USA > Illinois > Champaign County > A Standard history of Champaign County Illinois : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, civic and social development : a chronicle of the people, with family lineage and memoirs, Volume I > Part 44
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After directing most of the Ohio colony well along toward perma- nent settlement, Mr. Dodge farmed some of his land with indifferent suc- cess, then started a drug store in the village, and early in the period of Illinois Central land sales "got into the game" and within five years had sold some 50,000 acres to settlers and investors, all in the vicinity of Rantoul. Finally he retired, as he should, to an honorable rest.
JOHN ROUGHTON
In 1854 John Roughton, also an Ohio man of Pike County, settled at Urbana as a blacksmith, afterward engaged in the grocery business, and in November, 1855, pre-empted the northeast quarter of Section 27, in what is now Ludlow Township, just north of the railroad station, and started a blacksmith shop at the railroad station. In 1861 he moved to the Big Grove, but after serving in the Civil War returned to improve his old pre-emption, and eventually became prominent in the village affairs of Rantoul.
THE PRE-EMPTORS' FIGHT
Mr. Roughton had much to do with protecting the interests of those who pre-empted land in Rantoul and Ludlow townships in the late '50s, and more than thirty years afterward told the story in these words :
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"The grant of lands made by Congress to the Illinois Central Rail- road Co., designed to aid in the construction of their road, included every alternate or even numbered section on either side of the entire length. All lands still in possession of the government and lying with- in fifteen miles of the road were reserved to the United States (taken out of market) so that the company might select other lands in lieu of even numbered sections on its immediate line which had previously been taken up for settlement. In 1855, the railroad company having made their selections, those still remaining were again brought into market by the proclamation of the President, Franklin Pierce. Previous to the time appointed for public sale a large majority of said lands were en- tered under the then existing Pre-emption Act. At said sale, which soon followed, all the lands in the then Danville district, those which were as well as those which were not pre-empted were sold, provided that should the pre-emptor make satisfactory proof to the governor the pur- chaser would receive back his money without interest. The speculators, who in those days were dubbed land sharks, taxed their ingenuity in de- vising methods by which to entice, or if need be, to drive away the poor man from his home and fireside. With some who cared not to become actual tillers of the soil they easily effected a compromise. Others, af- frighted by threats of litigation, accepted a small bonus and left their lands. Those remaining in Champaign County, occupying as they then did nearly four thousand acres, being more resolute, could not be intimi- dated. Then came the tug of war and in dead earnest did Greek meet Greek, each determined to fight it out to the bitter end. Were those lands subject to pre-emption was the only issue. The speculator set up the plea that they were reserved to the United States, and therefore exempt by the act under which the pre-emptions were made. On the other hand it was claimed that, while it was true that these lands had been reserved for the purpose above set forth, it was equally true that the President by his proclamation put an end to the reservation and by his declara- tion that they were now subject to private entry he announced the fact that they were also subject to pre-emption.
"Litigation commenced. The Supreme Court of the State was ap- pealed to for its decision. In that court the speculator obtained a vic- tory. It was, however, currently believed that the victory was obtained by collusion with the pre-emptor who was defendant in the case. A number of suits in ejectment followed in the inferior courts and as a matter of course the same decision rendered. The pre-emptors of the county met together in council, at Champaign, organized a pre-emptors' protective association, appointed a convention to be held at Onarga and
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elected delegates to the same. Notices were scattered abroad and every one interested was invited to be present and participate in its proceed- ings. John Roughton and N. L. Seaver, of Rantoul, and Luther Eads, of Champaign attended the convention from Champaign County as dele- gates. Quite a number also attended from counties on the main line of the Illinois Central Railroad. The convention passed a series of reso- lutions expressive of its indignation against its oppressors, levied a tax of 20 cents per acre upon every pre-emptor with a view of raising a de- fense fund and appointed John Roughton to wait upon them and take their note for that amount payable in one year after date to the order of N. L. Seaver, who had been elected treasurer of the association. It also appointed an executive committee and instructed that committee to select a suitable case for appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States and to employ a competent