USA > Illinois > Lake County > Historical and Statistical Sketches, of Lake County, State of Illinois > Part 3
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The County seat was therefore, in conform- ity to the expression of the people, on the 13th day of April re-located, and permanently es- tablished at Little Fort on the southeast quar- ter of section twenty-one (21.)
By an Act of Congress, the County would be entitled to 160 acres of land by pre- emption, at the place where the County seat should be located. That is to say, the land upon which the County seat of any County should become located, it being Government land, the County should have the right by pre-emption to enter 160 acres of the same at any time, at the proper land office, by paying $1,25 per acre Accordingly such of the inhabitants of Little Fort as had any
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claims upon the southeast quarter of section twenty-one (21), very generously released them in favor of the County, but now for their generosity was remembered by the County, we shall leave it for the individuais themselves to say.
The land being so released, was on or about the 20th day of April, 1841, purchased at the land office ut Chicago by the County Com- missioners, Charles H. Bartlett, Nelson Lan- don and Thomas H. Payne, for the County of Lake, it being the first transfer of land in fee simple in the County.
The said quarter section of land was then by order of the County Commissioners sub- divided into lots and blocks by the County Surveyor, John A. Mills, with the assistance of his Deputy, George Gage ; after which a sale of the lots was ordered, sufficient to meet the expenses which had been incurred in perfecting the title to the land, &c., which sale took place on the 26th day of May, 1841. The terms of which was, one fourth of the amount of the purchase money in advance, and the balance in three equal instalments, in 6, 12 and 18 months.
This sale was not only well attended by the people of the County, but there seemed to be present, a great number of strangers from abroad. who had come for the purpose of buying property and locating themselves in business. The fame of Little Fort had already spread over a wide portion of country. while its favorable and delightful location in nature seemed to answer the expectation of all.
A very good anecdote is told in connexion with this sale, at the expense of a worthy friend of ours, who by the way is extremely fond of cracking a good joke himself, in con sequence of which we feel assured that he
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will pardon us for the liberty we have taken in laying the matter before the reader.
Our friend had opened a house of enter- tainment in town, and amongst other drinks, kept constantly on hand, an excellent article of small-beer, of his own manufacture.
He had, it seems, placed his mind much upon purchasing certain lots, which were to be offered for sale among the others, and in order that he might make sure of them, and that at a reasonable rate, he was endeavoring to obtain the favor of the County Commission- ers ; when his sagacity led him to the plan of dealing out to thern most bountifully of his excellent beer. The sale was at length about to a close and our friend had succeeded to his entire satisfaction in purchasing his lots, but at the same time, to his mortification, the re- sult of his hospitality to the County Commis- sioners was not so salutary as be kad anticipa- ted, in consequence of which he could not consider himself under the least obligation to them for his good fortune, but on the contrary .could not but look upon them as ungrateful in the extreme, after having availed themselves so freely of his generosity not to lend him that assistance, which, having it in their power, he considered they were in duty bound to afford him. He accordingly placed himself in such a position as would command the attention of the crowd, and especially that of the County Commissioners, and cried out with a full voice, "Gentlemen, these County Cou- missioners have treated me as badly as they could, but after all that, I have got all that I wanted, and more than I expected, and now, I shall stop the beer." This joke, however, is the best enjoyed by those who are best ac- quainted with the parties and the circum- stances. It affords us pleasure however, to 3
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state, that the purchases of our friend of that day, proved for bit a subsequent comfortable fortune ; but as to how the beer injunction was received by the Commissioners we were rever informed.
CHAPTER IV.
The removal of the County seat had already created in the County two parties; the "Little Fort" party, and the "Grove" party ;" each of which seemed determined to "do battle" to the end, for the cause in which they had en- listed. A severe auimosity soon arose be- tween the two parties, which gave rise to much of personal animadversion, to be remem . bered by our older citizens.
