USA > Illinois > Cumberland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 59
USA > Illinois > Richland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 59
USA > Illinois > Jasper County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 59
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
597
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
gleaned and the crop pronounced a failure in this region. Some wheat was grown during the years preceding 1855, but from this date to 1860, more intelligent effort was put forth to master the sit- uation. The blue stem was an early variety that succeeded, and the Mediterranean. Of late years the Fultz wheat has been the favorite grain, but the tendency now seems to trend toward the Lancaster and the old Mediterranean. From 1860 to 1881, the crop has been reason- ably sure, producing an average of from twelve to fifteen bushels per arre. In the latter year there was a drouth which resulted in abso- lute failure of all crops. In the following year the wheat yield was very large, the crop being estimated at an average of eighteen bush- els to the acre. The cultivation of this crop is not carried on with the care and judgment to be expected in the case of so important a crop. The ground is generally prepared by plowing in July or August, unless the season be wet, when the plowing is sometimes deferred to avoid the growth of weeds that inevitably spring up in such case. After slight harrowing, the wheat is drilled in and occa- sionally top-dressel and rolled. The grain is threshed in the field and marketed at home. There are three grist-mills that buy consid- erable wheat for manufacture, but the larger part of the product finds its way through the elevator at Olney to Baltimore and other eastern points. Rye and barley scarcely figure in the agriculture of the county. A limited acreage is sown annually for feed, there being but little or no sale for the grains. Oats are never the successful crop here that they are in the north. The climate is found too hot for its best success. A considerable acreage is grown but the product is intended for home use, and no more is grown than is used here. An occasional crop will yield a grain that weighs thirty-three pounds to the bushel.
Corn is only second to wheat as a source of revenue to the farmer. It has always been a reliable crop, and that without the careful cultivation which elsewhere proves so remunerative. The white variety was the early variety planted, but the change in sea- sons scarcely gave it time to mature in seasons affected by dry weather. In recent years many have planted corn secured in Ohio, and this while not bearing so large an ear, was found to mature better and quite as good for all purposes. This variety matures in ninety days from the planting, and gets to a point in its growth where it is lit- tle effected by the dry weather which seldom fails to be experienced in the latter part of the summer or fall in this region. The ground is not as carefully prepared for this crop as it should be. The better
598
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
farmers contend that the ground should be plowed in the late fall or in the open period of the winter. In the spring when the ground is ready to plow the prepared ground may be thoroughly harrowed and planted before the spring plowing can be accomplished. But few follow this practice, however, and spring plowing is the rule. In the care of the growing erops the same diversity of method occurs. The old rule of going through the field a certain number of times before " laying by " the crop, is still too generally followed. There are those, however, who cultivate the corn until it becomes too tall for further cultivation, and the increased yield under this culture is in marked contrast to the less careful method. The corn is generally husked from the standing stalk, which is sometimes " stripped " and " topped," but generally is left to stand entire and stock turned in on it after the frost of winter has rendered the ground hard. It is sometimes cut and shocked and wheat sown between the rows of shocks. The larger part of the product is sold, though it is becoming the general opinion that it could be more profitably fed to stock. The yield ranges from twenty-five to forty- five bushels per acre, though there are exceptional cases where a higher yield is obtained. Sorghum and broom-corn are found in little patches, but the extensive culture of either is not observed here. Fruit is becoming a prominent source of agricultural reve- nue in Richland County. Apples are the leading variety and almost the exclusive variety cultivated for market purposes. This fruit is hardy in this locality, and receives the most intelligent care. Some of the orchards are quite extensive, one covering an area of 160 acres and numbers of them from twenty to forty acres, each. The market is good, large quantities being shipped from the county- seat. Peaches were extensively cultivated, a few years since, but the uncertainty of the crop, the severity of the winters and their disastrous effect upon the life of the trees, have had a tendency to discourage the culture. The difficulty of reaching a profitable mar- ket in good season is another very serious discouragement, and peaches may be said to be rather less than more than enough for the home demand. Pears are grown in orchards with fair success, but the product barely suffices for home use. Cherries and plums are found only in the gardens and are subject to the usual hindrances found elsewhere. Small fruit culture is yet in its infancy. Of black- berries there is an abundant wild growth, which in favorable years brings into the county a considerable revenue. The same is true of nuts, the product of the hickory occasionally reaching a remarkable
599
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
feature in the exports of the county. Strawberries and other fruits of this class are found to grow well here, and the facilities afforded by the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad are leading many to add this branch of horticulture to the ordinary culture of the farm.