attorney to prosecute the same. It also listened to an address delivered by an attorney from Danville, who came there for the purpose of submitting to the convention a proposition to carry up to the Supreme Court any case that might be selected for that purpose. He asked that a committee be appointed to confer with him. John Roughton, N. L. Seaver and a gentleman from Woodford County were appointed as that committee. They retired to a private room, received his proposition and reported to the convention. It was as follows: For taking up a case from the Circuit Court and carrying it on to its completion, if successful, eight thousand dollars; if unsuc- cessful, five thousand. The proposition was rejected by nearly a unan- imous vote and the executive committee urged to prosecute its mission as speedily as possible. A few weeks afterward Mr. A. B. Ives, an at- torney who resided at Bloomington and who had been employed in de- fending some of the cases which had been tried, reported to N. L. Seaver and John Roughton, one of them at the same time expressing it as his opinion that it was the best that could be found. He also expressed a desire to meet the committee with a view of being employed by them as their attorney. Luther T. Eads, who had been appointed chairman of the committee was therefore urged to call its members together. He, however, having become somewhat disappointed in consequence of the rejection of Mr. Drake's proposition at the convention refused to do so. Mr. Ives being advised as to the condition of affairs came to Rantoul where he entered into an agreement with Messrs. Roughton and Seaver to carry up the case he recommended and continue the same until a de- cision was obtained. In consideration for which, Mr. Roughton was to collect the tax levied by the convention and turn the notes over to him at their face value. Afterward the gentleman in Woodford County
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agreed to do the same. Mr. Ives went to Washington and Mr. Rough- ton visited every pre-emptor in Champaign County, from whom he collected notes amounting to between seven and eight hundred dollars and turned them over to him. The first and second winter sessions of the Supreme Court dragged along their weary length and no decision was obtained.
"'Uncertainty ! Fell demon of our fears! the human soul, That can support despair, supports not thee'."
"When the third came the yearnings of every heart were those ex- pressed by Froude in his 'Fall of Saguntum':
" 'But be not long, for in the tedious minutes, Exquisite interval, I'm on the rack ; For sure the greatest evil man can know, Bears no proportion to the dread suspense.'"
"However, before the expiration of this term victory perched upon the pre-emptor's banner-for in the month of September of the year 1860, Mr. Ives communicated the intelligence from Washington City, that the Supreme Court of the United States had given their decision reversing the decision of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois.
"How many of the old pre-emptors of 1855 now remain on their lands it would be difficult to determine. Suffice it, however, to say by way of conclusion, that this writer, aided by his only son, Reuben Roughton, has succeeded in rearing upon his a pleasant home where he now lives and where during the remainder of his earth life he expects to
" 'So live, that when his summons come to join The innumerable caravan, that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, And go not, like the quarry slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained and sooth'd By an unfaltering trust, approach his grave, Like one that draws the drapery of his couch About him and lies down to pleasant dreams.'"
The record shows that Mr. Dodge permanently located at Rantoul May 9, 1856, and that, soon afterward, came James T. Herrick, his brother-in-law, James Smithers, C. F. Post, John B. Perry, Columbus Carnes, Frank Eads, Anderson Brown and Benjamin Bradley.
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RANTOUL PLATTED
John and Guy D. Penfield also came to Rantoul from Michigan, in 1856, being accompanied by a number of neighbors and residents of their home town. The Penfields platted the town in 1856 and afterward did much to improve it.
In that year G. W. Carter, Abraham Cross and John A. Benedict also arrived.
J. J. Bois was appointed agent of the Illinois Central Railroad in May, 1857, and held that position for more than thirty years.
PRESENT VILLAGE
The village of Rantoul has had a steady growth from the first, even the fire of 1901, which swept away its business section, being only a tem-
RANTOUL BUSINESS STREET
porary set-back. It is the natural commercial center of a rich country, and its thorough transportation facilities at the crossing of the main Illi- nois Central line, the Rantoul branch, and the interurban have solidified its standing. In population, progressiveness and promise it is third in the county, after Champaign and Urbana. Rantoul is the owner of a modern water and light plant, has two solid banks-the First National and Commercial-and two large elevators, controlled respectively by J. W. Mccullough & Son and the Farmers' Elevator Company. W. H. Justice is superintendent of the village schools, the condition of which is told in the report of the county superintendent, published elsewhere.
