCEVII.I.E  TOWNSHIP  37 

bet,  hotel  and  livery;  Mrs.  W.  G.  Selby,  hotel;  John 
D.  Hammer,  meat  market;  James  Campbell  and  Ham- 
mer &  May,  cabinet  shops;  John  Ayling,  bakery  and 
restaurant;  Hitchcock  &  Voorhees,  millers;  0.  F.  Her- 
rick  and  Geo.  Reinhart,  harness;  B.  P.  Duffy,  attorney; 
Misses  Bouton  &  Bohrer  and  Misses  Edwards  &  God- 
frey millinery;  H.  E.  Burgess,  postmaster. 

The  business  men  of  1902  are  as  follows:  M.  V. 
Conklin,  Blanchard  &  Sons,  Cheesman  Bros.,  and  J.  L. 
Searl,  general  merchandise;  Mrs.  Julia  F.  Middle- 
brook — ''The  Golden  Ivule  Store" — dry  goods,  shoes 
and  notions;  G.  B.  Robinson,  clothing;  Richard  Cox, 
and  Best  &  Wakefield,  grain  and  lumber;  xVuten  & 
Auten,  bankers;  F.  B.  Blanchard,  creamery;  D.  Kin- 
nah,  meat  market  and  live  stock;  A.  C.  Sutherland 
estate,  meat  market ;  German  &  Friedman  and  Minkler 
&  Harrison,  hardware  and  implements;  F.  E.  Prouty 
and  M.  Hannuer,  furniture  and  undertaking  (Prouty, 
pianos  also);  J.  B.  Ferguson,  jewelry  and  bicycles; 
"Will  H.  Lamb,  jeweler  and  optician;  J.  C.  Whelpley, 
harness;  N.  E.  Adams,  harness  and  bicycles;  Dr.  T.  E| 
Alyea,  and  Dr.  H.  C.  Young  (Miss  Jessie  Porter  in 
charge),  registered  pharmacists  and  book  stores;  Val- 
entin Weber,  shoes;  Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Washburn,  Arling- 
ton House;  Miss  Katie  Schneider,  Park  House;  Rich- 
ard Heberling,  and  Joseph  0.  Husbands,  restaurants; 
0.  S.  Kopp,  bakery;  Frank  Hietter,  livery;  Dr.  W.  S. 
Hicks,  dentist;  Drs.  R.  F.  Henry,  C.  H.  AA^ilcox,  T.  E. 
Alyea  and  W.  J.  Price,  practicing  physicians;  Dr.  0. 
M.  Goodale,  veterinarian;  Wm.  Harrington,  carpet 
factory;  Goodman  &  Harrington,  A.  M.  Marlatt  and 
H.  C.  Miller,  barbers;  Higbee  &  Cutler,  coal  shaft;  W. 
S.  Weaver,  wholesale  poultry;  Aaron  C.  Moffit,  wagon 
shop;  J.  A.  Pratt  and  0.- S.  Pratt,  C.  M.  Gillen,  R.  J. 


38  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

Nichols,  and  Thos.  IMcDowell,  blacksmiths;  Mrs.  M. 
Scott  and  Mrs.  N.  Gill,  milliners ;  M.  L.  Sniff,  insurance 
and  real  estate;  Milton  Wilson,  insurance  and  Notary 
Public;  J.  n.  Ho])lvins,  attorney;  F.  W.  Cutler,  insur- 
ance and  Justice  of  the  Peace;  H.  S.  Yates,  life  insur- 
ance; A.  A.  Dart,  IT.  D.  Fast  and  K.  C.  Andrews,  pub- 
lishers of  ''Telephone;"  George  I.  McGinnis,  publisher 
"Republican;"  John  "W.  Miller,  transfer  and  dray;  W. 
M.  Keek,  local  telephone  exchange;  W.  W.  Wright, 
mason  and  contractor;  J.  Y.  Mendenhall,  F.  H.  Cutler 
and  W.  II.  Simmons,  carpenter  contractors;  R.  J.  Ben- 
jamin, carpenter  shop ;  W.  M.  Keck,  leader  and  mana- 
ger of  Band  and  Orchestra;  A.  L.  Parker,  agent  A.  T. 
&  S.  F.  Ry.  Co. ;  J.  W.  ]\IcEwen,  agent  R.  I.  &  P.  Ry. 
Co. ;  H.  J.  Cheesman,  Postmaster. 

Fraternal  lodges  in  the  village,  with  their  officers, 
are  as  follows : 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic:  J.  F.  French  Post, 
No.  153;  A.  C.  Moffit,  Commander;  E.  Keller,  S.  V.  C; 
John  Wilson,  J.  Y.  C;  S.  A.  Andrews,  Q.  M. ;  J.  A. 
Pratt,  Adjt.;  0.  S.  Pratt,  0.  D.;  J.  M.  Yates,  Chaplain; 
James  Bane,  0.  G. ;  Wm.  Wisenburg,  Surgeon;  John 
Geitner,  Q.  M.  S.;  Hugh  Roney,  S.  M.;  M.  H.  Buck, 
Delegate ;  Frank  Rotterman,  Alternate. 

Thief  Detective  and  Mutual  Aid  Association:  S. 
S.  Slane,  Capt.;  John  W.  Miller,  1st  Lieut.;  A.  B. 
Debord,  2d  Lieut.;  Chas.  Taylor,  3d  Lieut.;  M.  V. 
Conkliu,  4th  Lieut.;  T.  E.  Alyea,  Sec;  Joseph  Fried- 
man, Banker. 

Princeville  Fire  Company:  F.  H.  Cutler,  Foreman ; 
R.  Cox,  1st  Ass't-Foreman;  C.  N.  Pratt,  2d  Ass't-Fore- 
man;  Geo.  Coburn,  Sec;  Hanford  Harrison,  Treas. 

INIodern  Woodmen  of  America,  Princeville  Camp, 
No.  1304:    F.  IL  Cntler,  V.  C;  A.  J.  Best,  W.  A.;  J. 


PRINCEVILI.E  TOWNSHIP  39 

L.  Searl,  E.  B.;  C.  F.  Harrington,  Clerk;  F.  L.  Bobier, 
Escort;  F.  E.  Cobnrn,  Watchman;  Gale  Nixon,  Sentry. 

A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  Princeville  Lodge  No.  360:  J.  C. 
Whelpley,  W.  M.;  J.  V.  Christian,  S.  W.;  S.  T.  Henry, 
J.  W. ;  D.  Kinnah,  Treas. ;  J.  F.  Carman,  Sec. ;  F.  J. 
Wilson,  S.  D. ;  W.  J.  Price,  J.  D. ;  W.  S.  Weaver,  S.  S. ; 
M.  L.  Sniff,  J.  S.;  Bnrt  Brown,  Tyler. 

Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  Union  Grove  Chapter, 
No.  229:  Mrs.  Mary  Cheesman,  W.  M.;  Burtwell 
Brown,  W.  P.;  Mrs.  Dora  Carman,  A.  M. ;  Mrs.  Anna 
Minkler,  Conductress;  Mrs.  Hattie  Blanchard,  A.  C. ; 
Mrs.  Lena  Blanchard,  Sec. ;  ]\lrs.  Lena  Harrison,  Treas. ; 
Mrs.  Cliloe  Cox,  Adah;  Miss  Jessie  Porter,  Rnth;  ]\Irs. 
Clara  Kinnah,  Esther;  Mrs.  Lizzie  Christian,  Martha; 
Mrs.  Nellie  Searl,  Electa;  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Andrews, 
Chaplain;  Mrs.  Mamie  Morrow,  Organist;  Miss  Nettie 
Stisser,  Asst.  Organist. 

I.  O.  0.  F.,  Diligence  Lodge,  No.  129 :  P.  S.  Dusten, 
N.  G.;  F.  D.  Goodman,  V.  G.;  F.  H.  Cutler,  Sec;  N.  E. 
Adams,  Treas.;  A.  H.  Sloan,  John  Kinnah,  M.  Ham- 
mer, 0.  S.  Pratt,  T.  E.  Andrus,  Trustees. 

Daughters  of  Rebekah,  Princeville  Lodge,  No.  351 : 
Elsie  Gillen,  N.  G.;  Fannie  Cutler,  V.  G. ;  Sarah  E. 
Parker,  Sec. ;  Alice  Eyre,  Treas. ;  Hattie  Debord,  Pin. 
Sec. ;  N.  E.  Adams,  Deputy ;  May  Dusten,  Warden ; 
Sadie  Smith,  Conductor;  Nettie  Rowe,  R.  S.  N.  G. ; 
Edith  Fast,  L.  S.  N.  G.;  Ella  McDougal,  I.  G.;  John 
Kinnah,  0.  G. 

Fraternal  Army  of  America,  Princeville  Post,  No. 
96:  Geo.  Coburn,  Capt. ;  Mrs.  L.  A.  Washburn,  Chap- 
lain ;  Katie  Pratt,  Lieut. ;  W.  J.  Price,  Post  Surgeon ; 
Wm.  Wright,  Corporal;  Wm.  Wright,  Otis  Goodale, 
Trustees. 

Princeville  Village  we  have  given  thus  fully  be- 


40  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

cause  it  is  the  center  of  township  life.  The  township 
has  grown  in  popnhilion  from  1,335  in  1870,  1,682  in 
1880,  and  1,663  in  1890,  to  1,717  in  1900.  The  total 
voting  population  is  nearly  500,  and,  the  required  num- 
ber of  450  having  been  passed  prior  to  1896,  in  that 
year  the  township  was  divided  into  two  precincts.  No. 
1  embracing  a  strip  two  miles  in  width  off  the  east 
side  of  the  township,  with  polling  place  at  Princeville, 
No.  2  the  west  four  miles  of  the  tov;nship,  ^vith  polling 
place  at  Monica.  Princeville  was  raised  to  be  a  third 
class  postoffice  in  1900,  and  from  it  tAvo  rural  free 
delivery  routes  are  covered  daily,  with  prospect  of 
more  routes  in  the  future. 

There  are  several  miles  of  graveled  road,  with 
more  gravel  being  placed  each  year,  largely  by  dona- 
tion of  hauling,  and  partly  by  county  and  township 
appropriations.  A  few  steel  bridges  have  been  put 
in  each  j^ear,  as  the  timber  ones  have  worn  out,  until 
now  a  large  proportion  of  the  bridges  are  permanent 
ones.  In  the  earlier  day  the  population  is  said  to 
have  been  nearly  all  Democratic.  The  Republican 
party  started  in  1856,  when  Fremont  was  candidate 
for  President,  but  the  Democrats  were  overpoweringly 
strong  then.  The  recollection  now  is  that  the  Republi- 
cans carried  the  township  by  15  majority  in  1860, 
again  in  1864  and  at  one  of  the  U.  S.  Grant  elections. 
They  also  carried  it  by  three  majority  wiien  IMcKinley 
was  elected  for  his  first  term.  The  Republicans  might 
carry  the  township  now  if  they  would  all  vote  to- 
gether, but  they  are  split  up,  and  the  result  is  that 
the  Democrats  hold  their  old  time  supremacy.  The 
political  complexion  of  the  officials,  however,  has 
made  very  little  difference  with  the  conduct  of  town 
affairs.     There  have  heen  no  disturbing  elements  in 


princeville;  township  41 

local  elections,  and  the  officials,  as  well  as  the  remaind- 
er of  the  citizens,  have  bent  their  energies  to  looking 
after  the  material  interests  of  the  township. 

The  township  officers  after  the  spring  election  of 
1902  are  as  follows:  M.  V.  Conklin,  Supervisor;  J. 
A.  Pratt,  Clerk;  Henry  Debord,  Assessor;  J.  Y.  :\Ien- 
deuhall,  Collector;  Archibald  >Smith,  Frank  Harrison 
and  Ezra  B.  Calhoun,  Road  Commissioners;  George 
Coon  and  James  Waikington,  Constables;  F.  W.  Cut- 
ler, Justice  of  the  Peace;  Sherman  T.  Henry,  R.  M. 
Todd,  and  A.  B.  Debord,  School  Trustees;  Edward 
Auten,  School  Treasurer. 

The  township  is  busy  at  its  farms,  its  trades,  and 
its  shops.  It  is  attending  to  business,  although  not 
following  the  pace  for  gold.  It  cares  not  for  the  tur- 
moil, knows  nothing  of  the  poverty  and  thinks  little 
of  the  sorrow  of  the  city.  Here  the  open-hearted, 
frank  American  citizen,  the  bulwark  of  our  nation,  is 
at  home.  He  may  be  clad  in  modest  clothes,  but  he 
is  educated,  and  has  a  mind  of  his  own.  He  appreciates 
the  gentleman  in  his  visitors,  and,  to  such,  his  hos- 
pitality is  open ;  to  affectation  and  insincerity  he  says, 
**You  are  in  the  wrong  place." 

With  her  religion  and  education,  her  industry  and 
honesty,  her  energy  and  judgment,  and  her  thrift, 
coupled  with  her  fertile  soil,  her  blue  sky,  her  springs 
and  streams,  her  gentle  rains  and  protecting  forests, 
with  all  the  beauties  of  trees  and  flowers,  the  singing 
birds  and  contented  beasts,  Princeville  is  a  fair  speci- 
men, six  miles  square,  of  ''The  great,  the  free,  the 
open,  rolling  West." 


AKRON   TOWNSHIP 

By  Henry  C.  Houston 


Geographically,  Akron  Township  occupies  the  mid- 
dle ground  in  the  north  tier  of  townships  in  Peoria 
County.  Its  surface  ranges  from  high  rolling  land  to 
the  level,  flat,  corn-producing  soil.  Originally  it  was 
covered  with  prairie  grass,  excepting  a  narrow  strip 
of  timber  along  the  western  border.  Two  small 
streams,  one  in  the  eastern,  the  other  in  the  western 
part  of  the  township,  constitute  the  principal  water- 
courses. 

At  present  no  town,  village  or  city  stands  wholly 
within  Akron.  On  the  west  side  of  the  township  the 
corporate  limits  of  Princeville  include  a  strip  one- 
fourth  mile  wide,  and  one  mile  long.  Within  this  ter- 
ritory are  found  two  grain  elevators,  two  lumber 
yards,  the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  Railway  Company 
stock-yards,  and  a  number  of  good  residences.  The 
public  highway  on  our  east  line  serves  as  the  principal 
street  through  the  village  of  West  Hallock.  On  the 
Akron  side  stand  the  church  (Seventh  Day  Baptist), 
parsonage,  village  store  kept  by  E.  Wheeler,  and  Post 
Oflice,  the  cheese  factory  and  a  number  of  residences. 
The  original  settlers  of  West  Hallock  were  largely 
from  the  state  of  New  York  and  were  remarkable  for 
their  industry,  intelligence,  sobriety  and  thrift.  Their 
descendants  are  maintaining  the  reputation  of  the 
fathers.  The  new  station  named  *' Akron,"  on  the 
Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad,  will  be  wholly 
within  the  township,  unless  its  growth  greatly  ex- 
ceeds the  expectations  of  its  founders. 

42 


AKRON  TOWNSHIP  43 


Historical  and  Political 


The  first  permanent  settlement  made  was  on  Sec- 
tion 7,  in  the  year  1831,  by  Ilngh  IMontgomery.  Dur- 
ing the  same  year  Daniel  Prince  and  James  Morrow 
settled  on  Section  31,  and  Thomas  Morrow  built  a 
cabin  on  Section  18.  For  some  years  follo^ving,  the 
growth  in  population  'was  not  rapid.  The  new  homes 
were  confined  to  the  w^estern  part  of  the  township, 
near  the  belt  of  timber.  Grandually  the  pioneers 
ventured  on  to  the  open  prairie  and  opened  up  farms, 
where  clearing  off  forests  was  not  the  first  step  in 
farming.  Others  seeing  the  advantage  of  fields  with- 
out stumps,  and  that  the  prairie  farmer  survived  the 
winters,  there  was  a  more  rapid  advance  in  settlement, 
but  it  was  not  until  well  tow^ard  1860  that  all  the  land 
was  occupied  and  improved.  In  fact  the  census  of 
1860  gave  a  larger  population  than  has  ever  been 
reported  since.  The  war  of  1861-65  called  many  of 
our  young  men  from  their  homes,  and  when 
their  term  of  service  closed  they  went  west 
to  make  homes  for  themselves.  The  activity  in 
railroad  extension  westward  at  the  close  of  the 
war  opened  up  thousands  of  acres  of  rich  farming 
lands,  and  many  of  our  farmers  who  had  settled  on 
forty  or  eighty-acre  farms,  saw  a  splendid  chance  for 
selling  their  small  farms  to  their  prosperous  neigh- 
bors, and  going  on  to  cheaper  land  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. This  disposition  to  sell  the  small  farm  at  a  high 
price  and  move  on  to  western  land  that  could  be 
bought  at  much  less  per  acre,  is  responsible  for  the 
gradual  decrease  in  our  population  from  that  time  to 
the  present. 


44  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

During  the  earlier  years  of  our  history,  but  little 
interest  was  taken,  or  activity  manifested,  in  political 
matters.    Up  to  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  Township 
Organization,  the  doings  of  this  people  were  a  part  of 
the   county  records   and   are   not     available   for   this 
article.     The  first  town  meeting  under  Township  Or- 
ganization w^as  held  at  the  house  of  Ebenezer  Russell 
on  April  2,  1850.     Simon  P.  Chase  served  as  the  first 
I^Ioderator,  and  Richard  Kidd  as  Clerk.    At  this  elec- 
tion 16  votes  were  cast,  and  all  but  three  of  the  voters 
were  elected  to  fill  some  township  office.     Benjamin 
Slane  was  elected  Supervisor,  and  to  him  belongs  the 
honor   of  being   Akron's   first   representative    on   the 
Board  of  Supervisors.     The  following  year  there  were 
two  tickets  in  the  field,  both  having  the  name  of  Ben- 
jamin  Slane   for   Supervisor,   the     remainder   of   the 
tickets  being  political.    In  the  town  meeting  of  April, 
1854,  a  move  was  made  for  building  a  town  house  of 
the  following  dimensions:     ''26x18,  11  ft.  high,  said 
building  to  be  located  near  the  center  of  the  town- 
ship."   The  same  year  the  house  was  built,  and,  until 
1866,  served  the  double  purpose  of  school  house  for 
District  No.  5,  and  for  town  meetings.     In  1865  the 
voters  of  the  town,  feeling  the  need  of  a  larger  house, 
voted  to  join  with  District  No.  5  in  the  erection  of  a 
two-story   building,    the    lower   part   to    be    used    for 
school  purposes,  and  the  hall  above  for  public  gather- 
ings.    This  arrangement  continued  until  June,   1900, 
when  the  town  bought  the  interest  of  School  District 
No.  5,  and  moved  the  building  on  to  another  part  of 
the  lot. 

In  politics,  Akron  has  been  nearly  evenly  divided 
between  the  two  parties,  the  tenant  population  ever 
holding  the  balance  of  .power.     The  annual  changes  in 


AKRON  TOWNSHIP  45 

this  class  of  inliabitaiits  account  for  the  victory  and 
defeat  of  first  one  and  then  the  other  party,  as  shown 
by  the  election  returns.  Akron  is  one  of  the  townships 
where  political  forecasts  are  uncertain.  Durin^,^  these 
forty-five  years  of  political  history,  the  general  elec- 
tions have  always  been  quiet  affairs,  but  many  of  the 
town  meetings  have  been  veritable  political  battle- 
grounds. In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1868,  unusual 
interest  was  taken  in  elections,  when,  between  Jan- 
uary 25  and  April  5,  seven  elections  were  held  to  vote 
upon  many  different  propositions  to  aid  in  building 
certain  proposed  lines  of  railroad.  The  first  six  met 
with  a  negative  vote,  but,  on  the  latter  date,  the  result 
stood:  For  subscription,  ]24  votes;  Against,  122  votes. 
As  soon  as  the  vote  was  announced  a  company  of  the 
property  holders  organized  to  contest  the  election. 
This  action  threw  the  case  into  the  courts,  and,  from 
the  latter  part  of  1868  to  February,  1873,  this  case,  in 
some  form,  was  to  be  found  in  the  Circuit  or  Supreme 
Court.  During  this  time  the  ** Akron  Railroad  Case" 
M'as  entered  on  the  docket  of  the  Circuit  Courts  of 
Peoria,  McLean,  "Woodford  and  Schuyler  Counties, 
and  in  the  Supreme  Court  at  Ottawa.  After  more  than 
four  years  of  waiting,  the  Supreme  Court  handed 
down  a  decision  that  the  election  was  illegal,  and  that 
the  Supervisor  could  not  be  compelled  to  issue  the 
$30,000  in  bonds  voted  at  that  election.  In  the  prog- 
ress of  this  trial  many  distinguished  men  appeared  as 
counsel.  Among  these  were  Judge  John  Burns  and 
George  C.  Barnes,  of  Lacon,  Judge  Ilezekiah  M.  Wead, 
Henry  B.  Hopkins  and  Robert  G.  lugersoU,  of  Peoria^ 
and  Hon  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  of  Bloomington.  While 
this  case  was  pending,  political  lines  were  Avholly  dis- 
regarded.    The  issue  wa§  "Bond"  and  ''Anti-Bond," 


46  TOWNSHIP    HISTORII^S 

— ^^tlic  latter  being  ahvays  victorious  by  large  and  in- 
creasing majorities  at  each  town  meeting.  In  a  short 
lime  after  this  decision  was  rendered,  peace  was  re- 
stored, and  party  ticl^ets  and  practices  were  resnraed. 
The  present  officials  of  the  township  (1902-03)  ai-c 
as  follows:  H.  C.  Stewart,  Supervisor;  Charles  A. 
.Tiramons,  Town  Clerk;  Alex.  Gra}',  Assessor;  James 
P.  Byrnes,  Collector;  "William  PuUen,  Frank  Kraus 
and  George  W.  Gruner,  Road  Commissioners;  George 
Rowcliff  and  Charles  A.  Timmons,  Justices  of  the 
Peace;  Peter  Currey,  Constable;  George  Rowcliff,  M. 
D.  Potter  and  G.  L.  Runner,  School  Trustees;  Henry 
C.  Houston,  School  Treasurer. 


Educational  and  Religious 


At  an  early  period  in  our  township  history  the 
sturdy  pioneers  set  about  to  provide  such  educational 
facilities  as  their  means  and  situation  would  permit. 
The  first  building  for  this  purpose  was  built  a  short 
distance  southeast  of  the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  depot 
at  Princeville.  This  was  used  on  Sunday  as  a  place  of 
worship,  and  the  remainder  of  the  week  as  a  school 
room,  A  few  years  later  this  building  was  burned, 
and  the  next  school  house  to  be  built  was  near  where 
the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Raihvay  crosses  the 
public  road,  one  mile  east  of  the  west  line  of  the  town- 
ship. 

Soon  after,  the  township  was  divided  into  three 
school  districts.  District  No.  1  commenced  on  the 
west  side,  two  miles  from  the  north  line,  thence  east  in 
a  zig-zag  line  to  the  southeast  corner  of  the  township. 
The  school  house  referred,  to  above  was  in  this  dis- 


ijf    l'('ir 


AKRON   TOWNSHIP  47 

trict.  District  No.  2  and  District  No.  3  were  six  miles 
long  and  from  one  to  three  miles  wide.  In  some  of 
these  districts  school  was  lvei)t,  for  a  few  montlis  of 
each  year,  in  some  farmer's  home.  As  soon  as  the 
township  was  fairly  settled,  it  was  redistricted  into 
nine  districts,  each  two  miles  square,  in  which  condi- 
tion they  remain  at  x:)resent,  excepting  where  a  small 
amount  of  territory  adjacent  to  some  village  has  been 
taken  to  form  a  Union  District.  We  now  have  nine 
frame  school  houses,  in  good  condition,  with  seating 
accommodations  for  at  least  thirty  scholars  each. 
Two  of  these  buildings  have  been  erected  within  the 
past  three  years.  The  bonded  indebtedness  of  these 
districts  amounts  to  $1,020.  AVages  of  teachers  in- 
creased steadily  from  $10  to  $12  a  month,  with  board 
among  the. patrons  in  early  days,  to  $65  per  month  in 
1876.  Since  then  the  wages  have  declined  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  when  the  highest  montlilj^  wages  reported 
are  $45.  The  largest  enrollment  and  attendance  was 
between  1870  and  1880,  when  there  w^ere  345  pupils 
enrolled  out  of  409  persons  of  school  age,  or  87  per 
cent  of  the  total.  In  the  report  of  1901,  344  pupils  are 
returned  between  the  ages  of  six  and  twenty-one,  and 
a  total  enrollment  of  216,  or  60  per  cent.  This  falling 
off  is  largely  due  to  the  superior  advantages  offered 
by  schools  in  the  city  or  large  towns. 

