Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 55

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 810

USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II > Part 55

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

early writers we have examined, quote General Whitesides, the great Indian fighter as saying that such a massacre did take place near the southeastern part of North Litchfield Township, no date given, and we know that such massaere or Indian outrage did take place a few miles further south, some four miles west of Greenville, where the Cox family was attacked, and the writer has heard a traditional account related more than once of suel a mas- saere just a mile or so south of the Montgomery County line in the timber east of Sorento. Now how to harmonize all these reports, we are at a loss, but we will suggest, however, that they may all have grown out of the one event about which the evidence is positive, the Cox murder. We re- fer to this matter in Hillsboro Township history.

EARLY EVENTS.

With early settlements and early deaths, there was also the more auspicious events of early marriages. John Martin and Sarah Briggs, are said to have instituted that commendable custom in North Litehfield Township by getting married becoming the first legally chartered family in the township. James Street is said to have preached the first sermon in the township, though John Jordan seems to have had more to do with tlie organizing of the first church. Bennett Woods himself was a preacher and is entitled to a large part of the early religious work of the township. An industry that was carried on quite extensively by the early pioneers was the raising of cotton, and carding, spinning, and weaving the cloth that entered into the garments of the entire family. This work was all done at home with the old fashioned carding boards, and loom, till later a earding mill was erected south of Hillsboro where both cotton and wool were carded and spun as well as woven. Mr. Briggs was a pio- neer in the raising of cotton in this township.

BARNETT.

Barnett is a splendid little town of 125 popula- tion, located about eight miles northwest of Litehfield and only about one-fourth of a mile east of the Maeonpin County line on the town- ship line between North Litchfield and Zanes- ville Township. It was established following the building of the Jacksonville and South Eastern Railroad, and was named for Mr. Bar- nett who owned land in that vieinity and had

much to do with its establishment. It is sur- rounded with a fertile level prairie soil well adapted to cultivation, and shipping grain has been its chief industry. It has two elevators, managed by two competing grain buyers. There are two large general stores in the village, a post office, a small hotel, two blacksmith shops, and a good school house. The one church in the town is of the Christian denomination. The present teacher in the public school is W. A. Green. Besides the Jacksonville and South Eastern Railroad, now the Burlington, the town has the Chieago and Alton Railroad, and there is every prospect that it will continue to grow and do a thriving business. It has a most luxurious park in the center of the town, and its buildings are of the better elass usually found in such small places. The only drawbaek to this town is its proximity to Litchfield and other larger towns, which in most cases attract the business away from the smaller community, preventing the normal growth to which it is entitled.

HONEY BEND.

When the Wabash Railroad was built across North Litchfield Township, in 1870, at a distance of about six miles from Litchfield, and near the northern line of the township, the right of way of the road ran through a little cluster of houses. and at this point the citizens of the community asked that a station be established, and the re- quest met with a favorable rceeption and a station was granted. It may be asked, what caused the name of Honey Bend to be given the town, and the following explanation has been given. In an early day, when one found a bee tree, he marked the trec with his own initials or in some other way, and a tree so marked was coneeded to belong to the one so marking it. Just where the village was laid out, a certain well known man found and marked a bee tree. A certain other well known citizen, who was recognized by a peculiar bend of the back, either in a spirit of sport or from sheer acquisitiveness appropriated the honey to his own family stores by eutting and robbing the tree, when no one was present to identify the actor. The miscreant was soon found out and his neighbors in con- tempt dubbed him Honey Bend. As he owned some of the principal houses in the village, the name soon became a part of the man's holdings and later of the village.

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

J. E. Hickman was the first merchant in the village and was also the first postmaster. At the present time the village is a sequestered little place of about 200 inhabitants. There are two general stores, a postoffice, a blacksmith shop, and a two-room schoolhouse. There is also a Baptist Church, and the Free Methodists had a churchhouse not now in use for worshipping pur- poses. There is also a grain elevator which is the principal asset of the village. The people of the community are a frugal, industrious, and home loving sort, who are blessed with little of the extravagances of the larger towns.

EARLY HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.

The following is from the pen of S. W. Kes- singer : "The St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad company was organized in the early fifties with the purpose of building a railroad from St. Louis to Alton, and then on to Terre Haute, Indiana. Alton at that time claimed to be one of the most important cities in Illinois, and probably would have if it had had proper encouragement. But that is another story.