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THE LOCAL NEWSPAPERS
Rantoul first became a village in 1870, having been incorporated, under the state laws, in 1890. Its progress, from first to last, is largely due to wide-awake local newspapers, represented by the Press and the News. In 1873, H. E. Bullock and Abraham Cross commenced the pub- lication of the Rantoul News, the outfit being moved from Paxton, the county seat of Ford County, on the north. The narrow-gauge railroad, now the Paxton branch of the Illinois Central, was then in course of construction, and the News upheld the enterprise through all its early difficulties. C. W. Gulick began the publication of the Rantoul Journal in October, 1875, its active manager being F. E. Pinkerton, afterward of the Urbana Courier. After about two years they were consolidated as the Rantoulian. After some changes Mr. Pinkerton again secured control and the sole ownership. About 1879 he changed the name of the publication to the Rantoul Press, which he published almost con- tinuously until 1895, when the Press was sold to F. R. Cross and C. B. E. Pinkerton. Their successor was the present editor and proprietor, F. E. Riker.
The Rantoul News was started by F. R. Cross about 1889, and, after being several times sold, came into the possession of E. J. Udell, who continued its publication and editorial management until the time of his death in 1903. C. A. and W. Gray afterward became editors and proprietors, under the corporate name of the News Printing Company. The Press and the News are lively promoters of the best interests of Rantoul.
CHURCHES AND LODGES
The village, like other moral and intelligent communities of its size, is favored with a number of strong churches and lodges. The religious bodies are the Methodist, Rev. M. M. Want, pastor ; the Baptist, Rev. E. C. Poole; the Christian (Campbellites), Rev. A. F. Hensaker ; the Congregational, Rev. J. R. Cullen ; the Catholic, Rev. W. J. Drun- my ; the Free Methodist, Rev. O. W. Haynes, and the Christian Scien- tists, Mrs. H. M. Morris, first reader. The Episcopal Church of Ran- toul is the oldest of the local religious organizations. Its first services were held in the depot of the Illinois Central Railroad in May, 1857, by Rev. John W. Osborne, a missionary of the Episcopal Church. Later services were held by Mr. Osborne in the schoolhouse until 1870, when the society was organized as a parish by Rev. W. M. Steel. The school- house was purchased and rebuilt as a church, which was consecrated in
1-30
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1876. The Episcopal rectors of longest service have been Rev. W. M. Steel, Rev. W. H. Tomlins, Rev. F. W. Burrell, Rev. John C. White, Rev. Joseph A. Antrim and Rev. John M. Page, the present pastor.
As to the societies, the Masons, including the Order of the Eastern Star; the Odd Fellows and the Rebekahs; the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Grand Army of the Republic, with the Women's Re- lief Corps, all have organizations of more or less stability.
THE FIRE OF 1901 AND ITS RESULTS
The most destructive fire in the history of Rantoul was that of August 9, 1901. The flames burst forth at 11:40 A. M. of that day,
THE HIGH SCHOOL
from the Goff-Yates elevator, near the Illinois Central tracks, west of the south division of the business section of the village. Within thirty minutes, so strong was the wind and dry the material fed to the fire, that the section was all in flames, and within less than three hours the business district was virtually swept clean, and many of the best resi- dences had also dissolved before the conflagration. The general course of the fire may be described as from the elevator to W. S. Snyder & Sons' implement house and Steel's blacksmith shop to Bailey's livery ; thence south through the business section along the rear of various structures to the City Hall, the First National Bank, Steffer & Leonard's store, Mil- ler & Hamilton's hardware store, to the offices of the News and the Press; thence to the Masonic Hall and Opera House. When the flames had
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subsided it was found that the only business houses or industries left were Coon Brothers' old telephone office, Clark & Rusk's elevator, Sweed- burg's blacksmith and machine shop and Durbin's mill. The only hotel left was the Martin House. Rebuilding commenced promptly after matters with the insurance companies could be adjusted, and the citizens of Rantoul get their bearings, and the new village which soon arose was a great improvement over the old.
The general result is seen in the clean, substantial and modern ap- pearance of the business houses, and the corresponding appearance of the village streets. Coupled with its advantages of moral, intellectual and social growth, Rantoul has all the necessary qualifications of a de- sirable residence town numbering fifteen hundred people.
