Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 59

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

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CHAPTER XXXII.

SOUTH LITCHFIELD TOWNSHIP.

IN GENERAL-BOUNDARIES -- EARLY SETTLERS -- PIO- NEER INCIDENTS-EARLY ROADS-SOUTH LITCH- FIELD IN THE FIFTIES-PROMINENT MEN-CITY OF LITCHFIELD-EARLY RESIDENTS-ADDITIONS- FIRST BUSINESS HOUSES -- MUNICIPAL HISTORY- LITCHFIELD MAGISTRATES -- SOUTH LITCHFIELD TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS- JUSTICES OF THE PEACE -- CONSTABLES -- SUPERVISORS.

IN GENERAL.

In giving the history of South Litchfield Township we may say that only the east and southern portions have any early history so far as settlers make history. The western portion, except the north end, was wet, swampy and in-

fested with the green head fly as well as mos- quitoes to such an extent that settlers avoided it, and settled along Shoal Creek and its tribu- taries, and near the northwest portion where the land was dryer. The portion then thought to be uninhabitable contains the most fertile soil, and while not settled at an early day, is now the habitation of hardy farmers, mostly German, who came into it at a later day, and seeing that the land was exceedingly fine, began draining and cultivating it, at the same time building barns for the storage of their stock and im- mense crops. The palatial residences to be seen now in that portion of the township came several years after the barns, for the German first looks to the saving of his stock and grain and his family comfort second.

BOUNDARIES.

South Litchfield Township is bounded on the north by North Litchfield Township, on the east by Hillsboro Township, on the west by Macoupin County and on the south by Walshville Town- ship. Shoal Creek, Lake Fork Creek and their tributaries drain the township. The soil is on the prairie portions a black loam, and in the timber portions a gray loam with sand and gravel deposits. Stone quarries are conducted along the creeks in parts of the township. Coal, gas and oil are known to exist under the soil. Oil of a fine quality has been pumped and used, as has gas also. Coal tests show that there are paying veins under nearly the whole of the township.

EARLY SETTLERS.

A few settlers located along the eastern, northern and southern parts in an early day, avoiding the large prairie portion. Nickolas Lockerman is said to have settled in this town- ship as early as 1816. He located on the east half of the southeast quarter of section 15, on land which afterwards became the property of John A. Briggs, and which is a part of what is known as the Charles Berry farm.

The marriage of Mr. Lockerman, by Rev. James Street, in his corn field, under dramatic circumstances, is said to have been the first marriage in the county. He at present has no known descendants in the county. One of his sons was killed in an early day at Zanesville,

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

an account of which will be given in the chapter on that township. It is claimed by some that Reverend Street was the first settler in the southern part of the county, but this is questioned by others. Indian trails and camp- ing grounds were found in several places, being located from the number of arrow heads and spear points and other utensils found, and also by the evidences of burials by them. Bears and panthers and other wild animals and some game animals were frequently seen in an early day in this township, frightening the families of the settlers and giving an opportunity for the set- tlers to show their prowess in the use of fire- arms and their ability to secure food. For awhile it is thought that Mr. Lockerman was the only settler in the township. Mr. Fogelman had settled just south of the township line, and Mr. Street just east of the east line. In about 1821 John Norton and James Bland came into the township. Theodore Jordan and Austin Grisham came quite early, but they lived with Mr. Fogelman for a short time, and later settled in Walshville Township. Mr. Fogelman came from Tennessee with about $800 in money, an immense sum for the times, and became the foremost promoter of his times, and to him and his descendants South Litchfield owes much of its early start. Mr. McCaffee came into the township at an early day, settling in the north- ern part. Without attempting to give tlie order of their arrival, among the early settlers may be mentioned : D. P. Brokaw, Jacob Steifel, Mr. Gardner, Lewis McWilliams, J. N. McElvain, David and Jolin Corlew, the Roaches, Doctor Garland, the Clines, John and James McPhail, the Kingstons, Elias W. Miller, the Bridges, James Copeland, the Forelands, John A. Crab- tree, Ezra Tyler, David Lay and M. Meicen- heimer.

PIONEER INCIDENTS.

John Fogelman tauglit one of the first schools taught in the township, which was a subscrip- tion school, as all schools were in that day, the price was $2 per pupil for a term of three months, and the larger part of the pay was made in coonskins or farm produce. The first church built in the township was a Union one near the John Fogelman residence and now known as the Hart Church. It was built in 1853. The first settlers in the most part wor- shiped at the Clear Springs Church. The second

church was a Methodist one, and was built in Hardinsburg. One of the first things in a new community of a community interest was a corn mill, and the first one in this township was erected and run by Newton Street and John M. Paden on the Street place. It was erected in 1852 and was a steam mill.