Only  two  church  buildings  stand  upon  Akron  soil. 
One,  the  property  of  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists,  is 
located  on  the  east  line  of  Section  24.  The  other  is 
owned  by  the  Apostolic  Christian  Church  (commonly 
known  as  **Amish")  and  is  situated  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Section  3.  The  Seventh  Day  Baptist  Society 
was  organized  September  3,  1852,  through  the  efforts 
of  the  late  Anthony  Hakes  and  a  few  others  of  like 


i]    •>.■  i 


48  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

faith  and  zeal.  In  1870,  under  the  leadership  of  Rev. 
Wardner,  the  Society,  having  become  strong  in  mem- 
bership and  means,  decided  to  build  a  suitable  house 
of  worship.  The  move  met  with  universal  favoi-,  and 
ere  tlie  close  of  the  year  they  had  completed  and  paid 
for  their  present  church  building,  which  cost  between 
$5,000  and  $G,000.  Kev.  E.  B.  Tolbert  is  at  present 
serving  this  church  as  pastor.  This  society  has  a 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  and  a  Sabbath  School  in 
connection  with  its  church  work. 

The  Amish  church  was  organized  about  1870,  and, 
for  a  number  of  years,  their  services  were  held  at  the 
homes  of  the  members  in  geographical  rotation.  In 
1880  they  erected  the  building  now  used  as  their  place 
of  worship.  This  house  is  provided  with  vestibule, 
audience  room  and  a  large  and  commodious  kitchen 
fully  equipped  with  range,  dishes,  tables  and  chairs 
Two  services  are  held  each  Sabbath  and  between  these 
a  simple  meal  is  served  in  the  kitchen.  One  th'm^ 
worthy  of  mention  and  imitation  is  the  splendid  pro- 
vision made  for  the  comfort  of  teams  driven  to  church. 
They  have  more  expensive  and  a  greater  number  of 
horse-sheds  than  are  to  be  found  around  any  other 
public  building  in  the  county.  Christian  Streitmatter 
served  as  pastor  from  the  organization  to  1895.  Since 
then  the  pulpit  has  been  filled  by  Ludwig  Ilerbold  and 
Frank  "Wortz,  the  latter  filling  that  office  at  present. 

The  scarcity  of  church  buildings  in  the  township 
is  not  a  true  index  of  the  religious  character  of  our 
people.  ]\rany  of  our  citizens  are  regular  attendants 
and  suj^porters  of  churches  near  the  border  line  in 
adjoining  townships.  With  two  churches  at  Lawn 
Ridge,  two  at  Edelstein,  three  at  Dunlap,  three  at 
Princeville  and  one  at  Stark,  our  people  are  well  su])- 


> !  t  U 


•.ft  ;  i 


'I       iK-'^M      'jl 


AKRON    TOWNSHIP  49 

plied  with  church  privileges,  and  as  large  a  percentage 
of  our  inhabitants  are  church-going  as  those  of  any 
other  country  township. 


Improvements  and  Industries 


The  last  half  century  has  witnessed  a  wonderful 
transformation  in  public  and  private  improvements. 
The  sod  house  and  log  cabin  of  the  pioneer  have  given 
place  to  comfortable  and  commodious  residences. 
Around  these  are  to  be  found  large,  well-built  and 
well-kept  buildings  for  the  protection  of  farm  animals 
and  storage  of  products.  All  of  the  ponds  and  swamp 
land  that  formerly  produced  nothing  but  biill-frogs 
and  ague,  now  annually  yield  large  crops  of  grain. 
The  mud-road  and  log-bridges  have  been,  in  a  great 
measure,  replaced  with  gravel  roads  and  steel  bridges 
or  culverts.  At  present  all  the  principal  Avater 
courses  are  spanned  with  iron  bridges  or  supplied  with 
steel  or  cement  culverts.  We  now  have  fifteen  miles 
of  gravel  road  and  the  mileage  is  annually  increasing. 
Our  township  expends  about  $2,000  annually  for  road 
repair  and  improvement. 

Our  mail  facilities  have  kept  pace  in  the  march  of 
improvement.  Up  to  1859  our  people  were  dependent 
upon  Princeville  and  Southampton  for  post  office  ac- 
commodations. These  offices  were  first  supplied  v/ith 
a  weekly  mail,  then  with  a  tri-weekly.  About  18G0  a 
post  ofhce,  named  *' Akron"  was  established  four  miles 
east  of  Princeville,  and  T.  P.  Burdick  was  the  Post- 
master. Three  years  later  the  office  was  moved  one- 
fourth  mile  farther  w^est,  and  William  Saunders  was 
appointed  Postmaster,  which  office  he  held  until  18G6, 


i^'if: 


50  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

when  the  office  was  discontinued.  In  1870  tliis  office 
was  re-established  near  the  center  of  the  Towns!) ip, 
with  ]\Irs.  Deming  serving  as  Postmistress.  About  one 
year  L'lter  she  resigned  and  William  Houston  was  ap- 
pointed- her  successor.  This  position  he  held  until  llie 
office  was  discontinued.  i\rail  for  the  Akron  office 
came  by  stage,  w^hich  made  three  trips  a  week  between 
Peoria  and  Toulon.  After  re-establishment  the  mail 
was  carried  daily  over  the  Princeville  and  Southamp- 
ton star-route.  We  now  have  a  rural  delivery  route 
from  Princeville,  covering  eighteen  miles  of  road  and 
supplying  a  large  number  of  our  people  with  daily 
mail  at  their  doors. 

In  1871  the  first  railroad,  the  Peoria  and  Pock 
Island,  entered  the  township.  Since  then  the  Atchi- 
son, Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railway  has  been  built 
through  the  township  from  east  to  west  near  the 
center.  Last  year  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Rail- 
road ran  a  line  across  our  town  a  half  mile  west  of  the 
eastern  border.  This  road  has  located  a  station 
named  Akron  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  town- 
ship. There  are  now  seventeen  miles  of  railroad  in 
the  town,  and  all  but  one  school  district  has  the  bene- 
fit of  railroad  property  to  help  pay  school  expenses. 

Nearly  all  our  inhabitants  are  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  many  of  them  owning  the  land  which 
they  till.  These  people  are  industrious,  intelligent  and 
enterprising.  Very  few,  indeed,  are  the  persons  who 
call  upon  the  county  for  aid.  Although  our  voters 
are  loyal  to  party,  they  are  in  no  way  office-seekers, 
for,  during  the  past  thirty  years,  not  one  of  our  citi- 
iiens  has  held  any  County,  State  or  Federal  office.  In 
rich,  fertile  soil  and  tillable  acreage,  in  substantial 
and  convenient  farm  buildings,  in   intelligent,  Indus- 


■r  :u, 


'.  H       'j./iJi«> 


\    ,' 


1..^ 


•'i 


AKRON  TOWNSHIP  51 

trious  and  peaceable  people,  in  good  roads  and 
bridges,  in  railroad  mileage,  in  Sabbath  observance 
and  church  attendance,  in  freedom  from  litigation 
and  paupers,  Akron  Township  stands  second  to  none  in 
the  county. 


i?. 


r.- 


MILLBROOK  TOWNSHIP 

\By  William  H.  Adams 

Millbrook  Township  is  located  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  Peoria  County.  The  sonih  two-thirds  is  a 
rich  prairie  soil,  raising  abundant  crops  of  small 
grain;  the  north  part,  along  Spoon  River,  being  an 
argillaceous  loam,  produces  also  the  finest  of  blue 
grass.  Owing  to  the  presence  of  quantities  of  lime 
and  iron  in  the  soil,  the  pastures  impart  a  strength, 
elasticity  and  firmness  to  the  horses,  rivaling  the 
celebrated  stock  of  Kentucky. 

Underneath  the  surface  is  a  porous  subsoil  varying 
in  depth  from  one  to  two  feet,  which  is  succeeded  by 
the  glacial  drift,  and  this  by  the  coal  measures.  Vein 
No.  6,  usually  about  four  feet  in  thickness,  occupies 
an  area  equal  to  twelve  sections;  while  No.  3  probably 
underlies  the  whole  township.  The  first  is  reached  by 
drift  along  Plum  Hollow,  the  latter  by  a  shaft  on 
Section  6,  on  Walnut  Creek.^  Fine  beds  of  gravel  suit- 
able for  making  roads  are  found  along  Spoon  River, 
and  shale,  suitable  forthe  manufacture  of:  fire-brick, 
is  found  in  several  localities. 

The  Township  is  rich  in  evidence  of  the  dwellings 
of  a  prehistoric  race.  At"  the  confluence  of  Walnut 
Creek  and  Spoon  River  there  appears  to  have  been  a 
large  village,  which  is  shown  by ^  the  fbiding  of  a  num- 
ber of  stone  and  flint  implements,  the  presence  of 
funeral  mounds,  and  other:  usual  accompanying  e\d-- 
dences  of  the  presence  of  a. large  population.  On  a 
high  bluff  between  the  two-  streams  are  traces  of  an 
old  fort,  octagonal  in  form,  the  outlines  of  which  are 

.    52. 


-     ■'  :,:-^    ■.■■I.    io    - 

-  .   ^'^  ♦"['    •■  r      III! <     'inrtrMf    ;1 

'■    .:■..•    ',/t    M     ■ 


**|6)M-< Z"       ^r-.v,..        ;/-:;.•.«..::  i^'       ••'*^^«sr; 


MILI^BROOK  TOWNSHIP  53 

nearly  obliterated  by  the  lapse  of  time.  In  the  nortli- 
west  angle  is  an  oblong  elevation,  sixty-four  by  forty- 
seven  feet,  and  six  feet  in  height.  An  exploration 
has  disclosed  the  presence  of  small  pieces  of  galena, 
copper  beads  and  awls,  leaf-shaped  flint  implements, 
red  oclirc,  charcoal  and  faint  traces  of  human  bones, 
all  of  great  antiquity.  Twenty  rods  west  of  this  is 
a  low  mound  sixty-two  by  nineteen  feet.  On  Section 
4  is  an  important  group  of  mounds,  the  first  of  which 
is  a  small  round  one  from  the  center  of  which  to  the 
center  of  the  second  is  a  distance  of  thirty-nine  feet ; 
thence  to  the  center  of  the  third,  thirty  feet;  thence 
to  the  south  end  of  the  fourth  is  fifty  feet.  The  fourth 
measures  eighty  feet  from  south  to  north,  with  a 
cross  at  the  center,  thirty-three  by  twelve  feet  and 
two  feet  high.  From  the  west  end  of  this  one  to  the 
center  of  the  fifth  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-three 
feet.  This  is  a  common  round  mound  forty  feet  in 
diameter  and  three  feet  high;  thence  to  number  six 
is  fifty-eight  feet.  This  one  is  ninety-eight  by  eigh- 
teen feet  and  two  feet  high.  Thence  in  a  northwest- 
erly direction  it  is  seventy-five  feet  to  still  another 
one  hundred  and  four  feet  by  eighteen  feet  and  two 
and  a  half  feet  high,  from  the  north  end  of  which  it 
is  one  hundred  feet  to  another  one  hundred  and  forty 
by  twenty  feet  and  three  feet  high.  On  the  top  of 
this  grows  an  oak  tree  three  feet  in  diameter.  An 
immense  number  of  flint  or  hornstone  chips  are  found 
scattered  through  the  materials  of  which  the  mound 
is  constructed,  the  nearest  known  out-cropping  of 
which  is  at  Burlington,  Iowa.  This  group  commences 
in  the  valley  just  above  high  water  mark  and  extends 
northwesterly,  terminating  on  a  bluif  sixty  feet 
above  high  water. 


')    (f 


''■.V    io    :;;'.i:i    ■;  ■  i    .- !  '  I'  'i:'  ""'i  ■ 


?-<•,!  ^^;    if- 


)?.    Ai   Ji 


54  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

First  Settlers. — "William  Metcalf  was  the  first 
white  settler.  In  the  spring  of  1833  he,  with  his  wnfe, 
two  children  and  a  boy  named  Amos  McRill,  came  by 
wagon  from  Richland  County,  Ohio,  camping  out  at 
night  and  arriving  at  French's  Grove.  That  fall  he 
madef  some  improvements  on  the  east  half  of  the 
southeast  quarter  of  Section  9,  11  N.,  5  E.,  by  erect- 
ing a  cabin  and  fencing  a  small  field,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1834  moved  on  to  the  land.  John  Suther- 
land, a  native  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  came  to  Peoria  in 
the  3'ear  1834  and  bought  the  lots  on  which  the  Na- 
tional Hotel  now  stands  and  was  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  known  as  the 
Lowry  Church.  In  August,  1835,  he  located  on  Sec- 
tion 32,  11  N.,  5  E.  He  was  a  man  of  high  moral 
principles,  of  unquestioned  probity  and  business  in- 
tegrity, and  inflexible  in  his  determination  to  do  right. 
It  is  said  that,  after  leaving  Peoria,  he  frequently 
wajlked  from  his  home  in  Millbrook  to  Peo- 
ria to  attend  church.  He,  of  course,  sided  with  Lowry 
in  his  controversy  Avith  the  adverse  party.  He  died 
September  30,  1845,  leaving  numerous  descendants, 
who  still  reside  in  that  part  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Sutherland  and  his  famil}'-  formed  the  nucleus 
at  French's  Grove,  around  which  gathered  a  commu- 
nity noted  for  its  high  moral  and  religious  character. 
Among  others  who,  by  precex)t  and  example,  added 
much  to  the  reputation  of  the  settlement  for  enter- 
prise and  thrift,  were  Daniel  and  John  A.  McCoy,  John 
Smith,  Sr.,  John  Smith,  Jr.,  and  Therrygood  Smith, 
from  Richland  County,  Ohio,  settled  where  Rochester 
now  stands,  in  October,  1835,  a  young  man  named  John 
White  cutting  down  the  first  tree  where  the  village 
afterward   grew  up.     The  first  settlers  were  mostly 


'(.0  tl 


h:i'.     i> 


11 ':•..;  I      I'i 


'i  r.  ..VI 


MII.LBROOK  TOWNSHIP  55 

from  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  New  York,  Scot- 
land and  Ireland,  and,  as  a  rule,  were  industrious,  en- 
terprising and  ambitious  to  earn  homes  for  them- 
selves and  their  families.  Their  influence  in  the  com- 
munity has  given  it  a  character  which  wuU  distinguish 
it  for  generations  yel  to  come. 

Rochester. — The  site  of  Rochester  was  chosen  for 
its  excellent  water  power  furnished  by  Spoon  River. 
It  ^vas  surveyed  on  the  13th  of  July,  1836,  by  George 
C.  McFadden,  deputy  under  Thomas  Phillips,  County 
Surveyor.  On  the  29th  of  the  same  month  the  plat 
was  acknowledged  by  John  Smith,  Jr.,  before  James 
P.  Harkness  and  recorded  in  the  Recorder's  office. 

About  this  time  Clark  W.  Stanton,  a  carpenter 
from  Rochester,  New  York,  arrived  and  bought  from 
Smith  a  half  interest  in  the  town  site  and  mill-seat, 
and  in  the  following  spring,  bought  Smith's  entire 
interest  for  the  sum  of  $3,200.  The  first  store  to  be 
opened  was  that  of  Thomas  J.  Hurd,  of  Peoria,  who, 
in  the  summer  of  1836,  brought  a  small  stock  of  goods 
to  the  place  and  opened  out  in  a  small  log  buildijig 
on  the  river  bank.  He  was  succeeded  in  a  few  months 
by  Stacey  &  Holmes.  In  the  winter  of  1836-37  John 
Smith,  Jr.,  opened  a  stock  of  goods,  but  the  ensuing 
spring  sold  out  to  Hon.  David  IMarkley  of  Canton, 
in  Fulton  County,  then  a  prominent  politician  of  the 
state. 

Mills — As  might  have  been  expected,  the  utilizing 
of  the  w^ater  power  of  Spoon  River  was  one  of  the 
enterprises  first  to  attract  the  attention  of  early  set- 
tlers. In  those  early  daj^s  the  owner  of  a  mill,  if  a 
good  one,  had  a  real  bonanza.  Flour  and  lumber 
were  two  of  the  essentials  of  life;  and  peo])le  would 
travel  many  miles  and  await  their  turn  in  patience 


'  .  i  :    .  i  I.J 


•*n::\ 


56  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

to  ^et  a  supply  o^!  either.  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1836, 
after  the  enterprising  Clark  W.  Stanton  }iad  pur- 
chased one-half  of  the  interest  of  John  Smith,  Jr.,  in 
the  mill-seat,  that  they,  in  company,  erected  the  first 
saw-mill;  and  so  great  was  the  demand  for  lumber 
that  the  mill  was  kept  running  night  and  day.  i^fter 
Stanton  had  purchased  Smith's  remaining  interest  he 
erected  a  grist  mill,  which  began  to  grind  some  time 
in  the  summer  of  1837.  People  came  to  it  from 
Prince's  Grove,  Slackwater,  Massilou,  Scotland  Prai- 
rie, Newburg,  French's  Creek,  French's  Grove  and 
Lafayette.  By  adding  improvements  from  time  to 
time,  it  became  one  of  the  most  complete  and  best 
equipped  flouring  mills  in  Central  Illinois.  Benjamin 
Tluber,  who  had  an  interest  in  it,  says  that,  late  i.M  the 
fifties,  the  mill  would  grind  two  hundred  and  fifty 
to  three  hundred  bushels  of  wheat  per  day  and  one 
hundred  bushels  of  chop  feed  or  corn,  and  that  it 
was  crowded  with  business.  But  the  march  of  im- 
provements, with  the  coming  of  railroads  to  other 
points,  sapped  it  of  its  business,  and  it  is  now  going 
to  ruin,  part  of  it  having  already  tumbled  into  the 
river. 

About  1839  or  1840,  Gilbert  Arnold  built  a  saw- 
mill ou  Section  G  on  the  bank  of  Walnut  Creek;  but 
this,  too,  has  long  since  gone  out  of  sight. 

In  1856  John  Carter,  a  wealthy  farmer,  residing 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township,  undertook  the 
erection  of  a  grist-mill  on  Spoon  River  on  Section  3, 
but  being  unskilled  in  mechanical  engineering,  he  was 
at  the  merc3^  of  any  charlatan  that  came  along  calling 
himself  a  millwright.  Through  floods,  law  suits  and 
ignorance,  he  was  ruined  financially.  The  mill,  how- 
ever, was  finally  finished  and  did  a  fair  business  but, 
for  the  past  few  years,  if  has  been  abandoned. 


nf: 


MII.I.BROOK  TOWNSHIP  57 

Education. — Tlie  first  school  house  in  the  town- 
ship was  in  Rochester,  and  built  by  Dr.  John  L.  Fifield, 
Clark  W.  Stanton,  Russell  Stanton  and  Jonah  Lewis, 
without  the  assistance  of  public  funds.  It  remained 
until  1867,  when  it  was  replaced  by  a  large  and  com- 
modious brick  structure,  which  still  remains.  The 
first  school  in  the  township  was  taught  in  the  w^inter 
of  1836-37  by  Caleb  North  in  a  log  house  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  20, 
for  Avhich  he  received  $10  per  month.  Elisha  J.  Suth- 
erland is  probably  the  only  pupil  of  that  school  now 
living.  The  township  is  now  divided  into  eight  full 
and  two  fractional  union  districts,  in  all  of  which 
public  schools  are  regularly  taught.  The  zealous  in- 
terest taken  by  the  people  in  the  cause  of  popular 
education,  is  manifested  by  the  flourishing  condition 
of  these  schools  and  the  liberal  taxes,  voluntarily  im- 
posed upon  themselves  by  the  tax-paj^ers,  for  their 
support.  The  school  houses  are,  as  a  rule,  of  the  most 
improved  pattern  and  furnished  with  all  modern  ap- 
pliances to  secure  the  comfort,  health  and  advance- 
ment in  study  of  the  pnpil,  the  cost  varying  from 
$600  to  $4,500.  They  compare  very  favorably  vrith 
those  of  any  other  tow^nship  in  the  county.  Some  of 
the  districts,  notably  No.  2,  have  fine  school  libraries. 

In  the  year  1845  Rev.  Robert  Breese  and  his  accom- 
plished wife,  who  was  a  graduate  of  the  celebrated 
Holyoke  Seminary,  established  a  school  of  high  grade 
in  Rochester  called  the  ''JBreese  Seminary."  ]\Irs. 
Breese  was  the  real  principal,  her  husband  devoting 
his  time  principally  to  ministerial  work. 

Religion. — Constituted  as  the  early  communities 
were,  it  could  not  be  supposed  otherwise  than  that 
the   promotion   of   religion   would   be   their   first   and 


Hi     -  ■  /     in    "V.nrii '  '     i-^ry  H 


i    t>>i  J 


An)   H'Uifi'^m 


58  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

chief  concern.  Accordingly  we  find  that  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1836  Rev.  George  G.  Sill,  a  missionary, 
preached  the  first  Presbyterian  sermon  in  the  house 
of  John  Sutherland.  A  church  of  that  denomination 
was  organized  at  Rochester  in  the  summer  of  1838, 
with  sixteen  members,  Joseph  Warne,  ruling  elder, 
which  was  taken  under  the  care  of  Presbytery  in  Oc- 
tober of  the  same  year,  Kev.  Robert  B.  Dobbin  suc- 
ceeded Rev.  Sill,  but  how  long  he  preached  does  not 
appear.  In  1845  Rev.  Robert  F.  Breese  was  installed 
pastor  of  the  churches  of  Rochester  and  French's 
Grove,  which  he  continued  to  serve  imtil  his  death, 
September  2,  1851.  The  Rochester  church  was  dis- 
solved by  Presbytery  sitting  at  Brimfield  September 
20,  1854,  in  consequence  of  the  division  between  the 
old  and  New  Schools,  the  New  School  members  having 
withdrawn  and  formed  another  church  in  Stark 
County. 

The  French  Grove  Presbyterian  Church  was  organ- 
ized October  20,  1851,  by  Rev.  Addison  Colffey,  Rev. 
William  McCandlish  and  Ruling  Elder  John  Reynolds, 
a  committee  previously  appointed  by  Presbyter3\ 
There  were  fifteen  members  and  William  Reed  and 
George  S.  Purselle  were  ordained  and  installed  the  first 
Ruling  Elders;  Rev.  John  C.  Hanna,  a  licentiate,  was 
appointed  to  supply  the  church  one-half  of  his  time 
and  the  church  at  Rochester  as  often  as  consistent 
with  his  other  engagements.  Rev.  Charles  ^IcLuer  is 
now  pastor  of  this  church,  which  is  in  a  prosperous 
condition,  having  a  good  Sunday-school,  of  which 
Mr.  W.  H.  Todd  is  Superintendent. 

The  i\Iethodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Rochester,  or- 
ganized in  the  year  1836,  was  the  first  church  orgaii- 
ization  in  the  township.^    Rev.     William     Cummings 


MILLBROOK  TOWNSHIP  59 

preached  the  first  sermon  in  the  house  of  John  Smith. 
The  ori<?inal  members  were  John  Smith  and  wife, 
Therrygood  Smith  and  wife,  AVilliam  Metealf  and  an 
unmarried  daughter  of  John  Smith,  and  John  Smith, 
Sr.,  was  chosen  first  class-leader.  A  house  of  worship 
was  commenced  in  1838,  which  was  blown  to  frag- 
ments by  a  cyclone  on  IMay  8tli  of  that  year.  Through 
removals  and  death,  the  church  at  one  time  became 
almost  extinct,  but  there  are  now^  houses  of  Avorship 
at  Rochester  and  Laura,  the  former  being  the  legiti- 
mate successor  of  the  first  church,  and  worshipping 
in  a  building  formerly  belonging  to  the  Congrega- 
tionalists. 

