USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume I > Part 33
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THE PRINCIPALS' AFTER LIFE
A word as to the Chavers family : The hus- band, Alfred Chavers, "ran on the river" and, some two years after this incident lost his life in a disaster on a steamboat plying between St. Louis and New Orleans. After his death his wife removed to a town in Southern Illi- nois where she had relatives, and nothing more seems to have been known of her in Alton. The couple left no children.
CHAPTER XXIX
CASUALTIES IN THE COUNTY
THE TORNADO OF JUNE, 1860-TORNADO AND CYCLONE OF THE SEVENTIES-DESTRUCTIVE WIND STORM OF 1896-GREAT RIVER FLOODS-EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS-EXPLOSION OF POW- DER MAGAZINE.
The first destructive hurricane of which there is any mention in history is that which occurred June 5, 1805. The storm moved from the southwest to the northeast across what is now Madison county. It swept over the American Bottom, cutting a swath about three quarters of a mile in width. demolishing houses, tearing up trees, destroying stock and everything movable in its tempestuous path- way. It swept the water out of the lakes, scattering the fish therein far out on the prairies. It carried in its wrathful embrace tops of pine trees from fifty miles out in Mis- souri. There were but few inhabitants then in the county and no one was killed, but sev- eral were severely wounded by flying rails and timbers.
On May 17, 1838, a violent hurricane crossed the county, which prostrated fences, trees and insecure buildings. It was accom- panied by a heavy fall of rain.
A heavy hail storm visited townships 3 and 4, range 7 west, on July 24, 1854. Some hail- stones were picked up after the storm which, it was declared, weighed a pound. Roofs were greatly injured, window panes shattered and the fruit and foliage stripped from trees. Many turkeys, chickens and geese were killed by the hailstones.
THE TORNADO OF JUNE, 1860
The most destructive tornado which ever devastated the county was that which struck Alton on Saturday evening, June 2, 1860. The Alton Courier of June 4th, says, in re- counting it: "In twenty minutes it destroyed property to the value of many thousand dol- lars. No lives, however, were lost and but few persons injured. The German Catholic church, at the corner of Henry and Third streets and built last year at a cost of $9,000, is almost a complete wreck, the basement and part of the upper front wall alone standing. The steeple was blown off the Episcopal church. It is said the church is almost a total loss, the walls being much sprung and cracked. The church cost about $12,000. The organ is ruined. The steeple was blown from the Methodist church. The roof was also consid- erably injured by the fall. Loss $3,000. The house of D. Simms, just south of the church, was completely crushed by the falling steeple. It was worth $1,800. No loss in the city is commented on with more and warmer ex- pressions of sympathy than that of the Demo- crat office. The building, presses, engine, stock and all are a complete wreck. The en- tire loss must be at least $8,000. Over one
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hundred houses throughout the city were dam- aged, and the total loss of property is estimated at $200,000."
TORNADO AND CYCLONE OF THE SEVENTIES
Another fearful tornado was that of March 8, 1871, which crossed the river at St. Louis coming from the southwest, and swept through this county with destructive effect. At East St. Louis it did an immense amount of damage and was so resistless that it lifted a locomotive from the track and landed it in the ditch. At Nameoki, in this county, it struck a string of box cars and hurled them a considerable distance, besides doing great damage to houses, barns and out-buildings. Fragments of steamboats, destroyed at the St. Louis levee, were carried clear across Madi- son county and landed in the timber and fields along the northern border. A church at New Douglas, in which service was being held, was stood up on end and the congregation precipi- tated to the lower level.
Still another terrific tornado, or rather cy- clone, was that of May, 1873. At Alton the famed funnel shaped cloud swept across the river from the south, passed between the Top- ping store and Farber's mill (now the Stanard mill)-the lot between being vacant and, by creating a vacuum, caused the east wall of the mill to fall outward from the basement to the roof of a three story building. The wall was of brick and three feet thick. The front wall of Basse's mill on Front street was also blown in. The fourth story of the Armory Hall building, corner of Third and Piasa streets, was torn off. The cyclone then swept south- east and took the flagstaff and chimneys off the City Hall, then passed diagonally across the street and crushed a two-story brick, northeast corner of Market and Second streets, leaving not one brick upon another ; then rising higher took off the chimneys of the three story brick adjoining, occupied by Dr. Haskell's office; next, moving northeast
and still rising clipped the chimneys off the Ursuline Academy and disappeared in the higher altitude. The freaks of these cyclones are curious; for instance, the fourth story of the Armory Hall was blown off for the sec- ond time in this disaster, the first being de- stroyed in the great tornado of 1860.