At the Session of the Legislature of'40 and '41, a Bill was introduced to reorganize the Judiciary of the State. The Bill provided for abolishing the office of Circuit Judge in the several Circuits throughout the State, and for w:creasing the number of Supreme Judges to Dine, and require them all to do Circuit duty, in addition to their duties as Supreme Judges. This Bill we believe received the support of Dr. Murphy, our member in the Legislature at that time, whose great influence in tha: body, at that time, it is thought, contributed much to the success of the Bill, which before the close of the Session became a law. The Hon. Theo. W. Smith, who was at that time, and had been for many years prior, upon theSu- preme Bench, was most bitterly opposed to the provisions of the Bill, and in consequence, it is said, became a most bitter personal ene- my to Dr. Murphy.
The 7th Circuit being assigned. to Judge Smith, be appointed Isaac R. Gavin, Esq., Ex- Sheriff of Cook County, as Clerk of the Cir- cuit Court of LakeCounty, which appointmen
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it was soon understood, was greatly in oppo- sition to the feelings of Dr. Murphy, whose political standing, it seemed to be the mission of Mr. Gavin, if possible to destroy.
Here; then, was another cause which con tributed much to the discordant state of polit- ical officers of the County at that time.
Mr. Gavin having at once identified himself with the "Grove" party, while Dr. Murphy was a strong advocate for the interests of "Little Fort."
It was at length insisted, by some, that the law, under which the County seat had been removed, was defective, and that Libertyville was yet properly the County seat of the Coun- ty, and in fact, the Recorder even took upon himself, the responsibility of removing his office back to Libertyville, where he continued to hold it for several months. Bait at the Session of the Legislature of '42 end '43, an Act was passed, through the influ- ence of Dr. Murphy, declaring that the County seat should be thereafter considered as per- manently located at Little Fort, on the site selected by the County Commissioners. This was considered as a permanent settlement of this perplexing question.
It was the policy of the friends of Little Fort to proceed with the erection of the County buildings as speedily as possible, so as to place the permanent location of the County seat beyond any further question. while on the contrary it seemed to be the pol- icy of the "Grove" party to retard the work as much as possible.
The first County Commissioners Court held at Little Fort, for the purposes of general business, was opened on the day of May, 1341, at which Term Lewis G. Schenck, Esq. resigned his office as School Commissioner.
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Horatio N. Heald, Esq., now Treasurer of Cook County, was appointed in his stead, which appointment from the known integrity of Mr. Heald, was remarkably well received. Of the three individuals composing the Count- ty Commissioners Court, at this time two of them, Messrs. Landon and Payne, were of the "Little Fort" party, and one, Mr. Bartlett, was of the "Grove" faction, and as Mr. Landon's term of office was soon to expire, the "Grove" party entertained a bright bupe of electing in his stead one of their own choice, and thus greatly strengthen their position.
No action was taken, meanwhile in relations to the County buildings.
The election of County officers was at hand. The friends of Little Fort put in nomination the following ticket, to wit :
For County Commissioner-Nelson Landon.
For School do. Horatio N. Heald.
For County Treasurer-D. S. Dewey.
The adverse party put in nomination the following ticket :
For County Commissioner-Samuel Jackson. For School do. Milton Bacon.
The election came off on the 2nd day of August, and resulted in the success of the first named candidates by a very large majority. The fidelity and integrity of Mr. Landou in connexion with the interest of Little Fort, rendered bim exceedingly popular with his party.
As soon as the result of the election was known, Mr. Landon called a Special Session of the County Commissioners Court which convened on the 16th day of August.
At this Term, among other actions of the Court, Henry B. Steele, was removed from the
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office of Clerk, and Arthur Patterson, Esq. appointed in his stead. Mr. Steele it seems, had not given his personal attention to the du ties of his office, and had continued his resi- dence at Libertyville, having appointed A. B. Wynkoop as his deputy, who had taken the exclusive charge of the duties of the office since the removal of the .County seat. This therefore became one of the important char- ges, upon which he was removed.
This act of the Court immediately gave vise to an investigation of its authority, result- ing in the decision that Mr. Landon bad ne authority, under the-circumstances to convene the Court, and consequently that this and all the other acts of the : Court at that Term were il- legal and void.
