USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume II > Part 29
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Its lines have been extended until its cars traverse all the principal streets of East St. Louis. The East St. Louis & Suburban Rail- way Company, which operates these local lines, owns and operates the suburban lines between Fast St. Louis and Belleville, East St. Louis, Collinsville and Edwardsville, and East St. Louis, O'Fallon and Lebanon. Only the Stock Yards, State Street and Lansdowne (including Central Park) cars run across Eads Bridge. These cars transfer at Main Street and Broad- way (East St. Louis) to the other city divi- sions; also to the suburban lines mentioned below.
. The Edwardsville Division extends from Main Street and Broadway, east on Broadway, north on Collinsville Avenue to St. Clair Avenue, east on St. Clair Avenue to Thirteenth Street, north on Thirteenth Street to Collinsville Road, city limits. Transfers (west-bound)-St. Clair Avenue and Thirteenth Street to East Eight- eenth Street; St. Clair and Collinsville Avenues to Stock Yards and Eighteenth Street; Missouri and Collinsville Avenues to Relay Depot, State Street, Cleveland Avenue; Main Street and Broadway, across bridge, Main Street, Denver- side and East Broadway.
The Belleville Division extends from Main Street and Broadway east on Broadway, north on Collinsville Avenue, east on Missouri Ave- nue, north on Tenth Street, east on State Street to city limits. Transfers (west-bound)-Mis- souri and Collinsville Avenues to Stock Yards, Lansdowne, Eighteenth Street, across bridge; Main Street and Broadway to East Broadway, Denverside and Main Street; Missouri Avenue and Tenth Street to Cleveland Avenue.
Collinsville, O'Fallon and Lebanon Divisions, same as Belleville Division.
The Stock Yards Division extends from Main Street and Broadway, east on Broadway and north on Collinsville Avenue to St. Clair Ave- nue, west on St. Clair Avenue to First Street, North and west through Stock Yards to the National Stock Yards Exchange; returning, same route, via Broadway, across Eads Bridge. Transfers-Broadway and Main Street to South
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Main Street, Denverside, East Broadway and Suburban Divisions; St. Clair and Collinsville Avenues to Eighteenth Street, Central Park and Lansdowne.
The Lansdowne Division extends from Main Street and Broadway, east on Broadway to Col- linsville Avenue, north on Collinsville Avenue to St. Clair Avenue, east on St. Clair Avenue to Thirteenth Street, north on Thirteenth Street to Collinsville Road, south on Morris Street, east on Fifteenth Street, north on Madison Street, east on Fifteenth Street to Harding Avenue. Transfers-Main Street and Broad- way to Denverside, East Broadway and Subur- ban lines; Collinsville and Missouri Avenues to Cleveland Avenue and Relay Depot; St. Clair and Collinsville Avenues to Eighteenth Street and Stock Yards.
The State Street Division extends from Main Street and Broadway, east on Broadway to Collinsville Avenue, north on Collinsville Ave- nue to Missouri Avenue, east on Missouri Ave- nue to Tenth Street, north on Tenth Street to State Street, thence east to 3700 State Street. Transfers-Main Street and Broadway to Main Street, Denverside, East Broadway, Lansdowne, Stock Yards and Suburban lines; Missouri and Collinsville Avenues to Relay Depot; Tenth Street to Cleveland Avenue.
The South Main Street Division extends from Main Street and Broadway, south on Main Street to Converse Avenue, east on Converse Avenue to Sixth Street, south on Sixth Street to Pig- gott Avenue, east on Piggott Avenue to Fif- teenth Street; returning same way across Eads Bridge. Transfers-at Main Street and Broad- way to all other city lines, bridge and different suburban divisions.
The Riverside Division extends from Broad- way and Collinsville Avenue, east on Broadway to Fifteenth Street, south on Fifteenth Street to Bond (Fisk) Avenue, east via Alta Sita to Fireworks Station; returning same way. Transfers-At Broadway and Collinsville Ave- nue (west-bound) to other city lines, bridge and suburban lines.
