USA > Illinois > Warren County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Warren County, Volume II > Part 26
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Constables-James Ryason and William Causland for Precinct No. 1; and David Findley and James Hodgens for Precinct No. 2.
At this election forty-seven votes were cast, being within three of the entire vote of the County.
At the first session of the County Commis- sioners two election precincts were created, No. 1 comprising what is now Henderson county, and No. 2 what is now Warren county. The temporary court house-the residence of Alexis Phelps-was the voting place in Pre- cinct No. 1, and the residence of James Hod- gens, which stood just northwest of the pres- ent city of Monmouth, was the voting place in Precinct No. 2.
The next June the Commissioners made a new division, creating three election districts- No. 1 (Monmouth District) with the voting place at Monmouth; No. 2 (Yellow Banks Dis- trict) with the voting place at the house of Wm. Causland at Oquawka, and No. 3 (Ellison District) with the voting place at the house of Paris Smith. Afterwards changes were made as the increase of population required.
The Commissioners, in April, 1830, charged the sheriff with $35.93 3-4, taxes assessed and collected by authority of Peoria county for 1830, amount due after deducting $3.171% for an
absconding delinquent. He was also charged with $82.83, taxes on personal property due Warren county for 1831, after deducting 87 1-2 cents for absentees. Total for the two years $118.76; less commission, $8.91. Balance to pay to treasurer, $109.85.
This was the whole amount of taxes received by the county for the years 1830 and 1831.
CHAPTER IV.
Legislature Appoints a Commission to Locate the
Permanent County Seat - How Monmouth was Chosen and Given its Name-A Tucant Quarter of "Congress Land."
After Warren county had been fully organ- ized, the question of the location of the perma- nent county seat came up, and this brought on a clash which ultimately resulted in the divis- ion of the county in 1841. The temporary seat of justice had been at the house of Alexis Phelps at the Yellow Banks (Oquawka). The residents of the western part of the county wanted it located there permanently, while the larger settlement in the eastern part wanted it nearer them. Not being able to settle the matter among themselves, the citizens ap- pealed to the Legislature to arrange a way out of the difficulty. By act approved January 27, 1831, the Legislature appointed Hazen Bedell of Hancock county, John G. Sanborn of Knox county, and John McNeil of Fulton county as special commissioners to select a site. The act was entitled "An Act to Establish a Per- manent Seat of Justice for Warren County," and is in full as follows:
Section 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That for the purpose of locating the permanent seat of justice in and for the County of Warren, the following named per- sons shall be, and they are hereby appointed, Commissioners, to-wit: Hazen Bedell
of Hancock County, John G. Sanborn of Knox
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
County, and John McNeil of Fulton County, who, or a majority of them, shall meet at the house of Stephen S. Phelps, in said county, on the first Monday in April next, or within ten days thereafter, after being duly sworn by some judge, or justice of the peace of said county, faithfully to take into consideration the convenience of the people, the situation of the settlements, with a view to the future population of said county, and the eligibility of the situation, shall proceed to fix upon a place for the permanent seat of justice for said county, and give it a name.
Section 2. When said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall have agreed upon a place for a county seat, as provided in the first section of this act, they shall niake report thereof in writing, under their hands and seals, describing particularly the quarter sec- tion, township and range upon which they have located the same, together with the name they have given it, to the County Commissioners' Court of said county, who shall, at the next term of said court thereafter, cause the said report to be entered upon the records of said court. And the place so selected by said com- missioners, or a majority of them, shall be and remain the permanent seat of justice of War- ren County, and shall be known and called by such name as may be given it by said com- missioners.
Section 3. The County Commissioners' Court of said county shall allow said com- missioners such reasonable compensation ' per day for their services, as they may deem reason- able, not exceeding three dollars per day, out of the county treasury of said county.
