Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical, Part 64

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 860

USA > Illinois > Cumberland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 64
USA > Illinois > Richland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 64
USA > Illinois > Jasper County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 64

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The people of Richland County were very much interested in the building of this road, and as early as 1857, appropriated $250 to pay for the preliminary survey through the county, but this not being used, $300 was appropriated in May, of 1866, and subsequently the county voted $150,000 to aid its construction. In 1868, $50,000 more was voted for this purpose, making a total sum of $200,000 which the county proposed to invest in the capital stock of the company. It is not necessary to rehearse the record on this point; the conditions were much easier than those proposed to the "O. & M." road, as the people

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

having had experience with "King Stork," desired a quick relief. It was provided, however, that the subscription should be paid only as the road was built through the county. The distance through the county was divided into four parts, and when one part was finished and laid with iron of a certain weight, then the proportional part of the subscription was to be paid in bonds of the county as agreed upon. One of the prime considerations in the minds of the people in voting for the subscription, and especially so large an amount, was to secure its early completion and thus free them from the grasp of the rail- road monopoly which existed. In 1871, tired of the delays, the Board of Supervisors appointed a committee to investigate the whole matter and report to the Board. In November, this commit- tee reported as follows: "It is no discourtesy to those gentlemen to say that their information was meagre and unsatisfactory in the extreme to both them and us, and the conduct of the contract- ors compelled your committee to the conviction that the Board of your county had been pledged to parties whose responsibility was wholly uncertain, from whom no sufficient guarantees have been received and upon whose pleasure alone depended the timely com- pletion of the road." It was further estimated that owing to the decline in prices the subscription of the county was sufficient to build twice the distance required, and it was recommended that action be taken in reference to the prevention of issuing and paying any bonds to the road. The Board took prompt action upon this report and formally voted to rescind the subscription.

It is impossible to scrutinize the action of the county's executive Board in this matter without indulging in the suspicion that there was a lamentable lack of wisdom. The Board was constantly in that attitude of "vowing they would ne'er consent, consented." As early as 1868, committees had been appointed to inspect the road, and another to sign and issue bonds, and in 1870, an agent had been appointed to vote with the directors of the road. After rescinding the subscription these officials would of course be voted out of being, but in June, 1872, the Board is found formally assent- ing to the consolidation. In April, of 1875, the matter of with- drawing from the subscription to the road, was submitted to the people, and aid to the road ,was withdrawn by 700 majority. In June, 1875, the Board, with strange inconsistency, ordered blank bonds prepared, as one division of the road was nearing completion, though it was provided that they should not be issued until the committee of inspection should report. In the following January

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

the Board gave notice that the county would issue no bonds to the road until obliged to do so by the court of last resort, whereupon they were sued in the Lawrence County Court, defeated, and refused to appeal it. The second division was finished September, 1876, the third division in the spring of 1877, and the fourth in the following June. For the first three divisions after the decision of the court, the bonds were issued without protest. On receipt of notice of the completion of the fourth and last division of the road in the county, the Board examined the road and passed the following order: "The Board of Supervisors, as a committee, having inspected the fourth and last division, through the county, of the Grayville & Mattoon Railroad report the same constructed as per contract and provisions of the vote for stock subscribed and recommend the issuing and delivery to the Grayville & Mattoon Railroad Company the $50,000 worth of county bonds as provided heretofore in said vote," etc. This report swept away the last leg that resistance had to stand on, and yet at the next meeting, September 11, 1877, the Board declared, " Whereas, the $50,- 000 of Richland County bonds issued for capital stock of the Grayville & Mattoon Railroad wereillegally procured, the same being obtained through fraud and misrepresentation," therefore, the vote taken at the last meeting be rescinded, etc. In the following January, fearing, doubtless, that this last named action did not cover the whole ground, the Board attempted to wash their hands of the whole mat- ter by another sweeping fulmination, as follows: " Be it ordered by the Board of Supervisors of Richland County, that this Board rescind all orders heretofore made authorizing the issuing of bonds to aid in the construction of the Grayville & Mattoon Railroad, if any such order has heretofore been made; and they hereby repu- diate any action of any officer of said county who has received the stock of said railroad in payment for said bonds, if any such stock has been heretofore issued by said railroad to said county, and it was further declared that the county disowned all stock and disclaimed all privileges under any of these repudiated transactions. An agree- ment was at once entered into by the Board with Messrs. Wilson and Hutchinson, attorneys, to fight the payment of the bonds issued, prin- cipal and interest. It should be said in this connection, that from first to last there has been great changes in the membership of the Board, and that the presumption of dishonest dealing on the part of certain of those who have been members, is so strong that expatriation has been deemed necessary. Every device has been resorted to in order to avoid the payment of the bondIs, and the matter