EARLY ROADS.

The Hillsboro and Alton road was one of the first, and it ran not far from the line of the present track of the Interurban Railway passing through Hardinsburg and on to Bunker IIill. Another took an easterly direction toward Woodsboro, crossing Shoal Creek at the Truitt Ford. Another went south by the Elias Miller place and on to Walshville. Later a road was laid out due south from Litchfield to the south line of the township, and here we may say that that road is the most important one embraced in the present scheme for improving the roads by means of state aid. This scheme includes another road across the township from east to west making the city of Litchfield the hub and another intersects the north and south road and runs east to the township line. The first burial place in South Litchfield Township was what was known as the Crabtree Cemetery. Here Stephen R. Briggs, long a member of the commissioners' court, was buried, as was Israel Fogelman and John A. Crabtree. This cemetery was laid out in 1843 and the first body interred was that of Mrs. Julia Young, wife of John Young. The second one was at the Hart Church. Hardinsburg was the location of several set- tlers who entertained great hopes of future greatness, only to have them blasted with the failure of the town, a description of which will be given further on.

SOUTH LITCHFIELD IN THE FIFTIES.

We are pleased here to give a brief account of the trials, difficulties and experiences of the early South Litchfielders by Hon. Abram Bro- kaw, who has lived all his life in the township and knows more of its history than any living man.

"The drought of 1854 was no more severe than that of 1SS1, 1SS7, or 1901, but the new settlers, with little or no feed, or money to buy it. felt it much more than those of the later dates. For three harvests previous to 1854, the

MR. AND MRS. TONY F. POGGENPOHL

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

wheat crop was practically an entire failure and the new settlers had about concluded that Montgomery County was not adapted to wheat growing. The most of the new settlers in what is now South Litchfield and Walshville town- ships were from Jersey and Greene counties where wheat raising was a grand success. The wheat area in these townships in 1854 was very limited, probably less than 150 acres in fields of five and ten acres each, as up to that year the grain was cut with the old fashioned cradle. But there was one man by the name of Uncle Joe Davis who had rented from the late Irving Wells forty acres of new, rich prairie land at the head of Lake Fork, that he, Wells, had broken out in the spring of 1853. The fall of 1853 was ideal for getting the newly broken prairie sod sown in wheat in good order, and all the new sod land developed a heavy yield of the very best quality, which sold from the machine at $1.25 a bushel to the little mills at Greenville, Staunton and Bunker Hill.

"The Crimean War was in progress then, and Englaud's supply of wheat from Russia was shut out, making a large foreign demand for ours. I well remember that my father, the late D. P. Brokaw, kept forty bushels to sell after planting time in 1855. He and I started with it to Alton, where household necessities were cheap aud iu greater assortments. We were intercepted at Bunker Hill by a miller who offered my father $2 in gold a bushel, an un- dreamed of price in that day. I remember my father sold his 1851 crop raised in Jersey County for thirty-five cents per bushel, hauling it twenty miles to Alton, and when he received over $80 iu gold for a little load of wheat it was like finding money.

"There were in those days practically no markets for the abundant crops of corn only occasionally to the new settlers. Hogs had to be butchered at home and hauled to Alton or St. Louis where they brought $2.25 to $3 a hun- dred. Three-year old steers brought from $12 to $15 a head. A good horse brought from $30 to $40. There was absolutely no sale for eggs or butter or vegetables that grew without atten- tion.

"It was while thrashiug out that forty acre field of wheat belonging to 'Uncle' Joe Davis that the cholera broke out in his house where the thrashiug crew, a number of boarders who were improving new farms near by, and a few visitors were huddled under his roof. The