The improvements in stock date principally within the last ten years. The class of horses here were merely scrubs, until about 1867 or 1868. In this year Ellingsworth, of Effingham County, exhibited a Norman stallion at the fair, that was very much admired, and the following spring was stood in the county. The rage for Norman colts became almost universal anda marked improvement in the class of horses in the county was observed. This has continued until the present with but little abatement. The " all-purpose " horse is the one chiefly needed, and is the class to which most of the horses are to be referred. Mr. Arch. Spring has several horses of this strain and pays considerable attention to breeding them. In the summer of 1883, E. S. Wilson and Thomas Tippitt received from the Clydes- dale Horse-Breeding Company, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Glas- gow, Scotland, three full-blooded two-year old Clydesdale fillies. Mr. Wilson received " Bonnie Lass " and " Ida May," and Mr. Tippitt, " Rosa." These animals are claimed to have more muscle per pound of weight than the Norman, and are therefore less slovenly in gait, and make a more sprightly animal. Mr. Wilson has embarked pretty extensively in this grade of horses, and their exhibition at the fair drew forth many marks of approval. While this class of horses seems to meet more fully the public demand, roadsters and speed horses are not neglected by breeders. Mr. Sand leads in this variety, and has some of the finest bred animals in the State. Mules are not so much bred here as in Jasper or Cumberland counties. The taste seems to have been educated in favor of draft horses, and hence they have not taken the prominent position they probably otherwise would. There are, however, some good mules in the county, and are always found among the teams that come to the county-seat on special occa- sions. The same spirit of improvements is manifested among cattle. The short horn Durham takes the lead, and good herds are owned by P. Heltman and H. B. Miller. Jerseys are represented in the county by G. D. Slanker. Some Ayrshires were exhibited at the fair this year, and attracted considerable attention by their peculiarities. Hogs are more generally marked in their improvement from the orig- inal breeds than any other kind of stock. The old " hazel splitters" have become long ago extinct. The first improvement was the intro- duction of the Irish Grazers, which have been succeeded by the
600
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
Berkshire, Poland-China and Chester White. Among the leading stock men interested in these breeds are E. S. Wilson, P. Heltman, A. G. Basden and Bowlsby Bros. Sheep are beginning to be found in the county in considerable numbers. William Me Williams is the leading sheep grazer in Richland County, and is instrumental in introducing this animal considerably in the county. The Merinos are principally represented in his flocks, though coarse wools are found here also. P. Heltman is chiefly engaged in breeding Southdowns among sheep. The farmers are to a large extent taking sheep " on shares," and in this way the county will be pretty well supplied with this useful class of animal. But a single attempt. so far as learned, has been made in dairying on a large scale. A factory was started at Parkersburg about 1878, but the experiment proved a fail- ure. the enterprise ending in some sort of litigation.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
" The Richland County Agricultural Society," was organized on June 7, 1856. For two years the Society held its fairs on land belong to Judge Kitchell, just south of the depot of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in Olney. In 1858, ten acres, a mile east of the court house, were rented of Mr. Baldwin, and bought in 1860 by the Society. Here the fairs were held with varying success until 1878. The history of the Society is one of struggle against failure. In 1870, the records show that the business men were solicited to close their stores and attend the fair, at least during two days, and special premiums sought to eke out the meagre "attractions " offered by the Society. In 1872, the name of the Society was changed under the Act of 1871, to the " Richland County Agricultural Board," and at the same time it was suggested that the ground be sold or traded for a new one. The Society's resources were exhausted, and no more fairs were held until 1878, when the Board made overtures to the Driving Park Association to take charge of the fairs. The first movement was to secure the use of the grounds for the purposes of a fair, but it eventually took the other shape. Under this arrange- ment, the Board assigned to the Association their State Aid Fund of $100, the old Floral Hall building, and loose lumber, and in this fall the sixteenth exhibition was held. In 1879, the Board sold their ground to the Park Association for twenty-five paid-up shares in the latter organization, and fairs were held regularly under this joint arrangement until 1881. The drouth of this year, which destroyed the entire agricultural product of the county, made the failure of the
601
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
fair a foregone conclusion and none was held. Since then the fairs have been regularly held under the auspices of the Driving Park As- sociation. In 1883, the Twenty-Sixth exhibition of the Agricultural Board was held. This number ineludes the years from 1872 to 1878, when no fairs were held and omits the year of 1881, and was the Twentieth actual exhibition. The season was in some respects un- favorable to a successful exhibition. The long continuance of dry weather made the dust a great barrier to comfort, and kept away a large number who would probably have been in attendance. The show of stock was good, and other features were attractive, but the organ- ization did not realize any margin of profit.
