Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 58

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. jt. ed. cn; Wilderman, Alonzo St. Clair, 1839-1904, ed; Wilderman, Augusta A., jt. ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 698

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HISTORY .- The subject of such a work began to be actively agitated as early as 1871, and, under authority of various acts of Congress, preliminary surveys began to be made by Government engi- neers that year. In 1890 detailed plans and esti- mates, based upon these preliminary surveys, ' were submitted to Congress in accordance with the river and harbor act of August, 1888. This report became the basis of an appropriation in the river and harbor act of Sept. 19, 1890, for carrying the work into practical execution. Actual work was begun on the western end of the canal in July, 1892, and at the eastern end in the spring of 1894. Since then it has been prosecuted as continuously as the appropriations made by Congress from year to year would permit. Ac- cording to the report of Major Marshall, Chief of

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Engineers in charge of the work, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, the construction of the canal around the lower rapids of Rock River (four and one-half miles), with three locks, three swing bridges, two dams, besides various build- ings, was completed and that portion of the canal opened to navigation on April 17. 1895. In the early part of 1899, the bulk of the excavation and masonry on the eastern section was practi- cally completed, the feeder line under contract, and five out of the eighteen bridges required to be constructed in place; and it was estimated that the whole line, with locks, bridges, culverts and aqueducts, will be completed within two years, at the farthest, by 1902.

DIMENSIONS, METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION, COST. ETC .- As already stated, the length of the main line is seventy-five miles, of which twenty-eight miles (the eastern section) is east of the junction of the feeder, and forty-seven miles (the western section) west of that point-making, with the twenty-nine miles of feeder, a total of one hun- dred and four miles, or seven miles longer than the Illinois & Michigan Canal. The rise from the Illinois River datum to the summit-level on the eastern section is accomplished by twenty-one locks with a lift of six to fourteen feet each, to reach an altitude of 196 feet; while the descent of ninety-three feet to the low-water level of the Mississippi on the western end is accomplished through ten locks, varying from six to fourteen feet each. The width of the canal, at the water surface, is eighty feet, with a depthı below the surface-line of seven feet. The banks are rip- rapped with stone the entire length of the canal. The locks are one hundred and seventy feet long, between the quoins, by thirty-five feet in width, admitting the passage of vessels of one hundred and forty feet in length and thirty-two feet beam and each capable of carrying six hundred tons of freight.

The bulk of the masonry employed in the con- struction of locks, as well as abutments for bridges and aqueducts, is solid concrete manufac- tured in place, while the lock-gates and aque- ducts proper are of steel-the use of these materials resulting in a large saving in the first cost as to the former, and securing greater solid- ity and permanence in all. The concrete work, already completed, is found to have withstood the effects of ice even more successfully than natural stone. The smaller culverts are of iron piping and the framework of all the bridges of steel.

The earlier estimates placed the entire cost of

construction of the canal, locks, bridges, build- ings, etc., at $5,068,000 for the main channel and $1,858,000 for the Rock River feeder-a total of $6,926,000. This has been reduced, however, by changes in the route and unexpected saving in the material employed for masonry work. The total expenditure, as shown by official reports, up to June 30, 1898, was $1,748,905.13. The amount expended up to March 1, 1899, approxi- mated $2,500,000, while the amount necessary to complete the work (exclusive of an unexpended balance) was estimated, in round numbers, at $3,500,000.

The completion of this work, it is estimated, will result in a saving of over 400 miles in water transportation between Chicago and the western terminus of the canal. In order to make the canal available to its full capacity between lake points and the Mississippi, the enlargement of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, both as to width and depth of channel, will be an indispensable necessity ; and it is anticipated that an effort will be made to secure action in this direction by the Illinois Legislature at its next session. Another expedient likely to receive strong support will be, to induce the General Government to accept the tender of the Illinois & Michigan Canal and, by the enlargement of the latter through its whole length-or, from Lockport to the Illinois River at La Salle, with the utilization of the Chicago Drainage Canal-furnish a national water-way between the lakes and the Gulf of Mexico of sufficient capacity to accommodate steamers and other vessels of at least 600 tons burthen.