THE CHANUTE AVIATION FIELD
A mile southeast of Rantoul is Chanute Field, the largest aviation field in the United States with the exception of the Wright grounds near Dayton, Ohio. The school, the headquarters of which are at this point, was established in July, 1917, and two thousand workmen were employed in preparing the necessary buildings and getting the grounds in proper shape. Something like a million dollars were expended in a few weeks on the site of the field which covers about a section and a half of land. The flying field proper is a level prairie of 640 acres. Captain C. C. Edgar of Washington, D. C., was in charge of the con- struction work; Major J. L. Dunsworth, commandant, and Captain Roy S. Brown in active charge of the flying. Captain Brown's chief assist- ants were Captain T. J. Hanley and Captain John C. McDonnell. The two original squadrons, each in charge of a captain, were reinforced by others as the number of student aviators increased. The majority of them had studied aviation, theoretically, at the ground schools at Prince- ton, Cornell, Illinois, Texas, Ohio and other universities, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their curriculum had included the construction of aeroplanes, theory of flying, and applied mathematics, physics, photography and map making. If they had not received this course of instruction, it was given to them at Chanute Field. But the prime purpose of the training there is to get them a thousand feet above the earth and, with nothing around them but air, teach them to coolly deal with "balky" engines and treacherous winds and pockets, to train machine guns, drop bombs and all else required by their calling. At first they mount with capable instructors; soon they are required to try their wings alone, and after two months, if they pass the required
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
tests, they receive their diploma of R. M. A. (Reserve Military Aviator) and are ready for duty either with the army or navy.
THOMASBORO
Thomasboro, in the southwestern part of Rantoul Township, is an Illinois Central Station, is quite a shipping point for grain and pro- duce and has banking facilities (through the First National) which meets all demands of the townsmen and neighboring residents. Its school and church advantages are also adequate. Its population is numbered at about three hundred.
CHAPTER XIV
HOMER VILLAGE AND SOUTH HOMER TOWNSHIP
SOUTH HOMER TOWNSHIP-THE WRIGHTS-M. D. COFFEEN & COM- PANY-MOSES THOMAS AND THE OLD MILL-OLD HOMER PLATTED -- EXODUS TO NEW HOMER-HOMER IN OCTOBER, 1855-THE CHURCHES-THE CORPORATION-VILLAGE OF TODAY-NEWSPAPERS OF HOMER-THE WOMAN'S CLUB-LODGES.
Less than a mile from the Vermilion County line, the village of Homer lies in the southeastern part of Champaign County on the Wabash line. It is a neat, growing corporation, having within its limits some twelve hundred people, with concrete walks and streets, substantial look- ing stores, two grain elevators, a public library, newspaper, two banks, a pretty public park, a good graded school, churches, lodges and societies. It is the trading and banking center of a prosperous agricultural district, the advantages of such a situation being mutual.
SOUTH HOMER TOWNSHIP
As to the township of South Homer, outside of the village, it is eight and a half miles from north to south and three and three-quarters from east to west. In its northern and central portions it is drained by the Salt Fork of the Vermilion River and in the south by the headwaters of the Little Vermilion River. These streams afford good natural drainage, and this advantage is supplemented by artificial drainage, especially along the Little Vermilion. Except immediately adjacent to the Salt Fork the lands of the township are of the best quality; in places, these consist of abrupt bluffs and, in other localities, of bottom lands so low that they are subject to overflows of long duration.
THE WRIGHTS
That part of the county long known as the Salt Fork Timber extended eastward into Vermilion County, with Danville as its metropo- lis. At an early day the Wrights settled in that region on both sides
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of the line. Among them was John B. Wright, a Virginian, who had become prominent in Indiana before he brought his family to Champaign County and located ou a farm about a mile north of the present village of Homer. That was in September, 1830.
