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Q. 977. 3993 W64h
HISTORICAL SOUVENIR
OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY ILLINOIS,
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY
Volume
Book
Class
977.39 93
W64h
ILLINGIS HISTORICAL SURVEY
1
DR. WILLIAM S. EVANS, (Deceased). MARION, ILLINOIS. Aged 96 years. Died since this book was begun.
HISTORICAL SOUVENIR
- OF
WILLIAMSON COUNTY ILLINOIS
Being a Brief Review of the County from Date of Founding to the Present
COMPILED AND EDITED BY J. F. WILCOX
ILLUSTRATED
PUBLISHED BY THE LECRONE PRESS EFFINGHAM, ILL.
Very Truly Yours IF. Vilca.
PREFACE
HE evolution of book-making has, in our time, reached such a stage of perfection that the non-professional public has been trained to expect the impossible. With them the printer (unfortunate man) has only to wave his hand and cry "let there be light" and there is light -printed, illustrated, bound and delivered. They never know of the weary days of the canvasser: the exhausting drudgery of the brain wracking burner of the midnight oil as he grinds out his grist: the patient, never-ceasing. yet swift and unerring compositor as he nimbly fingers the leaden mes- sengers; or the lightning-like manipulator of the linotype miracle. They know not the woes of that universal walking encyclopedia, the proof-reader; or the vexations of the editor. No sooner do they read or hear of a new book, then it is on the market. The dear public is out for entertainment: it looks for good lights and a comfortable seat, fine music and an interesting play, and it is not ex- pected to go nosing around after the rigging that shifts the scenery. So ye. "Souvenir Book man" is not astonished that the dear innocent public looked for the work of months to be accomplished in as many days. Nor does he wonder that some enthusiastic patrons found it difficult to maintain their interest through the eighteen months of arduous labor required to perfect the column now given to the public. And this sufficiently explains the omissions of prominent persons, places and things from the book. The author wanted them all, but couldn't get around in time for some and was turned down by a few. So there are some blanks where he expected a full representation, for which he offers no apology: he did the best he could.
To the few who lent a helping hand he offers the grateful incense of the belated footsore traveler caught in the darkness, rain and mud, to the driver of a brisk span and a covered buggy who "gives him a lift", and whirls him to his journey's end. So the "Souvenir Book man" wants particularly to acknowledge his indebtedness to Judge Geo. W. Young for the valuable historical matter furnished by him, without which it would have been scarcely possible to succeed. The Pub- lic Schools, as far as they are interested in the book. will join the author in thanks to Hon. R. O. Clarida, superintendent of public schools: Prof. J. W. Asbury, principal of Marion city schools; to Professors Turner, Lentz and others at Carterville, Herrin, Creal Springs and elsewhere for the valuable biographical and historical matter and other data furnished. To the hundreds of promi- nent citizens whose portraits appear in the book for the unselfish aid rendered, without whose generous cooperation it would have been impossible to have accomplished the task. To the profes- sional gentlemen. particularly to the large corps of physicians, members of the bench and bar. min- isters, bankers, and business men generally a hearty and grateful acknowledgement for ready and cheerful acquiescence and efficient aid in the arduous undertaking is the least that can be rendered by a grateful and weary old man. The book itself, it is to be hoped, will not be a disappointment. Its mechanical execution reflects credit upon the incomparable workmen connected |with the LE- CRONE PRESS of Effingham, Ill., who did the job. THE AUTHOR.
Ill, Survey 5 Dll Cook 1.50
Effingham, Ill., November 15, 1905.
200:39
66 MARION BY MRS. M. J. SPARKS
ACK in the last of the "Thirties" While yet the state was young, Where undisturbed on bush or bough The birds of the forest sung, Was born an infant city, A babe in the wilderness, While the Autumn breezes swept its brow With a lingering, fond caress.
No towering mountains guarded The spot where the hamlet lay; No mighty river brought it wealth And commerce day by day. No scenery pieturesque and grand Brought travelers from afar, Yet who shall say it was not born Beneath a lucky star.
For steadily has it pros- pered Through many a month and year; And stately buildings proud- lv stand Where herded once the deer.
And o'er the plain where the "whip-per-will"
Oft called to its mate afar. Now is heard the engine's whistle, And the hum of the trolley ear.
MRS. M. J. SPARKS, the Author.
The boys who marched with Logan In those trying days of old Stood bravely by their colors Till slavery's knell was tolled. No braver soldiers ever Sprang to their country's aid,
Than those men of ours who followed the flag While the fife and bugle played.