ILLINOIS BAND, THE, an association consist- ing of seven young men, then students in Yale College, who, in the winter of 1828-29, entered into a mutual compact to devote their lives to the promotion of Christian education in the West, especially in Illinois. It was composed of Theron Baldwin, John F. Brooks, Mason Grosvenor, Elisha Jenney, William Kirby, Julian M. Sturte- vant and Asa Turner. All of these came to Illi- nois at an early day, and one of the first results of their efforts was the founding of Illinois Col- lege at Jacksonville, in 1829, with which all became associated as members of the first Board of Trustees, several of them so remaining to the close of their lives, while most of them were con- nected with the institution for a considerable period, either as members of the faculty or finan- cial agents-Dr. Sturtevant having been Presi- dent for thirty-two years and an instructor or professor fifty-six years. (See Baldwin, Theron; Brooks, John F .; and Sturtevant, Julian M.)

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ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD, a corpo- ration controlling the principal line of railroad extending through the entire length of the State from north to south, besides numerous side branches acquired by lease during the past few years. The main lines are made up of three gen- eral divisions, extending from Chicago to Cairo, Ill. (364.73 iniles); from Centralia to Dubuque, Iowa, (340.77 miles), and from Cairo to New Orleans, La. (547.79 miles)-making a total of 1,253.29 miles of main line, of which 705.5 miles are in Illinois. Besides this the company con- trols, through lease and stock ownership, a large number of lateral branches which are operated by the company, making the total mileage officially reported up to June 30, 1898, 3,130.21 miles .- (HISTORY.) The Illinois Central Railroad is not only one of the lines earliest projected in the history of the State, but has been most inti- mately connected with its development. The project of a road starting from the mouth of the Ohio and extending northward through the State is said to have been suggested by Lieut .- Gov. Alexander M. Jenkins as early as 1832; was advocated by the late Judge Sidney Breese and others in 1835 under the name of the Wabash & Mississippi Railroad, and took the form of a charter granted by the Legislature in January, 1836, to the first "Illinois Central Railroad Com- pany," to construct a road from Cairo to a point near the southern terminus of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Nothing was done under this act, although an organization was effected, with Governor Jenkins as President of the Company. The Company surrendered its charter the next year and the work was undertaken by the State, under the internal improvement act of 1837, and considerable money expended without complet- ing any portion of the line. The State having abandoned the enterprise, the Legislature, in 1843, incorporated the "Great Western Railway Company" under what came to be known as tho · "Holbrook charter," to be organized under the auspices of the Cairo City & Canal Company, the line to connect the termini named in the charter of 1836, via Vandalia, Shelbyville, Decatur and Bloomington. Considerable money was expended under this charter, but the scheme again failed of completion, and the act was repealed in 1845. A charter under the same name, with some modification as to organization, was renewed in 1849 .- In January, 1850, Senator Douglas introduced a bill in the United States Senate making a grant to the State of Illinois of alternate sections of land along the line of a

proposed road extending from Cairo to Duluth in the northwest corner of the State, with a branch to Chicago, which bill passed the Senate in May of the same year and the House in September, and became the basis of the Illinois Central Rail- road Company as it exists to-day. Previous to the passage of this act, however, the Cairo City & Canal Company had been induced to execute a full surrender to the State of its rights and privi- leges under the "Holbrook charter." This was followed in February, 1851, by the act of the Legislature incorporating the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and assigning thereto (under specified conditions) the grant of lands received from the General Government. This grant covered alternate sections within six miles of the line, or the equivalent thereof (when such lands were not vacant), to be placed on lands within fifteen miles of the line. The number of acres thus assigned to the Company was 2,595,000, (about 3,840 acres per mile), which were con- veyed to Trustees as security for the performance of the work. An engineering party, organized at Chicago, May 21, 1851, began the prelim- inary survey of the Chicago branch, and before the end of the year the whole line was surveyed and staked out The first contract for grading was let on March 15, 1852, being for that portion between Chicago and Kensington (then known as Calumet), 14 miles. This was opened for traffic, May 24, 1852, and over it the Michigan Central, which had been in course of construction from the east, obtained trackage rights to enter Chicago. Later, contracts were let for other sections, some of them in June, and the last on Oct. 14, 1852. In May, 1853, the section from La Salle to Bloomington (61 miles) was com- pleted and opened for business, a temporary bridge being constructed over the Illinois near La Salle, and cars hauled to the top of the bluff with chains and cable by means of a stationary engine. In July, 1854, the Chicago Division was put in operation to Urbana, 128 miles; the main line from Cairo to La Salle (301 miles), completed Jan. 8, 1855, and the line from La Salle to Duluth (now East Dubuque), 146.73 miles, on June 12, 1855-the entire road (705.5 miles) being com- pleted, Sept. 27, 1856 .- (FINANCIAL STATEMENT.) The share capital of the road was originally fixed at $17,000,000, but previous to 1869 it had been increased to $25,500,000, and during 1873-74 to $29,000,000. The present capitalization (1898) is $163,352,593, of which $52,500,000 is in stock, $52,680,925 in bonds, and $51,367,000 in miscel- laneous obligations. The total cost of the road