The  IMethodist  Church  of  Laura  was  built  in  the 
summer  of  1889  at  a  cost  of  $1,300  and  furnished  at 
a  further  cost  of  $200.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  D.  D. 
McComen.  The  church  is  connected  with  the  ^Monica 
charge,  its  members  numbering  about  sixty. 

The  Christian  Church  at  Rochester  was  organized 
December  18,  1844,  by  John  W.  Underwood,  with  four 
members,  the  first  meeting  of  seven  persons  having 
been  held  in  the  old  school  house  in  November  and 
conducted  bj^  IMilton  King.  They  began  building  a 
house  of  worship  in  1858,  but  it  was  blown  down  by 
the  cyclone  of  May  8th  of  that  year.  In  the  summer 
of  1864  they  erected  another,  which  cost  between 
$3,000  and  $4,000.  In  the  course  of  time,  in  conse- 
quence of  deaths  and  removals,  the  membership  be- 
came too  feeble  to  maintain  an  organization  and,  a 
few  3^ears  since,  Jonathan  Pratz,  the  only  remaining 
Trustee,  deeded  the  church  building  to  the  Directors 
of  Glendale  Cemetery  Association,  by  whom  it  was 
repaired,  repainted  and  placed  in  good  condition.  It 
is  now  used  for  moral  and  religious  entertainments, 


60  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

and  is  free  to  all  approved  ministers  of  tlie  Gospel. 
P^rom  here,  after  the  last  sad  rites  have  been  per- 
formed, the  dead  are  carried  forth  for  interment  in 
the  beautiful  Glendale  Cemetery.  A  flourishing  Sun- 
day-school, under  the  superintendence  of  Mrs.  M. 
Stevenson,  meets  here  weekly.  The  present  directors 
of  the  Association  are  William  H.  Adams,  President; 
W.  Winchester,  Secretary;  S.  H.  Winchester,  Treas- 
urer, and  Elder  Aley,  W.  H.  AVilcox  and  Henry  Sweat. 

The  Congregational  Church,  Rochester,  was  organ- 
ized June  30,  1841,  at  the  house  of  Elias  Wycoff,  in 
Stark  County,  with  nine  members,  the  ministers  pres- 
ent being  Kev.  S.  S.  ]\Iiles  and  Kev.  S.  G.  Wright. 
After  entering  into  covenant,  Messrs.  William  Web- 
ster and  N.  Wycoff  were  duly  elected  and  installed 
Ruling  Elders,  and  Rev.  S.  G.  Wright  designated  as 
Moderator  of  the  Session.  In  1854  the  meetings  were 
held  at  Rochester,  at  which  time  Rev.  Charles  B.  Don- 
aldson was  acting  as  pastor,  and  at  a  meeting  held 
April  14th  of  that  year,  the  name  was  changed  from 
Spoon  River  Congregational  Church  to  Elmore  Con- 
gregational Church  of  Rochester.  During  the  sum- 
mer and  fall  of  1866  was  erected  a  house  of  worship 
costing  $2,300,  which  was  dedicated  January  22,  1867. 
The  dedication  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  W.  G. 
Pierce  of  Elmwood,  who  was  assisted  in  the  services 
by  Rev.  James  Wycoff  and  Rev.  B.  F.  Ilaskins,  the 
last  named  continuing  to  be  the  pastor  for  twelve 
years.  From  a  varietj^  of  causes  the  society  ceased  to 
maintain  its  organization,  and  the  church  edifice  is 
now  owned  and  used  as  a  place  of  worship  by  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Elmore. 

The   Church   of  the   New   Jerusalem    (Swedenbor- 
gian)  once  had  an  organization  in  Rochester,  the  first 


.;] 


MILLBROOK  TOWNSHIP  61 

meeting  haviiif!:  been  held  at  tlic  house  of  John  Smith 
Jr.,  on  Section  18.  At  this  meeting  Rev.  John  K.  Hil)- 
bard,  an  eminent  divine  of  Chicago,  made  an  address. 
The  society  consisted  of  Jolm  Smith  and  wife,  Gilbert 
Arnold,  Caleb  North,  G.  P.  Wyeoff  and  the  Adams  and 
Pulsipher  faiuilies  of  Southport.  The  numbers  having 
been  depleted  by  deaths  and  removals,  meetings  are 
no  longer  held. 

The  First  Sunday-school  was  organized  in  the 
spring  of  1844,  Mrs.  Breese,  wife  of  Rev.  Robert 
Breese,  being  the  first  Superintendent.  She  was  a 
woman  of  fine  attainments  and  great  force  of  char- 
acter, and  made  the  school  a  success  in  every  respect. 
Of  those  who  attended  this  school  the  following  sur- 
vive: E.  J.  Sutherland,  James  Sutherland,  Miss  Co- 
lumbia Duim,  of  Galesburg;  Sarah  Smith,  nee  Bodine, 
Kansas ;  M.  A.  Dooley,  nee  Bodine,  Missouri ;  ]\Iahala 
Hurd,  nee  Bodine,  West  Jersey,  Stark  County;  Ac- 
enath  Neal,  nee  ]\Iatthews,  Peoria,  and  Irene  Abby, 
nee  Stanton. 

Commerce. — From  1835  to  1856  Peoria  was  the 
market  for  Millbrook  Township.  The  wheat,  corn, 
oats  and  dressed  pork  were  hauled  there  in  wagons. 
Some  of  the  cattle  were  driven  to  Chicago.  After  1856 
Elmwood  and  Oak  Hill,  on  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka 
Railroad,  "became  its  principal  shipping  points.  After 
the  building  of  the  Buda  branch  of  the  Chicago,  Bur- 
lington &  Quincy  Railroad,  the  village  of  I^Jonica  be- 
came a  market  for  the  eastern  part,  and  Brimfield  for 
a  part  of  the  south  side  of  the  township.  In  the  year 
1887  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad  was 
located  across  the  township  and,  in  the  following  year, 
an  elevator  was  erected  at  the  village  of  Laura  on  the 
line  of  that  road.     There  are  now  two  large  and  well 


;f) 


62  .       TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

equipped  elevators  at  that  place,  besides  cribs  of  15,- 
000  bushels  capacity. 

The  Village  of  Laura  is  located  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  Section  22.  It  was  laid  out  in  1888  hy 
James  i\I.  Kellar,  Avho  was  the  first  postmaster.  Johu 
Shaw  brought  the  first  stock  of  goods  to  the  village. 
There  are  now  three  dry  goods  .stores,  one  hardware 
an-d  implement  store,  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  chop-mill, 
a  millinery  bazaar,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  two 
elevators,  a  lumber  yard,  two  hotels,  the  postoffice  and 
a  very  fine  and  commodious  and  well-equipped  public 
school  building.  The  inhabitants  are  a  religious  and 
church-going  people.  The  population  numbers  about 
150. 

The  elevators  are  operated  by  C.  C.  Davis  &  Co., 
who  shipped  from  this  point  in  the  year  1898,  51,800 
bushels  of  oats;  101,600  bushels  of  corn;  790  bushels 
of  wheat  and  500  bushels  of  rye.  During  the  same 
year  there  were  shipped  from  this  station  five  cars  of 
horses,  thirty-five  of  cattle,  thirty-nine  of  hogs  and  five 
of  sheep.  This  statement  does  not  represent  all  the 
corn  and  oats  grown  in  the  township,  as  some  from 
the  west  side  went  to  Elmwood. 

Chase  Station  is  located  on  the  line  of  the  same 
railway  on  Section  19,  in  the  midst  of  a  fine  agricul- 
tural section,  inhabited  by  an  intelligent,  enterprising 
and  thrifty  community  of  farmers  and  raisers  of  stock. 
There  is  here  a  general  store,  a  postoffice  and  other 
evidences  of  an  incipient  village. 

Biographical. — The  first  child  born  in  the  town- 
ship was  a  son  to  Clark  W.  Stanton,  July  G,  1836.  It 
lived  only  twelve  days.  This  was  the  first  interment 
in  what  is  now  Gleudale  Cemetery,  and  the  first  in 
the  township.     The  first  marriage    in    the    township 


MITXBROOK  TOWNSHIP  63 

took  place  at  the  liouse  of  Clark  W.  Stanton,  December 
15,  1837,  the  contracting  parties  being  Mr.  T.  Gree- 
ley, a  native  of  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire,  and  ]\Iiss 
Chloe  A,  Barnes,  a  native  of  New  York.  The  first 
physician  was  John  L.  Fifield,  a  native  of  Salisbury, 
Hillsborough  County,  New  Hampshire,  who  came  to 
Peoria  March  10,  1838,  and  soon  after  located  at 
Rochester.  Here  he  remained  practicing  his  profes- 
sion until  1845,  when  he  removed  to  Victoria,  He  was 
an  eminent  and  able  physician  and  a  gentleman  of  the 
courtly  manners  of  the  olden  times. 

The  first  blacksmith  in  the  township  was  Jacob 
Roland,  who  came  in  1836.  The  first  postoffice  was 
located  at  Rochester  in  1845,  but  was  named  Elmore, 
Therrygood  Smith  being  first  postmaster. 

On  account  of  its  desirability  as  a  site  for  mills, 
Rochester,  at  an  early  day,  attracted  the  attention  of 
immigrants,  and  soon  gave  promise  of  becoming  an 
important  point  for  business.  Before  the  daj^s  of  rail- 
roads, its  grist  and  saw^-mills,  its  wagon-maker  and 
blacksmith  shops,  its  packing  house  and  hotels  made 
it  one  of  the  liveliest  business  places  in  Central  Illi- 
nois. Its  great  misfortune  was  to  have  been  so  located 
that  the  railroads  did  not  find  it,  and  being  remote 
from  the  county  seat,  it  became,  in  a  measure,  isolated 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  its  business  has  grad- 
ually died  out. 


■aojl  : 


JUBILEE  TOWNSHIP 

By  Cecil  C.  Moss 


This  township  is  described  on  the  surveyor's  plat 
as  Ten  North,  Six  East,  is  about  fifteen  miles  in  a 
northwest  direction  from  the  county-seat  and  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  county.  The  first  settlers 
to  locate  and  acquire  permanent  homes  came  in  1835, 
about  fifteen  years  before  the  adoption  of  township 
organization,  settling  on  or  near  what  is  now  the 
west  part  of  the  township  and  at  neighboring  distance 
from  the  little  hamlet  of  Charleston,  now  the  village 
of  Brimfield.  A  few  others  scattered  themselves  on 
the  east  side  in  anticipation  of  a  college  being  founded 
by  Bishop  Chase.  The  first  settlers  at  that  date 
(1835-40)  appeared  to  be  of  three  classes:  First,  those 
who  possessed  a  little  money  and  wished  to  begin  life 
and  establish  homes  where  property  would  appreciate 
in  value  with  time  and  improvement;  and  others  who, 
having  failed  in  business,  or  at  their  first  start  in  life 
for  themselves  in  the  older  parts  of  the  country,  came 
to  a  new  country  to  begin  life  and  fortune  again.  A 
few  of  a  third  class  were  hunters  and  frontiersmen 
who  keep  in  advance  of  civilization,  and  who,  when 
game  becomes  scarce  and  neighbors  too  near  their 
door,  sell  out  and  move  further  on. 

Jubilee  Township  has  as  great  variety  of  land  and 
as  many  natural  resources  as  any  other  part  of  Peoria 
County.  There  are  a  few  sections  of  prairie  land  in- 
terspersed with  what  is  rather  a  rough  and  broken 
township.  Several  tributaries  of  the  Kickapoo  Creek 
have  their  source  in  or  pass  through  the  township,  also 

64 


/  U    !  1 


.,./.., 


•/ '  •  I J   .  ii, 


:^':;.-f    vUj-J    ;);{,]    m^ 


lir^  •:  ^HV.i)  il/iv/  Hi 


JuBiTvEE  Township  65 

the  east  brancli  crosses  the  southeast  corner  and  joins 
the  main  stream  near  the  south  line.  A  few  white  oak, 
black  oak,  hiirr  oak  and  red  oak  trees,  also  several  va- 
rieties of  hickory,  Avere  scattered  over  the  bluffs  and 
points  at  that  time  called  bj'  the  settlers  ''Oak  Open- 
ings," skirting  the  streams,  and  on  the  bottom  lands 
were  a  large  variety  of  forest  trees,  including  the  oaks 
(black  and  white),  walnut,  sycamore,  cottonwood, 
maples  (both  hard  and  soft),  and  different  varieties 
of  willow.  As  the  timber  on  the  upland  was  scattered 
or  in  small  groves,  and  that  on  the  bottoms  and  along 
the  streams  much  below  the  general  level,  the  view  of 
the  country  was  nearly  unobstructed  and  presented 
to  the  observer  a  pleasing  aspect. 

Shrubs  and  small  fruits  were  found  on  the  open ; 
also  some  varieties  of  berries,  surpassing  in  sweetness 
and  flavor  those  of  the  cultivated  kind,  grew  in  the 
thickets  of  timber.  Many  varieties  of  grasses  covered 
the  ground,  furnishing  food  for  the  sustenance  of 
numerous  varieties  of  wild  game  that  roved  at  will 
over  the  country,  and  which,  in  turn,  furnished  a 
large  proportion  of  the  provisions  for  the  settlers  and 
their  families. 

Some  of  the  cabins  or  homes  of  the  pioneers  were 
of  the  most  primitive  kind  and  rude  in  construction, 
built  in  the  usual  style  of  the  pioneer  log  cabin.  Some 
of  the  frontiersmen,  being  skilled  in  woodcraft,  or 
handy  with  an  ax,  built  houses  of  a  better  class.  They 
hewed  the  timber  to  a  square,  dove-tailed  the  ends  at 
the  corners,  laid  a  stone  foundation  in  lime  mortar, 
erected  upon  it  the  walls  composed  of  logs  fitted  to- 
gether in  dove-tail  fashion  at  the  corners  of  the  build- 
ing, and  carrying  Avails,  perpendicular  and  true,  as 
a  wall  of  brick,  to   the  height  desired,   usually   one 


?:d 


OfiT 


x\'^ 


i  •     ■     i  ■ »  Vf 


'  >     >i  -J 


o.it  ,\'j\  ^A   If.'i ');•;;•  '-((! 


"n    ] 


r  ji:M'^  f.-;tl<\  I  ,     ■f^r;-"    ::!;.'/    Y'ljiino'^ 


.'A    'lo 


66  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

story  and  a  fourth,  or  one  and  a  half.  The  rafters, 
hewn  smooth,  were  set  at  a  good  slant,  with  ribs  fas- 
tened on  crosswise,  to  which  sliingles,  split  and  shaved 
by  hand,  were  nailed.  Fireplace  and  chimney  were 
built  of  stone  or  brick  filled  with  mortar,  as  w^ere  also 
the  joints  of  the  timber  Avails.  The  floors  were  often 
laid  with  boards  taken  from  the  boxes  in  which  tlie 
people  brought  their  goods,  w-ith  a  wade  board  for  a 
door,  one  window  of  sash  and  glass  for  each  room — 
and  what  more  could  human  nature  want? 

The  few  vehicles,  tools  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments were  of  the  simplest  design  and  construction, 
and  were  often  made  by  those  who  used  them.  Teams 
of  oxen  w^ere  more  generally  used  than  horses  or  mides, 
being  cheaper  and  easy  to  keep  at  that  time.  The  first 
breaking  of  the  prairie  sod  was  done  with  four  yoke 
of  cattle,  a  large  plow  held  in  the  proper  position  by 
axle-lever  and  wheels,  cutting  and  turning  over  a  sod 
of  twenty  inches  in  width.  This  work  w^as  usually 
performed  in  the  months  of  June  and  July  because 
the  tough  sod  rotted  sooner  w^hen  broken  up  at  that 
time,  besides  growing  a  crop  of  sod  corn  and  pumpkins 
the  same  season.  Cradles  w^ere  used  to  harvest  the 
small  grain,  while  the  hay  and  wild  grasses  were  cut 
with  a  scythe  and  all  stacked  by  hand.  Small  grain 
was  threshed  and  corn  shelled  with  flails  or  trodden 
out  with  horses,  until  the  advent  of  the  little  thresher, 
a  cylinder  and  concave  set  in  a  small  frame  and  run 
by  a  four-horse  sweep  power,  the  straw  being  raked 
off  by  hand.  The  grain  was  afterward  cleaned  up 
with  a  fanning  mill.  Possibly  the  hardest  and  most 
difficult  labor  which  the  early  settlers  had  to  perform 
was  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  their  fences, 
the  kind  in  general  use  being  built  with  rails,  the  split- 


( I 


Jubii.ee:  Township  67 

ting  of  wliich  would  occupy  the  entire  winter  to  make 
enoiig:h  to  fence  a  few  acres  for  cultivation.  Fenced 
pasture  at  tliat  time  v/as  unknown,  all  stock  running 
at  large  or  in  common. 

The  spinning  wheel  and  hand  loom  were  found  in 
many  of  these  cabin  homes,  where  the  women  folks 
made  the  homespun  cloth  for  clothing  their  families 
and  a  carpet  for  the  floor.  These  primitive  outfits 
and  homes  did  not  require  much  money,  as  that  was 
scarce  and  hard  to  obtain.  With  the  few  things  that 
were  brought  to  the  country,  and  such  as  human  in- 
genuity could  contrive,  the  pioneer  had  the  necessa- 
ries and  a  few  of  the  comforts  of  existence.  Such  was 
life  in  the  log-cabin  days. 

Prominent  among  the  pioneers  of  the  township 
was  the  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  Bishop  of  Illinois,  who 
came  to  the  then  West  to  found  what  became  known 
as  Jubilee  College.  He  settled  permanently  in  1836  on 
a  part  of  Section  thirty-six  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  township.  Erecting  a  log  cabin  for  himself  and 
family,  as  did  the  other  settlers,  he  set  about  the  col- 
lege work.  Securing  some  funds,  partly  from  friends 
in  England  and  some  from  others  in  the  Eastern 
States,  and  at  times  contributing  from  his  ow^n  re- 
sources, a  tract  of  land  was  secured,  embracing  about 
three  thousand  acres,  more  than  two  thousand  of 
which  was  in  Jubilee  Township,  and  here  was  located 
the  home  chosen  for  himself.  Procuring  stones  and 
timber  }iear  the  site  chosen  for  the  buildings  on  Section 
twenty-six,  the  corner-stone  of  the  chapel  and  school 
house  was  laid  on  the  3d  day  of  April,  1839.  The 
ceremonies  on  this  occasion  are  thus  described  by 
Bishop  Chase  in  his  reminiscences  or  autobiography: 


68  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

**0n  Tuesday  evening  came  our  dear  Samuel,  and 
the  Rev.  Mv.  Douglass;  Avitli  the  latter,  a  Mr.  Jones, 
from  Tremont.  On  Wednesday,  at  nine,  came  the 
Charleston  people;  at  ten  the  congregation  began  to 
gather;  at  eleven,  came  the  Peoria  folks.  Robin's 
Nest  more  than  full.  Divine  service  at  half-past 
eleven.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Douglass  read  prayers,  and  Mr. 
Chase  preached.  Music,  the  best  in  the  world  for  us. 
Notice  given  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chase  would  preach 
at  Lower  Kickapoo  next  Sunday,  and  myself  hold  a 
confirmation  at  Pekin. 

*'At  one  o'clock  the  procession  formed  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hill.  The  Rev.  Messrs.  Chase  and  Doug- 
lass in  front ;  then  the  foot  train ;  then  the  Bishop  and 
his  son.  Philander,  in  his  carriage ;  then  a  sequence  of 
carriages  and  wagons  too  long  to  be  even  conjectured 
by  you.  The  course  of  the  procesison  was  directly 
through  the  fine  lowlands,  on  dry  and  very  pleasant 
grounds  parallel  w4th  the  stream,  about  midway  be- 
tween the  bluff  and  the  bank,  pointing  and  aiming  at 
the  new  bridge,  w^hich  you  know  I  built  in  the  coldest 
weather  last  w^inter,  now  finished  in  the  best  order. 
When  the  procession  turned  to  the  right  to  cross  the 
bridge,  I  could  have  a  view  of  the  vast  extent  of  the 
train,  and  seldom  have  I  been  more  elated  at  the  good- 
ness of  God  in  giving  us  favor  in  the  sight  of  all  His 
people  to  gather  such  a  multitude  (for  indeed,  in  this 
solitarj^  country,  a  few  hundred  may  be  justly  termed 
a  multitude)  together  to  praise  His  holy  name,  at  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  Jubilee  Chapel.  As  we 
passed  over  the  bridge,  now  (on  the  night  before)  fin- 
ished in  the  neatest  order,  and  looked  up  and  down 
that  beautiful  stream,  and  then  went  along  in  solemn 
pomp  over  the  level  and  exceedingly  fertile  and  dry 


'.A  7f 


'Mil  U 


.''.I''     O' 


JuBir^EjE  Township  69 

bottom  land,  in  full  view  of  the  rising  grounds,  cov- 
ered with  budding  trees,  under  which  we  could  see 
the  vast  pile  of  stone  for  the  chapel,  and  people  there 
waiting  for  our  arrival,  you  may  well  fancy  my  feel- 
ings. The  flush  of  joy,  the  throbbing  of  the  grateful 
heart,  ready  at  every  vivid  reflection  of  my  painful 
life,  now  about  to  terminate  in  the  accomplishment  of 
this  great  design,  to  burst  the  very  bands  of  its  tene- 
ment. Oh,  that  you  could  have  been  with  me  at  this 
moment!  you,  who  have  shared  my  woes,  to  share 
also  in  my  joys.  The  day  fine,  the  sky  serene,  and 
just  enough  to  remind  us  of  the  breath  of  God  in  the 
gentle  influence  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  refreshing  beyond 
the  power  of  language  to  describe. 

"We  mounted  the  rising  ground  slowly,  and  at 
every  step  looked  back  on  the  cavalcade  behind.  What 
a  sight  for  a  lonely  backwoodsman !  What  an  effect  it 
had  on  me,  when  I  reflected  on  the  purpose  for  which 
we  were  now  gathering  on  the  ground  together.  Plii- 
lander  drove  my  carriage  round  to  a  pile  of  stones,  to 
give  room  for  all  to  dismount  in  order.  The  whole  of 
the  foundation,  I  found,  had  been  already  laid,  but 
the  corner,  to  the  level  of  the  first  floor  of  the  build- 
ing. This  enabled  the  eye  to  realize  the  plan,  which 
you  have  seen,  of  the  groundwork  of  this  interesting 
building.  We  gathered  round  the  southeast  corner, 
where  all  w^as  prepared  for  the  present  important 
Bolemnity.  Before  commencing  I  looked  around  me, 
and  never  was  a  sight  more  heart-cheering.  The 
crowed  were  on  the  heaps  of  stones,  and  the  friends 
and  musicians  were  near  me.  Oh,  how  sweetly  did 
they  smile  through  tears  of  joy,  as  they  saw  my  aged 
self  among  them.  And  when,  after  the  address,  we 
raised  our  souls  in  prayer  and  praise,  may  we  not  hope 


eo 


/n\iir:    ■■»♦    ..•-,.:■/•     y.)l 


n,(  »  'ill' 

'     1      ;!':•'.;      v/'MT 


■   ,f>ltt  cro 


A.fnn 


70  TOWNSHIP     HISTORIES 

and  believe  that  unworthy  as  we  were,  the  God  of  Mercy 
and  Love  looked  down  upon  ns  through  Jesus  Christ, 
and  gave  us  His  blessing?  It  is  this  which  crowns  all, 
and  makes  the  remembrance  of  yesterday's  service 
and  solemnities  sweet  unto  my  taste.  It  has,  indeed, 
left  a  relish  on  my  moral  enjoyments,  more  exhiler- 
ating  to  my  soul  than  any  thing  in  the  course  of  my 
v/hole  life.  The  self-same  thing  was  said  by  Samuel  as 
we  came  home ;  nothing  could  exceed  the  expression  of 
his  joy." 