DESTRUCTIVE WIND STORM OF 1896
One of the most destructive tornadoes which ever visited this locality was that of May 27, 1896, which swept over St. Louis, crossed the river into East St. Louis and thence passed into Madison county. In St. Louis it did in- calculable damage to property and exacted a toll of 500 lives. It blew down the approach to the Eads bridge in East St. Louis, a mo- ment after the passage of a passenger train, wrecked the Relay depot and did a vast amount of damage throughout the city, espe- cially to railroad property. The cyclone passed on through this county, with destruc- tive effects to the rural districts.
GREAT RIVER FLOODS
In June, 1844, a terrible and destructive flood from the Mississippi and Missouri rivers swept over the American Bottom causing im- mense property loss though not as much as if the country had been more thickly settled. The river rose higher than ever recorded be- fore or since. The American Bottom was flooded over its entire area from Alton to Kaskaskia, and steamboats were able to sail over it from St. Louis to the bluffs six miles from the river channel. In Alton the flood did great damage. All the stores on West Second street were flooded. Merchants went to their business in skiffs and sold goods to customers from ladders or while standing on their counters. A steamboat captain was anxious to sail his craft through Second to State street, but the merchants objected. They had trouble enough and feared further dam- age. Samuel Pitts, then as now a resident of
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BLUFF LINE STATION AT ALTON (FLOOD OF 1903) [Depot platform 32 ft. above low-water mark]
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Alton, says the flood extended up the Piasa valley as far as Ninth street. That was, of course, before the building of the railroad and culvert, when the surface of the valley was much lower, as was also true on Second street. Steamboats could have navigated up the Piasa valley as far as Ninth but for the obstruc- tion of a bridge at Second street and one at Fourth. Other floods occurred in 1851 and 1858 but were of less extent.
The most destructive flood of later years was that of 1903 which was only a foot or so lower than that of 1844. It did far more damage, however, as the country was vastly more thickly settled. East St. Louis was in- undated and all railroad communication there- with cut off, except, perhaps, by one line. All railroads from the east and north, terminating in that city, were obliged to route their trains to and from Alton where the passengers, mails and express freight were transferred to steamers. Missouri Point was completely in- undated from St. Charles down, the flood ex- tending from bluff to bluff of the rivers. All the railroads on the Point were cut off and their embankments swept away. The water rose to the platform of the Union station and in the waiting rooms of the Chicago, Pitts- burgh & St. Louis depot the water was two feet deep. The river again flowed through Second street from State to Piasa, but did little damage beyond flooding cellars and first floors. All the mails for St. Louis from the east, and those from the west and south com- ing over the west side Burlington and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas were transferred through the Alton postoffice. This included many hundreds of registered packages. All these were entered on the register of the Al- ton office and dispatched therefrom and not a package was lost. The ordinary mail sacks handled through the Alton office numbered several hundred per day during the prevalence of the flood. This flood of 1903 marked 31.45 feet above the low water mark of 1866, which
is the standard, and 32.25 feet above the low water mark of 1909.
The following year the river again rose to flood height but the inundation was not as serious as that of the previous year. Late in the summer of 1907 another disastrous flood occurred which inundated Missouri Point and destroyed all the growing crops and did as much damage on the American Bottom. The remarkable thing about this flood was its late occurrence. River floods are usually expected in June, but this occurred in August when the corn was in tassel, and all crops on the river bottoms were lost.
These destructive floods are liable to occur whenever the high waters in the Mississippi and the Missouri come down simultaneously. The immense losses they involve are now, however, being greatly reduced by systems of dikes and embankments from Alton to East St. Louis and by raising the tracks of the rail- roads beyond flood height. The same system of protection is being prosecuted on Missouri Point opposite Alton, and extending along the Missouri river as far as St. Charles.