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in Illinois, as shown by a report made in 1889, was $35,110,609. By the terms of its charter the corporation is exempt from taxation, but in lieu thereof is required to pay into the State treasury, semi-annually, seven per cent upon the gross earnings of the line in Illinois. The sum thus paid into the State treasury from Oct. 31, 1855, when the first payment of $29,751.59 was made, up to and including Oct. 31, 1898, aggregated $17,315,193.24. The last payment (October, 1898), amounted to $334,527.01. The largest payment in the history of the road was that of October, 1893, amounting, for the preceding six months, to $450,176.34. The net income of the main line in Illinois, for the year ending June 30, 1898, was $12,299,021, and the total expenditures within the State $12,831,161 .- (LEASED LINES.) The first addition to the Illinois Central System was made in 1867 in the acquisition, by lease, of the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad, extending from Dubuque to Sioux Falls, Iowa. Since then it has extended its Iowa connections, by the construction of new lines and the acquisition or extension of others. The most important addition to the line outside of the State of Illinois was an arrangement effected, in 1872, with the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern, and the Mississippi Central Rail- roads-with which it previously had traffic con- nections-giving it control of a line from Jackson, Tenn., to New Orleans, La. At first, connection was had between the Illinois Central at Cairo and the Southern Divisions of the system, by means of transfer steamers, but subsequently the gap was filled in and the through line opened to traffic in December, 1873. In 1874 the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern and the Mississippi Central roads were consolidated under the title of the New Orleans, St. Louis & Chicago Railroad, but the new corporation defaulted on its interest in 1876. The Illinois Central, which was the owner of a majority of the bonds of the constitu- ent lines which went to make up the New Orleans, St. Louis & Chicago Railroad, then acquired ownership of the whole line by foreclosure pro- ceedings in 1877, and it was reorganized, on Jan. 1, 1878, under the name of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad, and placed in charge of one of the Vice-Presidents of the Illinois Central Company .- (ILLINOIS BRANCHES.) The more im- portant branches of the Illinois Central within the State include: (1) The Springfield Division from Chicago to Springfield (111.47 miles), chartered in 1867, and opened in 1871 as the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield Railroad; passed into the hands of a receiver in 1873, sold under foreclosure in 1876,

and leased, in 1878, for fifty years, to the Illinois Central Railroad: (2) The Rantoul Division from Leroy to the Indiana State line (66.21 miles in Illinois), chartered in 1876 as the Havana, Ran- toul & Eastern Railroad, built as a narrow-gauge line and operated in 1881; afterwards changed to standard-gauge, and controlled by the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific until May, 1884, when it passed into the hands of a receiver; in December of the same year taken in charge by the bondholders; in 1885 again placed in the hands of a receiver, and, in October, 1886, sold to the Illinois Central: (3) The Chicago, Havana & Western Railroad, from Havana to Champaign, with a branch from White- heath to Decatur (total, 131.62 miles), constructed as the western extension of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western, and opened in 1873; sold under foreclosure in 1879 and organized as tlie Champaign, Havana & Western; in 1880 pur- chased by the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific; in 1884 taken possession of by the mortgage trustees and, in September, 1886, sold under foreclosure to the Illinois Central Railroad: (4) The Freeport Division, from Chicago by way of Freeport to Madison, Wis. (140 miles in Illinois), constructed under a charter granted to the Chicago, Madison & Northern Railroad (which see), opened for traffic in 1888, and transferred to the Illinois Central Railroad Company in January, 1889: (5) The Kankakee & Southwestern (131.26 miles), constructed from Kankakee to Bloomington under the charters of the Kankakee & Western and the Kankakee & Southwestern Railroads; acquired by the Illinois Central in 1878, begun in 1880, and extended to Bloomington in 1883; and (6) The St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute (which see under its old name). Other Illinois branch lines of less importance embrace the Blue Island; the Chicago & Texas; the Mound City; the South Chicago; the St. Louis, Belleville & Southern, and the St. Charles Air-Line, which furnishes an entrance to the City of Chicago over an ele- vated track. The total length of these Illinois branches in 1898 was 919.72 miles, with the main lines making the total mileage of the company within the State 1,624.22 miles. For several years up to 1895 the Illinois Central had a connection with St. Louis over the line of the Terre Haute & Indianapolis from Effingham, but this is now secured by way of the Springfield Division and the main line to Pana, whence its trains pass over the old Indianapolis & St. Louis-now the Cleve- land, Cinciunati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway. Between June 30, 1897 and April 30, 1898, branch lines in the Southern States (chiefly in Kentucky

