USA > Illinois > Cass County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Cass County, Volume II > Part 31
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CHANDLERVILLE. George Conover was elected president ; J. G. Franken, vice president ; and W. K. Mertz, cashier, with a capital stock of $50,000, and so continues to the present time. From the above record it appears that Mr. Mertz has been connected with the Chandlerville bank- ing business and with the one institution, for forty-three years. In that time he has been the trusted financial agent for more of the peo- ple than any one man in the entire community ; a trust and confidence that has not always l'e- mnnerated him personally, but, notwithstanding the valnable time spent gratuitonsly for others, his business life has been an exceptional success. The bank has prospered from the time he took the management of it, and it is one of the most substantial financial institutions of Cass Connty.
A new bank was opened at Chandlerville, in- corporated as the PEOPLES STATE BANK of Chandlerville. Its certificate of incorporation bears the date of Jannary 7, 1904, and the bank immediately began business with John C. Morse as president, William T. Pratt as cashier and Henry Leeper as assistant cashier. It has a capital stock of $25,000, and has been doing an excellent business, having among its stockhold- ers and patrons some of the best business men of Chandlerville and the surrounding country.
BANKING AT VIRGINIA.
THE CENTENNIAL NATIONAL BANK of Virginia was organized in 1876, When the one hnn- dredth anniversary of the independence of the United States of America came around, and many and varied celebrations of the event were being held, some of the gentlemen of Virginia, Cass County, conceived the idea of making å permanent monument there to that great event, and caused the incorporation of a national bank, calling it the Centennial National Bank of Vir- ginia. It was organized nnder the federal na- tional banking law, and the organization was completed February 24, 1876, at which time the following directors were elected: A. G. Angier, John A. Petefish, Daniel Biddlecome, T. J. Crum, J. H. Bates, A, Struble, Robert Hall, W. L. Black and Thomas Dunaway. These directors met on February 28. 1876, and elected John A. Petefish, president ; T. J. Crum, vice president ; and John H. Wood, cashier. Its capital stock was $50,000. Jolin H. Wood remained its cashier until June, 1878, when he resigned and on June 14 of that year, James B. Black, who had been
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
county clerk of Cass County for a number of years and was still in office, was elected to fill the vacancy in the bank. He remained with the bank as cashier until his death, September 2, 1895. On September 10, 1895, Miss Kate Wilson was elected assistant cashier, a position she still fills, being one of the few women of the country so employed, and has been proved emi- nently trustworthy. From the time of the death of Mr. Black, the duties of cashier were per- formed by Miss Wilson and William Epler, the latter being president at that time, until May 1, 1896, when John J. Bergen was elected cash- ier, and began service immediately, and con- tinued in that position until January 13, 1914, when he resigned, but remained with the bank for a few months more, assisting the new cashier, Henry McDonald, in becoming familiar with the business. The present officers are : W. L. Black, president; Daniel Biddlecome, vice president ; Henry McDonald, cashier ; and Kate Wilson and A. J. Coons, assistant cashiers. The bank owns its building, which is of brick con- struction, with red stone front and of handsome design. It occupies the east part of lot 103 of the original town, on the south side of the court- house square. The bank has been very pros- perous and joined the Federal Reserve bank under the federal banking law of 1913, on Feb- ruary 14, 1914.
BANKING AT ASHLAND.
In September, 1SS1, a private bank was es- tablished at Ashland, under the firm name of Skiles, Rearick & Co. The firm consisted of members of the firm of Petefish, Skiles & Co., of Virginia, with the addition of Walter S. Rearick, of Beardstown, who had been connected for some time with the Cass County Bank of Beards- town. The private bank opened for business in a room in the rear of a drug store at Ashland, and remained there until its own building was completed, and in December of that same year, took possession of the new quarters, on lots 12 and 13 of block 51 of the original town. This building served the bank adequately until 1909, when a new building was erected on the same grounds. It is handsomely fitted up, in modern style, and with every bank convenience. In 1905 this bank organized under the state banking law as a state bank, retaining the old name of Skiles, Rearick & Co. Mr. Rearick, who had been the cashier, and had had the general man-
agement of the business from the time of the original establishment of the bank, was elected president of the new state bank, and James J. Wyatt was elected cashier. These gentlemen still occupy these positions, and Eugene Clem- mons is the assistant cashier. The volume of business done in and about Ashland made it im- perative in a business way to have a banking establishment in its midst, and from the success of this concern, and the confidence reposed in the managers, the venture proves to have been a wise and opportune investment, and has been of special benefit to those engaged in extensive shipments of stock and grain from that point, as well as to the many and varied other business interests of the community.