The  erection  of  the  college,  vritli  the  other  neces- 
sary- buildings  soon  followed;  residences  for  the  teach- 
ers, boarding  houses  for  the  scholars  and  workmen, 
so  that  in  a  few  years'  time,  not  later  than  1859,  nearly 
all  of  the  various  industries  of  the  times  w^ere  repre- 
sented in  the  little  village  of  Jubilee  and  the  near 
surroundings.  A  saw^-mill  was  constructed  on  the 
Kickapoo  Creek,  two  miles  south  from  the  college,  to 
which  was  soon  added  a  flouring  mill,  with  both 
steam  and  \vater  power.  A  store  building  near  at 
hand  was  filled  with  such  goods  as  were  used  by  the 
early  settlers.  A  blacksmith  shop  and  a  shoemaker's 
shop  ^vere  added  for  the  convenience  of  all  near  by. 
A  small  hand  printing  press  was  operated  in  the  col- 
lege building,  on  which  was  printed,  at  short  inter- 
vals, a  small  sheet  entitled  ''The  Motto."  Farming 
and  stock-raising  were  carried  on  extensively  by  the 
college,  which  introduced  and  operated  the  first  agri- 
cultural machinerj'-  seen  in  the  vicinity;  such  as  Mc- 
Cormick's  reaper,  Allen's  mower,  Emory's  tread 
power  and  thresher.  Students  soon  filled  the  build- 
ings and  the  college  flourished  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  first  graduating  exercises  held  at  the  college 
occurred  on  the  7th  day  of  July,  1847,  at  whicli  five 


.-^■■m 


A'       ■'•    ) 


!l  '  •  •;J 


7/    l>; 


;i'i    -h^l 


nim-;7f;r^    A. 


no 


Jubilee:  Township  71 

persons  received  tjieir  degrees  in  the  arts  and  sciences. 
A  large  booth  wns  erected  for  the  occasion,  constructed 
of  poles  set  in  tlie  ground  and  covered  with  branches 
from  the  trees.  A  band  from  Peoria  City  furnished  tlie 
outdoor  music.  The  exercises  were  attended  by  sev- 
eral hundred  people,  and  it  was  indeed  a  happy  and 
proud  event  to  the  founder  of  the  college.  A  little 
knowledge  of  the  work  and  the  difficulties  encoun- 
tered in  the  building  of  such  an  institution,  in  those 
early  days,  may  be  obtained,  when  we  realize  that  the 
stone  was  first  dug  from  the  quarry  and  shaped,  the 
brick  was  burned  wdthin  a  few  rods  of  where  it  was 
used,  and  nearly  all  the  timbers  w^ere  cut  and  hewed 
from  the  native  forests  by  hand.  On  one  occasion  (in 
the  year  1842)  the  father  of  the  \vriter  of  this  sketch 
made  the  journey  to  Chicago  in  the  winter  with  a 
team,  bringing  from  that  place  a  barrel  of  salt  for  use 
at  the  college  and  a  load  of  lumber  with  -which  to 
make  sash  for  the  buildings.  A  few  of  the  settlers 
procured  some  of  the  materials  for  their  first  homes 
in  the  same  way. 

Township  organization  w^as  adopted,  April,  1850, 
and  the  usual  to\\Tiship  officers  -were  elected.  The 
formation  of  school  and  road  districts  was  completed 
in  a  few  years  afterwards,  the  number  of  each  at  the 
present  date  being  eight — the  schools  in  each  district 
continuing  from  six  to  eight  months  of  each  year. 

Religious  services  and  Sunday-schools  were  held  at 
various  times  in  several  of  the  school  houses,  until  the 
building  of  various  edifices  for  public  worship,  of 
which  Jubilee  has  three — the  Episcopal,  at  the  College, 
German  Methodist  and  Lutheran.  Five  cemeteries 
situated  in  different  parts  of  the  township  give  the 


•.\r( 


Hi    ,.! 


,    r.r,    iCti;'- 


..    f"  lot 

:  '   '         n  V 


72  TOWNSHIP  HISTORIES 

■unwritten  history  that  many  have  finished  their  labors 
and  gone  to  the  other  shore.  But  few  of  those  are  now 
living  w^ho  purchased  their  land  directly  from  the 
Government,  and,  at  this  writing,  but  one  is  living  on 
the  land  which  w^as  purchased  in  this  way. 

For  a  time  elections  w^ere  held  at  private  houses, 
or  at  the  residence  of  the  Town  Clerk.  Elections  and 
town  meetings  are  now  held  at  the  Town  Hall  in  the 
center  of  the  township.  The  number  of  legal  voters 
in  Jubilee  at  present  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-five. 
Some  changes  of  town  officers  have  been  made  at 
every  annual  meeting,  and  but  few  have  served  the 
tow^Dship  many  years  in  succession.  Three  members 
of  the  Illinois  General  Assembly  have  been  chosen 
from  the  township,  viz. :  "William  Rowclifi:,  II.  K. 
Chase,  and  Peter  Cahill.  As  township  officers,  Wil- 
liam Church,  H.  I.  Chase,  Gilbert  Hathaway,  James 
II.  Forney,  J.  B.  Slocum,  John  Moss,  "William  Row- 
cliff,  H.  R.  Chase,  Richard  Pacey,  Peter  Cahill  and 
Cecil  C.  Moss,  have  served  as  Supervisors.  Those  hav- 
ing acted  as  Town  Clerk  are:  David  Sanborn,  Wil- 
liam M.  Jenkins,  George  Radley,  Noah  Alden,  George 
Paul,  William  H.  Paul,  S.  S.  Stewart,  Chas.  Hayes, 
F.  E.  Coulson,  R.  II.  "Van  Renslar,  George  Stewart, 
F.  T.  Keefer,  L.  Ilasselbacher,  L.  S.  Barrett,  S.  P.  Bow- 
er. Gilbert  Hathaway  held  the  office  of  Treasurer  of 
School  funds  twenty-seven  years,  Thomas  Pacey  and 
Charles  Hayes  about  twenty  years,  and  L.  Hasselba- 
cher  is  the  present  incumbent  of  a  few  months. 


Jubilee  Township  73 

Jubilee  — The  Little  Place  in  the  Woods 

By  Raymond  Riordon 


Manj^  parents  realize  this  fact — that,  at  a  certain 
sta^e  of  a  child's  life,  he  can  be  better  trained  and 
managed  at  school  than  at  home,  if  the  school  is 
of  the  right  kind.  Are  you  looking  for  such  a  school? 
Then  listen  to  rhe  story-book  tale  of  Jubilee,  the  Little 
Place  in  the  Woods,  an  ancient  landmark,  as  ancient- 
ness  goes  in  our  raw  young  country. 

Away  back  in  1837,  Bishop  Chase,  having  got  his 
hand  in  at  founding  colleges  (Kenyon,  in  Ohio,  and 
another,  farther  east),  came  to  Illinois,  took  up  three 
thousand  acres  of  land  near  Peoria,  then  but  little 
more  than  an  Indian  trading  post,  and,  full  of  the 
traditions  of  his  English  alma  mater,  full  of  zeal  for 
the  Church  and  education,  built  a  little  stone  chapel 
and  school;  and,  flushed  with  the  success  of  his  darling 
project,  worked  for  hard  and  long,  named  it  Jubilee. 

An  infant  of  the  Church,  it  grew  to  man's  age, 
with  varying  fortunes  like  those  of  many  a  man, 
waxed  old  and  hoary,  and  fell  into  senile  decay.  For 
the  last  decade  or  two  it  was  a  romantic  ruin,  where 
people  came  to  picnic  and  to  carve  their  names  in  the 
soft  sandstone  walls. 

Then,  on  a  summer's  day  in  1905,  came  Bishop 
Fawcett  and  his  helpers,  and  the  result  of  that  visit 
was  a  rejuvenated  Jubilee.  They  found  owls  and  bats 
as  tenants,  rubbish  without  end,  and  desolation  every- 
where. 

But  soon  the  old  house  awoke  from  its  Rip  Van 
Winkle  slumbers  to  find  saws  and  axes  at  its  vitals. 
Steam  pipes,  gas  pipes  and  pipes  for  city  VN'ater  gave  it 
a  circulatory  system,  and  ventilating  grates,  and  fnn- 


>':       J. 


\>i:}i 


^'    .•//   Mif)  at 


JM7;;(    io    > 


odr, 


'»''i-;.fl 


Oi!.:     iTi 


74  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

nels  in  tlie  roof  formed  the  respiratory  organs  it  liad 
always  lacked. 

*'City  water"  of  course  means  country  water. 
Several  old  wells,  that  imist  be  as  deep  as  Spencerian 
philosoph}^  for  the  house  stands  on  a  hill,  show  how 
the  early  dwellers  got  their  supply;  but  now  a  little 
red-roofed  pump-house  nestles  down  in  the  valley 
among  the  trees,  and  the  engine  in  it  makes  the  water 
from  a  chain  of  allied  springs  run  up  hill,  in  direct  de- 
fiance of  the  old  adage  which  says  it  can't. 

A  coat  of  paint  on  the  wooden  trimmings  was  all 
that  the  outside  of  the  building  needed,  for  vines  em- 
bower it,  clinging  lovingly  to  their  old  friends,  the 
sandstone  walls. 

"Within,  there  w^as  carpentering  and  joining,  and 
painting  and  glazing,  and  paper-hanging  and  i">]umb- 
ing,  until  every  thing  that  could  be  done  was  done, 
and  the  Bishop  said  to  the  children,  ''Come!" 

They  came,  to  the  capacity  of  the  building,  and 
more  would  have  come  had  there  been  room.  Like  a 
Rooseveltian  family  in  a  small  city  flat  we  were 
stowed  at  the  beginning  of  this,  our  first  year,  and 
every  available  inch  was  utilized.  But  a  cottage  dor- 
mitory, begun  late  in  November,  sprang  up  as  by  a 
rub  of  Aladdin's  wonderful  lamp,  to  house  a  certain 
number  of  the  pupils,  and  amply  relieve  the  pressure 
within  the  old  stone  walls.  This  cottage,  standing  at 
the  top  of  a  gentle  slope  to  the  south,  commands  a 
view  of  miles  o'er  hill  and  dale,  field  and  forest  and 
running  stream,  and  every  window  frames  a  picture 
to  delight  a  landscape  artist's  heart.  The  furniture 
of  the  cottage  was  made  bj^  Jubilee  boys,  in  Jubilee 
shop,  the  large  w^alnut  folding  doors  used  in  the  early 
days  of  the  college  providing  a  good  share  of  the  ma- 
terial. 


JuBiLER  Township  75 

Any  repairs  needed  in  the  carpentering,  plumbing 
or  painting  line  are  also  done  by  these  youthful  work- 
men-on-the-spot, for  boys  love  to  ^vork,  and  if  al- 
lowed to  work  wnll  not  be  likely  to  hatch  up  mischief. 

Only  four  hundred  acres  of  the  original  three 
thousand  remain,  but  \ve  find  that  enough  for  the 
children  to  'Hum  loose"  in;  where  girls  may  run  and 
gather  roses,  of  the  American  Beauty  kind  that  blooms 
onl}^  out  of  doors,  and  increase  their  lung — and  food ! 
— capacity.  "Where  boys  ma}^  dig  caves,  build  rafts, 
and  huts,  and  chief  staff  of  a  boy's  life,  whoop  and 
hurrah  as  much  as  they  like,  with  no  signs  of  "Keep 
Off  the  Grass,"  and  no  one  to  say  ''Don't."  In  short, 
w^here  boys  and  girls  alike  may  have  all  kinds  of  fun. 

And  they  have  it,  except  when  engaged  in  busi- 
ness. Their  business  is  school  w^ork,  and  their  office 
hours  are  six  hours  a  day  five  days  in  the  w^eek.  This 
time  is  spent  in  recitation  and  in  stud}^  under  the  eye 
of  a  teacher.  There  is  no  evening  study,  to  tax  the 
eyes  and  overheat  the  brain,  and  night  work  is  lim- 
ited to  shop  employments,  orchestra  or  singing  re- 
hearsals, and  mechanical  or  freehand  drawing. 

The  school  room  is  not  the  stiff  and  penal  place 
the  name  suggests,  but  a  pretty  library  with  soft  green 
walls,  adorned  with  pictures,  separated  from  the 
next  class  room  by  curtains  only,  and  supplied  with 
chairs  and  tables  instead  of  nailed  down  desks.  The 
maps  and  black  boards  appear  when  wanted,  from  a 
contrivance  which  at  a  magic  hey,  presto !  swallows 
them  up  again;  and  the  class  rooms,  when  thrown  to- 
gether, make  a  charming  social  hall,  with  hard  wood 
floor  that  tempts  the  light  fantastic  toe. 

Twice  a  week  we  spruce  up  and  have  "small  and 
early"  affairs;  and  the^lads  and  lassies  in  their  best 
bibs  and  tuckers  are  an  attractive  looking  lot. 


■•    I'.fi;-  . 


76  TOWNSHIP  HISTORIES 

One  evening  a  week  is  given  to  lively  games,  proper 
ones  only,  with  teachers  supervising  or  joining  in;  but 
some  games  are  permitted  on  any  evening,  and  good 
reading  is  provided  without  stint. 

The  dramatic  instinct  is  strong  in  children,  and 
manifests  itself  at  an  early  age,  as  when  the  little  girl 
pretends  she  is  IMrs.  This  or  That,  and  walks,  and 
talks  and  acts  like  some  one  else;  and  the  little  boy 
as  doctor  comes  to  cure  the  ailments  of  the  dolls. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  Jubilee  to  utilize  this  instinct, 
to  make  it  profitable  as  Avell  as  pleasant,  by  visualizing 
incidents  in  historj^  sometimes  enacted,  impromptu, 
in  class,  and  sometimes  given  more  ambitiously  as  a 
stage  performance.  Dramatic  and  operatic  pieces 
are  given  as  often  as  they  can  be  properly  prepared, 
the  rehearsing  and  simple  stage  setting  being  regarded 
as  recreation  and  done  in  recreation  hours. 

Excellence  in  scholarship  is  a  large  factor  to  be 
considered  in  making  up  the  cast. 

At  the  three  meal  times  the  family  comes  together, 
sitting  six  at  a  table,  an  older  person  being  one  of  the 
six,  and  conversation  and  laughter  help  to  make  good 
digestion  wait  on  appetite,  and  health  on  both. 

Little  need  be  said  of  book  work.  This  is  funda- 
mental, and  may  go  without  sajdng:  Whatever  can 
be  done  is  done,  by  the  best  instructors — not  to  pom- 
knowledge,  willy  nilly,  into  the  child,  but  to  arouse 
his  mental  powers,  awaken  his  interest  and  set  him 
to  getting  for  himself  that  which  unless  he  does  get 
it  for  himself,  will  never  be  of  value  to  him. 

We  take  him  from  the  intermediate  grade  on  up  to 
the  entrance  to  University,  and  good  work  must  be 
done;  no  shirking  or  evasion  is  allowed. 

But  the   one  basic   principle   of   the  school,   book 


;>)  0 


;/• 


JuBii^KK  Township  77 

work  being  an  adjunct  to  tbe  means  employed,  is 
character-building.  By  every  possible  means  we  en- 
deavor to  exalt  character,  to  instill  the  spirit  of  honor, 
courage,  truth.  Not  only  head  work,  but  hand  work, 
is  a  means  to  this  end.  Play  is  another  and  most  im- 
portant one.  Rome  of  the  best  lessons  a  child  can  get 
are  learned,  unconsciously,  in  play.  He  is  benefited 
physically,  mentally,  and  morally  by  entering  heartily 
into  games  that  call  for  strength  or  agility,  alertness 
of  mind,  quick  judgment,  and  co-operation  v/ith  others. 

Now  do  you  see  what  kind  of  a  school  we  have,  in 
this  historic  spot  so  full  of  associations  of  the  past 
and  buoyant  hope  for  the  future  ? 

It  is  a  school  based  on  the  home  idea,  where,  in 
fresh  air  and  healthful  surroundings,  with  regular 
hours  and  simple  food,  with  work  and  play  in  just 
proportions,  with  all  that  devoted  instructors  can  do 
to  bring  about  such  a  result,  boys  and  girls  may  be 
gently,  but  firmly  and  surely,  led  to  knowledge,  to  re- 
finement, and  to  high  ideals. 

A  school  for  the  development  of  character,  for 
the  preservation  of  individuality,  for  the  formation 
of  good  habits  and  gentle  manners,  for  the  cultivation 
of  hand  and  heart  as  well  as  head. 

Was  it  not  Froebel  who  said,  "Come,  let  us  live 
with  our  children?"  We  live  with  ours,  work  with 
them,  play  with  them,  with  eye  single  to  their  well  be- 
ing and  improvement. 

The  course  is  made  to  fit  the  child,  not  the  child 
to  fit  the  course;  and  the  school  is  conducted  for  the 
benefit  of  the  child,  not  of  the  teacher.  The  indi- 
vidual temperament  of  each  child  is  carefully  con- 
sidered,  and   the  personality   best  fitted  to   influence 


!?       1 1  H 


I    f 


>1'  [    '.>'[UiI     ^'ll 


78  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

hiiTi  is  chosen  from  tlie  faculty  to  give  him  particular 
attention. 

In  school  work,  not  what  percentage  can  he  make, 
but  what  use  he  makes  of  his  powers,  is  the  basis  of 
reports.  If  he  does  his  best,  ''S,"  or  ''Satisfactory,** 
is  liis  mark.  If  ho  has  not  done  his  best,  even  though 
his  percentage  may  rank  higher,  he  gets  ** Unsatis- 
factory," or  ''U.*' 

Our  aim  is,  not  to  turn  out  rows  of  children,  like 
pins  in  a  paper,  all  with  the  same  size  heads  and 
sharpened  to  the  same  point,  but  to  bring  each  one 
to  his  ow^n  highest  and  best. 

We  hope  to  send  these  children  from  us  better  in 
every  w^ay.  Not  a  sudden  transformation,  like  that 
of  the  skinflints  and  curmudgeons  and  hard-hearted 
fathers  in  the  old-fashioned  Christmas  tales,  but  a 
gradual  growth  like  that  which  Nature  gives,  we 
working  as  a  loving  gardener  works,  pruning  and  cut- 
ting back  if  need  be,  gently  twining  here  and  there, 
and  shedding  the  sunshine  of  affection  and  praise,  un- 
til the  buds  of  promise  show. 

No  new  thing,  this.  We  of  this  day  prate  much 
of  Education,  with  a  capital  E,  and  fancy  w^e  are  its 
sole  inventors  and  patentees.  But  Plato  said,  in  some 
Athenian  Jubilee  of  long  ago:  "If  you  follow  Nature, 
the  education  you  give  will  succeed  without  caus- 
ing you  trouble  or  perplexity,  especially  if  you  do  not 
insist  upon  acquirements  precocious  or  overextensive." 

It  is  this  Platonian  theory,  to  follow  Nature,  or  to 
run  with  and  not  against  her,  that  we  try  to  put  in 
practice  in  this  little  community  set  by  itself,  far  from 
the  madding  crowd,  making  its  own  society,  and  living 
all  for  each  and  each  for  all,  a  miniature  Democracy. 


i>n-; 


rMfU'      ll-'i? 


>t       (.'J         ;.     ;;    J      ■ 


J     'I 


•u    '•;;■•-? 


'-  //    ,      • 

■if     [ 


,       •  r  .(J:r     hap.   e'}'. 

./■      'I  ■<■<;//      ,;'i»^"      '»>!   I 


Jvn--:   ., 


,♦  •..> 


HALLOCK  TOWNSHIP 

Material  Furnished  by  Daniki.  Hakes  and  John  G.  Spicer 


The  pfeograpliical  designation  of  this  township  is 
''Township  11  N.,  Range  8  E.  of  the  Fourth  Principal 
Meridian."  It  contains  a  large  extent  of  hlnff  and 
timber  lands,  a  belt  of  which  runs  through  its  center 
from  north  to  south,  varying  in  width  from  nearly 
four  miles  on  the  north,  to  a  little  over  one  mile  at 
its  southern  boundary.  The  twelve  western  sections, 
are  almost  entirely  free  of  timber,  and  are  of  a  most 
excellent  quality  of  land.  The  southeast  corner,  situ- 
ated on  LaSalle  Prairie,  is  also  almost  entirely  clear 
of  timber,  and  is  splendid  farming  land. 

The  first  settler  in  this  township,  without  doubt, 
was  Lewis  Ilallock,  who  came  to  it  about  the  year 
1820,  and,  after  some  months  roving  about  among  the 
Indians,  took  up  some  land  and  built  a  cabin  in  what 
is  now  called  Hillock's  Hollow.  He  was  a  native  of 
Long  Island,  had  left  home  when  a  yoimg  man,  wan- 
dered westward  and,  for  many  years  previous  to  his 
appearance  in  Peoria  County,  lived  among  the  In- 
dians in  Wisconsin  and  elsewhere,  gaining  a  liveli- 
hood by  hunting  and  trapping.  At  the  time  of  his 
settlement  he  was  a  single  man,  and  about  1825,  lived 
for  some  time  with  a  Frenchman  called  Osier  (known 
in  Peoria  by  the  name  of  Ogee),  who  was  the  Govern- 
ment interpreter  to  the  Pottawattomie  Indians,  and 
had  married  into  the  tribe.  In  the  winter  of  1820,  he 
married  a  Mrs.  Wright,  a  daughter  of  Hiram  Cleve- 
land, and  brought  her  to  his  cabin  in  the  hollow.     By 

79 


w\;i 


w  V  A  y4 


.-.     .:'»  ']■''■■.■■.  :,i 


r   -ii 


80  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIKS 

hej"  he  had  one  child,  a  girl  called  Clarissa,  who  after- 
wards married  Henry  Robinson.  Hallock  died,  April 
1,  1857,  on  his  old  farm,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one  years. 
He  was  a  man  of  sterling  character,  upright  and  hon- 
est in  all  his  dealings. 

About  1825,  settlers  from  the  East  began  to  drop 
into  the  district.  Simon  and  Aaron  Reed  came  from 
Jackson  County,  Ohio,  in  November  of  that  year,  and 
they  were  closely  followed  by  IMoses  and  Sanmel  Clif- 
ton, Francis  Thomas,  Joseph  i\reredith,  Cornelius  Doty, 
Resolved  and  Hiram  Cleveland,  Gcrsham  Silliman  and 
family  and  William  Wright.  In  1830,  Joel  Hicks  and 
familj'  and  Jeriel  Root,  with  his  sons  Erastus  C.  and 
Lucas  Root,  came.  The  greater  part  of  these  settled 
near  the  north  end  of  LaSalle  Prairie.  In  1830,  Jo- 
seph Meredith  settled  on  Section  12,  and  kept  a  small 
tavern  for  the  accommodation  of  the  stage-drivers 
and  travelers  on  the  main  road  betw^een  Galena  and 
Springfield. 

In  the  last  days  of  June,  1836,  Roswell  Nurse,  w^ith 
his  son,  Isaiah  Nurse,  and  Ebenezer  Stowell,  came  to  the 
township  on  a  prospecting  tour.  ■  They  started  from 
Chenango  County,  New  York,  walking  to  Buffalo  and 
coming  thence  to  Toledo  by  water,  where  they  again 
took  the  road  and  traveled  to  Hallock  Township  on 
foot,  with  rifle  on  shoulder  and  all  their  equipments  in 
one  knapsack.  Taking  due  note  of  the  fine  land  lying 
yet  unclaimed  in  the  township,  they  pursued  a  zigzag 
course  toward  Quincy,  still  prospecting,  but  found 
no  land  more  inviting,  and,  on  arriving,  forthwith 
entered  their  land  in  the  Government  Land  Office  at 
Quincy,  and  returned  to  take  possession.  They  found 
at  this  time  no  one  living  north  of  Northampton,  but, 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  (1830),  Erastus  Root  took 


to  'rv.nj  ft  xr.'.v 


biio'T    'i:,r;'i(   *,..'[]   no  rv 


HaIvI^ock  Township  81 

up  his  residence  on  Section  3,  now  occupied  by  his  son, 
Lorenzo  Root. 