In this connection the following historic reference to early floods in the Mississippi is taken from an address before the State Agri- cultural Society by Governor John Reynolds in 1856: "At long intervals the floods of the Mississippi inundate the lowlands. In 1725 a great inundation of the American Bottom oc- curred. In 1770 another of less depth visited the bottom, and two years later, in 1772, a great rise in the river overflowed the entire Bottom. This flood tore away part of Fort Chartres (situated on the Mississippi twenty miles above Kaskaskia), whereupon the Eng- lish garrison moved to the latter village. The next extraordinary flood occurred in the year 1785, and was next to the highest ever known on the Mississippi. I have often seen the marks of the high water of 1785 on the houses in the French villages, for many years after we settled in Illinois in 1800. The next great
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inundation was in 1844, and was some higher than that of 1785. The height of the flood in 1844 is marked on a stone monument erected on Water street, in the city of St. Louis, and exhibits a terrific flood extending over the whole Bottom from bluff to bluff. These deep and sweeping inundations did much damage to the agricultural interests of the country."
EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS
Slight shocks of earthquakes have been ex- perienced in this county during its history but none of a destructive character since the great earthquakes of 1811 which centered their vio- lence about New Madrid, Missouri. The shocks then occurring in this county were more violent than any since experienced, but did little damage. The county was thinly pop- ulated and the houses being built mainly of logs, resisted the seismic disturbances success- fully, but the shocks caused great alarm among the residents.
EXPLOSION OF POWDER MAGAZINE
The most serious stirring-up the people of Madison county have experienced was oc- casioned not by an earthquake shock but by the explosion of the powder magazine at Al- ton, on the 20th of June, 1840. The explosion was described in the Alton Telegraph, by Judge Bailhache, as "incomparably louder and far more destructive than the discharge of a
hundred pieces of the heaviest artillery." The powder magazine was situated on the bluffs, a few rods west of the penitentiary, and con- tained at the time six tons of powder. Judge Bailhache writes: "To describe with some de- gree of minuteness the damage done by this explosion would require columns of our jour- nal; suffice it therefore to remark that scarcely one single building within the thickly settled part of our city remains uninjured, and that some of those nearest the site of the magazine have been literally reduced to heaps of ruins ; chimneys demolished, roofs started and nearly blown off, windows and frames shivered to atoms are among the results of the explosion. But although fragments of stone of which the magazine was built were hurled with resist- less force in every direction, some of them to the distance of nearly a mile, perforating houses and overthrowing everything in their way, no life has been lost so far as our in- formation extends, nor any serious injury done to the person of anyone." The writer proceeds to narrate a series of hair-breadth escapes that were so remarkable as to be al- most unbelievable.
The belief was universal that the explosion was the work of some villain, but for what ob- ject could not be conjectured. The offender, or offenders, were never discovered although the common council offered $500 reward for their apprehension. The damage done to buildings was estimated at over $25,000.
CHAPTER XXX
SCHOOLS OF MADISON COUNTY
FIRST STATE SCHOOL LAW-FIRST PUBLIC (FREE) SCHOOL IN THE STATE-PIONEER PUBLIC (PAY) SCHOOLS-EARLY SCHOOLS BY TOWNSHIPS-SYSTEM AND STATISTICS OF THE PRES- ENT-COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS, 1870-1910.
By Superintendent J. U. Uzzell
At the very dawn of the nineteenth century, the pioneer settlers of Madison county began establishing schools for the purpose of teach- ing their children the meagre essentials of reading, writing, spelling, and "ciphering" to the "rule of three." The ordinance of 1787 gave great impetus to early education in Illi- nois by declaring that "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good govern- ment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." This ordinance appropriated the sixteenth section in each township to school purposes. This applied to the entire Northwest territory, including the present state of Illinois.
The enabling act of 1818 passed by con- gress to permit Illinois to take the necessary steps toward admission into the Union pro- vided further that section sixteen be granted to the state for school purposes. It also stipulated that three per cent of the net pro- ceeds of all congressional land sales after January 1, 1819, should be appropriated by the legislature for the "encouragement of learning ;" one-sixth of which was to be used toward the establishing and support of a state college or university. Thus the foundation of our present magnificent State University was begun.