And when the strife was over, And freedom's cause was won, How proudly were they wel- comed back, Each husband, brother, son! But many, alas, were miss- ing Of those heroes tried and true; And others vet were swing- ing An empty sleeve of blue.
And no more generous peo- ple In this wide universe, E'er helped a friend in trou- ble Or opened wide the purse When an unlucky stranger Appealed to them for aid; Or the widow and the or- phan Their plea for shelter made.
And a thousand lighted casements Make cheerful now the night Where the camp-fire of the red man Once shed its fitful light. They builded better than they knew, Those pioneers of old; They reckoned not what march of time Three score of years unfold.
Now schools and churches lift their spires Above the busy street Where the pavement echoes the live-long day The tread of hurrying feet. While in the place of honor, The center of the square, The county's capitol proudly stands And shelters "Justice" there.
Thrice in our eity's history Was raised war's dread alarms; And Marion's boys were prompt to heed The call to shoulder arms. And bravely too through heat and cold They served their country well; The stars and stripes they followed Through storms of shot and shell.
Our town has furnished its quota Of notable women and men; It has sent out statesmen, instructors, Lawyers, physicians, and then We remember one woman, at least, Who gladly to China was sent To carry the light of the Gospel To souls in the dark Orient.
Who knows what the future may hold In store for the town of our pride? Perchance ere another decade Her name shall be known far and wide As a manufacturing center; For coal fields unlimited lie On either hand and are hastening to bring Her day of prosperity nigh.
Yes, gladly we follow the history Of our town through its three-score of years, And gratefully speak of each pioneer Whose name in its annals appears. Through labor and hardship undaunted They built in the wilderness lone The fairest and best town in Egypt- Marion, our pride and our own !
HISTORY OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY
W ILLIAMSON County lies in Southern Illinois, on the di- viding ridge between the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, and between parallels 37 degrees 30 minutes and 38 degrees North Latitude. The
meridian of 89 degrees of Longi-
tude west from Greenwich passes about three miles west of Marion, and corresponds with the 12th de- gree of Longitude west from Wash-
ington. It is composed of town- ships 8, 9 and 10 south, and Ranges 1, 2, 3 and 4 east, and is, therefore,
in the form of a rectangular para- tetogram, twenty-four miles from east to west, and eighteen miles from north to south, thus contain- ing 432 square miles or 267,480 acres. It is bounded on the north by Franklin County, on the e'st by
LOG CABIN OF WM. WATSON.
One of the oldest buildings in the city, built in Marion in 1845. William Watson and his wife Sit at the right hand, Mrs. Robinson at the left.
T HERE are quite a number of homes in Marion which as- pire to the honor of being the very first home erected on the present site of the city of Marion, but care- ful inquiry among the oldest inhab- itants decided an ancient log cabin stan ling near the Edward's flour- ing mills and fronting West Main street, just east of the C. & E. I. Railroad tracks. Mr. Lewis Cal- vert, however, insists that the old Calvert house, put up by his broth- er in 1845, was the first and the log cabin built in 1847, the second.
It is now occupied by colored peo- ple, William Watson and his wife, and Mrs. Robinson, who have lived in it continuously since 1882. A picture of the ancient structure is given herewith.
It was built in 1843 or 41 by George Felts and John Hooper, who put up the cabin to have a place to live in while building the mill which stands near it. The cabin is double, with a passage way three feet wide through the center and three rooms
on each side. There is a loft over- head for storage or sleeping pur- poses, reached by a pair of steep stairs in the corner of each divis- ion. The ceiling is only about six feet or six and a half feet high, and can be easily reached by the hand. The floor is of puncheons or hewed logs, and the roof of oak "shakes" or split boards. It fronts the south and stands on a little knoll among trees of different sorts. The sides and ends are covered with cłap- boards, and chimneys of sticks faid up in mud originally stood at either end.
Mr. G. W. C. McCoy tells me that the occasion of building the cabin was as follows:
It seems that Captain James Cun- ningham and Milton and Dr. Jona- than Mulkey, seeing the necessity of having a flouring mill for this region bought the necessary ma- chinery and had it shipped to Mar- ion, before the town was built and before railroads existed in these parts, with the intention of putting
up a flour mill. But, being ignorant of the whole business, they could do nothing with the machinery, nor could they find a man in a dozen counties who could. At last, how- ever, Felts and Hooper heard of the situation and seeing their opportu- nity, came down from Franklin, bought the outfit for a song and erected the first grist and saw mitl ever put up in the county. it was run by steam and people came with their grain from many miles around to get their grists ground. So great was the demand that they often had to wait three and four weeks for their turn. So busy were the enter- prising millers with their saw mill and grinding that they had no time to build them a new house and lived in their log cabin and run their mill for many years. The old mill finally burned down and was replaced by the present brick structure, but the old log cabin still stands and af- fords a home to a couple of hard- working Christian women and their helpless companion.