The  winter  of  1831  was  an  exceptionally  severe 
one  all  over  the  West.  During  the  winter  two  men, 
strangers  to  the  settlers,  named  Dr.  Franklin  and  ]\Ic- 
]\Iillan,  with  six  yoke  of  oxen  and  two  sleds,  loaded 
with  goods  and  bound  for  Prairie  du  Chien,  stopped 
at  Simon  Reed's  and,  after  a  stay  of  about  a  week, 
during  which  they  built  another  sled  and  hired  a  man 
by  name  of  Cooper  to  go  with  them,  started  some 
time  in  the  month  of  January,  and  were  soon  caught 
in  a  terrible  northeast  sno"\v  storm,  which  filled  up 
their  track  and  caused  them  to  lose  their  way.  Night 
overtook  them  when  out  on  the  i)rairie  near  Boyd's 
Grove,  and  they  turned  the  oxen  loose  and  tried  to 
reach  Boyd's  on  foot.  Two  of  them  perished,  and  the 
third — McMillan  —  got  there  next  morning  badly 
frozen.  Eleven  of  the  oxen  were  frozen  to  death,  and 
one  came  to  Meredith's, 

The  deepest  snow  ever  known  in  the  township  fell 
during  this  winter.  It  was  three  feet  deep  on  the 
level,  and  the  drifts  were  in  some  places  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  deep.  The  cold  was  steady  and  intense. 
The  deer  and  wild  hogs  died  in  great  numbers,  and  the 
prairie  chickens  and  quails  were  almost  entirely  de- 
stroyed. 

The  Black  Hawk  War  in  1832,  found  the  settlers 
in  this  district  not  only  prepared  for  self-defense,  but 
to  take  the  field  against  their  treacherous  foe.  In 
April,  of  that  year,  Thomas  Reed,  Edwin  S.  Jones, 
Lucas  Root,  James  Doty,  Elias  Love  and  Simon  Reed, 
volunteered  in  Abner  Ead's  Company,  and  their 
services  were  accepted.  Simon  Reed  was  detailed  to 
act  as  teamster,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 


ir} 


tr    .' 


82  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

James  Doty  Avas  killed  in  the  battle  of  Sycamore  Creek 
or  Stillman's  defeat,  ■May  14.  The  others  named  were 
at  the  front  for  thirty  days,  and  afterwards  served  as 
*' rangers"  on  the  frontier  between  Peoria  and  Kock 
River,  nntil  thej^  received  their  discharge  at  the  close 
of  the  vrar.  Previous  to  this  outbrcal;  tlie  Indians  were 
quite  nnmerons  and  very  friendly.  The  Pottawatto- 
mies  had  three  towns  in  or  near  the  townsliip — one  on 
the  land  now  occupied  by  Emory  Stillman,  in  Medina 
Township,  one  at  Smith's  Springs  between  Pome  and 
Chillicothe,  and  one  on  the  Senachewine  creek,  not 
far  from  the  bridge. 

The  first  mill  built  near  the  township  which  tlie 
settlers  in  the  northern  part  could  easily  reach,  was 
that  built  on  Senachewine  by  "William  ]\roffatt,  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  Section  18,  Township  11  North, 
Range  9  East,  one  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Northamp- 
ton, about  the  year  1834.  The  first  mill  built  in  the 
township,  and  the  only  one  that  ever  did  any  amount 
of  work,  was  erected  in  the  year  1838  by  Thomas 
Ford,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  Section  13. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  township  organization, 
this  settlement  formed  part  of  LaSalle  precinct.  Simon 
Reed  was  the  first  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  office  prior  to  1828,  and  Cornelius  Doty 
was  elected  Justice  in  the  fall  of  1831.  This  election 
took  place  at  the  only  polling  place  in  LaSalle  precinct, 
covering  nearly  one-half  of  the  northern  part  of  Peoria 
County,  on  Section  three  of  Medina  Township. 

In  1850  township  organization  was  adopted,  and 
the  township  received  its  name,  out  of  compliment  to 
its  oldest  settler,  Lewis  ITallock,  by  vote  of  the  citi- 
zens. The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house 
of  Reuben  Hamlin  in  Northampton,  on  Tuesday,  Ai)ril 


'lo   ' 


iftO 


PIaIvT^ock  Township  83 

2,  1850.  William  Easton  was  chosen  chairrnan  pro 
tern,  and  Charles  Barker,  Clerk,  after  Avhich  Charles 
Barker  was  elected  by  ballot  i\Ioderator  of  the  meet- 
ing, and  Kobert  Will,  Jr.,  Clerk  for  the  day.  After 
the  polls  closed  the  following  officers  were  declared 
elected:  Walter  S.  Evans,  Supervisor;  Erastiis  C. 
Root,  Assessor;  Lyman  Robinson,  Collector;  Isaiah 
Nnrse,  Joel  Hicks,  Simon  Reed,  Commissioners;  Jesse 
Jenkins,  Overseer  of  Poor;  Munson  llinman,  Town 
Clerk;  William  Easton  and  Nathaniel  Chapin,  Justices; 
Augustus  Barton  and  Eliphalet  Russell,  Constables. 

The  present  Town  Officers  are:  Alfred  Tallett, 
Supervisor;  J.  W.  Gullett,  Town  Cierk;  M.  B.  Yars, 
Assessor;  William  E.  Wideman,  Collector;  Loren  N. 
Gallup  and  M.  M.  Burdick,  Justices;  Thomas  Burns, 
A.  T.  Bristol  and  W.  J.  Burns,  Commissioners;  J.  R. 
Kidd  and  I.  A.  Barton,  Constables;  William  Wideman. 
Thomas  Keach  and  William  A.  Hervey,  School  Trus- 
tees, and  Thomas  Vars,  School  Treasurer.  i\Ir.  Vars 
has  been  Township  Treasurer  in  charge  of  the  school 
fund  since  October,  1875.  He  is  a  retired  farmer  and 
lives  in  Edelstein. 


Villages 


The  Village  of  Northampton  was  laid  off  on  Sec- 
tion 13,  by  Reuben  Hamlin  and  Mr.  Ereeman  in  July% 
1836.  The  first  house  therein  Avas  also  the  first  erected 
in  the  township  as  a  tavern.  It  was  built  in  the  winter 
of  1835-36  by  Reuben  Hamlin,  and  was  kept  as  a 
public  house  by  him  for  many  years.  He  came  from 
Northampton,  IMassachusetts,  and  he  named  the  vil- 
lage, of  which  he  was^  the  founder,  after  it.     Aaron 


^1 


n  ■ 


i.  /-irnf/Zt 


84  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

Reed  was  the  first  settler  near  the  site  of  the  village, 
and  his  old  log  cabin  was  replaced  by  a  house  which 
stands  beside  the  bridge,  near  the  sonth  end  of  the 
village. 

Nathaniel  Chapin,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  v/as 
quite  a  i)rominent  resident  of  the  village  about  1840. 
He  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

The  population  of  the  village  is,  at  present,  but 
little  over  60,  and  it  contains  one  good  general  store, 
kept  by  Mr.  P.  E.  Phillips,  who  is  also  Postmaster.  It 
has  also  a  harness  shop  and  a  brickyard  owned  by 
Thomas  Goodwin.  It  has  also  one  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 

The  Village  of  Lawn  Ridge  stands  upon  the  bound- 
ary line  dividing  Peoria  and  Marshall  Counties,  and 
has  a  population  of  about  200.  Nathaniel  Smith 
(later  a  resident  of  New  York  State,  but  now  de- 
ceased) was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  it.  It  has 
two  churches — a  Methodist  Episcopal  and  a  Congrega- 
tional— whose  congregations  are  drawn  about  equally 
from  the  two  counties. 

Located  on  the  Peoria  side  of  the  line,  William 
Even  runs  quite  an  extensive  agricultural  implement, 
carriage  and  stove  business;  Fred  Green  operates  a 
meat  market;  William  Nickerson  is  postmaster  and 
sells  patent  medicines;  Newton  Brag  succeeds  his 
father  in  the  blacksmith  and  repair  shop,  and  Ed. 
Kruse  is  the  popular  proprietor  of  the  hotel. 

Edelstein,  a  flourishing  village,  situated  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  Section  18,  has  sprung  up  since 
the  location  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Pe  Rail- 
road through  the  township.  It  was  founded  in  the 
year  1887.  It  was  at  first  intended  to  locate  it  on  the 
south  side  of  the  railroad,  but  it  was  later  determined 


h/f 


ajrrnij 


^»a;  no 


Hai^lock  Township  85 

to  locate  it  on  tlie  north  side  on  land  owned  by  Samuel 
Burns.  In  tlic  year  1887,  Mr.  A.  J.  Ranjsey  erected 
the  first  store  building  south  of  the  railroad,  but  after- 
wards removed  it  to  the  north  side.  During  the  same 
year  Robert  A.  Green,  of  Lawn  Ridge,  erected  a  grain 
elevator  and  did  a  thriving  business  in  grain  and 
stock  for  about  three  years,  when  he  sold  out  to  E. 
E.  Kendall  and  A.  R.  Cline,  w^ho  were  succeeded  in 
March,  1894,  by  the  present  proprietor,  A.  J.  Speers, 
whose  business  in  grain,  coal,  tile,  seeds  and  stock 
during  the  past  year  has  amounted  to  over  $130,000, 
and  his  shipments  of  grain  have  been  36G  cars.  In 
1894,  ]\ressrs.  Kendall  and  Cline  built  another  elevator 
northwest  of  the  depot,  near  the  site  of  one  that  had 
been  burned,  which  they  operated  successfully  until 
1898,  when  they  were  succeeded  for  one  year,  by  J. 
"W.  Cole,  who  sold  out  to  A.  I.  Hawley  and  J.  A.  Speers. 
During  the  construction  of  the  Chicago  &  Northwest- 
ern Railroad  in  1901,  from  Nelson  to  Peoria,  this  ele-* 
vator  was  removed  to  Akron,  a  station  on  that  road 
three  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Edelstein. 

In  1888  Mr.  E.  W.  Houghton  established  a  success- 
ful trade  in  lumber,  lime,  stone,  brick  and  cement 
under  the  management  of  Mr.  Rollin  L.  Houghton 
who,  in  connection  therewith,  established  the  Exchange 
Bank  of  Edelstein,  and  continued  to  manage  both 
branches  of  business  until  his  death  in  May,  1900. 
There  is  no  bank  at  the  present  time. 

In  1889,  j\rr.  J.  A.  Potter,  of  West  Hallock,  built 
the  store  now  occupied  by  J.  H.  Johnson,  w^hich  was 
managed  by  his  son  Anthony  Potter  for  about  one 
year,  after  w^hich  it  passed  in  rapid  succession  through 
the  hands  of  several  owners  until,  in  the  year  1896,  it 
came  into  the  possession,  of  the  present  proprietor,  Mr. 


/■      f-AA 


^6  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

Jolmson,  who  does  a  flonrishing  business  amounting  to 
$20,000  per  year. 

One  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Edelstein  was 
C.  Y.  Brajion,  a  nephew  of  N.  B.  Curtiss,  banker  of 
Peoria,  who  began  business  in  the  fall  of  188S  by 
building  and  opening  a  general  store,  which  he  con- 
tinued to  operate  with  an  extensive  stock  of  goods 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  March,  1900.  Since 
that  time  the  business  has  been  carried  on  b}^  his 
widow  and  son  under  the  name  of  Mrs.  C.  Y.  Brayton. 

In  1888,  Mr.  F.  W.  Rotterman  established  the  busi- 
ness of  dealing  in  hardware  and  carriages  in  connection 
with  the  trade  of  a  tinner.  This  he  continued  until 
1898,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  F.  A.  Sager,  whose 
business  was  so  prosperous  that,  in  1899,  he  added  a 
stock  of  farm  machinery  and  harness.  His  business  in 
1900  amounted  to  $22,000. 

M.  J.  McDonna  operates  a  blacksmith,  wagon  and 
general  repair  and  paint  shop. 

In  1891,  Mr.  W.  R.  Peck  became  owner  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  drug  business  in  the  callage,  and  in  1893 
he  was  appointed  Postmaster,  since  which  time,  not- 
withstanding the  political  changes  in  the  administra- 
tion, he  has  served  the  public  in  both  capacities  to  their 
entire  satisfaction.  ' 

J.  G.  Spicer  &  Son  have,  for  many  years,  been  oper- 
ating a  creamery  about  one  mile  southeast  of  the  vil- 
lage. Of  the  quality  of  the  butter  produced  by  them 
it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that,  at  the  Columbian  Ex- 
position of  1893,  they  secured  the  highest  score  on 
their  four  months'  exhibit,  in  token  of  which  they  have 
a  valuable  medal  and  a  beautiful  diploma — the  high- 
est award  made  to  any  exhibitor  in  this  line.  They 
have  also  carried  ofl:  many  first  prizes  at  State  Fairs 


;;■-■      ^     .''1 


hira    i(;:!;'i;v/  ,[f ji£i!;-i7{0i;[J 


mofll  V 


HAI.I.OCK  ToWNvSHIP  87 

and  otlier  exhibitions  of  like  products.  In  1900  they 
handled  over  800,000  pounds  of  milk,  for  which  they 
paid  over  $8,000.  Their  butter  is  largely  used  on  the 
tables  of  manj^  of  the  leading  families  of  Peoria.  In 
connection  Avith  the  creamery  they  also  have  an  artifi- 
cial iceplant  intended  principally  for  their  own  use 
but  from  which  they  also  supply  the  village  and  sur- 
rounding country  with  ice. 

Edelstein  has  one  liotel  which,  since  1896,  has  been 
carried  on  by  ]\Irs.  L.  Y.  Weber,  who  is  doing  a  suc- 
cessful business. 

The  Knights  of  Pythias  have  a  Lodge,  organized  in 
1892,  which  has  now  a  membership  of  32,  and  ovv'n 
the  two  story  building  known  as  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  Hall. 

The  I\rodern  Woodmen  of  America  have  a  Camp 
organized  in  December,  1892,  which  is  in  a  flourishing 
condition  with  a  membership  of  about  55. 

West  Hallock. — The  hamlet  of  West  Hallock  is 
about  one-half  in  Akron  Township,  opposite  Section  10 
of  Hallock  Township.  It  contains  a  cheese  factory, 
which  has  been  in  operation  for  some  years,  mentioned 
in  the  history  of  the  township  in  which  it  is  located. 
It  also  has  a  good  general  store  and  postoffice,  and 
feed  mill,  blacksmith  and  machine  shop  under  the 
ownership  and  care  of  Mr.  N.  S.  Burdick.  On  an  ad- 
joining lot  Alfred  Tallett  operates  a  woodworking, 
general  wagon  and  repair  shop,  with  a  planing  mill  at- 
tached, deals  in  wind-mills,  pumps,  etc.,  and  does  a 
general  gas  and  steam-fitting  business. 


88  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

Churches 


The  CoBgreofational  Church  at  Lawn  Ridge 
was  organized  by  Kev.  Owen  Lovejoy,  who  was  then  a 
settled  minister  in  Princeton,  IlliDois,  in  Marcli,  1845. 
The  original  members  were  six  in  number,  viz. :  Eben- 
ezer  Stowell  and  wife,  Nathaniel  Smith  and  wife,  and 
Dr.  A.  Wilmot  and  wife.  The  organization  took  place 
in  a  small  brick  school  house  in  Ilallock,  which  had 
been  built  about  seven  years  before.  A  preacher  was 
shortly  afterwards  hired  and,  with  help  from  the 
Home  Mission,  regular  services  were  maintained  until 
about  1848,  when,  owing  to  the  rapid  settling  up  of 
the  prairie  around  Lawn  Ridge,  the  place  of  meeting 
was  transferred  there.  At  first  they  met  in  the  small 
school  house,  and  some  years  later  built  a  small  cuhrch 
which  they  continued  to  occupy  till  about  1876,  when 
the  present  fine  building  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $6,000.  Rev.  J.  H.  Runnells,  is  the  present 
pastor. 

Lawn  Ridge  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — The 
church  which  is  known  as  the  Lawn  Ridge  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  was  built  during  the  summer  of 
1856,  on  the  land  of  David  Shane,  Sr.,  about  three 
miles  south  of  Lawn  Ridge,  and  it  was  dedicated  by 
Rev.  H.  Summers,  under  the  name  of  Mount  Iledding 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  leading  movers  in 
its  erection  were  David  Shane,  Sr.,  Isaac  Weidman, 
and  John  Ferguson.  About  fourteen  years  later,  it 
was  decided  to  move  it  to  Lawn  Ridge,  which  was  done 
in  the  spring  of  1871,  and  the  church  was  rededicated 
July  22,  of  that  year,  under  its  present  name.  It  is  a 
plain,   substantial,   but  well-finished   building,  with  a 


HALI.OCK  Township  89 

seating  capacity   for   over  200  people.     The  present 
pastor  is  D.  C.  Martin. 

Seventh  Day  Baptist  Church. — The  only  church 
in  the  village  of  West  Hallock  is  that  of  the  Seventh 
Day  Baptists.  In  the  year  1845,  Elder  Anthony  Hakes, 
of  Berlin,  New  Yoi'k,  came  to  the  Township,  and  was 
followed,  some  three  years  later,  by  his  brother,  Daniel 
Hakes,  and  John  Simi)Son.  In  due  time  accessions 
were  made  to  their  number,  and  meetings  were  held 
from  house  to  house  until  the  erection  of  the  Academy 
building,  when  it  was  made  their  place  of  worship. 
On  the  3d  day  of  September,  1852,  at  the  house  of 
Elder  Anthony  Hakes,  the  church  was  organized  hy 
Elder  Stillman  Coon,  with  fourteen  constituent  mem- 
bers. Elder  Coon  being  the  first  pastor.  The  society 
grew  yearly  in  numbers,  and,  in  1871,  it  was  found 
expedient  to  erect  a  larger  and  more  comfortable 
building  for  their  sole  use.  The  present  house  was 
accordingl.y  put  up  in  the  summer  of  that  year,  at  a 
cost  of  $5,500,  the  whole  of  which  was  pledged  by 
the  adherents  and  friends  of  the  church  before  any- 
thing was  done  towards  its  construction.  The  build- 
ing is  a  neat  and  substantial  one,  and  can  comfortably 
seat  250  people.  Elder  A.  Hakes  was  the  founder  of 
the  church,  and  for  many  years  preached  to  the  Bap- 
tists at  Union  and  in  the  surrounding  country.  His 
ministration  at  funerals  of  all  sects  and  classes  was 
especially  popular.  He  was  ordained  to  the  gospel 
ministry  in  185G  and  had  charge  of  the  congregation 
for  some  years.  Kev.  R.  B.  Tolbert  is  the  present 
pastor,  who  has  been  with  them  since  November,  ]899. 
A  live  Sabbath  School  and  an  enthusiastic  Young  Peo- 
ple's Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  are  well  main- 
tained each  Sabbath. 


xHv;    t[t:iVf<'    h.i 


90  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

Hallock  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  first 
Methodist  sermon  preached  in  this  district  was  by 
Rev.  Milton  Smith,  a  local  preacher,  about  the  year 
1839,  in  a  log  cabin  which  stood  on  the  site  afterwards 
occupied  by  the  house  of  Isaiah  Nurse,  on  Section  3. 
In  1841  a  two  days'  meeting  was  appointed  to  be 
held  in  the  brick  school  house  then  in  process  of  erec- 
tion at  Ilallock.  From  this  time  forward  regular 
preaching  was  held  every  two  weeks  till  1849,  when 
a  successful  joint  movement  was  made  by  the  IMeth- 
odists  and  Congregationalists  in  the  vicinity  for  the 
erection  of  a  church,  in  the  summer  of  that  year.  Hob- 
ert  "Will  donated  the  land  now^  occupied  by  the  church, 
school  and  graveyard.  The  church  was  used  on  alter- 
nate Sundays  by  the  Methodists  and  Congregation- 
alists, until  the  meeting  place  of  the  latter  body  was 
changed  to  Lawn  Ridge,  and  it  is  now  and  alw^ays  has 
been,  a  free  church,  used  for  the  meetings  of  all  de- 
nominations. The  first  cost  was  about  $800,  and  when 
it  was  finished  and  completely  seated,  some  seven  or 
eight  years  later,  near  $1,200.  It  had  a  seating  capa- 
city of  200.  This  church  having  become  unsafe,  it 
was  decided  by  the  qua«"terly  conference,  held  in  Oc- 
tober, 1897,  to  erect  a  new  one.  A  mass  meeting  of  the 
citizens  was  called ;  N.  L.  Robinson,  A.  M.  Root,  S.  R. 
Stowell,  J.  L.  Root,  J.  S.  Gallup,  Frank  Harlan  and 
H.  II.  Nurse  were  appointed  a  building  committee, 
funds  were  raised  and,  by  the  next  spring,  the  building 
was  commenced  under  the  direction  of  R.  B.  Beebe, 
the  contractor.  It  has  a  seating  capacity  of  250,  cost 
$2,500,  and  was  dedicated  September  4,  1898,  by  Rev. 
F.  W.  Merrill,  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Peoria  district. 
It  is  one  of  the  neatest  churches  in  this  part  of  the 
county.    Rev.  D.  C.  ^lartin  is  the  present  pastor. 


Hai^i^ock  TowNvShip  91 

The  Union  Baptist  Churcli  is  located  at  Union,  on 
Section  26,  and  its  congregation  was  formerly  con- 
nected with  the  Chillicothe  Baptist  Church.  It  was 
organized,  June  19,  1858,  with  thirteen  members,  as 
follows:  Thomas  B.  Keed,  Sanford  Reed,  Amy  Silli- 
man,  Simon  Reed,  Walter  S.  Evans,  Sarah  Kirkpatrick, 
Mary  Baggs,  Francis  Reed,  Nancy  Sprague,  Levi 
Sprague,  C.  Reed  and  Amy  Reed.  In  July  of  the  same 
year,  Elder  Anthony  Hakes  was  chosen  pastor,  and 
preached  once  in  two  weeks.  The  church  was  erected 
immediately  after  the  organization  bj^  the  Methodists 
and  Baptists  of  the  neighborhood  in  common,  and  was, 
in  consequence,  called  the  Union  Church.  It  was 
occupied  by  these  societies  in  common  until  1873,  when 
the  Methodist  interest  was  bought  out  by  the  Baptists 
and  the  building  assumed  its  present  name,  but  no 
regular  services  have  been  held  here  for  some  time. 