"The first Term of the Circuit Court held at Little Fort, was opened on the 20th day of October, 1841, present Hon. Theo. W.Smith, Judge presiding ; Henry Brown, Esq., States Attorney ; L. R. Nichols, Sheriff, and I. R. Gavin, Clerk. Among the Members of the Bar were Horace Butler, Isaac Hopkinson, Giles.Spring, Grant Goodrich, P. Ballingall, J. M. Strode, B. S. Morris, Turney, Hosmer, and Rucker.
This Court for the want of a more conveni- ent room, was holden in the upper story of the old storehouse, under the Bluff. known as the "Kingston building." During this Term a matter transpired which is doubtless yet fresh in the recollection of our early citizens, and we have thought it not improper, here to recur to it. The :Stor, of H. Buell and Son, situated on the Milwaukee road, about a mile south of the OtPlain house, was broken open in the night and robbed of the greater part of its contents.
Thisaffair, as might well be supposed caus-
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ed no small degree of excitement throughout the County as well as in the immediate neigh- borhood. The neighbors and officers of the law, rallied and made diligent search in vari- ous directions for the stolen property A wagon track was traced leading froin the store, over the prairie in a south-western di- rection, till'at length some of the articles were found by the side of it, which had apparently. from the roughness of the road, been thrown from the wagon. These indicatiou" led to the barn of Thomas and William Killaın. situated about two miles and a half, south of Mr. Buell's store, and near the road, in which, after a thorough search, the goods were all found, concealed in the hay. In the meantime Court having adjourned, the Judge, Members- of the Bar and others who had been in ut- tendance, were passing along the road on their return.
These fonctionaries, attracted by the unu- sual excitement, alighted by the way and after learning the facts in the case determined upor: the arrest of the two Killams and one Edward Allen, more familiarly known as "Ned Allen."
With their prisoners. "in tow," they then proceeded to Libertyville, where an examina- tion was held, which resulted in the release of" Thomas Killam, while Allen and William were held to bail, in default of which they were committed to the jail of McHenry Coun- ty. This County having as yet no jail provi- ded.
They were continued in confinement in jail for upwards of a year, when they were tried, convicted, and sentenced each to three years and six months confinement in the peniten- riary. Allen served out his time ; but poor Killam died a few months before the expira - tion of his sentence,-it is said, frem excessive ill treatment.
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Every effort was now being made on thy part of the County Commissioners to make Little Fort what its most ardent supporters had pledged their reputation it should be & market place for Lake County.
Hitherto all the important roads in the :County had been aiming in the the direction of Chicago. This town bad always been the great market place for northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The settlers of Lake County, in the beginning, had been compelled to obtain all their supplies from Chicago. Thither also went all their surplus produce, which, from the extra expense of transporta- tion, greatly reduced their profits.
A journey to Chicago with a load, and horse Team, could not be made in less than three drys, and oftener in four. It is not then to Le wondered at, that the agricultural portion of the County should avail themselves of this apportunity of contributing their strength to "ear up a market place, as it were, at their own doors, nor that they should feel in some degree elated at so fair a prospect, as was How before them, of having their highest ex .. pectations realized.
But this matter has long since passed away, and we, at this time, scarcely realize the dis- advantages, which in those days, were endu- red. Neither are those who have come among as at a later period, conscious of the extent io which they are enjoying the fruits of our herd and early labors.
The policy of things had at this period be- come changed, and instead of driving all the roads in the direction of Chicago, and arrang- ing all the farms accordingly, they were from this time forward pointed "eastward," in the direction of Little Fort. And many a poor fellow, who after repeated unsuccessful triais
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to get a road through his farm, and as near his door as possible, at length found himself with- out an effort upon one of the best thorough- fares in the County.
Mr. D. O. Dickinson had opened a very full and well selected stock of goods at Little Fort, in the building which be still occupies ; and at once commenced doing everything in his power to benefit the farming community by offering them lis goods on very reasonable terms and paying them in return a fair price for their produce. The gratitude of the whole County is justly due to Mr. Dickinson for bis untiring efforts in sustaining this town. His enterprising example is one, most worthy of imitation ; and we cannot but rejoice at the success which has attended him, at length in spite of all the efforts which may have been put forth by others, to impede his progress.
