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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY
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1968
uois County
History of ir
1818
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102 .. OF IRC
TENNIAL
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COVER PICTURE
The picture on the Front cover is of the Old Courthouse in Middleport. Planning for this build- ing began in 1843 and construction completed in 1847. It was 40 feet square, two stories high and made of brick. All that remains of the Old Courthouse today is the square on which it stood, which is one block west of Westside school.
Two official seals are also displayed in the cover design. One is the Iroquois County Seal that is placed on all official documents of the County. A replica of this seal is on the west wall of the center hallway above the spiral staircase in the old court- house on Cherry Street in Watseka.
The other seal is the official Illinois Sesquicen- tennial Seal and used throughout Illinois during 1968.
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY
Price - $2.00 Per Copy
History of Iroquois County
Compiled by JOHN DOWLING
Social Studies Teacher Watseka Community High School
·
Published by Iroquois County Baard of Supervisors ROBERT R. HOLDEN, Chairman
Table of Contents
Pages
Introduction
3
Acknowledgements
4
Map of Iroquois County
5
Iroquois County Board of Supervisors
6
Picture of Iroquois County Board of Supervisors
7
History of Iroquois County
S-23
History of Individual Townships
24-121
Artesia
Ash Grove
24 25
Ashkum
Beaver
Beaverville
Belmont
Chebanse
Concord
Crescent
Danforth
Douglas
Fountain Creek
Iroquois
Loda
Love Joy
Martinton
Middleport
Milford
Milks Grove
Onarga
Papineau
Pigeon Grove
104 107
Ridgeland
110
Stockland
115
Picture of Old Court House
121
Iroquois County Historical Society
122
Picture of Officers of Historical Society
122
Historical Photo Album
123
27 29 34 38 44 4S 51 53
54 59 62 65 69 74 78 S4 87 SS 93 9S
Prairie Green
Sheldon
479. 80
1 75PU
Introduction
The Iroquois County Board of Supervisors presents this History of Iroquois County to the citizens of Iroquois County as part of our observ- ance of the Illinois Sesquicentennial.
Each township supervisor was responsible for the history of his town- ship. For the most part the individual township histories are the result of these articles written by different individuals. The responsibility of this writer was to edit these histories to bring about some uniformity among them. Deletions were necessary in some cases, and, where addi- tional information was felt necessary, Beckwith's History of Iroquois County was the primary source used to provide this material. We have tried to be as factual as possible and hope we have made the minimum number of errors possible in a publication of this nature.
Much of the material in the general history of Iroquois County was taken from The History and Geography of Iroquois County, a booklet pre- pared by Mr. Ralph Moore of Watseka in 1956.
Acknowledgments
This author is indeed grateful to the Iroquois County Board of Super- visors for making this publication possible. It has been a rewarding and educational experience. A special thanks goes to the Sesquicentennial Com- mittee of the Board of Supervisors which included Cecil Hamilton as Chairman and Bernard Fleming, Robert Holden, Mrs. William Fox, Ernest Ross, and Robert Sproull.
Others who have contributed their efforts are Mrs. Vera Jacobs, who proofread the material, Miss Sue Dubble and Miss Judy Stutsman, the typists, and my wife, Reta, for her cover design and her patience and assist- ance in the trials and tribulations in preparing this manuscript.
Persons contributing townships histories were; Mrs. John Crist, Mr. Robert Holden, Mr. C. Walsh, Mrs. Charles Healey, Mr. Harry Swanson, Mrs. Tylla Landes, Mrs. Theodore Pierce, Mrs. Clara German, Mr. T. Landes, Mrs. Mae Gelmers, Mrs. Bertha Reeves, Mrs. Rella Bovden, Mr. Ralph Moore, Mrs. John Bartell, Mr. G. M. Buchan, Mr. Henry Schleef, Mr. Bernard Fleming, Mr. Gil Johnson, Mr. William C. Merkle, Mrs. Mar- vin Craig, Mr. Robert C. Brouillette, Mrs. Vincent Poskin and Mr. Francis Lareau. County Clerk Herb Lietz prepared the material pertaining to the Board of Supervisors and Mrs. Marvin Craig contributed the article on the Historical Society.