"During the summer of 1853 the grade had reached the breaks leading to Shoal Creek. Gil- lespie was platted, and in the fall of that year Thomas A. Gray, county surveyor of Montgom- ery, platted the town of Huntsville. Messrs. R. W. O'Bannon, W. T. Elliott, H. E. Appleton, James W. Jefferes, John P. Bayless and W. S. Palmer, all of Ridgely, Madison County, having decided to locate somewhere on the new railroad, visited Gillespie and Huntsville, and drew straws to determine their place of location. The draw- ing resulted in favor of Huntsville. They came here the following year and began building a town. Mr. O'Bannon erected his store on the corner now occupied by the Litchfield Bank and Trust Company, and erected his residence a few blocks further north on the same side of State Street. Mr. Elliott erected his store building in the same block with Mr. O'Bannon, and his residence just north of that of Mr. O'Bannon. Mr. Palmer erected his store building on the site of the main store of Austin & Shrader Brothers, hewing out his own timbers in the woods east of town. Messrs. Appleton and Jefferes erected a blacksmith shop on the southeast corner of the intersection of State and Ryder streets, and a wagon shop east on Ryder Street. Mr. Bayless became the fost railroad agent, express agent, and postmaster. All of these men are numbered

with the dead, the last to go being Mr. Jefferes who.died at his home in Pasadena, Cal.

"The residents of the present site of the city of Litchfield at that time, according to H. A. Cool- idge were Alfred Blackwelder, Jacob Scherer, Nelson Cline, Ahart Pierce, J. Y. McManus, O. M. Roach, Ezra Tyler, and J. W. Andrews. 'By the close of 1854,' says Mr. Coolidge, 'eiglit or nine families had homes in the city in addition to the six or seven families on farm lands when the town was surveyed. We can enumerate R. W. O'Bannon, W. T. Elliott, H. E. Appleton, J. P. Bayless, James Jefferes, W. S. Palmer, 'Nigger Dan,' and probably Gilbert Evans. T. G. Kes- inger came in not much later. In the spring of 1855 Messrs. E. W., E. E., and E. S. Litchfield, the three Dix brothers and C. F. How came from central or western New York, all related to E. C. Litchfield, who had become the practical owner of the townsite. Several additions to the town were laid out. The original plat of the town which bore the name of Huntsville was never recorded.'

"It is needless to say that the name of the town was changed to Litchfield in honor of its virtual proprietor. At this time the new rail- road was looking for a location for shops and a terminal. The officials had selected land four miles west of Litchfield on the site of the present hamlet of Hornsby, and approached the owner, Doctor Hornsby of Bunker Hill, on the subject. The doctor was willing to sell them all the land they needed at market price, but was unwilling to donate a single foot. Mr. Litchfield heard of the matter and secured the location of the shops by donating all of the land the company desired for the purpose. The shops were erected and the town grew and prospered. The shops were moved to Mattoon in 1871, but the land is yet owned by the Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Saint Louis Railway Company, the ultimate suc- cessor of the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railway Company.

"About this time Mr. Litchfield sent William E. Bacon out here as his agent. Mr. Bacon, a short time before his death, told me that one of his first enterprises was a brick yard on the present site of Elmwood Cemetery. The late Michael Joyce, and James O'Brien worked on that yard. The ground upon which the shops stood was deeded to the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railway Company with the condition that shops for the manufacture or repairing of cars should be perpetually operated thereon. In 1S71

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

effort was made the following year and the vil- lage was incorporated. The limits were fixed by ordinance as follows : Beginning one-half mile south from the southeast corner of State and Edwards streets, running thence one-half mile east, thence one mile north, thence one mile west, thence one mile south, thence one-half mile to the place of beginning containing one square mile.

"The municipality suddenly expired in the fall of 1857. The first city charter was obtained February 16th, 1859. The chartered limits then only differed from the present in not in- cluding any part of section 34 in North Litch- field. making the area 200 acres less than now. An act approved March 5, 1867, extended the limits of the city to two miles square as fol- lows: Including the west half of section 32, all of section 33 and the cast half of section 34, in township 9, and the east half of section 3, all of section 4, and the west half of section 5, in township eight, range 5, west of the third prin- cipal meridian. It will be seen by those acquainted with the city that the limits as fixed extended one-quarter of a mile further south than at present. The change was made at the request of a number of farmers who objected to paying taxes on improved farm lands. The present charter was granted February 27, 1869. The limits of the city are defined in it as pre- viously reduced by the council. The city is two miles long from east to west, and one and three-quarters miles from north to south. Two- thirds of the area, or 1160 acres, are in North Litchfield Township, and one-third, or 580 acres, are in South Litchfield Township. The township line makes the boundary line of the first ward while State Street divides the re- inainder of the territory into two wards, the one lying east of State Street, being the first and the one west of that thoroughfare the second."