The municipality of Ashland had grown to such an extent, and the business interests had so rapidly developed, that in 1905 it was deemed advisable to establish another bank. In August of that year the FARMERS STATE BANK of Ash- land was organized. Its certificate of incorpo- ration bears date of August 25, 1905, and it im- mediately opened its doors to the public for busi- ness, with Fred C. Walbaum as president, and T. C. Richardson as cashier. The original cap- ital stock of $30,000 was increased in June, 1906, to $50,000. The bank has a substantial building on lot 7 of block 62 on the corner of Hardin and Editor streets. 'Its ten years of business life is evidence that it is one of the permanent institutions of Ashland.
THE FARMERS AND MECHANICS BANK of Vir- ginia, by an act of the legislature of Illinois, was chartered by John McHenry, J. M. Epler, George Conover, Philip Buraker, George Virgin, John H. Tureman and Samuel Petefish. They were authorized to open books for subscription of stock, but nothing appears to have been done, at least no such bank was ever opened at Vir- ginia. In the next year, 1870, a private bank was established under the firm name of Pete- fish. Skiles & Co., the firm consisting of Samuel H. Petefish, Ignatius Skiles and Jacob Epler. Business was begun at Virginia with Richard Elliott in charge as cashier. After the first year Mr. Epler retired, and George Virgin was ad- mitted to the firm. In September, 1872, Mr. El- liott resigned as cashier and the bank was placed in charge of Edward T. Oliver. In April, 1873, Ignatius Skiles died, but his interests in the bank were looked after by his administrator until September, 1875, when Oswell Skiles, his brother, was admitted as a member of the firm.
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In 1876 Mr. Virgin retired and the firm became S. H. Petefish, Oswell Skiles, Edward T. Oliver, William Campbell and George Crum. This asso- ciation continued for a number of years, when Mr. Oliver withdrew, moving to Springfield, Ill., and George Conover was made cashier. In 1SS6 Matt Yaple went from the Centenial National Bank, where he had been bookkeeper, to the Petefish, Skiles & Co. Bank and later became its assistant cashier. On September 24, 1902, a charter was granted from the state of Illinois, under the state banking laws, to S. H. Petefish, L. A. Petefish, Matt Yaple and ,Oswell Skiles, incorporating the bank as PETEFISH, SKILES & Co. The stockholders elected George Conover, president ; and Matt Yaple, cashier. Mr. Con- over served as president until 1904, when Os- well Skiles was elected to that office and con- tinued until his death in 190S. L. A. Petefish was elected to succeed Mr. Skiles, and served until 1912, when M. L. Crum was made presi- dent, and so continues. L. A. Petefish is vice president, Matt. Yaple is cashier, and George H. Widmayer and Ignatius Yaple are assist- ant cashiers. The bank has a capital stock of $60,000, and has been one of the most success- ful and substantial banking institutions of the county. During all the years of its existence, until removal to the new building, the bank oc- cupied the building on lot 72, original town of Virginia, on the corner of Front and Beardstown streets. On January 1, 1910, the bank opened the doors of its new building on the opposite corner of the street, on lot 107 of the original town, which was erected by the bank expressly for the purpose of a banking house. It is a splendid structure of stone and brick, hand- somely finished and decorated on the interior, and is fitted with modern improvements and safety deposit vaults.
THE FARMERS NATIONAL BANK of Virginia was organized in 1865, with S. S. Vance as its first president, Henry H. Hall as its first vice presi- dent, and John H. Wood its first cashier. The first board of directors was composed of the fol- lowing men : S. S. Vance, Henry H. Hall, L. M. Stribling, William Stevenson, John A. Petefish, N. M. Thompson, and A. G. Angier. At first the bank had a capital stock of $50,000, with a cir- culation of $45,000, but later increased the stock to $150,000 and the circulation to $145,000. Subsequently the capital stock was reduced to $50.000. In 1876 Mr. Wood resigned as cashier, and J. T. Robertson was elected to fill that
position and retained it until 1912. Henry H. Hall was elected president of the bank in 1867, and the other presidents in succession have been : A. G. Angier, John A. Petefish, John Rob- ertson, George Virgin, Z. W. Gatton and Henry S. Savage, the last named, elected in 1912, still being in office. The other officials are: James Maslin, vice president ; R. C. Taylor, cashier ; and V. E. Robertson and Frank Robertson, as- sistant cashiers. The directors are: H. S. Sav- age, R. C. Taylor, James Maslin, Deterick Brockhouse, V. E. Robertson. In 1874 the bank built a brick structure on the southwest corner of the public square, on lot 106. It was a two- story building with banking house below, on the ground floor, and office rooms above. On Au- gust 27, 1897, at the time of the disastrous fire at Virginia, this building was totally destroyed. The bank immediately contracted for a new building, and within a year was again within its own property, which is a handsome structure of brick with a red stone front, containing bank- ing rooms of modern design and equipment be- low, and office rooms above. This bank was the first national bank to organize and do busi- ness in Cass County, and has been exceedingly prosperous. It joined the Federal Reserve banks in 1914, under the new federal reserve bank law.