The County Commissioners had offered by way of inducing those who had purchased lots, to build upon them, that whoever should erect a building by a certain time upon bis lot," worth $200,s should have his first in- staliment cancelled, and if worth $500, should have bis first and second installment cancelled, and if worth $1,000, the remaining three installments should be cancelled. Many availed themselves of this very generous offer on the part of the County, which gave quit, an impulse to the business operations of the town.
At the December Term of the Commission- ers Court, a contract was entered into with Burleigh Hunt for the building of the Jail, which was completed the ensuing summer
Another important election for County off. - cers, was at length near at hand. The friends of Little Fort put in nomination the following ticket, styled the Democratic ticket.
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For Representative-Richard Murphy. For Sheriff-Lansing B. Nichole. For Coroner-Henry M. Paddock. For County Commissioner- William Ladd. In opposition to which the "Grove" party, or friend of Libertyville, put in nomination the following, which was styled the Whig ticket. For Representative-Arnold Bigelow. For Sheriff-John E. Clarkson. For Coroner-George Wood. For County Commissioner-Elisha Clark.
Mr. A. B. Wynkoop, the Recorder for the County, had placed himself before the people as an independent candidate for Representa- tive. It will be recollected that this County and Cook at that time, formed a Representa- tive District. Cook County having two Mem- bers and Lake one. This move among others, gave rise to another Democratic Convention, which brought out the following ticket.
For Sheriff-James McKay.
For County Commiss'r-NathanielVose, Jr. which body also passed a resolution in favor of Mr. Wynkoop. The election was, as a matter of course, warmly contested, and result- ed in the success of the following candidates, Richard Murphy was elected Representative, James McKay, Sheriff ; Henry M. Paddock, Coroner, and William Ladd, County Commis- sioner.
Although Mr. Nichols and Mr. Clarkson. had both been warm supporters of the inter- ests of Little Fort, and were withall, consid- ered very worthy men, yet the enterprising spirit of Mr. Mckay, together with his good- ness of heart, had won for him a generous es- teem throughout the County, in consequence
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of which he met with easy success over his competitors.
This season closed with but ordinary suc- cess on the part of the farmers. The crop of winter wheat and corn had been light, while that of oats and spring wheat, had been some- what better ; but prices continued discour- agingly low. One of the lowest and severest winters followed that the oldest inhabitants have any recollection of. The farmers bad provided themselves with only their usual stock of hity, which being exhausted long be- fore opening of spring many of their cattle died for want of feed.
This winter was one filled with interest, and is one long to be remembered. The prophe- cies of "The Prophet Miller," in relation to the destruction of the World taking place some time in the month of March. 1843, had caused great excitement in this County, as well as elsewhere. Many had become so confident of the truth of this prophecy, as to make all preparation for departing at the time appointed.
During a protracted meeting at Marble's Schoolhouse at Fort Hill, a ben's egg was found upon the premises of' Chauncey King with this mscription indellibly engraved upon it, "TIME ENDS 1843." This strange pheno- menon was the cause of much excitement and alarm in the neighborhood, and become the subject of quite a discussion at one of the evening meetings, at which it had been pro- duced by Mr. King. Many seemed ready to receive it as one of the "signs of the times," atid conceded it was u forerunner of the end of time and the destruction of the World. No one present could account for the manner in which these letters bad been caused to appear upon it. At length it was suggested by a
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porson present, who seemed to possess rather Inore sagacity than the balance of the audi- ence, that in his opinion the inscription was a matter of art and nothing more ; that be be- lieved he could himself prepare an egg upon which the letters would appear in the same manner : and on bis return home would make the trial, and if he succeeded,' he would pro- duce it at the meeting on the following even- ing
He accordingly made the experiment as agreed. The words "REPENT AND BE BAPTI- ZED" were marked with oil upon the shell. The egg was then put into strong vinegar, when ufter remaining a time, the surface of the shell was found to be decomposing but the acid had no effect upon that portion where the oil had been applied, consequently it left the form of the letters perfect-raised out from the shell in such a manner as to give the appearance of being so formed in nature. This on being presented to the meeting needed no explanation or comment
The humbng at once exploded, whilst the credulous audience vainly endeavored to hide their mortification from those, whom creduli- ¿y had failed to make such easy victims.