MAYORS.

Edwin C. Dix was the president of the first board of trustees and R. W. O'Bannon was the second and last. The charter took effect in 1859. and the first mayor was William E. Bacon, who was re-elected the following year. The office has been filled since by the following gentlemen : E. W. Litchfield, M. B. Savage, T. M. Shore, James W. Jefferes, R. M. Paden, E. M. Gilmore, D. C. Amsden, Edwin A. Cooley, P. B. Updike, two terms; J. W. Davenport, W.

S. Palmer, two terms; J. W. Davenport, W. S. Palmer, two terms; J. W. Davenport, W. S. Palner, two terms; S. M. Grubbs, David Davis, two terms; Wesley Best, P. B. Updike, David Davis, R. F. Bennett, E. Southworth, R. F. Ben- nett, two terms; John Lange, Frank R. Millnor, Lewis Allen, R. F. Bennett, H. C. Tuttle, William Wilton, D. A. Kauerauf, R. F. Bennett, Frank R. Millnor, George L. Zink, William Barefoot, Julius C. Mackler, 1895-1896; D. W. Taylor, 1896-1897; Willis Charles, 1897-1899; Fred J. Weigrieffe, 1899-1901; William J. King, 1901- 1907; William Wilton, 1907-1911; Charles S. Edwards, 1911-1913; David Davis, Jr., 1913- 1915, and the present incumbent, Charles S. Peterson, 1915-1917.

CITY CLERKS.

The village of Litchfield was organized in 1856, and at the first election, Edwin Dix be- came president of the board of trustees, and James Cummings, Tilman Shore, Jacob Beeler and Joseph A. Eddings members of the board. Gilbert Evans was the first village clerk.

The following year Richard W. O'Bannon was elected president, and his board of trustees con- sisted of James Cummings, Elisha W. Litch- field, Winfield S. Palmer and William Millian. B. S. Hood served as clerk. The village was then dissolved, and the City of Litchfield organ- ized in 1859 under a special charter granted by the Legislature, and under which charter, with slight modifications, it operated until the spring of 1896 when it was reorganized under the "City and Village Act."

The city clerks have been : 1859, Charles W. Ward; 1860, B. S. Hood; 1861, Henry A. Cool- idge; 1862, B. S. Hood; 1863, 1864 and 1865, George P. Fowler ; 1866, George P. Fowler ; 1867, B. S. Hood; 1868, George M. Raymond; 1869- 1870, Robert S. Young ; 1871, William E. Bacon ; 1872 to 1876, B. S. Hood; 1877, Thomas J. Cox ; 1878 to 1881, G. W. Jones; 1882 to 1892, John W. Rose; 1893, Douglas Temple; 1894 to 1895, William L. Bateman; 1896,W. T. Thorp; 1897- 1898, Oscar Gooch ; 1899-1900, Hugh Hall; 1901- 1902, Henry J. Craft; 1903-1906, John T. Shindler ; 1907-1910, Clarence R. Davis; 1911 to 1914, Cleo Rice ; 1915-1916, Ed. Butler.

NEW CONDITIONS.

The close of the Civil War marked the dawn of Litchfield's new era. Not that the conditions

POST OFFICE. LITCHFIELD

JACKSON STREET LOOKING NORTH, LITCHFIELD

CITY HALL AND FIRE DEPARTMENT. LITCHFIELD

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

changed abruptly at that time, or that the pio- neers moved out to make room for new settlers, but that a young generation was coming on. For the first few years after the close of the great American struggle, Litchfield flourished,. but in 1871 the railroad shops were moved to Mattoon, and the town received a temporary setback, not so much in reality, as in the minds of timid people who feared to invest a cent without the absolute knowledge, so far as frail men can obtain it, that speedy returns were in sight. But this period of threatened depression was dispelled like mist before the noonday sun. The old maxim, "Where there's a will there's a way," was verified to the letter.