The  first  religious  services  in  the  village  of  Ed  el- 
stein  were  held  on  October  21,  1891.  Through  tlie 
efforts  of  P.  M.  Nelson,  President  of  the  Peoria  County 
Sunday  School  Association,  and  Rev.  John  Bliss,  of 
Princeville,  with  a  few  families  in  and  around  the 
village,  a  Sunday  School  was  organized  with  a  full 
corps  of  officers,  Rollin  S.  Houghton,  now  deceased, 
being  Superintendent.  The  Sunday  School  continued 
regularly  with  occasional  preaching  by  Rev.  Stephen 
Biu'dick,  of  the  West  Ilallock  Seventh  Day  Baptist 
Church,  and  Rev.  Charles  E.  ]\rarsh,  of  the  Lawn  Ridge 
Congregational  Church,  until  the  spring  of  1S93,  when 
Rev.  Marsh  commenced  regular  preaching  services  in 
connection  with  the  Sunday  School  until  such  time  as 
a  church  might  be  built,  the  services  being  conducted 
in  the  public  hall.  In  March,  1894,  a  series  of  re- 
vival meetings  were  conducted  by  Rev.  11.  L.  Wanna- 


i.r 


.a     -;Mi..ilT 


J  :''!  1.:  'V  '       CMlM  ,J       ^«;1  J       {;  »j  :    ■  ,1 


:>!■      :!\;;/i;i 


92  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

maker,  of  the  Congregational  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety of  Peoria,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a 
Congregational  Church  composed  of  twenty-seven 
members  coming  from  several  denominations.  Steps 
Avere  at  once  taken  to  secure  money  to  build  a  new 
church.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  August  4,  1894,  and 
tlie  church  dedicated  December  30th  of  the  same  year, 
by  Rev.  James  Tompkins,  of  Chicago,  Rev.  Stephen 
Burdick,  of  West  Ilallock,  and  Rev.  Charles  E.  Marsh, 
of  Lawn  Ridge.  The  church  cost  $2,800,  substantially 
all  paid  before  dedication.  Rev.  Charles  Marsh  was 
the  first  pastor.  He  continued  to  fill  that  position  until 
July,  1900,  when  he  resigned,  since  which  time  sev- 
eral ministers  have  supplied  the  pulpit,  the  present 
one  being  Rev.  R.  B.  Tolbert,  of  West  Hallock.  A 
good  Sunday  School  and  a  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
as  auxiliaries  to  the  church  work,  are  regularly  main- 
tained, both  having  a  good  attendance. 

The  St.  ]\Iatthew's  Catholic  Church  w^as  commenced 
in  the  year  1900  under  the  supervision  of  Rev.  C.  A. 
Hauser,  pastor.  With  the  liberal  donation  left  by  the 
late  Matthew^  McDonald,  the  church  building  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $2,350.  There  are  at  present  about 
thirteen  families  in  connection  with  the  church,  the 
membership  being  about  fifty.  Rev.  C.  A.  Hauser  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  C.  P.  O'Neill,  the  present  pastor. 
The  building  committee  who  superintended  the  erection 
of  the  church  were  John  McDonnell,  ]\lichael  ]\IcDonna 
and  Thomas  Burns. 

Schools 


The  first  school  ever  taught  within  the  present 
bounds  of  the  township  was  located  on  Lewis  Hallock 's 
farm,  and  was  taught  .during  the  winters  of  1829  and 


V 


HALI.OCK  Township  93 

1830,  by  Lucia  Root,  dau^diter  of  Jeriel  Root.  The 
first  school  house  built  in  the  district,  stood  near  Joel 
Ilick's  pkice  on  Section  32.  It  was  erected  in  the  fall 
of  183G,  and  was  removed  about  eight  j^ears  afterwards 
to  tlie  Ilallock  farm.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  town- 
ship a  little  school  was  taught  during  the  summcis  of 
1839  and  1840,  in  a  log  cabin  where  the  house  of 
Isaiah  Nurse  was  afterwards  erected.  Fiducia  Bliss 
w^as  the  teacher.  In  1841  the  first  school  house,  in  what 
is  now  School  District  No.  1,  was  erected.  It  was  18 
feet  square  and  w^as  built  of  brick.  Sarah  Fosdick 
was  among  the  earliest  of  the  teachers.  The  present 
school  house  in  that  district  was  built  in  1850,  and 
stands  near  the  southeast  corner  of  tlie  southv.'cst 
quarter  of  Section  3.  It  is  well  fitted  up  and  can  ac- 
commodate sixty  children.  In  School  District  No.  5, 
the  first  school  was  taught  in  an  old  log  cabin,  v/hi'^ih 
stood  a  little  south  and  east  from  where  0.  ^L  ^filler's 
dwelling  was  afterwards  erected,  and  was  U5:<;d  for 
that  purpose  about  the  year  1851.  Joseph  Gallup  was 
then  its  teacher.  In  1856  the  present  school  hoij>:'i  was 
built.  School  District  No.  6  was  originally  cornponed 
of  portions  of  Peoria,  Stark  and  Marshall  Counti^r-i,  and 
was  reconstructed  with  its  present  limits  in  18f^-0.  It 
was  the  last  school  district  to  be  organized  in  the 
township.  The  first  public  school  was  built  about  1857, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $800,  and,  in  186G,  to  accornr/.o-date 
the  growing  wants  of  the  district,  the  present  «:.'::- ool 
house  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,400. 

In  West  Ilallock  District,  the  structure  now  <j^:':u- 
pied  as  a  public  school  was  erected  in  the  fall  ^J  j'.^O 
as  an  academy,  and  w\as  occupied  as  such  for  ^V/*jt 
five  years,  when  the  district  was  formed  by  a  ^:^^^:i^'^ 
act  of  the  Legislature.     It -then  fell  into  the  h!i,r.':>.  of 


y^.un 


'<  'A  "J"/ 

r  I  [I   .-i.'iti' .  •»! 

'  ■■•  ■■■'      'r\l  t;     :>•;  , -, 


:^f     i^  n 


..    H 


rrl 


94  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

the  School  Trustees,  and  has  since  been  conducted  as 
a  public  school. 

The  school  house  in  District  No.  4  was  erected 
about  1S70,  and  stands  on  Section  32.  It  was  the  first 
school  ill  that  section. 

The  citizens  of  Edelstein,  feeling  the  necessity  of 
better  scliool  privileges  in  the  village  than  they  -would 
have  under  existing  conditions,  the  friends  of  educa- 
tion, after  several  unsuccessful  attempts,  succeeded  in 
1894  in  having  establishel  the  Edelstein  School  District 
No.  7,  and,  in  the  same  year,  erected  a  school  house 
at  the  cost  of  $1,000.  The  Board  of  Directors  then 
consisted  of  J.  G.  Spicer  (President),  E.  E.  Kendall 
and  Thomas  Burns.  Since  then  James  Shane  and  Mr. 
A.  J.  Speers  have  succeeded  Mr.  Kendall.  At  the  time 
of  the  organization  of  the  district  there  were  only 
twenty-three  children  of  school  age;  there  are  now 
89  of  whom  53  are  in  daily  attendance  at  the  school. 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP 

Bv  Napoleon  Ddn'lap 


Loold}!;^  over  the  past  for  a  period  of  sixty  years 
we  are  filled  with  amazement  at  the  changes  that  liave 
taken  place.  Then  the  deer  and  wolves  were  plenty 
and  prairie  chickens  were  common  game.  Steam 
power  was  in  its  infancy,  the  telegraph-  and  the  tele- 
phone were  unknown,  electricity  as  a  mechanical  pow- 
er had  not  been  dreamed  of,  and  weeks,  or  even  months 
were  consumed  in  traveling  a  distance  now  accom- 
plished in  a  few  hours  or  days  at  the  farthest.  Of  this 
the  early  settlers  of  Radnor,  who  came  mostly  from 
New  York,  Massachusetts,  Ohio,  and  other  Eastern 
States,  had  a  rich  experience,  many  of  them  coming 
overland  by  emigrant  wagons,  consuming  weeks  in 
making  the  journey. 

One  of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  first  settler  in  the 
township,  was  Erastus  Peet,  who  came  in  1834.  Ilis 
little  daughter  of  four  years,  having  become  lost,  and 
a  fire  having  swept  over  the  prairie  in  the  night  time, 
she  perished  in  the  flames  and  her  body  was  discovered 
the  next  day.  Robert  Cline  came  in  1835,  from  Oswego 
County,  New  York,  and,  after  remaining  two  years  at 
Hale's  Mill,  settled  on  Section  35,  and  two  years  later 
on  Section  13.  He  was  killed  by  lightning  on  April 
21,  1349.  William  Gifford,  who  came  from  Barnstable, 
Massachusetts,  in  1836,  erected  the  first  frame  house, 
on  the  south  half  of  Section  28.  I\Ioses  Harlan  settled 
on  Section  22  in  the  same  year.  He  was  County  Com- 
missioner in  1838,  and  two  years  in  the  Legislature, 
1838-40.     His  son,  George  B.  Harlan,  settled  on  Sec- 

95 


:(,  .  : \v ,\i   •//■•("i  u 


<    'Ai 


96  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

tion  2  in  1836.  He  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  some 
years  and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  for 
one  or  two  years,  besides  holding:  other  local  offices. 
AVilliam  Knott  settled  on  Section  26  in  the  same  year; 
also  John  L.  Wakefield,  who  came  from  Butler  County, 
Ohio,  to  Peoria  County  in  1834,  but  settled  on  Section 
18  in  Radnor  in  1836.  Aaron  G.  Wilkinson  and  his 
brother,  Abner  Russell,  Calvin  Blake,  Charles,  Richard 
and  George  Wilkins,  Anson  Bushnell  and  his  brothers, 

Horace  and  Alvin,  Thomas  Shaw,  James  and 

his  brother-in-law,  Griffith  Dickinson,  all  came  about 
the  year  1837. 

About  the  same  time  Alva  Dunlap  came  on  a  pros- 
pecting tour  from  Sandy  Creek,  Oneida  County,  New 
York,  and,  having  become  satisfied  ^vith.  the  place, 
returned  the  next  season  (1838)  with  his  family. 
Leaving  his  home  on  the  11th  day  of  August,  w^ith  his 
father  and  mother,  five  children  and  a  sister,  he,  with 
his  brother,  the  writer,  embarked  at  Sackett's  Harbor 
on  a  little  schooner  of  about  one  hundred  tons  for 
Chicago.  Leaving  his  mother  and  sister,  with  a  daugh- 
ter residing  at  Chicago,  for  another  trip,  the  rest  of 
the  party  proceeded  in  w^agons,  which  had  been  pre- 
viously engaged,  arriving  at  their  destination  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  Section  14  on  the  11th  day  of 
October,  and  took  up  quarters  in  a  frame  house,  16x24 
feet,  which  Alva  had  erected  the  preceding  summer 
from  lumber  hauled  from  Hale's  Mill,  then  recently 
erected.  Their  nearest  neighbor  was  an  Englishman 
named  John  Jackson,  a  bachelor  of  about  30 
years,  with  a  lad  of  about  14  years  named  George 
Scholes,  ** keeping  batch"  on  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  Section  15.  Jackson  had  arrived  in  1837 
and  had  broken     part  ^of     his     land,     on     which     he 


jMiii 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP  97  ' 

i 

raised  a  crop  in  1838.  Ira  Smitli,  a  native  of  Hamp- 
den, Maine,  who  had  been  a  sea  captain,  had  also  come 
in  1837,  and  had  paid  Chloe  Case  $50  for  a  chiim  on 
tlie  northeast  quarter  of  Section  3,  which  he  entered 
and  afterw^ards,  in  1849,  sold  to  Adam  Yates  for  $3,000. 
He  was  a  very  worthy  mnn,  an  old-line  Abolitionist, 
and  believed  in  tlie  Golden  Enle.  He  removed  to  ' 
Peoria  and  went  into  the  lumber  trade. 

J.  J.  Hitchcock,  with  his  aged  parents,  had  also 
settled  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  3  In  ]837. 
In  the  winter  of  1838  he  went  Avith  Alva  Dunlap  to  | 

Chicago,  and  assisted  him  in  bringing  the  remainder 
of  the  goods,  together  with  his  mother  and  sister,  to  the 
new^  house.  I 

The  country,  at  that  time,  was  an  unbroken  prairie,  ' 

and  what  houses  there  ^vere  were  scattered  along  the 
streams  and  in  the  edges  of  the  timber.    On  the  larger 
prairies  one  could  travel  a  w^hole  day  without  seeing  a         | 
house.     The  scarcity  of  timber  for  fuel,  fencing  and 
building  purposes  was  a  serious  matter  w^itli  the  early         | 
settlers,  and,  if  one  could  get  hold  of  a  piece  of  timber 
land,  he  w^as  considered  fortunate;  and  woe  to  him 
who  having  secured  one  would  go  off  without  leaving 
some  one  to  guard  it,  for  on  his  return  he  would  likely         I 
find  it  all  stumps.     No  one  thought  lumber  could  be 
shipped  here  in  sufficient  quantities     to     supply  the         ] 
needs  of  these  vast  prairies.     Coal  had  not  yet  been 
developed  to  any  considerable  extent.    Saw^  mills  were 
erected  along  the  streams,  w^iere  there  was  timber  and 
water  with  sufficient  fall  to  obtain  power.     But  the 
lumber  secured  in  that  way  was  very  unsatisfactory 
for  building  purposes.     When  the  Osage  Orange  was 
introduced  for  hedges,  it  w^as  thought  to  be  a  great 
advance  in  the  matter  of  fencing;  but  now,  since  the 


tiKiK  .•■'OV   }i<>''i(Jf>,H 


iM  :;   :);: 


lil     '•[<    i'J    K 


.'  (  '  '  ' 


'    ■•    i'.'.]     •  ;;iTf    .  '' 


I     ;  < :.).  '   •  •  I  ..I 


ri 


•    ,,■•.>.  01^'/   v'f'//    f-  ->-^r  ^oi^r:.,/]   rnilv/    f  " 

1  ■  1  v/-  Vi.f'  •>."■!  ,•■'    t;   ■■'■•(:,•   III'   r>    'il<)  >;' 


98  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

inlroductioii  of  barbed  wire,  the  Osage  Orange  is  uo 
loijger  planted  and  farmers  would  be  glad  to  be  rid  of 
what  they  have.  Jonathan  Brassfield  took  two  loads 
of  wheat  to  Chicago  and  brought  back  finishing  lum- 
ber. Several  others  tried  the  same  experiment,  but 
no  one  went  the  second  time.  When  the  canal  was 
opened  in  1848  it  brought  great  relief  to  those  living 
within  reach  of  the  river.  Timber  is  much  more  plejiti- 
ful  now  than  it  was  sixty  years  ago.  Then  it  was  short 
and  scrubby  on  account  of  the  fires ;  after  that  was 
cut  off  and  the  fires  kept  away  from  the  new  growth 
it  became  thrifty.  Coal  became  the  principal  fuel  and 
the  inhabitants  ceased,  in  a  great  measure,  the  use 
of  w^ood  for  either  fuel  or  fencing.  But  for  the  last 
few  years  many  prefer  to  have  the  land  for  farmii. 
purposes,  and  are  cutting  off  the  timber,  selling  th 
wood  so  cheaply  that  the  people  are  again  using  i 
for  fuel. 

As  the  population  increased  the  deer  disappeared_ 
but  the  wolves  remained  and  are  not  yet  entirely  ex- 
tinct, an  occasional  one  venturing  out  from  its  hiding 
place.  As  corn  fields  increased  the  prairie  chickens 
also  increased,  for  a  time  into  large  flocks,  and  became 
very  destructive  to  the  corn,  Avliich,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  country,  was  left  in  the  field  over  winter ; 
but  w^ien  the  prairies  had  become  settled  up  and  their 
nesting  places  invaded,  thej^  began  to  decrease  in 
numbers  until  now  tliey  are  nearly  extinct.  The  rattle- 
snake was  a  common  pest  in  breaking  up  the  native 
sod,  and  was  often  encountered  by  the  plowman.  They 
were  not  considered  dangerous,  as  they  made  their 
presence  known  by  their  rattle  and  were  easily  dis- 
posed of.  Cattle  instinctively  avoided  them,  but  were 
sometimes  bitten  by  them,  which  caused  severe  swell- 


to  I-,-'^    f^Mlh-3  -I*:. 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP  93 

ings,  but  seldom,  if  ever,   death.     They  disappeared 
when  the  land  became  cultivated. 

After  the  opening  of  the  canal,  pine  Ininber  in  quan- 
tities began  to  make  its  appearance,  the  coal  banks 
began  to  supply  fuel  and  the  people  began  to  lose  their 
fear  of  settling  upon  the  broad  prairies.  The  big 
prairie  team,  with  four  or  five  yoke  of  oxen  and  the 
huge  breaking  plow,  rapidly  turned  over  the  native 
sod;  houses  rapidly  sprang  up  in  all  directions  and  a 
wave  of  prosperity  seemed  to  have  struck  the  country. 
The  light  steel  plow  introduced  by  Tobey  8z  Anderson, 
of  Peoria,  took  the  place  of  the  wooden  moldboard  and 
heavy  cast-iron  plow  brought  from  the  East.  The 
reaper  took  the  place  of  back-breaking  cradle;  the 
Brown  corn-planter  did  away  with  planting  by  hand; 
the  thresher,  with  its  simple  cylinder  throwing  straw, 
ctaff  and  grain  out  together,  displaced  the  flail  and 
the  tramping-floor,  only  to  be  displaced  in  its  turn  by 
the  separator,  which  also  took  the  place  of  the  Nurse 
or  Proctor  fanning-mill  formerly  in  use;  the  single 
shovel-plow,  doing  duty  with  one  horse  traveling  first 
upon  one  side  of  the  row  and  back  on  the  other,  was 
superseded  by  the  two-horse  riding  or  walking  culti- 
vators. The  complete  outfit  for  husking  corn  was  one 
team,  two  men  and  a  boy  taking  five  rows,  the  team, 
and  wagon  treading  down  the  middle  one,  which  w^as 
the  boy's  share  to  pick  up. 

The  first  reaping  machine  known  in  Jvadnor — and 
perhai)s  in  the  county — was  owned  by  Alva  Dunlap, 
and  was  built  by  George  Greenwood  of  Peoria.  It  was 
so  constructed  as  to  throw  the  cut  grain  directly  back 
the  width  of  swath,  which  had  to  be  bound  up  before 
the  next  swath  could  be  cut.  It  did  clean  work  and 
he  used  it  for  several  yeavs  in  cutting  his  own  and  his 


oilT 


')t\ 


100  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

neighbor's  grain.  It  was  built  about  the  year  1846, 
only  seven  years  after  Cj^'us  II.  McCormick  gave  the 
first  exhibition  of  his  reaper  on  the  farm  of  Joseph 
Smith,  in  Augusta  County,  Virginia.  The  next  was  a 
McCoriJiie.k — the  grain  being  raked  off  on  one  side. 
This  was  followed,  in  a  few  years,  by  the  self-ralcev, 
and  in  about  tAventy  years  by  the  self-binder. 
Through  these  improvements  the  hard  labor  of  eight 
men  was  done  awaj^  with,  and  the  women  of  the  house- 
hold were  relieved  of  the  labor  of  boarding  a  large 
number  of  men  during  the  heat  of  the  harvest  time. 
Before  that  time  harvest  hands  would  begin  in  the 
South,  where  the  season  was  earlier,  and  work  their 
way  northward  as  the  grain  ripened.  These  traveling 
men  were  thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  self-bind- 
ing reaper. 

About  the  year  1839  experiments  were  made  by 
Aaron  Bushnell,  J,  J.  Hitchcock  and  Alva  Dunlap  in 
making  sod  fences,  consisting  of  a  ditch  two  and  a 
half  feet  w^ide  by  the  same  in  depth,  and  an  embank- 
ment on  the  side  protected  by  the  sods  cut  from  the 
ditch.  But  the  theory  would  not  hold  good  in  practice, 
for  the  cattle,  getting  into  the  ditch,  would  have  a  fine 
frolic  in  tossing  the  sods  out  of  the  place  with  their 
horns  and  so  destrojdng  the  fence. 

One  of  the  serious  problems  with  the  farmers  was 
to  get  their  products  to  market.  In  the  spring  of 
1841  John  Jackson  built  two  flat-boats  and  loaded 
them  wdth  ear-corn  and  bacon,  for  the  purpose  of 
coasting  along  the  Mississippi  and  selling  to  the 
planters  and  negroes.  As  was  customary,  they  were 
floated  with  the  current.  They  had  long  sweeps  or  oars 
to  guide  them  and  keep  them  off  the  snags.  To  build 
them  two  large  trees  would  be  found  (generally  hack- 


-^■>-:- 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP  101 

berry),  which  were  hewn  flat  for  the  sides,  and  planks 
spiked  on  the  bottom,  the  ends  sloped  like  a  scow.  The 
roof,  or  deck,  was  made  of  boards  sawed  thin  enough 
to  bend  across  the  boat,  and  thus  make  an  arched 
roof.  The  crews  of  these  famous  boats  w^ere  John 
Jackson,  Elisha  Barker,  John  Peet,  Warren  Hale,  Wil- 
liam Harlan  and  Napoleon  Dunlap.  The  two  latter 
went  as  far  as  Natchez,  but,  concluding  they  had  had 
enough  of  the  life  of  boatmen,  they  begged  oif  and  re- 
turned by  steamer,  w^orking  their  way  by  helping  to 
take  on  wood  at  the  wood-yards  along  the  way. 

The  first  election  in  Radnor  w^as  held  at  the  house 
of  Alva  Dunlap  in  1842.  It  was  then  Benton  Precinct, 
composed  of  Radnor  and  Kickapoo  Townships.  An  elec- 
tion had  previously  been  held  in  the  woods  in  Kicka- 
poo, north  of  wiiere  the  village  now  is.  At  this  elec- 
tion in  Radnor,  Smith  Dunlap,  father  of  the  writer, 
w^as  elected  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  continued  to 
serve  in  that  capacity  until  the  adoption  of  township 
organization.  The  first  annual  town  meeting  of  the 
Town  of  Benton  (afterward  named  Radnor)  w^as  held 
at  the  residence  of  Jonathan  Brassfield.  Alva  Dunlap 
w^as  chosen  JModerator  and  Nathaniel  T.  A.  Shaw, 
Clerk;  Jonathan  Brassfield  w^as  elected  Supervisor; 
Nathaniel  T.  A.  Shaw,  Town  Clerk;  Lewis  Harlan,  As- 
sessor; Jonathan  Brassfield,  Griffith  Dickinson  and 
William  Wilkinson,  Commissioners  of  Highways;  Phin- 
eas  R.  Wilkinson,  Collector ;  Dorennes  Shaw,  Overseer 
of  the  Poor;  George  B.  Harlan  and  Smith  Dunlap, 
Justices  of  the  Peace;  John  M.  Hendricks  and  Phineas 
R.  Wilkinson,  Constables.  Fifteen  dollars  were  ap- 
propriated for  contingent  exi^enses  and  fifty  dollars 
for  road  purposes. 


1«^    'v^hv.i.-T. 


102  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

The  only  Post  Office  in  the  toAvnship  before  the 
building  of  the  l\ock  Island  and  Peoria  Railroad,  was 
kept  by  Enoch  Huggins  on  Section  35.  The  mail  was 
carried  from  Peoria  three  times  a  week.  This  office  did 
not  continue  long.  There  was  a  mail-route  from  Peoria 
by  way  of  LaFayette,  through  ]\Iedina  and  Akron, 
but  most  of  the  people  received  their  mail  at  Peoria 
until  the  building  of  the  railroad.  In  the  first  settle- 
ment of  the  country  the  wagon-road  took  a  straight 
course  from  Mt.  Ilawley  to  Princeville;  but,  as  the 
prairie  became  settled,  every  one  would  turn  the  tra- 
vel around  his  own  land,  but  was  anxious  to  have  it 
go  straight  through  his  neighbor's.  An  attempt  was 
once  made  to  open  up  a  State  Road  from  Peoria  to 
Rock  Island,  but  the  opposition  to  its  going  diagonally 
through  the  farms  was  so  great  it  had  to  be  given  up. 

Mavy  J.  Peet,  who  was  burned  to  death  on  the 
prairie,  was  the  first  person  to  die  in  the  township,  and 
Henry  IMartin  the  next,  on  November  10,  1836.  John 
Harlan  was  the  first  child  born,  October,  1836,  and  died 
February  1,  1847. 

The  first  school  was  taught  in  the  summer 
of  1840,  by  Miss  E.  R.  Dunlap,  in  a  little  frame  house 
built  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  13  in  1837 
by  a  man  who  committed  suicide,  and  it  w^as  never  oc- 
cupied except  for  schools  or  other  public  purposes. 
Horace  Bushnell  taught  a  singing  school  in  it  the  same 
summer.  The  next  summer  ]\Iiss  Duiilap  taught  in 
another  vacant  log  house  on  the  northwest  quarter 
of  Section  13.  The  first  attempt  to  organize  the 
school  system  was  in  December,  1841.  Charles  Ket- 
telle.  School  Commissioner,  then  surveyed  and  laid 
off  the  School  Section  (16)  into  fortj^-'acre  lots,  and 
had  them  appraised  alid  offered  for  sale.     Cyrus  W. 