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

has finally been adjudicated in the United States Supreme Court. In October, 1883, the committee appointed to take this matter in charge, report the result of the contest through the papers as fol- lows:

" In view of the fact that the people of Richland County will sooner or later be compelled to make arrangements to pay off some of the railroad bonds, and are now on the point of being compelled by the courts to pay certain judgments rendered for acerned inter- est on these bonds, we take this method of addressing our people, and impressing upon them the necessity of using their best judgment as to what is best to be done in the premises. We will state as briefly as possible the history of the litigation of these bonds.

" George W. Ballou & Co., after about three years of litigation, obtained a judgment against the county, which was finally affirmed in the Supreme Court of the United States. There were three other suits against our county in court at the same time. These were brought by J. I. Case, Joseph Curtis and the Bank of Montreal. To save the costs of taking all of these cases to the court of last resort, it was agreed by our attorneys (Wilson & Hutchinson) that the Bal- lou case alone should be taken up, and that the others should abide the decision in that case. The consequence is, that final judgments were rendered against us in these four cases, amounting to about $19,200. These are absolutely final, and further litigation concern- ing these cannot be had. Since that time other interest coupons have become due, and within the last month final judgments have been rendered against us in the Circuit Court, in favor of George W. Ballou, for about $29,000, and six other cases in favor of J. I. Case, James Curtis, John F. Zebley, Thomas B. Slaughter and the Bank of Montreal. These judgments aggregate, including Ballou's new judg- ment, about $60,000. The interest now due on all these bonds amounts to a little over $117,000. And these judgments are all for portions of that interest. All the coupons are for $35 each, and bear six per cent. interest after dne.

"In July last, a suit was commenced against the county in the name of the United States of America, on complaint of Ballon, to compel the levy and collection of a tax to pay Ballou's first judg- ment, and a peremptory writ of mandamus was awarded in that case. Three other mandamus suits were commenced on petition of the other creditors, with the same result. They did not get service on these writs on the Board of Supervisors. And now a new manda- mus case has just been commenced to compel the Board to meet and

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

extend a tax to pay Ballou's new judgment of $29,000, and a writ of injunction has been issued and served on the County Clerk, restrain ing him from turning over the tax books till the further order of the court. This means that he must hold the tax books until this tax is extended on the books.

" From the above it will be seen that the affairs of the county are becoming very complicated. And the Board of Supervisors left it with the Judiciary Committee to appoint an agent to go in person and consult as many of the bondholders as could be found, and ascer- tain upon what basis, if any, a compromise could be effected; and after a few weeks of negotiation, most of the bondholders agreed to meet a committee of the Board of Supervisors, and confer as to the matter. The Board appointed the undersigned for that purpose, and on the 4th inst., that meeting took place at Springfield, Illinois.

" D. T. Littler and J. C. Robinson, who represent about $177,800 of the bonds in question, were present, and after ascertaining the very lowest figures that would be accepted, the committee agreed to it, on behalf of the Board of Supervisors, subject to a vote of the people of the county. These first judgments for accrued interest amounts to about $19,000.

"The $19,000 of Supreme Court judgments must be paid in full, as no concession could be obtained as to them. As to the balance of the debt, they agreed to accept refunded six per cent. coupon bonds, for the face of the old bonds, which they now hold, payable in twenty years, or all or any part of them after a lapse of five years; the new bonds to bear interest after January 1, 1884. The interest to be payable July 1st of each year, commencing July 1, 1885. This will saveto the county nearly $100,000, and stop the accumulation of costs, the payment of which would otherwise be a large amount.

" The Board has been called together for next Monday, October 15, and will, no doubt, order an election to vote on refunding the bonds upon the above terms."