On June 23, 1$74, a certificate of incorpora- tion was issued for the Cass County Bank, to do a banking business at Virginia, to J. N. Reece, L. E. Johnston and J. W. Johnston, but no such bank was ever opened in the county, although there was a Cass County Bank at Beardstown for a number of years. There is nothing to indicate that the two had any connection. The capital stock was to be $100,000, and the bank was to open for business June 25, 1874.
OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
Other financial institutions of the county are principally building and loan associations. There are three of these at Beardstown, namely : the Beardstown Building and Loan Association, the Homestead Building and Loan Association, and the Mutual Loan and Savings Association.
The building and loan association at Virginia operates under the name of the Virginia Build- ing and Savings Association.
The Ashiland building and loan association operates under the name of the Ashland Build- ing, Savings and Loan Association.
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Chandlerville has a similar concern which does business as the Chandlerville Building and Loan Association.
These associations were organized soon after the law was enacted permitting such organiza- tion, and have been very prosperous and suc- cessful. They have been instrumental, more than any other institutions, in helping the wage earners to secure for themselves and families comfortable homes on the most liberal and gen-, erous terms.
CHAPTER XXI.
PUBLIC UTILITIES.
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EARLY RAILROAD PROJECTS-FIRST RAILROAD ) IN 1859-ILLINOIS RIVER RAILROAD COMPANY- PEORIA, PEKIN & JACKSONVILLE-LOCATION OF DEPOT AN INTENTIONAL INCONVENIENCE TO VIR- GINIA- TWO EARLY STAGE LINES-DRIVER OF SPRINGFIELD STAGE CARRIES FIRST NEWS OF LIN- COLN'S ASSASSINATION TO VIRGINIA-WABASH, ST. LOUIS & PACIFIC RAILROAD-CHICAGO, PEORIA & ST. LOUIS-PANA, SPRINGFIELD & NORTHWEST- ERN-SPRINGFIELD & ILLINOIS SOUTHEASTERN --- OHIO & MISSISSIPPI-BALTIMORE & OHIO SOUTH- WESTERN-OTHER PROJECTED RAILROADS-BEARDS- TOWN & PETERSBURG-UPPER & LOWER MISSIS- SIPPI RIVER-ROCK ISLAND & ALTON-ROCKFORD, ROCK ISLAND & ST. LOUIS-FIRST TRAIN OUT OF BEARDSTOWN IN SUMMER OF 1870-NOW A PART OF THE CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY-ST. LOUIS, ROCK ISLAND & CHICAGO DIVISION-ST. LOUIS, JACKSONVILLE & CHICAGO-CHICAGO & ALTON RAILROAD FINE SHIPPING POINT AT ASH- LAND -PUBLIC HIGHWAYS-STATE ROAD-OLD HALFWAY HOUSE-PLANK ROAD OVER SAND RIDGES-STATE EXPERIMENTAL ROAD LAW-SOME PROGRESS MADE-STAGE LINE MISSED AFTER FORTY YEARS-NEW LEXINGTON-ARCADIA-OLD BEARD FERRY-BEARDSTOWN BRIDGE COMPANY- STEEL BRIDGE ERECTED-A FEW CONCRETE STRUC- TURES - FIRST TELEGRAPH LINE - TELEPHONE LINE IN 1896-BELL COMPANY-CASS COUNTY TELEPHONE COMPANY-A FEW PRIVATE LINES.
EARLY RAILROAD PROJECTS.