thrashing was done with the modern outfit of that day, consisting of a little Alton separator and horse power, both being unloaded from the trucks and leveled up on the ground. The sep- arator and horse power were lifted from the trucks by the hands and the machine had a ca- pacity of about forty bushels a day. The owners of the machine that did all the thrashing in the county west of Hillsboro those days were James Killpatrick and Andrew Paden, living west of Hillsboro, and Lewis McWiliams of Lake Fork. They were the combined owners. William Vawter's father was a member of the thrashing crew also. They were about a week thrashing the Davis forty acres, but in the meantime a relative of the Davis family came from Jersey County by the way of Alton to visit him. While at Alton, he was exposed to cholera, and he died the next day after the arrival. Some twenty who were boarding at 'Uncle' Joe Davis' were exposed and contracted the terrible disease, a greater part of them dying. Andrew Paden, William Vawter's father, Jesse Hearlston, who 'Brother' Cline mentioned, Dr. James Black- welder's father, two of the farm improving boarders and a man by the name of Scott, and six of his family, were all taken down and died. My father with a number of others exposed at that time suffered near unto death with the filthy disease. My father was taken down about two o'clock in the morning, and I at once started to Hillsboro to get Doctor Haskell, the then nearest doctor, twelve miles away. I was a boy in my thirteenth year, and rode a horse bareback all the way at full speed. The doctor arrived by nine o'cdock that morning, but the crisis of the disease was past, after which a speedy recovery took place.

"We talk in alarming phrases of our present drought as one promising great disaster, but the whole country is backed by a surplus, while in 1854 those pioneers had but little wheu that drought began. Then on top of that the greatest cholera epidemic of any age reduced the new settlers to a condition of distress beyond repara- tion. It was not until 1859 that Montgomery County recovered from the backset of 1854."

PROMINENT MEN.

Amoug the meu who have beeu most prom- inent iu South Litchfield during the last sixty years may be mentioned : James N. McElvain, who was elected and served iu the General

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Assembly of the state; Andrew Miller, who also filled a position for one term in the State Legis- lature; John Corlew, who served several terms as sheriff of the county, and John Fogelman, who also filled the position of sheriff. David Lay was one of the first school treasurers ; J. M. Paden, Henry G. Whitehouse and Herman Nei- man have also filled that position. Among the early justices of the peace were James N. Mc- Elvain, John A. Crabtree and Doctor Gorlin. D. P. Brokaw was elected to the same office but refused to qualify. William Simpson served one term as county treasurer.

HARDINSBURG.

We here give a brief account of the vanished town of Hardinsburg and will follow that with a brief history of the city of Litchfield, as that city's history is inseparable from South Litch- field Township. About one-third of the city is in this township, and of necessity must be con- sidered in connection with the township history. In the chapter on North Litchfield we give an interesting history of Litchfield, from the pen of Hon. S. W. Kessinger, but as Mr. Kessinger writes of the men and events more especially, there will be but little conflict or repetition in the two accounts.

After quite a number of pioneers had settled in South Litchfield Township, and a well defined road had been laid out and traveled towards Bunker Hill from Hillsboro, a place was selected on this road for a town site, and located in section 7, town S, range 5, and the place was called Hardinsburg after General Hardin. It was on January 25, 1850, that the town was laid out. It contained seventeen blocks, and was really an ideal place. Little time elapsed till it contained a number of residences and business houses. J. M. McWilliams opened up a store, and James Cummings another and secured a post office, le becoming its first and last post- master. H. H. Hood opened up a drug store, the Methodist people erected a modest chapel, besides these there were a tavern, a school- house, a wheelwright shop, a blacksmith shop and about eight dwellings by the end of 1851.

The Alton & Terre Haute Railroad was built to Bunker Hill in 1853, and on to Clyde in 1854, and foreseeing that it would miss Hardinsburg, going north about two miles, a stampede was made to get into Huntsville, and by 1855 when the railroad reached Huntsville the town of

Litchfield was well under way and Hardins- burg had ceased tó exist. Nor did Huntsville last long as the department refused to name the post office Huntsville, and the name of Litch- field was selected in honor of E. B. Litchfield, who had come there from the east and become the little settlement's most active promoter.

CITY OF LITCHFIELD.

The city of Litchfield lies in the two town- ships of North and South Litchfield, one-third being in the latter, and two-thirds in the former. It is two miles from the west line of the county ; forty-two miles due south of Spring- field; twenty-six miles. east, and thirty-four miles north of St. Louis. It is 310 feet higher than St. Louis, and is the highest point on the Chicago & Alton Railroad. Isaac Weaver was the pioneer settler of what was later to become the city of Litchfield, having located here in 1842, his cabin standing at or near the entrance to the present public square. However land had been entered prior to that, Evan Stephenson having entered the southwest quarter of section 4, in 1835; and in 1836 Joseph Gillespie entered the east half of the southeast quarter of that same section. In 1838 G. B. Yenowine entered the west half and the south half of the east half of the northwest quarter of the section; and Isaac Ross entered what remained of the

northwest quarter of that section. John Waldrop and Ezra Tyler entered the west half of the southeast quarter of the section in 1840.