The action of the Board has the endorsement of the majority of the people, and the opinion of the leading men is that Richland County can afford to pay these bonds for the benefit that has been derived from the railroad. The present title of the company is derived through a purchase of the road. The Pekin, Lincoln and Decatur Railway Company, was organized under a charter granted in 1870, and the road opened from Pekin to Decatur, 67.9 miles in November, 1871, by its original owners. In the following year it was leased to the Toledo, Wabash and Western, by which it was

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

operated until August, 1876,when it was sold under foreclosure sale. The road was subsequently extended from Pekin to Peoria, a dis- tance of 9.2 miles, and opened for traffic, March, 1878. This com- pany then purchased the Decatur, Sullivan and Mattoon, and the Grayville and Mattoon railroads, and in 1880, reorganized with an Indiana organization under the name of Peoria, Decatur and Evans- ville Railroad. The southern terminus was changed from Mount · Vernon to Evansville, and that division pushed to completion in June of the following year. The road from Mattoon to Grayville was in poor condition when sold, and so much poor work had been done, that the line needed and gradually received almost an entire reconstruction.

Danville, Olney and Ohio River Railroad .- This road was pro- jected as a narrow gange railroad, and the company was organized under a charter obtained March 10, 1869. The route proposed for this road, proceeded from the north bank of the Ohio River in Mas- sac County, Ill., " thence northwardly to the city of Chicago, or such place from which an entrance may be effected by construc- tion or connection, and the line of railway to be located on such sur- vey as may come within the range and purview of the charter of the company, about 340 miles." Work was begun on the northern end of the road and pushed south from Kansas toward Olney. The work met with a good deal of delay. In 1876, there was but eight miles of road from Westfield to Kansas, and in 1878, this section of the road was put in operation. The further construction of the road made slow progress, reaching only some thirteen miles in the fol- lowing year. In 1881, there was a revival of the work and some fifty-seven miles completed. In the following year the gauge was changed to the standard width, and the road completed to Olney. This road passes through the townships of Preston and Olney, and runs parallel a few yards distant from the P., D. & E. Railroad in this county. At Sidell, in Edgar County, this road reaches and uses the Grape Creek Railroad to Danville, where it forms close con- nections with the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad. Richland County was hardly in a mood to give much aid to railroads at this time, but the city gave the right of way through the corporation and by private subscription fifteen acres were purchased and given for its use. There is some reason to believe that the road will soon be further extended north and south of the present termini, but there is at present little activity in this direction.

The three railroads now possessed by the county does not so far

And Spring

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

satisfy the people as to preclude their taking interest in new rail- road enterprises. It is rather the city of Olney which takes the lead in new enterprises of this character, and in a way that in- volves as limited an outlay of money as possible. At this writing, October, 1883, the projected railroad from Terre Haute to the south- west. is before the public. The termini of this road will be at Terre Haute and either Chester or Grand Tower. It there connects with the Iron Mountain Railroad, which runs through Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain. Terre Haute has a number of foundries, rolling mills, and machine shops; also has access to those valuable Brazil coal fields, situated about thirteen miles from that city. This road, with either Chester or Grand Tower as a southern terminus, will put Terre Haute in direct communication with those immense iron resources of southeastern Missouri, besides traversing one of the finest agricultural regions in southern Illinois. A hasty survey of the route on a map, it appears that by crossing the Wabash River at Dar- win, and passing through Oblong and Embarrassville, and there crossing the Embarrass River, that not only would the road avoid crossing a creek, very appropriately named Crooked Creek, many times, but a much better crossing could here be obtained than at any other point, thus making a cheaper and more convenient route than any other line would afford. From this point it would enter the wealthy and prosperous county of Richland, passing through Olney, our beautiful and flourishing county-seat, thenee southwest toward the Mississippi River at Grand Tower. Should the city be so fortu- nate as to secure this road, it would receive a fresh impetus, be greatly benefited, and its future as a railroad center assured. As this road can hope for no voted subsidies under the present law, its demands must be limited to, and, if met at all, met by private sub- scription.