SOUVENIR OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS,
Saline County, on the south by Johnson County and on the west by Jackson County. A circle of fifty miles would pass through North Cairo, about half way between Cairo and Mound City; cross the Ohio at Paducah and again at Smithland, Ky., pass through Marion Ky., about ten miles east of Elizabeth- town, cross the Wabash and the Ohio near their junction, about ten miles northeast of Shawneeto .vn, just miss Carmi, White County, and Fairfield, in Wayne County, leaves Mt. Vernon ten miles south and Salem, the same distance to the north; passes through Nashville, the county seat of Washington, Sparta and Chester, in Randolph, and crossing the river at that place, just miss Perryville, Jackson and Benton, Mo. Its nearest point to the Ohio is at Golconda, 35 miles distant, and the same from Vine- land, on the Mississippi River, near Jonesboro, the county seat of Union County.
Williamson County is one of the most fertile and productive of the district, popularly known as Egypt from its great fertility and the fact that it supplied for a long time the more newly settled parts of the state with food.
The northern and southern por- tions of the County are rolling and somewhat broken, but not suffi- ciently so to prevent successful cul- tivation; while the central parts are level, and thirty and forty years
ago quite marshy in some sections. With drainage and cultivation, how- ever, the marshes have long since disappeared, and corn an.l cattle flourish where the bull-frog once made night musical.
The County was originally heav- ily timbered, but the annual fires, for which the hunters and their dusky brethren, the Indians, were mainly responsible, checked the growth and turned much of it into what is known as "oak openings." But with the disappearance of the Indian and the subsidence of the annual fires, the forest has again asserted its supremacy, and the former "oak openings" are covered with a heavy growth of young tim- ber.
The great increase in coal mining anl railroad building, however, is rapidly using up the timber, and fat pastures are taking the place of woodlands. There is a water-shed which begins near the northeast cor- ner of the County and extends southwestwardly to the Village of Crab Orchard; thence it runs in a more westerly direction to the northeastern corner of Southern Township; thence across said town- ship to the south line of Section 33, where it leaves the County. Ahout one-third of the surface of the County lies sloping to the southeast of this water-shed, and is drained by the Badgeley, Bank Lick, Brushy Rock and Saline creeks, which flow into the Ohio River. The balance
of the County slopes toward the northwest and is drained by Pond Lake and Crab Orchard Creeks and the Big Muddy River, which flows into the Mississippi.
Geological formation.
The discovery of coal in Wil- liamson County and the great de- velopment of the industry has made its geological formation and his- tory of one special interest and im- portance. The limits of this volume, however, compel us to leave the sci- entific treatment of the subject to specialists in that line, and deal with it only from a practical point of view.
There is very little limestone found in the county, not enough to be of any commercial value, but a brown sandstone found in the vicin- ity of Crab Orchard dresses well and hardens on exposure; and an abundance of good brick clay is found on almost every farm.
To the casual observer the soil of Williamson County will be regarded as thin and poor, as it is largely a yellowish clay, but with proper till- age it will, and has produced ex- cellent crops of corn, wheat, pota- toes, cotton and tobacco. Of late years, however, farmers are com- plaining of a falling off in produc- tion, and are turning their attention to cattle and fruit-raising.
Continual cropping of corn and wheat and an entire neglect of prop-
THE OLD CALVERT HOME.
Oldest residence in Marion now standing, built by N. B. Calvert in 1842. Now owned by John B. Heyde and used for a blacksmith shop and agricultural tool storage.
This venerable old relic once the "swell" mansion of a prosperous citizen of Marion, but now degraded into a smutty blacksmith's shop and a place to store agricultural implements, was built by N. B. Cal-
vert in 1842, the year he married. Here he raised his family and here he died in 1882. The old home- stead passed into the hands of its present owner, John B. Heyde, Oc- tober 4, 1889, and was run then
as now as a blacksmith shop and farm implements.
Mr. Heyde boasts of being the oldest man in the business and of never having lost three days from his business on account of sickness.
9
SOUVENIR OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
HON. C. H. DENNISON, MAYOR OF MARION.
10
SOUVENIR OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
J. W. HARTWELL. Deceased.
W. W. DUNCAN. Judge of Circuit Court.
L. D. HARTWELL, States Attorney.
er rotation of crops or fertilization, will, in time. exhaust the fertility of any soil, even of "Egypt." Ne- cessity has, therefore, compelled the tillers of the soil to abandon old methods for new and increasing prosperity results. When corn, in the early days, was the only crop, some of the thin clay soils were re- garded as of little value, but peo- ple have discovered that land which will not pay the rent when put into corn or wheat will yield an abund- ant and profitable harvest of all kinds of fruit and vegetables.