FIRST STATE SCHOOL LAW
The first general law of Illinois providing for state and local tax for school purposes was enacted in 1825. This law proved un- popular and was soon rendered inoperative by hurtful amendments; but in 1855 a more effective school tax law was enacted, provid- ing for a state tax, an unrestrained district tax for the support of a six-months' school in every school district. To this law there was much active opposition, and it was not until the constitution of 1870 gave genuine recogni- tion to the free school system of Illinois that the public schools became popular and effective.
Madison county's only college, Shurtleff, was first established by Rev. John Mason Peck, a Connecticut immigrant, as "Rock Spring Seminary" and was located in St. Clair county in 1827. In 1832 it was removed to Upper Alton, Madison county, and called Alton Seminary, the name soon thereafter being changed to Shurtleff College. Other higher institutions of learning in the county outside of the public system, are Monticello Seminary, at Godfrey, the first institution for the education of young ladies established west of the Alleghanies; the Ursuline Academy at Alton, a flourishing Catholic institution and
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the Western Military Academy at Upper Al- ton, with an enviable record. All these in- stitutions are spoken of in a previous chapter. FIRST PUBLIC (FREE) SCHOOL IN THE STATE
Quoting Hon. Norman G. Flagg, in his "Notes on Madison County History" recently published in the Madison County School Journal: "The first public free school in Madison County and indeed in the state, was established in or near Alton in 1821, accord- ing to Ninian Edwards' 'History of Illinois.' At that time a town was laid out near what is now Upper Alton. The proprietors gave fifty lots for school purposes, and by an act of 1821 certain trustees were vested with the title to those lots and were empowered to levy a tax of not to exceed 75 cents a year on each lot. They were required to establish and maintain a free school for all children of school age in the town (see Laws, 1821, p. 39). But it was not until 1855 that the people of Madison county, as well as of Illi- nois in general, could boast of a free school plan in general, and it was not until the con- stitution of 1870 that the people of this great state could truly say 'we have a successful system of free public education.' "
PIONEER PUBLIC (PAY) SCHOOLS
While the first free school was not estab- lished in Madison county until three years after Illinois became a state (1821) it must be borne in mind that many public pay schools were established from time to time in differ- ent parts of the county. According to the reports of Hon. W. P. Eaton, a former school commissioner of Madison county, the first public (pay) institution was opened at Cas- terline's school in 1804, in township 3-8 not far from the present city of Collinsville. This school was taught by James Bradsburry. Elisha Alexander taught a school in the door- yard of Mr. Judy's home in 1812, and a log school-house was built at the foot of the bluff midway between the homes of Mr. Judy and
Wm. B. Whitesides in 1814. In the block- house which stood on the farm of James Gill- ham on the Sand Ridge, in section I, town- ship 4-9, Vache Clark conducted a school dur- ing the year 1813, the school being continued several years under various instructors. In 1809-10 a school two and one half miles south of Edwardsville was frequently broken up by bands of hostile Indians. James Renfro, in 1810 or 1811, conducted a school on the farm of Mr. Moore near the south line of the county.
EARLY SCHOOLS BY TOWNSHIPS
In Jarvis township (3-7) the first school was taught by Jesse Renfro in 1824 at the old Gilead church. His salary was sixteen dollars per month. The first school in Alton township, so far as can be exactly known, was opened in November, 1831, by Mr. H. Davis on Second street, between Market and Alby. David Smeltzer conducted the first school in St. Jacob township, (3-6), 1812, in the old Chilton Fort. In 1817 a log schoolhouse was built near the Parkinson home, and later another cabin school was erected where the Augusta church now stands. In 1828 a better building was erected near Uzzell Spring, the teacher being Alexander Trousdale. In Marine township (4-6), Arthur Travis conducted a school in Major Isaac Ferguson's smokehouse in the year 1814. As early as 1805 Edward Humphrey taught a school near the "six-mile house" in Nameoki township (3-9). During the twenties. George and James Ramsey taught school in Helve- tia township (3-5). In Hamel township (5-7) in 1825, Joseph Thompson and a Mr. Carver had charge of a school in a rude pole structure on the farm of Robert Aldrich. The earliest school in Pin Oak township (4-7) was taught by Joshua Atwater, 1809, in a primitive cabin. William Davenport was the first teacher in Alhambra township (5-6), his school being in the Hoxsey neighborhood; in
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
1832 a building was erected on section 19. In New Douglas township (6-5) Daniel Funderburk was the first settler and first teacher. In Fort Russel, Rev. Wm. Jones taught the first school in old Jones block- house. In Saline township (4-5) John Bar- ber, Jr., conducted a school in 1825.