A short time since the Vice President of the Terre Haute & Southwestern Railway Company addressed a letter to Judge F. D. Preston stating that there would be a meeting held by the Board of Directors at Newton, on the 17th inst., at which time the location of the Southern Division of that road would be determined. A cordial invitation was extended to citizens to be present and to express their wishes and advocate the interests of Richland County. In response to this invitation a delegation of citizens, consisting of Mayor David Scott, Hon. E. S. Wilson. S. D. Burns, JJohn Wolfe, Hon. Dr. E. Rowland, Hon. Henry Studer, F. T. Phillips, JJ. M. Wilson, city attorney: James I. Richey, ex-sheriff; F. P. Gillespie, county treas-

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urer; G. D. Slanker, ex-mayor, T. A. Fritchey, and Hon. Aaron Shaw, member of Congress, went to Newton to attend this meet- ing, fortified by the following petition, which was signed by nearly a hundred prominent business men and tax payers of the city:

"THIAT WHEREAS, there will be a meeting of the Board of Direc- tors of the Terre Haute and Southwestern Railway Company held at Newton, Illinois, on the 17th day of October, A. D., 1883, at which meeting the question of the location of the Southern Division will be settled. And whereas, the Vice-President of said T. H. & S. W. R. R. Company have extended an invitation to the citizens of Olney to be present, and give expression as to whether they are interested in this enterprise, and are desirous of securing the location of the road through Olney. We, therefore,. the undersigned citizens, tax- payers, and business men, of the city of Olney, Illinois, authorize and instruct those representing us at said meeting to express our feelings of interest in the proposed project, and to encourage and use all reasonable means to secure the building of said railroad through the city of Olney."

Press and Politics .- The educating influence of the newspaper was not added until 1849. There was very little call for one, before or even then, so far as the business demand was concerned, but it is the mission of the journalist to create a demand where none exists, and it was in the fulfillment of this part of the mission that the first newspaper was brought to Olney. Politics, while, perhaps, a less important element in society than now, was still one that forced itself upon the consideration of the adventuring newspaper man, and it is significant of the character of the community that this pioneer journal was an " Independent " paper. The early political sentiment in Richland, was not as unanimous as in many sections of southern Illinois. With the Southern Whig and Democratic elements which came from the Southern States, came also an element of Whigs from the Eastern States, and the early sentiment was probably pretty well balanced. After the introduction of the newspaper, however, it was not long before it took a strong Democratie tone, and became bitterly partisan. About 1852, the question of securing a railroad seemed to absorb all the interests, and politics was in a dormant state until about the presidential campaign of 1855. The Republican party had been making its way here, though some of its strength came from unexpecte.l quarters. A paper was started to represent its principles and the war of words grew bitter between the rival organs. In the Senatorial campaign, 1858, the Republican paper found a new

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

competitor in the field, in behalf of the Democratic principles, and the old war of words was revived. The events of 1860 wrought some marvelous changes. Earnest Whigs became bitterly opposed to the administration in power, while prominent Democrats became earnest supporters of the war measures. During the war, however, the " Union " sentiment was in the ascendancy, though political lines were strictly maintained and the Democratic party was successful in the election of county officials. Notwithstanding all this, the opposi- tion has gradually gained strength so that at this period, and up to the present, popular men of Republican polities have been repeat- edly elected to various offices. Regularly, however, the county of Richland is considered as Democratic by a small majority.

THE PRESS.

The first newspaper was established here in 1849, by Daniel Cox. This was called the Olney News, and was edited by Judge Kitchell. Though nominally an Independent paper, the editor was always in sympathy with the Democratic party, and the paper from the first had a tendency in that way. In the following year, John M. Wil- son became part owner, the name of the paper changed to the Olney Republican, and its support given boldly to the Democratic princi- ples in politics. Soon after, Mr. Wilson became sole proprietor, and continued it until about 1852, when he removed the office and material to Salem ; its publication was continued under the name of Salem Gazette. Disappointed in his expectation of seeing the two great lines, the Ohio & Mississippi and the Illinois Central cross in that town, he sold his paper and returned to Olney. In the mean- time, John Buntin had brought a paper here from Lawrenceville, and published it as the Olney Banner, in the interest of the Whigs. This was but a few weeks after the removal of the Republican. Mr. Wilson returned about 1852 or 1853, revived the name of the Repub- lican, and in a short time bought the Banner. The consolidated papers were then publishel for several years as a Democratic organ. This was the only paper in the county until the spring of 1856, when William M. Beck established the Olney Journal. This was in the beginning of the Buchanan campaign, an'l the Journal repre- sented the Republican principles. Mr. Beek subsequently purchased the Republican of Mr. Wilson, and thus combine:l, his paper repre- sented all the journalistic ventures in the county. Until 1858 this was the only paper in the county. At the death of Mr. Beck, his son, James, assumed control in company with Dr. Eli