Section 4. Should the said commissioners locate said seat of justice on lands belonging to an individual or individuals, they shall ask and obtain a donation of any number of acres of land, not less than twenty, and also select and describe said donation in their report, with reasonable certainty by metes and bounds; provided, inat should the proprietor or proprietors of such land neglect or refuse to make the donation herein provided for, the said commissioners shall then be required to locate the county seat aforesaid, on the nearest eligible situation on public land. And it shall also be the duty of said commissioners, pre- vious to locating the said county seat on land belonging to any individual or individuals, to take a deed in fee simple to said county, for
such land as may be donated as aforesaid; and the same shall be laid off into town lots by the County Commissioners of said county, and the avails thereof shall be applied to the erec- tion of the necessary public buildings in said county; provided, that nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize the said commis- sioners to locate the said seat of justice on any half quarter or quarter section of land, con- taining an occupied improvement, without the consent of the owner of said improvement.
Section 5. The county of Mercer is hereby attached to the county of Warren, for all judi- cial and other purposes, until it shall be or- ganized as provided for by law.
Pursuant to the requirements of this act the three commissioners met at the temporary county seat, at S. S. Phelps's residence, April 7, 1831, and were sworn by Daniel McNeil, Jr., justice of the peace. They first made a plat of the county, placing in each township what they thought would be the probable number of homes, varying from four to forty-four to the township. They estimated a total of 168 farm homes in the townships in Range 1; 132 in the townships in Range 2; 108 in the townships in Range 3; 128 in the townships in Range 4; 80 in the townships in Range 5; and 20 in the townships in Range 6. The greatest number were counted for Township 11 north, Range 2 west, (Monmouth), where the commissioners thought forty-two homes could reasonably be counted on. They then selected as the most advantageous site the southeast quarter of Sec- tion 29 in that township, which was "Congress land," and to the place they gave the name Monmouth.
This decision was satisfactory to the people about Hodgens' and Sugar Tree Groves, where a large settlement had been built up, but not so satisfactory to the three other candidates, Center Grove (now Kirkwood), Ellison Creek, and the Yellow Banks. The county commis- sioners' court, however, accepted the report of the special commissioners on April 12, and di- rected that the report be forwarded at once to the register and receiver of the Land Office at Springfield, and that the quarter section chosen be entered for the benefit of Warren county with as little delay as possible. The same day when the court adjourned, it was to meet on Monday, April 25, at 12 o'clock noon at Mon- mouth, the new county seat.
April 12, 1831, the record says, "the commis-
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
sioners received of the state of Illinois (in lieu of the tax on land in Warren county ) $350.00 in state paper which being uncurrent paper, a part of it being exchanged, $95.73 3-4 was paid Thomas C. Jennings, county treasurer, the balance has been since exchanged, $208.00, $200.00 of which has been paid to the United States for the southwest quarter of section 29, town 11 north, range 2 west. Balance, $8.00, paid to county treasurer."
The patent was not issued until February 12, 1836. It was signed by President Andrew Jackson, and transferred the quarter section to John Pence, Peter Butler and John B. Talbot, who were the county commissioners at the time the application was made. June 4, 1834, in daily anticipation of the arrival of the patent, the commissioners had given to Daniel McNeil, Jr., clerk of the board, power of attorney to issue deeds in the name of the commissioners and many of the early deeds to city lots bear his name as special commis- sioner.
CHAPTER V.
The Old Log Court House the Second Building Erected in Monmouth-It Stood on North Main Street and Cost $62.00-The Present Court House is the Fourth One.
The second building erected in Monmouth was the old log court house, which was ordered by the county commissioners April 25, 1831, and completed and accepted by them October 1, following. It was located on lot 6, block 6, at the northeast corner of the intersection of North Main street and Archer avenue; and did service until September 12, 1835, when it was sold to James Hodgens for $21 and moved by him to lot 3, block 20, a lot on South First street between Market Place and First avenue. There it was used for a residence for a number of years. The contract for the erection of this court house was let to Francis Kendall for $57, but the records show that he was paid $62 for the work when it was completed. The build- ing was 20 by 22 feet on the ground, and was
constructed of basswood logs, hewed inside and out, with a puncheon floor, and a split clap- board roof. The door was of two-inch hewed plank, hung on wooden hinges, and fastened with a wooden latch. It was on the west end, and in the other end was a stick and mud fire- place and chimney. On each side was a nine- light window with Sx10 panes. The judge's . seat was elevated above the floor and built of split basswood. In front was a rail wide enough to lay a book on. The desk for the clerk and members of the bar was also made of split basswood. It was about eight feet long, and three or four feet wide. The seats for spectators and jurors were also of split planks, with strong legs. Over the south win- dow was a shelf, on which the law books of the court were kept.