The East Broadway Division extends from Broadway and Collinsville Avenue, east on Broadway to the Venice & Collinsville Belt Line (No. 2000 East). Transfers-At Broadway and Collinsville Avenue to bridge, suburban and all city lines.
The Cleveland Avenue Division extends from
the Relay Depot, east on Missouri Avenue to Fourteenth Street, north on Fourteenth Street to Cleveland Avenue, east on Cleveland Avenue to Eighteenth Street; north on Eighteenth Street to Illinois Avenue; east on Illinois Ave- nue to the Belt tracks (2000 East). Transfers- Tenth Street to State Street and suburban lines; Collinsville and Missouri Avenues to Lansdowne, Stock Yards, East Broadway, Den- verside, South Main Street.
The Eighteenth Street Division extends from Black Bridge, east on St. Clair Avenue to Eighteenth Street, north on Eighteenth Street to Lynch Avenue. Transfers (west-bound) - At Thirteenth Street to Lansdowne; at Collins- ville and St. Clair Avenues, across bridge and to all lines south-bound on Collinsville Avenue.
Through cars from Belleville to East St. Louis and from East St. Louis to Belleville leave at intervals of fifteen minutes from 6:00 a. m. to 12:00 midnight. Owl cars leave west end of bridge, running via Lansdowne Division, at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00 a. m.
The Stock Yards and Lansdowne cars leave up to 12:00 o'clock, midnight.
A round trip to Edwardsville or Lebanon1 consumes, to either point, about three hours. The Scenic Route trip consumes about two and one-half hours. The itinerary covers a trip from East St. Louis, via Monks' Mound, to Ed- wardsville, with a stop-over of thirty minutes at each of these two places. Returning from Edwardsville, the cars pass through the bluffs to Edgemont, down the Belleville Turnpike, or Rock Road, to East St. Louis.
The general offices of the East St. Louis & Suburban Railway Company are at Broadway and Third Street, East St. Louis. The officers of the company and managers of the lines here described are: C. M. Clark, President, Phila- delphia; L. C. Haynes, Vice-President, East St. Louis; G. L. Estabrook, Secretary and Treas- urer, Philadelphia; T. W. Gregory, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer, East St. Louis; J. M. Bramlette, General Superintendent, East St. Louis; F. H. Thomas, Passenger and Excursion Agent, East St. Louis.
The 1Ilinois Traction System, popularly known as "the Mckinley line," now has cars
1 The Mermaid Hotel, now standing in Lebanon, is the same one which occupied this site in 1842, when Dickens made a trip across country from Belleville to Lebanon, details of which he recorded in "American Notes.'
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
running from Granite City to Springfield, Ill. The streets over which the line will enter East St. Louis are Fifteenth Street, College Avenue, Tenth Street, Illinois Avenue, Third Street, and over a loop from Third Street along St. Louis Avenue to Fifth Street, thence back to Illinois Avenue. This system penetrates the State via Hillsboro, Staunton, Springfield, Lin- coln, Decatur and Champaign, as far as Jack- sonville, Peoria, Bloomington and Danville, and will ultimately have a through line between St. Louis and Chicago. The rates on the sys- tem are, as near as practicable, based on two cents per mile in one direction and one and one- half cents per mile for round trip tickets. The Corn Belt Limited, a fast train between Spring- field and St. Louis, was placed in service June 4, 1906. The road handles baggage and express on favorable terms. The personnel of the op- erating organization of the Illinois Traction System is here indicated:
General Officers .- William B. Mckinley, Pres- ident, Champaign, Ill .; L. E. Fischer, General Manager, Danville, Ill .; W. J. Ferris, Assistant Manager, Champaign, Ill .; B. R. Stephens, Gen- eral Traffic Manager, Springfield, Ill .; John Fin- ley, General Manager Central Railroad, Peoria, Ill .; J. E. Johnson, General Superintendent, Danville, Ill .; H. J. Pepper, General Superin- tendent, Champaign, Ill .; J. A. Glover, General Superintendent, Urbana, Ill .; M. L. Harry, Gen- eral Superintendent, Decatur, Ill .; M. G. Linn, General Superintendent, Bloomington, Ill .; J. P. Doan, General Superintendent, Jackson- ville, Ill.