Again quoting from "Notes on Madison County History" in which the writer gives credit to the late Michael Brown of Brigh- ton : "The first schoolhouse (in Alton) was a little log cabin, I suppose about fourteen feet square; the floor was made of split lumber, rough-hewed, and laid down in a very rough manner, but it was not used long. It was in the south part of town. A better house was built near the road running to Milton. This house, though built of logs, was comfortable and was used several years. The seats were not so comfortable. They were made of slabs, hauled from the saw-mill at Milton. The small scholars had to sit on these miserable benches without backs, and be very quiet, though some of them could not reach the floor with their feet."
SYSTEM AND STATISTICS OF THE PRESENT
From this primitive beginning, and under the benign influence of the state constitution of 1870 and subsequent legislative enactments, the public free school system in Madison has made almost miraculous progress. From a few scattering pay schools of pioneer days, public education has grown to be a mighty force in the affairs of the county. There are twenty-four school townships, the officers of which are three school trustees and a town- ship school treasurer. These officers have charge of all school property and monies which are held in trust for the several schools of the respective townships. Each township is divided into a number of school districts, in each of which is located one or more school buildings. The schools of districts containing a population of less than one thou- Vol. I-15
sand are directed by three school directors elected by the people; while in districts hav- ing one thousand or more people, the school affairs are in charge of a board of education elected by the people. Boards of education consist of six members and a president. In the city of Alton, in accordance with a special charter, the board of education consists of fourteen members and a president, appointed by the mayor and city council.
There are in all, 458 members of school boards, 72 school trustees, and 26 school treasurers, making a total of 556 school offi- cers. In general charge over all of these is the county superintendent of schools and his assistant.' The following list of facts taken from the county superintendent's annual re- port June 30, 1911, gives the best idea of the growth of the public school system in Madi- son County :
Number of districts, 134.
Number of school buildings, 166.
Number of county schools, 126.
Number of graded schools, 40.
Number of persons of school age, 26,777.
Number of persons enrolled in public schools, 15,742.
Number of persons under 21, 38,117.
Number of persons enrolled in private schools, 2,671.
Total number of pupils in all schools, 18,413.
Number of teachers, 450.
Number of male teachers, 82.
Number of female teachers, 368.
Number of teachers in private schools, 76.
Total number of teachers in the county, 526.
Average number of pupils to each teacher (public schools) 35.
Value of school property, $1,054,004.58.
Bonded indebtedness, $286,200.00.
Number of school libraries, 98.
Volumes in school libraries, 25,117.
Value school libraries, $14,992.25.
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Amount levied for all school : purposes, $359,340.25.
Amount paid teachers, $222,630.36.
Average monthly salary for male teachers, $92.25.
Average monthly salary for female teach- ers, $52.24.
Amount collected by county superintendent for distribution, $22,138.20.
Accredited high schools, 7. Total high school enrolment, 1,091.
High school graduates, 147.
Number of high school teachers, 52.
Among the teachers of Madison county are numbered graduates from some of the best institutions of the nation. We have 150 nor- mal, academy, college, or university graduates, and 250 who are graduates of high schools, or have equivalent preparation for their work.
The progress and importance of the public school system of the county can be especially noted in the increased number and improved architectural style of the school buildings. The greater number of the rural school- houses are well constructed and are ventilated, lighted and heated in accord with the best methods, many of them being supplied with furnaces. The villages and cities have build- ings second to none in the state. Especial mention should be made of the magnificent buildings of Highland, Collinsville, Edwards- ville, Alton, Granite City, Venice, Madison, Wood River, Marine, New Douglas, Troy, East Alton, Bethalto and other places. The new township high school building at Collins- ville is one of the best of its kind in Illinois and is the only township high school in the county.
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