The first railroad to enter Cass County was secured through the efforts of Dr. Charles Chandler, Hon. R. S. Thomas and Dr. M. H. L. Schooley of Cass County, and Judge William Thomas, of Jacksonville, Morgan County. In 1853, Hon. James M. Ruggles of Bath, in Mason County, represented the counties of Mason, Menard and Sangamon in the state senate. That legislature, or the people back of it, seemed to have a mania for incorporating railroads, whether there was any immediate prospect of the building of the roads or not. Everybody seemed to want a charter for building a rail- road, and the legislature was willing, and it ap- pears gave a charter to every body of men that asked for one. The Eighteenth General As- sembly convened at Springfield, January 3, 1853, and adjourned February 14 the same year, being in session forty-three days. In that short time it passed thirty-seven acts granting charters to companies for building a railroad, and if Sun- days are deducted from the total days in ses- sion, it will leave an equal number of legislative days and railroad charters granted. Among the charters granted was one secured by Mr. Rug- gles, February 11, 1853, for the building of a railroad from Jacksonville, in Morgan County, through Virginia in Cass County, and Bath in Mason County, to Pekin in Tazewell County, and thence through Lacon in Marshall County, to La Salle in La Salle County, and to be known as the Illinois River Railroad Company. Cass County was represented' in the lower house of the assembly by Hon. Cyrus Wright, Baptist preacher, who, no doubt, voted for the measure, as he made his home in and near Chandlerville. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $1,000,000, but might be increased to $2,000.000. James M. Ruggles was one of the incorporators, but no Cass County person appears to have been at that time directly interested. The right of way was secured from Pekin to Bath, and about $100,000 of the stock subscribed, and there the project stopped. The incorporators had not or- ganized but had only opened books for the sale of the stock and made efforts to secure the right of way. It seemed as if the road were built at all it would terminate at Bath. It was then that the Cass County people mentioned above took hold of the matter and assisted in securing the right of way through the northern part of Cass County to Virginia, and also ob-
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tained additional subscriptions for the stock. It was not until September, 1857, that they were ready to formally organize. In that month the interested parties met at Chandlerville and or- ganized a company _by electing Jndge William Thomas, of Morgan County, R. S. Thomas of Cass County, J. M. Ruggles and Francis Low of Mason Connty, and Joshua Wagonseller of Taze- well County, directors. The directors met im- mediately and completed the organization by electing Hon. Richard S. Thomas, president ; Dr. M. H. L. Schooley, secretary ; and Thomas Plasters, treasurer ; all of Cass County.
FIRST RAILROAD IN 1859.
The road was finished and opened from Pekin to Virginia in 1859, thus giving the products of Cass County a new market at Peoria, and a di- rect connection from that point on to Chicago and the East. The new railroad magnates of Virginia and Cass County did not enjoy their distinction for any great length of time. The road had been mortgaged for rolling stock and material, and for other expenses attendant upon its completion, as its charter provided it might be, but when the notes began to fall due there was no money in the treasury with which to meet the indebtedness. As a consequence, in Oc- tober, 1863, the mortgage was foreclosed and the Illinois River Railroad Company, one of the few roads to be built out of the great number chartered, was a thing of the past.
THE PEORIA, PEKIN & JACKSONVILLE RAILROAD,
In 1864 the road went into the hands of a new company, called the Peoria, Pekin & Jackson- ville Railroad and the rural wits immediately dubbed it the "Push, Pull & Jerk" road. In 1869 the road was extended to Jacksonville. A prop- osition had been submitted to the people of township 17 north, range 10 west, in Cass County, to vote a tax for $15,000 of honds to assist in securing the right of way through the remainder of Cass County, hnt the voters wonld not consent to the tax, and the measure was de- feated. This offended the railroad people, and they blamed the citizens of Virginia especially for the result. so when they completed the road, they deflected the right of way from the line over which it was originally intended to pass through the town of Virginia, and turned it straight down the section line, thns missing the
town hy a quarter of a mile or so, and placed their depot far ont beyond the corporate limits to the northeast. It is told that a traveling man once asked a Virginia hoy why they put the depot away out there. The boy declared : "So it would be near a railroad." The traveler moved on and it is not known whether the boy later got into the legislature or a reform school. The city has spread out in that direction since then and the depot does not now appear so in- conveniently remote. The freight track which extends to the Savage elevator, was the orig- inal main track, in fact was all the track for a long period. There was not even a "Y" to turn the engine, and it was rnn backward to Bath, until the inconvenience was relieved hy the building of a turntable which was located on what is now Duncan avenue, a little south of the right of way of the Baltimore & Ohio South- western Railroad. The writer, with other hoys, many times enjoyed the novel experience of assisting to turn the tahle that reversed the great, big, wonderful engine. The depot was a very small frame box of an affair, and located south of where the elevator now stands, hut on the west side of the track. There was hut one train on the road for a long time, which made a daily round trip from Pekin. In 1865 its schedule time to arrive was abont 11:00 A. M. It had a habit, however, of coming in when- ever it saw fit, a hahit which the passenger train due to arrive about that time, still ad- heres to. There was no other carrier of pas- sengers or mail into or through Virginia at that time except the two stage lines from Jackson- ville and Springfield to Beardstown. They usu- ally arrived ahont the same time as the railroad train.