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Bowyer. A number of changes occurred in the business manage- ment of this paper, until in 1872 it was sold to H. H. Lusk, and the name changed to Olney Ledger. Under this regime the paper assumed the proportions of a large sized quarto, and continued three or four years when I. A. Powell bought it, changed the name to Olney News, and in 1881, sold it to] the firm of T. A. Fritchey & Co. This change brought the name back to the Olney Republican, the second step in the round of old names. This Olney Republican is thus the legitimate successor of the original paper published in Richland County. It is an eight-column folio, with co-operative inside pages, and is a lively Republican paper with a constituency that numbers more than one-half of the newspaper subscribers in the county. In August,'1858, James Wright established the Olney Weekly Press, and supported the principles of the Democratic party. He conducted the paper until June 1, 1860, when he sold it to R. F. Steiger and J. H. Graham. . The paper soon passed into the hands of W. D. Mumford who added a part of the material of a confis- cated office in Arkansas. In 1864, the office was broken up by a mob of soldiers, whose enmity the paper had gained by some radical language, when its publication was discontinued. Soon after, F. C. Carel began the publication of the Olney Democrat, which was sold to E. B. Barnard, and the name changed to the Olney Weekly Times. The Times, on the death of Barnard, was sold by his executors to W. F. Beck, in April, 1882, and is still published under the same title by Mr. Beck. This paper is the organ of the dominant party in politics. There are but these two papers in the county, and political interests are so divided that each has a good. living patronage, and can do itself and the public justice.

THE SCHOOLS.

The first school taught in Richland County was taught in an old log building erected for a tavern, on the old " trace road," two miles west of Olney, in what is now Olney Township, in 1822 and 1823, by John I. Chauncey. The schoolroom was partitioned off' from one end of the tavern, and was furnished with slab seats, and board desks. Uncle Elijah Nelson attended that school for four days. This first teacher of Richland County, John I. Chauncey, died at the home of Elijah Nelson, in the spring of 1824; his was the first death within the limits of what is now Olney Township. After his death the question arose as to what they should do for a casket : at that time there were no saw-mills in the country. John Evins

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

had just erected a cabin in what is now Noble Township, of Richland County, in which he had laid a very nice puncheon floor. It was proposed to take some puncheons ont of the floor of this cabin with which to construct the coffin. The suggestion was acted upon, and John Evins, John Jeffries, John Mathews, John Nelson, and Elijah Nelson constructed the coffin. Thus, in a rude casket made of slabs, was one of the first teachers of Richland County, Ill., consigned to his last home. In 1841, there were four schools held in the county- one at Fairview, one in the Baptist Church near old Claremont, one in the Richard Philips neighborhood, four miles north of Olney, and the other at the Morehouse Schoolhouse, two miles cast of Olney. These were all subscription schools, the State fund being so meagre that the people refused to organize under the school law. On the platting of Olney, Mrs. Powers became a resident of the village and opened her house for the purpose of teaching school. It would be difficult in any case to trace the growth of the common schools from this small beginning to the present advancement. In 1866, Judge Kitchell having donated the ground, a public school building was erected in Olney, and occupied the following year. This structure is an object of pride to every citizen and is well worthy of their admiration. It originally contained twelve rooms, and with the furniture cost over $33,000. It has since been enlarged by the addition of two rooms, and the number of children to be accommo- dated is rapidly outgrowing its capacity. The average of the county schools is not of the highest. The county has been unfortunate in some of its County Superintendents, and the policy of the Board of Supervisors has never been?of the most progressive character. No time is allowed for visiting schools, but when it becomes necessary to adjudicate some difficulty, then the Superintendent is allowed for this extra service. There are no reports preserved in the office, save for 1883, which renders it impossible to compile the statistics set- ting forth the development of the school interests. For the last school year the report places the number of persons of school age in the county, at 5,455; the whole number enrolled, 4,574; the num- ber of graded schools are four, one each at Olney, Noble, Clare- mont, and Parkersburg ; there are in addition, seventy-eight ungraded schools. Of the eighty-two schoolhouses in use, five are brick, seventy-five are frame, and two are log structures. Four dis- tricts have libraries valued at an aggregate value of $483. The total value of school property in the county is $84,935; the Olney prop- erty alone being estimated at $40,000. The entire apparatus of the

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Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical, Part 64

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co. Number of Pages: 860

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 860