Superintendents of Transportation .- M. Con- nor, Danville, Ill .; E. Noble, Champaign, Ill .; L. O. Williams, Decatur, Ill .; H. E. Davison, Bloomington, Ill .; Thomas Wood, Staunton, Ill .; W. Krotz, Jacksonville, Ill.
District Traffic Agents .- J. D. White, Dan- ville, Ill .; P. J. Brilly, Decatur, Ill .; T. T. Thompson, Springfield, Ill .; B. E. Tabler, Gran- ite City, Ill.
OTHER INTERURBAN ENTERPRISES .- If present plans materialize Belleville will, within a few years, be the central point of a net-work of electric lines. The latest announcement is that a line will be built between Benton, Ill., and Belleville.
The company promoting this system is in- corporated under the name of the Duquoin Rapid Transit Company, with James Pope,
of Duquoin, as President, and the enter- prise is bonded at $30,000 per mile. The Belle- ville City Council has already granted the right of way to the company to construct tracks over certain streets in that city, and it is antici- pated that the line will be in operation within eighteen months from the acceptance of the or- dinance. The line was originally projected through Pinckneyville, but owing to the un- favorable action of the council of that city, it is expected to pursue another route. Besides Belleville and Duquoin, other points reached by it will include Marissa, New Athens and
Freeburg, in St. Clair County, and a number of cities farther south. It is said that steps have been taken for financing the enterprise through a bank in London, England, and that the bonds are already being sold. The right of way is said to have been secured for the greater part of the line from Duquoin to Free- burg, and at Belleville connections will be made with the Belleville interurban lines to St. Louis and other points.
Another line projected extends from Belle- ville to Pinckeyville, by way of Tilden, Coul- terville and other points along the line of the Illinois Central Railroad. Articles of incorpora- tion for this line were filed August 30, 1906, with L. T. Turner, John A. Hamilton, William Stevenson, T. P. Armstrong and George F. Mead as incorporators, the capital stock being placed at $100,000. It is proposed to construct this line on the south side of the Illinois Central.
Articles of incorporation of the East St. Louis, Columbia & Waterloo Railway Company were filed at Belleville September 9, 1906. The first Board of Directors were Joseph W. Reich- ert, C. F. Schoening, H. Reichenbach, Jacob Koenigsmark and J. W. Warnock; capital stock, $10,000. The shares of stock were listed at $25 each.
The Belleville City Council has granted franchises to the Duquoin Rapid Transit Com- pany of Duquoin, Ill., for a single-track rail- way on Mascoutah Avenue and Second and Spring Streets, and to the Southern Traction Company, represented by E. S. Methan, of St. Louis, for a double-track street railway sys- tem from the city limits at Crystal Place east on Second Street, and on Centerville Avenue to First Street, and thence to Spring Street. The proposed line is to connect Belleville with East St. Louis and St. Louis.
ANDERS
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
The Duquoin concern is to have its line from Duquoin to Belleville within one year, or forfeit $2,500 to the city.
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE LINES .- Following railroad construction, came the construction of telegraph lines, partly as an almost indispen- sable aid in railway operation, largely as a com- mercial enterprise. Now all railroad towns and some towns remote from railways have tel- egraph service. Telephone lines, extending to smaller towns from East St. Louis and Belle- ville, cover the entire county, penetrating even to otherwise isolated neighborhoods and af- fording immediate communication between se- questered farm houses and the centers of trade, finance and manufacture. The development in this respect has been rapid. The telephone and the trolley railway have brought about a merg- ing of city life and country life that has ma- terially benefited the towns and brought the people of rural districts into touch with the best elements in the commercial, financial, so- cial and intellectual life of the cities.