THE SPRINGFIELD STAGE BRINGS SAD NEWS.
On the morning of Saturday, April 15, 1865, the stage from Springfield reached the old Dun- away Hotel, which it made its stopping place, a little earlier than usual. The manner in which the driver cracked his whip over the four horses and urged them with all speed up the hill from the Clear Creek hridge east of town, indicated that he had something more than ordinary in the way of passengers or news. He proved to be the hearer of the horrible tidings of the assassination of President Lincoln. The word spread rapidly and great excitement prevailed, but the boys who had gathered to go out "to
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see the train come in" and ride on the turn- table, were not so deeply impressed with the seriousness of the situation until they saw the train coming up to the little old station, with the engine heavily draped in black and white, in mourning for the dead president. Everyone, passengers and employes, seemed sorrowful and depressed, and were either silent or spoke in low tones as though the body of the president was aboard the train and they feared to disturb his repose. President Lincoln was well known personally by every employe and officer of the railroad. The great man, the old neighbor and friend of these people, had breathed his last at 7:22 A. M., in the city of Washington, and this public manifestation of mourning by draping the engine with the insignia of death within a few hours of Mr. Lincoln's death, was but the beginning of a pageantry of mourning from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the like of which had never been seen or heard of in the history of this country. It was continuous from that day until the fourth day of May, when he was laid to rest in the beautiful Oak Ridge Cemetery, at Springfield. The sight of the engine draped as it was, was an awe-inspiring one to the boys, and only a few of the older ones approached the engine on the turn table to help to reverse it that morning.
CHICAGO, PEORIA & ST. LOUIS RAILROAD.
The road continued under the management and name of the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville Railroad until 1879, when another mortgage foreclosure turned it into the hands of the Wa- bash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad. In a few years this road also defaulted and a receiver was appointed. In 1887 the road was reorgan- ized under the name of the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad, which name, with a great struggle, it has borne ever since. From 1890 until about 1896, there were two through pas- senger trains daily each way between St. Louis and Chicago, and trains from Peoria to Jackson- ville each way. A number of freight trains were also run and passenger and shipping facili- ties were excellent. There are but two local trains each way now from Jacksonville to Ha- vana, where they connect with the main line for Peoria and Springfield.
BALTIMORE & OHIO SOUTHWESTERN RAILROAD.
The Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad in Cass County was originally chartered in
1867, as the Pana, Springfield & Northwestern, but before the work was done west of Spring- field it was consolidated with the Illinois & Southeastern Railroad, under the name of the Springfield & Illinois Southeastern Railroad. The road was built and opened for traffic in March, 1871, extending from Beardstown to Shawneetown. In 1873 it went into the hands of a receiver, the fate of most railroads in those days, and in 1874 was sold under foreclosure proceedings, and March 1, 1875, passed into the hands of the Ohio & Mississippi, which had been incorporated in 1851. In 1893 it was consoli- dated with the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad, and has been under that name and management ever since. The people of Cass County for eighteen years had known and done business with the road under the name of the Ohio & Mississippi, and it was difficult for them to get used to the change in name. The road has now three passenger trains daily each way from Beardstown to the eastern terminus, with direct connections with the Baltimore & Ohio, being under the same management, for Washington and New York. Very excellent service, both passenger and freight, is rendered the public by this road. Jesse Neer, the di- vision passenger agent of the line, now residing at Springfield, Ill., was for a number of years a most efficient and accommodating local agent and resided at Virginia. The road has little more than twenty-five and three-quarter miles of main track and six and eight-tenths miles of side track in the county. It starts from Beardstown in section 14, township 18, range 12, west, and runs southeasterly through the following villages and cities in which it has sta- tions : Bluff Springs, Cass, Virginia, Burlingame, Philadelphia, Gurney and Ashland, passing out of the county from the southeast quarter of section 28, township 17 north, range S west, into Sangamon County.
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