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Population of Iroquois County By Townships - Census 1960
POPULATION
TOWNSHIP
Artesia
1411
Ash Grove
997
Ashkum
1514
Beaver
680
Beaverville
832
Belmont
2262
Chebanse
2530
Concord
741
Crescent
844
Danforth
993
Douglas
2248
Fountain Creek
667
Iroquois
640
Loda
1147
Lovejoy
694
Martinton
1094
Middleport
4505
Milford
2240
Milks Grove
389
Onarga
1987
Papineau
559
Pigeon Grove
1258
Prairie Green
803
Ridgeland
534
Sheldon
1648
Stockland
701
Total
33562
Iroquois County Board of Supervisors
The members of the County Board of Supervisors are the respective Supervisors of each of the 26 townships comprising Iroquois County. Each Supervisor or assistant acquired this position by an election held in the township. The County Board is the legislative body of the county. Their duties are varied and many.
The County Board is required by Statutes to provide two meetings each year; a regular meeting to be held the fourth Monday of June, and the annual meeting the second Tuesday of September, all other meetings are recessed sessions. The Iroquois County Board was organized Feb- ruary 26, 1833 and has been active since that date.
Each year in April the Board is required to reorganize. By this it is meant, that they hold an election to elect one of their members to be
6
chairman. The chairman is responsible for making appointments of members to the various committees to function in their respective ca- pacities. At the present time there are 27 separate committees. These committees make reports to the Board. No action can be taken on county business without approval of the board. Board members are not salaried, they are on a per day pay while on county business only.
The Board is responsible to have a complete audit of all county funds expended. This audit must be conducted by an outside Certified Public Accountant or audit firm, and the audit is published and also a certified copy supplied to the State Auditor of Public accounts as re- quired by Statutes.
The following picture is of the Iroquois County Board of Supervisors, County Clerk and Superintendent of Highways, Mr. John Devine.
Iroquois County Board of Supervisors-1968
LIST OF SUPERVISORS, A.D. 1968
Robert R. Holden
Herbert W. Lietz
Chairman Clerk
Town Artesia
Name Clarence A. Gehle
Postoffice Address Buckley
Ash Grove
John F. Salmon
Cissna Park-
7
Town
Name
Postoffice Address Ashkum
Ashkum
Harold F. Lawson
Beaver
Bernard J. Fleming
Donovan
Beaverville
Glen M. Buchan
Beaverville
Belmont
Ernest L. Ross
Watseka
Chebanse
Louis F. Wilking
Clifton
Concord
Gilbert Johnson
Watseka
Crescent
Henry D. Schleef Crescent City
Danforth
William C. Merkle Danforth
Douglas
John H. Gelmers
Gilman
Ft. Creek
John Crist
Milford
Iroquois
Rov M. Storm Crescent City
Loda
Harry E. Swanson Loda
Lovejoy
Robert R. Holden Wellington
Martinton
Charles L. Hathaway Martinton
Middleport
Martha A. Fox
Watseka
Middleport
Cecil Hamilton, Asst.
Watseka
Milford
Bertha M. Reeves
Milford
Milks Grove
Morey Wadleigh
Herscher
Onarga
Donald C. Morgan
Onarga
Papineau
Robert C. Brouillette
Martinton
Pigeon Grove
Albert Seggebruch Cissna Park
Prairie Green
Ruth Cowan Milford
Ridgeland
B. L. Eshleman Thawville
Sheldon
Robert Sproull
Sheldon
Stockland
Chas. Williams Milford
8
History of Iroquois County
Iroquois County is the only county in the United States having the name "Iroquois," a name originally applied to a confederation of tribes of North American Indians. According to tradition, a band of Iroquois Indians was once surprised and defeated upon the banks of the river now known as the Iroquois, by a war party of Illinois Indians, hence the name of the county and the river.
Iroquois County is bounded on the north by the county of Kankakee, on the east by the State of Indiana, on the south by Vermilion and Ford Counties, and on the west by Ford County. Iroquois County in area ranks third in the states, being 35 miles long and 32 miles wide, and containing 1120 square miles, only 130 square miles less than the state of Rhode Island. This county is exceeded in size only by McLean and LaSalle Counties in Illinois. Watseka, the county seat, is located a few miles east of the center of the county.