I. 


hI)   .u;   ;'r.r.;,   ol   homifd   .'iFi/;   o.Mv/   ,roo-i    A.  'OJuVl 


,-  j  ■• 


I  *mI\  y. i'- 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP  103 

Pratt  bid  off  three  of  these  lots  for  $170.  He  made 
no  payments,  but  gave  a  mortgage  for  the  price  with 
interest  at  tw^elve  per  cent.  After  making  two  or 
three  payments  of  interest  he  failed  to  make  any  more 
and  the  land  reverted.  About  the  same  time  trustees 
were  appointed  nnd  Peter  Auten  was  made  the  first 
School  Treasurer.  At  their  first  meeting,  April  4, 
1842,  the}'  laid  off  the  town  into  six  districts  and  re- 
solved that,  inasmuch  as  the  money  in  the  treasury 
was  depreciated  paper  of  the  State  bank,  and  believ- 
ing that  it  would  recover  its  former  value,  the  Treas- 
urer should  loan  the  same  at  par  wdth  interest  at 
twelve  per  cent — conditioned  that  money  of  the  same 
bank  might  be  received  in  paj^ment  of  the  loans. 

The  same  winter,  or  in  the  early  spring,  a  log 
school  house  w^as  built  on  Section  15,  in  which  Anna 
McKnight  and  Sarah  D.  Sanford  taught,  and  AViUiam 
Gifford  in  the  Avinter  of  1843.  The  school  house  was 
then  moved  to  Section  22,  on  the  wood-lot  now  owned 
by  George  B.  Taylor.  This  w^as  as  near  the  center  of 
the  town  as  the  condition  of  the  ground  w^ould  per- 
mit. Within  a  radius  of  two  miles  there  were  ten  or 
twelve  large  families.  They  were  in  the  woods  or 
near  the  edgie  of  the  timber.  Their  cultivated  fields 
were  along  the  Kickapoo  bottoms  or  near  the  edge 
of  the  prairies — the  object  at  that  time  being  to  get 
wdiere  they  Avould  be  sure  of  having  timber.  There 
was  much  strife  in  locating  the  school  houses,  and  they 
were  frequently  moved  to  get  them  to  the  most  central 
point.  In  1842  there  w^re  three  school  houses  built ; 
the  one  just  mentioned,  a  small  frame  on  Section  2, 
and  a  log  one  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  Section  1. 
The  first  teacher  in  the  last  named  was  Catharine  J. 
Jamison,  who  began  on  ^lay  10,  1842,  her  school  con- 


104  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

sisting  of  seven  Blakesleys,  five  Wakcfields,  four  Clia- 
piiis,  three  -Van  Camps,  two  Gordons,  two  Rogerses, 
one  each  of  Hall,  GiJkinson,  Hatfield  and  Slaughter. 
The  Directors  who  signed  her  cei'tificate  were  Parley 
E.  Blakesley  and  Joseph  Chapin.  The  next  term  was 
taugljl  by  Deborah  Ij.  Woodbury,  the  same  year.  In 
1843.  a  man  by  the  name  of  Elisha  Barker  taught  in  a 
log  school  house  on  Section  22,  built  in  1842.  In  the 
winter  of  1843-44  "William  Gifford  taught  in  the  same 
house. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1842  a  small  frame  school 
house  was  built  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  Section 
2  by  voluntarj^  labor,  of  lumber  sawed  at  the  mill  of 
Robert  Bette's  and  William  Bruzee  on  the  creek  in 
Section  23,  a  dry  place  now  for  a  saw^-mill.  Miss  Mar- 
garet Artman  taught  there  in  1842,  her  patrons  being 
Ira  Smith,  J.  J.  Hitchcock,  Anson  Bushnell  and  his 
sons  Alvan  and  Horace,  Samuel  and  William  Secly, 

William  Moore,  0.  L.  Nelson,  Ira  Hitchcock  and 

Goodell. 

At  the  January  (1843)  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  schedules  of  the  following  teachers  were 
approved  and  the  Treasurer  ordered  to  pay  them 
their  respective  shares  of  the  interest  arising  from 
the  School,  College  and  Seminary  Fund,  viz.:  District 
No.  1,  i\Iargaret  Artman;  District  No.  2,  Catharine  J. 
Jamison  and  Deborah  L.  Woodbury;  No.  3,  Anna  Mc- 
Kniglit,  Sarah  D.  Sanford  and  William  Gifford,  Jr. 
William  Gifford  received  for  three  months,  $40;  Deb- 
orah L.  Woodbury,  for  two  months,  $10.50 ;  Catharine 
J.  Jamison,  for  two  months,  $10;  E.  B.  Dunlap,  for 
three  months,  $24.  The  custom  was  to  "board 
around." 


•jc?     .t  ,!•,     ;  )''■>    7  ",,:, 


is') 


.'f<)(n>l     V 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP  105 

The  office  of  Trustee  having  now  become  elective, 
Griffith  Dickinson,  Horace  Bushuoll,  Joseph  Chapin, 
Jonathan  Brassfield  and  Nelson  Bristol  were  the  first 
to  be  elected,  Trustees  before  then  having  been  ap- 
pointed. 

A  new  valuation  of  the  lands  was  made  in  1845, 
when  all  the  lots  except  four  were  valued  at  $1.25 
per  acre,  two  of  the  others  at  $1.50,  and  one  each  at 
$1.75  and  $2.00.  Between  that  time  and  IMay  22, 
1847,  they  were  sold  at  various  prices,  realizing,  in 
the  aggregate,  $1,471.10. 

No  sooner  was  the  free-school  law  in  operation  than 
the  Trustees  began  to  act  under  it.  On  April  2G, 
1855,  they  ordered  the  Treasurer  to  levj^  a  tax  of  ten 
cents  on  the  hundred  dollars  for  general  school  pur- 
poses, and  five  cents  for  paying  teachers  and  extending 
terms  of  school.  The  valuation  of  real  estate  for  1854 
was  $141,430,  and  of  personal  property  $54,592 ;  total, 
$196,022.  This  was  the  first  attempt  to  sustain  free 
schools  by  taxation. 

The  Village  of  Dunlap  was  laid  out  on  June  12, 
1871,  on  Section  11,  by  Alva  Dunlap.  Dr.  John  Gil- 
lette erected  the  first  building  in  1871.  It  stands  op- 
posite the  railroad  depot,  and  is  noAV  owned  by  B.  C. 
Dunlap.  It  is  a  thriving  village  of  three  hundred  in- 
habitants and  is  situated  on  the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria 
Railroad.  It  has  six  stores,  tAvo  grain  elevators,  three 
churches  and  an  Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  and  a  graded  pub- 
lic school  building,  erected  in  1899  at  a  cost  of  $4,000. 
District  No.  4,  in  which  it  is  situated,  has  one  hundred 
children  of  school  age,  of  whom  over  eighty  were  in 
attendance  in  1899. 

The  history  of  Prospect  Presbyterian  Church,  now 
located  at  Dunlap,  furnished  one  of  the  marked  fea- 


?-./=•.  v^ 


'r»'!T      .Mi  U'^IJ,'. 


106  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

tiires,  not  only  of  Kaclnor  Township,  hnt  of  Peoria 
County.  In  the  year  1848  and  1849,  a  number  of  fami- 
lies from  the  Pan-Handle  section  of  what  is  now  the 
State  of  West  Virginia,  settled  in  the  townships  of 
Akron  and  Radnor,  and  at  first  connected  themselves 
with  the  church  at  Princeville;  but,  owing  to  the  dis- 
tance of  four  to  nine  miles,  and  the  fact  that  others 
were  following  them  from  their  old  home  in  the  East, 
they  decided  to  ask  the  Presbytery  for  a  separate  or- 
ganization, which  request  was  granted.  Rev.  Addison 
Coffee  of  Peoria,  Rev.  Robert  Breese  of  Princeville, 
and  Elder  Henry  Schneble}^  of  Peoria,  as  a  committee 
of  Presbytery,  met  the  congregation  on  June  8,  1850, 
in  the  school  house,  where  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  worship,  when  the  new  church  was  organized  with 
fifteen  members,  namely:  From  the  Princeville 
Church,  Joseph  Yates,  Sr.,  and  JMary  his  wife,  John 
Yates,  Sr.,  and  Eleanor  his  wife,  Samuel  Keadj^  and 
Eleanor  his  wife,  Thomas  Yates  and  ]\Iary  his  wnfe, 
John  Hervey  and  Sarah  his  wife,  and  Mrs.  Margaretta 
Yates ;  from  the  Church  of  West  Alexandria,  Pennsyl- 
vania, David  G.  Hervey  and  Jane  his  wife ;  and  from 
the  Church  of  West  Liberty,  Virginia,  Adam  Yates 
and  Sarah  his  wife.  Their  first  house  of  worship 
was  a  frame  building,  36x48  feet,  costing  $1,400, 
erected  on  a  lot  containing  about  seven  acres  donated 
by  Adam  Yates,  was  dedicated  in  June,  1854.  When 
the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  Railroad  was  built,  and  the 
village  of  Dunlap  w^as  laid  out  one  mile  south  of  the 
location  of  the  church,  the  meeting  place  was  removed 
to  the  village  and  a  new  church  edifice  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $5,100.  The  lots  on  w^hich  the  church  stands 
are  150  feet  square.  The  old  church  was  torn  down 
and  the  land  on  which  it  stood  added  to  the  church 


•to 


r'.Ilf, 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP  107 

cemetery  and  the  same  is  now  known  as  Prospect  Cem- 
etery. In  1S67  a  parsonage  was  purchased  at  a  cost 
of  $3,000;  but  in  1878  it  was  sold  and  a  new  parson- 
age erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,700  on  lots  100x150  feet 
adjacent  to  the  village,  donated  by  David  G.  Ilervey. 
The  following  are  the  names  and  dates  of  pastorates 
of  those  who  have  served  the  congregation:  Rev. 
David  Hervey  (stated  suppl}^?  1850-51;  Rev.  John 
Turbitt,  1853-55;  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Smith  (stated  sup- 
ply), 1856-57;  Rev.  George  Cairns,  1858-G3;  Rev.  J.  A. 
E.  Simpson  (stated  supply),  1864-GG;  Rev.  A.  S.  Gard- 
ner, 1866-71;  Rev.  John  Winn,  1872-77;  Rev.  Silas 
Cooke,  1877-90;  Rev.  H.  Y.  D.  Nevius,  D,  D.  (supply), 
1891-92;  Rev.  Harry  Smith,  1893-96;  Rev.  R.  C.  Town- 
send,.  1896  to  the  present  time  (1902). 

Besides  these  the  congregation  was  served  for 
short  periods  by  Rev.  Robt.  R.  Breese  and  Rev.  James 
K.  Large.  Two  died  in  the  service:  Rev.  James  K. 
Large,  March  18,  1858,  and  Rev.  George  Cairns,  June 
25,  1863.  Their  remains  repose  side  by  side  in  Pros- 
pect Cemetery ;  and  near  by  is  the  grave  of  Mrs.  j\Iary 
Winn,  wife  of  Rev.  John  Winn,  the  pastor,  and  daugh- 
ter of  ]\Irs.  Phoebe  Hinsdale  Brown,  the  author  of 
that  exquisite  hymn, 

**I  love  to  steal  awhile  away,''  etc. 

Mrs.-  Brown  died  at  Henry,  Illinois,  October  10, 
1861. 

The  spiritual  power  wiiieh  this  church  has  exerted 
cannot  be  better  shown  than  in  the  number  of  its 
members  who  have  gone  into  the  ministry,  including 
the  following:  Rev.  George  Dunlap,  1875;  Rev.  Thom- 
as C.  Winn,  Missionary  to  Japan ;  Rev.  William  Jones, 
California;  William  Y.  Jones,  the  son  of  the  latter, 


[      '> 


'JM  i   :ij 


L       f. 


....... IK  I, 


.J.    -.^T 


-1' 


108  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

Missionary  to  Japan;  William  Ayling,  Kansas;  Min- 
ister of  the  United  Brethren  denomination;  Franklin 
Brown,  Idaho — six  in  all. 

From  Jnne  8th,  to  10th,  1900,  this  chnrch  cele- 
brated its  semi-centennial  anniversary  in  a  series  of 
exercises  of  the  most  interesting  character,  a  full  ac- 
count of  which  has  been  published  in  a  small  pamphlet 
of  seventy-four  pages.  This  x)^iblication,  abounding  as 
it  does  in  rich  historical  facts  and  sprightly  remin- 
iscences, is  worthy  of  a  permanent  place  in  the  his- 
torical relics  of  the  county. 

The  IMethodists  held  services  in  this  township  as 
early  as  1840.  Before  there  were  any  school  houses 
the  circuit  riders  held  meetings  at  private  houses. 
Their  first  church  was  built  in  the  year  1860,  about  one 
mile  w^est  of  where  the  village  of  Alta  now  is.  It  was 
called  Glcndale  Church.  Its  principal  members  were 
Wesley  Smalley  and  Geo.  Divilbiss.  In  its  pastoral  rela- 
tions it  was  connected  with  Kickapoo  and  ]\Iount  Iled- 
ding,  in  Hallock.  After  the  village  of  Alta  was  laid 
out,  the  church  was  moved  to  that  place,  which  is  sit- 
uated in  Medina  Township,  the  pastor  making  his 
home  in  Kickapoo. 

In  1885  the  church  was  built  in  Dunlap  under  the 
direction  of  the  Rev.  Webber,  and  the  pastoral  resi- 
dence was  changed  to  Dunlap.  The  church  at  Dun- 
lap  still  remains  in  connection  Avith  the  church  at 
Alta.    It  has  a  membership  of  about  one  hundred. 

In  the  year  1865  the  Methodists  built  a  church 
called  the  ''Salem  Church,"  on  the  northwest  quarter 
of  Section  16,  near  the  school  house.  The  leading 
members  of  this  church  organization  were  AVesley 
Strain,  A.  J.  Gordon  and  John  Jackson.  After  ten  or 
fifteen  years  it  was  abandoned  for  want  of  support  on 


-    -J   I'-j  J     .   .'  V  ;•  ■••:;■■•■■                           I,    i."'  '.^:U  ^•»-  >- 

,  :                 •'  'f/o'' 

■  yi     :-.  7'..  :i   •;)!/.  V:  M^.:Miv 

'      [  ^  j;7/   j^JiA  lo  o>ii5ui7   :-f{t    i^/ilA  be  f hill  iri  , 


» «  r  Fi- 

ll    ■■•.;":,;  1 !     I  I  ; :  •  .■  i  i  M 


RADNOR  TOWNSHIP  109 

account  of  removals  and  deatJis.  The  house  was  soM 
and  another  built  on  Section  18,  near  the  line  of  Ju- 
bilee Township,  called  Zion  Church,  which  is  now  con- 
nected with  Kickapoo  in  its  pastoral  relations.  The 
leaders  in  starting  this  church  were  William  Rowcliffe 
and  Daniel  Oorbett.     The  membership  is  small. 

The  Catholics  have  a  strong  church  in  Radnor, 
called  the  St.  Rose  Catholic  Church.  Their  church 
edifice  w\as  erected  in  the  fall  of  1879  by  John  Horine. 
The  congregation  contains  many  of  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  the  place. 


II' 


'  'Ii'A{  'j: 


ESSEX  TOWNSHIP. 


Mr.  Isaac  B.  Essex,  in  whose  honor  this  division  of 
Stark  County  was  named,  settled  here  in  1829,  re?nov- 
ing  in  that  year  from  Ft.  Clark,  now  the  City  of  Peoria, 
where  he  had  taught  school  the  preceding  winter.  The 
whole  of  what  is  now  Stark  County  was  then  a  wil- 
derness, and  the  forest  presented  its  huge  trees  with- 
out underbrush,  with  Indian  trails  stretching  out  in 
every  direction.  The  Indians  left  Spoon  River  and 
Indian  Creek  soon  after  this  and  moved  some  miles 
v/estward,  returning  later  for  a  few  years. 

Isaac  Essex  built  a  cabin  on  the  south  eighty  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  Section  15.  In  due  course  of  time 
other  settlers  came  and  located  farther  up  Spoon 
River,  as  the  streams  and  timber  were  then  considered 
the  most  desirable  portion  of  the  countr3^  A  little 
to  the  east  of  him  were  Greeley  Smith  and  his  father, 
who  came  from  Ohio  in  1830.  Next  w^as  J.  C.  Owens, 
the  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  county,  living  on 
what  is  now  the  Edgar  Miller  farm  (1906).  Benja- 
min Smith  and  Major  Silliman  were  also  close  by. 
Farther  up  the  river  in  turn  were  Thomas  Essex, 
David  Cooper  and  Coonrad  Leak.  Still  farther  on 
was  old  man  Leak  who  built  a  saw  and  grist  mill 
on  Si)Oon  River  soutliwest  of  Wyoming,  "where  you 
could  get  your  clapboards  sawed,  corn  cracked  and 
wheat  mashed."  A  freshet  in  1836  washed  the  mill 
away,  but  traces  of  it  could  be  seen  within  a  few  j^ears. 
Still  up  the  river  were  Sylvanus  Moore,  on  the  place 
long  known  as  the  General  Thomas  homestead;  also 

110 


t).  ,o:,.<-    bun   'f'.iA.i   •i'<rtr    n  ^-^   >l-)C^-:  ^ 


'>•;"..  ,7    'Uiii    b)  .' 


ESSEX  TOWNSHIP  111 

Jesse  Heath  who  kept  a  little  store  near  by,  and  John 
Dodge.  Up  and  west  of  here,  near  the  Methodist  camp 
grounds,  lived  AVesley  and  Peter  Miner,  and  a  little 
northwest  of  Wyoming,  Samuel  Seeley. 

Starting  west  of  here  on  Indian  Creek  and  following 
the  course  of  that  stream  towai-d  the  south  wore  Sam- 
uel Merrill,  Major  McClennehnn,  Stephen  Worley  and 
Benjamin  Essex.  Henry  White  lived  on  what  is  known 
as  the  Peter  Sheets  or  A.  J.  Simmerman  farm,  and 
John  ]\Iarrow  on  the  James  Ballentine  farm  (now 
owned  by  A.  J.  Scott).  Charles  Pierce  and  Thomas 
Winn  were  others,  the  latter  building  a  cabin  in  1834 
in  the  old  Spoon  River  fort  on  Section  16.  Jarville 
Chaffee  came  here  from  Michigan  in  May,  1834. 
Thinking  to  get  up  something  extra  he  split  the  logs, 
whitewashed  the  inside  and  had  an  upstairs,  reached 
by  a  ladder.  This  was  the  entire  settlement  on  Spoon 
River  and  Indian  Creek  from  1829  to  i\ray,  1834.  L)r. 
Ellsworth  came  from  Ohio  in  the  fall  of  1834,  and 
was  the  first  practicing  physician  in  the  county.  Henry 
Colwell  came  from  Ohio  in  1837,  and  w^as  the  first  stock 
auctioneer  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Essex,  as  soon  as  there  were  a  few  neighbors, 
had  been  appointed  postmaster,  and  the  first  within 
the  present  limits  of  Stark  County,  the  office  being 
called  Essex.  In  1834-5  there  was  a  weekly  mail 
route  established  from  Springfield  via  Peoria  to  Ga- 
lena. This  route  ran  along  the  bluffs  of  the  Illinois 
Piver  above  Peoria  up  to  Hennepin,  to  Dixon  and  on  to 
Galena.  Upon  this  the  early  settlers  were  entirely 
dependent  for  their  mail  matter.  There  was  some  sort 
of  an  office,  or  ''hole  in  the  bluftV'  3^^^^  below  the 
present  town  of  Northampton-  in  Peoria  County,  and 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Hicks  was  postmaster.     From 


ar 


iA,^   . 


112  TOWNSHIP  HISTORIES 

this  office  under  the  bluff  the  mail  was  carried  on  the 
volunteer  sj'stem,  the  settlers  taking  turns  at  carry- 
ing it  once  a  week.  It  was  usually  carried  in  a  meal 
bag  and  could  have  been  in  the  crown  of  a  man's  hat. 
** Galena  Miner"  (as  Mr.  Harris  Miner  was  often 
called),  generally  carried  it  on  foot.  The  Essex  of- 
fice at  this  time  was  an  old  boot  box,  set  up  on  pins 
driven  into  the  wall,  high  and  dry,  and  above  the 
reach  of  children  in  the  cabin  of  Mr.  Essex.  In  1833 
oiilj'^  two  newspapers  were  taken  in  the  county,  one 
by  Mr.  Essex  and  the  other  by  Benjamin  Smith.  At 
this  date  two  weeks  were  required  to  get  a  paper  from 
Springfield,  and  a  proportionately  longer  time  to  get 
intelligence  from  "Washington.  This  office  was  trans- 
ferred to  Wyoming  in  1839,  where  William  Godley  was 
appointed  postmaster.  A  number  of  Pennsjdvania 
families  had  settled  there,  and  while  they  did  not  care 
especially  for  the  county  seat,  they  did  want  the  post- 
office.  The  coming  of  the  railroad  (now  the  C,  B.  & 
Q.)  brought  with  it  the  village  of  Duncan  and  with  the 
village  returned  the  postoffice.  In  addition  to  Dun- 
can and  part  of  Wyoming,  Slackwater  and  Stringtown 
had  up  to  this  time  formed  the  leading  settlements 
of  the  township.  Moulton  on  its  northern  border  and 
Massilon  on  its  western  border  long  since  passed  away 
and  their  sites  were  plowed  over  by  the  modern  hus- 
bandman. 

In  1832-3  the  question  of  establishing  a  school  in 
the  Essex  settlement  was  brought  before  the  legislature 
and  on  March  1,  1833,  an  act  was  approved  creating 
Isaac  Essex  commissioner  of  the  school  fund  and  au- 
thorizing him  to  sell  Section  16.  On  February  4,  1834, 
this  section  was  sold  for  $968.70.  The  day  prior  to  this 
sale,     the     voters     assembled  at  the  Essex  cabin  and 


f :!::".} 


0  v/  i 


KSSEX   TOWNSHIP  113 

elected  Sylvaiins  IMoore,  Greenleaf  Smith  and  Benja- 
min Smith,  trustees.  I\Ioscs  Boardman  was  elected 
in  1835.  Madison  "Winn  in  his  paper  of  1886,  says: 
*'0n  the  fourtli  day  of  July,  1834,  the  people  came  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  building  a  school  house. 
The  site  chosen  was  near  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  Section  15,  in  Essex  Township. 
The  building  was  i)]anned  to  be  twenty  feet  square, 
and  all  went  to  work  with  a  will,  some  cutting,  some 
hauling,  some  making  clapboards,  and  others  build- 
ing. By  noon  it  was  built  up  w^aist  high;  and  there 
coming  a  showier,  we  arranged  the  clapboards  over  the 
wall  and  underneath  ate  our  Fourth  of  July  dinner. 
The  first  day  the  walls  were  built  up  to  the  roof,  which 
was  soon  covered,  and  from  Leak's  mill  slabs  were 
brought  for  seats.  A  post  w^as  driven  into  the  ground 
and  a  slab  laid  on  it  for  a  teacher's  desk,  while  mother 
earth  was  the  floor.  Adam  Perry  commenced  school 
about  July  15th,  with  about  thirty  scholars.  (This 
Perry  received  $55.50  for  teaching  the  winter  school 
of  1834-5  for  three  months.  Sabrina  Chatfield,  later 
Mrs.  Ililliard,  received  $13.00  for  a  three  months'  sum- 
mer school  in  1835,  and  Mary  Lake  $6.34  1-4  for  six 
weeks'  teaching  during  the  fall  term.)  In  the  fall  the 
house  was  finished — a  floor  put  in  above  and  below, 
three  windows  sawed  out,  the  east  one  having  a  light 
of  glass  in  it,  the  other  two  covered  with  cloth,  cracks 
plastered  up  with  yellow  clay,  holes  bored  in  the  walls 
in  which  pins  were  inserted  and  slabs  laid  on  for  desks, 
and  a  sod  chimney  built.  Sabrina  Chatfield,  better 
known  as  Grandmother  Ililliard,  of  Lafayette,  now 
taught,  and  was  the  first  female  teacher  conducting 
a  school  in  the  county.  Next  were  Jesse  W.  Heath, 
Mary  Lake,   Joseph   R.   Newton,   "William   Samis   and 


114  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

James  Dalrj^mple.  At  the  close  of  IMr.  Dalryinple's 
school  in  March,  1839,  he  gave  a  school  exhibition, 
the  first  in  the  collnt3^  The  first  Sabbath  school  was 
organized  in  this  building  by  one  Seigle,  in  1837.  The 
Methodists  held  meetings  here  for  some  years,  com- 
ing from  Lafayette  and  Prince ville,  bringing  their 
dinners  and  staying  all  day. 