The Olney Driving Park Association was incorporated as a stock company on May 16, 1878, with a capital stock of $5,000 in shares of $25 cach. Some two hundred and twelve shares were subscribed when the books were opened, and in April the stock was assessed 20 per cent., and the work on the grounds begun. Thirty aeres in the western part of Olney were rented of M. M. St. John, an amphitheater, 100 feet long and thirteen seats high, a Floral Hall, 100x24 feet and 16 feet high, with 30 box stalls, 100 open stalls and 50 pens constructed, beside judges' stand, ticket office, fencing, etc. All this was accomplished at an expense of some $5,000, and the Association is now in possession of one of the finest grounds for the purpose in the State. The ground is about equally divided between grove and clearing. The track is well formed and fenced on both inside and outside. There is but one display had at present, a tent being used for floral exhibits this year. A July meeting is held each year and the fair in the latter part of September.
STATISTICS.
The assessor reports for 1883, show that there is no one in the county owning any bonds or stocks, gold or silver plated ware; that there is only $50 worth of diamonds, and they were accidentally found in Olney Township; that there is not a piano in German, Den- ver, Decker or Bonpas townships; that there are ten billiard tables in the county, and they are in Olney; that 1,522 dogs were discov- ered by the assessors, and that the total value of all property as assessed is $2,098,277.
The summary of personal property is as follows:
No. Av. Val. Ass'd Val.
Horses of all ages
3,664 $.24 28
$88,963
Cattle of all ages
7,190 7 72 55,537
602
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
Mules and asses of all ages
574
27 70
16,009
Sheep of all ages
10,591
99
10,585
Hogs of all ages.
8,983
1 60
14,329
Steam engines and boilers
38
154 26
5,862
Fire or burglar proof safes
50
32 14
1,607
Billiard, pigeon hole, bagatelle or other similar tables .
10
47 50
475
Carriages and wagons of whatever kind
1,742
14 05
24,491
Watches and clocks
2,350
1 10
2,557
Sewing or knitting machines
1,251
6 16
7,709
Piano fortes.
72
48 50
3,495
Melodeons and organs
174
23 75
4,127
Merchandise on hand.
45,530
Material and manufactured articles on hand . .
950
Manufacturers' tools, implements and machinery (other
than engines and boilers which are to be listed as such) ..
3,963
Agricultural tools, implements and machinery
18,278
Diamonds and jewelry
50
Moneys of bank, banker, broker or stock-jobber
4,540
Moneys of other than bank, banker, broker or stock jobber, Credits of other than bank, banker, broker or stock-jobber, Property of companies and corporations other than here- inbefore enumerated.
45,084
1,961
Property of saloons and eating houses.
2,250
Household or office furniture and property
42,995
Grain on hand.
4,409
All other personal property required to be listed
1,743
Shares of stock of State or National banks
31,000
Total value of personal property.
$450,601
The following table exhibits the real estate values of the county:
TOWNS.
Improved lands.
Unimproved; Total lands. lands.
Improved lots.
|Unimpr'ed| Total lots. lots.
Acres| Value
Ac's: Valne
Acres]
Value
lots
Value
lots | Value
lots!
Value
German
17715 :101982
5588 $ 19113
23303 $ 120095
Preston
17416
9.4100
8170
32310
2588G
126440
65
3770
35
$ 498
100 % 1268
Denver
17210
93965
5353
15823
22563
109788
Noble
19322
105989
65.9
21657
25901
1306-16
150
15214
150
1425
300
16639
Decker
13515
67388
8765
30026
22280
97414
Madison
17397
104859
8221
22786
25621
129645
120
5245
68
332
188
5577
Bonpas
12893
62772
10457
35459
23350
98231
18817
105201
7868
28224
26685
133425
57
5442
159
782
216
6224
Olney.
22158
181263
7557
27621
39015
208884
892
219047
902
16690 1791
235737
Total
156743|$917519 68861 82350 19 225604 81152568 1284
$218718 1314 $19727 2598 3 268445
Claremont
12,102
William Elliott.
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
603
The following is a true and correct statement of the agricult- ural statistics hereafter named, in the county of Richland, for the year ending December 31, 1882, and the acreage for 1883, as appears from the Assessors' returns filed in the office of the County Clerk:
No. Acres No. bu. pro-
1883
duced 1882.
Corn
25,102
585,025
Oats.
10.613
307.582
Apple orchard
2,493
124,812
Peach orchard
17
1,220
Pear orchard
1
12
Vineyards .
258 gal
Timothy meadow
15,179
10,596 ton
Clover meadow
1,662
830 ton
Prairie meadow.
1,172
867 ton
Hungarian and millet.
85
92 ton
Rye . .
698
5,719 bu.