All varieties of berries, beginning with the luscious strawberry, thrive in unequalled luxuriance in this part of "Egypt." The time was, and not very long ago, when a ten- acre strawberry patch was a mar- vel, hut fields of forty and eighty acres are now "as thick as black- berries."
Think of a train of twenty-five of
thirty cars loaded with strawberries going over one line of road to Chi- cago daily for weeks, and some idea of the immense traffic in that luscious fruit in its season may be gained. We do not say that this county alone does that, but it adds its full quota to the general output of "Egypt" in that particular.
Following the strawberry, from early May on through the season, Pomona is the settler's gold mine. Currants, gooseberries, cherries, early apples, raspberries, plums, ap- ricots. peaches, pears. grapes, quinces, till, last and chief of all, comes the winter apple. It has taken them a long time to find it out, but farmers are learning that there is more money for the outlay in time and labor in the honest, good, old, long-keeping winter „ap- ple than in almost anything else the soil is capable of producing.
But of late years a very profitable
industry is springing up of growing early vegetables for the Northern markets, and vast quantities of spinach, peas, beans, onions, pie- plant, sweet and Irish potatoes, melons, tomatoes, etc., are grown and shipped North at a very satis- fictory profit. No portion of South- ern Illinois is more capable of a suc- cessful prosecution of this industry than this County.
Cotton, which was generally grown here before, during, and for a few years after the Civil War, is no longer produced. it being too far north to be a safe crop. Its most flourishing period was while the South was hindered from producing it by reason of the Civil War: but with the return of peace, normal conditions prevailed, the County could no longer compete with the plant in its natural home, and its production was almost entirely abandoned.
Tobacco.
There is no doubt that the Indians and the early settlers raised their own tobacco, but it began to be raised for market in 1840. In 1849 M. S. Ensminger bought and shipped to New Orleans 1100 hogs- heads of the weed, bought almost exclusively in this and the adjoin- ing Counties.
So general was the industry at that time, and so profitable as well, that Marion was often glutted with tobacco teams and loaded wagons at harvest time. As many as 50 loaded tobacco wagons have been counted at one time on the public square, waiting to be unloaded. All the farming community were en- gaged in raising, manufacturing or shipping the weed, and fortunes were made and lost in the business. But after the close of the Civil War
SCHOOL AT STONE FORT.
11
SOUVENIR OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
the government surrounded the bus- iness with many regulations and re- strictions, and taxed the finished product so heavily that it discour- aged the raising of the crop, and, declining prices reducing the profits, the business gradually was aban- doned, until now none is raised for market in this region.
But instead of tobacco has come all the cereals, fruits and all kinds
of stock, fat hogs and cattle, butter,
eggs and poultry. Horses and mules are an important feature of trade; industries of various kinds are springing up, as milling, Ium- ber, brick-making, artificial ice- making, cold storage, electric light- ing and transportation, and above all, coal mining. With the rapid increase of population attending the development of the mining indus-
try, has come a large increase in building; fine houses and business blocks are springing up all around, and the sound of the saw and ham- mer can be heard at all times every- where. Every town and village in the County shares in the solid era of prosperity which has dawned up- on the County; wages are good, and few idle hands are to be seen any- where.
3
COURT HOUSE OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
ROSTER OF PUBLIC OFFICERS, 1904.
W. W. DUNCAN,
Judge of the Circuit Court.
L. D. HARTWELL, States Attorney. L. B. PULLEY, Clerk of the Circuit Court.
ROBERT P. HILL, Justice of the Peace. FRANK L. SHRIVES, County Treasurer. R. O. CLARIDA,
County Superintendent of Schools.
J. M. DODD, County Clerk. W. O. POTTER,
Master in Chancery. J. A. SINKS, Court Reporter. RUFUS NEELY, County Judge. R. R. FOWLER, Justice of the Peace.
C. H. DENISON, Mayor. D. F. HARTWELL, City Attorney. GEORGE C. CAMPBELL, City Clerk. H. S. HARRIS, Sheriff. FRANK THROGMORTON, Deputy Sheriff.
E. N. RICE, Coroner. J. V. GRIDER, City Marshall. JAMES LONG, Deputy Marshall. TOM WATERS, Second Deputy.
C. W. MILLER, Jailer. HENRY JONES, Postmaster. JAMES ARTHUR CAMPBELL, Street Commissioner.
H. U. SHACKELFORD, JOHN McMURRAY, CARROLL MILLER, County Commissioners.
12
SOUVENIR OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
HON THOS. H. SHERIDAN, Attorney and Ex-Senator.