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and Tennessee), to the extent of 670 miles, were added to the Illinois Central System. The Cairo Bridge, constructed across the Ohio River near its mouth, at a cost of $3,000,000, for the purpose of connecting the Northern and Southern Divisions of the Illinois Central System, and one of the mnost stupendous structures of its kind in the world, belongs wholly to the Illinois Central Railroad Company. (See Cairo Bridge.)

ILLINOIS COLLEGE, an institution of learn- ing at Jacksonville, Ill., which was the first to graduate a collegiate class in the history of the State. It had its origin in a movement inaugu- rated about 1827 or 1828 to secure the location, at some point in Illinois, of a seminary or college which would give the youth of the State the opportunity of acquiring a higher education. Some of the most influential factors in this move- ment were already citizens of Jacksonville, or contemplated becoming such. In January, 1828, the outline of a plan for such an institution was drawn up by Rev. John M. Ellis, a home missionary of the Presbyterian Church, and Hon. Samuel D. Lockwood, then a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, as a basis for soliciting subscriptions for the organization of a stock-company to carry the enterprise into execution. The plan, as then proposed, contemplated provision for a depart- ment of female education, at least until a separate institution could be furnished-which, if not a forerunner of the co-educational system now so much in vogue, at least foreshadowed the estab- lishment of the Jacksonville Female Seminary, which soon followed the founding of the college. A few months after these preliminary steps were taken, Mr. Ellis was brought into communication with a group of young men at Yale College (see "Illinois Band") who had entered into a com- pact to devote their lives to the cause of educa- tional and missionary work in the West, and out of the union of these two forces, soon afterwards effected, grew Illinois College. The organization of the "Illinois" or "Yale Band," was formally consummated in February, 1829, and before the close of the year a fund of $10,000 for the purpose of laying the foundation of the proposed institu- tion in Illinois had been pledged by friends of education in the East, a beginning had been made in the erection of buildings on the present site of Illinois College at Jacksonville, and, in Decem- ber of the same year, the work of instruction of a preparatory class had been begun by Rev. Julian M. Sturtevant, who had taken the place of "avant- courier" of the movement. A year later (1831) Rev. Edward Beecher, the oldest son of the inde-