Several enterprising citizens obtained a lease on the old deserted shops and in a few months time the Litchfield car shops were running full blast. One pleasant summer afternoon in 1873, a fire alarm was sounded, and the citizens were horrified to learn that the foundry and machine shops were wrapped in flames. Hundreds of willing hands carried buckets of water (there being no water works then), in a vain effort to save the buildings and contents where so many men earned their daily bread. The writer, though but a child, remembers witnessing the fire from the office of D. P. Woodman's lumber yard corner of Jefferson and Edwards streets. The works were rebuilt and frequently enlarged until in 1892, when over S00 names were con- stantly on the pay rolls. In the early seventies there were a large number of fires, most of them supposed to be of incendiary origin, and with no means of fighting them. Thousands of dollars worth of property were lost which might otherwise have been saved. The cry for a system of water works became almost universal. . So, in 1874, a dam was built across Long Branch, one mile south of the city, and our present sys- tem of water works was the result. It is the Holly, or direct system, capable of throwing a stream of water 100 feet high.

COAL, OIL AND GAS.

In the early years of the city's history coal was a luxury, as well as a necessity. The nearest mine was thirty miles distant, with no connecting railroad. During those years coal sold at from fifteen to twenty cents a bushel, and was not always plentiful at those prices. In 1867 a bonus was raised to sink a shaft east of town, in which, after many trials and a sale

of property to pay debts, late in 1869 a vein of paying coal was found at a depth of 500 feet. The property passed through the hands of several companies and finally became a paying investment. In 187S, a second shaft was sunk and Litchfield's coal industry assumed large pro- portions. At the foot of the new shaft a boring rod was put down to a depth of 150 feet to investigate the character of the underlying strata, and to the astonishment of all, oil rose and covered the floor of the mine. This was in 1SS0. The news spread abroad and in a short time wild claims were staked all over the country in the immediate vicinity of the coal mine. The Van Veck Bros. of Buffalo, N. Y., finally secured control of the oil regions and sunk several wells. The output was large and the product a natural lubricator ready for use without undergoing any refining process. and readily sold for $5 a barrel. While sinking one of the wells, the drill was literally raised from the hole by an enormous pressure of natural gas, and in 1885 the Van Vecks laid their gas mains into the city, and for two years Litchfield reveled in the warmth and brilliancy of gas furnished by nature.

The pressure gradually grew less, new wells were sunk, but they nearly always passed through oil, but it was of no consequence if gas could be found. But their efforts were fruit- less, and the pressure grew less to the diminish- ing point. In 1SS9 the Van Vecks sold out to a local company which now bears the name of the Litchfield Light, Heat and Power Co. The new company went to work immediately and built a plant for the manufacture of artificial gas, which is as complete in all its details as any plant in the state.

EARLY BANDS.

Again quoting from Mr. Kessinger: "Litch- field was some country town back in those days. We had two bands, the Merchants and the Mechanics. They were good bands, at least their music sounded good to the writer at that time. The latter was an enthusiastic booster for the Mechanics, for the reason that he frequently was given opportunity to ride in the band wagon by a member of that organiza- tion. Each band had a handsome wagon. One was bought from a circus which needed money when it struck the town. The other band, not to be outdone, had a handsome wagon built by a local wagonmaker. There was a keen rivalry

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

between those bands, as to which should play on public occasions, like the old Litchfield Fair, and the day when the Litchfield water works was completed. The day in question was clondy and raw. Both bands were ont in their gaily painted wagons, and bespangled uniforms, one leading the fire department and the other the city council and civic parade. Each wagon was drawn by tonr horses, though two would have been enough for the occasion. They took stands on opposite sides of State Street and vied with each other for popular approval."

LITCHFIELD POLICE OFFICIALS.

We here give the earlier police officers. The police magistrates were : Matthew Cyrus, 1861 and 1863 ; James Ferris, 1866 ; Delos Van Deusen, 1867 ; Robert Peall, 1867; George P. Fowler, 1869; Ephraim M. Gilmore, 1871; Gilbert Evans, 1871; Jacob F. Miles, 1875; William C. Hender- son, 1876 and 1SS0; William S. Hildreth, 1SS4; Thomas E. Richards, 1896 and 1900; Thomas H. Wood, 1904; George D. Taylor, 190S; T. M. Blankley, 1913. The city marshals were : Hns- key Miller, 1862; Lafayette Sweet, 1863; John M. Ferguson, 1867; Joseph A. Davis, 1868; Ed- ward Dougherty, 1870; Charles T. Sloat, 1SS7 ; Thomas J. Hughes, 1891; W. E. Meyers, 1896; James Feltz, 1SS9.

LITCHFIELD DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

The following interesting article is written by S. W. Kessinger.