So credulous was one old man who exani - ned the egy presented by Mr. King, that he immediately returned home, fully persuaded that it was a special warning of Providence of the near approach of the end of the World. llis life hitherto had been far from what it ought to be, which he now, and perhaps for the first time most freely acknowledged. He had been entangled in many perplexing diffi- culties with his neighbors, which they had endeavored, but in vain, to arrange.
At this time he was in difficulty with two, living near him, whom he immediately,
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on returning home, summoned to his house. He informed them in a very sincere manner, of the warning he had received of the destruc- tion of the World, and expressed a desire to prepare himself at once to appear before his Maker. He humbly implored their pardon for the injuries he had done them, if ANY, and asked that he might make them, just and am- ple reparations. Their pardon was granted on condition that the matters of difference between them should be promptly and equit- ably arranged. He therefore proceeded to a settlement, which, with one, was at once completed to the satisfaction of all concerned, while the settlement with the other was post- poned for a day or two, by consent of parties, for the concurrence or assistance of a third. person, who seemed to be somewhat interest- ed, and who was at this time absent.
The day and hour for concluding the set- tlement at length arrived. Meanwhile it will be understood that the egg mystery had been all unfolded. The injured party accordingly waited upon our old friend, und informed hiin that they were ready to proceed with their settlement. "To h-I with your settlement," says our old friend-the new convert,-"the egg business is all a d-n humbug, and I'll have nothing more to do with You, nor your settlement. I'll put you through, every one of you,-get out of my house, or I'll sue you for tresspass."
Thus the matter ended. The untimely dis- covery of the "humbug," defeated farther ne- gociations between the parties and the difficul- ties between them, unfortunately remained as before.
Upon the approach of the August election for 1843, considerable anxiety, as usual, pre- vailed. The feeling between the two section-
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al parties had increased rather than abated. In addition to the County officers, members of Congress were to be elected, throughout the State under the apportionment upon the census of 1840. The candidates for this, (the 4th District,) were Col. John Wentworth, Democratic, Giles Spring, Whig, and Richard Murphy, Independent. Dr. Murphy, however withdrew upon the eve of the election ; when Col. Wentworth was elected by a flattering majority .- His subsequent deserving success is well known to all ; and the service which he rendered his constituents, during his seat in Congress, we are pleased to say, has won for him their highest regard while he has earned for himself, such a reputation as can- not easily impair.
For County officers, the following were the successful candidates, Seth Washburn was elected County Commissioner ; Arthur Pat; terson, County Commissioners' Clerk .; H. N. Heald, re-elected School Commissioner ; Horace Butler, Probate Justice of the Peace; Samuel M. Dowst, Recorder; D. O. Dickinsou, Treasurer and Assessor ; and George Gage, County Surveyor.
Mr. Washburn from his locality in the County was, as a matter of course, strongly inclined in favor of Libertyville. Yet great credit is due to him for his impartiality, and manifest integrity, in the discharge of his du- ties as County Commissioner, during his term of service.
On the 15th of September, 1843 ; at the September Term of the County Commission- ors Court, a contract was made and entered into by the County Commissioners on the part of the County, with B. P. Cahoon of South- port, Wisconsin, for the building of the pres- ent Court House, which by the terms of the
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contract was to be completed during the year 1844.
The said Cahoon was required to file secu- rity for the faithtul performance of his con- tract, to be approved by the Court upon which the Commissioners were to transfer to him all the unsold lots and blocks in the original town of Little Fort, belonging to the County. The said Cahoon was also, in this contract, to redeein the outstanding orders of the County, issued on account of the County land ; inclu- ding the amount still due and unpaid upon the building of the County jail, provided the whole sum should not exceed 8950. As to the value of the unsold lands, which were con- veyed to Mr. Cahoon by this contract, the writer is unable to speak, but it is generally believed that nothing was lost upon the part of Mr. Cahoon, but on the contrary, that some- thing pretty handsome was realized by him. But be this as it may, it was perhaps a very judicious operation on the part of the County.
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