CHAPTER XXI.
MANUFACTURES.
THE EARLY MILLS-FIRST METHODS OF MANUFAC- TURING CORN MEAL-THE TIN GRATER-DAYS OF THE HAND-MILL AND HOMINY MORTAR - THE HORSE-POWER SAW-MILL-THE FIRST WATER MILL - A PRIMITIVE WIND MILL - THE M'CARTY, SHOOK, JARROT, CHAPMAN, QUICK, RIGGS, ALEX- ANDER AND OTHER PIONEER MILLS-MILLING AND OTHER MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES OF A LATER PERIOD - NUMBER OF MANUFACTORIES IN EAST ST. LOUIS AND BELLEVILLE-FACTORY STATISTICS OF 1900.
PRIMITIVE MILLS .- The grater was the most primitive of all milling contrivances. A plate of tin was pierced with numerous holes and one side thus made very rough. The piece of tin was then bent to the shape of a segment of a cylinder and nailed at its two sides to a board. By rubbing an ear of corn on the grater meal was made, but the process was very slow and laborious.
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The hand-mill was an improvement upon the grater. This consisted of two mill-stones, one above the other. A hole was made in the upper stone and in it was placed a staff of wood which ran through a hole in a plank above and there was fitted with a crank by which it could be revolved. One or two per- sons turned the upper stone as rapidly as possible, while another fed corn to the mill in small quantities through an eye in the up- per stone. There was no hopper.
To make a mortar wherein to beat corn into hominy or meal, the pioneers took a large round log three or four feet in length, and in one end of it cut or burned a cavity that would hold about a peck of corn. The log was then set perpendicularly in the ground, and the cavity was filled with corn. A weight attached to a sweep was used to crush the corn. It was forced down by hand power and was raised by the spring of the sweep-pole.
The horse-power of the band-mill consisted of a large upright shaft, ten or twelve feet high, with eight or ten long arms let into it and extending out from it fifteen feet. Auger holes were bored in the arms, on the upper surface at the ends, and into them wooden pins were driven. This "big wheel," as it was called, was about thirty feet in diameter. A rawhide belt, made of ox-hides, cut into strips three inches wide and twisted into a round cable, encircled the "big wheel" and connected the power with the "grinder." Loosely held in place by the wooden pins at the ends of the arms of the wheel, this belt passed round a drum or "trun- nel-head," as it was called, which was attached to the grinding apparatus. Often the latter was at some distance from the wheel. Horses or oxen, hitched to the arms of the wheel by means of rawhide tugs and walking in a cir- cle, would keep the machinery in motion. (See "Tug Mills" in Vol. I.). On a band mill, the grinding of twelve bushels was considered a good day's work. McCann's and Rigg's horse mills, east of Turkey Hill, were early and long popular.
GRIST MILLS, 1754-1831 .- The first water-mill in the county was built on Prairie du Pont, by the mission of St. Sulpice, in 1754. It produced both meal and lumber. In the course of events, a village grew up around this mill. In 1764, after the locality had passed into English control, M. Gerardine bought the mill and plan-
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
tation of the mission. In 1794 Jean Francois Perry bought the site and on it built a new mill.
In 1744 the Jesuits built a wind-mill on the prairie two miles southeast of Cahokia; but after the English occupation it sank into dis- use.
In 1770 a small mill was built at Falling Spring (L'Eau Tomb), with hollow logs for conducting the water to the mill wheel; but eventually this mill, too, was abandoned. Col. John de Moulin was its proprietor. Richard McCarty built a mill on Cahokia Creek north- east of East St. Louis in 1770, at great expense of time and money; but the dam was unstable and was at length washed away. In 1817 he moved to Canada.
Nicholas Jarrot built a horse-mill at Ca- hokia, which helped to supply the soldiers of the War of 1812 with meal.