The day of the "raising" was a great one in the little city. A large company gathered to help, and dinner was prepared at Robert Ken- dall's cabin, which stood on the east side of what is now Sunny Lane, and near the north- west corner of the city. The dinner was served on the grass near where the men were at work.
The old court house, being the only place in the little town where public meetings could be held, was the scene of many such gather- ings. Religious services were held here, and the first schools in the district were taught here by Robert Black and Alpheus Russell. The building was not of sufficient size to meet the needs for court room and county offices, and in a few years gave way to another frame court house, 20 by 30 feet on the ground, and a story and a half high. It was built on the same lot as the log building, and still stands, being the rear part of the office of J. R. Eighme's livery barn on North Main street and Archer avenue.
The construction of the second court house was ordered March 7, 1835, and the work was let by contract one month later to the following persons:
Framing, W. S. Paxton and John McCoy $125.00
Enclosing, Thos. Gibson, Jr 130.00
Shingling, Wm. Stark, Jr .. 18.00
Finishing, D. McNeil, Jr .. 300.00
Lathing and plastering, D. McNeil, Jr ... 200.00
Total. $773.00
Later, Alexander Turnbull was awarded a
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
contract for building the "underpinning" of the court house for $12.75, the stone in the chim- ney of the old building to be used as far as it would go. This made the total contract price of the building $785.75. The work progressed well until McNeil's part of the contract came. He was to have done the finishing work on the inside, put in the floor, ceilings, seats, etc. He was not able to get proper lumber for the pur- pose and a long delay ensued. Some say the work was never completed, but that the build- ing was used in its unfinished state until the third court house was ready for occupancy.
As early as December, 1835, less than a year after the erection of the second court house had been commenced, the County Com- missioners saw that the building would not long meet the requirements of the rapidly growing population of the county. On the 7th of that month they decided to select a per- manent court house site, and the choice fell on lots 5 and 8 in block 33, the lots on South Main street on which Blackburn & Turnbull's livery barn and the Hotel Baldwin now stand. They were then ready, they thought, to take the first steps toward the erection of a per- manent court house. A year later, December 8, 1836, the following entry was made on the records: "On motion ordered that the clerk of this court send to the editors of the Peoria Champion, Rushville Journal, Quincy Argus and Bounty Land Register, Sangamon Journal, and Illinois Patriot, that the court will receive sealed proposals, with a plan of the house, for building a court house in the town of Mon- mouth for the use of the county of Warren, to be built of brick or stone, forty feet wide, fifty feet long, with an east and south front, two stories high, with a cupola or belfry. The house to be built up and covered in on or before the first day of October next." The plans were to be selected on the first Monday in February following, and bids were to be left at the clerk's office by 10 o'clock a. m. of that day.
At the February session of the board a peti- tion signed by sundry citizens was presented, praying that the court house be placed in the center of the Public Square, instead of at the site selected on South Main street. The Com- missioners so ordered and directed that the building be forty-five feet square, with four fronts, and two stories high.
Because contractors were afraid that War- ren county would not be able to pay for the
building, or for some other reason, there were no bids in the clerk's hands at the time specified in the advertisements, and on March 18, 1837, the board appointed Alexander Turn- bull, one of their number, "as agent to contract for materials to build a court house for the use of the county of Warren, or to contract for building said court house in any way he shall think to be the cheapest and best, and to super- intend the building of said court house through- out, under the supervision of the court and advice or orders given from time to time until completed."