The surface of Iroquois County slopes from the south, east and west to the center and north of the county. Across the southern part of the county is the Bloomington Moraine and across the northwestern part of the county is the Marsailles Moraine. In the northeastern and eastern part of the county is the Iroquois Moraine which is an eastern and south- ern extension of the Marsailles Moraine system.
The lowest point in Iroquois County is along the north boundary where the Iroquois River enters Kankakee County. The elevation there is 610 feet above sea level. The highest point in Iroquois County is in the southeastern part of the county, 2 miles east and 1/2 mile south of Greer. The elevation there is just over S10 feet above sea level. The land in the moraine areas is gently rolling to hilly. The land between the moraines is usually rather flat. In these flat areas the land was swampy until it was drained by the early settlers. The largest swamp area was in the northwestern part of the county around the headwaters of the Vermilion River. It was called the Vermilion Swamp.
Iroquois County is drained mostly by the Iroquois River and its tributaries. In the northeastern part of the county a small area is drained by the Vermilion River and in the southeastern part of the county by the North Fork River.
When the first settlers came to Iroquois County the streams were clear with sand and gravel bottoms. As the land was placed under cultiva- tion soil erosion began and now the streams are turbid with eroded ma- terials. In many places in the county the small natural watercourses have been extended, deepened and straightened by dredging.
Many thousands of years ago huge sheets of ice were pushed down from the north and northeast to form the surface and soil of Iroquois County. As these ice sheets, or as we call them glaciers, moved forward they leveled off the land and pushed huge piles of earth, rocks, sand, and gravel before them. During a cold era the glacier would advance south-
9
ward and then as a warm era developed the glacier would melt gradualy back to the north. As it melted the materials it had pushed before it were left in ridges at its farthest advance. These ridges are called moraines.
The last of these glaciers, the late Wisconsin, advanced from the northeast across Iroquois County to a line through Paris, Charleston, Shelbyville, Pana, Jacksonville, Macomb, Galesburg, and Rockford. Then as it melted and receded it left what we now call the Shelbyville Moraine. Again it advanced and this time it extended to Fowler, Indiana; Hoopes- ton; Champaign: Bloomington; Peoria; Princeton; and DeKalb. It melted and left what we now call the Bloomington Moraine. A third time it advanced and this time extended to St. Anne Pontiac, Marsailles, and Elgin. This time as it melted it left the Marsailles Moraine. A fourth and last time it advanced to Valparaiso, Indiana; Chicago Heights; Joliet, and east of the Fox River. As it melted it left the Valparaiso Moraine. The Iroquois Moraine is an eastward extension and southern extension of the Marsailles Moraine and joins the Bloomington Moraine near Fowler, Indiana.
As these glaciers melted a large lake was formed between the moraine and the retreating glacier. The one formed behind the Marsailles Mor- aine was called Lake Kankakee. It drained out through the Beaver Creek valley across central Iroquois County to the Vermilion River near Chatsworth. A belt of sand that extends from the Iroquois Moraine east of Watseka to the Bloomington Moraine southwest of Chatsworth is the shoreline of this drainage area.
The earth, over the bedrock of the county, was brought down by the glacier. It is called "glacial till." Its average depth over the county is about 100 feet. It is deepest at the south part of the county and shal- lowest in the northern part. Boulders and large rocks were rolled down by the glaciers and many of these can be found along the edge of the Iroquois Moraine northeast and east of Watseka. This type of deposit is called "boulder till." Throughout the glaciated area are beds of gravel. In these may be found large balls of clay that were rolled up by the glacier. Some of them are 4 feet in diameter and are called by the geological term "Rotelboden." This is a German meaning "round ball." Most of this glacial soil in Iroquois County is black earth and is found in the prairie areas. On the moraines the soil is of a lighter sandy type. A thin gray timber soil is found in areas where the land was cleared of trees for farming. A few spots of peaty soil are found in the old swamp beds.
The bedrock underlying Iroquois County is of limestone and forms a shallow saucer-like basin. This type of formation produces artesian, or as we sometimes call them "flowing wells." These are found in the central part of the county along the streams and are scattered over the prairie area of the western and southwestern part. The first of these artesian wells was found about 2 miles east of Onarga in 1855.
The limestone formation comes to the surface north of Iroquois
10
County in Kankakee County and west in Livingston County. In these areas are found limestone quarries. It lies too deep in Iroquois County to be quarried.