Buckwheat.
30
126 bu.
Beans
4
152 bu.
Peas
6
47 bu.
Irish potatoes.
575
36,322 bu.
Sweet potatoes.
8
1,486 bu.
Tobacco
3
3,548 lbs.
Broom corn.
19
2,000 lbs.
Cotton (lint) .
10 lbs.
Flax ( fibre)
15
155 lbs.
Sorgo ..
317
11,412 gal
Turnip and other root crops.
7
$120,656
Other fruits and berries.
1
6.5
Other crops not named above
611
Pasture.
19,689
Woodland.
39,544
Uncultivated land.
.15,322
Total number acres in county .
174,839
Number of horses and colts, 1883
3.935
Number of colts foaled in 1882
253
Number of horses and colts died in 1882
170
Total value of horses and colts died in 1882
$9,460
Number cattle, all ages, 1883
8,487
Number fat cattle sold, 1882
990
Winter wheat
41,948
576,661
37
604
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
Total gross weight fat cattle sold, 1882, 1bs 761,778
Number cattle, any age, died of disease, 1882 104
Total value cattle died of disease, 1882 $2,872
Cows, number kept, 1883. 73,371
Pounds butter sold, 1882 72,609
Pounds of cheese sold, 1882
2,115
Gallons cream sold, 1882
100
Gallons milk sold, 1882. 3,775
Number sheep and lambs, 1883. 13,854
Number sheep, any age, killed by dogs, 1882. 285
Total value sheep killed by dogs, 1882 $908
Number of sheep, any age, died of disease, 1882. 337
Total value sheep died of disease, 1882
$1,094
Number pounds wool shorn, 1882
36,018
Number fat sheep sold, 1882
920
Total gross weight fat sheep sold, 1882 80,670
Number hogs and pigs, 1883 12,227
Number fat hogs sold, 1882 2,024
Total gross weight fat hogs sold, 1882, 1bs. 432,493
Number of hogs and pigs died of cholera, 1882 902
Total gross weight swine died of cholera, 1882. 67,050
Number of hogs died of disease other than cholera, 1882 ... 310
Total gross weight hogs died of disease other than cholera, 1882, 1bs. 22,805
Number of hives of bees, 1883, . 1,244
Number pounds honey produced, 1882 10,403
Number bushels timothy seed produced, 1882 6,987
Number bushels clover seed produced, 1882
375
Number bushels hungarian and millet seed produced, 1882. . 307
Number bushels flax seed produced, 1882 1,616
Number pounds grapes produced, 1882 4,386
Number feet drain tile laid, 1882
1,900
THE EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The immigration of southeastern Illinois pressed close upon the retreating savages. Under the treaty by which this region was ceded to the whites, the Indians held it as their hunting grounds until it was opened for settlement by the general government. Before this could be done the land must be surveyed, and although this was begun . as early as 1814, it was four years later before the territory of Rich- land County was staked out. The natives had no villages within the
605
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
territory under consideration, but the game that found food and shel- ter here for years, attracted the native hunters. The Winnebagos, the Miamis, the Pottawatomies, and the Shawnees, were represented by roaming bands until the early part of 1818, when they departed never to return in any considerable numbers. The country within the present boundaries of Richland County, was well calculated to attract a people accustomed to frontier life, and no sooner was it open for pre-emption, than considerable numbers gathered here from the surrounding country. In the absence of well-established lines of, travel, the rivers formed the easiest means of transportation, and it was along these, that the early population gathered. The " Wabash country," which included the margin of that stream both in Indiana and Illinois, was noted far and near. The volunteers who had taken part in Clarke's campaigns, spread the reports of its fertility and beauty far and near, and caused a large inflow of population fron the south, as rapidly as the Indian title could be extinguished. The war of 1812 checked this flow of immigration for a short time, but even the dangers to which pioneers at that time were exposed, did not prevent their coming on to this debatable ground. Thus it was, that in 1814, the Lower Wabash was found so generally in possession of the whites, that the counties of White and Edwards were formed and organized. In the same year, Palmyra was laid out, and the seat of justice for all this region of the State extending to the Lake, estab- lished there. The projectors of this village were enterprising men, and so stimulated and attracted immigration, that the town took on a rapid growth. In 1820, the town was one of the most noted places in the West. It had stores, shops, a bank, and a jail, beside a num- ber of professional men. All these evidences of thrift attracted set- tlers to this region of country. Up to about 1816 the principal set- tlements in Edwards County were the Compton settlement, composed of six or eight families, located in the heavy timber about three miles above Palmyra, the French settlement at Saint Francisville, on the Wabash, some families at Bowman's Hill, on the west bank of the Wabash, opposite to Vincennes, some seventy-five persons on La Motte Prairie, a half dozen families near York, a few at MeAuley's on the Little Wabash, fourteen miles west of Olney, and others at Mount Carmel, Fort Barney, Decker's Prairie, Round Prairie, at Mc- Clary's Bluff and Coffee Island. These settlements, it will be observed, were in the territory now embraced by the limits of Wabash, Law- rence, Crawford, Clark, Clay and Edwards counties, and along the Wabash River, principally, or on some stream then navigable for flat-
.