In 1847 Royal Scherer had a cabin on the southeast slope of the mound, later owned by W. S. Palmer. In this same year Ezra Tyler located on the land he had previously entered, and in 1848 Ahart Pierce moved into his log cabin which was on the mound. In 1849 Mr. Pierce and Caleb W. Sapp entered the south- west quarter of section 34 in North Litchfield, the south half of which became the nucleus of the present city of Litchfield. Isaac Weaver's rights were purchased, and Mr. Pierce and Mr. Wapp divided their purchase, the latter taking the south half, extending from the Wabash Railroad, half a mile east along the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad, with a uniform width of a quarter of a mile. Ezra Tyler owned the east half of this tract in September, 1850, and in May, 1861, it was bought by J. Y. McManus who also bought the west half, which included Mr. Sapp's residence on the south side of the public

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

square. Nelson Cliue bought the east forty acres that had been owned by Mr. Sapp, but a year later, in 1853, sold the west six acres to Y. S. Etter, who bought the forty acres lying immediately west. but in less than a year sold to George F. Pretlow, and this forty acres was in- cluded iu the initial plat of Litchfield, which was laid out iu the fall of 1853, as well as thirty-four acres that had been recently the property of Mr. Cline.

EARLY RESIDENTS.

A record of the residents of Litchfield during the summer of 1853 shows that the following lived here: Alfred Blackwelder, Jacob Scherer, Ralph Scherer, Nelsou Cline, Ahart Pierce, J. Y. Etter, O. M. Roach. Ezra Tyler, aud J. W. Audrews. Iu the fall of 1855 Simeon Ryder, Hou. Robert Smith of Alton, Hou. Joseph Gil- lespie of Edwardsville, Philander C. Huggins of Bunker Hill, Josiah Huut. chief engineer of the Terre Haute & Alton Railroad, and Johu B. Kirkham formed a syudicate and bought out the interest of Mr. Cliue. They agreed to lay out a towu on au eighty acre corn field, then owued by Pretlow aud Cliue. aud after they had reserved the uecessary laud for public squares aud railroad purposes. they were to reconvey one-half of the lots aud blocks ou his forty-six acres iu full payqueut for the remainder. John B. Kirkham and P. C. Huggins were made agents of the syndicate, but they were finally succeeded by E. B. Litchfield who became sole owner of the company's interest in the new towu. When Thomas A. Gray, county surveyor, laid out in the coru field. in October, 1853, the original plat of the town, the railroad had only been completed as far as Bunker Hill from the westeru eud, so that the originators of Litch- field showed considerable faith in the future of the place.

. At the same time Gillespie was laid out, and it is stated that the men who had the selection of the poiut through which to run the proposed extentiou of the railroad, drew straws to aid them in making their decision. In this contest Litchfield won, and accordiugly in January, 1854. R. W. O'Bannou, one of those who thus decided the fate of Litchfield, made the first purchase in the proposed town, buying the east half of the block facing on State Street, lying between Ryder and Kirkham, for $120, payment to be made in iustallments. Following his pur-

chase, Mr. O'Bannon began preparations to erect a store. James W. Jefferis was the second to buy property, and H. E. Appleton and W. S. Palmer bought soon afterwards. With the exception of the lumber for Mr. O'Bannon's store, all of the building material had to be hauled from Carlinville. Having the advantage of being able to get his lumber from the neigh- borhood, Mr O'Bannon had his store completed and ready for occupancy April 24, 1854. Mr. T. W. Elliott moved the material which had been used in his old home at Ridgely, and recoustructed his resideuce so his family was able to move into it May 5, 1854, they becoming the first actual settlers of Litchfield, although the house of James W. Jefferis was completed three days prior to that of Mr. Elliott. The Jefferis family arrived to take possession of their new home on May S, 1S54, being the second to settle at Litchfield.

W. S. Palmer built the fourth building, and first blacksmith shop at Litchfield. going into the timber and hewing out the material necessary. Owing to this labor, his shop was not completed until fall. E. Tyler built the fifth structure, and used it for a grain warehouse.

Owing to the necessity for housing by the settlers who began to come into the new town, time was not taken to erect new buildings, but old ones were moved to the place, being drawn over the slimy prairies on runners. J. P. Bay- less brought here one-half of what had been a blacksmith shop at Hardinsburg. Although it had no door, floor or window, he fixed it up and he and his family made it do as a home for several years. Mr. Tyler furnished meals to the men who were engaged in founding the towu. and managed to lodge them, although the discomforts and crowding would have discour- aged any less enthusiastic and persistent.