In early days, the settlers had to go to Ca- hokia to the mill, or to Judge's mill near Whiteside Station, sometimes as far as fifty miles. In cases of emergency, they used hand mills. Later, the hand mill was developed into a horse-power machine.
In 1800 Lawrence Shook built a water mill on Mill Creek west of Belleville. In 1805 Nich- olas Jarrot built a mill on Cahokia Creek, a few miles northeast of Illinoistown. (See "Jar- rot, Nicholas" in Vol. I. of this work.) Like other mills hereabouts, its permanency and usefulness were affected by frequent floods. William Robb built another mill above Jarrot's and claimed the creek was, or should be, nav- igable to his establishment. At length he built a heavy boat, loaded it with flour and sent it down against Jarrot's dam, breaking the structure. He was indicted, but the case was never brought to trial.
In 1810 Elijah Chapman built a mill on Rich- land Creek above the bridge west of Center- ville Road, which was operated till.1830. In 1815 Moses Quick built a water mill on the creek south of the site of the St. Clair County Fair Grounds, and sold it to Major Washington West. This mill was later swept away by high water.
In 1817 Hosea Riggs had a hand mill about two and a half miles east of Belleville. Oth- ers who had hand mills were: Matthew Roach, six miles southwest of Belleville; Mr. McCann, east of Turkey Hill; William Phillips, on the
lower St. Louis road; and Samuel Ogle, on the St. Louis macadamized road, six miles north- west of Belleville.
In 1820 Hugh Alexander built the first ox-mill in the State, and a distillery near the Doctor Schott farm at Shiloh.
In 1822 Wilkinson and Ringold built a mill in Belleville and sold it to Jacob Whiteside, who in turn sold it, in 1826, to Thomas Harri- son.
In 1831 Thomas Harrison and sons built the first steam flouring-mill in Belleville on the southeast corner of First and High Streets.
MILLING HISTORY BY JAMES AFFLECK .- The following account of early mills and millers at Belleville is taken from the reminiscences of the late James Affleck :
"One of the greatest inconveniences which the inhabitants of early Belleville had to en- dure was the want of mills to manufacture breadstuff. There were two mills on Richland Creek; but in the long dry seasons the water failed and the mills stood idle. At such times, other and more distant mills had to be relied upon. The writer often went with a load of grain to the Jarrot mill, on Cahokia Creek, a mile or two northeast of East St. Louis. This was a very fine mill for that time and fur- nished much breadstuff for St. Louis, Cahokia, and the surrounding country.
"Edmund P. Wilkinson and John Ringold built a large ox-mill that stood on the site of the present Halbert residence. It was run by an inclined tread-wheel. A considerable sum of money had been expended on this mill. After running it a short time, domestic trouble crossed the path of Mr. Wilkinson and changed all his plans for future life. The mill was sold to a man named Jacob Whiteside, who ran it for a while but, finding it not profitable and failing to pay for it, abandoned it, and it stood idle for some time. Samuel Ogle, fa- ther of Joseph and David Ogle, ran an ox-mill on his farm in early days, and made a good grade of flour. Mr. Ogle recommended his flour by saying that, in the first place, he had the best of land for growing wheat; that he knew how to cultivate and raise wheat; and that he generally had it threshed with the flail. Mr. Boneau, father of Benjamin Boneau, built an ox-mill in French Village, and operated it for some time. Hosea Riggs ran a horse-mill about two miles east of Belleville. Being near, it
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
was patronized frequently by the local bread consumers.
"I suffered more from cold and hunger in go- ing to this mill than from any other under- taking now remembered, being thinly clad, with but little to eat, and driving a team of horses for hours to grind a sack of corn, frequently far into the night, and then returning home.