fatigable Lyman Beecher, and brother of Henry Ward-already then well known as a leader in the ranks of those opposed to slavery-had be- come identified with the new enterprise and assumed the position of its first President. Such was the prejudice against "Yankees" in Illinois at that time, and the jealousy of theological influ- ence in education, that it was not until 1835 that the friends of the institution were able to secure a charter from the Legislature. An ineffectual attempt had been made in 1830, and when it was finally granted, it was in the form of an "omni- bus bill" including three other institutions, but with restrictions as to the amount of real estate that might be held, and prohibiting the organiza- tion of theological departments, both of which were subsequently repealed. (See Early Col- leges.) The same year the college graduated its first class, consisting of two members-Richard Yates, afterwards War Governor and United States Senator, and Rev. Jonathan Spillman, the composer of "Sweet Afton." Limited as was this first output of alumni, it was politically and morally strong. In 1843 a medical department was established, but it was abandoned five years later for want of adequate support. Dr. Beecher retired from the Presidency in 1844, when he was . succeeded by Dr. Sturtevant, who continued in that capacity until 1876 (thirty-two years), when he became Professor Emeritus, remaining until 1885-his connection with the institution cover- ing a period of fifty-six years. Others who have occupied the position of President include Rufus C. Crampton (acting), 1876-82; Rev. Edward A. Tanner, 1882-92; and Dr. John E. Bradley, the incumbent from 1892 to 1899. Among the earli- est and influential friends of the institution, besides Judge Lockwood already mentioned, may be enumerated such names as Gov. Joseph Dun- can, Thomas Mather, Winthrop S. Gilman, Frederick Collins and William H. Brown (of Chicago), all of whom were members of the early Board of Trustees. It was found necessary to maintain a preparatory department for many years to fit pupils for the college classes proper, and, in 1866, Whipple Academy was established and provided with a separate building for this purpose. The standard of admission to the col- lege course has been gradually advanced, keeping abreast, in this respect, of other American col- leges. At present the institution has a faculty of 15 members and an endowment of some $150,000, with a library (1898) numbering over 15,000 vol- umes and property valued at $360,000. Degrees are conferred in both classical and scientific

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courses in the college proper. The list of alumni embraces some 750 names, including many who have been prominent in State and National affairs.

ILLINOIS COUNTY, the name given to the first civil organization of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, after its conquest by Col. George Rogers Clark in 1778. This was done by act of the Virginia House of Delegates, passed in October of the same year, which, among other things, provided as follows: "The citizens of the commonwealth of Virginia, who are already set- tled, or shall hereafter settle, on the western side of the Ohio, shall be inoluded in a distinct county which shall be called Illinois County; and the Governor of this commonwealth, with the advice of the Council, may appoint a County-Lieutenant or Commandant-in-chief of the county during pleasure, who shall take the oath of fidelity to this commonwealth and the oath of office accord- ing to the form of their own religion. And all civil offices to which the inhabitants have been accustomed, necessary for the preservation of the peace and the administration of justice, shall be chosen by a majority of the citizens of their re- spective districts, to be convened for that purpose by the County-Lieutenant or Commandant, or his deputy, and shall be commissioned by said County-Lieutenant." As the Commonwealth of Virginia, by virtue of Colonel Clark's conquest, then claimed jurisdiction over the entire region west of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi, Illinois County nominally embraced the territory comprised within the limits of the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wiscon- sin, though the settlements were limited to the vicinity of Kaskaskia, Vincennes (in the present State of Indiana) and Detroit. Col. Jolın Todd, of Kentucky, was appointed by Gov. Patrick Henry, the first Lieutenant-Commandant under this act, holding office two years. Out of Illinois County were subsequently organized the follow- ing counties by "order" of Gov. Arthur St. Clair, after liis assumption of the duties of Governor, following the passage, by Congress, of the Ordi- nance of 1787, creating the Northwest Territory, viz. :

NAME COUNTY-SEAT DATE OF ORGANIZATION

Washington Marietta July 27, 1788

Cincinnati Jan. 4, 1790

Hamilton

Cahokia

St. Clair

( Kaskaskia

June 20, 1790

Randolph

Post St. Vincennes Kaskaskia Oct. 5, 1795

Washington, originally comprising the State of Ohio, was reduced, on the organization of Hamil- ton County, to the eastern portion, Hamilton

County embracing the west, with Cincinnati (originally called "Losantiville," near old Fort Washington) as the county-seat. St. Clair, thie third county organized out of this territory, at first had virtually three county-seats, but divi- sions and jealousies among the people and officials in reference to the place of deposit for the records, resulted in the issue, five years later, of an order creating the new county of Randolph, the second in the "Illinois Country"-these (St. Clair and Randolph) constituting the two counties into which it was divided at the date of organization of Illinois Territory. Out of these events grew the title of "Mother of Counties" given to Illinois County as the original of all the counties in the five States northwest of the Ohio, while St. Clair County inherited the title as to the State of Illinois. (See Illinois; also St. Clair, Arthur, and Todd, (Col.) John.)

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 58

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. jt. ed. cn; Wilderman, Alonzo St. Clair, 1839-1904, ed; Wilderman, Augusta A., jt. ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 698

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. jt. ed. cn; Wilderman, Alonzo St. Clair, 1839-1904, ed; Wilderman, Augusta A., jt. ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 698