"To use the word of H. A. Coolidge, Litch- field's first editor, Litchfield was a "Microcosm" during the days preceding and during the Civil War. The settlers came from all sections of the country, representing pronounced views for and against slavery. It must be remembered that Litchfield is a comparatively new city. Hillsboro, Van Bureusburg, Walshville, Woods- boro, Hardinsburg and Leesburg, afterwards Zanesville, had attained their majority before Litchfield was ever dreamed of. The first settlers of Litchfield were Democratic in tend- ency ; in fact the Democrats ran the local Gov- ernment pretty much to suit themselves for a number of years. By 1860 there had been an influx of settlers from the eastern and southern states. They came and brought their political views with them. They did not hide them, but soon discovered that they were not strong

enough, numerically, to overcome the Democratic strength. II. H. Beach had come here from Michigan, and started a machine shop and grist- mill, on the present site of the shops of the Litchfield Foundry and Machine Company. Daniel C. Amsden, a relative of Mr. Beach, was also one of the new settlers of the day. A meeting was called on a night for the Beach 'loft' and among those present were J. W. Casseday, George M. Raymond, David Davis, fatlier of David Davis of this city, W. A. Stod- dard, Thomas G. Kessinger, A. Almon, William Mileon, D. C. Amsden, H. H. Beach, George Hoosier, William H. Barton, father of W. H. Barton, of this city, Samuel Graham, Daniel Warner, J. C. Reed, John Lindsay, A. J. Thomp- son, J. W. Kellar, John P. Bayless, James Cooper and others whose names I cannot recall. They met without lights, but nominated a com- plete ticket. In those days there were no primaries, and tickets were placed in the field promisenonsly. The voter selected the ticket of his choice, and walked to the polling place, where he gave his name to the clerks through an open window. He then handed in the ticket which he had brought with him, and it was deposited in the ballot box. At the caucus in the Beach 'loft' a committee was appointed to secure ballots. Every man present gave his solemn promise to meet at a given place on elec- tion day one hour before the polls closed. The committee had their ballots printed in Alton, and they came to Litchfield on the morning train which reached here about 10.30 o'clock. It is even said that William H. Barton had business in Gillespie that morning, when as a matter of fact he had been in Alton.

"The election day dawned clear and warm. There was no opposition to the Democratic slate, and the day wore on. The Democrats became more and more embued with the idea of security, and sleepfulness. At the appointed hour, however, the Republicans came from all sources in twos, threes, and fonrs. And formed in line. When it came time to close the polls the damage had been done. The Republican ticket had made a clean sweep. The old-time Democrats did not fully enjoy the joke, but it taught them the lesson that eternal vigilance is the only method of achieving success.

"Following this episode came the organization of the Knights of the Golden Circle, and of Union Leagne Council No. 60. The former were opposed to the war and rendered every assist-

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ance in their power to the Confederacy. The latter was patriotic, and consisted of men who formed the home-gnard during those trying times. Many of them were conductors of the "underground railroad" which had for its object the assistance of runaway slaves who were seeking an asylum in Canada. I have the charter of Union League Council No. 60, of Litchfield, and it bears the names of most of the men that I have named above. All of those men have entered the vast "unknown" and to the best of my knowledge but three of their sons are living in this city. They are W. H. Barton, David Davis, and the writer."

SOME PROMINENT LITCHFIELDERS.

S. W. Kessinger, under the caption of "Men I Have Known" has noticed many of Litch- field's most active and useful men, but we can spare space for only one or two.

"Is it the fantastic memories of youth which still cling to me. or were the men of my youth grander characters than are the men of today? This thought frequently comes to me. The men of today are not as large in their relation to public affairs as they were in the days of my youth. A few of the old guard still survive, and I view them in their daily walks with a feeling akin to awe. I will not speak of the living at present, but of those who have gone on before. Col. Delos VanDeusen comes to mind. As a boy, I made monthly pilgrimages to the bank of Beach, Davis & Company, of which he was cashier, to pay my tuition as a pupil in the Litchfield High School. I had known him at a much earlier period, but only as cashier of the bank. He had, so he frequently informed me, been engaged in the photograph business on West Ryder Street. Perhaps the mere fact that he had resided in Jamestown. N. Y., near where my mother was reared, had somewhat to do with my attachment for him. Be that as it may. I well remember his benevolent features and kindly handshake when I entered business in this city almost thirty years ago. He was a man who was eternally pushing Litchfield. He was instrumental in securing our splendid rail- road facilities. He believed in the town, and purchased town property. In 1846, he left Jamestown and settled at Dayton, Ohio, where he engaged in the boot, shoe and leather busi- ness. at which he prospered. There he married Miss Henrietta M. Snyder on February 19. 1852.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 55

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 810

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 810