606
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
boats, or hoped to be so. Richland County was thus left untouched, because it presented less attractions, rather than any respect for the rights the Indians might claim under their treaties. Many of these settlements were made as early as 1810 or 1812, but there was no disposition to venture into the interior until the pacification of the Indians after the war of 1812-14.
The Pioneers of Richland County .- With all this vigorous devel- opment to the south and east of the territory of Richland County, it was not to be expected that the tide of immigration setting toward the West, would long be restricted to such narrow bounds. Many of the first comers were already feeling crowded, and the hunters were beginning to make longer and longer excursions to the interior, and the reports of the numerous streams, the fine timber, the small prairies and rolling character of the land, began to create a desire to take possession of the land. This territory was pleasantly divided between prairie and timber land in nearly equal proportions, the larger part, perhaps, being in timber. The prairies were generally small, the timber skirting the streams sent out spurs in such a way as to completely encirele them, and afforded the most desirable loca- tion for a home that could be imagined in the mind of a pioneer. Fox Prairie, extending through the county between the Big Muddy and the Fox River timbers, was the largest one in the county, and was circumscribed on either end in adjoining counties. In the northeast corner of Preston Township, was a spur of the Grand Prairie, from which a line of open country extended to the Lake. Stringtown Prai- rie was found in the northeast corner of German Township and the adjoining county of Lawrence, and had an area of some thirty square miles. In Claremont Township a strip of prairie is formed by the Bugaboo Creek, the head waters of the Bonpas and Fox rivers, which extends in an irregular direction southwesterly through Claremont and Madison townships, and is essentially one, though sufficiently divided by sparse timber to acquire three names, Christy, Calhoun and Sugar Creek, beginning with its northern terminus. It was on the edge of these several prairies that the first settlements gathered.
It is difficult to learn who was the first permanent settler in Rich- land County. It is the belief of some, that Thaddeus Morehouse came in 1815, and William Dummet about 1816, and they may have been the first, but it is probable that if the date of each family's com- ing was accurately known, so closely did they come in about this time, that several would be in the front rank. Lloyd Rawlings came when a lad of thirteen to Lawrence County, in 1815, but his residence in
607
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
what is now Richland, does not date earlier than 1828. He was longer in this region than any man now living in the county, but at this writing he has just passed away, and it may not be inappropriate to add a short sketch of his career as it appears in the papers.
Mr. Rawlings was born in the State of Ohio, in Geauga County, in the year 1802. He emigrated to Lawrence County, Ill., which at that time comprehended the eastern half of Richland County. He was married to Matilda Ruark, in 1828. In April, 1849, he, with eleven others from Richland County, went the overland route to Cali- fornia, and there, whilst with one O. Hayes, deer hunting, was attacked by a grizzly bear. He and Hayes had separated at the head of a small chapperal, to meet at the other extremity. The bear retreating front Hayes encountered Mr. Rawlings. So close were they, that before Mr. Rawlings could bring his gun to his shoulder to fire, the bear, rear- ing on his hind feet, struck Mr. Rawlings' gun from his shoulder with a blow of his paw, at the same time prostrating Mr. Rawlings, who only had time to say, "Oh! Hayes!" when the bear, placing one foot on his breast, took his whole face within his extended jaws, the upper teeth closing on the top of the skull, and the lower teeth beneath the lower jaw, but being old and the teeth blunt, whilst Mr. Raw- lings' lower jaw and cheek bone were broken, the blunt upper tusks slipped over the skull down his forehead and face, scraping the bone. Hayes had heard the cry, and rushing up, the noise of his approach caused the bear to raise his head and turn towards Hayes, who fired on the bear, shooting him through the neck. The bear fell, as Hayes supposed, dead. Mr. Rawlings raised his gory face, with one pro- truding eyeball, and remarked to Hayes, " You have killed the bear, but the bear has killed me." Hayes placed his friend on one of their mules, and escorted him to camp, where, after careful treatment, he recovered, to outlive by twenty years, his rescuer. The bear was an enormous brute, weighing upwards of 1,000 pounds. He bore the marks of this accident to the day of his death.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.