Matters continued to hold fire, and on June 9 the Commissioners decided that it was not convenient to build the court house in the center of the square, and as all the lots ad- joining the square had been sold, they resolved to attempt tne purchase of a desirable lot. Theodore Coburn offered lot 6, block 10, the south lot of the present site, for $1,000, and the Commissioners accepted it, and on June 20 formally ordered the building erected there. At the first sale of lots in Monmouth this lot was purchased by Francis Kendall for $58.00. It passed through different hands, then came into Coburn's possession. He deeded it to Warren County June 20, 1837.
There are six lots in block 10, Nos. 1 and 2 being separated from the rest by the alley run- ning north from the northwest corner of the public square. The other four lots in the block are now owned by the county and cost $12,400, though they were originally sold by the County Commissioners for about one- hundredth part of that sum-$124.25.
The plans for the third court house were adopted at a special session of the County Commissioners hela June 20, 1837. They were full and complete, everything that could be thought of as necessary to a perfect court house being distinctly specified, even to the "four turned columns after the Doric order of architecture" in the court room, and the Frank- lin rod on the cupola. The building was to front fifty feet on the Public Square and forty feet on Broadway, and to be built "under the direction of and superintendence of Alexander Turnbull, Esq., who will in person superintend each and every part and parcel of the work as it progresses, from first to last." The speci- fications required the completion of the work on or before December 1, 1838, and the pay- ments were to be made in such money as is
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
"current with the merchants in Warren county." When built, the court house had a south front, as well as an east one, but it was closed up years ago, and that part of the entry was thrown into the county clerk's office. The first floor contained offices for the county clerk, circuit clerk, sheriff and treasurer. Between the two offices on the north side was a stair- way leading to the court room above. This was taken out some years ago, and entrance to the court room was then made by an out- side stairway on the north side of the build- ing. The second floor, in addition to the court room, originally contained two smaller rooms, used as jury rooms.
The contract was publicly offered to the low- est bidder June 20, 1837, and after crying the several bids it was let to Cornelius Tunnicliff for the sum of $8,998.00. The next day Con- tractor Tunnicliff presented a bond in the penal sum of $18,000, conditional for the faith- ful performance of his contract, and it was ac- accepted by the commissioners. Tunnicliff's sureties on the bond were Daniel McNeil, Jr., Justus Woodworth, George H. Wright, Wyatt S. Berry and Mordecai McBride.
Work on the new building seems to have com- menced at once, and on August 1 the first pay- ment of $1,000 was made as provided in the contract. A second payment of the same amount was made September 5. After he had drawn these two payments, Contractor Tunni- cliff suddenly quit the country, leaving his workmen unpaid, and many bills for material unsettled. At a special term February 24, 1838, his bondsmen came before the commissioners and reported the state of affairs, and the con- tract with Tunnicliff was declared void, and the bondsmen permitted to complete the building. They gave bond in the sum of $18,000 that they would do so, the commissioners giving them until September 1, 1839, to do the work, and agreeing to pay them the remainder of the contract price, $6,998.00. September
5 an agreement was made to build the court house seven courses of brick (about seventeen inches ) higher than the contract called for, the com- missioners to pay whatever the additional work might cost. Another change from the contract was made March 12, 1839, when it was decided to fill in the entries with dirt and lay a brick floor, instead of the joists and board floor originally intended. The building should have been completed by September 1, 1839, but
"unavoidable delays" had occurred, and the Commissioners granted more time, first until March 1, 1840, then until June 1, then again till September 1, and once more until "next term." December 4, 1840, the building was nearly ready for occupancy, and Clerk Elijah Davidson was authorized to rent the west rooms for law offices. These were the rooms later occupied by the circuit clerk and the sheriff. Davidson was to let the north room for $3.50 per month, and the other for $4.00 per month.
The building was received from the con- tractors as completed March 13, 1841, and they were allowed to withdraw their bonds. The total cost, including extras afterward allowed, was $10,572.32 1-2.
The building was largely a home product. The stone was quarried here, the brick made and burned just north of town where the pres- ent brick yards are, and the heavy timbers were cut from Warren county timber and hewed by Warren county workmen.