In the eastern part of Iroquois County some wells are drilled into this limestone formation. Most of these wells are over 300 feet deep. Many contain hydrogen sulfide gas which makes them smell like rotten eggs. This type of water is called "sulfur water." It can be removed by a special filter.
Most of Iroquois County is part of what is called the Grand Prairie. This open land extended from the Tippecanoe River in Indiana to the Mississippi River. The trees found in this great area were in narrow belts along the streams and in groves. The early settlers made their homes along the streams and in these groves. The trees were used to build their homes, for fuel, and for fence rails. A few saw mills exist in the county today to saw oak trees into railroad ties and rough lumber.
The county is underlaid with a thin coal deposit in the area west and South of the Iroquois River. These deposits are only a few inches thick and are therefore not commercially valuable.
As has been mentioned before there are gravel deposits from which gravel for roads and concrete work is dug.
Since much drainage work had to be done to make the swampy prairies usable for farming the laver of clay, under the black top soil, was used to make tile. Neary every town in the county at one time had a tile mill. The last of these closed at Woodland in the late 1920's. In the early days of the county brick was made of this clay but it was too soft a brick and was soon discontinued.
Test wells for oil have been drilled in the county but so far no oil has been found.
Water power was used to operate grist mills at Milford and at Texas by the early settlers. This source of power was later displaced by steam engines. The flow of the streams of the county is not great enough for modern hydroelectric power generation.
The greatest natural resource of Iroquois County is its rich soil.
Iroquois County averages about 35 inches of rainfall per year. This is greatest in the western and northern part of the county.
The growing season averages about 160 days per year. In the south- western third of the county the season will be a little longer.
Iroquois County was first settled in the winter of 1821-22 by Gurdon S. Hubbard, an Indian trader, then employed by the American Fur Com- pany (John Jacob Astor & Co.). He was accompanied by Noel Vasseur. who worked for him. Hubbard came from Mackinaw, coasting down Lake Michigan in a boat of considerable size, and ascending the Chicago River, crossed the portage to the Des Plaines. Floating down the Kan- kakee and Iroquois Rivers, he reached the present site of Old Middleport, a present-day part of Watseka. On the north side of the river, about one mile above this point, at the east end of the bend, where there was
11
a small Indian village, he established his headquarters and a trading post. He stopped at this point only one winter, from where later he moved up the river to a place afterward called Bunkum, the present site of the village of Iroquois.
Like many others who found themselves bevond civilization and among savages, Hubbard deemed it necessary to cement his friendship with the Indians by marrying an Indian woman, according to custom. For a wife he selected Watch-e-kee, the niece of a Pottawattamie chief.
The first permanent settlement of Iroquois County was simultaneously begun at two points-Milford and Bunkum, in the spring of 1830. The Courtright brothers and John H. Miller, all from Fountain County, Indiana, formed one party and came and settled in Bunkum. Hezekiah Eastburn then came here from Ohio. William Hana, Elizah Newcombe, and the widow McCulloch came with their families also. A tavern was kept at this place on the south side of the river by a Dr. Timothy Lacey, in 1831. Probably this was the first house of entertainment opened in the county.
Montgomery, an early settlement, as laid out for the proprietor, Richard Montgomery, May 9, 1835, by James H. Rees, who was deputized by Dan Beckwith, county supervisor of Vermilion County. It was sit- uated on the south side of the river. Concord was also surveyed by Mr. Rees as deputy of Jonas Smith, surveyor of Iroquois County, in May, 1836. Henry Moore was the proprietor. This was the north bank opposite Montgomery. The locality, including these two places, has always been known as "Bunkum.'
In the spring of 1830 the following persons settled in the vicinity of Milford: Samuel Rush, Hiram Miles, James Singleton, Daniel Barbe, Abram Miller, Joseph Cox, Joseph Reading, and a colored man. These people stayed but a short time. In the fall other families came including William Cox and William Pickerell and their families. These people were Quakers. In the spring of 1831 this little congregation of Friends built the first house of worship ever erected in Iroquois County. It was used for a school house as well as a church. Shortly after his arrival, Pickerell built a corn-cracker, dignified with the name of a mill, and until laid out in 1836, the place was called Pickerell's Mill, thus the name of Milford.