M. D. COFFEEN & COMPANY
James S. Wright was one of his sons, who, in 1837, broke away from the farm and the malaria-ridden country and went to work on the Illinois & Michigan Canal, then being dug between Chicago and the Illinois River. Soon afterward he returned to the locality of Homer, how- ever, with enough money to buy some land and become an independent farmer. He secured his first real start in life through his association with M. D. Coffeen, a young, intelligent and enterprising merchant, who was aiming to establish a trading center near the Wright place, the Moses Thomas mill and a section of the county generally, the settlers of which were coming to demand such accommodations nearer than Dan- ville.
MOSES THOMAS AND THE OLD MILL
Moses Thomas came about 1829 and entered land not far from the village of Homer. He erected and operated the first mill with other than manual or horse power, near the southwest corner of Section 33, in the northeast corner of the township, and was one of the proprietors of Old Homer laid out upon lands near by. Both by appointment and election he served as probate justice in 1833-37, when he was succeeded by his son, John B. Thomas.
OLD HOMER PLATTED
In 1837 M. D. Coffeen formed a partnership with Samuel Groenen- dyke, of Eugene, Ind., and, under the name of M. D. Coffeen & Com- pany, they decided to plat a town at the intersection of Sections 4 and 5, Town 18, and Sections 32 and 33, Town 19, a mile north of the present village. There are several explanations as to the naming of the place, but the one which seems to have come most directly from Mr. Coffeen himself is to this effect: One day in 1837, after the proprietors had located their general store, they commenced to talk about putting up a blacksmith shop (Wright was a blacksmith) and possibly a hotel, as well as about platting a little town. Mr. Groenendyke remarked "Yes, that plan would be more homer to me" (meaning more homelike to Mr. Coffeen) than to have it as it was then, with no place at which to stop.
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At this Mr. Coffeen, who is also said to have been somewhat of a scholar and a great admirer of the Greek philosopher, replied, "Well, then, Homer it shall be." It is of record that at a meeting of the county commissioners held in April, 1837, a license was granted to Green Atwood to keep a tavern in the town of Homer. The Coffeen store was a great success and drew a large trade from the Sangamon, Okaw and Ambraw settlements, and the partnership continued until the death of Mr. Groenendyke, the non-resident partner, in 1860.
EXODUS TO NEW HOMER
Thus Old Homer reached the dignity of a bustling little village of several hundred people, notwithstanding its rather low and nnhealthful
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HIGH SCHOOL AT HOMER
site. But when the Great Western (now the Wabash) Railroad was put through the southern part of the county in 1855 and its course lay a mile and a quarter south of Homer, Mr. Coffeen who had aequired land at that locality, platted a town of the same name there, with the railroad station as its nueleus. He invited all his townsmen to move to the new town of Homer and offered to exchange lot for lot for the benefit of those who owned real estate in the old village. The proposi- tion was generally accepted and the business men agreed to elose their stores permanently after April 1, 1855, and move their goods, and such of their buildings as were presentable, to the new town of Homer. It is stated that "everything went to the new town except the Salt Fork and
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the pioneer mill of Moses Thomas," which, from necessity, were left behind. A general housemoving, with Mr. Coffeen in the lead, was begun, and continued until the former thrifty town became a waste of abandoned streets, alleys and lots, covered with the debris of its former greatness. The Homer & Ogden Electric Railroad now crosses the Salt Fork a few rods above the mill erected by Moses Thomas and, crossing the town plat of Old Homer, connects, by business and social ties, thriv- ing towns which have grown up on the prairie in places unthought of by the men of that day as needing such facilities.
When Old Homer became a deserted village and New Homer a thing of life, James S. Wright, who had been an independent merchant for ten years, graduated to the larger financial and political field which centered in Champaign and Urbana. He had in the meantime been county surveyor for many years and served in the Legislature as a Whig.
HOMER IN OCTOBER, 1855
How the second village of Homer looked when it was very young is thus described by the editor of the Urbana Union in his issue of October 25, 1855: "On Tuesday of this week we visited this town for the first time since its location on the prairie. The present site, on a high and commanding point on the Great Western Railroad, is considered much healthier than the old town. We were informed by the physicians that amidst the great amount of sickness the present year the town has been comparatively free from it. It is expected that the cars will soon pay the town a visit, and that the whistle of the locomotive will wake to new life the business of the town and surrounding country, which is already good. Several new houses are already being built, and many more will be commenced when facilities for getting lumber are better.
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