The present court house in Warren county is the result of a resolution adopted by the board of supervisors June 3, 1893. The reso- lution was offered by Supervisor George Bruington of Coldbrook, recited that the court house then in use was not suitable to the needs of the county, and that it was not a safe place in which to keep the valuable records and pa- pers of the county, and declared that it was the sense of the supervisors that a new court house should be erected, the cost not to exceed $80,000. By a vote of nine to six the resolution was adopted, and Mr. Bruington offered another resolution directing the chairman of the board, David A. Turnbull of Hale, to appoint four supervisors to act with himself in procuring plans for a suitable building, and that the com- mittee should report to the board at its Sep- tember meeting following. This resolution also carried and the chairman named as the ad- ditional members of the committee Supervis- ors George Bruington of Coldbrook, W. T. Boyd of Point Pleasant, Alpheus Lewis of Roseville, and Charles P. Avenell of Monmouth. Plans were advertised for, and those prepared by Oliver P. Marble, of Chicago, were selected by the board September 15. Bids for the erection of the building were submitted by nineteen contractors, and the bid of Charles A. Moses, of Chicago, to construct the building for $69,995 was accepted November 6.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
There was no delay on the part of the con- tractor in entering upon the work. Ground was broken December 5, and in less than two months the foundation was ready for the cor- ner-stone. The supervisors requested the War- ren County Bar Association to take charge of the laying of the stone, and the association invited the Masonic Order to conduct the cere- monies. A protest was made against this, which led to a prolonged discussion, resulting in the supervisors recalling the invitation given the Bar Association, and the laying of the stone quietly and without ceremony of any kind February 15, 1894. The building was completed early the next year, being accepted from the contractor by the supervisors March 5, 1895. Several changes were made in the original plans, all in the way of improvement, and the final cost of the building complete, with the furniture and fixtures, aggregated about $125,000.
Two days after the acceptance of the build- ing from the contractor, the county officers be- gan removing their books and papers from the old court house to the new. The work occu- pied several days, and a number of valuable records and papers that had not seen the light of day for years were uncovered. The new building gave plenty of room, and the records have been placed where they are convenient of access and safe from any danger of destruction by fire.
The new court house is a handsome one, built of red Portage stone, perfectly fireproof, roomy and convenient. An excellent picture appears on another page of this work. On the ground floor of the building are the offices of the state's attorney, master in chancery, and county superintendent of schools, a room used by the old soldiers of the county for a Memorial Hall, closets for ladies and gentlemen, and a store room for the janitor's supplies. The second floor contains the county court room, the offices of the county clerk, circuit clerk, county judge, county treasurer, and sheriff, and a gentlemen's closet; and the third floor has the circuit court room, a grand jury room, a room for the petit jury, a private room for the circuit judge, and the county surveyor's office. Still above are a gallery for the circuit court room and two rooms used by the county and circuit clerks for storing old papers and books that are seldom called for. The furniture in all the rooms is of oak, with roll-top desks, and
the shelving and file cases are steel. In the tower is a Seth Thomas clock. The south end of the building was originally surmounted by a large copper statue of Justice, but it was blown down by a storm July 7, 1895, and in its place is now a flagstaff. The court house is heated with steam, the plant being situated in the jail building and connected with the court house by a tunnel.
The first public meeting in the present court house was a session of the County Farmers' Institute on February 20, 1895, before the build- ing was accepted from the contractor. The supervisors held a session in the new building March 7, and the first term of circuit court in the new building opened May 6, with Judge John J. Glenn, of Monmouth, on the bench.
CHAPTER VI.
The First Jail Built on an Original Plan-In- dians Charged with the Murder of William Martin were Its First Occupants-The Second and Third Jails-The County Farm.
A year after the completion of the first court house the commissioners decided on the erection of a jail. Shortness of funds, rather than a lack of meanness in the county, seems to have been the reason for the delay; at least, from the construction of the building when it was erected, one would judge that the com- missioners thought desperate men were to be confined in it. Lot 9, block 24, just north of the present government building, was selected as the site of the jail on September 5, 1832, and on October 26 following the contract for its construction was let to Jacob Rust for $310. The work was done better, however, than the original plans called for, and he was paid the sum of $325 when it was completed.
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