HON. O. H. BURNETT, State Senator.
Population of Williamson Co.
1840
Tot. 4457
1850 White 7149
Colored 67
Tot. 7216
1860 White 12087
Colored 11- Tot. 12205
1870 White 17223
Colored 106 Tot. 17329
1880 White 20859
Colored 253 Tot 21111
1990
Tot. 22226
1900
Tot. 27796
Births from Jan. 1, 1800, to April 1, 1904: Males, 1194 Females, 1138 Blacks, 5 Tot. 2337
CITY OF MARION, 1300. According to School Census.
Over 21. .2309
Of School Age ... 1543
POPULATION IN COUNTY, 1900.
Marion .. 2510
Carterville 1749
A large Herrin 1559 portion of the public Creal Springs 940 lan's had now been entered, and their assessed value Crainville 990 was nearly Crab Orchard 200
In consequence of the great in- crease in mining, the population of Marion, Carterville, Herrin and Johnson City has
more than doubled since the last census was taken.
Taxation and finances.
The taxable property in William- son County in 1839, as taken from the records of Franklin County, was as follows: Value of lands $27,136
Personal Property 139,410
Total .$166,546
On this property 20 cents was levied on each $100 for state pur- poses, and 25 cents for county pur- poses, making in all $749.25. In 1840 the tax collector reported all collected except $18.01, which was delinquent, thus leaving $721.23 rol- lected, of which $325 belonged to the state and $406.23 to the county.
By comparing the above figures,
it will be observed that, at that time the personal property was val- ued at more than five times as much as all the lands in the county sub- ject to taxation. But this is account- ed for by the fact that only a small portion of the public funds had then been entered and conveyed to indi- vidual purchasers.
In 1856 the personal property was valued, for the purposes of tax- ation, at $363,710, and the lands and lots at $626,004. Total. $989- 714.
double that of the personal prop- erty. The State tax charged therein, including the school tax, amounted to $7,059.53; and the County tax to $3,687.81. The total for all purposes, $10,747.34.
In 1860 the personal property of the County was assessed at $516- 271, and the real estate $794,977; total, $1,311,248. The total taxes charged therein were $14,439.14. Immediately after the close of the Civil War the personal property of the County was assessed at $537- 923, and the realty at $826,132; total, $1,364,055. The State taxes were $10,541.25; County, $14,640-
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES SCHWERDT.
of taxation for school purposes in
sessed valnation, rate and amount
The following table shows the as-
Cairo and Vincennes Ry.
316 85
1642 72
10371 69
3600 66
4329 18
4377 55
5067 89
3908 54
4104 69
3723 10
3405 05
3599 72
5-61 86
Total
The following table is compiled from the Public Records for 1886, and shows the total assessed value of property and the amount of taxa- tion thereon in each Congressional District for that year:
Military
State School
Taxes on State
Total
$1,425.636.00
12.747.00
35.543.00
87.928.00
806,128.00
.$483.290.00
13,834.67
31,155.00
. $21,652.00
an
Mining and Civil Engineer.
B. S. CRAINE,
SOUVENIR OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Clothier.
M. CANTOR.
4.1
10712 2 15
2.0 95
:44
95 11123 2 25 9829 2 50
215 72
47
23698
1 10
!17
10326 2 20
227 27
49
28144
70
260 67 201 79 254 54
94 66 11886
2 05, 1 70
202 06
49
50
25576 1 00
285 76 100
7353 2 50
153 87
copied from the Public Records at
No Val'ion Rate Tax
No Val'ion Rate Tax
1|$ 3832 $2 50 $ 95 80
2
3
1
9664 2 10
15773 1 GO
10512 2 25
11321 2 20
11344 1 55.
1010% 2 25
12160
2 45
11
1530;
12365
1 33 1 65 2 70
305 27 206 G1 204 02 2377 62
60
11484: 1 65
2 10
203 7% 107 60
202 49
11
18738
1 25
231 22|| 64
9298
9877
10415 14331|
22 50
18
21482
4-618
35
170 16 70
7627
2 50
21
32395
1 10
356 35 71
1 55
921 04| 72 73
65 65
245 501 274 71
6096 81
258 06
76
13857
77
79
30
14116 2 50
26507 2 85
757 15
81
32
33
31
35905
83
305 )9 3617 87 236 93
841 11402: 1 50 $5 12489
2 00) 2 19 3 10
66 97 178 65
37
25911 3 30
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