"Matthew Roach, father of Robert Roach, had a little mill a few miles southwest of here. It was called a 'tug-mill'; was a very primi- tive affair, but furnished breadstuff for the neighborhood for the time. James Tannehill experimented with a wind-mill in the high prairie, on the farm later occupied by John Tate, but the elements were unfavorable, as there was no way provided for regulating the speed of his wind-mill or checking the force of the wind. A storm of wind suddenly struck the wings of the wheel and increased its ve- locity to sucn a degree that the runner flew off its bearing, and came very near taking Tannehill's head with it, as he was getting down the steps to find a place of safety. The storm increased and blew the fragments all over the field. The runner had acquired such a rotary velocity that it was buried in the earth near where Tannehill was standing, and remained long a reminder of the experiment. Disgusted with the fickleness of the wind, Tan- nehill concluded to try water, and purchased of the heirs of Pensoneau the mill on Richland Creek, just above the Centerville bridge, which he ran in connection with a distillery he owned near the old Reuss mill in the southeastern part of town. His mill was the first, and so far the last, in this county to use wind as a motive-power to grind grain.
"In the year 1831, the first steam-engine set up in the State of Illinois was set up in Belle- ville by Thomas Harrison & Sons. It was in a steam-mill for grinding grain, erected on the lot on the southeast corner of High and First Streets. It was a small affair, compared with the mills of today. It was commenced in 1830 and started early in the following year. The Wiggins Ferry Company commenced to propel their boats across the river by steam in 1829; - before that time they used only horse-power. Steam has since become such a common and convenient motive power that but little other power is used in the State. How quiet the world was at this time, especially in the West ----
no hurry, no rusn for wealth! All west of St. Louis was barren and uninhabited, save by the Indians and wild animals. The world was, in fact, a little world compared with the world of today. An incident occurred soon after the mill had been started which came near being disastrous. Some evil-disposed per- son went into the mill one Saturday night, after it had been closed and the men attend- ing it had retired, and kindled a fire in the furnace and filled it with wood, opened the throttle-valve and left. Soon the machinery was in motion. James Harrison, living near, heard the noise and stopped the machinery be- fore much damage was done. The Harrisons built a saw-mill on Richland Creek near the old wool-factory in 1828 or 1829, where they sawed and furnished much lumber for the town and country, there being no lumber yards then at Belleville. The creek at that time was full of driftwood, and all the country adjacent heavily timbered, which retained and kept back the water, so that the mill would run some nine or ten months in the year. In 1836, they built what was later known as the Switzer mill. In 1843 it was burned down, with a large amount of stock-50,000 bushels of wheat, and about 500 or 800 barrels of flour, with no insurance, if I am not mistaken. They rebuilt it in 1844, and ran it successfully for a number of years.
"In 1832 and 1833 Richard Rapier built the original Hinckley mill. It has been remodeled until hardly any of the original is visible. There were other small mills in different neigh- borhoods that were run by horses and oxen. The Harrisons were always successful in the milling business; supplied the demand from all quarters for breadstuff and hauled the surplus to the St. Louis market. They furnished a ready cash market for all the wheat farmers around Belleville had and encouraged them to raise more. Later on their milling busi- ness increased to such an extent that they concluded to add to their milling capacity. They combined their capital and built the steam mills and saw-mill referred to above. For many years the product of the Harrison mills was the standard of excellence wherever it was known."
OTHER MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. -- Begin- nings in manufacturing in St. Clair County were inseparable from pioneer history in gen- eral and are mentioned in histories of different
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
localities. In the preceding part of this chap- ter a history of early mills has been given. By 1870 there were about thirty first-class flouring mills of four to seven runs of burr- stones each. The capital invested in these mills was about $750,000. The value of their annual product was about five million dollars. The development of the coal interests and the rapid building of railways brought industries of other kinds. These have become so numer- ous and so varied as almost to defy classifica- tion. Many of them are mentioned in the histories of Belleville and East St. Louis and of towns and villages throughout the country. No data on this subject since that of 1900 is available. In many lines manufacturing in St. Clair County has developed wonderfully since then.
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