On  June  30,  1840,  twenty-three  votes  were  cast  in 
favor  of  organization  for  school  purposes.  In  De- 
cember, 1856,  Cox's  school  house,  Essex  Township, 
was  completed  on  ground  donated  by  Joseph  Cox.  In 
1872  the  districts  were  readjusted  and  increased  to 
ten  in  number,  thus  settling  the  district  boundary 
lines,  which  had  been  a  troublesome  question  previously 
and  which  have  remained  thus  settled  with  practic- 
ally no  change  to  the  present  time.  They  have  recently 
been  renumbered,  how^ever,  by  the  county  sj^stem. 

The  earliest  church  in  the  township  was  the  Meth- 
odist, its  establishment  being  contemporary  with  the 
settlement  of  the  Essex  family  in  1829,  although  a  class 
was  not  regularly  organized  until  1835.  In  these  days 
the  school  house  was,  of  course,  used  as  a  place  of 
meeting.  Rev.  AVm.  C.  Cummings  writes:  ^'In  1835 
I  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Eoberts  from  the  Illinois 
conference  of  the  IMethodist  church  to  (what  was  then) 
Peoria  Mission.  It  extended  over  a  large  territory — 
nearly  embraced  now  in  Peoria  and  Kewanee  districts, 
being  parts  of  the  following  named  counties,  viz. :  Peoria 
Fulton,  Knox,  Stark  and  Marshall.  I  preached  at  Father 
Fraker's,  whose  name  is  of  precious  memory  in  the 
churches,  and  rode  from  there  over  the  ground  where 
Toulon  and  Lafayette  now  stand,  though  they  prob- 
ably had  not  then  been  thought  of.  Not  far  from  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Toulon  lived'  Adam  Perry,  whom  I  appointed 


M    nl 


A  ...  .t.   ■  ''  >       i  'i      -I 


//Oil  , 


ESSEX  TOWNSHIP  115 

class  leader  of  a  small  society  in  the  Essex  settlemeut, 
and  where  we  held  a  quarterly  meeting  in  1835,  at 
which  W.  B.  Mack  and  Stephen  U.  Beggs  were  pres- 
ent. The  circuit  preachers  who  attended  here  from 
1830  to  1839  are  named  as  follows:  S.  R.  Beggs,  1830; 
Rev.  Wm.  CriRsay,  1831;  Zadoc  Hall,  1832;  Joel  Ar- 
lington, 1833;  Leander  S.  Walker,  1834;  J.  W.  Dun- 
ahay,  1836;  W.  C.  Cummings,  1835-7;  A.  E.  Phelps, 
1837;  S.  R.  Beggs,  1839.  After  Mr.  Beggs'  last  term 
the  history  of  Methodism  drifted  to  Toulon  and  Wy- 
omiug,  until  the  M.  E.  church  of  Duncan  was  organized 
in  1888.  Rev.  F.  "W.  Merrill  came  from  Princeville  for 
the  purpose  and  Mr.  Ezra  Adams  superintended  the 
building  of  the  church. 

The  Methodists  were  soon  follow^ed  b}'-  the  Latter 
Day  Saints,  who  made  some  converts  here,  and,  it  is 
said,  led  some  members  of  the  Essex  family  and  others 
equally  prominent,  away  from  their  allegiance  to 
Methodism. 

United  Brethren  Church  of  Essex  Township,  or 
Pleasant   Valley   church,   was   regularlj^   organized   in 

1867,  and  the  present  house  of  w^orship  erected  that 
year.     The  Pastors  have   been:   1867,   B.   C.   Dennis; 

1868,  J.  L.  Condon;  1869,  F.  J.  Dunn;  1871,  John  Wag- 
ner; 1872,  P.  B.  Lee;  1874,  Geo.  H.  Yarce;  1875,  A. 
Norman;  1877,  J.  K.  Bradford;  1879,  A.  A.  Wolf;  1881, 
A.  W.  Callaghan  and  J.  S.  Smith;  1883,  J.  Lessig;  1885, 
E.  0.  Norvill;  1886-9.  W.  E.  Rose,  and  later  in  succes- 
sion. Reverends  John  Weigle,  Kosch,  Schomp,  Valen- 
tine, Bruso,  Lindsy,  0.  Marshall,  Kemp  and  Spurlock; 
until  recently  there  have  been  no  services  at  this 
church,  although  Sunday  school  is  still  held. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  church,  adjoining  the 
Sheets  cemetery,  is  of  more  recent  organization,  hav- 


^M(j 


.'i  i .'-       >  ;j !  li 


116  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

ing  been  in  existence  only  some  ten  years  at  this  writ- 
ing. 

Pleasant  Valley  churcli  lot  and  cemetery  were  plat- 
ted by  Edwin  Butler  in  August,  1873,  on  two  acres 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  Section  32,  given  by  Coon- 
rad  Smith.  The  Sheets  cemetery,  the  oldest  in  the 
township,  had  been  in  existence  long  before  this.  There 
is  also  the  Schiebel  cemetery  near  the  school  house, 
on  what  was  formerly  the  Sewell  Smith  farm. 

The  town  of  Duncan  was  survej^ed  by  Edwin  But- 
ler for  Alfred  II.  Castle  in  June,  1870.  Monroe,  Adams 
and  Jefferson  streets  running  north  and  south;  Main, 
Washington  and  Galena  streets  running  east  and  west ; 
but  block  one  forming  the  extreme  northwestern  part 
of  the  village  and  all  Galena  street  with  northern  ex- 
tensions of  Monroe  and  Adams,  have  been  vacated. 

The  Essex  Horse  Company  was  organized  in  April, 
1858,  on  cavalry  plan,  but  not  for  military  purposes. 
It  was  to  compete  with  the  other  townships  for  the 
agricultural  society's  premium  for  the  best  twenty- 
six  horses.  H.  Shivvers  presided,  with  J.  W.  Drum- 
mond,  secretary. 

In  1834-5  the  Indians  cultivated  their  cornfields 
along  Camping  Creek  and  near  its  mouth;  but  their 
old  village  on  the  borders  of  the  Josiah  I\Ioffitt  farm 
was  then  deserted,  and  their  council-house  in  ruins. 
Even  the  mimic  fortress  built  at  the  close  of 
1832,  to  commemorate  the  war,  was  then  going  to  de- 
cay. A  new  era  was  introducing  itself,  which,  within 
fifty  years,  and  much  more  within  seventy-five  years, 
effected  a  total  change  in  the  customs  and  manners  of 
the  people,  as  well  as  in  the  country  wliich  the  pio- 
neers foiuid  a  wilderness.  Througliout  this  state  there 
cannot  be  found  a  more  beautifully  located  township 


i]mi\oTPAn   ^nri'i^.woT 


?r; 


/•:       ITi 


f        •       i 


i^         {•••.■■ 


to 


'  ■! ;  y  r,    '  .  /     t : 

;     .  '  .  '     ,'  'I  1           !  '  .  ,   ^      1:  ';  ; 

^   %-•'';    /.•*-'  '         ■       i    .   '■;(   ,q*'!.r  • .  ■  "  f 

•     'r;  •••[    7M    ■:•'',•       '  ■■  .    '-:    •■'!  •     iyp'^-.i    yj 

•M  '••.    '  i"  ;/'iX    :.''  I  ■.'  '  ■        ■•  •          .'■(■"'   !'«.•> 

■,   ;   '.^     -,;7/     |f   ;     ,.ii<        '•  ■     -   '.r,;  i        ill 

■J        ..-It 


■i'l     i'.'i     i;'.!      -I'V 


lU;^ 


■'  '>  ) 


fcvi-,';.   no  ,8<:'^.T 


■O:' 


.ft  ., 


ESSEX  TOWNSHIP  117 

than  tliis  of  Essex.  Witliin  its  limits  many  of  the  early 
settlers  made  their  homes;  there  also,  that  natural  lo- 
cater,  the  Indian,  built  his  wigwam,  and  squatted,  so 
to  speak,  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  The  streams  of  the 
township  offered  the  lazy  red  men  their  wealth  of 
fish,  the  forest  its  game,  and  the  soil  its  wild  fruits, 
herbs,  and  in  some  cases  corn. 


VALLEY  TOWNSHIP. 


This  township  was  given  its  name  by  the  commis- 
sioners in  lSij3.  The  prairie  character  of  the  soil  and 
its- location  at  tlie  foot  of- the  highest  divide  in  the 
state,  as  that  from  Lawn  Ridge  to  TVyanet  is  said  to 
be,  snggested  the  name  ** Valley. "  The  streams  of  the 
township  are  small  and  have  comparatively  few"  trees 
along  them.  This  perhaps  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
the  early  settlers,  ayIio  were  always  seeking  the  timber, 
did  not  settle  this  township  as  early  as  the  neiglibor- 
mg  one  of  Essex  by  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 
Mud  Run  courses  through  the  south  side  of  the  town- 
ship and  Camp  or  Camping  Run  is  farther  north.  Camp 
Run  received  its  name  because  it  started  in  the  grove 
of  trees  now  Camp  Grove,  which  used  to  be  the  **  camp- 
ing grove"  of  the  Indians.  These  streams  form  at  once 
a  good  water  supply  and  drainage  system.  Deep  wells 
afford  a  never  failing  supply  of  excellent  water  and 
this  in  connection  with  a  most  fertile  soil,  tend  to  ren- 
der Valley  one  of  the  finest  agricultural  townships  in 
Illinois. 

The  township  was  organized  for  school  purposes  in 
1847,  and  on  July  17th,  five  voters  assembled  at  David 
Rouse's  house  and  elected  David  Rouse,  William  Cum- 
mings  and  Z.  G.  Bliss,  trustees.  At  this  time  there 
were  only  nine  families,  comprising  forty-one  children, 
in  the  township.  In  1851,  twenty-three  of  the  twenty- 
seven  voters  then  in  the  township,  petitioned  for  the 
sale  of  the  school  section,  whicli  was  granted.  On 
January  21,  1856,  the  trustees  organized  by  appoint- 

118 


;    (II    ji).ivj;> 


■1  .!  J       ,' 


:.s  "..A 


VALLEY  TOWNSHIP  119 

ing  Cliarles  S.  Payne,  president;  "W.  D.  ]\rcDonald, 
treasurer ;  J.  S.  Hopkins,  secretary,  and  "Wesley  King. 
In  March,  1856,  the  large  districts  were  subdivided  into 
six  school  districts,  each  two  by  three  miles.  In  April, 
1864,  R.  S.  Kilgore  and  Peter  W.  Van  Patten  petitioned 
for  the  formation  of  two  new  districts;  and  a  ninth 
district  has  since  been  added.  The  southeast  corner 
of  the  townshi])  also  furnishes  part  of  the  land  for  a 
union  district  with  Marshall  county. 

In  pioneer  days  this  district  was  a  part  of  Spoon 
River  precinct.  The  first  toAvn  meeting,  under  the  law 
of  1851,  was  held  on  the  4th  day  of  April,  1853,  at 
the  brick  schoolhouse  in  what  now  is  school  district 
No.  7.  Z.  G.  Bliss  was  chosen  chairman  and  James  II. 
Hathaway  clerk  of  said  meeting.  Charles  C.  "Wilson 
(later  Judge  Wilson  of  Henry  County)  w^as  chosen  su- 
pervisor, George  Marlatt,  town  clerk;  J.  S.  Hopkins, 
assessor;  Harry  Hull,  collector;  Paul  Rouse,  Jr.,  over- 
seer of  the  poor;  E.  C.  Stowell,  Joseph  Eby,  James  ]\L 
Rogers,  commissioners  of  highways;  David  Rouse,  over- 
seer of  roads;  P.  Chase,  Z.  G.  Bliss  and  D.  Whiffin  a 
committee  to  divide  the  town  into  three  road  districts. 

About  1869  $30,000.00  aid  was  voted  to  the  Peoria 
and  Rock  Island  Railroad.  Here  began  a  controversy 
that  has  continued  to  the  present  time,  the  rivalry  be- 
tween Wady  Petra  and  Stark  villages.  The  story  is 
told  differently  by  different  parties,  and  the  writer 
cannot  undertake  to  decide  all  the  points  between  them. 
Some  say  that  the  depot  was  to  be  located  ''as  near  the 
center  of  the  township  as  practicable;"  others  that  it 
was  to  be  in  the  south  part  of  the  township,  any^vhere 
provided  it  were  not  nearer  than  one-half  mile  to  the 
county  line.  The  east  and  west  road  at  the  first  mile 
north  of  the  county  line  had  not  been  extended  through, 


i'.'riVff: 


>  :i  i 


120  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

because  it  would  have  to  cross  Mud  Run  several  times. 
It  had  instead  been  run  one-half  mile  north  (through 
what  is  now  Stark),  and  the  topography  of  Camp  Run 
had  thrown  the  next  road  one  and  one-half  miles  north 
of  that. 

Some  claimed  that  the  logical  point  for  the  depot 
was  at  the  last  named  crossing,  just  north  of  Camp 
Run,  exactly  in  the  center  of  the  township  from  north 
to  south.  The  residents  there  at  that  time,  however, 
were  largely  renters  who  had  no  particular  interests 
to  make  them  get  out  and  hustle,  while  the  land  owners 
at  the  Stark  crossing  claimed  theirs  to  be  the  logical 
point,  and  thought  the  depot  coming  to  them.  Mr. 
Philander  Chase  did  more  hustling  than  any  of  them, 
however,  and  got  the  depot  located  on  his  farm,  mid- 
way between  the  south  one  of  the  two  crossings  and 
the  county  line. 

The  east  and  west  road  through  Wady  Petra  was 
petitioned  for  a  number  of  times,  but  always  refused 
by  the  road  commissioners,  who  lived  in  and  sided  with 
the  northern  part  of  the  township.  The  road  was 
opened  by  Mr.  Chase  and  adjoining  land  owners  vol- 
untaril)^,  however,  and  in  the  course  of  time  accepted 
by  the  township  as  a  public  highway. 

Be  these  matters  of  history  as  they  may,  the  first 
depot  was  at  Wady  Petra  and  the  farmers  north  of 
that  were  not  contented.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years 
the  railroad,  being  financially  weak,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  a  receiver,  Mr.  J.  R.  Hilliard.  He  was  favorable  to 
the  Stark  project,  and  proceeded  to  build  a  switch  and 
depot  as  soon  as  he  could,  and  to  assist  the  new  town 
as  much  as  possible.  C.  T.  Newell  and  John  Dawson 
were  the  chief  local  promoters.  A  company  elevator 
was  built  and  run  by  tloseph  Anderson.     Adam  Seed 


I    : 


r.M    i 


VALLEY  TOWNSHIP  121 

came  from  Princeville  and  put  up  the  first  dwelling, 
that  now  owned  by  Richard  Gorman.  John  Berg 
built  the  second  house  and  Joe  Anderson  the  third,  now 
the  Ella  Hull  property.  John  Brumbaugh  moved  some 
smaller  buildings  from  Wadj^  Petra  about  this  time, 
then  Thomas  IMcConn  built  a  house,  the  one  known  as 
the  Sam  Schiebel  place  recently  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
Erastus  IMorrow  built  the  post  ofiice  dwelling.  The 
first  depot  at  Stark  burned;  a  new  one  was  completed 
in  October,  1886,  and  that  having  since  burned,  the 
present  one  is  No.  3.  The  first  elevator  also  burned, 
soon  ufter  it  was  built,  and  Mr.  lYnderson  built  an- 
other. 

Stark  village  w^as  never  platted,  but  Wady  Petra 
was  platted  and  surveyed  by  Edwin  Butler,  for  IMrs. 
Anna  K.  Chase  (widow  of  Philander  Chase)  in  1875. 
At  this  time  an  osage  orange  hedge  formed  the  north- 
ern and  southern  boundaries.  Tw^enty  acres  were  in- 
cluded in  the  plat,  with  Chase  and  Front  streets  run- 
ning north  and  south,  and  Main  and  Hamilton  stretch- 
ing east  from  the  depot  grounds. 

Mr.  Heber  Chase's  father,  Philander  Chase,  was 
for  many  years  a  missionary  preacher  in  Peoria  and 
Stark  counties,  and  in  November,  1852,  he  settled  with 
his  family  in  Valley  Township  w^here,  with  one  or  two 
intervals  of  absence  elsewhere,  he  raised  his  large 
family  and  resided  until  his  death.  He  was  the  young- 
est son  of  Bishop  Chase,  the  first  Episcopalian  bishop  of 
Illinois,  who  had  founded  Jubilee  College  in  Peoria 
county. 

All  of  the  building  stone  in  this  region  was  pro- 
cured at  this  time  from  what  is  now  Fred 
Streitmatter's  ''Chase  eighty,"  a  half  mile  south 
in     Akron      Township.       Philander      Chase      needed 


nvft  r    , 


■dl     'J'!-.'/     ^-.1  i-M.;     Vtlf 


;;-i  - ;. 


;)ilJ 


122  TOWNSHIP    HISTORIES 

considerable  stone,  and  not  wishing  to  take  from 
this  quarry  without  knowing  to  whom  the  land 
belonged,  hunted  up  the  owners  and  bought  the 
eighty-acre  tract  in  question.  Having  thus  assured 
himself  of  a  supply  of  building  material,  wliich  Avas 
scarce  in  tlioso  days,  he  built  Ids  residence,  tliat  now 
owned  by  John  Nickolls,  of  this  material.  In  1854  he 
gave  forty  acres  of  land  to  the  Episcopalian  church,  and 
with  money  donated  in  different  localities  and  the  East, 
started  to  build  the  stone  church  which  stands  yet, 
near  the  southeast  corner  of  Section  31.  This  build- 
ing was  never  finished  because  of  lack  of  encourage- 
ment, and  partly  because  IMr.  Chase  realizing  the  need 
of  good  schools  for  his  children,  moved  about  that 
time  to  Wyoming. 

The  Congregational  Church  of  Stark  originated  in 
a  series  of  meetings,  which  from  1880  to  1885  were 
held  in  various  places  in  the  vicinity.  The  first  effort 
to  organize  a  meeting  was  made  by  holding  services 
in  the  warehouse  of  Simpson  &  Smith,  but  subse- 
quently held  in  an  unused  cheese  factory.  Here  a 
Sundaj^  school  was  started  in  1883,  which,  in  connec- 
tion with  regular  services,  continued  until  it  was  pro- 
posed to  build  a  church.  The  enterprise  was  to  be 
known  as  the  Union  Church,  and  on  the  evening  of  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1885,  many  citizens  of  Stark  and  vicinity 
met  to  complete  arrangements. 

M.  S.  Smith  presided,  with  W.  F.  Speers,  secretary. 
A  comTuittec  of  five,  consisting  of  M.  S.  Smith,  II.  Blood, 
W.  F.  Speers,  Charles  Ilampson  and  L.  Dixon,  were 
elected  as  a  financial  committee.  By  February  2Gth, 
$620.00  was  subscribed,  and  April  19th  a  meeting  was 
called  to  consider  the  question  of  organization.  A 
committee  to  call  a  council  to  organize  a  Congrega- 


h.dj    tj;«:.ilj;    i..'>V(Mi!    ,,' 


ii    a-ii>II      .YiOt-j! 


'U)t     ?'■■' 


•   KB 


•^1  ili 


VAlvLEY  TOWNSHIP  123 

tional  Church,  comprising  H.  F.  Blood,  M.  S.  Smith 
and  L.  E.  Brown  was  appointed  April  28th,  and  a  Con- 
gregational Church  was  organized.  On  May  31st, 
Rev.  J.  Mitchell  of  Wyoming  was  called  as  pastor  to 
preach  once  each  Sunday  for  the  consideration  of 
$300.00  por  annum,  and  IT.  F.  Blood,  "William  Peter- 
son and  William  Simpson  appointed  a  committee  to  so- 
licit subscriptions.  On  September  20,  1885,  the  church, 
which  in  the  meantime  had  been  erected  and  finished 
at  a  cost  of  about  $2,000.00  was  dedicated,  the  sermon 
being  preached  by  Rev  J.  K.  Tompkins  of  Chicago.  On 
the  day  of  dedication,  $334.78  was  collected  to  liquidate 
all  the  indebtedness  of  the  church,  and  from  its  founda- 
tion the  church  has  continued  to  grow. 

In  Yalley  Cemetery,  known  also  as  the  Fox  Ceme- 
tery (the  only  one  in  the  township,  as  the  Lawn  Ridge 
Cemetery  is  in  Marshall  county,)  are  interred  the  fol- 
lowing old  settlers:  W.  Down,  died  in  1878;  James 
Jackson,  1871 ;  Jane  Hodges,  1859 ;  Margaret  Jackson, 
1882;  Lovina  Ann  Eby,  1870;  Harry  Hull,  1878;  Sally 
Hull,  1862;  Carlton  A.  Fox,  1872;  Wm.  Marlatt,  1886, 
At  Camp  Grove,  Lawn  Ridge,  Wyoming  and  other  rest- 
ing places  for  the  dead  in  the  vicinity,  many  old  set- 
tlers are  at  home,  while  throughout  the  West  others 
have  found  the  end  of  life's  journey. 

The  neighboring  settlement  of  Lawn  Ridge  in  Mar- 
shall county,  dates  its  settlement  back  to  1845,  when 
Charles  Stone  made  his  home  there.  He  was  followed 
by  ''Deacon"  Smith  and  Joshua  Powell,  the  deacon 
being  the  first  blacksmith.  Alden  Hull  settled  in  the 
township  about  1845,  and  shortly  after  the  United  Prps- 
byterian  Church  w^as  organized  there.  In  1846  the  Con- 
gregational Church  of  Blue  Ridge  was  founded,  and  in 
1850  the  Methodists  organized  at  the  Center.    On  Octo- 


124  TOWNSHIP    HISTOKIES 

ber  5,  18G4,  Lawn  Ridge  Lodge  No.  415,  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
was  chartered. 

In  the  Slimmer  of  1901  the  Peoria  branch  of  the 
Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad  crossed  Valley 
Township  from  north  to  south,  locating  its  station  on 
the  Captriin  John  Speers  farm.  The  now  town  named 
Speer,  has  developed  a  thrifty  growth,  furnishing  an 
outlet  for  the  corn  and  corn-fed  hogs  and  cattle  of  the 
productive  towjiships  of  Valley  and  La  Prairie.  Land 
values  have  gone  up  in  Valley  as  in  other  parts  of  the 
corn  belt,  and  many  farm  owners  realize  that  it  woidd 
not  be  safe  to  price  their  land  at  $150.00  to  $200.00 
per  acre. 


:h 


INDEX 

Pafire 
Princeville  Township 3 

Akron  Township 42 

Millbrook  Township 52 

Jubilee  Township 64 

Jubilee  —  The  Little  Place  in  the  Woods 73 

Hallock  Township 79 

Radnor  Township 95 

Essex  Township 110 

Valley  Township 118 


*?1 
>9 


.  qiilcHr.voT 

.-.,»' .qrffsnwoT  :4r>< 

qirfany,  -T  - 

. .' v|i:[2ir/A>T  ■-■fxjldiH