In the spring of 1854 Mr. Pretlow died. and the lots that had been deeded back to him were kept out of the market for a year until his estate was settled. This of course somewhat retarded the growth of the place. However, sales were made of some of the available lots, and one of the purchasers during 1854 was Mr. O'Bannon who bought the site for a home from Mr. Pierce on State Street, between Division and Third Streets, and on it built a house into which his family moved before it was com- pleted. A wagon shop was built during the fall of 1854 by Mr. Appleton, who lived in the rear for a time. Mr. Palmer built a store, and

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

in partnership with Mr. Mayo, his brother-in- law, opened a general store, and lived in the building as well as used it for commercial purposes. In the closing months of 1854 the new town showed as actual residents six fam- ilies, and a dozen buildings, of which one was a blacksmith shop, one a wagon shop, and two stores. Within a year there were eleven resi- dences, and the population was about 100, so that there must have been close crowding to house all of these people during the ensuing winter.

In October the railroad was opened as far as Clyde, and in January, 1856, the Pretlow estate was sold by the executor, the sale being held in the store of W. T. Elliott. In 1854 a crude hotel was built, which later formed the east part of the Phoenix House, it being completed by E. W. Litchfield in 1855. The first physician was Dr. Gamble, and the second was Dr. H. H. Hood, who had been in practice at Hardinsburg. On November 24, 1854, the railroad was completed to Litchfield, and this gave an impetus to the place. At the close of this year the families located here were as follows: R. W. O'Bannon, W. T. Elliott, II. E. Appleton, James Jefferis, J. P. Bayless. W. S. Palmer, G. Evans, T. G. Kes- singer, while in the spring of 1855, the Litchfield family, comprising E. W., E. E., E. S., George H. Hull. the three Dix brothers and C. F. How, all came from central or western New York, being members of the same family as E. C. Litchfield, who by this time was practically the owner of the town site.

ADDITIONS.

Several additions to the town were laid out. James Cummings, who had operated a store at Hardinsburg, moved it to Litchfield, and he was made the first postmaster. The original plat was made out in the name of Huntsville, but was never recorded as there was a post office by that name in Schuyler County, and the post office department. refused to give that name to the post office. As it was recognized expedient to have the town and post office bear the same name, the title of Huntsville was abandoned, and the town was named in honor of E. C. Litchfield, and later the two townships. North and South Litchfield drew their names from the city which is located in both of them. During this period of growth of the town of Litchfield, the territory now com-

posing North and South Litchfield Townships, was included in Long Branch Election Precinct. A passenger station was built the same year the road reached Litchfield. A partnership was formed by W. T. Bacon, E. W. Litchfield and C. F. How for the sale of lumber and at once a boom was inaugurated, and by the fall and win- ter of 1855-6 about one hundred dwellings were erected and the people rapidly populated the town. Ground was broken for railroad shops the same year and plans were made for a round- house of thirteen stalls and for a machine house. There were four hotels opened for the accommo- dation of the traveling public, The Montgomery JIouse, later known as the Phoenix, the Litch- field House, the Central House and the Palace IIotel.

FIRST BUSINESS HOUSES.

The first station agent at Litchfield was John P. Bayless, Hood and Bro. and Doctor Grinstead were druggists ; McWilliams & Paden, O'Bannon & Elliott, Palmer & Jefferis, Henderson, Hull & Hawkins, E. E. Litchfield, James Cummings & Son, John McGinnis, and B. C. Beardsley were all merchants. Doctor Grinstead and Doctor Hood were practicing medicine. R. E. Burton was a photographer and also a painter. John P. Davis & Bros. were plasterers. Mr. Williams was the bricklayer and Frarer & Sinclair ran a livery stable. P. J. Weipert made and sold horse furnishings, and C. Hoog made boots and shoes. J. W. Cassidy was a tailor. The Johnsons cut fuel for locomotives, for in those days, strange as it may seem, all fuel was obtained from the forests. G. W. Nelson was a justice of the peace and L. D. Palmer was constable. J. L. Hood sold furniture and W. D. Charles, a former river cap- tain, sold clothing. The mining interest of Litch- field is of more recent origin, and yet what we call the old mine of Litchfield is probably the oldest mine in the county, and its coal has no equal in the county, but the better part of the vein was worked out a few years ago, and at present it is not in operation. A later mine was sunk northwest of the city which is in working condition at the present. The machine shops above referred to were the most important enter- prises in the city for several years, but for rea- sons hard to understand, a portion of them were moved away, and the enterprise lost mnuch of its former business and value to the city.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 59

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