Early in 1834, a new settlement was begun on Upper Spring Creek in the vicinity of Del Rey, south of present-day Onarga. Ash Grove was settled in 1834 by Lewis Roberts, brother of Bishop Roberts, and his son-in-law John Nunemeker. Also on the river the town of Plato was sur- veyed and platted in May, 1836. This was when the internal improvement craze was at its peak. Extravagant and delusive expectations were formed concerning this enterprise. It was advertised in glowing colors in the Chicago and Lafayette papers; immense maps and posters were dis- tributed in eastern cities, showing the whole landing of "Harbor Creek" lined with boats unloading and receiving merchandise. Lots were sold at fabulous prices, many persons in New York City investing in them. The proprietor nearly realized their ambition to secure the county seat when
12
it was removed from Bunkum. James Smith, an accomplished gentleman, who lived on Upper Spring Creek, was the chief promoter of this scheme. He died suddenly in September, 1839, at the age of thirty-two. The death of Smith was likewise the death of Plato.
The law made it the duty of the judge of the Circuit Court of Ver- milion County, whenever he should be satisfied that the new county had 350 inhabitants, to grant an order for an election of three county com- missioners, one sheriff, and one coroner to hold office until the next gen- eral election. The special election for first officers was on Monday, Feb- ruary 24, 1834.
Legislation was enacted that called for a three-man committee from outside the county to determine the location of the county seat. This decision was reached on April 15, 1837, a twenty-acre tract adjoining Montgomery county was selected. The locators called the site "Iroquois.' County buildings were never built on this site but were rented in Mont- gomery for the short time the county seat was located in Iroquois.
The territory included within the present boundaries of Iroquois County was subjected to various stages of political evolution before the present county organization was perfected. Under the charter of 1609 supported by General George Rogers Clark's request, Virginia laid claim to all the country north and west of the Ohio River and organized it as the county of Illinois. In the year 1784, Virginia surrendered her claims to the territory to the government of the United States. This vast domain afterward became known as the Northwest Territory. While the Illinois country was still a part of the Northwest Territory, in the year 1790, we find Iroquois County a part of the county of Knox and so continued until February 3, 1801, when it became a part of the county of St. Clair, belong- ing to the Indiana Territory. The Illinois Territory was established by act of Congress on February 3, 1809.
This county continued to be a part of St. Clair County until the 14th of September, 1812, when upon reorganization it became a part of Edwards County. In the year 1816 the Iroquois country became a part of Craw- ford County and there remained until Illinois was admitted into the Union in 1818.
When Illinois was admitted as a state, she had but fifteen organized counties. One, Crawford County, embraced all the part of the state lving north of a line running east and west near the present site of Louis- ville, Illinois, the county seat of Clay County. It also included the area east of the third principal meridian, which runs due north from the mouth of the Ohio River.
March 22, 1819, the territory included within the present limits of Iroquois County became a part of Clark County. In 1823 Edgar County was organized and what is now Iroquois County was attached to Edgar. It remained thus until the county of Vermilion was organized in 1826, after which it continued until the formal organization took place February 26, 1833.
13
Gurdon S. Hubbard, while a representative from Vermilion County in the 8th General Assembly of Illinois 1832-1834, was instrumental in procuring the passage of the act creating Iroquois County. The county embraced all that territory lying north of its present south line and east of its present west line and extended north, forming a rectangle and about one-third of what is now Will County. As then established, Iroquois County extended from the north line of Vermilion to the then south line of Cook County.
Will County was created in the year 1836 and extended south to the Kankakee River. The river, except for a short distance at the northwest corner of the county, became the northern boundary of Iroquois County.
In the year 1853 Kankakee County was created from territory which had belonged to the counties of Iroquois and Will. Thus Iroquois was limited to its present boundaries.
In 1835 the town of Montgomery offered the county 20 acres of land on which to locate a permanent county seat. This land was located just east of Montgomery and was platted as a town site in 1836 under the name of Iroquois. The offer was accepted and the county seat was es- tablished at Iroquois. No buildings were erected so space was rented for county offices and a courtroom in Montgomery. As no town ever developed at Iroquois the plat was later vacated.
There was general dissatisfaction with the county seat so far from the center of the county. In 1838 an act was obtained from the Illinois legislature to relocate the county seat. The town of Middleport offered the county 52 lots to locate the county seat there. The offer was accepted and Middleport became the county seat in 1839.
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